Li Ruoxian was shaken. She hadn’t expected Qi Yuan to kill Yang Kang. Who would’ve thought that his strength was this terrifying? Wasn't he merely at the Nascent Soul realm? Could he be concealing his true cultivation? None of that mattered now.

What mattered was that Qi Yuan had killed a steward of the Seeking Dao Palace! It was an earth-shaking event! Even a Yin Spirit wouldn’t dare kill anyone in this palace!

Li Ruoxian's mind was in chaos. Her granddaughter was equally baffled.

Li Ruoxian's only thought at that moment was escape. "Let's leave quickly!"

Even though she knew there was likely nowhere to flee. Sure enough, waves of powerful auras erupted.

"Who dares cause trouble in the Seeking Dao Palace?!"

"Bold lunatic! To kill in our Seeking Dao Palace, you have chosen death!"

Over a dozen formidable presences swept over, surrounding Qi Yuan and Li Ruoxian. Each of them was a Violet Palace cultivator, their auras terrifying beyond measure. Li Ruoxian's face turned deathly pale. She had never been so close to death before!

The girl’s teeth clattered as her face turned pale.

Only Qi Yuan remained calm, casually saying, "I am a seeker of the Dao[1]. I have come to humbly challenge the fellow Daoists of the Seeking Dao Palace. If I win, I ask that you give me your cultivation techniques. If I lose, I shall bestow upon you the opportunity to become gods."

The Violet Palace cultivators were dumbfounded. Li Ruoxian and her granddaughter were also bewildered. Qi Yuan was simply too unpredictable!

An elderly man demanded, "Do not change the subject. How do you explain killing Daoist Yang Kang?"

As time passed, more and more Violet Palace cultivators gathered, some observing from afar.

Qi Yuan said indifferently, "I came to request an audience with Elder Fu Lu, but that fellow asked me to sleep with him. Well, that’s why."

Li Ruoxian felt both admiration and helplessness toward Qi Yuan.

"How can we possibly know you’re telling the truth?!"

"Even if he insulted you, what right did you have to kill him?! It should’ve been up to us to decide!"

"Isn’t it common sense for a mere visitor to abide by our rules?!"

The Violet Palace cultivators were hostile. Killing someone in the Seeking Dao Palace, especially a steward, was a slap to their face.

"I'm not a member of the Seeking Dao Palace. Why should I follow your rules?" Qi Yuan replied matter-of-factly.

That immediately enraged them. This man was far too arrogant! Did he not know where he stood? How could he be so brazen?! 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Just then, Wujun’s ethereal voice sounded in everyone's hearts. "Blood-Clothed Sword God, as a Great Venerable, why bother playing games with these juniors?"

A tall, burly man stepped forward. A crimson armor encased him all over, radiating a terrifying aura. He seemed so close, yet impossibly distant.

The Violet Palace cultivators' expressions changed drastically.

The true master behind the Seeking Dao Palace had arrived. As elusive as a dragon, nearly all of the Violet Palace cultivators had never seen Wujun before. Now, the man had appeared in the flesh, saying things no one expected.

The Violet Palace cultivators trembled. What did he just say? The Blood-Clothed Sword God? Could it be...

Did they just surround a Great Venerable?!

Li Ruoxian was stunned, staring at Qi Yuan in disbelief. Her granddaughter covered her mouth, eyes wide in shock. She had never imagined that Qi Yuan was her idol all along!

Qi Yuan stared calmly at Wujun. "I'm not playing with them. They're all Violet Palace cultivators, advanced in years. Aren’t they basically my elders? I came precisely to challenge these seniors. What I said earlier stands. If they lose, they’ll give me cultivation techniques. If they win, I'll grant them an opportunity to ascend to godhood."

The Violet Palace cultivators exchanged glances. A Great Venerable had traveled thousands of miles just to challenge them? How could they be worthy? Besides, even if all the Violet Palace cultivators here ganged up on him, they still wouldn’t stand a chance! Actually, all the Venerables in Canglan combined wouldn’t equal a single Great Venerable!

They didn't know whether to feel honored or absurd. As for Yang Kang's death, no one cared anymore. Had it been an ordinary Yin Spirit, he would probably have feared Wujun’s strength and offered his apologies.

However, a Great Venerable was a whole different story. One could only pray they could still live after offending one.

Wujun gazed at Qi Yuan with a complicated look. "Are you being serious?"

He had long heard that the Blood-Clothed Sword God was half-mad. Moreover, the recent meeting between the lunatic and Jasmine had only confirmed that he was no ordinary person.

Qi Yuan said matter-of-factly, "Of course I am. I never lie. I'm just a young man, challenging a group of ancient monsters. I'll consider it a small loss on my part, respecting the elderly and cherishing the young. That's not too much, is it?"

The Violet Palace cultivators were speechless. They wanted to say his skin was far too thick. Ever since the dawn of Canglan, no Great Venerable had ever challenged Violet Palace cultivators! And he said he was at a disadvantage? How shameless...

Qi Yuan declared passionately, "Haa... Facing so many famous old monsters, I'm actually a bit nervous. Still, bravery isn’t about having no fear! Even if this battle leaves me battered and besieged, even if I may die nine times, I shall not regret it! Let this battle shatter heaven and earth, rending the cosmos to primordial chaos!"

He spoke as if he were the weaker one daring to challenge the strong.

Wujun narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through him. "What exactly is your purpose?"

"I want all the cultivation techniques of the Seeking Dao Palace. I have one request as well."

Qi Yuan quickly dropped his impassioned tone and explained the matter of the Yuan God Sharing Society.

Wujun frowned. "Your demands are excessive."

The Seeking Dao Palace had accumulated those techniques over hundreds of thousands of years. How could they be handed over so easily?

Besides, Qi Yuan wasn’t the only Great Venerable around here. Wujun was one as well, at the peak of the Fourth Step to Heaven. He did not fear a Great Venerable from Moonwatch Continent. In Canglan, Qi Yuan could at most wield the strength of an early Fourth Step to Heaven.

Qi Yuan asked softly, "If I defeat every cultivator of the Seeking Dao Palace, will I be able to claim all your techniques?"

1. ***E/N: he plagiarized Shen Wushen’s backstory... ☜