Chapter 1315: Road to Becoming Martial Emperor
Once one entered the Emperor's Door, one would enter the cultivation realm that all cultivators sought even in their dreams.
"Since ancient times, many heroes and outstanding talents have fallen on this Emperor's Road."
As Xiao Chen looked at that door, the Emperor's Door hidden between reality and illusion, his emotions were very complicated—eagerness, fear, desire—but eventually, they all turned into a calm like still water.
"There is still half a year. The Great Tribulation of wind and fire is drawing increasingly closer. It is time I returned to the Kunlun Realm," Xiao Chen muttered to himself.
Having sorted out his emotions, he said goodbye to Liu Suifeng and also to the Xiao Clan. Then, he started on his journey back.
After not returning for so long, Xiao Chen did not know how chaotic the Kunlun Realm was now.
The Thunder Sovereign was currently missing, his life status unknown. Amid this great chaos, how had his Dragon's Gate been affected? Were the friends who had come to offer congratulations at the Dragon's Gate's reestablishment ceremony doing fine in this great chaos? Xiao Chen really wanted to know.
At the transportation formation in Great Qin Nation's Royal Palace, Ying Yue came to send him off.
Feeling especially worried, she said, "Take care. Based on the news from the Ying Clan in the Kunlun Realm, the Kunlun Realm is currently in chaos. Fights have broken out everywhere. Several older-generation characters died mysteriously. There are also quasi-Emperors clearing the Great Tribulation of wind and fire one after another. Everyone feels that the world is changing."
Xiao Chen frowned and asked, "That serious?"
He already knew that the Kunlun Realm was in great chaos. However, he had not expected it to be that chaotic; the severity was far beyond his calculations.
Ying Yue sighed softly, "Actually, ever since the Demons made a move to snatch the Sky Dome Heart, I already guessed that great chaos would arise. However, the great chaos this time is completely different from the past Demonic Calamities. It will involve the entire Kunlun Realm; no one can avoid it."
Xiao Chen said sullenly, "You take care too."
As Ying Yue watched Xiao Chen leave, her heart grew heavier. With Xiao Chen's departure, the peaceful days of the Sky Dome Realm would probably come to an end as well.
With the arrival of great chaos, Xiao Chen, who had enjoyed peace for a period of time, returned to the center of the storm, to the Kunlun Realm.
When he exited the transportation formation, he saw Mo Chen standing guard there. After a separation of about two years, her aura had become even heavier and denser.
This change startled Xiao Chen somewhat. "Mo Chen, you reached Consummation quasi-Emperor?"
After stepping forward and taking a closer look, Xiao Chen realized that Mo Chen had indeed reached Consummation quasi-Emperor. This was somewhat surprising. Two years ago, she was just a Great Perfection quasi-Emperor. In a mere two years, she actually managed to break through to Consummation quasi-Emperor.
Of course, Xiao Chen taking only one year to break through was an exception. He had used a fortuitous encounter, obtaining the Blood Sword Sovereign's secret technique and condensing a Heart of an Emperor.
Mo Chen smiled and said, "The more one cultivates the Book of Heavenly Works, the more benefits there are. However, my progress is still lacking compared to those who advanced to Consummation quasi-Emperor at the Astral Battlefield. My comprehensions are mainly focused on refining Secret Treasures."
With this, Xiao Chen understood. While Mo Chen did not experience the killing on a battlefield, the comprehension of the Book of Heavenly Works did not rely on that in the first place but on the refining of Secret Treasures.
With the current resources of the Dragon's Gate and the Book of Heavenly Works, it was natural for Mo Chen to break through to Consummation quasi-Emperor.
"Oh, right, where are Lan Shaobai, Yue Chenxi, and the others? Why do I not see them?"
Mo Chen sighed, "Right now, the Kunlun Realm is too chaotic. A year ago, they all left, wanting to break through quickly to Consummation quasi-Emperor."
Xiao Chen found that strange. He asked, "Why?"
Mo Chen explained, "That group of outstanding talents that went to the Astral Battlefield returned. Half of the peak outstanding talents of the Kunlun Continent's five major races had died."
This news stunned Xiao Chen when he heard it. It was somewhat horrifying. The losses were too great. Having come from the Kunlun Continent, he knew the potential of those outstanding talents. If they had not died, advancing to Martial Emperor would simply have been a matter of time.
It would just have been a question of whether it took one hundred years or ten years. In other words, this was like half of the future Martial Emperors of the Kunlun Realm had died.
"However, the ones that managed to return alive have all reached Consummation quasi-Emperor without exception. The personal disciples of the various Primes shone the brightest. Of these Prime inheritors, Di Wuque is the most famous."
The two chatted as they walked. Xiao Chen came to know from Mo Chen that Di Wuque was clearly well-prepared. After Di Wuque returned from the Astral Battlefield, he defeated several older-generation Martial Emperors one after another.
The others, like the personal disciples of the Heaven Punishing Corpse God, the East Mountain Ghost Monarch, the Supreme Sky Prime, and the Spirit Fox King, were equally extraordinary, all of them ridiculously strong.
The most important thing was that these people possessed a certain brilliance and sharpness. Their flourishing aura was like the blazing sun, bright and dazzling, overshadowing many of the older-generation Martial Emperors.
No wonder all the young cultivators on Heavenly Star Island left to seek fortuitous encounters. They probably felt the pressure.
As for the chaos of the Kunlun Realm, it was really a huge mess. The Deity Race's situation aside, the other races were all in an awfully chaotic state.
There was no need to say much about the human race of the Tianwu Domain. With the Thunder Sovereign missing, internecine struggles ran rampant in the Martial God Palace.
The three Holy Masters wanted to take advantage of the situation and ascend to the position of the Martial God Palace's Palace Master. However, the faction supporting the old Thunder Sovereign, led by the Supreme Sky Prime, naturally did not permit them.
Now, the two factions were contending with each other, neither side giving way. Like fire and water, they could not coexist. With Ying Zongtian a Prime, he could fight against the three Holy Masters even when they worked together. Although the Holy Lands had deeply hidden accumulations, they still ended up slightly disadvantaged.
As for the Fiend Race, the various old monsters started killing each other because they had to determine the new Fiend King successor. Hence, the Fiend Race was also in incredible chaos.
The Corpse Race and Ghost Race could not avoid the same fate, either, all of them in turmoil. The past conflicts became infinitely magnified. It was as if a mysterious faction was agitating them from the shadows.
Back in Xiao Chen's exclusive courtyard, after he heard Mo Chen's briefing, he rubbed his temple. All this information confused him despite Mo Chen having already done her best to simplify it. The actual situation was at least a hundred times more complicated than this.
Right now, the Kunlun Realm was like muddy water. No one could say that they could truly see everything clearly.
Xiao Chen sat down and asked, "What is the Heavenly Starry Ocean's situation? Is our Dragon's Gate affected? Are there any movements from the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace's side?"
Mo Chen sighed softly, "It is the same, all extremely chaotic. In the past two years, many lands of fortuitous encounters appeared all over the oceanic world. There were so many, they dazzled the eyes. Various experts took this opportunity to rise up. Several older-generation quasi-Emperors, who had not dared to undergo the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, took their tribulations batch after batch for self-preservation, making the situation even worse."
Xiao Chen understood in his heart. In the past, they did not take the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, lest they burned to death. Now, the situation was different, forcing them to become Martial Emperors if they wanted to survive.
Mo Chen thought for a while and said, "In the past two years, hundreds of quasi-Emperors in the entire oceanic world have died in their Great Tribulation of wind and fire. However, there is also a constant stream of news of people succeeding in their Great Tribulation of wind and fire.
"As for the Dragon's Gate, this was rather strange too. It has been very peaceful. The past two years have been even stranger for the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace. They took the initiative to withdraw their forces, showing no intent to seek trouble at all."
Xiao Chen let out a soft cry of surprise. This was indeed strange. He was clear on the Western Sea Dragon King Ao Lang's temper. He was definitely not a broad-minded person.
Even though Xiao Chen was gone for two years, the Western Sea Dragon King had not sought trouble for the Dragon's Gate. Something was very strange about this situation!
However, Xiao Chen did not care about the Western Sea Dragon King for now. He still had much more important things to do. He told Mo Chen about obtaining the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame and asked her how to refine and subdue such a primal-chaos-level flame.
When Mo Chen heard this, she rejoiced. "The Heavenly Snow Divine Flame! You actually obtained such a primal-chaos-level flame. This is a legendary flame! Elder Brother Xiao Chen, you are truly a person with a great destiny. Don't worry. I know how to refine it."
As a grandmaster refiner who possessed the Book of Heavenly Works, Mo Chen was very familiar with the matter.
A primal-chaos-level flame like the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame required one to be a Martial Emperor to refine it. However, since Xiao Chen possessed a Heart of an Emperor, he could refine it already.
He only needed to find ten-thousand-year-old ice and use a secret technique to seal the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame in the ice before swallowing it and absorbing it into the Heart of an Emperor.
Nourishing such a divine flame required a Buddhist-lamp-type Secret Treasure. After refining ice-attributed natural treasures into the lamp oil, he could nourish this flame.
Mo Chen frowned as she entered deep thought. "Such Buddhist-lamp-type Secret Treasures are too hard to find. If we can't find one, I'll help you refine a peak-quality Buddhist lamp. Unfortunately, you came to me too late. Otherwise, this Heavenly Snow Divine Flame would be very useful for your Great Tribulation of wind and fire. If only I had followed you to the Sky Dome Realm!"
Mo Chen's expression was very serious, clearly extremely frustrated. When Xiao Chen saw this, he smiled. "Why are you even more anxious than me?"
She said grudgingly, "How can I not be anxious? There is only half a year to your Great Tribulation of wind and fire. If anything happens…"
Reaching this point, Mo Chen quickly stopped speaking. She realized that she was about to say something inauspicious and decided it was best to refrain.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he laughed softly. "Don't worry. I promised you that I would personally watch you remove your veil. Before that, I will not die."
Mo Chen nodded. "You definitely will not. I also promised you that I would serve as your protector during your Great Tribulation of wind and fire!"
Then, she recalled something. "Right, there is one thing. You came back at a good time. Elder Qin is about to undergo his Great Tribulation of wind and fire."
Xiao Chen was not too shocked about this. Elder Qin was already very old, having been stuck at quasi-Emperor for several hundred years. He had sufficient accumulations, so once he reached Consummation quasi-Emperor, he could undergo the Great Tribulation at any time.
"This is a good thing. My Dragon's Gate owes much to Elder Qin. I will definitely put in my full effort to be his protector. However, this is not really a good time. The Supreme Sky Sect is fighting with the Three Holy Lands and cannot send anyone to help him."
Mo Chen shook her head and said, "That is not the crucial thing. Elder Qin must succeed in becoming a Martial Emperor!"
"What do you mean?"
"After he advances to Martial Emperor, the Dragon's Gate will grow stronger. It would become easier for Lan Shaobai and the rest of us to advance to Martial Emperor, creating a positive cycle. However, if he fails, not only will our Dragon's Gate lose an elder, but it will also impact the Luck of the Dragon's Gate. You will be the one most directly affected," Mo Chen explained seriously.
Luck was something extremely strange. Elder Qin had become tied to the Dragon's Gate long ago, the two supplementing each other. If he failed in advancing to Martial Emperor, it would definitely influence the Dragon's Gate's Luck.
Xiao Chen thought about the black tribulation clouds from the Dragon's Gate's reestablishment ceremony. His heart sank as he realized the gravity of the situation.
Mo Chen added softly, "Since we can see the problem clearly, others can too. They will surely put in their full effort into preventing Elder Qin from advancing to Martial Emperor."
As the two discussed the matter of Elder Qin advancing to Martial Emperor, the news of Xiao Chen's return to the Kunlun Realm quickly spread throughout the Heavenly Starry Ocean, reaching the hands of the various powerhouses.