Invincible Dad

A hint of interest finally broke through Xu Lai's listless expression.

He wanted to inspect the crystal ball closely, at least to determine its specific forging date. And—which Emperor Realm expert had crafted it.

Apart from the unconscious Emperor Realm corpses in the Samsara Sea and the mysterious white hand that had appeared a few days ago, Xu Lai's understanding of his peers came almost entirely from historical records. He never encountered living Emperor Realm experts, and the dead ones rarely left tombs. The lifebound Emperor's Weapons of such mighty beings were either destroyed or had vanished. The few that remained were treated as priceless heirlooms by ancient inheritances and Tao Lineages, never to be shown to outsiders.

After all, a peak Quasi-Emperor wielding an Emperor's Weapon could, at the cost of their own life, engage in a brief battle with a true Emperor Realm expert. This was also why some ancient Tao Lineages, despite not producing an Emperor Realm expert for dozens of eras, had managed to endure to this day. A complete and intact Emperor's Weapon was the source of their confidence.

The top ten races on the racial hierarchy were known as the Celestial Clans. Of the ten great Celestial Clans, three were known to possess Emperor's Weapons, while another two had ancestors who had reached the Emperor Realm, though no one knew the whereabouts of their Emperor's Weapons. Some might also be hidden within certain Tao Lineages, Sect Gates, and forbidden territories.

But Xu Lai had never come into contact with any of these Emperor's Weapons. No one dared to lend one to him for a look. What if he didn't return it? Who would dare ask Xu Lai to give it back?

Although the crystal ball before him was not an Emperor's Weapon, it was still an object meticulously crafted by an Emperor Realm powerhouse, comparable to a Quasi-Immortal Artifact. The reason it was only a Quasi-Immortal Artifact was that it seemed to have no offensive capabilities, only a sealing function. Its appearance on Earth was truly surprising.

***

Seeing Xu Lai and the nameless burly man so stunned by the appearance of the crystal ball that they fell silent, the Jellyfish Demon King in the pot howled to the heavens, "You're scared!"

"Open it, now," Taotie said, impatiently slapping Mu Cheng on the head. He was eager to know what was sealed inside.

"You… are you sure!?" Mu Cheng was burning with rage. "Once the sealed creature appears, the East Sea will be destroyed! If you do this now…"

"Hurry up, or I'll chop you to pieces," Taotie said, his patience wearing thin. He had already taken out a kitchen knife, looking fully prepared to slice up the jellyfish.

"…"

Shaking with anger, Mu Cheng relented. "Fine, fine! If you ignorant fools want to die, I won't stop you. Come forth—the ancient beast, Taotie!"

The First Divine General, Taotie, could only stare in confusion.

As Mu Cheng chanted the incantation, the crystal ball in the sky emitted a brilliant, sacred light, illuminating the entire East Sea City in the dead of night. An aura that made heaven and earth tremble permeated the air, and the Heavenly Dao was once again roused from its slumber.

When it realized the disturbance was coming from Mount Haitang yet again, the Heavenly Dao simply rolled over and went back to sleep.

The power of habit could be a frightening thing. The Heavenly Dao found that it was no longer as terrified as it once was.

***

"The aura of my kin…" Taotie muttered, taken aback. As the crystal ball shattered, he could clearly sense a bloodline connected to his own.

However, this kinsman appeared to still be in its Chaotic Period. The Taotie Clan was similar to the Gold Swallowing Beast Clan, both having a brief Chaotic Period, but Gold Swallowing Beasts had no spiritual intelligence. The Taotie, however, possessed intelligence but were unable to control their terrifying appetites.

In the first hundred years of their lives, young Taotie would devour everything they saw, be it food, mountains, or rivers. Edible or inedible, they ate it all. That's why the Taotie Clan spent a fortune buying up dead Star Domains, where they would send the young Taotie to these Dead Realms. There, with plenty of dead stars, they could eat to their hearts' content.

"Hahahaha, the aura of kin? Do you even know what a Taotie is!?"

Mu Cheng's very soul trembled with fear, yet he was thrilled to see such a legendary beast from ancient times appear before him. A beast like the Taotie would surely fulfill his lifelong wish of destroying the Human Race. The only pity was that he wouldn't live to see it.

"ROAR!"

With a resounding roar, the beast that had slept in the crystal ball for a thousand years finally opened its eyes. At first glance, it resembled a goat with pure white fur. But upon closer inspection, its limbs were not the harmless hooves of a goat, but razor-sharp tiger claws. Its head and mouth were monstrously large; it was a true monster.

A dreadful pressure radiated from its body, causing the Haitang flowers on and below the mountain to wither rapidly.

"A thousand years… I have finally seen the light of day again!"

Accompanied by a hoarse voice, the young Taotie's blood-red eyes scanned its surroundings.

One glance was all it took to make Mu Cheng feel as if the world was about to end. Trembling, he quickly shrank back into the water. Don't see me, don't see me, don't eat me… don't eat me.

The young Taotie's massive body landed on the ground. It tilted its head, puzzled. There was a pot in front of it, and the jellyfish inside was clearly terrified, but the two people before it…

They're not afraid of me at all?

It was a Taotie! A cub from the Taotie Clan, invincible throughout the Universe! A thousand years ago, when it had just turned thirty, it had been cast into an abandoned Star Domain, only to lose consciousness soon after.

In that endless darkness, the young Taotie felt as though time and space had been frozen. It felt as if those thousand years had been stolen from it, like a long nightmare. Now, waking from that nightmare, it was still in its Chaotic Period, still needing vast amounts of food and fresh blood.

"Was it you who imprisoned me!?" the young Taotie demanded condescendingly.

Xu Lai was speechless.

Taotie was speechless.

Neither the man nor the Divine General knew what to say.

The young Taotie's stomach began to rumble. Suddenly, it caught a faint scent of women's laughter from the backyard, along with a familiar, meaty aroma.

That was—the Nine-horned Star Sheep!

While the Nine-horned Star Sheep could grant female cultivators eternal youth, its meat was also succulent and rich in Spiritual Energy and the laws of Divine Skills. For any race, it was a treasure that could aid in cultivation. To think that it would get to eat Nine-horned Star Sheep right after escaping its seal! It was a delicacy that even the ancestors of the Taotie Clan were reluctant to consume.

Technically, it was too young to be qualified to eat it. But when it was ten, it had snuck into a cave forbidden by clan rules and had accidentally discovered a sheep leg. After gorging itself, it could never forget the taste. It later learned that the cave belonged to an ancestor of the clan—a Quasi-Emperor Realm expert who served as the First Divine General in the Heavenly Court!

It had been terrified for a while after that. But then… it was thrown into the Dead Realm by the clan leader to pass its Chaotic Period—or its youth—and was supposed to return to the Taotie Clan in a hundred years.

"Nine-horned Star Sheep…"

The young Taotie swallowed its saliva, unable to resist the temptation any longer. It opened its cavernous mouth, seemingly about to swallow the entire mountain in a single bite. After all, the mountain was a Dragon Vein. Eating it would greatly restore its depleted Spiritual Energy. Though the nutritional content was a bit worse than a dead star, it was still quite good.

RUMBLE…

Mu Cheng's heart pounded wildly. He watched as the mouth of the five-meter-tall Taotie beast grew larger and larger until it seemed to envelop half the sky. He was so terrified his soul felt like it was about to scatter!

At that moment, he felt the despair of imminent death, but also a sense of satisfaction. He sneered venomously, "Xu Lai, you two and the entire East Sea can be buried with me!"

"Hmm???"

The young Taotie's enormous mouth suddenly froze. It cocked its head, its expression one of astonishment. "Who… who did you just say?"