Chapter 170

Chapter 170: The Best Outcome

In Linglong City, inside a City God Temple, Dao King stood facing away from the door, proud and towering like a majestic mountain. His hands clasped behind his back, he gazed at a damaged statue of a deity, his mind wandering far beyond.

"Senior, I’m here."

Just then, a voice echoed as a plain-clothed young man entered the temple. His features were ordinary, yet his brow held an unyielding determination, and his calm demeanor resembled divine iron forged through relentless hammering. Yan Duxing stared at Dao King’s back, reverence gleaming in his eyes.

"Will you bow to me as your master?"

Dao King cut straight to the point without preamble.

"I will."

Yan Duxing knelt and bowed deeply. "Yan Duxing willingly accepts you as master." He couldn’t refuse the person before him—a powerhouse who ruled over the Heavens and ranked among the mightiest in the lower realm. To cultivate the Divine Suppression technique demanded immense resources. Physical cultivation required not only insight and effort, but also vast material support.

"Perform the rites."

Dao King revealed a satisfied smile. This journey to Yuan Realm had finally borne fruit.

"Disciple Yan Duxing wishes to bow to Dao King as master. Great master, please accept your disciple’s three bows." Yan Duxing pressed his forehead to the ground, completing the ritual of three full prostrations.

"Good! Excellent! Ha ha ha…"

Dao King’s delight flushed his cheeks crimson. As he looked at Yan Duxing, he seemed to glimpse his younger self—equally diligent, equally persistent. Only Yan Duxing lacked the ambition Dao King once harbored. And that was precisely what Dao King valued most. If Yan Duxing were another Dao King, wouldn’t he be raising a tiger that invites calamity?

"Yan Duxing, from this day onward, you are my sole formally-recognized disciple." Dao King laughed heartily, retrieving a divine elixir. "Take this pill, and your injuries will heal instantly."

"Thank you, master."

Without hesitating, Yan Duxing rose, accepted the pill, and swallowed it whole.

As the medicinal potency spread, his wounds gradually mended until fully healed within moments.

"You tread the path of physical cultivation. Your Divine Suppression technique ranks among the world’s supreme methods. Thus, concerning techniques, this master cannot aid you."

Dao King’s gaze turned profound. "However, regarding body tempering, you may seek my guidance anytime you encounter doubt."

Boom!

Dao King’s physical form suddenly vibrated violently. From every acupoint across his body surged an overwhelming vital essence, as though embodying an entire universe.

Seated within every acupoint was a miniature figure. Yan Duxing recognized them—deities coalesced from Dao King’s acupoint essence.

Three hundred sixty-five acupoints. Three hundred sixty-five physical deities.

Dao King’s mastery of the physical body had reached its absolute peak!

"Do you know why they all considered me the strongest in the Lower Realm?" Dao King’s gaze fell on Yan Duxing, his tone filled with pride.

"Please, master, enlighten me."

"On the cultivation path, essence, energy, and spirit are all indispensable; my mastery in these three paths has reached the peak state."

"In the vast Lower Realm, no one could compare to me; this was why I commanded awe across the Heavens."

Dao King was in high spirits, unusually revealing an unrivaled arrogance.

Although many Emperor Venerables in the Lower Realm were at the same level as him, Dao King had never paid them any regard.

He possessed the Enlightenment Tree; if it weren’t for his desire to perfect himself, in two hundred thousand years, he would probably have broken through to the True Immortal Realm and ascended to the Upper Realm.

However, Dao King was an ambitious person; he sought more than just a true immortal fruit.

What he wanted was eternity!

Yan Duxing was profoundly shocked.

"You can choose the same path as me," Dao King said with a slight curve of his lips to Yan Duxing.

"Please, master, teach me!"

…

Red Dust Demon Sect.

"Sister, this time I intend to take Nangong Zhandao to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest," Lin Qianmo said directly, heading to Lan Youruo and Nangong Zhandao’s residence to seek their opinions.

"Nangong Zhandao, what do you think?"

"The Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest, the origin of humans? Interesting."

Nangong Zhandao’s expression was indifferent.

As he broke through the Saint King level, the Xuan Du Forgetting Emotions Heaven Book became deeper, and his personal emotions faded increasingly; only when facing Lan Youruo could he be sensed as barely an ordinary person.

"Sister, it is too dangerous,"

Lan Youruo was extremely worried. "Nangong showed his edge at the Hidden Dragon Gathering; now, who knew how many eyes were watching him, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible."

"If you let him go to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest together, isn’t that sending him to his death?"

Lin Qianmo was silent; this really was a difficult problem.

Nowadays, there were countless people trying to kill Nangong Zhandao.

And the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest was a place of both great danger and great fortune; it was hard to tell the final outcome.

"The Yuan Realm is changing; if Nangong stays there, his cultivation can proceed by leaps and bounds; given time, attaining the Dao and becoming an emperor is a sure thing."

"He has no need to take risks."

Lan Youruo tightly held Nangong Zhandao’s hand; she did not want him to go to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest.

"I will go,"

Nangong Zhandao smiled and said: "I have a feeling this will be a great opportunity for me."

Lin Qianmo looked at him in surprise.

"You…"

Lan Youruo turned and walked away without a word.

"What’s wrong with little sister today?" Lin Qianmo frowned slightly, her dark brows knitting together. "Why would she be so angry?"

Gentle and refined by nature, Lan Youruo had been friends with her for years. Lin Qianmo had never once seen her lose her temper.

Instinct told her Lan Youruo’s outburst likely wasn’t merely about Nangong Zhandao stubbornly insisting on going to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest. There had to be a deeper reason.

"When do we set off?" Nangong Zhandao inquired.

"Tomorrow."

"Good."

Nangong Zhandao nodded and turned back towards his room.

Lin Qianmo didn’t dwell on it further. She needed to prepare some supplies, just in case they were needed.

Leaving the other two behind, Lan Youruo went to Qilou Yan’s residence.

"Sister Luoyan."

Lan Youruo’s sorrowful look pierced straight to the heart.

"I saw it coming long ago," Qilou Yan comforted her. "Nangong Zhandao is nothing but a fool for the Dao. Why torment yourself over him?"

"The higher his cultivation rises, the colder his emotions grow. If this continues, the two of you are bound to part ways in the end."

"Ten days from now is the Moon God Ceremony. As the saintess of the Moon God Clan, how could you possibly not attend?"

"I understand."

Lan Youruo murmured weakly.

The Moon God Clan held the Moon God Ceremony once every ten thousand years, gathering the pure essence of great Yin to help disciples break through their cultivation bottlenecks.

Qilou Yan, the previous saintess, had ascended to Emperor during the last ceremony. She wished for Lan Youruo to achieve the same breakthrough.

"Youruo, if you abandon this Moon God Ceremony, who knows how long you’ll wait for another chance to become an Emperor. It’s simply not worth it for Nangong Zhandao."

"Moreover, have you ever considered something else?"

Qilou Yan spoke earnestly, her words heavy with meaning. "Our clan is one of the divine clans, descendants of deities and demons. Marriage with outsiders is practically forbidden. You, as the saintess, must maintain the purity of your bloodline above all else."

"The Moon God Clan will never accept your union with Nangong Zhandao from top to bottom."

"When that happens, not only will you face punishment, but Nangong Zhandao won’t escape the clan’s retribution either."

"For both your sakes, you must cut ties cleanly."

Lan Youruo shook her head.

"Once my heart settles on Nangong Zhandao, I will never give up." Her expression was steadfast.

In matters of the heart, she refused to be controlled by others or bow to so-called rules.

Qilou Yan shook her head with a resigned smile.

"What about Nangong Zhandao?"

"Once he truly steps onto the Supreme Forgetting Emotions path someday, all worldly sentiments will become trivial in his eyes. What he pursues is the Great Dao itself."

"His devotion to the Dao far outweighs his feeling for you."

"Why can’t you see that clearly?"

There was a touch of frustration in Qilou Yan’s tone, like a teacher despairing of a pupil’s blindness.

"Be that as it may, I’ll harbor no regrets," Lan Youruo declared, unwavering.

Qilou Yan sighed. "Since your conviction is unshakeable, I have nothing more to say. However, you absolutely cannot miss this Moon God Ceremony."

"I will go back."

After deep thought, Lan Youruo acknowledged the ceremony’s crucial importance.

Going to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest with them now would only make her a burden.

Far better to return to the Moon God Clan and break through to Emperor.

Succeeding in this would significantly enhance her ability to support Nangong Zhandao in the future.

"They will depart for Tianxu tomorrow, and I too shall set out tomorrow," Lan Youruo stated.

"Sister Luoyan, are you also going to the Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest?"

"No."

Qilou Yan’s expression turned grave. "The Seven-Treasure Mystic Forest involves powers far too immense. With my current strength, going there would be courting death. This time, an Emperor Venerable from the clan will attend."

"Tomorrow, I can accompany you back to the clan."

After settling their travel plans, Lan Youruo got up to leave.

"Little sister, I pray you do not blame me in the future. Together with Nangong Zhandao, there will be no happy ending." Only when Lan Youruo’s figure had completely vanished did Qilou Yan murmur to herself.

She had already consulted with the clan chief. Once Lan Youruo returned to the clan and became an Emperor, she would be confined within the Moon God Clan and forbidden from leaving.

The worst-case scenario involved helping Lan Youruo erase all memories related to Nangong Zhandao.

This, she believed, was the best outcome possible.