The middle-aged man's face twisted into an extremely ugly expression. Lan An's words had clearly struck a raw nerve deep within him.
Observing the man's reaction, Lan An's eyes flickered with cunning. A sinister smile curved his lips as he spoke:
"It seems you've occasionally wondered about your own eventual fate as well…"
"Shut your mouth, brat!" The middle-aged man growled, his killing intent surging violently. Even the aura of a Child of Destiny couldn't earn him any favor in this moment.
Lan An paid no mind to the man's fury. He calmly clasped his hands behind his back and continued leisurely:
"Your master possesses the ability to arrange tens of thousands of spatial rifts, setting traps that draw in countless cultivators from every corner of the universe. Such methods are simply unimaginable—his strength must reach at least the level of an Immortal King!"
"You know of Immortal Kings?" The middle-aged man's pupils contracted sharply. He hadn't expected a young boy at the mere Fusion Realm to possess such knowledge.
Lan An carefully watched the man's expression and inwardly confirmed his guess was correct.
Based on the terrifying power Old Yi had unleashed at full strength back then, even he couldn't have set up a scheme on this scale. Therefore, the master behind this middle-aged man had to be an Immortal King—or perhaps something even more horrifying…
A faint heaviness settled in Lan An's heart, but he pressed on with his deduction:
"A powerhouse of Immortal King caliber or higher—why would someone like your master go to such lengths to capture a bunch of low-level cultivators? They possess no valuable treasures worth plundering, and aside from their cultivation bases and flesh slowly seeping into the ground below, they hold no exploitable value."
Lan An had already carefully assessed the situation. Among the nearly ten thousand victims being slowly dissolved into nutrient fluid and left to die, the highest cultivation present was only at the True Immortal Realm—there wasn't even a single Golden Immortal among them. This proved that the master of this middle-aged man was deliberately targeting cultivators from low-grade planets, with the upper limit being True Immortal.
"Continue," the middle-aged man spat coldly, his voice like two grinding blades.
"A supreme expert like your master expends so much effort to capture only low-level cultivators, and he does so with extreme secrecy—scattering the rifts across countless distant locations so that disappearances don't cluster in one place and attract attention. One could say he is cautious to the absolute extreme!"
Lan An's eyes gleamed. With a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile, he stared at the middle-aged man and enunciated each word clearly:
"Your master has gone to such painstaking lengths to carry out this secret plan. Do you really believe that someone like you—who is involved in the entire process—will be allowed to live once everything is complete?"
"Nonsense! I am His most loyal subordinate. How could I possibly leak His secrets? You little brat are just trying to sow discord!" The middle-aged man's eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, veins bulging with rage. This damned boy had touched the deepest unease buried in his heart.
He knew full well: if even the slightest hint of this operation leaked out, there would be no place left in the entire Immortal Realm for his master to stand. But he refused to believe that his supreme master would kill him just to preserve the secret—his loyalty was absolute.
"Haha… Only the dead can keep secrets perfectly." Lan An laughed loudly, his gaze filled with pity as he looked at the middle-aged man. "Your master sets up such a grand scheme but only dares operate on low-grade planets. That alone proves whatever he's doing cannot be exposed in the Immortal Realm. And you—you are a denizen of the Immortal Realm. Your fate was sealed the moment you stepped into this plan. A man already marked for death still struts around so proudly?"
Lan An's laughter rang out. The master behind this man—though Lan An had yet to meet him—was clearly a ruthless figure who would sacrifice countless innocent lives without hesitation to achieve his goals. How could such a person possibly spare someone who knew every detail of his scheme?
"You dare insult my master with your filthy mouth? Then become nutrient fluid along with the rest!" The middle-aged man, driven to fury by humiliation, roared. Immortal power surged violently around him as a barrage of fists blasted toward Lan An.
Layer upon layer of fist shadows blanketed the sky like an inescapable net. The sheer might of the attack pulverized a corner of the victims below into ash and dust.
Opening Gate and Piercing Insight activated simultaneously. Lan An sneered and shouted:
"Mysterious Shadow Carefree Step – Third Layer: Carefree! Speed Gate—open!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lan An's figure moved with an indescribably light and leisurely grace. His motions appeared slow and unhurried, yet they carried an indomitable air of freedom and ease. His sleeves fluttered dramatically—even a mortal bystander would have been able to follow his movements clearly.
Yet despite seeming slow, his form bizarrely evaded every single fist shadow from the middle-aged man. Not even a single strand of Lan An's hair was touched. His movements were the epitome of carefree elegance.
The final layer of Mysterious Shadow Carefree Step—Carefree—used body technique to deceive a cultivator's senses. It appeared slow and relaxed on the surface, yet the true speed surpassed the limits of perception. Though this technique was only at the peak Spirit Grade, fortunately Lan An also had Speed Gate activated; otherwise, he could never have achieved such evasion against an opponent of this caliber.
Mysterious Shadow Carefree Step had three layers, each with its own distinct function rather than one simply being stronger than the previous:
First layer:
Phantom Shadow — rapid, ghostly movement.
Second layer: Instant Shift — short-range teleportation.
Third layer: Carefree — complete deception of vision and perception.
However, with the middle-aged man's strength, he wasn't fooled at all. He could clearly see Lan An stepping with terrifying frequency, slipping through every attack like an un-catchable eel.
"Haha… You keep mentioning 'nutrient fluid.' It seems your master is secretly nurturing something truly horrifying beneath the ground?" Lan An smiled wickedly. He paused his movements once more to reassess the situation, a guess forming in his mind.
Nearly ten thousand lives were slowly melting into liquid and seeping downward. Their cultivation and flesh were clearly being used to feed something. And since the master didn't dare create too much commotion, whatever was being nurtured down there must be so heaven-defying that even a powerhouse like him had to hide it with utmost care.
"Knowing too much means you must die!" The middle-aged man said coldly. He assumed Lan An's ability to dodge was solely due to superior movement technique. Besides, he had only thrown out casual punches earlier—without even using martial skills—so he still didn't take Lan An seriously.
"To avoid creating too much disturbance and arousing suspicion from Immortal Realm powerhouses—or violating the rules of the universe—your master only sent a mere Peak True Immortal like you to carry out the task in his place?" Lan An executed an Instant Shift to dodge another punch, then smirked as he asked.
"So what if I'm Peak True Immortal? Slaughtering ants like you lot is child's play!" The middle-aged man roared in fury. How could he tolerate a mere Fusion Realm junior showing such disdain toward a Peak True Immortal like himself?
Yet deep down he knew the boy wasn't wrong. His master was an extremely cautious and calculating individual. He would rather accept slightly lower-quality "nutrients" than risk capturing higher-realm cultivators. The spatial rifts had only been placed on planets of Manhuang Star grade or below.
Moreover, sending anyone stronger would risk detection by those "above." That was why he—a mere Peak True Immortal—had been chosen. Under normal circumstances, someone of his level wouldn't even register in his master's eyes.
"No more pointless chatter—this brat has something strange about him!" The middle-aged man finally sensed something off after Lan An evaded his attacks multiple times.
Frost Void Fist!
His arms condensed countless strands of Ice-element Immortal Power. The temperature plummeted to the absolute limit; even a portion of the space in front of him began to frost over with crystalline scales…
Sensing that his opponent was finally getting serious, Lan An felt genuine danger emanating from the condensing fist technique. This martial skill was at least True Grade…
"Brat, remember this well—the one who kills you is called You Mo!" The middle-aged man's killing intent boiled over. He even wanted to annihilate Lan An outright rather than slowly dissolve him into nutrients like the others.
Lan An didn't dare underestimate him. He knew it was time to go all out…
A Peak True Immortal—he had no overwhelming confidence in defeating one. And behind this enemy still loomed an even more terrifying supreme being. He could only adapt as the fight progressed…
Peerless Under Heaven!
With a stern shout, Lan An's hair instantly turned golden and fluttered without wind. An overwhelming, suppressive aura erupted outward, forcing thousands of victims below to cough up blood. Even You Mo's expression changed drastically; the Frost Void Fist he had just unleashed unconsciously weakened by several degrees…
Lan An didn't understand why his opponent's technique faltered so severely. Logically, even if Peerless Under Heaven was powerful, it shouldn't have provoked such an extreme reaction from someone named You Mo.
Still, he didn't dare take lightly the incoming attack of a Peak True Immortal. He activated Body Gate, Muscle Gate, and even Iron Skin Copper Bone. Thunder and flame exploded around his fist as he unleashed Wild Beast Fist at full power…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The two fists collided. The terrifying force was unimaginable. Ice-element Immortal Power clashed endlessly with thunder-flame; both sides tried to annihilate the other. In the end, the energies detonated completely. Shockwaves blasted outward in all directions…
Yet strangely, this secret space seemed to have been heavily reinforced. Even such a horrifying clash didn't tear open a single rift.
Clearly, You Mo's master had prepared in advance—to prevent any desperate resistance from the victims or prolonged battles with You Mo from leaking outward…
Puff! Puff! Puff!
As the saying goes: when bulls and tigers fight, the flies and mosquitoes die. Hundreds of weaker victims below were instantly shaken into bloody mist…
Lan An had no time to care about collateral damage. Right now, his arm was covered in layer upon layer of frost. Intense, bone-piercing pain radiated through him. Though Emperor Flame and Tribulation Lightning raged wildly to burn it away, it would still take some time.
This was the terror of Immortal Power—even ravaged by Emperor Flame and Tribulation Lightning, it could still persist for a brief moment…
You Mo, however, paid no attention to how a Fusion Realm junior could block his strike. His entire body was trembling violently. He stared fixedly at Lan An in his Peerless Under Heaven state, his face deathly pale as though he had witnessed something utterly horrifying…
"You… how do you possess that person's secret art?"
"Hm?" Lan An's eyes flickered. Could it be that You Mo recognized the Peerless Under Heaven state?
The universe was vast and endless—coincidences were not impossible…
"Hmph, you don't need to know!" Lan An put on a mysterious smile, deliberately acting enigmatic. He pushed Peerless Under Heaven to its limit as an intimidation tactic, then seized the moment to unleash Thunder Lotus Without Shadow…
You Mo didn't even glance at the incoming Thunder Lotus. For a Peak True Immortal like him to be ambushed by such a move would be too humiliating. With a mere thought, strands of Ice-element Immortal Power gathered in his palm, instantly forming an extremely sharp ice cauldron.
BOOM…
You Mo slammed the ice cauldron down over the Thunder Lotus before it could detonate. The resulting shockwave didn't even ruffle a single hair on his head.
Though the technique was insidious and difficult to detect, it couldn't bypass the senses of a True Immortal unless the opponent was careless.
"What is your relationship with the Heavenly Emperor?" You Mo no longer attacked. Instead, his voice was filled with wariness—and unmistakable panic.
Though his master was powerful, even he would feel his scalp tingle if he dared provoke an existence like that Heavenly Emperor.
"Heavenly Emperor?" Lan An caught a crucial clue in his heart… Peerless Under Heaven was merely the first transformation of the Heavenly Emperor's Three Transformations Technique. So what exactly did "Heavenly Emperor" mean in You Mo's mouth?
It seemed You Mo's knowledge was quite extensive. Even Old Yi and that young man in brocade robes hadn't recognized the Heavenly Emperor Transformation when he used it…
"Could it be that the legendary Lord of the Heavenly Court has secretly taken another disciple?"
You Mo's eyes flickered with uncertainty. He hesitated inwardly—should he report this situation to his master or not?
Because any sign—even the slightest—connected to "that person" could send shockwaves through the entire Immortal Realm.
Before he could make up his mind, a resounding dragon roar suddenly echoed through the space.
True Dragon Battle Form enveloped Lan An once more…
Layer upon layer of emerald dragon scales shimmered brilliantly. The phantom of a True Dragon bared its fangs and claws, dominating the space. Its dragon eyes—brimming with spirituality—swept across the heavens, overlooking all living beings…
"Dra… True Dragon?!"
In that instant, You Mo's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets…