"Go to hell!" A thunderous, murderous voice suddenly echoed through the void.
At the same time, a surge of demonic Qi, violent as ocean waves, condensed within his demonic palm and smashed toward the person undergoing the heavenly tribulation like a crushing mountain.
The tribulation-crosser's pupils abruptly constricted! He was currently undergoing the God Tribulation, and his physical body had already been shattered beyond recognition by the nine-colored divine lightning in the sky. How could he possibly spare any strength to counter the enemy's attack?
The attack carried a bizarre seal of power, as if cloaked in an inscrutable mystery. The outcome was predictable! Unable to bear the crushing weight, the tribulation-crosser was sent flying ten thousand miles away.
Countless mountains instantly shattered into dust.
"You... you had an ambush set up all along! Ugh, ugh, ugh—puff!"
A large mouthful of blood, half-black and half-red, spewed from Xie Guannan as all the meridians throughout his body were blasted to smithereens. The moment of undergoing a heavenly tribulation was when a cultivator was at their most vulnerable.
Especially when undergoing the God Tribulation! He never expected things to turn out like this!
*This Boundary Profound Continent finally belongs to our demon and monster races!*
"Hahahaha!"
"Southern Emperor, this cultivation base of yours truly makes the rest of us wary!"
The speaker was wreathed in billowing demonic Qi. His formidable cultivation seemed to tear the air apart, carrying a suffocating pressure just to look at him.
This was the Flame Emperor of the demon race! He was an uncompromised powerhouse of the demon race. The Flame Emperor possessed a stalwart demonic physique, and the scar across his face was clearly visible—a masterpiece courtesy of the Southern Emperor himself!
"Thanks to the power bestowed by that lord, we finally had the chance to kill you. Otherwise, even a hundred of the Flame Emperor and me combined would be no match for you, hahahahaha." The laughter was arrogant and unbridled.
Beside the Flame Emperor, the monster race's Great Emperor—the Shadow Emperor—was laughing wildly, his appearance ferocious and terrifying.
The Southern Emperor, Xie Guannan, rose to prominence in the Southern Domain.
Throughout his life, the Southern Emperor had endured too many hardships. On the ground, amidst a pool of blood, lay a broken corpse.
He had once ended the years of continuous warfare across the major domains, uniting all the human domains and maintaining a relatively stable stalemate between humans and demons.
Yet, accidents happen to everything.
At this moment, the Southern Emperor's eyes were filled with confusion, though having died, he felt a sense of relief. To die like this, wasn't it a sort of release for himself?
In the end, he could not escape fate.
While attempting to break through to the Immortal True God realm, he never expected to be ambushed.
He was jointly ambushed and assassinated by the monster race's Shadow Emperor and the demon race's Flame Emperor.
This caused his breakthrough to fail, resulting in his demise.
Looking back on the past, scene after scene of memories surfaced in his mind like a movie, flashing past frame by frame.
The regrets of this lifetime: his family whose entire clan was exterminated, the brothers who walked alongside him through the Southern Heaven Alliance, the brothers who died at the hands of the demon race to save him, and his betrothed whom he had never married.
Past memories rushed into his mind like a flood, causing his head to buzz relentlessly.
Before he had even set foot on the true path of cultivation, his family was massacred. Although he eventually exacted bloody revenge, it left an indelible scar upon his heart.
This was an unerasable scar, and as time passed, these memories became all the more deeply engraved in his bones.
Yet, he should also find peace; after all, his physical form would eventually turn into a speck of dust upon this Boundary Profound Continent.
Let his soul transform into a wisp of wind, drifting like a wandering ghost across these eight domains.
To witness those wondrous sights he had never seen before.
Yet reality was so cruel.
Those wonders, ultimately, he would never see again.
I do not know how much time passed before the Southern Emperor's thoughts returned to stillness.
The hands of a clock ticked backward!
The world spun wildly!
"Is this what my soul has become?"
"Where is this going? To another world? Is this my final resting place?"
After a long while, he actually felt a trace of sensation, accompanied by a lingering, dull ache coming from the back of his head.
Looking at the bloodstain on the corner of the table, "Why does this feel so real? Didn't I already die?" Xie Guannan's heart was no longer calm.
He abruptly sat up and looked around. The familiar bed and table sat quietly beside him.
The sunlight outside swept past the window, casting its rays upon his face. At this moment, it felt somewhat unreal. He looked out through the window and saw a familiar courtyard.
The Xie Family Courtyard!
The Xie family was a renowned martial arts clan in Jianghai City. Xie Guannan stared blankly at the courtyard, a tumult of emotions churning within him.
"Didn't I just die in an ambush while attempting to break through to the Immortal True God realm? How did I end up here?" Xie Guannan found it inconceivable.
"And who was that 'lord' the Shadow Emperor and the Flame Emperor spoke of?"
Xie Guannan did not know, nor did he have any clues. He stopped thinking about it and looked around himself.
"It really is the Xie Family Courtyard!" Xie Guannan was filled with joy, feeling a sense of unreality. He quickly ran over to the mirror.
He looked at his reflection, his face still retaining a trace of youth and immaturity.
Yes, he had been reborn. Reborn to when he was eighteen years old.
"In my dignity as the Southern Emperor, after falling, I have actually been reborn! In this lifetime, I will firmly grasp my destiny in my own hands!"
While he was still reminiscing, an angry and resentful voice came from outside the room. "Xie Guannan, what are you fussing about in your room again? Making such a huge commotion, have you grown tired of living?"
Xie Guannan froze for a long time. Recalling the voice, wasn't this Su Rongyue—his stepmother, who had always looked down on him and tried to kill him on multiple occasions?
A surge of hatred instantly welled up in Xie Guannan's heart.
This voice was both familiar and unfamiliar to him; he had not heard it for many long years.
For a moment, he felt somewhat bewildered. In all his years as the Southern Emperor, aside from achieving that supreme cultivation base, he had lost countless things. His mother had left the Xie family when he was very young, and in his previous life, he never even knew where his biological mother was.
Yet today, upon rebirth, this scene caught Xie Guannan somewhat off guard. In this lifetime, he would surely treat her well!
In his previous life, beneath his family's estate lay a medium-grade spirit stone vein. Such veins were exceedingly rare, and even he himself had not known its exact location.
On this continent, spirit stones were hard currency. The most common were silver and gold, followed by low-grade spirit stones, then middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. The higher the grade, the scarcer they were.
Spirit stones could be used for cultivation, and bloody conflicts among cultivators driven by spirit stone resources were commonplace.
To the weak Xie family of that time, this middle-grade spirit stone vein was nothing short of a hot potato.
Eventually, it caught the attention of a powerhouse in the fourth realm—the Spirit Transformation Realm—who harbored evil intentions.
This brought a devastating extermination upon the Xie family. The fourth realm was of no consequence to Xie Guannan, who had attained the Dao and proclaimed himself emperor, but in his previous life, he had possessed no cultivation at all—a thorough good-for-nothing, a playboy who only knew how to indulge in wine and women every day.
As it happened, Xie Guannan was not in the family at the time, allowing him to escape the catastrophe. Filled with fury, he embarked on his path of no return.
Although his strength later became sufficient to return and avenge his family, the guilt and regret of his previous dissolute ignorance left an indelible scar upon his heart.
Presently in the Xie family, Xie Guannan's biological father and stepmother were merely cultivators in the mid-to-late stage Foundation Establishment of the second realm. In the eyes of a mighty expert of the Spirit Transformation Realm, they were no different from ants, easily crushed with a flick of a finger!
Lacking the strength to protect the family's mineral vein ultimately led to the clan's extermination. Of course, this could not be blamed entirely on his father; the family's strength was simply insufficient.
And there was an even more important reason.
Just as Xie Guannan was reminiscing, another round of hurried knocking sounded on the door, and that familiar yet unfamiliar voice carried a hint of rushed annoyance: "You little brat, hurry up and get out here to eat! If it weren't for your father, would I have bothered to come call you?"
Interrupted by this voice, Xie Guannan halted his reminiscing and immediately threw open the door.
The moment he saw his stepmother, Xie Guannan strode boldly out of the room, not even sparing her a single glance.
Now, he was the young master of the Xie family—and its only young master. Whether Xie Guannan had any siblings was a question best asked of his father.
This stepmother had always despised this good-for-nothing. Xie Guannan could no longer suppress the disgust in his heart and sternly said, "Though you are my stepmother, you have no right to point fingers at me! I bear the surname Xie, and I am the master of this household—not you, Su Rongyue!"
"Furthermore, if not for you, my biological mother would never have been driven out of the Xie family!"
Su Rongyue cursed, "You—well, you little brat! I've raised you for over a dozen years, at least. Have you truly no conscience at all?" she whined, playing the victim.
Over the past many years, Su Rongyue had maintained the facade of a gentle and kind woman, but in private, she had subjected Xie Guannan to considerable abuse.
Now, she didn't even bother to act anymore.
Su Rongyue also subjected Xie Guannan to psychological torture, hurling vicious abuses at him, making him feel desde childhood that he was utterly worthless.
Later on, when it was discovered during cultivation tests that Xie Guannan's talent was mediocre and no different from trash, even his biological father stopped caring about him as much, turning a blind eye to Su Rongyue's oppression.
Occasionally, he would be given some spending money, leading Xie Guannan to abandon cultivation entirely and spend his days either seeking out women at the Drunken Immortal Tower or gambling in dens.
Thus it remained until his entire family was massacred. Regret and unwillingness became his driving force; truly, experiences and hardships have an immeasurable impact on a person.
Su Rongyue's expression clearly shifted as her tone changed: "Brat, who gave you the nerve to speak to me like that?"
Xie Guannan merely shook his head indifferently and said, "You can't even bear children yourself, yet calling me a bastard is laughable!"
Upon hearing this, Su Rongyue directly raised her hand, preparing to strike Xie Guannan.
Xie Guannan took long, sweeping strides and walked straight away, thinking to himself: *I'm not leaving—stay here and wait for you to hit me?*
"Damn it, I haven't fully transitioned back to my identity as the Southern Emperor yet; I actually forgot I have no cultivation at all. Su Rongyue, that stepmother of mine, is still in the Foundation Establishment stage. Killing me outright is unlikely, but causing me some grief would be effortless!"
"Sigh, where is my father? He's truly nowhere to be seen all day. Is he still busy with family affairs? Whatever, I'll go eat first," Xie Guannan muttered to himself.
Looking at his eighteen-year-old body, Xie Guannan helplessly shook his head. "A mortal body is truly powerless!" he complained on the way.
Suddenly, a thought struck Xie Guannan: someone must have discovered that the spiritual energy fluctuations beneath their family's estate were growing increasingly violent.
That was why the clan's upper echelons were discussing the matter.
For now, this was not something Xie Guannan needed to worry about, because for him, he couldn't intervene just yet—or perhaps the timing for intervention was wrong.
Before long, Xie Guannan arrived at the grand hall, where his father sat in the main seat with a somewhat melancholic expression.
To the side, the family's second and third elders turned pale with fury the moment they saw Xie Guannan enter.
Did Xie Guannan still need to look at anyone else's expression? He looked at the food prepared on the dining table and simply sat down. What use was there for etiquette in his own home? Following that, he couldn't help but swallow hard; he really hadn't eaten in a long time.
"Guannan, in a few days, the An family will bring your betrothed to our house. You should tidy yourself up properly and not make us look like a laughingstock," said the head of the family in the main seat—Xie Guannan's father, Xie Wenthen—coldly.
The An family was a prominent clan within the Liuyun Dynasty, incomparable to a barren wasteland like Jianghai City, so the family naturally attached great importance to this.
Feigning surprise, Xie Guannan said, "How is it that I have a betrothed? Why haven't I heard you or anyone mention this before?" Meanwhile, his eating speed did not slow down in the slightest.
Since Xie Guannan had been reborn, how could he not know? He was simply playing along with them.
"Back then, your grandfather and the old master of the An family were comrades-in-arms and brothers. It just so happened that you and that girl were born around the same time, so they arranged an arranged marriage," Xie Wentian patiently explained, after all, this matter was vital to the survival of the Xie family.
"The two elders mutually decided that when you both reached adulthood, they would inform you, and thereafter leave the decision entirely up to you two. Neither of the old men would force it," Xie Wentian added, sensing he hadn't made it clear.
Xie Guannan's grandfather, Xie Yuan, had originally been a guardian general and a powerhouse in the sixth realm—the Nirvana Realm. He had gone missing for unknown reasons, and the Xie family had plummeted in status ever since.
In his previous life, Xie Guannan never found any clues regarding his grandfather, which had troubled him deeply.
"In this lifetime, I must pay close attention and explore unknown regions more thoroughly."
In his previous life, it was also on this very day that he went to the Drunken Immortal Tower. When he came out drunk, he bumped into his betrothed, An Ruoyu, leaving her with a poor impression and prompting her to demand the annulment of the engagement no matter what.
This time, no matter what, he absolutely could not go to the Drunken Immortal Tower.
Because of that incident, his family lost the protection of the An family's marriage pact. Back then, the An family had the backing of Old Master An, a powerhouse of the fifth realm, the Spirit Void Realm.
When the fourth-realm Spirit Transformation expert seized the spirit stone vein, the Xie family lacked any powerful protectors. With the attacker having no scruples, the Xie family met its doom.
It wasn't that the An family refused to help; rather, by the time they received word, everyone in the Xie family had already been slaughtered.
An unspeakable tragedy. In this lifetime, if Xie Guannan went straight to the Drunken Immortal Tower after the meal, it would mean he still had some silver on him.
Xie Guannan wiped his mouth, patted his pocket, and breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming he really did have some silver.
He then turned and walked toward the outside.
A sneering voice drifted in from the doorway: "Xie Wentian, how unwilling is your son to wait for me? I kindly came to invite him over, and this is how he treats it?"
"Xie Guannan!" the second elder shouted sternly.
"Does what I do require your report? What? Can't eat without me? I really must thank you!" With that, Xie Guannan dropped his tableware and strode boldly out of the Xie family courtyard.
The atmosphere in the hall plummeted to freezing point.
"Why is this brat acting so strange today?!" Xie Wentian thought to himself.
***
"With this silver, in this life, I will never go to the Drunken Immortal Tower again. The apothecary might just be a good place! Even ordinary herbs can be turned into precious elixirs in my hands."
Take the Marrow-Cleansing Pill, for instance—a first-grade "immortal pill"! It was recorded in the elixir scriptures from his previous life, which formed a small part of his remaining memories.
The reason the Marrow-Cleansing Pill was called an immortal pill was because it could only be refined by mortals using ordinary herbs, yet a single pill could cleanse the marrow, wash the meridians, and elevate one's innate talent ceiling.
Why would an alchemist spend their entire life remaining a mortal just to learn to brew such a pill? Even if such a person existed, the formula would quickly be lost to time.
In his previous life, he was the Southern Emperor. Although he attained the Dao and became an emperor, his early talent had been mediocre, making his growth exceptionally difficult. It was only later, after encountering numerous heavenly treasures, that he managed to improve.
In his past life, outside the Drunken Immortal Tower, he had run into An Ruoyu when several playboys from the Zhao family came to cause trouble for him.
He had possessed no cultivation at all and was no match for them; those individuals were all at the early stage of Qi Condensation, whereas he was a useless good-for-nothing who didn't cultivate.
Coming out of the Drunken Immortal Tower, he had been pinned to the ground by several thugs. In An Ruoyu's eyes, this was cowardice, incompetence, and a total lack of potential—something very difficult to accept.
Yet An Ruoyu was kind-hearted by nature and naturally could not condone acts of bullying and violence in broad daylight. Although she rescued the beaten Xie Guannan, a poor impression had already taken root in the depths of her heart.
When they met again a few days later, coupled with this prior record when the An family came to annul the engagement, the Xie family naturally had nothing to say.
Consequently, they lost their connection to the An family.
Jianghai City.
Inside the apothecary.
Xie Guannan walked with measured steps straight to the counter and said to the clerk, "Seven-Star Grass, Silver Orchid, Youmeng Grass... give me ten stalks of each."
Surrounding gazes converged upon him.
"Isn't that the young master of the Xie family?"
"I heard that whenever he gets money, he goes straight to the Drunken Immortal Tower! What is he doing here?"
"Think about it, doing that kind of thing every day, he must need medicine, right?"
"True, true!"
The gazes of the onlookers were thoroughly unkind.
Recognizing the young master of the Xie family, the clerk first wore an expression of surprise, which then returned to normal.
*What is this good-for-nothing doing buying these herbs? What use could these herbs possibly be?* The clerk was completely baffled in his heart, but still followed instructions.
"These are all the herbs we have in stock in this shop, only about five stalks of each." Though bewildered, the clerk wasn't about to turn away business.
"Could this young master of the Xie family have dug up some secret remedy from somewhere? What can this combination of herbs even accomplish?"
"Who knows?"
The clerk looked at Xie Guannan with a complex and bizarre expression.
Naturally, Xie Guannan paid him no mind.
*With one's heart in high places, purity comes naturally.*
These herbs were all ordinary; naturally, outsiders could see nothing unusual about them.
Yet in Xie Guannan's hands, they were fragments of heaven-defying elixirs.
Moreover, they were supplements for his rapid cultivation!
While the clerk was gathering the herbs, Xie Guannan glanced around the apothecary. This establishment was the largest apothecary in Jianghai City.
Low-grade herbs were indeed plentiful.
As for higher-quality ones, he might have to visit the Alchemist Pavilion. However, for these relatively common herbs, coming here was quite sufficient.
After collecting the herbs, he walked straight out of the apothecary without lingering.
The moment his back foot crossed the threshold of the apothecary,
A slightly mocking laugh reached Xie Guannan's ears.
"Is the body finally failing? Come here to buy male enhancement medicine? Hahahaha."
The newcomer was none other than Zhao Yang, the second young master of the Zhao family in Jianghai City, followed by several of his sycophantic lackeys.
Zhao Yang laughed obscenely and arrogantly, "Young Master Xie, if you can't get it up, you might as well hand the money over to us. We'll take good care of those sisters at the Drunken Immortal Tower for you, hahahahaha."
Seeing Xie Guannan walk out of the apothecary, the group likely assumed he had some money on him. Plus, no one ever interfered with troublemakers in Jianghai City.
Such occurrences were common, so extortion in broad daylight was nothing new to them.
The pedestrians on the street gradually gathered around, preparing to watch a good show.