Hearing Xu Zimo’s words, everyone was stunned.

“What are you talking about?” Xia Wanqing asked.

“Which friend is it? Come out and meet us,” Xu Zimo walked out of the inn, looking up at the sky as he spoke.

“Oh?” A low murmur drifted from the heavens.

“A minor lineage like Martial Heaven actually has someone like you? To be able to see through my Floating Cloud Illusion Tower.”

At the sudden voice, everyone’s expression changed drastically.

Especially the Second Prince, Chen Luo, he seemed to realize something.

Looking at the town again, everyone now felt that every corner was steeped in strangeness.

Some trees were lush and green, while others were completely withered.

The townsfolk walking along the streets, on closer inspection, seemed to be repeating the same motions over and over, as if programmed.

Even the smile on the innkeeper’s face grew more and more unnatural.

Chen Luo raised his voice toward the void, “Could it be Lord Deep Void?”

“You little brat do have some knowledge,” the old man’s voice replied.

The next moment, the ground beneath their feet trembled.

The entire town they stood in was uprooted and then rapidly shrunk before their eyes.

When they looked around again, they realized they were standing in nothing but desolate wilderness.

Where was there ever a town?

Ahead of them, an old man slowly walked over.

He wore a gray robe, dressed in the style of a scholar.

His spirit was vigorous. At this moment, he extended his right hand, and that small town, shrunk to mere hundreds of times smaller, was spinning in his palm.

That vast town just now was nothing more than a toy in his hand.

Xu Zimo glanced at it, finding it rather novel.

This seemed more like a technique of “a thousand miles within reach”, to alter the size of things at will.

Of course, the difficulty was certainly far greater than it appeared.

“Greetings, Lord Deep Void,” Second Prince Chen Luo quickly said.

“Since you’ve heard my name, you should know why I’ve come,” Deep Void Progenitor said.

“Senior, are you here on behalf of the Breaking Dawn God-Dynasty to kill me?” Chen Luo asked.

“The struggles between empires, Senior, as an Ancestor of Tranquil World Tower, you would actually interfere and break the rules?”

“Isn’t that girl beside you also from Tranquil World Tower?” Deep Void countered.

“She’s only a junior,” Chen Luo hurriedly said.

“Don’t worry. I’m not so shameless as to bully the young,” Deep Void said. “I won’t kill you, but someone else will.”

With a wave of his hand, a young man stepped forward from behind him.

This youth was also dressed in a gray robe, his head hidden under a red-brimmed hat.

“This is my disciple. He will fight in my stead,” Deep Void said. “If you win, you may leave.”

“Senior, are you here representing the Breaking Dawn God-Dynasty, or my dear elder brother?” Chen Luo asked.

The inheritance of the Nine Nights Immortal Sovereign had just been discovered.

His father had entrusted him entirely with this task. If he handled it well, the Crown Prince’s seat might soon be his.

To obstruct him now, either his brothers were behind it, or a rival empire.

“That doesn’t matter,” Deep Void waved dismissively.

The youth beside him stepped forward first, bowing slightly with clasped fists, “Yue Qingyun of Tranquil World Tower.”

The woman in white also stepped forward, replying evenly, “Yu Huashang of Tranquil World Tower.”

“Senior Sister Yu, forgive my offense,” Yue Qingyun said, then shouted lightly.

He grabbed with his large hand, and instantly the sky turned dark.

From his hand emerged a giant mountain, crashing down toward Yu Huashang.

When he threw it, it was no larger than a palm. But as it descended, it grew into a true mountain peak.

Yu Huashang’s silk ribbon unwound, lengthening into a thousand meters.

Her graceful ribbon was like rivers and mountains themselves, wrapping around the mountain, binding it tight, and hurling it away.

With a resounding boom, the mountain collapsed, but instead of shattering, it turned into pure energy.

It flowed back into Yue Qingyun’s hand.

Immediately afterward, countless ribbons slashed toward him.

Yue Qingyun’s eyes sharpened, his aura surging. With another wave of his hand, a vast primeval forest appeared before him.

Within it, ten thousand beasts thundered forth, a tide of monsters charging.

Yu Huashang’s ribbon split into countless strands, which merged into blades, axes, and other weapons.

For a moment, she and the beasts clashed in a chaotic melee.

Nearby, Xia Wanqing looked at Xu Zimo and asked, “Who do you think will win?”

“If it were a fair fight, she would win. But with that old man watching, Yue Qingyun will win,” Xu Zimo replied.

“Why?” Xia Wanqing asked.

“Because they can’t afford to lose,” Xu Zimo smiled.

After speaking, he turned to the Second Prince.

“I heard you’re ranked seventy-eighth on the Heroes Ranking?” he asked.

“So what?” Chen Luo replied flatly.

“Then why don’t you step up? Why let a woman fight in your place?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Then why don’t you go, Brother Xu?” Chen Luo countered.

“They’re here to kill you, not me,” Xu Zimo said.

His eyes shifted to Deep Void Progenitor.

“Old man, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now,” he said.

“Not so fast, young man. Let’s wait until this duel is decided,” Deep Void said.

Ahead, Yue Qingyun and Yu Huashang were fighting furiously.

The Dao of Transformation in their hands was wielded with breathtaking mastery.

All manner of creations clashed in wild collision.

But Yu Huashang was clearly gaining the upper hand.

Yue Qingyun was being pressed step by step, on the verge of defeat.

At that moment, Deep Void discreetly flicked his finger.

A surge of powerful energy poured into Yue Qingyun’s body.

In an instant, his aura exploded. The illusory forest around them detonated, erupting outward.

Yu Huashang was sent flying.

“It seems you’ve lost,” Deep Void said with a smile.

“If Senior wanted to kill us, you could just do it directly. Why all this scheming?” Chen Luo said coldly.

“Deep Void, you’ve truly grown old and disgraceful,” just then, a voice rang from the distant horizon.

“To strike at a junior, you’ve forgotten the rules of Tranquil World Tower?”

At that voice, Second Prince Chen Luo’s expression instantly relaxed.

Another elder appeared.

He wore a yellow robe, carrying a jade cauldron, stepping calmly through the air.

“Jade Cauldron True Immortal,” Deep Void murmured the name coldly. “You’re going to interfere in this matter too?”

“Why, do you have a problem with that?” Jade Cauldron True Immortal asked evenly.

“In that case, I’ll let them go today,” Deep Void said.

“But remember this, Tranquil World Tower’s foundation cannot be altered. The decree of the Thousand-Ox Dao Court has already been issued. I think you understand better than I what the Grand Era demands.”

Without another word, Deep Void took Yue Qingyun and departed.