Could it be that I am the cruel villain?

Buzz——

His face suddenly changed.

A tremor came from underground, a terrifying power far beyond his dimension and understanding, even he, once a master at the Body Integration Realm, had never felt such power.

"What's happening!?"

His expression showed panic, but he quickly reacted, his formidable Divine Soul instantly burst forth with powerful energy, yet…

Splash!

The waves from the lake surface immediately knocked him down, instantly sweeping over his head.

In Jiang Feng's Dantian, a pair of cold, indifferent eyes gazed into the distance, expressionless, completely unsurprised by this turn of events.

The last person to reach this space in the Dantian was Yu Ying.

The price she paid was one soul and three spirits, taking half a month before being able to step out of bed, and half a year to regain her senses, nearly three years later she had finally restored most of her strength.

To be honest, if it wasn't for half of his Divine Soul guarding this place, that young girl would likely have had her entire soul devoured, becoming an idiot then and there, and what Yu Ying did…

Was merely to glance through that door.

"Stupid."

Such was the judgment from a certain aloof Fairy.

Knowing the danger yet recklessly courting it due to blind arrogance, such behavior is undeniably foolish, if it were a naive young person she could understand, after all curiosity killed the cat, but the problem is…

How old are you?

Outwardly appearing young, but in truth having lived for a millennium, how could Liu Tangxi not discern this person's age, learning so little at such an age is disappointing, and moreover she could tell at a glance that his intentions were not pure.

He deserved such an ending.

Splash——

A hand desperately stretched out from the lake, using the powerful Divine Soul to struggle out of the black water, his face full of terror, nearly crawling out from the black water, never in his lifetime had he encountered such horrifying Spiritual Energy.

Thick, dense, suffocating, once attached to the body it pounced madly like a wolf smelling blood, refusing to let go, especially when Xuan Xiaozi encountered that Spiritual Energy, he almost lost control of his mind.

The negative emotions that flashed by in that instant were countless times more terrifying than anything he had experienced in millennia.

"What the hell is this, what the hell is this! Get away, scram!"

His voice was so shrill it almost broke, crawling desperately onto the shore, before he could turn back, there was another dull thud, another heavy rumble from underground.

It was a gigantic explosion created by a brief vacuum below the water's surface, a reaction only produced when massive objects ascend rapidly, the previously calm lake surface suddenly churning, the world changing colors, clearly the massive entity submerged in the lake was the master of this realm.

His heart was filled with terror.

The path of cultivation has nine realms: Body Refining, Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Mahayana, Crossing Tribulation, Ascension.

Once Xuan Xiaozi was already at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Realm, even among the entire Cultivation World he was one in ten thousand, yet even at that realm, there were things beyond his reach.

That is... Immortal Monarch.

In today's world, there are no true Ascenders, at least from what his worldly experience has never heard of, only mentioned in some ancient manuscripts or archival records, while today only one type of people in this world are infinitely close to ascension.

These are those just a step away from ascension, qualified to be called Great Emperor within their clan, describing them as Demi Immortal would not be an exaggeration, in today's Jiuzhou lands, there are nearly a billion humans within this world.

Yet there are only a few Immortal Monarchs.

If among the Human Clan they are named Immortal Monarch, the Demon Race has Demon Lords, and the Demon Clan has Demon Monarchs, from their title's suffix "Monarch," one can discern their status.

"How is it possible, how is it possible!"

Panic, bewilderment.

Regrettably, Xuan Xiaozi's level was still lacking, or perhaps his physical body fell too soon, although he had heard of the title Demon Night True Monarch, his realm was utterly unqualified to interact with him, thus naturally unfamiliar.

No matter how foolish he might be, he realized the secret hidden within Jiang Feng was definitely at the level of Immortal Monarch, the two were simply not on the same plane.

The peak of Body Integration and below ascension appear only two Great Realms apart, well, back then Jiang Feng once pulled off such an extreme move, when he had just reached Foundation Establishment, he went to provoke the Nascent Soul Stage, it's roughly such a realm gap.

But.

The actual disparity in combat power between Xuan Xiaozi and the Demon Night is likely bigger than the gap from Qi Refinement to Divinity Transformation.

On the Great Path, beneath ascension, how terrifying is such a realm?

Now, it has shown an answer.

Boom——

The world changed colors.

The originally clear dimension is now shrouded in dense clouds, a gigantic beast head emerged from the lake, completely overturning the dark water!

The thick liquid dripped from the scales, the gigantic beast head soared into the sky, completely blocking the light, blood-red serpent eyes opened, fixedly staring at the food delivered to its door.

The oppression felt in that instant was enough to drive everyone in the world into madness.

Even Xuan Xiaozi was stunned, eyes wide, mind blank, at the moment the entity appeared, he felt his Divine Soul seemed to stop functioning.

"What on earth is this…being?"

The two parties simply gazed at each other quietly.

Mockery, ridicule, sarcasm, the expression on the beast's face was incredibly human-like, just like a human full of expressions, Xuan Xiaozi merely retreated a few steps, swallowed hard, realizing finally what he needed to do.