Chapter 164

Chapter 164: Xiaobai’s Box!

So weak?

　　Na Yue Zun, whose throat was being gripped by Ao Qianqian, had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He stared at her in terror, never having imagined that the person before him could be frighteningly powerful to this degree.

　　By all logic, this shouldn’t be possible!

　　Because this world couldn’t possibly produce a powerhouse of this caliber. Moreover, he could sense that the woman before him had not yet comprehended true intent, meaning she still fell within the realm of the Circle-Breaking stage — yet her combat power was abnormally overwhelming.

　　And when he heard the words of the black-robed elder, he was absolutely furious. Was that even something a person would say? If Ao Qianqian weren’t gripping him right now, he would have slapped that idiot dead on the spot.

　　But right now, his most pressing concern was figuring out how to stay alive.

　　He looked at Ao Qianqian and was about to speak, but she said, “Whatever you have to say, save it for your next life.”

　　With that, she suddenly tightened her right hand with full force.

　　Boom!

　　Yue Zun was crushed on the spot, his body and soul utterly annihilated.

　　Erased completely!

　　Witnessing this, the black-robed elder not far away went pale with shock and immediately shouted, “Retreat!”

　　And with that, he turned and ran.

　　He knew full well how strong Yue Zun was — though he had yet to perceive his true self or comprehend true intent, he was still far beyond what any Circle-Breaking stage cultivator could match. Yet this woman had crushed him with a single hand.

　　This was absolutely outrageous!

　　Run, now!

　　Seeing the black-robed elder flee, the subordinates he had brought along immediately turned and bolted as well, and the local Circle-Breaking stage powerhouses from the Guanxuan Universe ran even faster, not daring to linger for even a moment.

　　Below, Ye Tianming looked up at Ao Qianqian standing at the edge of the sky, his heart filled with shock. He had known this senior was powerful, but he truly hadn’t expected her to be powerful to this extent.

　　Ao Qianqian stood at the edge of the sky, her gaze fixed on the far end of the heavens, her eyes cold, lost in thought.

　　Within the Heavenly Dragon Clan, the dragons were all watching Ao Qianqian with expressions of boundless reverence. In truth, even they hadn’t expected their ancestral forefather to be this strong.

　　She was undeniably the number one powerhouse in the lower universes right now!

　　The Sword Sect Master?

　　Not even worth mentioning!

　　At that moment, Ao Qianqian suddenly appeared before Ye Tianming. She looked at him, and the coldness in her eyes was gone, replaced only by a warm smile. “Lately I’ve seen you reading and cultivating every day, so I didn’t want to disturb you. What have you gained from it?”

　　Ye Tianming said, “I’ve made some progress in cultivation and come up with quite a few new ideas. But they still need to be verified slowly.”

　　Ao Qianqian said, “You can’t verify them because of the calamitous energy on you?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded.

　　With that misfortune energy present on him right now, he truly couldn’t do anything at all.

　　After a brief moment of thought, Ao Qianqian said, “Come, let’s go somewhere.”

　　Ye Tianming was a little curious. “Where?”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled softly. “There was once a little one who left a box somewhere. I’ll take you to see it — what’s inside might be able to help you.”

　　With that, she took Ye Tianming with her and the two of them vanished from where they stood.

　　When Ye Tianming reappeared, he was already inside a spacetime tunnel, with countless fleeting shadows streaking past at high speed through the walls of light on all sides.

　　Incredibly fast!

　　Ye Tianming turned to look at Ao Qianqian and asked curiously, “Qianqian jie, what realm are you at?”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled. “No realm.”

　　Ye Tianming was stunned. “No realm?”

　　Ao Qianqian nodded. “In this world, there are those who don’t cultivate realms.”

　　After a moment of silence, Ye Tianming said, “So one can choose not to cultivate realms…….”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled. “Of course. Realms are just a kind of definition, and we don’t have to be defined.”

　　Ye Tianming fell into deep thought and said nothing.

　　Ao Qianqian glanced at him and didn’t disturb him.

　　A moment later, Ye Tianming suddenly said, “I understand now. Truly powerful people create their own rules and define everything themselves…… But for now, I can’t walk that path yet. I need to keep learning, learning constantly, and when the time is right in the future, perhaps I can try.”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled. “It’s good that you think that way.”

　　Ye Tianming nodded. For him to abandon realm cultivation right now was simply not realistic — it was a bit like trying to fly before you’d even learned to crawl.

　　One shouldn’t get ahead of oneself.

　　Before long, the two of them appeared in a stretch of void.

　　Ye Tianming looked around and froze, because this was the boundary between the real and the illusory.

　　He turned to look at Ao Qianqian, who smiled and said, “We’re heading to a secret realm.”

　　With that, she brought Ye Tianming to the edge of a massive spacetime abyss. Looking at the terrifying chasm before him, Ye Tianming was immediately gripped by an inexplicable sense of dread.

　　Ao Qianqian led him straight toward the spacetime abyss, then suddenly stopped and turned to look to the right. Several thousand zhang away to the right, a peculiar kind of energy was drifting through the air.

　　Upon sensing that peculiar energy, a flash of complex emotion surfaced in Ao Qianqian’s eyes. She withdrew her gaze and led Ye Tianming onward toward the spacetime abyss.

　　Ye Tianming glanced to the right. He could feel it — what was drifting there was a sword dao energy.

　　And it felt somewhat familiar to him!

　　The Dao of Order!

　　Soon, the two of them entered the spacetime abyss. Once inside, everything went pitch black, and a terrifying oppressive aura radiated from all directions.

　　Ao Qianqian suddenly swept her sleeve.

　　Boom!

　　Something unknown shattered.

　　In the next instant, Ye Tianming felt his body moving rapidly.

　　About a quarter of an hour later, he felt himself come to a stop. He opened his eyes to find that they were deep within a vast mountain range, with towering peaks rising into the clouds ahead of them.

　　Ao Qianqian led Ye Tianming forward into the distance. Ye Tianming looked around — the place was utterly silent.

　　A little eerie!

　　Ao Qianqian suddenly said, “Would you mind letting me take a look at your Myriad Beings Codex?”

　　Ye Tianming said, “Of course.”

　　With that, he handed the Myriad Beings Codex to Ao Qianqian.

　　Ao Qianqian took it and looked it over for a moment, then turned to Ye Tianming. “This second law is the equality of all beings?”

　　Ye Tianming nodded. “Yes.”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled. “Keep at it.”

　　With that, she returned the Myriad Beings Codex to Ye Tianming.

　　Ye Tianming said, “Qianqian jie, you’re well-traveled and knowledgeable. I’d love to hear your thoughts.”

　　But Ao Qianqian shook her head. “Both you and your teacher have walked your own paths. On this path, only you can feel your way forward — no one else can offer guidance.”

　　Ye Tianming lowered his head and looked at the Myriad Beings Codex in his hands. “I will see my teacher’s ideals realized. Of course, they are my ideals too.”

　　Ao Qianqian smiled. “You can do it.”

　　Ye Tianming suddenly asked, “Qianqian jie, why are you so good to me?”

　　Ao Qianqian thought for a moment, then smiled. “Little one, good is just good — why ask why?”

　　Ye Tianming was briefly taken aback, then smiled. “I understand.”

　　Ao Qianqian reached out and ruffled his hair, smiling. “What a clever one you are.”

　　In this world, for many things, the reason doesn’t matter — what matters is the process and the outcome.

　　Demanding a reason for everything is really just making trouble for yourself.

　　Just then, Ao Qianqian suddenly stopped. Ye Tianming was puzzled, but sensing something, he turned to look — and what he saw gave him a start.

　　Several thousand zhang away, a great mountain stood tall, its peak piercing the clouds, and coiled around it was an enormous python.

　　Ye Tianming stared at the python in astonishment. It was absolutely massive — only slightly smaller than the mountain itself. The python was jet black all over, like ink.

　　And at that moment, the python was staring fixedly at him and Ao Qianqian, its eyes filled with wariness and deep apprehension.

　　Ao Qianqian led Ye Tianming forward toward it.

　　The python suddenly lunged downward with a furious roar, its gaping maw blotting out the sky.

　　Ye Tianming shook his head repeatedly. Damn, these giant beasts were truly something else.

　　Ao Qianqian simply gave it a calm glance, then continued leading Ye Tianming forward.

　　Seeing that it had failed to frighten the man and woman, the python flew into a rage. It opened its massive jaws and roared again, and wave after wave of terrifying pressure suddenly swept downward, bearing straight down on Ye Tianming and Ao Qianqian.

　　Ao Qianqian suddenly said, “Back off!”

　　Boom!

　　A fearsome dragon might surged forth, instantly shattering the python’s oppressive pressure. At the same time, that dragon might shot into the sky and enveloped the python entirely.

　　The moment it felt the dragon might, the python was seized with terror and trembled as it spoke, “Dragon…… You…….”

　　Ao Qianqian suddenly shot into the sky with Ye Tianming, arriving at the mountaintop — right beside the python’s head.

　　There beside the python’s head, a box had been placed.

　　Catching Ao Qianqian’s gaze directed at it, the python immediately flew into a rage. “Mine, that’s mine.”

　　Ao Qianqian turned and looked at it, and the python instantly deflated, pleading pitifully, “I…..it’s mine……I’ve been guarding it for a thousand years……it’s mine……”

　　Ao Qianqian said nothing and led Ye Tianming toward the box.

　　The python was both anxious and frightened, trembling as it said, “My lord, that belongs to me, you can’t take it……I beg you, I’ll kowtow to you.”

　　With that, it slammed its head into the ground, and the entire mountain shook violently.

　　Ye Tianming: “……”

　　Ao Qianqian led Ye Tianming up to the box. Seeing that it was completely intact, she turned to look at the python. “Why didn’t you open it?”

　　The python trembled and said, “I…..didn’t dare. There’s an evil aura on it.”

　　Ye Tianming looked at the box, and sure enough, he sensed a faint evil aura emanating from it — an aura he had felt before at the outer boundary between the real and the illusory.

　　The Progenitor of Evil Beasts!

　　Ao Qianqian looked at the python. “If you don’t dare open it, then what’s the point of guarding it?”

　　The python said fearfully, “I……I guard it because it gives me something to hope for.”

　　Ye Tianming: “……”

　　Ao Qianqian shook her head. “Pathetic.”

　　The python said aggrievedly, “If I weren’t pathetic……I wouldn’t be stuck here.”

　　Ye Tianming suddenly tugged at Ao Qianqian’s sleeve. “Qianqian jie, this snake is adorable — let it be my pet!”

　　Ao Qianqian glanced at him. “You’re pathetic too.”

　　Ye Tianming: “……”

　　The python: “???”