The Venerable's Punishment

Standing beside that vast army of Undying Beings, Luo Feng clearly felt the terrifying pressure emanating from these powerful Undyings. Babata's shrill voice echoed in Luo Feng's mind: "An Undying army! Every single one of these Undying Beings is stronger than your teacher, Huyan Bo! This is definitely the most elite Undying army; there isn't even a single ordinary Undying among them."

Luo Feng hadn't yet recovered from this terrifying pressure.

Twenty-six King-tier Undyings directly besieged the Yanzhu King. The Yanzhu King went mad, erupting in fury!

"Boom!"

The purple vertical eye that split open on the Yanzhu King's forehead solidified the surrounding million kilometers of space. That ancient and terrifying aura instantly plunged the weakest one present, Luo Feng, into a nightmare. Luo Feng felt as if everything else in the vast universe had vanished, leaving only that single purple vertical eye floating in the starry sky.

"How terrifying, the Yanzhu King," Luo Feng thought, just then recovering from his shock.

But then...

A pressure a hundred, a thousand times stronger descended, making Luo Feng's entire soul rumble and his vision go black. He completely lost consciousness for a moment, and when he regained it, he heard the Yanzhu King's detestable voice: "Father!"

"Exalted Fiery Ember?" Luo Feng blinked his eyes and looked over.

In the distant starry sky.

A towering figure stood there, hazy and indistinct, surrounded by raging black flames that spread across a million kilometers. If a planet like Earth were to touch these flames, it would instantly turn to ash. Even the cosmic starry sky was completely incinerated into a stream of particles under these raging flames, and the numerous spatial fragments and turbulent currents within the spatial folds were likewise burned into particle streams. At this moment, the entire Solar System fell under his pressure.

In the cosmic starry sky, I alone am supreme!

I am the master of this starry sky!

Luo Feng could clearly feel this sensation. The hazy figure at the center of the black flames, burning with a volume comparable to the Sun, was indeed unrivaled.

"So this is the Exalted Fiery Ember, who could slay a Marquis-tier Undying Being at the Sector Lord-level, directly became a King-tier after becoming an Undying, and then became a Cosmic Venerable in just a few hundred thousand years?" Luo Feng murmured. "After billions of years, this Exalted Fiery Ember is indeed terrifyingly powerful. Those black flames, they seem to be the same kind that encircled the nine black planets the Sky Eclipse Palace Master once cultivated."

Comparing the Sky Eclipse Palace Master to the Exalted Fiery Ember before him...

The Sky Eclipse Palace Master was more restrained, likely not wanting to bully a junior like Luo Feng back then, so his pressure was more contained.

The Exalted Fiery Ember, however, was enveloped by a million kilometers of black flames, erupting with terrifying pressure.

"Greetings, Exalted Fiery Ember!"

The woman in emerald battle armor bowed respectfully, and then the vast Undying army behind her also bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Exalted Fiery Ember!"

Luo Feng and Dilun also quickly followed suit.

"Greetings, Teacher."

"Greetings, Venerable."

The twelve Marquis-tier and five King-tier Undyings all bowed respectfully. Only the Yanzhu King, his face glowing with purple light, slowly closed the vertical eye on his forehead, while excitedly calling out "Father!" Then, he angrily pointed at the Undying army: "Father, this group of Undying Beings under Venerable Jiujian actually tried to capture me!"

"Hmph."

A cold snort made Luo Feng's consciousness tremble. That cold snort also echoed in the consciousness of every Undying Being present.

"You'd rather activate a forbidden technique than come to me for help?" the towering figure in the black flames slowly said, a hint of anger in his voice. "I told you to cultivate diligently and reach the point where you can master that supreme treasure. Then, what need would you have to fear those King-tier Undying Beings?"

"Yes," the Yanzhu King bowed respectfully, not daring to say more.

The towering, hazy figure in the black flames seemed to turn and look at the Undying army. The rumbling voice once again echoed in everyone's mind: "Longyu!"

"Longyu greets Exalted Fiery Ember," the woman in emerald green battle armor, leading the Undying army, said respectfully.

Longyu King, the strongest King-tier Undying under Venerable Jiujian's command.

Longyu King, Tongnan King, and Zhenyan King were lifelong friends from the same era, often venturing together into dangerous cosmic secret realms. Their bond was naturally extremely strong from countless life-and-death adventures. And clearly, all three of them were incredibly powerful, belonging to the absolute peak among King-tiers.

Of course... Zhenyan King was the closest existence to a Venerable among the countless races and billions of Undying Beings in the entire universe. He was an existence that could even survive against a Cosmic Venerable.

Longyu King and Tongnan King were slightly weaker than Zhenyan King.

"Longyu!" the Exalted Fiery Ember in the black flames said angrily, "Did you order the capture of my son?"

"Exalted Fiery Ember," Longyu King said with a respectful smile, her face beautiful and her emerald battle armor crystal clear, standing in the starry sky as if she didn't exist, clearly able to withstand that pressure. "We are here obeying a Venerable's order to protect Luo Feng. Yanzhu, however, brought people to capture Luo Feng and even kill him. Regardless, Luo Feng is a core member of my Virtual Universe Company. If punishment is due, it should be from my Virtual Universe Company. Yanzhu's actions... were a bit overstepping his authority. So, I intended to capture him and bring him to see the Venerable!"

"Yanzhu is my son! Even if punishment is due, it's not up to Jiujian to punish him!" the Exalted Fiery Ember's voice boomed like thunder.

This made everyone in the entire Undying army show expressions of pain.

Luo Feng, however, felt nothing at all.

"Strange?" Luo Feng watched as the thousand powerful Undyings beside him, along with Dilun and the Bloodthirsty King, all showed expressions of pain, yet he alone was unaffected.

"Perhaps it's because my strength is weak. If that pressure truly fell upon me, I might just die instantly, so the Exalted Fiery Ember must have restrained himself slightly," Luo Feng mused.

...

Seeing everyone in the entire Undying army show expressions of pain, the Yanzhu King and his companions, however, felt somewhat pleased and triumphant.

"Consider this a minor punishment!" the Exalted Fiery Ember said coldly. "Remember, do not be disrespectful in front of any Venerable."

Longyu King could only lower her head and bow respectfully: "Yes!"

After all...

In terms of strength, the Exalted Fiery Ember was indeed a bit stronger than Venerable Jiujian.

The Exalted Fiery Ember in the raging black flames suddenly fixed his gaze on Luo Feng, and his voice became a bit more cordial: "You are Luo Feng?"

...

"Truly powerful, forcing even Longyu King to lower her head, and the entire Undying army to submit to this pressure." Luo Feng was still marveling when he noticed the pair of eyes from the towering figure in the distant flames looking at him, his gaze fixed on Luo Feng. Luo Feng was instantly a bit bewildered, and then heard a gentle voice: "Is that Luo Feng?"

The entire Undying army present was dumbfounded.

This, this, this...

Was this truly the utterly domineering Exalted Fiery Ember?

An absolute genius among geniuses, the Exalted Fiery Ember had no need to care about any small fry, yet he was speaking to Luo Feng in such a tone.

"I am," Luo Feng said, still a bit bewildered, but quickly regaining his composure and bowing respectfully. "Greetings, Venerable."

"Mm."

The Exalted Fiery Ember's voice held not a trace of anger, only cordiality. "I originally sent my son to discuss the matter of buying and selling Earth's ownership with you. I never expected my incompetent son to make such a mess of things."

Luo Feng blinked his eyes.

Longyu King and the thousand powerful Undying Beings were dumbfounded.

"I—" the Yanzhu King's eyes widened even further. "Father—"

"Silence!"

The Exalted Fiery Ember coldly barked, making the Yanzhu King even more anxious and furious.

The atmosphere in the entire starry sky instantly became unfathomable.

The Exalted Fiery Ember's doting affection for his son was known to all, yet today he was so polite to a mere Domain Lord-level junior, while severely reprimanding his own son. This was an incredible turn of events. Even if Luo Feng were a genius born once every tens of thousands of eras, or even tens of millions of eras, he wouldn't have the qualifications to be treated with such politeness.

A genius is a genius.

A powerful being is a powerful being.

Before becoming a true powerful being, one simply had no qualifications to make an existence like the Exalted Fiery Ember act so politely.

"Luo Feng, I will personally discuss this with you. Are you willing to sell Earth to me?" the Exalted Fiery Ember said, smiling as he looked at Luo Feng. "Whatever conditions you want, just name them."

"Venerable," Luo Feng said respectfully, "Earth is my homeland, and also the homeland of my entire race of Earthlings. No matter what, I am unwilling to sell Earth."

Luo Feng had also seen through the situation.

No matter what...

Venerable Jiujian had already intervened. This matter was now a clash between two major powers, and the Exalted Fiery Ember wouldn't directly make a move against him.

"Oh, a racial origin planet?" the Exalted Fiery Ember nodded slightly. "As a racial origin planet, Earth is indeed very important to you. I won't force you."

"Yanzhu," the Exalted Fiery Ember looked at his son.

The Yanzhu King was startled.

Although he was called 'Yanzhu King,' this was just a title. It was usually used to show respect or in formal situations. Those who considered themselves of higher status might simply call him 'Yanzhu,' omitting the 'King' suffix. However, the Yanzhu King's true given name was Mengchaluo.

As a father, the Exalted Fiery Ember usually called his son 'Chaluo,' a more intimate address.

Only when his father was displeased would he call him 'Yanzhu.'

"Father," the Yanzhu King quickly called out respectfully, sensing his father's tone was off.

"I merely sent you to purchase Earth's ownership, but I never expected you to go this far. If Dilun hadn't protected Luo Feng well, would you have killed him?" the Exalted Fiery Ember's voice was deep and contained a hint of anger.

"Father?" the Yanzhu King looked up at his father, feeling even more confused.

"You are increasingly lacking in propriety in your actions. If this continues, who knows how much greater trouble you'll cause," the Exalted Fiery Ember said coldly. "I will now punish you... by sentencing you to 1000 eras in the Ninth Star Sector Prison."

"Father!"

The Yanzhu King's eyes widened in shock.

Luo Feng, the Bloodthirsty King, Longyu King, Dilun, and all the other Undying Beings in the entire starry sky were stunned.

Heavens.

Historically, the Exalted Fiery Ember had once thrown his son into the Ninth Star Sector Prison, but that was only for 1000 years. This time, however, it was 1000 eras—that's over ten million years, and in the Ninth Star Sector Prison... that would definitely be a long nightmare!

All the Undying Beings were dumbfounded. What the hell, even if the Yanzhu King had killed Luo Feng, he wouldn't have received such a heavy punishment!