Inside the Heavenly Golden Palace.

After Xiao Jingchen became a Sage, camaraderie filled the whole Heavenly Golden Palace. Many people looked at Xiao Jingchen with respect.

Some of the ladies even started fangirling.

“Young Master, congratulations on becoming a Sage!”

Sage Ruler Changqin brought a group of Sages to Xiao Jingchen.

Xiao Jingchen was born several dozen thousand years before them. So based on seniority alone, it was reasonable for him to call him Young Master.

“Yes.”

Xiao Jingchen smiled as he nodded. He was delighted that he had managed to ascend through the Seven Colored Heavenly Tribulations and successfully become a Sage.

Now, he was one step closer to Emperorhood.

“Oh right, what about Xiao Lintian?” Xiao Jingchen suddenly asked.

He still cared about Xiao Lintian quite a lot since the latter was a sky-pride who similarly possessed the Heavenly Golden Imperial Physique.

He even planned to nurture him as his right-hand man in the future.

However, the expressions of Sage Ruler Changqin and a few others suddenly turned grim at his question.

“What's going on?” Xiao Jingchen frowned as he asked.

“Young Master, Xiao Lintian he's… he's dead.”

Sage Ruler Changqin took a deep breath before he answered.

Once that sentence was out, a gush of stone-cold murder intent shot out from Xiao Jingchen's eyes. Having only just become a Sage, he was not able to fully control the energy on his body, so his Sage's Aura swept out. Everyone at the scene could feel an immense pressure weighing on them.

Even Sage Ruler Changqin felt rather spooked.

That was so powerful!

Was that the Heavenly Golden Imperial Physique's power after the host became a Sage?!

“Tell me. What the h.e.l.l happened?!” Xiao Jingchen slowly withdrew the energy on himself before he asked.

Sage Ruler Changqin breathed a sigh of relief. He then retold the events of how Xiao Lintian went to challenge Chu Kuangren.

Along with that, he also pa.s.sed on the message that Chu Kuangren had relayed.

“Oh, Chu Kuangren. That immortal madman who dragged a dozen thousand people to ascend the Nine Colored Heavenly Tribulations with him three years ago?”

Surprise flashed across Xiao Jingchen's eyes.

Back then, he was also shocked when he heard of what Chu Kuangren had done. Never had he imagined that there would be such a character on Firmament Star.

However, once he heard that this person had gotten the Heavenly Punishment Seal, he did not care as much. A normal human being was not worth his attention.

Yet now, this fabled Chu Kuangren had once again returned to the realm.

“He has some bizarre rune techniques?”

“Huh, interesting. This Chu Kuangren fascinates me a little more now. But I've just become a Sage, so I'll need a few days to stabilize my powers. Only then will I show him who's the best in this world!”

Xiao Jingchen declared arrogantly as he waved his sleeve.

He was previously ranked third on the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard.

Before Chu Kuangren appeared, the top rank on the leaderboard had always been empty. However, his reappearance had now placed him at the top, s.n.a.t.c.hing it from Xiao Jingchen, who was very unhappy about it. Hence, he swore to himself that he would take that spot back for himself one day.

In the middle of a barren desert.

Chu Kuangren and Lan Yu were wading through a sandstorm.

“Master, we've felt a surge of extremely powerful energy earlier. Could it be from a Nine Heavens sky-pride?” Lan Yu curiously asked while they were on their journey.

“Yes, I'd think so. It came from the Heavenly Golden Palace's direction. It should be that guy who's ranked third on the Soaring Dragon Leaderboard, who I heard has now advanced to the second rank. It's Nine Heavens sky-pride, Xiao Jingchen.” Chu Kuangren gently nodded, seemingly not too bothered about this matter.

The duo continued their journey in the desert for two whole days.

Along their way, they witnessed a few unique desert phenomenons.

Then, they arrived at a place that was filled with an intense ferocious qi. This place was one of the Firmament Star's Ten Great Forbidden Areas, the Ancient Battlefield.

“I wonder if the White-Robed General is doing well.”

Chu Kuangren smiled gently.

He initially wanted to head to the Acheron Manor for vengeance. However, since he was pa.s.sing by the Ancient Battlefield, he had this sudden idea to check on the White-Robed General.

After all, it was him who promised to help Chu Kuangren gather innate ferocious qi so that the latter could forge the perfect Supreme Infallible Tormented Physique.

Many years had pa.s.sed since then, and Chu Kuangren could not help but wonder what the progress was, or if it was enough to help him elevate his Infallible Tormented Physique Physique to the perfected form.

With that, he ventured into the Ancient Battlefield's Core Area with Lan Yu.

He then took out the White-Robed General's talisman.

However, half an hour has gone by, yet the White-Robed General was nowhere to be seen.

They continued waiting.

After a whole day and night, there were still no changes.

It was at this moment that Chu Kuangren realized that something was amiss.

“Could something terrible have happened to him?” Chu Kuangren frowned as he spread his spiritual thought outward to scan the entire Ancient Battlefield Core Area.

Desolate and barren images came pouring into his mind…

Chu Kuangren searched meticulously.

Alas, he still could not locate the White-Robed General.

Was he not in the Ancient Battlefield anymore?

No way.

Tormented souls that were birthed here were connected to the Ancient Battlefield. There was no way they could leave this place willingly, not even if they were a Sage Ruler.

The White-Robed General had said it before too, that he had no means of escaping here.

Then, could he be… dead?!

This would be a logical explanation as to why the White-Robed General was nowhere to be found. Even so, who had the power to kill one of the Ancient Battlefield's Three Kings?

Chu Kuangren did not come to conclusions hastily. Instead, he resumed his search.

Very soon, he yielded some findings.

He found a palace in the Ancient Battlefield, which was filled with ma.s.sive amounts of ferocious qi. They were so strong that the qi felt almost surreal.

These ferocious qi were the ones blocking Chu Kuangren's spiritual thought from viewing what he was looking for.

“Oh, is the White-Robed General in there?”

Chu Kuangren muttered under his breath.

“I shall go in and have a look.”

There had to be closure to his whereabouts. The White-Robed General had volunteered to gather innate ferocious qi for him, and his descendent, Shang Qingxue, was one of the disciples who had stuck by the Black Heaven Sect through the hard times. He could not just sit by and do nothing based on those points alone.

Along with Lan Yu, Chu Kuangren stepped into the Ancient Battlefield's Core Area.

An intense but familiar ferocious qi welcomed them in their faces as they stepped in.

Lan Yu immediately activated her Holy Radiant Daoist Rhyme to block it off.

Meanwhile, Chu Kuangren had also formed an invisible barrier with his mind power, barricading these ferocious qis away from them.

They were no tormented souls, so these ferocious qi were like poisonous gases to their bodies. If they were to inhale too much, they would start experiencing side effects.

The duo made a beeline towards the palace within the Ancient Battlefield's Core Area.

With their combat strength, any tormented soul they encountered along the way was easily wiped off. They even collected quite some innate ferocious qis while they were at it.

“A living human!”

“Another living human has trespa.s.sed the Ancient Battlefield?!”

The two of them came across yet another tormented soul.

This particular tormented soul's cultivation level was not low. He had even developed a spiritual ego because of all these innate ferocious qis.

When he saw Chu Kuangren and his companion, he could not help but express his shock.

Chu Kuangren, on the other hand, was intrigued by why he said 'another'.

Could there be other living humans in the Ancient Battlefield's Core Area aside from Lan Yu and himself?

“Who is this other living human that you speak of?” Chu Kuangren inquired.

“Hmph, you are in no position to ask for that great one's name. Just die.” That tormented soul did not even bother explaining further as he directly attacked them.

It struck out a punch, unleas.h.i.+ng surges of ferocious qi.

“Forget it. I'll find out myself.”

Chu Kuangren raised his arm and cast a runic sword. The sword qi penetrated the ferocious qi directly and pierced through this tormented soul's body.

With a boom, this tormented soul was instantly pulverized to nothing.

Chu Kuangren lifted his hand and grabbed at something. He had used his mind power to trap another streak of innate ferocious qi in mid-air, which he then deposited inside his Yin and Yang Ring.

“Let's continue our journey.”

After several hours had pa.s.sed, Chu Kuangren and Lan Yu finally arrived at that palace.

Inside the palace, a middle-aged man in a scarlet robe and black ferocious qi surrounding his body abruptly opened his eyes.

“I sense living human energy, but it's not from the great Daoist Sha. There's another distasteful holy energy too. Who are these people?!”