Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

"This is such an opportunity."

"Fellow Daoist, are you still unwilling?"

Yun Zhenyue stood in the void, his expression calm.

In his view, there was actually not much suspense about this matter.

Gu Changjin is indeed very strong. With the cultivation of a quasi-emperor at the seventh level, he single-handedly destroyed the Tai Xuan Divine Sect and even withstood the emperor's decree without dying. Such a person can be considered a giant in Xuanheng Ancient Star.

But so what?

The Gu family of Beixuan is ultimately just the Gu family of Beixuan; it's not some imperial clan.

Even before Gu Changjin rose to power, there wasn't a single quasi-emperor who could truly be considered a leader.

In contrast, the Yun family is the only great emperor family on Xuanheng Ancient Star, with its imperial bloodline still intact and its imperial weapon still in existence.

Besides him, there are two other quasi-emperors at the ninth level of the Heavenly Realm in the clan.

Even in a place like the Imperial Ruins, where imperial clans are numerous, such a foundation would certainly not be considered weak.

Let Gu Changjin serve as the protector of this generation's imperial son.

In Yun Zhenyue's view, the Yun family had already offered him a ladder to heaven.

If Gu Changjin were to reach out and grab him, the Gu family of Beixuan would be able to truly rely on the Yun family in the future.

Who would dare to make a move?

If the eldest son of the Yun family can truly fight his way to the throne, and even become an emperor...

As one of the protectors, Gu Changjin's status rose even higher.

This is an opportunity that many people would kill for.

Gu Changjin suddenly laughed, then shook his head.

"I don't want to."

Yun Zhenyue froze, seemingly not having heard clearly.

"What?"

Gu Changjin's smile remained unchanged.

"I say, I am unwilling."

The expression on Yun Zhenyue's face finally faded little by little.

He stared at Gu Changjin for a long time.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, have you thought this through?"

Gu Changjin found it somewhat amusing.

"How long do I need to think about this? I've cultivated to this level, not to be some junior's protector."

After he finished speaking, Yun Zhenyue fell completely silent.

A moment later, he suddenly chuckled softly.

"Hehe, it seems that destroying the Tai Xuan Divine Sect has made you a little blind to your own strength."

His tone finally became less polite.

"You do have some good fortune."

"It's even possible that they obtained a fragmented inheritance left behind by an ancient emperor from the Imperial Ruins."

"But don't forget."

"An incomplete inheritance is ultimately just an incomplete inheritance."

"And my Yun family is of the bloodline of the Great Emperor! The imperial weapon left behind by the Great Emperor himself still suppresses the clan's destiny!"

Yun Zhenyue spoke, his voice growing colder.

"Where is your family, Bei Xuan Gu?"

"Besides you, what else is there?"

"Does a quasi-emperor who has only emerged in the last few days really think he can stand on equal footing with the imperial family?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Changjin's smile widened even more.

Sure enough, all that politeness before was just an act.

Ultimately, they still felt that their Yun family was superior.

If you're given a position as a protector, you should accept it with gratitude.

reject?

That means they don't know how to appreciate kindness.

Seeing Gu Changjin's expression, Yun Zhenyue completely lost his patience.

"Since you are unwilling, it is a pity."

Gu Changjin's eyes flickered slightly.

"What? You want to kill me?"

"It's not that I want to."

Yun Zhenyue slowly raised his eyes.

"But today, you truly cannot leave."

As he said this, a faint smile appeared on his lips, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, weren't you planning to go to the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land?"

"I forgot to tell you, fellow Daoist."

"The current Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land is already engaged to the eldest son of my Yun family."

"You killed Xiao Tianyue and now you want to destroy the Tianyan Holy Land."

"It has already become a karmic connection with my Yun family."

"To refuse the Yun family's goodwill now..."

Yun Zhenyue sighed softly.

"Then I can only ask you to die, fellow Daoist."

"As for the Gu family of Beixuan, they will soon join you."

The smile on Gu Changjin's face slowly disappeared.

"I see."

The next second, darkness rose behind Gu Changjin, and a layer of darkness so deep it almost swallowed up light silently spread outward from Gu Changjin.

The starlight in the void was obscured, the aura of the Great Dao was swallowed up, and even the quasi-emperor pressure released by Yun Zhenyue disappeared as quickly as a stone sinking into the sea after coming into contact with that layer of darkness.

For the first time, Yun Zhenyue's eyes became serious.

"Indeed, it's very similar to that lineage of the ancient emperor."

Gu Changjin did not answer.

The life essence, divine materials, sacred weapons and various resources accumulated by the Tai Xuan Divine Sect were instantly further refined by the "Burial Heaven Devouring Dao Scripture".

Deep within the Dao Fruit, a large amount of Dao Yuan began to burn.

boom!

The aura of a Quasi-Emperor at the eighth level suddenly surged.

The heavens and earth trembled, and the Great Dao resounded.

The next moment, he reached the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor!

Gu Changjin's aura was like a black pillar, piercing directly through the starry sky!

Yun Zhenyue's pupils contracted sharply.

"Ninth level of Quasi-Emperor?!"

How is that possible?

Not long ago, when Gu Changjin fought against the Tai Xuan Divine Sect, he was only at the seventh level of Quasi-Emperor!

He destroyed a supreme lineage and became a Quasi-Emperor at the eighth level.

Now, just say a few words, and you're a Quasi-Emperor of the Ninth Heaven?!

No! Doesn't your cultivation require time?

Gu Changjin didn't give him a chance to continue being shocked.

With one step, the darkness behind him instantly pressed down.

A punch was thrown!

The void in front of Yun Zhenyue collapsed directly.

He also unleashed a palm strike, the laws of the ninth level of Quasi-Emperor transforming into an ancient world of clouds, colliding head-on with Gu Changjin's fist.

boom!

The starry sky suddenly trembled, and the two of them stepped back simultaneously.

Yun Zhenyue took three steps back, while Gu Changjin only took one step back.

Yun Zhenyue's expression changed completely.

Gu Changjin frowned.

No, that faint sense of danger is still there.

Moreover... the danger does not come from Yun Zhenyue himself.

The next second, he finally saw it.

A faint golden divine light slowly shone from Yun Zhenyue's chest.

In that instant, Gu Changjin's sense of danger reached its peak!

Imperial Weapon!

"No?! You old fool."

Gu Changjin's eyes narrowed, and he said somewhat speechlessly.

"You actually bring an imperial weapon with you when you go out?"

Yun Zhenyue finally smiled.

"Hahaha! Fellow Daoist, you're only realizing this now? It's probably too late."

hum!

A golden ancient plate, no bigger than the palm of his hand, slowly flew out from his chest.

The ancient plate has few complex patterns, only star trails that appear to be formed naturally.

But the moment it appeared, the entire starry sky seemed to be grasped by an invisible hand.

Space no longer belongs to space, and distance has lost its meaning.

Gu Changjin even felt that his connection with Xuanheng Ancient Star was forcibly severed for a moment.

This thing... isn't a purely killing imperial weapon!

Gu Changjin understood instantly.

Oh no, it's an information gap! I'm going to suffer a loss.

Yun Zhenyue formed a hand seal, and the golden ancient plate spun rapidly.

In the starry sky, one ancient spatial trajectory after another lit up simultaneously, like coordinates traversing endless star fields.

"Imperial Weapon, Star Gate Compass".

"It can suppress the void, and it can also banish the sea of ​​stars."

Yun Zhenyue looked coldly at Gu Changjin.

"Fellow Daoist, didn't you refuse to join my Yun family?"

"Then go to the ends of the starry sky and slowly regret it!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The space where Gu Changjin was located suddenly collapsed.

It wasn't broken, it was completely extracted!

With a single punch, the power of a Quasi-Emperor at the ninth level and the Dark Devouring erupted simultaneously, shattering most of the spatial cage.

However, the golden ancient plate trembled slightly, and even more ancient imperial rules pressed down directly.

This time, Gu Changjin did not fight head-on.

Dao Fruit stabilizes the soul, and Returning to the Original Dao protects the source.

He just stared intently at Yun Zhenyue.

"Old man, I'll remember this debt."

The starlight distorted in the next instant.

His figure completely disappeared from the sky above Xuanheng Ancient Star.

……

I don't know how much time has passed.

boom!

A figure crashed down from the void rift, snapping the branches of tall ancient trees and creating a large crater in the ground, revealing black rock layers.

Gu Changjin slowly stood up from the pit, his first reaction being to release his divine sense.

Then, he paused for a moment.

The essence of heaven and earth... is too dense, at least several times denser than that of the previous Xuanheng Ancient Star, and the rules of the Great Dao are also much heavier.

But what truly made Gu Changjin frown was something else entirely.

His vitality... is fading away.

Although it's slow, you can definitely feel it constantly passing by.

It's as if this world itself is slowly draining the lifespan of those who enter it.

Gu Changjin raised his head.

The distant mountains were gray and black, devoid of the sounds of birdsong, beasts chirping, or insects buzzing; only boundless silence remained.

Deeper inside, one can vaguely see an ancient site shrouded in mist.

Behind the mist, there seemed to be some kind of broken bronze object hanging there.

Gu Changjin narrowed his eyes.

The world here is completely different from that of Xuanheng Ancient Star, and this is reminiscent of the inter-star domain passage that the Star Gate Disc just tore open.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

"Could this... be the Imperial Ruins?"