Chapter 55 Ranking of Geniuses of All Races

He had struggled on the borders of the Demon Domain for so many years and had seen as many experts as there were carp crossing a river. But this feeling... he had only experienced it once before, not long ago.

A few days ago,

A surge of pressure had crossed an unknown number of domains, dragging the River of Time out from the void.

That pressure had forced every living being in the Demon Domain to kneel, and it had even startled His Majesty the Demon God Emperor in the depths of the Demon God Hall.

And the trace of Origin fluctuations radiating from this white-clothed Fairy, who was being ordered around like a maid, shared the same source as that Empress's aura...

Though it was faint,

And though ninety-nine percent of it was masked by some technique, Chong Batian had just survived that great terror of life and death; this aura was like a nightmare, and it was impossible for him to be mistaken.

Who was she?

Beads of sweat dripped from Chong Batian.

He was completely panicked.

He had thought that the arrival of a Deputy Hall Master from the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall was already like hosting a living Buddha.

Who could have imagined that the "maid" beside this Deputy Hall Master would be connected to that Eternal Empress?

Was this really an incognito visit?

A Deputy Hall Master at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor level, and a forbidden Fairy suspected to be a direct disciple of the Empress...

If these two great deities were to suffer so much as a scratch, let alone Chong Batian himself, even the three thousand cities of the Demon Domain border would be razed to the ground by the armies of the Immortal Realm.

Chong Batian's teeth began to chatter. He had only one thought now: get them out! He had to send these two ancestors away! The further from his Mozun Hall, the better!

Even sending them to his arch-rival next door would be fine!

Inside the hall,

Because the Demon Venerable had suddenly fallen silent, a deathly stillness descended.

The Old Dragon King stared at the plate of Demonic Beast eyeballs, feeling nauseous, while Lin Qingyue repeated her massaging motions with her gaze lowered.

On the periphery of the hall,

The Demon Race guards holding pitch-black wine jugs also sensed the oppressive atmosphere within the main hall.

Amidst the dim demonic fires, the eyes of several guards standing at the edge of the banquet began to meet.

They made no sound, their eyes merely shifting within their sockets.

One of them tapped the bottom of his tray three times, and another guard shifted his step back half an inch, half his body disappearing into the shadow of a pillar.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Gu Heng, who had been resting with his eyes closed, curled the corner of his mouth slightly.

He opened his eyes and swept his gaze toward the left corner of the hall.

There,

Four wine-bearing guards had originally been standing; now, only three remained.

One guard had vanished in broad daylight.

Gu Heng leaned forward, his tone lazy.

“I say, Demon Venerable Chong.”

Chong Batian jerked violently, nearly jumping out of his seat, his voice trembling: “My... My Lord, what... what are your orders?”

Gu Heng pointed at the empty shadow on the left and chuckled: “This hospitality seems inappropriate, doesn't it? While the host and guests are still drinking, how did a wine-serving attendant learn Earth Escape?”

Chong Batian was stunned.

He followed Gu Heng's finger, and his chaotic brain finally began to function.

One person was missing.

He looked at the remaining guards again, his brow furrowing into a tight knot.

These people... their faces were unfamiliar.

Although Chong Batian was usually careless, the personal guards and attendants within the Mozun Hall were all trusted aides who had fought alongside him for years; he was intimately familiar with each of their auras.

The group before him had unstable Devilish Qi and shifty gazes; they were not people from his hall.

“Men!”

Chong Batian was furious. He slammed his hand on the long table, and the desk made of thousand-year Demon Blood Wood turned into powder.

With a boom, a personal guard commander clad in heavy armor rushed in from outside the hall and knelt on one knee.

“My Lord!”

Chong Batian pointed at the unfamiliar guards, his eyes red as he roared: “Who arranged for these dogs?! Who gave them the audacity to play tricks at this Venerable's banquet!”

The guard commander was breathless under the demonic pressure. Covered in sweat, he stammered: “My... My Lord, please calm your anger! This... this batch of attendants, they're... they're not our people...”

“Not our people?!”

Chong Batian laughed out of sheer rage. He strode down the jade steps, grabbed the guard commander by the collar, and lifted him up. “Has my Mozun Hall become a wet market where any random nobody can enter? Speak! Who arranged this!”

The guard commander turned pale with fright, his throat bobbing as his voice shook: “It's... it's Demon Emperor City! It was the people of that Young Lord who personally arranged this!”

Hearing the words 'Young Lord of Demon Emperor City,' the strength in Chong Batian's hand faltered.

He threw the guard commander to the ground, his expression shifting as he gritted his teeth: “Li Tianqiong? That brat who's still wet behind the ears—what right does he have to stretch his hand into my hall?”

The guard commander didn't even stop to wipe the blood from his mouth. He prostrated himself and reported quickly: “My Lord, you were in secluded cultivation these past few days and didn't know. A decree came from Demon Emperor City stating that the once-in-ten-thousand-years ‘Ten Thousand Races Talent List’ is about to be revealed.

“That Young Lord declared that before the list is revealed, he will go to the ‘Place of Origin’ of the Immortal, Demon, and Yao Three Realms for a trial of life and death. Those prodigies of various races who have the potential to make the talent list are also being required to go...”

Chong Batian's eyebrows almost met in the middle.

“A trial at the Place of Origin?”

He snorted. “That is the most chaotic and dangerous ancient battlefield in the Three Realms. If Li Tianqiong wants to seek death, it's none of my business.

“But what does that have to do with planting spies by my side?”

“Furthermore, why should my people go and serve as cannon fodder for him?”

The guard commander was so terrified he slammed his head against the floor. “My Lord, please calm your anger! The Young Lord's people also said... also said...”

“Spit it out already!”

“They also said that the other eight border Demon Venerables have already agreed, each sending their most elite confidants to accompany the Young Lord to the Place of Origin. If... if only you, My Lord, delay in sending someone... I fear, I fear the Young Lord will think you...”

The guard commander didn't dare say the last few words.

—...will think you are disloyal.

“Presumptuous!”

Chong Batian was shaking with rage.

He naturally understood the tricks at play here.

What “protecting the Young Lord,” what “going to the Place of Origin to gain experience”—it was all nonsense.

Li Tianqiong, that little fox, simply wanted to plant spies around these border Demon Venerables who held heavy military power to monitor them.

What was even more ruthless was using the trial at the Place of Origin as an excuse to forcibly transfer their elite confidants.

What kind of place was the Place of Origin? A meat grinder. If they went there, how many of those confidants would return alive? This was clearly intended to clip his wings and turn him into a commander without an army.

Anger burned in his chest, but Chong Batian felt a wave of helplessness.

He didn't dare refuse.

Li Tianqiong, the Young Lord of Demon Emperor City, had too powerful a background.

His father was one of the eighteen Devil Emperors of the Demon Domain, titled “Li Tiantu,” who commanded a million elite demon soldiers. His power overshadowed the court, and a single fit of rage could leave a million corpses in its wake.

Chong Batian was merely an ordinary Demon Venerable guarding the border. Before such a behemoth, he was like an ant that could be crushed at any moment. How could he challenge them? Not handing over people would be seen as rebellion; handing them over would be a slow death.

Just as Chong Batian stood in the center of the hall, caught in a dilemma and sweating profusely—even his fear of Gu Heng and Lin Qingyue momentarily suppressed by this immediate crisis—

A lazy voice drifted down from behind him.

“It's just a trip to the Place of Origin. Is it really such a big deal that you need to get this angry?”

Chong Batian's whole body stiffened, and he whipped his head around.

He saw that Gu Heng had changed his posture at some point.

He was leaning halfway back in his chair, one hand propping up his chin, with a trace of a half-smile on his face.

He looked like a spectator below a stage, watching a melodramatic play that had nothing to do with him with great interest.

“My... My Lord?”

Chong Batian was stunned, and then a surge of wild joy welled up in his heart.

Right! How could he have forgotten!

The person before him was the Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall! A powerhouse who even dared to order a direct disciple of the Empress around as a maid!

If this Lord were willing to take action, or even if he just allowed his name to be used, then Li Tianqiong, Li Tiantu—they would all have to step aside.

Chong Batian's voice trembled with excitement, his eyes shining: “Could it be... could it be that you, My Lord, are going to...”

“That's right.”

Gu Heng looked at his expectant gaze and nodded.

Chong Batian was already prepared to kneel and give thanks.

Gu Heng calmly spat out three words:

“I'm not going.”

“...”

“Pfft—”

Beside him, the Old Dragon King, who had finally summoned the courage to take a sip of tea, sprayed it all out, drenching the face and head of the unfamiliar guard opposite him.

Gu Heng's perfectly justified “I'm not going” choked the flattery that was about to pour out of Chong Batian's mouth back down his throat.

Chong Batian stood rooted to the spot, his excited expression frozen.

He thought he had caught a life-saving straw, but it turned out the other party just found the sound of him slamming the table too loud.

The atmosphere fell into a bizarrely comical state.

Lin Qingyue, who had been silently standing behind Gu Heng massaging his shoulders, stopped her movements.

Her cold eyes lifted slightly as she looked at Chong Batian below the steps. “The Place of Origin?”

“The ancient texts record that the Place of Origin is the oldest birthplace of the Human, Yao, and Demon Races. The Laws there have long since collapsed, and the Spiritual Qi and Devilish Qi are in total Chaos; even complete Dao Laws no longer exist. What is there to gain from a trial in such a wasteland?”

Lin Qingyue's sudden question snapped Chong Batian out of his daze.

He wiped the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead again.

Facing this “maid” who was suspected of having ties to the Empress of the Divine Dynasty, he didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly bowed and spoke respectfully:

“The Fairy might not be aware... Although the Place of Origin is seen as a wasteland by the mainstream of the Three Realms, it hides the oldest secrets in heaven and earth.”

Chong Batian weighed his words carefully. “The once-in-ten-thousand-years ‘Ten Thousand Races Talent List’ is less a competition between the younger generations and more a plunder of resources and Luck. The final rankings on this list have historically always been decided at the Place of Origin.”

“More importantly...”

Chong Batian lowered his voice, his expression becoming mysterious. “According to the deductions of our Demon Domain's high-level Old Ancestors who have lived through countless eons, the Laws of the Place of Origin are chaotic because it connects to thousands of small worlds in the Lower Realm.

“Every time the ancient Formations of the Place of Origin reach their Peak operation, spatial rifts are generated.

“The world Origins nurtured in those Lower Realm worlds, undiscovered ancient ruins, and even Heaven-Defying Luck that can change the landscape of a domain will all be fed back into the Place of Origin through these rifts.”

Chong Batian swallowed hard and continued: “Those young madmen don't go there to comprehend Laws at all; they go to snatch the Origin Luck overflowing from the Lower Realm to vie for a position on the Ten Thousand Races Talent List.

“One must know that anyone capable of leaving their name on that list will, at the very least, become an Immortal Emperor or a Demon Sovereign in the future.”

At this point,

Chong Batian thought of something. He looked up and gave Gu Heng a strange look.

Once a Cultivator reached their level, their appearance could be changed at will; turning into a child or an old man was just a matter of thought.

But there was one thing that absolutely could not be faked: the bone age of the life Origin.

The aura of one's Origin would become thicker and more weathered with the passage of time and the accumulation of years.

In his state of extreme tension, Chong Batian had instinctively used his Demon Venerable-level perception to probe the surrounding auras.

Although he couldn't see through the depth of Gu Heng's cultivation, when his perception brushed over Gu Heng's dissipated Origin aura like a cautious tentacle...

He felt a terrifying freshness.

That Origin aura was crystal clear, without a single speck of the dust of ages.

Judging with his eyes as a Demon Venerable, the white-clothed youth before him, whom he regarded as the Deputy Hall Master of the Immortal Realm Law Enforcement Hall...

Was no more than one hundred years old.

A Quasi-Immortal Emperor of less than a hundred years?

What kind of concept was that? In the Demon Domain, a hundred-year-old demon was at most an unweaned cub.

Even for the most outstanding prodigies in the history of the Three Realms, being able to Cultivate to the Heavenly Immortal Realm in a hundred years was already a myth.

Yet the person before him was less than a hundred years old, had actually attained the position of Deputy Hall Master, and could silently obliterate a Heavenly Immortal commander?

Chong Batian's gaze shifted stiffly and landed on Lin Qingyue.

He sensed her again.

Boom—

Another thunderclap went off in his mind.

This white-clothed Fairy, suspected to be the Empress's direct disciple, also had a bone age of less than a hundred years. Furthermore, the fluctuations of her having recently broken through to the True Immortal Realm were so pure it was hair-raising.

Two monsters of less than a hundred years.

No wonder the Immortal Realm dared to let them out for an incognito visit. No wonder this white-clothed youth was so dismissive of the “Ten Thousand Races Talent List.”

Compared to these two monsters, Li Tianqiong, the Young Lord of Demon Emperor City who was hailed as a once-in-ten-thousand-year Genius, was just a child playing in a mud pit.

At this moment, Chong Batian's dread of Gu Heng had shifted from wariness of his background to a fear of the unknown.

He wanted to send these two living ancestors away even more than before.

“Oh? So it's about snatching the Origin and Luck of the Lower Realm.”

After listening to Chong Batian's explanation, Gu Heng waved his hand, interrupting the storm in Chong Batian's heart.

“Then let them fight over it slowly. Children playing house, fighting back and forth—it's quite boring.”

Gu Heng stood up from his seat, brushed off his clothes, and gave Chong Batian a gentle smile:

“Thank you for your hospitality, Demon Venerable Chong. These Demonic Beast eyeballs and the soup of resentful souls have a unique presentation; they were indeed eye-opening.”

Chong Batian's heart skipped a beat, thinking Gu Heng was reprimanding him for poor hospitality.

Immediately after,

Gu Heng's gaze crossed the hall and looked outside.

The Demon Domain sky, which had been dark red from the night, had at some point become rolled with layer upon layer of black clouds.

The black clouds were like ink, and deep within the cloud layers, dark purple lightning slithered like giant pythons.

Gu Heng looked at the churning black clouds and coughed.

“It's just... looking at the weather, it seems a bit unfavorable.”

He retracted his gaze and looked at Chong Batian. “It seems this place is no longer suitable for a long stay.”

To Chong Batian, these words were like hearing heavenly music.

He had no intention of asking them to stay; he didn't even dare to say a single “Please stay for a few more days, My Lord.”

Chong Batian stood up abruptly.

He pointed toward the Teleportation Formation outside the hall and asked loudly with impatience:

“What you say is absolutely correct, My Lord! This place is crude, and with the sudden change in weather, I fear it will disturb your quiet cultivation!

“Should I... should this small demon personally activate the Cross-Domain Teleportation Formation right now to see you all off?”