Three days later, Zhang Fanchen and Yuan Datou left the small courtyard together.
Mu Changqing stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly following their retreating figures.
"Burial of the Heavens, what are your plans now?" the old Daoist asked with a smile, walking up behind Mu Changqing.
Mu Changqing remained silent, his purple eyes shifting to gaze into the boundless void.
The old Daoist also felt something and looked up.
The next moment, the void tore open, and a figure clad in magnificent robes emerged from it. His eyes emanated golden light, and a terrifying aura warped the surrounding space. His face bore a slight resemblance to Zhang Fanchen, and his cultivation reached the realm of a Hegemon Immortal King.
The man instantly appeared before them, his gaze sweeping over them indifferently. He spoke calmly, "Where is my son, Fanchen?"
A playful smile flickered across Mu Changqing's face, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Are you Zhang Fanchen's father? The man who colluded with the True Demon King, Mo Mei?"
In Mu Changqing's perception, this man was also a possessor of great destiny. Although slightly inferior to Zhang Fanchen, he was not to be underestimated.
The man's pupils contracted slightly at the words. He looked at them again, more carefully. In his perception, both of them were utterly ordinary mortals. Yet, it was precisely such beings who were often the most terrifying. But for his son, he could not afford to hesitate. Moreover, behind him stood beings of immense power.
"Yes. What is your relationship with my son? Why have I searched for him for ten years, only for his aura to suddenly erupt here and then disappear?" the man asked again, his aura growing more terrifying. He had used divine abilities to isolate the area, preventing attention from the Demon Race powerhouses. His gaze held a hint of danger.
Mu Changqing chuckled. Ten years ago, he had sensed someone searching for Zhang Fanchen and had employed some minor tricks to obstruct any prying eyes. Only today, after Zhang Fanchen and Yuan Datou had left, did he deliberately leak a trace of Zhang Fanchen's aura. He certainly could not allow this outsider to disrupt his plans.
Mu Changqing paid little attention to the man's actions. Instead, he paced around him, smiling. "What, when Mo Mei was suppressed by the Demon Race ten years ago, you didn't dare to show yourself. Only after everything settled did you return to find your son?"
Hearing this, the man's expression soured. He let out a cold snort. "You two, I know you are not ordinary individuals, but this matter is beyond your reach. You have no right to interfere. Hand over my son, and we can let this matter drop, how about it?"
The old Daoist couldn't help but laugh. This drew a cold glare from the man. He had never imagined that he, a dignified Dao Ancestor, would be told he was unqualified to interfere in matters concerning post-heaven beings by mere post-heaven beings. It was truly laughable.
"What are you laughing at?" The man's face grew even more somber. He had to find Zhang Fanchen quickly, but the attitude of the two before him made him hesitant to act rashly.
"I will laugh if I wish. What right do you have to speak to me? A mere post-heaven being, overestimating yourself."
Mu Changqing blinked and glanced at the old Daoist. The old Daoist gave a fawning smile and quickly added, "Of course, you are an exception."
The man was momentarily stunned, then felt his scalp tingle, and an icy chill enveloped him. A inexplicable fear seized him, stiffening his body and causing his pupils to contract sharply.
"You... what did you say? Post-heaven being? Who exactly are you?" The man's heart was filled with unease. The old Daoist's few words revealed a terrifying secret.
"Still don't understand? Before me, you have no capital for pride. Let me guess who stands behind you... the Heavenly Realm?"
The guess hit home. The man couldn't help but stagger back several steps, his heart trembling with terror. The Heavenly Realm's plans, which had been in motion for tens of thousands of years, were suddenly revealed. How could he not be afraid?
The man now wished only to escape. As he was about to tear open the void, he discovered that his Immortal King domain had been replaced. The surroundings remained unchanged, but he had unknowingly entered another space-time. At this moment, he was like an ordinary person, at their mercy.
"What do you want? Pre-heaven being... How dare you scheme against my son! Do you know that behind the Heavenly Realm, there are also pre-heaven beings?" In his desperation, the man revealed his trump card.
The two exchanged a look of slight surprise. However, they were not overly astonished. After all, when they had deduced through Zhang Fanchen's bloodline, they had not found any trace of his father, clearly indicating interference from a pre-heaven being.
"This is getting more interesting, old man. It seems not only you, but the woman from the Forbidden Dao Ground, the Chaos Azure Lotus entering the world, and even more pre-heaven beings have entered the fray, perhaps lurking in the myriad realms for unknown purposes." As Mu Changqing spoke, faint purple light emanated from him, his eyes filled with a vast and boundless aura. The surrounding space-time became turbulent due to his momentary excitement. Before the Emperor's Fall, he was a pawn, manipulated by others. After the Emperor's Fall, he transcended everything, broke free from constraints, and became the manipulator, playing against pre-heaven beings. Now that one pre-heaven being after another was emerging from the primordial chaos, how could he not be excited? Among post-heaven beings, with his understanding of past, present, and future, he had few equals. The only ones who could pose a challenge to him now were pre-heaven beings – those born in the primordial chaos before the heavens and earth existed.
"Cough, cough, Burial of the Heavens, change your expression. When I see that look on your face, I always feel a sense of unease." The old Daoist, seeing the fleeting excitement on Mu Changqing's face, could roughly guess his thoughts. This also made him afraid that Mu Changqing would act rashly, breaking the current situation without regard for rules. If that happened, all plans would fall through, the myriad realms would return to chaos and nothingness, and everything would begin anew.
Mu Changqing smiled faintly, retracting his purple light, and patted the old Daoist's shoulder. "Don't worry, why would I mess with such an interesting game of chess? I've slept for too long, and few things excite me. I've slaughtered countless Immortal Emperors, but I don't know what the blood of a pre-heaven being tastes like. It is truly something to look forward to." At this moment, Mu Changqing finally revealed his true nature. Post-heaven beings no longer held his interest. Only pre-heaven beings and the one above had the right to be taken seriously by him.
The old Daoist gave a fawning smile and stopped speaking altogether. Mu Changqing was an anomaly, an anomaly that made all pre-heaven beings and the Heavenly Dao tremble. In any case, he had no intention of offending him, which was why he chose to travel with him.
The man's fear at this moment was indescribable. In his millions of years of cultivation, he had never imagined that he would one day be so terrified of a human. Slaughtering Immortal Emperors, coveting the blood of pre-heaven beings – such arrogant and overbearing words reminded him of a certain existence. A forbidden existence that the myriad realms dared not mention lightly. He had long forgotten the purpose of his journey, his gaze uncontrollably fixed on Mu Changqing, and he stammered, "You are the taboo of the Emperor's Fall? You did not perish?"
"The taboo of the Emperor's Fall... I don't quite like that title. In the past, present, future, before the chaos, I am the taboo. I want all sentient beings, whether pre-heaven or post-heaven, to fear me, to submit to me, even... you!" As he spoke, Mu Changqing unleashed an immense pressure, reflecting the annihilation of myriad worlds and the collapse of the Heavenly Dao. His purple eyes pointed towards the sky!