A journey through immortal realms begins with a phantom tale.

Luo Cheng smiled knowingly and asked, "What do you think?"

"Hahaha!" The Azure Emperor let out a hearty laugh, which echoed in the void.

The five celestial lords beside him were all shocked upon hearing this laughter. These five were not only celestial lords of the celestial realm but also sworn brothers of the Azure Emperor, and they knew his temperament best.

The Azure Emperor was calm and meticulous, and rarely laughed heartily.

In their brief exchange with Luo Cheng, the five Heavenly Lords perceived that the Azure Emperor had placed Luo Cheng on par with himself. Perhaps to put it another way, even with the Azure Emperor's supernatural powers, he wasn't entirely confident he could defeat Luo Cheng.

Luo Cheng changed the subject: "Azure Emperor, I've heard you're skilled in divination?"

"I have some knowledge," the Azure Emperor said frankly. "In terms of divination, Yuan Gu is a cut above me."

"I also know a little bit about this. Based on my prediction, you and I will ascend to the Divine Realm together," Luo Cheng said calmly.

The conversation between the two contained both probing and subtle exchanges of benefits, but it ended there.

The Azure Emperor changed his tone again, his gaze sweeping over Luo Cheng and Li Qiang: "Luo Cheng, Li Qiang, I would like to become sworn brothers with you. What do you two think?"

Upon hearing this, the five Heavenly Lords were all dumbfounded. Weren't they supposed to take Li Qiang as their disciple? Why did they suddenly change it to becoming sworn brothers?

Li Qiang was stunned and stood there. He had always thought that the Azure Emperor wanted to take him as a disciple. He never expected that after they met, the other party would want to call him brother.

The Azure Emperor had been observing the expressions of the two men. Seeing Li Qiang's astonished look and Luo Cheng's composure, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Li Qiang, look at your senior brother. He's much more composed than you."

Li Qiang scratched his head and laughed, "I really didn't expect to become brothers with the Azure Emperor, the ruler of the Immortal Realm. I'm a little stunned."

Luo Cheng joked, "Being brothers with the Lord of the Immortal Realm sounds pretty good indeed."

With just a few words, Luo Cheng and Li Qiang agreed to become sworn brothers, thus becoming brothers with the Lord of the Immortal Realm.

Luo Cheng suddenly changed the subject and called him by his name: "Liu Qing, it's an incredible blessing that you can be brothers with Li Qiang."

"Hmm?" The Azure Emperor was shocked. His secular name before he began cultivating was known only to a handful of people, including Yuan Gu!

Seeing his shock, Luo Cheng found it amusing, but he didn't continue, neither mentioning the Heavenly Venerable's inheritance nor the secrets of the Divine Realm.

But he's right, it's truly a blessing for the Azure Emperor to become sworn brothers with Li Qiang. Leaving aside the fact that Li Qiang will inherit the Heavenly Venerable's legacy in the future, his loyal and righteous nature alone makes him worthy of being a friend.

The five Heavenly Kings were terrified and wished they could cover their ears, as if they had heard something taboo that they should not have heard!

The Azure Emperor quickly calmed himself and took out a dark blue-green jade slip. This was not a jade slip used by ordinary cultivators, but a divine slip, a medium used by deities to record information, with a storage capacity far exceeding that of a regular jade slip.

He first handed the divine scroll to Luo Cheng, who accepted it without ceremony and read it with his divine sense. The divine scroll contained the original version of the Heavenly Recommendation Chapter for Cultivating Gods, but the final realm and the forbidden divine techniques had been sealed by the Azure Emperor with divine restrictions.

Luo Cheng tried to probe with the laws of space and found that he could break the restriction, but he did not take any action. He simply read the contents of the previous text as usual, and then handed the divine tablet to Li Qiang: "Junior brother, you can take a look too."

"Okay." Li Qiang accepted the divine tablet and thanked him solemnly.

Luo Cheng stood aside, pondering to himself, "As expected of the Azure Emperor, his perception is sharp and his plans are far-reaching. He tested him as soon as they met and then made the most advantageous choice. Just the step of becoming sworn brothers with Li Qiang is a risk-free and highly profitable move." Given Li Qiang's personality, he will definitely treat him sincerely.

After reading the divine scroll, Li Qiang returned it to the Azure Emperor.

The Azure Emperor retrieved the divine tablet and said solemnly, "The Ancient God's Treasury will officially open in one month."

Of all those present, the Azure Emperor was the most knowledgeable about the Ancient God's Treasury, so everyone listened attentively, indicating their willingness to follow his arrangements.

"This area belongs to the ancient god's territory. Remember not to teleport, and do not take action unless absolutely necessary," the Azure Emperor emphasized.

Li Qiang immediately objected: "Not take action? Are we just going to wait to be beaten?"

The Azure Emperor glared at him, but seeing that he still acted as if he feared nothing, he explained helplessly, "Brother Li, you may not know this, but the Ancient God's Treasury is surrounded by divine restrictions. Moving one thing can affect the whole situation, and the slightest carelessness could lead to disaster."

The five Heavenly Emperors were shocked. They had never seen the Azure Emperor explain so patiently. This newly recognized "brother" had received far too much respect.

Luo Cheng also spoke up to explain, "Junior brother, this place is riddled with divine formations; we must proceed with caution."

Li Qiang listened to Luo Cheng's words and immediately nodded, "I understand."

"Let's go." The Azure Emperor led the way.

The group flew for a distance, getting closer and closer to the ancient god's lair. Ahead lay a magnificent starry sky, filled with stars of all sizes, some crimson, some dark blue, and some a mix of red and blue.

In Li Qiang and Luo Cheng's eyes, those stars were like giant marbles suspended in the starry sky, radiating heat waves and terrifying pressure. Activating their divine eyes, they could see countless crisscrossing lines weaving the entire starry sky into a massive divine array.

Li Qiang grew increasingly astonished as he looked: "This is the Ancient God's Treasury? Who possesses such supernatural powers, capable of moving stars and setting up divine arrays?"

The group paused for a moment, preparing to continue their journey, when suddenly more than a dozen figures flew in from a distance and blocked their path.

"It's Bona Ancient Immortal!" Li Jintianjun said in a deep voice, "These are all people from the Western Saint faction."

The Bona people of Xinbo Cape are divided into two major factions: the pro-war faction led by Heglu, and the pro-peace faction led by Bobes. The ancient immortals before us belong to the pro-war faction.

Hegel stood at the front, and when his gaze swept over Luo Cheng, his eyes twitched almost imperceptibly. He had witnessed Luo Cheng's divine power before, and he was wary of him.

"Azure Emperor." A Bona Ancient Immortal stepped forward, his tone unfriendly, "This Ancient God's Treasury is unique to the Bona people; outsiders are not welcome."

Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng couldn't help but laugh. The Bona people actually wanted to monopolize the Ancient God's Treasure; their appetite was far too great.

These dozen or so ancient immortals from Bona blocked the way, clearly not wanting the Azure Emperor and his group to enter. They had long been dissatisfied with the Azure Emperor, Yuan Gu, Bo Ju, and others monopolizing the benefits of the Ancient God's Treasure, which was located in the territory of the Bona people, yet they could only obtain a small share.

"Azure Emperor, if you want to go there, first ask the divine artifact in my hand if it will allow it!" a burly Bona Ancient Immortal said in a deep voice.

"Heavenly God of Misfortune?" The Azure Emperor recognized him, his tone calm and composed, carrying an air of absolute control. "It seems you are determined to block our path."

Li Qiang stood aside, silently observing the Azure Emperor. The Azure Emperor stood in the void, exuding an aura of calm composure and complete control, befitting the ruler of the Immortal Realm.

"Heavenly God, if you remain obstinate, don't blame me for sealing you away." The Azure Emperor's voice suddenly turned stern, carrying a hint of domineering power.

Luo Cheng suddenly turned around and saw a handsome young man with a high ponytail appear in the void. At a glance, he recognized him as Yuan Gu Shangren—unlike the girl he had seen before, the young man before him was tall, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding an aura of dominance. Beside the young man floated an ancient, simple cauldron.

"Master Yuangu!" Li Qiang recognized him and exclaimed in surprise.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the Azure Emperor secretly breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Yuan Gu.

"Yuan Gu!" The Bonagu Immortals all showed fear upon seeing the young man, clearly indicating that Yuan Gu had left a shadow on them.

Qian Shanyong knew some old stories and knew that many ancient immortals had been suppressed by Yuan Gu.

Tian Nanshen, hot-tempered and brimming with fighting spirit, declared: "Yuan Gu, others may fear you, but I certainly don't!"

Yuan Gu's face remained expressionless, his tone icy: "Heavenly God, the Ancient God's Treasury is about to open. If you dare to cause trouble here, I will have no choice but to seal you away."

Upon hearing the word "seal," Tian Nan's eyes flickered, clearly showing some apprehension, yet his tone remained defiant: "Yuan Gu, enough talk, let's fight!"

Yuan Gu said no more and directly used the Divine Spirit Technique to activate the Bei Ye Pill Cauldron beside him. The pill cauldron instantly grew to ten thousand feet in size, like a majestic divine mountain, and smashed towards Tian Nan with the power to shatter the heavens and the earth.

Tian Nan was not afraid at all. He took out a hammer-shaped divine weapon—which he had obtained from the ancient god's treasure and had already refined.

"Star-Breaking Hammer?" Yuan Gu recognized the artifact. During the two previous openings of the Ancient God's Treasury, a hammer-shaped artifact had appeared—this Star-Breaking Hammer, though only a low-grade artifact. The Bei Ye Dan Cauldron in her hand, however, came from the Divine Treasury Tower and was a quasi-King-grade artifact.

Seeing this, the other ancient immortals of Bona all summoned their magical treasures, preparing to step forward and help.

"Wait!" the Azure Emperor shouted, summoning a divine artifact.

Qian Shanyong's eyelids twitched when he saw the divine artifact. Li Qiang asked curiously, "Is this also a divine artifact?"

"It's the Heavenly Wheel of the Azure Emperor," Qian Shanyong explained. "I told you before that Lone Star was imprisoned in the Heavenly Wheel to be punished."

The Azure Emperor activated the Heavenly Wheel, using his great supernatural powers to block the other two Bonagu Immortals, preventing them from interfering in the battle between Yuangu and Tiannan God.

Luo Cheng observed carefully and found that both the Azure Emperor and Yuan Gu were extremely careful when using their supernatural powers, as if they were afraid of touching some taboo.

Li Qiang also noticed something amiss and leaned close to Luo Cheng, whispering, "Senior brother, why do I feel like Qingdi and Yuangu's strength is just average?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Celestial Lords all revealed a cold smile. Celestial Lord Li Jin explained, "Brother Li, you are unaware that this is the core area of ​​the Ancient God's Treasury, surrounded by divine restrictions. Anyone who can act here must possess great supernatural powers; otherwise, the slightest carelessness will trigger the divine restrictions."

Li Qiang was unaware that their biggest worry was triggering the divine restriction, which would seal off the ancient god's treasure. If that happened, no one would be able to enter, effectively cutting off any hope of becoming a god.

Li Jintianjun took out the Mi Dao Ruler, stepped forward, and assisted Yuan Gu in dealing with Tian Nan Shen.

Luo Cheng saw the Mi Dao Ruler and a thought struck him: "Xiao Bai should be inside the Mi Dao Ruler, right?" He thought to himself that he would find an opportunity to get Xiao Bai back.

The Bona people may seem arrogant, but they are actually quite shrewd when they act. They know they cannot trigger the divine restrictions. Their goal is to obtain the benefits of the ancient god's treasure and not let the Azure Emperor and others monopolize it!