"???"

Huang Zhongtian's smile gradually froze.

He was at the Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor!

A figure whom even Xu Qingfeng had taken as a formidable enemy in life.

Huang Zhongtian comforted himself, perhaps Xu Qingfeng's Venerable Realm partner hadn't heard of him before and didn't know his terror, which is why she acted so recklessly.

In fact, Ruan Tang knew.

She had heard about him twice, once from her daughter Yiyi.

Back then, Yiyi and Qian Xiao had encountered Elder Huang Quan once, Yiyi thought the blue sand was very beautiful and regretted not being able to keep some.

The second time was from her senior sister.

The cause was that this Elder Huang Quan called Huang Zhongtian had intercepted a segment of heavenly secrets to create a Jade Slip, nearly foretelling Xu Lai's future demise.

At the end of the Jade Slip, Huang Zhongtian said he could help Xu Lai escape death but needed Xu Lai to agree to one request.

Xu Lai didn't believe it at the time and naturally didn't go looking for Huang Zhongtian.

Back then, senior sister Yu Guiwan was anxious to persuade him, but it was useless. Later, senior sister accidentally let slip on Earth, only then did she tell Ruan Tang everything.

...

Ruan Tang put away the transparent jar, intending to give it to Yiyi.

Huang Zhongtian rubbed his face and said seriously, "Let me reintroduce myself, I am Huang Zhongtian, at the Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor."

"Hello, Ruan Tang."

"... You might not understand the concept of Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor, one more step forward is the Emperor Realm."

"My husband is in the Emperor Realm."

"..."

Huang Zhongtian was caught off guard, and for a moment forgot his purpose in coming, just staring blankly at Ruan Tang.

He couldn't figure out how this woman managed not to fear him.

Huang Zhongtian couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not afraid of me?"

"If you want to kill me, fear is useless. If you don't want to kill me, why should I be afraid?"

Ruan Tang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "You've come as a guest, Fellow Daoist, would you like tea or wine?"

"That logic seems correct, but I'll pass on the tea and wine."

"You came from afar not to seek revenge or kill, nor to drink tea and chat, Fellow Daoist, are you perhaps here to deliver the key?" Ruan Tang speculated.

"Yes and no, to be precise, I'm here for a transaction."

Huang Zhongtian raised a brow, with a black and a yellow bead continuously rotating around him.

Ruan Tang asked, "Since it's a transaction, what do you need, or what does the Heavenly Court need to do for you?"

Huang Zhongtian didn't speak directly, only said, "Only Xu Qingfeng can help me, no one else can."

Ruan Tang's previously gentle facade was stripped away, her eyes were calm as she looked, but no matter how you looked, her gaze was cold.

Clearly.

Her deceased husband was Ruan Tang's reverse scale.

"Qingfeng Sword can't see me for now, with your strength, you can't kill me."

Huang Zhongtian inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, previously when interacting with Ruan Tang, there was always a strange feeling.

Because Ruan Tang was so calm.

But now he understood, Ruan Tang wasn't as calm as she appeared on the surface, Xu Lai was her Achilles' heel.

"It must be tried."

Ruan Tang formed her fingers into a sword, intending to use Qingfeng Sword Intent.

A Venerable Realm daring to unsheathe their sword against the Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor, Huang Zhongtian didn't find it laughable, instead had a bit of respect.

So he said word by word, "I can save him."

"You... what did you say."

"I said, I can save him."

Huang Zhongtian repeated, then pointed to the No Righteous Sword not far away, "But I want to take the No Righteous Sword, Xu Qingfeng also needs to do me a favor."

"Alright, I agree with you."

"Don't be in a hurry to agree, do you know what that sword signifies?"

"No, I don't know."

Ruan Tang clenched her fist, "But certainly, it's not more important than Xu Lai."

Huang Zhongtian was silent for a moment before speaking, "It is."

Across a stretch of Netherworld, Ruan Tang looked straight into Huang Zhongtian's eyes steadfastly, "It isn't."

"Tsk."

Huang Zhongtian smacked his lips, not knowing how to respond.

He hadn't expected things to progress so smoothly, initially he had even thought of forcibly taking it if Ruan Tang didn't agree.

Of course, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

After all, Great Emperor Jin Shi was stationed in the Heavenly Court, absorbing massive amounts of incense, his power wouldn't be much inferior to Xu Qingfeng. Furthermore, there was still Li Bahuang, that ticking time bomb.

After thinking, Huang Zhongtian said, "That Immortal Fruit can save Xu Lai, and I have something that can help you reach the end of the White Jade Stairway."

"Give it to me."

Ruan Tang stepped onto the Yunmeng Blue Sand, her voice slightly trembling.

These days, she worked hard on her cultivation just to reach the Immortal Venerable Realm sooner to pick that fruit, betting for a chance.

But today, she received a definitive answer, that fruit could resurrect Xu Lai, it felt like something was surging from her heart.

Not tears after an emotional flood, but hope.

The path built by Yunmeng Blue Sand wasn't long.

Ruan Tang quickly reached Huang Zhongtian, and only then did she see three pitch-black crows standing at the bow.

They all had three eyes, sensing Ruan Tang's gaze, simultaneously flapping their wings and cawing loudly.

The sound was very noisy, making Huang Zhongtian's head ache, "Shut up."

The three crows simultaneously fell silent, but continued to stare at the approaching Ruan Tang with an unfriendly look, poised to attack at any moment.

"You walk up here so unguardedly, aren't you afraid I'll deceive you?" Huang Zhongtian asked.

"I have numerous Magic Artifacts and Spirit Stones, Xu Lai told me in times of danger, I could trigger them."

Ruan Tang told the truth.

"Trigger Spirit Stones?"

Huang Zhongtian couldn't help but laugh, "No matter how many Spirit Stones, they can't harm me unless it's a self-destruct formation laid with Ten-color Immortal Grade Spirit Stones, but even the most wasteful Emperor Realm wouldn't waste like that, it's much better used for Artifact Refining or Alchemy."

Speaking of which.

Huang Zhongtian's face turned unpleasant.

Xu Qingfeng's formation accomplishments were unmatched in this cycle, the Ten-color Immortal Grade Spirit Stones weren't likely something he lacked.

The key is, Xu Qingfeng was a total madman, who knows what he wouldn't do?

So Huang Zhongtian took a step back and laughed awkwardly, "I am not an enemy, no need to trigger it."

Ruan Tang didn't respond.

From her Storage Space, she took out a palm-sized Spirit Stone, seemingly plain and unadorned.

But if one looked closely, the internal array patterns were inscribed using numerous Ten-color Immortal Grade Spirit Stones, and even each Spirit Stone within sealed a strand of Qingfeng Sword Intent.

As Divine Sense just touched it, Huang Zhongtian's scalp tingled, and he quickly withdrew.

For Emperor Realm cultivators it's hard to say, but it could easily blow a regular Nine Heavens of the Quasi-Emperor to bits, luckily he wasn't ordinary.

Hmm???

Wait.

Huang Zhongtian suddenly inhaled sharply, faintly sensing a familiar energy from that Spirit Stone.

Carefully perceiving it, within it was actually a small segment of Netherworld water and Yunmeng Blue Sand, marked with his energy signature.

If the formation self-destructed, it would follow the energy signature to target him.

In other words.

If the formation self-destructed while he, Huang Zhongtian, was present, it would prioritize attacking him.

"???"

Huang Zhongtian was instantly filled with question marks.

That dog Xu Qingfeng crafted the Ten-color Immortal Grade Spirit Stone self-destruct formation, clearly intended to target him!