Battle Through the Heavens: Who put Laozi in my storage ring?

"So, my old man..."

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the storage ring on his finger. "It's about time it came out."

"You little rascal, you're quite amusing."

Sure enough, a lazy voice came from the storage ring, startling Xiao Yan so much that he almost dropped it. A wisp of green smoke rose up, and when he looked up again, the smoke condensed into an old figure sitting cross-legged in mid-air, smiling kindly as he looked at Xiao Yan.

"Not bad, you weren't scared enough to throw away the ring. All your years of hard work have paid off," the old man laughed.

"All these years, it was you who devoured my Dou Qi?" Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, staring intently at Yao Lao, his eyes surging with anticipation and excitement: "I know your background. You don't need to pretend to be some reclusive expert. You are Yao Chen of the Yao Clan, betrayed by your disciple Han Feng, and now you only have a wisp of your remnant soul in this storage ring."

He waited for that day, for a full fifteen years.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't excited.

"Stop wasting time on that nonsense. I want to become stronger, I want to gain a foothold on this continent, and you also need to take revenge on your good disciple and return to the Starfall Pavilion."

"You teach me knowledge and help me become stronger. In return, I will forge a physical body for you and help you take revenge. How about it?"

"Whatever the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, the Burning Technique, the alchemy method, please bring it out, I won't mind having too much..."

Xiao Yan floated on the water, his gaze fixed intently on the mysterious old man.

The other party had no reason to refuse.

But the next moment, the mysterious old man shook his head. “Little boy, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. Your character has indeed been good over the years, and I have seen it all. Therefore, I am willing to take you as my disciple, but I am not called Yao Chen.”

"I also don't have the habit of taking on apprentices on behalf of others."

"Tch~" Xiao Yan spat out the leaf from his mouth and said helplessly, "Elder Yao, stop pretending. Let's be frank. You've been observing my character for fifteen years, don't you believe me?"

"Hehehe..." The old man chuckled, shaking his head with a smile: "What, are you so certain that I am the Medicine Master you speak of?"

"If there were other people in this storage ring, I would have known as emperor after I became emperor," Xiao Yan sighed.

"Who else could you be?"

"Me?" The mysterious old man stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said, "I have many incarnations, and this broken body is just one of them. However, people in the mortal world often refer to me as... Taiqing Daode Tianzun."

"..."

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Xiao Yan then burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face, and collapsed into the mountain spring.

The old man, however, remained smiling as he quietly watched Xiao Yan.

"If you are Laozi, then I am the Jade Emperor... Wait a minute." Xiao Yan's smile froze. He was indeed a transmigrator, but in the entire Dou Qi world, he was the only transmigrator who knew the title of Laozi...

"You've realized this isn't your original world?" The smile shifted to the mysterious old man's face.

"You, are you really Laozi?!" Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. Even his identity as a transmigrator had been seen through. This was simply too terrifying.

"good."

The old man smiled and nodded.

"Gulp~" Xiao Yan's throat bobbed, and then his face lit up with joy. Everyone knew that this person was a super big shot who had direct access to the creation of heaven and earth. He had made a fortune. Let alone absorbing for fifteen years, even absorbing for one hundred and fifty years would be worth it!

"master!!!"

Xiao Yan knelt down without hesitation, fearing that the other person might change their mind.

"Alright, get up," Lao Tzu said with a smile, speaking slowly.

"As for the Xuanzhong Ruler you mentioned, I have never heard of it. However, when Yu the Great was controlling the floods, he forged a small one as well when he was forging a ruler to measure the sea. You can make do with it for now."

Having said that, the old man waved his sleeve.

A massive, jet-black staff, obscuring the sky and covering the sun, slowly appeared above the two of them. It then rapidly shrank and landed directly in front of Xiao Yan, plunging into the mountain pool and causing ripples in the water.

"Gurgle..."

Xiao Yan swallowed and gently stroked the Xuan Staff. Although it was not engraved with words like "Ruyi Jingu Bang" (a magical staff), its intricate patterns made it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary object.

Like an ancient magical artifact, it exudes a cool and aloof feeling when held, followed by a weight as heavy as a mountain.

"Make do with this weapon for now. As for the other treasures, with your strength, I'm afraid you'd be crushed into blood and gore before you even used them." Lao Tzu stroked his beard.

"As for the alchemy method you mentioned, I do have some expertise in it. I can teach you a thing or two when the time comes. As for how much you can learn, that will depend on your own fortune."

"It's a pity that I'm just a remnant soul now, and there are many things I'm powerless to do."

Chapter 5 Eight-Nine Arcane Arts

"Teacher, why would you..."

Xiao Yan couldn't help but stroke the Xuan Staff. This magical artifact didn't have the concept of recognizing its master by dripping blood, but in his hands, it was as if it were his own arm, possessing a bit of spirituality. After playing with it for a while, he looked at the old man with great curiosity.

The incarnation of a remnant soul is truly... intriguing.

What could possibly harm this person?

Seemingly seeing through Xiao Yan's guess, Lao Jun smiled and shook his head: "At my level, who can hurt me? It's just that... because the status of this world is too low, my avatar is becoming increasingly weak."

Xiao Yan: "..."

That's fine.

It turns out they were dissatisfied with this plane because it was too weak. But speaking of which, this is a lower plane. If it ascends to the Great Thousand World in the future, will it be able to support Laozi's incarnation?

"Hehe, that's a long way off. Take care of your current predicament first. Just this three-year agreement is enough to give you a headache," Lao Jun said with a chuckle.

"This old man can read minds!" Xiao Yan touched his nose. In front of this man, all his little thoughts vanished.

"In that case, could you please give me a few pills?"

After they became familiar with each other, Xiao Yan had no reservations. He casually spread his hands and looked at Lao Jun with a grin, saying, "As for Nine-Turn Golden Pills and the like, ten or eight wouldn't be too little, a hundred or two hundred wouldn't be too much. You can give me whatever you think is appropriate."

"Ouch..."

The next moment, Xiao Yan covered his head and grimaced, "You've absorbed my Dou Qi for fifteen years, giving me a pill isn't too much to ask, is it?"

"So it's battle qi. I thought it was just waste gas." Lao Jun chuckled, glancing at the grinning Xiao Yan, who did resemble a certain hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed, and greedy monkey...

"Never mind." Lao Jun shook his head and tossed Xiao Yan a crimson-gold pill. "This is a Marrow Cleansing Pill, which can help you rebuild your physical body and lay a solid foundation."

"As for the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir, I didn't bring it with me in this physical body. The conditions for refining it are so demanding that it's probably difficult to gather the necessary materials in this world. Let's talk about it when you enter that realm."

"And cultivation techniques..."

“Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, eight-nine…” Xiao Yan licked his lips, overjoyed.

"Sigh, you monkey...you little rascal, you're insatiable. The Eight-Nine Arcane Arts contain seventy-two transformations, the Five Elements Escape Technique, cloud riding, an indestructible body, and the ability to emulate the heavens and the earth...I'm not stingy with teaching you all, but can you possibly learn them all?"

Xiao Yan looked slightly embarrassed. "Then I'll learn slowly?"

Lao Jun smiled and shook his head, then gently touched the boy's forehead, and a wealth of complex cultivation techniques flooded into his mind.

Seeing Xiao Yan droop his head, fall into a deep sleep, and slump into the clear pool, he put his hands behind his back and glanced into the distance: "Come out."

"senior……"

Under the shade of a tree, Ling Ying's figure slowly emerged, her arms crossed over her chest, her head bowed, but her eyes held a deep sense of shock.

This person is definitely not some wandering ghost.

Instead, it has quite a background.

Even though he was a Douhuang powerhouse, he couldn't help but tremble when he saw the Xuan Staff that blotted out the sky. Although there was no clear distinction between weapon ranks in this world, he had the good fortune to see the weapons treasured by his clan while following Miss Xun'er.

However, it always felt that its imposing presence was somewhat lacking compared to the Xuan Staff.

"Have you seen enough?" Lao Jun calmly sized up Ling Ying. The two figures gradually shifted, as if a supreme being of heaven and earth was enveloping Ling Ying, looking down at the trembling Ling Ying from above.

"Gulp~" Ling Ying's throat bobbed, her face turning slightly pale: "Senior, please understand, I have never had any ill will towards Young Master Xiao Yan. I was just afraid that he would go astray and be deceived, so I secretly followed him."

Ling Ying dared not look up, yet felt that the other person was as majestic as a mountain.

Even the clan leader had never given him this feeling.

"..."

After a long while, Laozi finally spoke slowly: "If it weren't for this, do you think you could still be standing here, speaking to me?"

"Thank you, thank you, senior."

Ling Ying wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, inwardly groaning.

If he had known that Young Master Xiao Yan had such a great opportunity, why did he even bother to join in the fun? He was almost wiped out like an insect by the other side.

However, to give him such a profound sense of oppression from the depths of his soul, a remnant soul is not a matter of strength, but rather of "status".

Could it be that the person standing in front of him is a remnant soul of a Dou Di?!

The clan leader said that although the Dou Di (Battle Emperor) has disappeared from this world, there are still many cave dwellings left behind by the Dou Di...

"Practicing shadow techniques?"

Just as Ling Ying was breaking out in a cold sweat, Lao Jun spoke quietly.

“That’s right! My cultivation is shallow, and I’ve only made some progress in this area over the years,” Ling Ying quickly replied.

"You use form and shadow as your technique, but do you know that the shadow is not an illusion, but rather the pivot of Yin and the messenger of Yang?" Laozi said calmly, wanting to offer some guidance.

“…” Ling Ying stood there, stunned.