Chapter 926: The Strange Object that Intimidated the Heavenly Sovereign

“Do you want it?”

The few words sounded as if they were spoken by different people. Each tone and cadence was distinct.

Their echoes lingered throughout the Grand Hall of the sect, refusing to fade, making the already eerie atmosphere even more sinister.

Yet Li Qing showed not a trace of fear. “If the Heavenly Sovereign dares to give it, I dare to take it.”

Senior Sister Zhao’s laughter abruptly stopped.

In that instant, Li Qing felt as though countless gazes were cast upon him from every direction within the hall.

“Remnant of the Xuantian Sect…”

“Even if I were to give it to you, so what? Do you think you can walk out of my Grand Dao Sect alive?”

Only a single cold voice remained, questioning her.

Li Qing smiled faintly. “If I do not try, how would I ever know?”

The provocation in his words was so sharp that even though his actions in this illusion were strange, it still seemed as though he had truly angered the One-Pattern Heavenly Sovereign.

All at once, countless human faces emerged within the empty hall beside Li Qing.

Each face bore a different expression, yet all of them fixed their gaze upon him.

From beneath those faces, out of the void-like darkness, countless pale arms stretched out toward him.

In an instant, Li Qing was swallowed by that tide of pallid limbs, as if he would soon vanish from the hall altogether.

However...

Moments later, countless shrill screams suddenly burst forth from those faces.

The cries were filled with terror, panic, and hatred, as if something horrifying lay hidden within Li Qing’s body.

Without exception, all of them scattered in every direction, fleeing even faster than when they had rushed to devour him.

At the center of the hall, the composed young Zhao Senior Sister finally showed a flicker of emotion upon her calm face.

Bang!

Several stone pillars abruptly appeared above Li Qing and crashed down, forming a cage that trapped him within.

“What is that thing... on you?”

For the first time, a trace of unease appeared in the One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign’s usually cold voice.

Li Qing smiled and countered, “I was hoping to ask the Heavenly Sovereign that myself. Do you perhaps recognize it?”

The hall fell silent for a few breaths.

Then the Heavenly Sovereign’s voice echoed once more. “I had doubted whether you were truly of the Xuantian Sect, but now I am inclined to believe it.”

“To dare to implant such a thing within your divine soul...”

“What a pity. We can no longer merge as one.”

Li Qing said nothing.

He merely focused on the flickering sphere of seven-colored light deep within his divine soul.

It had been there since he first became self-aware, sealed deep within his spiritual consciousness—clearly something his original body had implanted when creating this clone.

The seven-colored radiance itself was not what mattered. What mattered was what lay sealed within it.

Even through that prismatic barrier, Li Qing constantly felt as if a blade hung above his head.

It was evident that whatever was sealed inside was unimaginably dangerous.

Though he retained no memory of its origin, Li Qing understood one thing clearly—his original self had dared to send him, merely at the Nascent Soul True Lord realm, alone into the Grand Dao Sect, precisely because of this object’s terrifying deterrence.

Despite the dreadful entity slumbering within his divine soul, Li Qing remained calm and unafraid.

His thoughts passed quickly. Looking at the straight-backed young Senior Sister Zhao before him, he spoke solemnly.

“The Heavenly Sovereign has already attained the position of Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign. Such cultivation methods are now meaningless to you.”

“But to us of the Xuantian Sect, they are of utmost importance. If the Heavenly Sovereign would grant us this favor, our sect will surely repay the kindness in full.”

Seeing that the One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign still remained silent, Li Qing hesitated for a moment before adding, “In truth, our Xuantian Sect is not unreasonable. If the Heavenly Sovereign is willing to return the item to its rightful owner, we are prepared to offer suitable compensation.”

“And I believe this is something the Heavenly Sovereign will definitely find interesting,” Li Qing said confidently.

Without a sound, the countless human faces that had previously retreated now pressed forward again.

“Compensation…”

Those faces let out eerie laughter.

“The Xuantian Sect was destroyed a thousand years ago. You people are nothing but rats who dare not see the light of day.”

“What could you possibly have that would make me…”

Before the voice could finish, it abruptly stopped.

Everyone stared at the sudden burst of golden light that appeared in Li Qing’s palm, their expressions frozen in shock.

This place, the Grand Dao Sect, was the foundation of her ascension to the Longevity Immortal Realm.

Although it still existed within the Xuanhuang Realm, it was, in truth, a separate domain—a world within a world—entirely under her control.

Within the Grand Dao Sect, no energy fluctuation, no ripple of power could escape her perception.

Yet this sudden golden light…

One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign was certain the light did not originate from Li Qing’s body, but from beyond the Grand Dao Sect itself.

To be able to ignore her restrictions and move freely in and out…

Sensing the energy contained within that golden glow, ancient memories from the Grand Dao Sect’s former elders surfaced within her mind.

Seeing Senior Sister Zhao’s reaction, Li Qing knew that his plan had succeeded.

He raised his voice and declared, “A single defeat does not mean defeat for eternity. These years of silence do not mean we have vanished from the river of history.”

“Even a centipede, long dead, still twitches. How much more so a True Immortal legacy?”

Li Qing lifted his head proudly.

Senior Sister Zhao, who had obtained several cultivation methods from the Xuantian Sect, naturally understood how terrifying the sect’s true heritage was.

Just a few of their inherited techniques had nearly allowed her to ascend as a Longevity Immortal Heavenly Sovereign.

The true inheritance of the Xuantian Sect was undoubtedly unfathomable.

More importantly…

Though the Xuantian Sect’s downfall back then was said to be caused by the combined forces of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, according to secret records preserved within the Grand Dao Sect, that war of annihilation had been full of strange circumstances.

At first, the allied sects had never intended to completely destroy the Xuantian Sect. Yet, as the battle went on, the opposing side suddenly collapsed on its own.

Even more strangely, the Xuantian King—said to have reached the Half-Step True Immortal realm—never appeared on the battlefield.

That was the only reason the war ended so easily.

The Ten Immortal Sects had long suspected that something was amiss.

Fearing that the Xuantian King might one day return, they issued a “kill on sight” order against all surviving members of the Xuantian Sect, hoping to draw him out.

Unexpectedly, it was as if he had evaporated from existence. From that day onward, he never appeared again within the Xuanhuang World.

“Now that the Xuantian Sect has risen from the ashes… does this mean the Xuantian King will also return to the mortal world?”

That thought involuntarily surfaced in the mind of One-Heart Heavenly Sovereign.

After all, the gray mold-like aura and the golden radiance of willpower displayed by Li Qing were clearly not powers a common cultivator could possess.

She did not dwell on the matter for long.

In her view, another contender within the Xuanhuang World was not necessarily a bad thing.

Though a Half-Immortal was powerful, the Xuanhuang Realm had changed greatly since those days.

Perhaps the return of that Half-Immortal might even bring about transformation and new life.

Inside the grand hall, the thousands of pale faces staring coldly at Li Qing vanished in an instant.

The gloomy chamber became bright again.

“You brought quite the lovely gift,” a voice spoke, its tone now entirely different from before.