Lian tightly bit her lip, her gaze fixed on Li Xiaonan.
With a sinister grin, he kicked the Red Emperor down and swiftly landed a foot on his pig-like face, saying, "You think you're so tough? You should think twice before messing with me. A mere clone trying to act arrogant in the Cultivation world? You're just asking for trouble."
The Red Emperor had already been stunned by Li Xiaonan's earlier attack and had no strength left to retaliate. The only thing he could do was to lash out verbally.
"You little brat, I will remember this insult today. If you have the guts, don't return to the Immortal Realm; otherwise, I will gather all my strength to kill you."
"Ha! Still so arrogant? Looks like I've been too lenient with you," Li Xiaonan scoffed, pulling out Blood Soaked Freedom and swiftly severing the tendons in the Red Emperor's legs.
The Red Emperor let out a muffled groan, silently recording every humiliation Li Xiaonan inflicted upon him.
Seeing that he remained silent, Li Xiaonan coldly laughed and closed the Carefree Fan, lightly patting the Red Emperor's cheek. "Not going to say anything? You’re just like that Yellow Emperor—both of you deserve a beating. Want to return to the Immortal Realm? Then I'll send you on your way."
The Carefree Fan twirled elegantly in Li Xiaonan's fingers, the Bloodshade making a crisp sound as it moved.
Li Xiaonan tossed it upward with a smile, saying, "I'll leave this guy to you. Even though he's just a clone, his essence is pure enough for you and Bloodshade to have a good feast."
With a flicker, a man and woman appeared before the Red Emperor.
Xiaoyao mimicked Li Xiaonan's cold smile and said, "Thanks, boss. Shuang, do you want to go for the top or the bottom?"
Bloodshade wiped drool from the corner of her mouth and laughed, "Stop imitating the boss; you don't look anything like him. He looks cool; you just look silly. Just eat your fill; later during Obedient Dragon II, you can give me some more."
Xiaoyao nodded and pounced directly onto the Red Emperor, tearing into his flesh bite by bite.
In truth, absorbing essence didn't require such brutality; Xiaoyao was clearly doing this on purpose to further torment the Red Emperor while playing along with Li Xiaonan.
The Red Emperor howled in agony, "Li Xiaonan! I won't let you off... I won't let you off...!"
Li Xiaonan didn't even flinch at his threats. At this moment, he was under the control of Inner Demon and had complete confidence in his own strength.
He sneered, "Have you ever seen someone so foolish? Your words come with sound effects."
Li Xiaonan shook his head, his white eyes slowly gazing at the crowd.
Qing An pushed Ling Kui and said, "It's time to take him back."
Ling Kui was taken aback, her body already floating in front of Li Xiaonan.
The distance between them was so close that they could even hear each other's heartbeat.
Li Xiaonan frowned slightly but ultimately remained silent.
Ling Kui looked at his unusual white eyes and slowly reached out to touch his cold cheek. The corners of her mouth trembled slightly before finally curling up.
"You remember everything."
Li Xiaonan pressed his lips tightly together and nodded slightly, but inside, he was far from calm.
The brutal desire for power and the indecisive kind-heartedness began to clash within him, just like the old days when Li Xiaonan contended with Scheming. Now, both sides were parts of Li Xiaonan himself.
"Then will you still marry us?"
"I..." Li Xiaonan looked at Ling Kui, his invisible white pupils suddenly constricting. He couldn't help but close his eyes.
When he opened them again, Hao Ran's familiar pair of bright black eyes met him.
Li Xiaonan trembled as he reached out; the brilliant sunlight filtered through his fingers and fell on Ling Kui's face, warm and gentle.
Yet in Ling Kui's heart, it could not compare to the warmth of Li Xiaonan's hand.
She suddenly leaped into Li Xiaonan's embrace and said, "Please don't make us worry anymore, okay?"
"Okay..." He closed his eyes tightly and held Ling Kui close. Everything felt beautifully enviable.
"Um, Nameless, I want to talk to you," Qing An cleared his throat and said.
Li Xiaonan reluctantly released Ling Kui and smiled. "The past is the past. I still prefer to call you Qing An, and I'm used to you calling me Li Xiaonan. What do you want to talk about?"
"Your Inner Demon"
Li Xiaonan couldn't help but frown as he released Ling Kui, glancing at the other women and then at Fisher's Song, who was slumped beside him. "I apologize for the trouble you've had to endure. Please take care of things while I step out for a moment."
Ling Kui nodded, feeling a deep reluctance but still letting go of the tightly clasped hands with Li Xiaonan.
In the same small room as before, the two sat on the floor, ready to discuss the topic that had now shifted focus to Inner Demon.
"Didn't you want to talk to me? Why are you just smiling and not saying anything?" Li Xiaonan shot a glance at Qing An, who wore a perpetual half-smile.
"Nothing much, just wanted to take a good look at you. I never expected that the once invincible you would end up in such a pitiful state. The stronger you become, the more timid you seem. I didn't know such a person actually existed."
Qing An's words undoubtedly provoked Li Xiaonan's anger. He retorted coldly, "If you want to mock me, that's enough. I know exactly what I'm like."
"Tsk tsk tsk, living like a quail yet still proud as a swan. It's truly strange that so many women are drawn to someone like you," Qing An said lazily, yet his words were sharp and confrontational.
Li Xiaonan suddenly grabbed Qing An by the collar and lifted him up, his dark eyes replaced once again by an icy glare.
He threatened fiercely, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kill you right now."
Qing An chuckled, "So easily provoked? Just a few words and I've drawn out your Inner Demon. Or is it that every word I say hits too close to home?"
Li Xiaonan maintained a cold expression as he slowly raised his right hand, golden Buddhist light swirling in his palm.
"Haha, an Inner Demon using Buddhist techniques? You really think you can attack me, a practitioner of Mahayana Buddhism? That's just laughable. Amitabha."
Qing An pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist phrase, pulling Li Xiaonan's true self back into focus.
Li Xiaonan stared blankly at Qing An and involuntarily let go of him, falling back onto the ground. "What exactly do you want?"
"Of course, you need to let go of your Inner Demon. You told me that overcoming it isn't enough," Qing An said, patting his shoulder before sitting down in front of him again.
"You only have one path to take now."
Li Xiaonan suddenly looked up and asked, "What path?"
"Regain your confidence and throw away your insecurities and inexplicable fears."
Having regained all his memories, Li Xiaonan understood the reason behind the birth of his Inner Demon. He smiled bitterly and said, "You overcame your Inner Demon, yet you speak so lightly about mine. How can I regain my confidence?"
Qing An's gaze turned cold as he replied, "Become a god."
Li Xiaonan was taken aback and straightened his back, stunned in place.
Qing An continued, "Stand at the peak of kingship and trample everyone beneath your feet; your Inner Demon will naturally crumble without a fight."
"Ha! Easy for you to say. Do you know the three conditions to become a god? Divine Body, Divine Infant, and the Divine Tree. My Flesh has already been severed by my Father-in-law, the Divine Infant self-destructed, and now there's only one Divine Tree left. I'm missing one piece; I can't even play mahjong! How can I become a god?"
Qing An grinned widely and fiercely grabbed Li Xiaonan's chest.
The latter exclaimed, "Flower Rubbing! Are you trying to get frisky again?" He was about to swat Qing An's hand away.
Suddenly, Li Xiaonan's expression turned cold as he grabbed Qing An's hand and pressed it against his own chest, lost in thought.
Qing An chuckled, "This time it's not my fault, right?"
Li Xiaonan tilted his head, a hint of a smile crossing his lips. "I... I have a body now."
Qing An withdrew his hand and laughed, "You fool! Only just realizing that? Now that you have Flesh, you can naturally refine a Divine Body. As for the Divine Infant, with so many wives around, are you worried you can't refine one? It's just starting over from scratch."
"Right, right! Haha! Qing An, thank you! I feel like kissing you!"
"Get lost! Although I'm your brother and I once had feelings for you, that's all in the past. You better behave, or I might just recite the Tightening Spell to you like before."
"Wait, wait, wait! If you do that, I'll be driven crazy by your rambling. Reciting scriptures is too much for my head. Ugh, I need to go into seclusion."
Qing An nodded and turned to leave, but Li Xiaonan called out to him and reached out to start unbuttoning his clothes.
Qing An frowned and said, "You little brat, haven't you finished your madness? I've already told you I'm not interested in you anymore."
"Get lost! Who's interested in you? Regardless, the Three Treasures of Buddhism just opened; we need something to hold down the fort."
Qing An took the Cassock, Pagoda, and Shariputra with a forced smile and said, "You just want to shirk your responsibility for subduing the demon realm, don't you?"
"Haha, I never said that! You said it. Alright, I'm going into seclusion now. Don't forget to close the door behind you."
Qing An smiled as he tucked away the three treasures and walked outside, where many women were already waiting.
He laughed and said, "He's currently in seclusion for cultivation. Don't worry; this time he won't go anywhere." The trouble I caused and the debts I owe—I'll repay them.
In his previous life, Nameless had already cultivated to godhood. Why was he now trapped in this cycle of reincarnation? The reason was simple.
The younger brother helped his older brother clean up the mess by redoing his Divine Power according to the Heaven and Earth Principle, trapping the demon race in their realm so they wouldn't interfere with the cultivation world. At the same time, he established a Blood Pool for the demon race to prevent them from reincarnating through the Underworld and causing harm.
But Nameless ultimately overlooked something. The rapid development of the demon race had broken through the rules of the Underworld, leading to their constant disturbances there.
At this moment, Li Xiaonan was sitting cross-legged in his room. After a bit of analysis, he decided to start his cultivation anew with the Martial Soul Technique—breaking it down into parts first to shape his Divine Body before creating his Divine Infant.
The Small Heavenly Cycle and Great Circulation slowly operated within him. Thanks to his previous memories and insights, Li Xiaonan completed the first level of body refinement of the Martial Soul Technique in just one night.
He exhaled a breath of turbid air and murmured to himself, "This way of cultivation is too slow. By the time I refine my Divine Body, who knows how long it will take? I wonder if I can skip levels in the Martial Soul Technique."
Furrowing his brow at the thought, he decided to jump over five levels of cultivation in the Martial Soul Technique and directly refine at the seventh level.
The goal of refining the Divine Body was to become indestructible and live as long as heaven itself.
With a crisp sound, the Soul Ring that had been on Li Xiaonan's index finger shattered, scattering its contents across the room.
The Soul Ring transformed into silver-black light that gradually flowed into Li Xiaonan's body along with the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth, merging into his flesh and bones.
At this moment, Li Xiaonan was no longer just flesh and blood; what flowed within him was no longer crimson blood but noble golden blood that represented divinity.
He raised both palms to the sky, unleashing two magnificent beams of golden light that directly overturned the roof, revealing the shining night sky above.
Suddenly, the weather changed as dark clouds rolled over Qingyu City.
Li Xiaonan opened his eyes, and the golden light emanating from them swept across the sky. He exclaimed, "The Divine Calamity has arrived!"
With a swift movement, his figure was enveloped in Spirit Armor, and the black feathers covering his body reflected a glossy sheen.
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