Chapter 29
Zan Yunxiao quietly looked at the emperor for a long moment.
The old ruler lowered his head slightly, waiting nervously like a student before a teacher.
Finally, Zan Yunxiao spoke.
“Everyone leave.”
The room instantly fell silent.
The royal guards hesitated for a second before immediately bowing.
“Yes!”
Even the attendants hurriedly retreated outside.
Zan Wei also understood the atmosphere and casually walked out while closing the doors behind him.
Soon.
Only two people remained inside the guest hall.
Zan Yunxiao.
And the emperor of the Crimson Empire.
The atmosphere became completely quiet.
The emperor sat upright, though faint nervousness could still be seen in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Zan Yunxiao calmly poured tea for himself.
Then he finally spoke.
“You know cultivation.”
The emperor nodded respectfully.
“This junior encountered an immortal cultivator in my youth.”
“He left behind a basic cultivation method.”
“Through luck and hundreds years of effort… I reached 9th Qi Refinement Realm.”
As he said this, bitterness appeared on his face.
“But my talent is too poor.”
“No matter how much I cultivate, I cannot cross into Foundation Establishment.”
Zan Yunxiao could already tell.
The emperor’s body was filled with impurities, and his meridians were weak from forcing breakthroughs repeatedly over the years.
Ordinary methods would not save him anymore.
The emperor slowly lowered his head.
“This junior knows my request is shameless…”
“But I still ask Senior for guidance.”
“I am willing to pay any price.”
Zan Yunxiao silently tapped the armrest of his chair.
His thoughts, however, were no longer focused on the emperor’s problem.
Instead.
He was thinking about the mission.
Take the emperor as a disciple.
A trip to another world.
A chance to obtain the Reconstruction Pill materials.
Zan Yunxiao looked at the kneeling emperor in silence for several moments.
The old ruler of the Crimson Empire remained bowed deeply without moving at all.
After a brief silence, Zan Yunxiao finally spoke.
“…Very well.”
“I accept you.”
The moment those words entered his ears, the emperor’s body trembled slightly.
A wave of excitement surged through his heart so intensely that even his aged hands shook faintly.
At that moment, countless memories resurfaced in his mind.
Back in his youth—
He had once climbed thousands of mountain steps just to apply to an immortal sect.
At that time, he still carried dreams of immortality.
Dreams of flying through the heavens.
Dreams of escaping mortality.
But reality was cruel.
His talent was too poor.
Even though he was already in 1st Qi Refinement Realm.
The sect elders barely even glanced at him before rejecting him completely.
He still remembered the disappointment.
The humiliation.
The feeling of watching other talented youths enter the sect while he stood outside the gates like a fool.
After that
He buried those dreams.
He returned to the mortal world, fought wars, built the Crimson Empire, ascended the throne, and became emperor.
But deep inside.
The obsession with immortality never truly disappeared.
Even while sitting upon the dragon throne, he always knew one truth.
Kings still died.
Dynasties still fell.
Mortals remained mortals.
So when rumors about the Zan Family spread throughout the empire…
When whispers of an immortal clan reached his ears…
He decided to gamble everything one last time.
If rejected.
Then he would simply wait for death peacefully.
But if accepted.
Then this would become the greatest opportunity of his life.
That was why he discarded his dignity.
Discarded his pride as emperor.
Because compared to immortality.
An emperor’s throne meant nothing.
The old emperor slowly raised his head, his eyes actually slightly red.
“This disciple thanks Master…”
Zan Yunxiao looked at him quietly.
Then said:
“Since you’ve entered my Zan Clan…”
“…you should prepare to abdicate your throne.”
The emperor immediately nodded without hesitation.
“This disciple understands.”
In truth.
He had already prepared himself mentally before coming here.
Compared to the immortal path.
Worldly authority no longer held much attraction for him.
Meanwhile outside the hall, Zan Wei and the royal guards waited nervously.
Then suddenly.
The doors opened.
The emperor stepped outside.
But this time.
The aura around him had completely changed.
Without warning, the emperor turned toward the Zan Family Grounds and respectfully bowed deeply once more.
“From this day onward…”
“This disciple greets the Patriarch of the Zan Clan.”
The royal guards froze completely.
Zan Wei’s expression also stiffened.
The Emperor of the Crimson Empire…
Had become a disciple of the Zan Family.
The moment the emperor officially became his disciple, a familiar mechanical voice echoed inside Zan Yunxiao’s mind.
[DING!]
[Congratulations Host for completing the mission.
Reward Obtained: Trip to Another World
New System Function Unlocked]
Zan Yunxiao’s eyes immediately lit up slightly.
“A new function…”
He quietly opened the system panel.
Sure enough, a new option had appeared beneath the usual interface.
[Dimensional Travel]
Zan Yunxiao felt genuine excitement.
“How do I use this?”
The system immediately responded.
[Host may now travel to different worlds.
No limit on traveling back and forth.]
[Currently Available Worlds: 1]
Zan Yunxiao’s breathing slowed slightly.
No limit?
That meant he could freely return to the Zan Clan at any time.
This instantly removed his greatest concern.
Then the most important thought immediately entered his mind.
“The Reconstruction Pill…”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Does this world contain the materials needed for it?”
Zan Yunxiao actually felt nervous waiting for the answer.
Inside his heart, he repeatedly thought:
“Please let it exist…”
“Please…”
The system replied almost instantly.
[Confirmed.]
[The current world contains materials required for the Reconstruction Pill.]
The moment he heard that.
Zan Yunxiao’s usually calm expression finally broke.
A genuine smile appeared on his face.
“Good.”
“Very good.”
If he could gather the Reconstruction Pill materials.
Then Zan Tianming and Zan Wei could reconstruct their foundations and continue cultivating properly.
Perhaps even extend their lifespans far beyond mortals.
This was something he absolutely could not ignore.
After returning to his chamber, Zan Yunxiao immediately closed the doors and sat cross-legged on the bed.
His eyes carried clear anticipation.
Since transmigrating into this world.
He was about to leave it.
“System,” Zan Yunxiao called calmly.
“Use Dimensional Travel.”
The mechanical voice immediately responded.
Activating Dimensional Travel…
The space around the chamber suddenly distorted.
A strange pressure descended from every direction, as if invisible hands were tearing open reality itself.
Without any warning.
Zan Yunxiao’s body vanished completely.
The next moment.
Cold wind brushed against his face.
Zan Yunxiao slowly opened his eyes.
What greeted him was a dense forest.
Towering black trees stretched endlessly into the distance, their branches thick enough to cover the sky itself. Strange glowing plants illuminated parts of the forest floor while unknown beast cries echoed faintly from afar.
The air itself felt… different.
Zan Yunxiao immediately noticed it.
“There’s no spiritual energy.”
His brows slightly furrowed.
Instead, another type of energy filled the atmosphere.
It was softer.
More unstable.
Like flowing water drifting freely through the air.
“Mana…”
The system’s knowledge automatically surfaced in his mind.
Spiritual energy and mana were fundamentally different.
Spiritual energy was absorbed directly into a cultivator’s body, refining the flesh, meridians, and dantian permanently. Once cultivated, it truly became part of the user’s existence.
Mana, however, functioned differently.
The living being here merely borrowed it.
Like drawing water from a river.
The body acted only as a container.
Mana entered.
Mana exited.
It circulated externally rather than permanently merging with the user like spiritual energy.
Zan Yunxiao slowly spread his spiritual sense.
His spiritual sense spreading outward like an invisible tide.
After confirming the strange energy in the air. Mana instead of spiritual energy, he frowned slightly.
“System,” he asked calmly, “are there humans in this world?”
A brief silence followed.
Then the system responded.
[There are no humans in this world.]
Zan Yunxiao’s expression paused.
“…No humans?”