Chapter 1316: Everywhere Stirring up
At the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace, the Western Sea Dragon King Ao Lang immediately received news when Xiao Chen returned.
"Father, it is certain. Xiao Chen is really back," the Young Palace Master said with excitement and anticipation.
Ao Lang nodded casually. "Got it. You can take your leave."
The Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace's Young Palace Master, Ao Yu, said, "Father, what's wrong? We already held ourselves back and endured for two years. Isn't this the opportunity we are waiting for? Could it be that the Supreme Sky Prime beat you into complete submission that day? That fellow made me kneel and made you scram from Heavenly Star Island. That was a great humiliation!"
Ao Lang glared at Ao Yu and shouted angrily, "Impudent! Brat, what do you know? Every time, you fail to achieve anything but always spoil things. Scram!"
The Western Sea Dragon King was famous for his bad temper. He directly threw a palm strike and sent Ao Yu flying out. After that, he still could not be at ease. He turned to a trusted aide and said, "Keep a tight watch on him. Don't let him cause any trouble during this period."
"Yes!"
A strong Martial Emperor walked out of the darkness and silently followed Ao Yu. If he discovered Ao Yu trying to take independent action, he would immediately stop Ao Yu.
After a while, a letter appeared in Ao Lang's hand. His expression looked serious as he said, "This Treasure Master is indeed mysterious. To think that he already obtained news about Xiao Chen's return two days ago, when Xiao Chen was still in the Sky Dome Realm! He actually has a faction in the Sky Dome Realm."
However, a portion of the letter from the Treasure Master made Ao Lang suspicious. That was for Ao Lang to activate his Blood-Clad Soldiers to attack the Dragon's Gate's Elder Qin, preventing him from advancing to Martial Emperor. Furthermore, it strictly instructed not to make a move on Xiao Chen.
"Remember, do not make a move on Xiao Chen. The time is not right yet. This operation is only to deal with that Elder Qin, not Xiao Chen."
Ao Lang put away the letter and said coldly, "Very well, I'll not make a move, then. I already endured for two years. I do not care about waiting a bit longer."
After Ao Lang said that, he headed for a mysterious island that the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace controlled.
There were many layers of formations around the island as well as all sorts of horrifying restrictions. Even a Sovereign Martial Emperor would find it difficult to break into this place.
"No abnormalities with the first layer of formations."
"No abnormalities with the second layer of formations."
As Ao Lang headed in, the controlling formations of the many layers of formations appeared and reported to him.
"No abnormalities with the ninety-ninth layer of formations."
He spent one entire hour for this not-so-distant journey before he landed on the island. This travel time showed how many restrictions and formations there were.
"Greetings, Dragon King!"
Upon seeing Ao Lang arrive, three hundred red-clad cultivators flew over from all over the island and knelt down, making their greetings together.
The red clothes of the cultivators gave off a bloody light. With this attire, their aura turned extremely strange, exuding a highly malevolent feeling.
They were the Blood-Clad Soldiers. Their scarlet clothes were extremely strange. As long as they wore it, not only would their strength increase significantly, but their cultivation speed would also accelerate considerably.
The Treasure Master was the one who gave the Western Sea Dragon King the scarlet clothes. Furthermore, he also gave the Western Sea Dragon King the refining methods. Initially, the Western Sea Dragon King had been somewhat interested in the scarlet clothes. However, after he saw the side effects, he no longer dared to touch the clothes himself.
Donning this attire put one on a path to death. One's lifespan would be no more than five years.
Normally, no one would be willing to put on such an evil thing. However, the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace had been inherited for many generations. They possessed many deathsworn warriors willing to lay down their lives.
Two years ago, these cultivators were only Martial Sages. Some were even weaker. However, two years later, all of them had become incredibly strong, reaching First Heaven Martial Emperor at least.
Some with good talent even managed to reach Third Heaven Martial Emperor. However, the upper limit of these scarlet clothes seemed to be only Third Heaven Martial Emperor.
No matter how much one cultivated after that, one would not be able to advance to Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor.
Nonetheless, that was already enough. No one in the Heavenly Starry Ocean would imagine that Ao Lang already possessed three hundred Martial-Emperor-level deathsworn warriors.
Looking at these Blood-Clad Soldiers, Ao Lang became filled with ambition. Right now, even if he faced the Cyclic Astral Palace, he would not show any fear against such a powerful faction as that.
"Four Blood-Clad Soldiers should be enough to deal with one insignificant Elder Qin. For insurance, I'd better increase it to ten!"
---
When strange events happened, there would definitely be a reason for it. Even though Xiao Chen figured out that the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace was behaving strangely, he would never have imagined that it hid such a horrifying force.
Right now, Xiao Chen worked on refining the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame. He followed the method that Mo Chen taught him and successfully absorbed the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame into his Heart of an Emperor.
The interior of the Heart of an Emperor was still mostly empty. Aside from the whirlpool formed by the one hundred strands of Primordial Energy and the lightning from the whirlpool, there was nothing else.
After the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame entered the Heart of an Emperor, a cold aura immediately spread throughout the place. Frost covered Xiao Chen's entire body.
He could not help sneezing. "How cold!"
One hour later, Xiao Chen's body had slowly adjusted to this extreme cold. However, the frost infiltrated his black hair, turning it as white as snow.
"Unexpectedly, subduing the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame has such a side effect," Xiao Chen said with a bitter smile as he looked at the mirror and noticed his full head of white hair.
Suddenly, the image in the mirror changed. Little Three appeared and giggled, "That is normal. In the past, during the Immortal Epoch, many Immortals subdued primal-chaos-level flames. Some of them even had their skin turn red. Elder Brother White Robes's situation is already pretty good.
"When you've completely grasped it, your hair will gradually recover. However, there are benefits with this as well. You will know after you give it a try."
As the Item Spirit of the Three Life Mirror, Little Three had seen many things and was very knowledgeable.
At Little Three's words, Xiao Chen carefully felt for himself and discovered that the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame in his Heart of an Emperor seemed to have merged with his body. Releasing the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame felt like it was an innate ability—it was incredibly effortless.
With a thought and a simple wave, Xiao Chen could send out patches of snow-white flame.
He could control these flames, making them drift down peacefully like snow. He could also form them into a snowstorm, surging out ferociously.
After testing the might of the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame on a desolate mountain, Xiao Chen felt incredibly satisfied. This was just the initial state, but the might of the flame was already sufficient to injure ordinary Martial Emperors.
A primal-chaos-level flame truly lived up to being a legendary flame. If Mo Chen managed to refine a Buddhist lamp to slowly nourish the flame, its quality and quantity would improve. Xiao Chen wondered how horrifying a level the flame would eventually reach.
---
Three days later, Mo Chen sent someone to inform Xiao Chen to head to Elder Qin's residence.
"Elder Qin's Great Tribulation of wind and fire is about to start?" Xiao Chen muttered to himself. Time was really tight.
Right after Xiao Chen spoke, his figure flashed. Then, he arrived at the peak where Elder Qin cultivated.
"Little Friend Xiao Chen, after not meeting for two years, you are not going to come and see this old man?" The one who spoke was Lan Chaofeng; he had rushed over as well.
Xiao Chen smiled apologetically. "Sorry, sorry. This junior just refined a primal-chaos-level flame and was testing it in the past few days."
"A primal-chaos-level flame!"
Lan Chaofeng was so shocked when he heard this, his jaw nearly fell off. "I was wondering why your hair turned white. Hey, your Luck is truly something to envy, enough to make one go crazy. A primal-chaos-level flame is a flame that only appears in legends; even the Primes of the Kunlun Continent do not have one."
Xiao Chen was rather calm. He smiled and said, "It is not that exaggerated. At least, it hasn't become that horrifyingly exaggerated yet."
"Haha! Little fellow, your mental state is going to be stronger than mine too. You must be here to help protect Old Qin as well, right?" Lan Chaoyun said.
Xiao Chen nodded. "Senior Lan, what do you think of Elder Qin's chances of success at his Great Tribulation of wind and fire?"
Lan Chaofeng's face sank somewhat. He sighed softly, "I'm not very optimistic about it. The Great Tribulation of wind and fire is very difficult in the first place. Furthermore, Elder Qin's Luck is now tied to the Dragon's Gate. If someone secretly sabotages his tribulation, it would be even harder to say. The Thunder Sovereign's departure instantly plunged the world into chaos."
As a living legend, the Thunder Sovereign was undisputedly the top person of the Kunlun Realm. The reason why the Kunlun Realm did not dissolve into utter chaos as a result of the fights between the various races was the prestige of the Thunder Sovereign.
With the Thunder Sovereign around, the strong Deity Race never dared to openly declare world domination. With him around, the Demon Monarchs of the Deep Abyss Demonic World did not dare to play any tricks in the Sky Dome Realm.
With him around, when a few of the major characters had grudges with each other, they would stop after a while, giving the Thunder Sovereign face.
However, with the Thunder Sovereign's disappearance, the Kunlun Realm devolved into complete chaos. The fragile order collapsed immediately.
The reason was simple: after the fall of the Azure Emperor, the Kunlun Realm did not have a true king that could make everyone submit. Without a sufficiently strong king, there would be no way to lay down rules. Without rules, chaos ensued.
Although the Thunder Sovereign was strong, he could only maintain order on a superficial level. After all, he was not as strong as the Azure Emperor.
At a simple wooden hut at the summit of the peak, the wooden door opened, and Elder Qin walked out together with Mo Chen.
When Mo Chen saw the white-haired Xiao Chen, she asked, baffled, "Big Brother Xiao Chen, what's going on with your hair?"
Xiao Chen smiled casually and replied, "Just the side effects of refining the Heavenly Snow Divine Flame. It's fine. Let's discuss Elder Qin's Great Tribulation of wind and fire."
Elder Qin showed worry in his eyes. He performed a cupped-fist salute and said, "I'll entrust this matter to all of you."
Xiao Chen took the lead, saying, "Elder Qin is too polite. You are one of ours. There is no need to say anything more."
Lan Chaofeng smiled. "Old Qin, most quasi-Emperors will eventually meet with this problem. Let's go in before speaking more."
The four entered the house and discussed the matter of Elder Qin undergoing the tribulation. Lan Chaofeng had the final say on this matter. Xiao Chen did not speak much, choosing to listen.
Xiao Chen's Great Tribulation of wind and fire would take place soon, so he could learn from this as well.
Lan Chaofeng took a sip of tea. "For clearing tribulations, if it were the peaceful past, one could just do it anywhere. If others ruined the quasi-Emperor's tribulation, they would suffer the vengeance of the quasi-Emperor's faction. Now that the world is so chaotic, we will have to plan the location of the tribulation properly."
Mo Chen said, "Firstly, Heavenly Dragon City can be eliminated from the list of possible tribulation locations. Right now, Heavenly Dragon City is a place where crooks are mixed in with the honest folks. There are too many of them here."
"However, when one undergoes the tribulation and the various mysterious phenomena appear, it will definitely disturb the surroundings. No one can be sure of concealment."
"That's right. However, if we choose somewhere more remote, if someone wants to cause trouble, it will take time to rush over." When Mo Chen finished, she took out a stack of papers, which she handed out to everyone. "This is what I collected over the past two years, the information of people who succeeded in their tribulations. Although it is not that comprehensive, it is still worth looking through and taking reference from."
Lan Chaofeng said slyly, "Little Girl Mo Chen, this information stuff of yours was probably collected for a certain someone, right? I'm guessing that providing it for Elder Qin's tribulation is just a matter of convenience."