Chapter 60: Just a Mystic Immortal?

The Divine Envoy's roar echoed in Jiang Wuji's ears.

He froze in mid-air, and the surrounding Immortal Emperor Sword Intent also paused for a moment.

"Then who am I..."

These words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting the fog within Jiang Wuji's Sea of Consciousness.

What the Lord Divine Envoy meant was—this Lord Divine Envoy, who sat in the Divine Court's headquarters and issued orders with the imperial teachers token, was himself the Deputy Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall who hadn't yet taken office?

Jiang Wuji's pupils constricted as countless scattered clues connected in his mind.

He had long heard that undercurrents were surging within the Divine Court's upper echelons. To balance the various factions, the Imperial Teacher had arranged for a mysterious figure to be parachuted into the Law Enforcement Hall as the Deputy Hall Master.

There was a major matter to attend to, so this Deputy Hall Master had never made an official appearance.

And when the Lord Divine Envoy held the imperial teachers token to summon the high-level members of the various Sects of the Human Race in the Immortal Realm, he had always referred to himself as the "Divine Envoy."

This led to everyone, including Jiang Wuji, being unaware that the Divine Envoy was that very Deputy Hall Master.

As a result, this Human Race kid had exploited the loophole.

"How close! Fortunately, I returned in time."

Jiang Wuji felt a chill down his spine as he looked at the youth in white below.

This boy's mind is far too deep.

With the heaven-reaching tower in hand, he could even accurately calculate the intelligence and identity gaps within the Divine Court. He had brazenly spun a massive lie in front of an Immortal Emperor and a Demon Venerable, playing everyone for fools.

If I hadn't been more careful, I would have been scared off just now. Once he escapes into the heart of the Demon Realm, it will be difficult to catch him again.

Thinking of this, Jiang Wuji's lingering fear turned into humiliation and rage.

"What an insidious brat!"

Jiang Wuji roared, "You dare to use such flowery words and deceitful methods to trick me! Unpardonable!"

He pointed his natal immortal sword at Gu Heng. "Kid, I admit you're calculating. But in the face of absolute power, schemes and tricks are useless!

Surrender now, hand over the treasures, and return to the Divine Court with me to atone for your crimes. Perhaps there's still some room for maneuver."

On the square,

the atmosphere dropped to the freezing point.

Chong Batian didn't understand the twists and turns regarding the "Divine Envoy" or "Deputy Hall Master," but he caught one piece of news.

This Lord Deputy Hall Master was a fake?

Had he been exposed?

Chong Batian's heart twitched; he was a bit dazed.

Gu Heng spread his hands, a look of surprise on his face.

"Huh? I'm insidious?"

"Old man, you have to be reasonable. Did I ever say I was the Deputy Hall Master from start to finish? Didn't you all just force that title on me?"

Gu Heng rolled his eyes inwardly.

Besides, was this guy stupid? He had already refined the Divine Court's heaven-reaching tower and played the Supreme Patriarch of the Taixu Sword Sect like a monkey for a long time, offending him to the death.

Room for maneuver?

If he really surrendered, it would be a miracle if he didn't end up without a place to be buried. Did this old man take him for a three-year-old child?

Gu Heng couldn't be bothered with Jiang Wuji anymore and turned to look at the cold-sweat-drenched Chong Batian.

"What are you still standing there for?" Gu Heng tilted his chin and commanded, "Continue setting up the Formation."

Chong Batian shuddered, looking at Gu Heng with a face full of astonishment.

"L... Lord..."

Chong Batian swallowed hard and pointed at the murderous Immortal Emperor in the sky, trembling. "But that old scoundrel is still watching from above... Why don't you just crush him with a finger and end the trouble once and for all?"

Gu Heng's gaze turned sharp.

"I said, set up the Formation."

Chong Batian was stunned.

Looking into Gu Heng's bottomless eyes, he began his self-rationalization again.

Forget it. This Lord's actions are unfathomable; how could I guess what he wants to do? Perhaps he doesn't want to get his hands dirty, or maybe this Cross-Domain Array itself is part of a killing trap?

Why think so much? Obeying orders is the only way to stay alive.

"Yes! Your subordinate obeys!"

Chong Batian grit his teeth and simply treated the Immortal Emperor in the sky as thin air. He crouched down, grabbed the broken Formation Plate on the ground, and injected a mouthful of essence blood into it.

"Buzz—"

As demonic essence was frantically poured in, the blue light of the Cross-Domain Array lit up on the square again, and spatial runes began to circulate.

In the void,

Jiang Wuji saw this, and his eyes nearly popped out.

"What audacity!"

Jiang Wuji was completely enraged.

This was completely disregarding him! Treading his dignity as an Immortal Emperor into the dirt!

To dare ignore him directly under his blade, the Supreme Patriarch of the Taixu Sword Sect, and continue setting up a Formation to escape?

"Do you really think my sword isn't sharp?"

Jiang Wuji's hair and beard flared out, and his Daoist robe flapped loudly in the Sword Qi.

He held his natal immortal sword upright before him and ran his fingertip along the blade.

"Clang—"

The sword's cry pierced the clouds.

The Immortal Emperor Sword Intent soared into the sky. The dark red vault of heaven was torn apart, dyed a deep azure.

The moment Jiang Wuji prepared to strike, his gaze swept over the white figure behind Gu Heng.

Lin Qingyue stood there quietly, her cool gaze fixed on the sky.

Jiang Wuji's movements suddenly stalled, then returned to normal.

"Kid, I gave you a chance and you didn't cherish it. Then go to Hell and repent. Goodbye!"

Jiang Wuji poured his Immortal Emperor foundation into his natal immortal sword.

"Rumble—"

The blue Sword Intent completely erupted.

Tens of millions of miles away, at the border of the Immortal and Demon Realms, above the Taixu Sword Sect's station.

The sky was covered by a blue Sword Intent that spanned across realms.

Inside the Taixu Sword Sect station, countless Disciples looked up, their faces filled with horror.

Their Supreme Patriarch's Immortal Emperor pressure transmitted through the void. Disciples who hadn't reached the True Immortal Realm knelt on the ground under this pressure.

"Thump! Thump!"

Rows of Disciples knelt on the martial arts field, some forced to spit blood from the pressure.

"Old Ancestor! Stop!"

"We're on the same side!"

Shouts rose one after another.

Seeing this, several remaining Elders quickly raised defensive Formations to block out the Sword Intent pressure.

A white-bearded Grand Elder stood on a high platform, watching the heart-pounding blue phenomenon in the sky, a fanatical light shining in his eyes.

"Don't panic! No one panic!"

The Grand Elder shouted to the Disciples below, "What do you know? This is the Old Ancestor performing the highest Profound Truth of the Taixu Wuji Sword Dao! This means the Old Ancestor has encountered a powerful enemy outside who is worth his full effort!"

He stroked his beard. "The Old Ancestor is getting serious. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! All Disciples, sit cross-legged immediately and use your hearts to perceive the Sword Intent in the sky! Even grasping a mere fraction of it will benefit you for a lifetime!"

The Elders of the Taixu Sword Sect began organizing the Disciples for "observation and learning."

Tens of millions of miles away at the Demon Realm's Blood-Vein Mine.

Facing the Sword Intent that seemed ready to split the entire realm in two, Gu Heng slowly raised his head.

Looking at the god-like Jiang Wuji in the sky, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

"Yes, that's right." Gu Heng straightened his sleeves, which had been ruffled by the sword wind. "It's also time to say goodbye."

As soon as Gu Heng's voice fell, the atmosphere between heaven and earth was frozen by some kind of power.

Under the gaze of Chong Batian's dark red eyes, which were wide as copper bells, Gu Heng moved.

As if taking a casual stroll, he simply lifted his foot and walked step by step toward the Immortal Emperor Sword Intent in mid-air.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Gu Heng stepped into the void, his cultivation base revealing itself to the world.

"Boom—"

A faint ripple of Immortal Essence spread out as the aura of a Late Stage Profound Immortal cultivation base erupted.

In the face of the Immortal Emperor Sword Intent, this aura was like a small boat in the ocean, tiny and seemingly ready to be crushed at any moment.

"Clack."

The glowing Formation Plate slipped from Chong Batian's trembling fingertips and hit the stone floor.

He froze entirely, kneeling on the spot, his neck stiff as he stared intently at the back of the white-clad figure.

"Pro... Profound Immortal?"

"Just a Profound Immortal?"

He rubbed his eyes and then activated his Late Stage Demon Venerable Divine Sense to probe, confirming it repeatedly.

Profound Immortal.

Exactly Late Stage Profound Immortal.

Chong Batian's head buzzed.

The "thigh" he had just latched onto, the living ancestor he thought was a Quasi-Immortal Emperor traveling incognito, the big shot he had offended an Immortal Emperor and the Divine Court to curry favor with... After all that, he was really just a Profound Immortal?

How could a Profound Immortal dare to act like a big shot in front of a Demon Venerable? How could a Profound Immortal dare to play an Immortal Emperor like a monkey?

"I fucking..."

Chong Batian felt a mouthful of old blood stuck in his throat, unable to swallow it down.

He felt like the biggest clown in the Three Realms, fooled by a Profound Immortal's "Empty City Stratagem" until he didn't know left from right, and even voluntarily becoming his lackey.

The next second,

he seemed to see something, and his pupils constricted again.

With his hands behind his back and his Profound Immortal cultivation, Gu Heng walked through the void against the Immortal Emperor's world-destroying strike, without even a corner of his clothes being harmed by the Sword Qi.

Chong Batian's heart beat like a drum.

"No!"

He screamed inwardly, "This isn't right! Even if a normal Profound Immortal trained their Physical Body to the limit, it would be impossible to ignore an Immortal Emperor's pressure... Does he have a trump card?"

In the corner, the Old Dragon King covered his eyes with his claws, peeking through the gaps and muttering, "We're dead, we're dead. Master has gone too far this time. A Profound Immortal going head-to-head with an Immortal Emperor—even storybooks wouldn't dare write it like this..."

In the void,

Jiang Wuji also sensed Gu Heng's cultivation.

"A Profound Immortal?"

Jiang Wuji was stunned, then laughed out of sheer rage. "Hahaha! Quite the Profound Immortal! A mere ant used a Magic Treasure that can shield perception to play me like this! Today, if I don't grind your bones to ash and scatter them, I swear I'm not human!"

He no longer held back, pointing a finger from afar toward below.

"Taixu Wuji, Slay!"

The blue river of swords poured down like the Milky Way, tearing through space and crashing down.

Facing this strike, Gu Heng did not dodge.

He simply raised his right hand slowly.

Above his palm, space rippled with circles of golden light.

A small glazed pagoda was born from the void, appearing in his palm and rotating slowly.

Under Chong Batian's demonic sense, the internal structure of that palm-sized tower was complex to an infuriating degree.

With approximately ten thousand layers, each level was engraved with ancient patterns. It caused heaven and earth to resonate as they constantly shifted and rotated in a rhythmic pattern.

Golden runes surged and flickered around the tower's body.

"What Magic Treasure is this?"

Jiang Wuji's heart skipped a beat.

The small tower hadn't even unleashed its power yet, but a mere sliver of its aura made his Immortal Emperor Soul want to prostrate in worship.

Gu Heng ignored Jiang Wuji's shock.

He looked at the small tower in his hand, a faint, indifferent smile on his lips. Then, as if tossing a toy, he lightly threw the tower toward the sky above.

"Go."

A single word escaped Gu Heng's lips.

The moment the small tower left his hand—

"Boom—!!!"

The Three Realms trembled.

Time seemed to stop.

The palm-sized glazed pagoda expanded rapidly in mid-air.

Ten feet, a hundred feet, ten thousand feet, ten million feet...

In a single breath, the tower's peak surged by hundreds of millions of feet.

The indescribably massive tower directly pierced through the Demon Realm's dark red sky and punctured the void beyond the realm.

The golden runes that had been surging on the small tower also expanded wildly, turning into thick, mountain-like chains of Law that pierced through heaven and earth, grinding the sky-filling blue Sword Intent to dust.

The Immortal Emperor Sword Qi, which had been so arrogant just a moment ago, was as fragile as an egg hitting a rock before this giant tower, instantly annihilated.

"No... this isn't right! This is..."

Jiang Wuji cried out in terror.

His natal immortal sword wailed under this pressure.

This high-and-mighty Immortal Emperor was sent flying by the heaven-reaching tower's airwaves, coughing up blood as he plummeted like a shooting star.

An unimaginable pressure.

With Gu Heng as the center, it spread in all directions like a tsunami.

The halo of Law spread across the sky, illuminating the entire border of the Demon Realm like daylight.

The earth trembled, and the ground of the Blood-Vein Mine instantly cracked into countless abysses.

Distant mountains collapsed one by one.

The moment Emperor Li, who had just approached this area, felt this pressure, he came to a dead stop outside the realm boundary, not daring to take another step forward.

In front of the hall.

The Old Dragon King was already sprawled on the ground, his mouth wide open and drool pooling everywhere.

Lin Qingyue looked up at the giant tower that pierced through heaven and earth, feeling the aura that suppressed ten thousand worlds, and felt inexplicably shaken.

Chong Batian knelt on the ground, looking up at the hundreds-of-millions-of-feet-tall tower that blotted out the sun and emitted endless Divine Might.

The runes circulating on the tower and the aura suppressing the heavens and ten thousand worlds perfectly matched the legends recorded in the ancient texts of the Demon Realm.

Chong Batian's lips trembled, his shivering voice scattering with the storm:

"This... this is..."

"The Divine Court's supreme treasure... the heaven-reaching tower?"