The moment Lu Cheng took the ten-thousand-year soul nourishing wood from the old man, the towering rage and endless greed finally shattered Ling Tian's last shred of sanity!
He could no longer suppress the intense desire within him to claim this supreme treasure for himself!
His body, almost instinctively, lunged forward.
Within that seemingly frail university student's body, a faint yet incredibly pure cultivator's true qi began to circulate.
It instantly locked onto Lu Cheng!
He was prepared to disregard everything and forcefully snatch it!
Anyway, as long as he seized the ten-thousand-year soul nourishing wood and recovered a trace of his soul power, he might still be able to carve out a new path for himself.
The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak and the victor is king, is an unchangeable rule in any world!
However.
Just as he was about to lift his foot and charge at Lu Cheng, in that critical moment...
Lu Cheng's eyes, which had previously held a gentle smile, suddenly… glanced at him.
It was just a glance.
But the look in his eyes was completely different from when he had seen him from afar outside!
At that time, Lu Cheng's gaze was at least outwardly gentle; although a killing intent was hidden deep within his eyes, it wasn't obvious.
Their brief eye contact had only caused an unprepared Ling Tian's heart to clench slightly.
But now, this glance was cold and indifferent!
Devoid of any human emotion!
It was as if an supreme deity from the Nine Heavens was looking down at a ridiculous ant!
It also contained a terrifying pressure and aura, more despair-inducing than any physical attack.
Because it meant that the opponent's strength might be several levels higher than his, capable of easily immobilizing him with just an imposing aura.
"What… what exactly is this guy?"
A monstrous wave instantly surged in Ling Tian's heart!
"This pressure, this killing intent, it's even more unsettling than some Demon Sovereigns this Emperor encountered in his previous life!"
"He… who exactly is he?"
Ling Tian froze in place, as if under a 'body-fixing' spell, unable to move.
He was horrified to discover that under the gaze of that cold stare, even mobilizing the trace of true qi within him became incredibly difficult.
Even the wisp of his remaining Immortal Emperor's remnant soul trembled slightly at this moment.
His meager cultivation, formed by the combination of a wisp of his soul and this physical body, was completely inadequate in front of this man.
This broken world doesn't seem as simple as he thought...
Lu Cheng couldn't help but reveal a sneer of disdain, seeing that he had immobilized this so-called "Immortal Emperor" with just a glance.
This was also the first time he had unleashed the full aura and pressure of his Dan Jin on a single person.
The result was obvious: this Immortal Emperor's remnant soul, after being reborn in the modern city, was already like a silver spear with a wax head—impressive to look at, but useless in practice.
He toyed with the "mysterious decaying wood" he had taken from Professor Bai.
Such a small piece of wood, which the old man had polished so much it was completely covered in patina, was the "ancient treasure" the Immortal Emperor was looking for?
He inspected the piece of wood with the system.
[ten-thousand-year soul nourishing wood]
[Born at the dawn of chaos, absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, sun and moon, and endless soul power, it is the supreme treasure for nourishing the soul. This wood still retains a trace of uncorrupted wood heart essence; using it as an accessory or ornament can nourish the soul and accelerate cultivation speed.]
Soul? He would first need a way to utilize soul power to make use of this thing.
Improving cultivation speed is good, and this piece of wood is only a trace of its uncorrupted wood core essence… Indeed, it would only be suitable for a small figurine, a paperweight for a study, or carved into beads for accessories.
Lu Cheng turned around to look at his beloved younger sister, and the moment he saw Lu Xuan's expression, he understood what the girl was about to do.
So, he said in a light and airy tone:
"Xuan'er."
"Look at this black piece of wood; its material seems decent, it's just a bit ugly."
"Later, I'll carve a rabbit out of it for you, and you can put it on your desk as a paperweight, to hold down book corners or something, it'll be perfect."
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan looked at the "dark, ugly" ten-thousand-year soul nourishing wood.
Then, with a hint of disdain in her voice, she whined to Lu Cheng:
"Oh, big brother! This wood is really ugly!"
"I don't want this thing; it's so dark and ugly!"
"And carving a rabbit is so tacky…"
"Black… I want it carved into Belial's head!"
Her words, of course, weren't because she genuinely wanted her brother's item.
From the moment her brother arrived at this exhibition booth, she had noticed that he seemed to be deliberately targeting this male classmate!
So, as a good sister, she naturally had to help him out!
The more you desire something, the more we will pretend to dispose of it casually, without any care.
What is a treasure to them is mere dregs to us.
We just want to infuriate you and make you go against big brother!
...Lu Xuan's additional jab added several more cracks to Ling Tian's already severely battered Dao heart.
Her innocence, to Ling Tian, was more heartbreaking than any malicious taunt!
It also thoroughly proved that they were genuinely!
Truly not taking this supreme treasure, which would drive any cultivator insane, seriously!
After a series of physical deterrence and mental blows...
He watched as Lu Cheng, accompanied by two 'cauldrons' that should have been his, walked away casually.
He finally recovered his ability to move from the immense pressure.
His eyes were now completely filled with hatred and killing intent!
"A mortal body, yet capable of such power?"
One must know that in the cultivation world of his previous life, even a Qi Refining cultivator could casually kill multiple mortals at once, like cutting melons and vegetables.
"This incomplete world indeed hides strange things that this Emperor does not know about!"
"Today, I was impulsive! A head-on confrontation is definitely not the best strategy!"
Ling Tian's eyes gradually turned sinister and malicious.
"But no matter how strong you are, you are ultimately a mere mortal!"
"No matter how powerful your physical body is, it's just a shell. And the soul within your shell, in front of this Emperor's wisp of Immortal Emperor remnant soul, will surely be a piece of paper that can be pierced with a single poke!!"
"Lu Cheng! You ant who doesn't know your place and dares to snatch this Emperor's opportunity!"
"You forced my hand! You sought your own death!"
"Once this Emperor recovers a little of his soul origin power…"
"I will definitely make you, this frog at the bottom of a well, truly taste the flavor of being invaded by this Emperor's supreme divine sense, having your soul torn apart, and your form and spirit utterly annihilated!"