Luo Xiu withdrew his hand from Ai Kun's shoulder, his gaze calm as he locked eyes with him. "I am the Azure Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Ai Kun froze. He had asked so directly, but he'd never expected Luo Xiu's answer to be equally straightforward.

"Heh heh… Actually, the first time I met you, Boss, I had my suspicions. After all, not everyone possesses azure Spiritual Power," he said, then added, "But I wasn't sure at the time. I just figured that even if you weren't the Azure Emperor, you had to be related to him."

Luo Xiu looked toward the distant sky and started walking forward. "It's time to go to Calamity Extermination Island."

Watching Luo Xiu's retreating figure, Ai Kun's lips curved into a slight smile. "Alright, Boss. Wait for me!"

...

The Jialan Realm was vast and abundant, home to many scenic and blessed lands, but Luo Xiu was in a hurry and had no mind to appreciate the scenery along the way.

Calamity Extermination Island was located north of the Lan Sea. It was an archipelago composed of hundreds of islands of various sizes. The Lan Sea itself was vast, so finding the correct island among these hundreds was no easy task. What made it even more difficult was that this archipelago was protected by a powerful Formation. Anyone unfamiliar with the principles of Formations could easily get lost within it.

It took Ai Kun a full ten days to lead Luo Xiu to the exact location of Calamity Extermination Island.

...

「On this day.」

Luo Xiu stood still in the Void, looking down at the island below. It had treacherous terrain and was covered in jagged rocks, and his expression was thoughtful. From a distance, the island resembled the gruesome skull of a monster, shrouded in a white mist that gave it a sinister air.

There were also many huge buildings on the island. These massive, bizarrely-shaped structures were half-hidden in the mist, looking like the exposed scales and claws of a ferocious beast, intimidating anyone from getting closer.

Ai Kun asked from the side, "Boss, what's the plan? Are we really going to storm the prison directly?"

Without a word, Luo Xiu's figure suddenly transformed into a streak of light and shot straight down like an arrow.

BOOM!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the entirety of Calamity Extermination Island trembled.

Ai Kun, watching from the sky, couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock. The powerful barrier protecting the island was shattered by Luo Xiu with a single punch! With such strength… no wonder he's so confident, daring to come to Calamity Extermination Island and stage a prison break.

Ai Kun murmured to himself, his gaze deep as he stared at the billowing smoke and dust on Calamity Extermination Island. Then, he flew down as well.

By this time, Luo Xiu had landed atop a stone peak. But before he could release his Divine Sense to scan the area, several figures tore through the sky. They landed on nearby stone peaks, surrounding him completely.

Luo Xiu's expression didn't change as he slowly scanned the figures on the surrounding peaks. There were five of them in total: four Profound Emperors and one Red Emperor.

These must be the Prison Guards Ai Kun mentioned. A prison guarded by five Emperor Realm Experts truly deserved the label 'terrifying.'

Meanwhile, the five Prison Guards were also sizing him up. Judging from the Spiritual Power aura emanating from him, he seems to be merely a Cultivator in the Mahayana Realm. Because of this, we can't understand where he found the courage to charge into Calamity Extermination Island. Could he be using some Secret Technique to hide his true strength?

Despite their doubts, the five Prison Guards didn't dare to be the slightest bit careless.

Amidst the silence, the leader, the Red Emperor, spoke up. "Your Excellency has trespassed on Calamity Extermination Island. May I ask for what reason?"

Luo Xiu merely glanced at the Red Emperor, not bothering to answer. He was currently using his Divine Sense to search for Luo Xian's location.

The Red Emperor suddenly laughed. "Actually, we've long known you would be paying us a visit, so we've prepared a grand gift especially for you."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu's gaze darkened. They already knew I was coming… Does that mean someone tipped them off in advance?

Just then, Ai Kun descended from the sky, landing beside the Red Emperor. He clasped his fists in a salute to the Red Emperor, then turned to Luo Xiu, a flicker of guilt flashing through his eyes before vanishing.

"Ah, my sincerest apologies, Lin Luo…" Ai Kun began. "I told you from the very beginning that the only way for me to get ahead was to follow you and ride your coattails."

"So, for the sake of my future, you'll have to be the one I sacrifice."

Luo Xiu stared at Ai Kun, his gaze like ice. "So it was you who tipped them off."

Ai Kun met Luo Xiu's gaze without flinching. "Only by joining the Heaven Azure Empire and serving Emperor Hao can I have a bright and limitless future. And you? You might be powerful, but how can you, a single person, possibly contend with the entire Heaven Azure Empire?"

"Lin Luo, I had everything planned from the moment you decided to come to Calamity Extermination Island for a prison break. Do you know why I delayed for so long before leading you here?"

Luo Xiu said flatly, "Because you needed to contact them in secret, and they needed time to prepare." He glanced around. "I imagine this entire island has been laid with an inescapable trap, just waiting for me to walk into it."

Hearing this, Ai Kun feigned a look of great surprise. "Well, look at that," he said in a strange tone. "You do have some brains after all. So why did you still let me trick you?"

Luo Xiu replied, "Because I truly considered you a friend."

Ai Kun shrugged and smiled. "Well, there you have it. Friends are meant to be betrayed, aren't they?" His gaze turned cold and his tone grew somber. "Of course, the real reason I betrayed you… was for revenge."

"I was never certain if you were truly the Azure Emperor. Not until that day we arrived in the Jialan Realm, when I asked you and you admitted it yourself. Only then did I know for sure."

"And since you are the Azure Emperor, you are my sworn enemy. My grandfather, my parents… they all died at your hands!"

"Remember the Three Thousand Alliance Pact I told you about? There are very few Emperor Realm Experts in the Upper Realm, and I'm a Profound Emperor at the very least. When Emperor Hao decided to form an alliance, do you really think he wouldn't value someone like me? The truth is, Emperor Hao approached me a long time ago. I've been his man for a long, long time."

Just as he finished speaking, Luo Xiu's figure flickered, reappearing before Ai Kun in an instant, as if he had teleported.

"Then I'll turn you into his ghost."

Ai Kun's eyes widened in shock. He instinctively tried to flee, but before he could even move, Luo Xiu's hand shot out, grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanking him back.

BOOM!

Without a glance, Luo Xiu kicked the nearby Red Emperor, sending him flying. The Red Emperor shrieked as he was hurtled backward, crashing clean through a mountain peak before finally hitting the ground. Then, Luo Xiu's hand shot to Ai Kun's throat, lifting him up as if he weighed nothing.

Ai Kun's face was a mask of pain, yet he began to cackle sinisterly, his eyes full of mockery as he stared at Luo Xiu. "Boss, you're still so impulsive. Look at you… I only said a few words and you've already lost your temper."

Luo Xiu looked at him, his expression blank. "Perhaps being a dog for the Heaven Azure Empire will get you plenty of bones to chew on, but you have to be alive to chew them."

Ai Kun grinned. "Oh, right," he recalled. "I just remembered something. Before I left, I gave my subordinates an order—if I didn't return within two months, or if my Soul-leading Talisman suddenly cracked, they were to find those two young women hiding in the tree hollow."

"Boss, you care about them a great deal, don't you?"

Hearing this, Luo Xiu's eyes flashed with pure, unadulterated killing intent.

Ai Kun chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, Boss. You're scaring me. What are you thinking? Are you going to kill me? Or curse me for being despicable and shameless?"

...

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