Perhaps this could slow his dwindling lifespan.

The night clouds suddenly parted, and moonlight poured down like a waterfall.

Xu Yunfan finally turned, Ten Extremes True Qi swirling like a galaxy in his pupils. "Senior, your Ten Extremes Martial Arts is about forming a sword to cleave open the gates of heaven. But what I want..."

He opened his palm, a wisp of Maitreya Pure Fire and Nine Luminaries Gang Qi mingling in his hand. "...is to forge the Ten Thousand Laws into fuel."

Meeting Dugu Jiu’s irrepressible, greedy gaze, Xu Yunfan’s lips curled into a smirk. "Since the Ten Extremes Martial Arts came from you, Senior, it’s only right that it should give back to you."

The words had barely left his mouth when the ardor in Dugu Jiu’s eyes vanished, the heat freezing into ice. His withered fingers instinctively moved toward his sword hilt, but he stopped himself. After a long moment, a cold laugh escaped his throat. "You’re quite the businessman, kid. You should know, the last person who spoke to me like this has been dead for nearly three hundred years. So, out with it. What dirty work do you want these old bones of mine for?"

If Dugu Jiu weren’t wary of Xu Yunfan’s current power, if Xu Yunfan weren’t clad in Dragon Scale Armor and carrying three Divine Weapons, and if the sheer might of his Ten Extremes True Qi didn’t make his own heart pound with alarm, he never would have deigned to negotiate so civilly.

"You see clearly, Senior!"

With a flourish of his sleeves, Xu Yunfan began, "The Celestial Demons are about to arrive, yet the various Daozhou are still squabbling over the dregs of the Dragon Vein."

"My Taoist Sect wishes to use Jade Capital as a Human Cauldron to forge a path to the Land Immortal Realm, but the current Empress wants to perform a blood sacrifice across a thousand miles of land to preserve the Zhou Family’s Destiny and extend her own life..."

He took a step forward, his eyes shimmering, his expression unreadable.

"Why don’t you take up your sword, Senior, and carve a path to the heavens for this world? It would be a great service to the nation and its people. If you succeed, your name will be immortalized."

Dugu Jiu’s white hair stirred without a breeze, and the Three-foot Cyan Blade at his waist let out a low hum.

Dugu Jiu, of course, understood the hidden meaning. This upstart wanted to use his power to trample the Six Paths and Seventy-Nine States, feeding the millennia of accumulated resources from every sect into his own Ten Extremes Martial Arts to achieve apotheosis.

Thinking of those Ninth Realm Grandmasters who had been sucked into desiccated corpses, a hooting, owl-like laugh rumbled from the old monster’s throat. "What a vicious scheme, using a borrowed knife to kill! Aren’t you afraid I’ll cut you down first and devour your Profound Yellow Qi?"

"If you wanted it, Senior, why would you have waited until today? Besides, this is a matter of great Merit. The people of this world will build temples in your name."

A vein twitched on Dugu Jiu’s forehead. "What I want is to be immortal myself, not to live on in the memories of others. Do you think I want to be like the Ming Venerable of the Incense and Candle Sect? He was once an incredible powerhouse, but now he is neither living nor dead, unable to live and unable to die. All he can do is manifest in the dreams of commoners. How pathetic."

Seeing that Xu Yunfan was about to speak again,

"Enough!"

The old monster flicked his sleeve.

He stared at Xu Yunfan, his expression still holding a faint smile, but the Ten Extremes True Qi around him began to slowly coil as he finally suppressed his killing intent.

He paced back and forth before finally speaking.

"During the final trial before the palace tomorrow, I can keep that madwoman occupied for fifteen minutes. With such a golden opportunity, I imagine you can achieve your goal with ease..."

Xu Yunfan relaxed inwardly. ’My experience as an office drone in my past life really paid off,’ he thought. ’First, propose an impossible goal that they’re sure to reject, then let them offer a condition that’s close to their bottom line.’

He had stood here, not concealing his aura, for the sole purpose of luring his fish.

During the day, he had single-handedly fought nine Qi Cultivation masters. That alone would have shocked Dugu Jiu, but his Absorption Technique was guaranteed to make this old monster with a dwindling lifespan unable to resist.

"Then I’ll leave this matter to you, Senior."

The word of Celestial Sword Dugu Jiu was as good as gold. That was a tale sung for three hundred years.

The Taoist Sect had its own records of it.

Just as Xu Yunfan clapped his hands and laughed aloud, a muffled bell suddenly tolled from the direction of Jade Capital City.

His laughter died in his throat. Seeing Dugu Jiu’s slightly darkened expression, he followed the sound and turned to look.

"The Astronomical Bureau’s Alarm Bell."

A glint flashed in Xu Yunfan’s eyes.

Both men looked toward the Imperial City at the same time. Floating above the Vermilion Bird Gate was the Jiuyao Sect’s "Great Sun Meteor Core." Below it, three thousand Imperial Guards were forming the "Heaven-Burning and Spirit-Destroying Array."

Massive torrents of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, channeled by the Grand Array laid out across Jade Capital City, were being pushed up from the Earth Vein, activating the formation.

Even more shocking, the National Seal hanging high above the Xuanwu Gate suddenly erupted with a blinding Profound Light. The surface of the Seal rippled like water, coalescing into the Empress’s majestic face.

Her cold phoenix eyes locked onto the two men on the Heaven-Questioning Pavilion, undisguised killing intent churning in their depths. Her voice, like a heavenly decree, boomed like thunder.

"Tomorrow at 7:00 AM, We shall personally attend the Martial Arts Arena!"

The sound wave, carrying the oppressive might of the Dragon Vein, swept across Jade Capital, making even the Bluestone Slabs of Vermilion Bird Avenue tremble.

But Xu Yunfan stood firm, a cold smirk playing on his lips.

His Perfection Level mining skill had given him the keen senses of Seeking Dragon and Distinguishing Veins. He could clearly perceive the slight, clumsy gaps in the flow of Spiritual Qi as the Imperial Guard formed their array.

"Just a battle formation technique from two thousand years ago..."

Xu Yunfan shook his head slightly. "Even though the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is reviving from the Earth Vein, this is a rushed job. It’s not running smoothly... In a single instant, I could shatter this paper-thin Array Formation!"

"It seems that woman is ready to risk it all."

Dugu Jiu suddenly pulled out a moldy Sect Identification and tossed it to Xu Yunfan. The name "Li Chunyang" on it was soaked in bloodstains. "Three hundred years ago, when I fought my way into the Imperial Mausoleum, I discovered half of a Celestial Demon’s corpse enshrined in the Zhou Family’s ancestral temple. Tomorrow, if you see the Empress’s pupils turn purple, immediately use your Ten Extremes True Qi to shatter her Danzhong Acupoint. That’s where the Purple Gold Pill, Refined from the Celestial Demon’s body, should be!"

Xu Yunfan’s pupils contracted at his words.

"The Great Zhou Imperial Court has killed a Celestial Demon before?"

Dugu Jiu nodded slightly, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his murky eyes. "Back when the Great Zhou was founded, the first emperor, Li Qian, used his power in the Land Immortal Realm to capture an Outer Heaven Demon alive..."

His withered fingers stroked the mottled Sword Scabbard of his longsword as he sneered, "A pity. No matter how sky-shattering your Cultivation, you can’t defeat the erosion of time."

Xu Yunfan’s heart trembled upon hearing this.

’No wonder Bi Yuan dared to defy the world and drain the Dragon Vein!’

How many brilliant and stunning talents in this world ultimately became nothing more than a few understated lines of ink in the history books?

Just as he was about to ask for more secrets about the Celestial Demon, the green bricks beneath his feet suddenly began to tremble violently.

"Heh... interesting."

Dugu Jiu cracked a grin with his chapped lips, revealing deathly white teeth.

The Three-foot Cyan Blade at his waist sensed his killing intent, and the Cloud Patterns on its Sword Scabbard began to seep dark red, blood-like threads. "I’ll take out the frustration you’ve caused me, little one, on those bald-headed monks."

Before he finished speaking, a monstrous Sword Intent had already erupted from the old man’s stooped figure.

The faint sound of monks from Mituo Temple chanting scriptures could be heard in the distance. He rested his withered palm on his sword and sneered, "At 1:45 AM, I’ll send them to paradise early!"

As the eastern sky began to show the pale light of dawn, Xu Yunfan squinted into the distance. At the end of Vermilion Bird Avenue, the Erosion Spirit Crossbows of the Imperial City Department glinted with a faint, cold blue light.

But Dugu Jiu’s figure had already transformed into a rainbow of sword light, tearing through the morning mist.

To spread the teachings of the Buddhist Sect to the east, Mituo Temple had truly brought out all of its hidden trump cards.