Countless lightning dragons poked their heads out of the dark clouds, all staring at Lu Chang'sheng!
Then they dove straight down at Lu Chang'sheng!
Thunder roared!
Like an apocalypse come to end the world!
Lu Chang'sheng stood there as countless lightning dragons dove toward him!
Bolt after bolt of lightning struck down around him, but not one could penetrate Lu Chang'sheng's spiritual energy defense.
For ten miles around Lu Chang'sheng, it was like a pure land untouched by the world—no lightning could strike there!
And now, the lightning dragons had already reached the edge of Lu Chang'sheng's spiritual energy shield!
Rumble—!
The lightning dragons raged furiously against the barrier!
But all they could produce on the barrier were wave after wave of ripples.
They couldn't go even a bit further.
Not even the tiniest bit!
Lu Chang'sheng pointed out with his finger, and a bolt of finger force shot straight through one of the lightning dragons!
The lightning dragon scattered into sparks and vanished in an instant!
The face in the clouds narrowed its eyes, its voice grave: "Fellow Daoist, you too must be trapped in this universe, right? If you stop interfering, we'll send you out of here."
Lu Chang'sheng shot back, "Why should I leave?"
At the Hidden Dao Academy, I get to slack off and someone's always cooking for me.
And in The Cottage, nobody schemes or backstabs.
Basically, zero life pressure, you know?
So why the hell would I leave just to go chase trouble somewhere else?
Am I stupid?
Apparently the face hadn't expected Lu Chang'sheng's answer, and growled, "Fellow Daoist, if you ignore our warning, when we descend next time, not even you may be able to withstand us!"
Uh...
Hearing that, Lu Chang'sheng felt a bit uneasy. What if he really couldn't beat them when they came?
Still, for the sake of protecting his own slacker lifestyle—
Lu Chang'sheng could only feign nonchalance and said, "Then just remember to bring more people next time."
Yep.
That sounded intimidating enough, right?
The face stared deeply at Lu Chang'sheng, as if trying to burn his image into memory.
"I'll remember your words. Next time I set foot here, I'll bring far more experts—to your satisfaction."
With those words, the face instantly dissipated from the world.
The barrier vanished too!
Leaving only Lu Chang'sheng standing there, stunned and slack-jawed.
Did I just... screw up?
No way, no way—if they really come back with a mob, what am I gonna do if I can't win?
I gotta hurry and get ready!
With that, Lu Chang'sheng disappeared on the spot.
Before long, he was back at The Cottage.
Pacing back and forth on the cliff, he kept muttering to himself, "I've got a formation now, can't boost my cultivation overnight, what else is there to prep?"
The willow tree nearby heard all this, and couldn't help but speak up, curious.
"What happened?"
Lu Chang'sheng saw it and spilled the whole story.
After hearing him out, the willow let out a helpless sigh.
"Aren't you being a little too cautious?"
Lu Chang'sheng shook his head. "Too cautious? You call this cautious? I'm just worried my cultivation won't be enough to take them on! I mean, I can't even figure out what level I'm at these days!"
For decades, all I've done is check in every day, and my cultivation rewards are always doled out by the year.
Who the hell knows what stage I'm at anymore?!
The willow was left a bit speechless.
Even she couldn't see through Lu Chang'sheng's realm.
And if she couldn't, who in this universe could possibly threaten Lu Chang'sheng?
Not to mention, there's still the Nine Netherworld Formation right here.
This is one of the top 10 ancient killing arrays!
And not just from this low-level universe's ancient times—this thing's on a whole other dimension!
Watching Lu Chang'sheng still worry himself sick, the willow didn't bother saying any more...
And the little bird off to the side, watching all this, was left pretty speechless, too.
…
When Ye Qiubai and Hong Ying returned to The Cottage, planning to go greet Lu Chang'sheng—
They saw their master pacing on the cliff, muttering to himself.
"Maybe I should just run away?"
"Nah, I'd have to move again, and nowhere else is as comfy as here."
"Uh... Master, what's going on?"
Ye Qiubai came over, scratching his head. "What could trouble Master so much?"
Hong Ying looked at Lu Chang'sheng, face full of curiosity.
She really wanted to know what could ever stump this unfathomably strong Lu Chang'sheng.
Lu Chang'sheng saw the two walk up and instantly brightened, hustling them along: "Hurry up! You two—go train, now!"
One's got the Chaos Essence Sword Body.
The other's got the Reincarnation Sacred Body.
And both of them have Aptitude To Become An Emperor!
If I can't figure out cultivation, I'll just let these two train up to Great Empress, problem solved, right?
That way I can just kick back and slack off again, can't I?
Thinking that, Lu Chang'sheng added, "Don't come out until you hit Great Empress!"
Ye Qiubai: "…"
Hong Ying could only rub her forehead helplessly.
Is it possible this master has no clue how strong he really is?
Some of those heaven-defying techniques—even she, as Empress, had never seen before!
Take just the formation hovering over The Cottage.
Even if she was at her absolute peak, she probably still couldn't break through it!
And then—
Xin Hongyi arrived at The Cottage to spar with Ye Qiubai.
Hong Ying dove back into training her Nine Cycles Reincarnation Technique, stabilizing her realm.
Lu Chang'sheng thought about it—maybe he couldn't just rely on his disciples!
Guess I gotta train a bit myself too!
Problem is... how?
No cultivation technique.
And honestly, he'd never practiced properly in his life…
Forget it, time for a nap.
I'll just keep living off my daily check-in cultivation rewards…
Ever since the Blood Prison Mystic Realm,
another two days slipped by.
At this moment—
Jiang Jun had returned to the Sunset Empire.
"Crown Prince, the mission failed..."
Jiang Jun knelt on one knee before a man in a brocade robe, looking grim. "We underestimated Ye Qiubai's power. Shadow Kill and my four black-robed guards—all were wiped out."
Huang Tianming fiddled with the canary in his cage. Upon hearing this, his expression didn't change at all.
"Alright, I understand. Report the deaths of those three Shadow Kill assassins to their people."
Shadow Kill.
Once they accept a mission, they won't give up unless it's finished!
With three assassins dead this time, they'll definitely send even more—and even stronger—killers to finish the job!
Huang Tianming smiled and said, "He's just a Southern Barbarian commoner. No sense wasting too much effort ourselves. Let Shadow Kill handle it."
Jiang Jun nodded. "Yes, I understand."
"Oh, and one more thing."
Huang Tianming's tone suddenly went cold: "Since you failed, go to the Prison Forest and accept your punishment."
Prison Forest.
The most terrifying place for anyone in the Sunset Dynasty!
It's where the dynasty hands out its punishments—
And the methods are utterly vicious.
Even at the peak of the Water Overflow Realm, Jiang Jun shivered at the thought!
But he dared not disobey.
After all, Huang Tianming's methods are even scarier than the Prison Forest itself…
Jiang Jun left.
Huang Tianming didn't even turn around, murmuring, "You can stop eavesdropping, Ye Qiubai isn't dead yet."
A young woman stepped out from the back, biting her lip without a word.
Huang Tianming set the birdcage on the stone table, turning to Jiang Chan with a smile. "He's not dead yet, but it's only a matter of time. So, don't try anything out of line, or else—"
"Even if you're my future wife, the Sunset Empress, I will show no mercy!"