That beautiful figure was perfect, with curves where there should be curves, but no excess curves elsewhere. There wasn’t the slightest bit of her appearance that should be changed.

A face like jade, bright eyes like sapphires, an image of the peak of beauty. Her face had reached the level of perfection. Even each hair of her left and right eyebrows matched perfectly. That was a kind of beauty that shouldn’t exist in this world. Only one person possessed such an image: the Devil Empress Leng Yueyan.

“Leng Yueyan, why are you here? Wait, when did you grow to this extent? You… you wouldn’t want to kill me, right?” Long Chen looked in shock at Leng Yueyan.

It had only been just over a year since they had left the Immemorial Path. Long Chen had just reached Foundation Forging, but he found that he still had to look up to her.

He wasn’t even able to comprehend her current cultivation base. She was floating in the air, black clouds surging around her. The space around was constantly splitting and healing. She looked at Long Chen like she was a god, giving Long Chen a blow. Was the difference between them really so great now?

“Divergents of heaven and earth are in defiance of the heavens. Thy bravery is admirable, but those in violation of the Netherworld will not be recorded within it.” This woman’s voice was just as beautiful as her appearance.

But what shocked Long Chen was that as she spoke, the world seemed to echo what she was saying, as if the world was prostrating itself to her. By being here, she became the ruler of the world.

The distant Xuan Master was filled with shock as he looked at her. Long Chen simply didn’t know who she was because he hadn’t reached that height yet.

“Hey, after leaving the Immemorial Path, did you give up the martial path for literature? Why are you speaking like that?” asked Long Chen.

“Thou hast the wrong person,” she said.

“Really? You’re someone else?” Long Chen was stunned. He carefully looked at her. That perfect face, that perfect body, she was essentially the same as Leng Yueyan.

He wondered if the feeling would be the same as well. Perhaps if he could just have a touch, he would be able to tell that she really wasn’t Leng Yueyan.

Back then, Leng Yueyan had nestled against him in a cave. He definitely would be able to tell if the feeling of her skin was the same, or if she smelled the same. Perhaps that was an innate skill he had learned from Little Snow.

“Blasphemy!”

Long Chen had only just thought about whether he should try it when the woman shouted coldly. The space around her exploded, and a huge sword fell toward him.

In that instant, Long Chen was filled with horror. This sword was completely destroying space as it fell. It was unblockable, unavoidable. Even in his peak state, he would only be able to watch as he was killed, let alone in his injured state.

Just as he thought he was dead, an ancient bronze mirror appeared in the air.

The ancient mirror’s runes lit up, making it brighter than the sun. It unleashed a huge light barrier around Long Chen.

That huge sword instantly rebounded upon striking the barrier and slashed back toward the woman.

BOOM!

She waved a hand, and the huge sword exploded. With a cold snort, she was just about to attack once more when the light of the mirror fell onto Long Chen. He and the mirror both vanished.

She glared at the air. Boundless energy was currently gathering there. She icily stared for a moment before she vanished back into the spatial channel.

Once she was gone, that rapidly gathering energy slowly dissipated as if nothing had happened.

Long Chen had thought he was dead. Sensing he had been saved, his weary, broken body finally couldn’t endure any longer. He fainted.

Within the endless darkness, he waited a long time, but that voice didn’t appear again. That voice would appear every time he descended in this darkness, but it didn’t appear this time. Furthermore, he didn’t sense the pill formula that should have appeared.

He didn’t know how long had passed, but he eventually opened his eyes. He saw that he was lying on the ground, while the Xuan Master was sitting in meditation near him.

When he opened his eyes, the Xuan Master’s eyes also opened. Long Chen hastily sat up. He found that all his injuries had already healed.

“Many thanks for saving me, Xuan Master,” said Long Chen.

The Xuan Master looked at Long Chen oddly. After a long moment, he said, ”You’re a real man.”

“Hehe, Xuan Master overpraises me. This lightning tribulation-” Long Chen wanted to say some humble words.

“I’m not talking about your lightning tribulation. I’m talking about that woman. You actually were able to form such a desire toward a god. You - you have guts,” said the Xuan Master with a mixed expression.

The Xuan Master’s cultivation base was far above Long Chen’s. He didn’t even need to intentionally probe his spiritual fluctuations to tell what he was thinking.

So he said Long Chen had guts, almost too much so. To dare want to commit that kind of blasphemy against a god, he was truly a man.

“A god? That’s impossible, I know her,” said Long Chen.

“This world is aplenty with two people who look the exact same. Let alone just two, there are dozens of people who can look the same. Fortunately, her true body didn’t come; otherwise, even using the Reincarnation Mirror, I wouldn’t be able to bring you out alive,” said the Xuan Master.

“Ah?” Long Chen couldn’t help being flabbergasted. How was this possible? She looked exactly like Leng Yueyan, and their icy temperament was identical. Even their auras had been strikingly similar.

“Long Chen, you’ve opened my eyes to the world. Being able to personally see the existence of a god was extremely helpful to me,” said the Xuan Master gratefully.

He had seen many things he once hadn’t even imagined from that icy woman. It was very helpful to his enlightenment.

Long Chen was still blankly staring. If that woman really was a god, then he really was a man.

“Xuan Master, what is a god?” asked Long Chen.

The Xuan Master sank into thought for a while before saying, “All you need to know is that gods aren’t as sacred and holy as you imagine. In truth, it is just a kind of realm. In the immortal era, gods and immortals were not rare. But now, the world has declined and they only exist in legends. As for the exact details, when you reach that realm, you’ll naturally learn of it. Before your power has reached that point, learning these kinds of secrets in advance will just add karma. And this karma, it always settles its bill with you… during your heavenly tribulations.”

Saying that, the Xuan Master’s voice was a bit heavy. Long Chen’s heart was also heavy.

In truth, he should definitely have died to this tribulation. If he hadn’t pierced the heavens and unleashed a huge amount of thunderforce, that final lightning incarnation would have been even more terrifying.

“Fuck, if I can’t start condensing the fifth star, I’ll definitely die next time,” thought Long Chen worriedly. But right now, he didn’t know what the problem was. There wasn’t the slightest sign of the fifth star.

But fortunately, he had managed to enter the Foundation Forging realm. His gamble had paid off. Others had their immortal platforms in their Dantians, but he had his in his acupuncture points.

108,000 acupuncture points equalled 108,000 immortal platforms. Now that he was fully recovered, he felt an unprecedented strength flowing within him.

“You can go for now. Remember, keep everything secret, including that god. Don’t talk about it to anyone. If you tell anyone, all you’ll be doing is harming them,” said the Xuan Master.

“Disciple understands.”

Long Chen returned to Crouching Dragon Mountain. Everything was very calm. When Long Chen had disappeared from their midst, the Xuan Master had simply said that he had been summoned to his side because of his great merit in battle.

“Boss… you’ve advanced to Foundation Forging?” Guo Ran and the others were stunned.

As soon as Long Chen returned, the calm of Crouching Dragon Mountain was broken. They had all been waiting for him.

The higher-ups had already announced that all the devil beasts had been eliminated by the stronghold. At the same time as everyone felt a burst of relief, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of loss.

Now that the Infernal Devil Abyss had been quelled, there were no more devil beasts for them to kill. That signified there wouldn’t be so many points for them in the future. They would only be able to complete a few of the sect’s missions for points now.

As the saying went, it was easy to get used to luxury when you were poor, but hard to become frugal after being rich. Now, no one dared to spend as many points as before.

“Boss, did the Xuan Master give you special treatment? You’ve already advanced to Foundation Forging!” Currently, Long Chen’s aura was still leaking out since he had only just advanced and he was unable to control it perfectly.

“Yup, it can count as some special treatment. He gave me some pointers that benefited me greatly, so that’s why it took so long for me to return,” said Long Chen.

In truth, the last few days, Long Chen had been unconscious, with six of the Healing Hall’s Elders spending all their energy to heal him. His injuries had been so heavy that it had taken them three days to heal him.

“Wow, the Xuan Master’s personal pointers! Boss, are you about to ascend to the heavens?” cried Guo Ran.

“Are you trying to curse me? Why don’t you put it more directly and tell me to rest in peace?!”

“No, boss, you misunderstand. I was just wondering if the Xuan Master had taken you in as an apprentice and passed his legacy on to you. Has he chosen you to be the future successor of the Xuantian Dao Sect?” Guo Ran’s eyes were shining with anticipation. It seemed he was already imagining how amazing and grand it would be for him once Long Chen was the Xuan Master.

In truth, the Xuan Master had truly said the following to Long Chen, “I was originally planning on raising you as my successor, but since you dare to even blaspheme a god, I’ve decided to forget about it. A little place like the Xuantian Dao Sect probably can’t handle your craziness.”

Once Long Chen returned, they had another feast, with the Heaven Female Alliance and Ten Thousand Insect Guild also joining in. The Heaven Female Alliance actually brought their own food and drink as congratulations.

One reason was to celebrate their accomplishments during the battle, while another was to celebrate that Long Chen was the first to break through to Foundation Forging amongst the new disciples.

What surprised Long Chen was that even Su Mo and Mu Qingxuan came.

“Long Chen, congratulations on advancing to Foundation Forging. In the future, we’ll be fighting side by side. Don’t forget to look after your senior apprentice-sister,” said Mu Qingxuan with a smile.

“Looking after my senior apprentice-sister is fine, but I know two women who might have opinions on that,” said Long Chen. When he said he would ‘look after her’, he intentionally raised his eyebrows at her in a flirtatious manner.

Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er immediately turned red and hit him. On the other hand, Mu Qingxuan laughed and said, “You have quite the appetite.”

Everyone knew Long Chen was joking. That last battle had just been too bitter. Even dozens of Foundation Forging experts had died. Just being able to live was something worth being happy about.

Everyone drank and ate. It was very lively, and everyone enjoyed themselves to their heart’s content. Long Chen finally fell asleep soundly as he held two beautiful women.