55: Chapter 55: If a kneeling apology is enough, what's the point of having the cultivation level of an Emperor?

"I don't eat beef."

These four words fell lightly, yet they made Fairy Yumeng feel more suffocated than the giant hand that had just crushed the sun.

The wind outside the canyon died down.

The fawning smiles on the faces of Tian Yuanzi and Di Xuanzi instantly froze, replaced by sheer terror.

The two exchanged a glance, their years of tacit understanding allowing them to make a decision immediately.

Flee.

This Emperor Yun was not the type of Righteous Path expert who loved to feign nobility or put on airs of justice.

He was a madman who acted solely on his whims.

"Go!"

Tian Yuanzi let out a low shout, reaching out to grab the still-dazed Fairy Yumeng. He circulated his spiritual power into his legs, preparing to perform a Blood Escape.

Lu Chen stood at the bow of the ship with no intention of stopping them. He merely studied the female Cultivator known by the Daoist name Yumengzi with great interest.

He hadn't looked closely from a distance, but now that they were near, he found this woman quite interesting.

On the outside, she appeared to be in her early twenties with firm, fair skin, but her bone age was actually close to six hundred years.

The blood and Qi within her body were decaying, and her life force was so weak it could be extinguished at any moment.

More interestingly, the spiritual power within her was a chaotic mess.

Lu Chen sensed it slightly and discovered the Yang Qi of at least eight different men within her Dantian.

"She hasn't even mastered the art of Harvesting Yang to Supplement Yin," Lu Chen commented inwardly.

"Her body is so depleted and she's suffered heavy injuries; her Foundation is completely rotten."

His gaze moved upward, resting on the black lace veil covering Fairy Yumeng's eyes.

The material was no ordinary item, as it could block Divine Sense probes, but the style...

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

Blindfolding her eyes?

What kind of strange fetish was this?

To be fair, although her talent was a complete mess and her brain wasn't very functional, those legs were indeed well-maintained.

They were exceptionally long, appearing faintly beneath her colorful dress, with firm muscle lines.

While Lu Chen was still busy appreciating the shape of her legs, Fairy Yumeng reacted violently, snapping her hand away from Tian Yuanzi.

She didn't want to leave, and she couldn't leave.

She had less than thirteen years of Lifespan remaining.

This Azure Emperors Secret Realm was her last chance. If she couldn't enter and obtain Spirit Medicine to extend her life, she would turn into a handful of yellow soil.

In her desperation, she lost her mind.

Fairy Yumeng jerked her head up, the gaze piercing through the lace veil filled with resentment as she glared at the high-and-mighty Lu Chen.

"Why!"

She shrieked, her voice becoming sharp and piercing due to her agitation.

"What kind of Great Emperor are you! You have no sense of responsibility at all!"

Tian Yuanzi and Di Xuanzi turned pale with fright, wishing they could step forward and sew her mouth shut.

"Shut up! You've gone mad!" Di Xuanzi reached out to cover her mouth.

However, Fairy Yumeng erupted with a strange strength, shoving Di Xuanzi aside and pointing at Lu Chen while cursing loudly:

"Everyone says the Yunxiao Holy Land is the most harmonious and just, but seeing it today, it is nothing more than this!"

"As a Great Emperor, you do not seek blessings for the common people, but instead aid the wicked! Does it please you to watch us Loose Cultivators die?"

"You are nothing but a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong!"

The entire area fell into a deathly silence.

Even the distant Old Ghost Wanxue, Daoist Minggu, the two Saints of the Zixiao Holy Land—Perfected Purple Thunder and Lei Xuzi—as well as the Saint of the Zifu Holy Land, Heavenly Crone Ziyou, couldn't help but give a mental thumbs-up.

They looked at this madwoman as if she were already dead; this woman was truly brave!

Cursing a Great Emperor? And doing it to his face?

This wasn't just seeking death; this was trying to drag nine generations of her family into the afterlife with her.

On the wanbao treasure ship.

The imperial sword jiuyou in Leng Qingqiu's arms let out a crisp sword hum, the blade unsheathing three inches as a bone-chilling killing intent instantly locked onto Fairy Yumeng below.

Yun Qianyue narrowed her peach-blossom eyes, her nine tails swaying gently behind her as a flick of her finger produced a spark of eerie pink demonic flame.

Lu Chen raised his hand, halting his disciples' actions.

The expression on his face didn't change in the slightest.

He just watched Fairy Yumeng quietly with a calm gaze; in her, he seemed to see the 'little fairies' from his past life.

Tian Yuanzi and Di Xuanzi broke down.

The two could no longer care about their friendship. They lunged forward from the left and right, pinning Fairy Yumeng's shoulders down with all their might. Their spiritual power erupted, forcing her to kneel on the gravel ground.

"Bang!"

The sound of knees hitting the ground was clearly audible.

"Heavenly Emperor, have mercy! Heavenly Emperor, have mercy!"

Tian Yuanzi kowtowed frantically, his forehead striking the sharp rocks. He didn't even notice the blood flowing down.

"This madwoman's Lifespan is nearly at its end, and her mind has rotted! Her nonsense has nothing to do with us!"

Di Xuanzi was even more tearful. While holding Fairy Yumeng's mouth shut, he wailed toward Lu Chen, "We were wrong! We truly know we were wrong!"

"We beg the Heavenly Emperor to be magnanimous and overlook the faults of such lowly people! Just treat us like a fart and let us go!"

"We beg the Heavenly Emperor to give us a way to live! We are willing to serve as your oxen and horses to repay you!"

At this moment, where was there any hint of the 'Three Immortals of Yunmeng' in them? They were utterly pathetic.

Lu Chen watched the farce below, his eyelids drooping slightly.

"Did I tell you to move?"

An indifferent voice rang out.

The two who were kowtowing froze, their bodies maintaining their bowing posture, not daring to move even a fraction.

"Did I agree to your apology?"

Lu Chen's voice remained steady, showing no sign of joy or anger.

Tian Yuanzi trembled all over, his teeth chattering with a clicking sound.

"As a Senior, I should indeed give you something."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope sparked in the eyes of Tian Yuanzi and Di Xuanzi.

Could there be a turn of events?

Perhaps a figure at the level of a Great Emperor truly disdained killing ants like them, as long as they gave him a way to save face...

"Thank you, Emperor Yun! Thank you, Emperor Yun!"

The two pulled the still-struggling Fairy Yumeng and kowtowed frantically. "Thank you, Heavenly Emperor, for your generous guidance!"

Lu Chen slowly raised his right hand.

His slender index finger extended. There was no world-shaking light at the fingertip, only a wisp of ancient, gray Qi swirling around it.

"Listen closely, I will gift you a five-word mantra."

Lu Chen's lips parted slightly.

"Great... Desolate... Imprisoning... Sky... Finger."

The moment the words fell.

The world changed color.

The originally clear sky was instantly covered by an ancient aura.

Clouds churned and space distorted.

A gray giant finger, over a thousand feet long, emerged from the Void Realm without warning.

This finger was far too realistic.

Every single fingerprint was clearly visible, and within the grooves of the prints, a heart-palpitating Law of destruction flowed.

There were no extra movements.

Nor was anyone given time to react.

The giant finger, carrying a domineering force that could crush everything, slammed down.

"Boom—!"

A dull, massive explosion rang out.

The earth shook violently. No dust rose, because the moment any matter touched that finger, it was crushed directly into tiny particles by the terrifying pressure.

There were no screams.

There was no blood splatter.

Fairy Yumeng, Tian Yuanzi, Di Xuanzi.

These three Xiantai Realm experts, who were famous among Loose Cultivators, were directly erased under that giant finger along with their Magic Treasures, Physical Bodies, and even their Souls.

They vanished without a trace.

Utterly annihilated in body and Soul.

The giant finger slowly dissipated, leaving only a bottomless finger-shaped crater on the ground. Its edges were exceptionally smooth, radiating an aura of extinction.

The wind blew.

Among the tens of thousands of Cultivators outside the canyon, not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Everyone remained in their original positions, frozen in place.

Old Ghost Wanxue shrank back into his blood cloud. Looking at that finger print, he only felt a chill running down the back of his neck.

If that finger had pressed down on him...

He shuddered, not daring to think further.

Lu Chen withdrew his right hand and lightly flicked away non-existent dust.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the trembling Loose Cultivators below, finally stopping on several people who had been the loudest in joining the commotion earlier.

Those few people instantly collapsed to the ground, their crotches becoming wet.

"Everyone."

Lu Chen's voice broke the deathly silence.

The corners of his mouth curled up, revealing a warm smile.

"Tell me, if an apology were useful, why would I need this Great Emperor cultivation of mine?"

No one dared to answer.

No one even dared to breathe loudly.

Lu Chen didn't care. He put his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky.

"To not bully the weak, to not use my high cultivation to suppress others..."

"Then wouldn't my cultivation as a Great Emperor be for nothing?"