Atop the altar, Li Tan cupped his face with both hands, tears of extreme joy leaking between his fingers.
"At last, he's been fooled!"
Li Tan took a deep, long breath, propped himself up with his hands, and slowly pulled his lower body out from the midst of the golden flowers.
He stretched lazily, casually summoned a robe to drape over himself, and barefoot, stepped down from the altar one step at a time.
At this moment, Qi Xiu was tightly bound by an inexplicable force, completely unable to move.
With a face full of smiles, making no attempt to conceal his immense joy, Li Tan slowly approached Qi Xiu.
"Young friend, your heart is pure and good-natured; Li admires you truly. What a pity, though. In this ever-turning world, it's often the good who die young, while the calamitous live for a thousand years. Look at you, wanting to save billions of living beings, and now you've become a prisoner at my feet. And I, on the other hand, have regained my freedom."
