The sun reached its zenith; the sky was clear with no clouds to be seen. At the top of the mountains, the altar was deathly silent.

  The various expressions were frozen on their faces, like funny masks.

  Si Long had almost blanked out. Losing his body was an unbearable loss. Although it was only the flimsy body of a mortal, it was critical to cultivation, let alone the fact that it was a body of a true dragon that had taken him colossal effort to achieve.

  He had not left his body here without any preparations at all. Instead, he had prepared various defensive measures. Even if Li Qingshan launched a sneak attack here, he would not even be able to touch it without a good while. However, he forgot about the Heaven Climbing Vine that could pierce space.

  It pierced all the defences layer by layer, draining dry his essence blood droplet by droplet.

  The verdant and tender vines wove into the face of a woman, who said, “You’ve returned, your majesty! Look at your expression right now! It’s hilarious! Has something bad happened? Hehehehe…”


  “She actually hasn’t left!”


  Gu Yanying was mildly surprised. After doing something like that, not only did she stay, but she was even bold enough to openly provoke him. She would basically be facing Si Long’s wrath alone.

  “So that’s Qian Rongzhi! She really is intriguing!”


  Rāhu Xiaoming was brimming with interest. Dealing a vicious blow to Si Long while he had lost his connection with his body in the Jade palace was nothing too impressive, but provoking him openly like that took extraordinary courage.

  The hierarchy in the cultivation community was clearly divided. When the inferior faced the superior, they felt reverence almost instinctively. Even if they were in an untouchable situation, they would probably still be cautious. She should have understood very well that a single Heaven Climbing Vine was not enough to protect her life.

  The sharp laughter filled with malice immediately made Si Long jerk back to his senses. With a flash of golden light, he cut down the face swiftly and roared furiously, “Qian Rongzhi, what have you done?”


  Like a reply to his question, there was a series of gasps and cries from around the altar.

  The previous emperor of Great Xia felt a prick from the sole of his foot; the prick was so small that it was almost undetectable. However, it managed to pierce his protective arcane treasure and tough body instantly, venturing deep into his soul and reaching straight for his soul nascence.

  In the next moment, he was like a balloon pricked by a needle. All of his vital energies flowed out through the needle hole uncontrollably. He experienced a sense of coldness and horror far greater than ever felt before.

  Thousands of vines emerged from the crowd, extending, twisting, entwining, and piercing amid the eerie laughter like dancing snakes. Between them were various frightened faces.

  As it turned out, the vines had filled the ground beneath the altar a long time ago. It no longer seemed like a solemn place to make offerings to the heavens; instead, it was a terrifying trap.

  And from a certain perspective, Si Long had personally set this trap.

  Chu Tian possessed the Heaven Climbing Vine from birth. By the time Qian Rongzhi had taken it from him, it had only managed to grow to the size of a bonsai in over two decades.

  The fact that he used a majority of the pure spiritual qi from the Human realm for cultivation did play a role, but it also demonstrated just how great of a demand the Heaven Climbing Vine had for resources. As a matter of fact, the vine seemed rather useless once their cultivation reached a certain level.

  If it were not for five thousand years of accumulation and preparation by the Great Xia empire, basically feeding it with the force of the entire empire, it would never grow to such a level even if it had another millennium. It might even come to a standstill. No matter how pure the spiritual qi it extracted was, it was still limited after all.

  When this strange plant that could pierce space or even worlds completely grew up, it would never be something harmless and useless that was just for decoration.

  Blood splattered everywhere. The Cloud Shadow Crane King cut off his legs resolutely, letting out a cry and spreading his wings for the sky. When he had only risen up halfway, a vine emerged from space, piercing his chest.

  The King of Eastern Lu powered the sword on his waist. It shone with sharp light, like a pool of clear water. It was possible to tell with a single glance that it was no regular arcane treasure. It slashed at a vine, but the sword passed through the vine smoothly, unable to harm it at all.

  The Heaven Climbing Vine’s existence was both tangible and intangible. Only Si Long could cut through it with the aura of nature from his Yang Soul, but the other cultivators were completely incapable of that. They could not tear off even with the thinnest vine from them and cut it apart. Weapons could not touch it, and it was immune to techniques. Once these powerful cultivators fell into its “claws”, they could never escape again.

  Before anyone had noticed, the vines had already filled the sky, taking out all of the humans and daemons who took part in the offerings to heaven in one fell swoop.

  Si Long did not actually care about the fates of these people. Even when it came to his own descendants, who knew how many generations separated them. He devoted all of his attention to the nine cauldrons. That was the crux to making the offerings to heaven. Even if he had lost his body, he could still complete the final step of the offerings with his Yang Soul.

  However, the brutal reality did not even leave him with a final sliver of hope. The columns of light rapidly dimmed as vines wove together inside the cauldrons, having covered them a long time ago. It was precisely for this moment.

  The power of belief from all of the living creatures gathered towards the trunk of the Heaven Climbing Vine. There seemed to be a figure standing there, maddeningly stealing the fruits of success from the offerings to heaven.

  The will of the people would always be used by the ambitious, while the unpredictability of human nature completely surpassed the intangible will of the heavens.

  Si Long felt light-headed. The feeling of becoming one with the heavens gradually left him. It let him completely understand how the Great Banyan Tree King felt in the past—All plans reduced to dust the moment he could see success right before him.

  It felt like he was only a step away from the peak, only to step into an abyss. The intense feeling of loss was enough to drive people crazy. He did not go crazy, but his inner demons flared again.

  Unwillingness, regret, resentment, sorrow… various negative emotions flooded out.

  “Hehehe, now, I’m the one chosen by the heavens, the lord of the living! All of you can go and die!”


  The Heaven Climbing Vine was like a twisted snake as Qian Rongzhi’s mad laughter filled Dragonshead mountain. The many talented great cultivators, the noble members of the imperial family, and the various Daemon Kings of flexible political allegiance all prostrated at her feet, putting up a painful struggle.

  Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, remembering the sight from many years ago, except it was only a small mountain back then. Right now, she was at the top of the nine provinces. Even the paramount Human Sovereign had fallen for her scheme, suffering a disastrous defeat.

  “Bitch, do you think I can’t kill you just because you’re hiding in the Heaven Climbing Vine?” Si Long roared furiously.

  Wielding his fingers like a blade, he cut through the trunk of the Heaven Climbing Vine with a single stroke. The Heaven Climbing Vine was terrifyingly powerful, but it was as delicate as a regular plant before even greater power.

  He pulled Qian Rongzhi out from there with ease and sensed the familiar aura she gave off. That was the bloodline of the true dragon that belonged to him. Because she was unable to digest and absorb it, a pair of dragon horns protruded from her head while her body was covered in scales. However, her eyes were better described as more snake-like than dragon-like, staring at Si Long mercilessly and viciously.

  He became even more furious inside. Golden light flashed in his eyes.

  Her flesh and blood scattered in the air, having been shaved away. In the blink of an eye, only a bloody, human figure remained with tiny, gorgeous snakes in between, which was a particularly grotesque sight.

  Xiao An showed no emotions, but she tightened her grip around her swords.

  Li Qingshan sighed inside. He really did find this child more and more difficult to understand. He did not like Qian Rongzhi, but he would always repay a debt, so he definitely would not simply watch her be killed. However, even without the Barrier of the Nine Provinces obstructing them, they could not save her from Si Long’s hands.

  However, her laughter never stopped. Instead, it became even more elated as she urged him on. “Quick, kill me! I have the bloodline of a true dragon! A small wound like this is nothing.”


  Her voice then sank, like the hissing of a snake. “If you kill me, the Heaven Climbing Vine will wither, and you won’t be able to return to the Human realm. You’ll face the powerful rejection of this world too. If you kill me, a true dragon blessed by the heavens, you’ll definitely face hostility from the will of the heavens, and the situation will become even worse. You’ll let Li Qingshan get away with everything for nothing.”


  The purpose that the Heaven Climbing Vine served was similar to the great ghost tower. They both allowed existences that exceeded the limits of this world to descend upon the nine provinces. However, sovereign Li was unable to leave the ghost tower, while Si Long had basically turned this world into his own backyard using the various methods he had prepared beforehand and his advantage of being born in this world.

  However, Qian Rongzhi had basically completed the offerings to heaven in Si Long’s place, becoming the “chosen child of the heavens”. Even when she did not have too much power to wield, she was still blessed by the heavens. There would definitely be retribution if she was killed.

  Si Long trembled. He obviously understood that, which was why he could not bring himself to kill her. Instead, he felt even more oppressed inside, such that he almost wanted to cough up blood.

  His inner demons flared even more as he showed signs of suffering from cultivation deviation once again. Even more terrifyingly, the will of the heavens began to shift, and his powers were restricted. If this continued, he would blow up on the spot with his soul obliterated before he even clashed with Li Qingshan and the others.

  “To think that a bitch like you is bold enough to devour my body and destroy my plans! Return everything that you took from me!”


  With his last wisp of clarity, he lunged forward with his Yang Soul, entering Qian Rongzhi’s body. If he managed to possess her successfully, then he would still be the true dragon chosen by the heavens. All of his mistakes would be rectified.