Chapter 1323: Danger after Danger; Success in Tribulation
Tian Youxi calmly analyzed, "It must be because the Dragon's Gate's Luck is too strong. Elder Qin is already tied in with the Dragon's Gate, which is like a huge True Dragon. If Xiao Chen is the dragon's head, Elder Qin can be considered the dragon's claw or some other part. Touching one part is the same as touching the whole.
"This is a tribulation for the Dragon's Gate. If it were an outstanding talent undergoing the tribulation, it might be a good thing. However, since it is this Elder Qin, he will definitely die."
That was right. If one cleared the Fire Dragon Tribulation and advanced to Martial Emperor, their Golden Emperor Body would contain Fire Dragon Energy, which would amplify their strength.
However, Elder Qin was not an outstanding talent, just an ordinary quasi-Emperor. He would not be able to endure this Fire Dragon Tribulation.
On the small island, Xiao Chen revealed an extremely dissatisfied expression. After working so hard, in the end, he still could not bring Elder Qin hope.
Heartache, guilt, and all sorts of other emotions roiled in Xiao Chen's heart, making him feel strangely angry.
Lan Chaofeng shook his head and sighed, mixed feelings welling up in his heart.
At the end of the Emperor's Road, Elder Qin, who had thought that he finally arrived after much difficulty, smiled bitterly and revealed an expression of despair.
The fire dragon took only a moment to form from the sea of clouds. Then, it opened its jaws and roared as it charged forward, looking like it would swallow Elder Qin together with the Emperor's Door.
"Freeze!"
Just at this very moment, the Three Life Mirror flew out of the Immortal Spirit Ring, and the word "freeze" rang out. A beam of light shone on that incredibly huge fire dragon.
It was like time stopped. The originally lightning-quick fire dragon head that was descending turned incredibly slow.
Faced with this strange atmosphere, Elder Qin could not understand what was going on. However, he reacted after a moment. He drew out the last trace of strength in his entire body and reached for the Emperor's Door with much difficulty.
After the many steps of the Emperor's Road, Elder Qin's Law Energy was already drained and his mind fatigued, completely sapped of energy.
This was just a matter of raising the hand, but it was extremely difficult to achieve. He did not appear any faster than the descending fire dragon head, making anyone worry.
Amid this strange spectacle, as the fire dragon head was about to swallow Elder Qin, he managed to push the Emperor's Door open.
"Boom!"
Boundless multicolored light surged out from the Emperor's Door. Surging Primordial Energy formed tricolored Auspicious Signs that flooded the entire sea region as they flew about. A golden light engulfed Elder Qin, dissolving his body into the golden light with a 'whoosh.'
The instant the Emperor's Door opened, the horrifying fire dragon immediately vanished like smoke. It turned into fiery-red petals scattering everywhere.
When Xiao Chen and the others saw Elder Qin's body melting into the golden light, they heaved sighs of relief. That was the reconstruction of the physical body. It used the power of the Heavenly Dao to forge the Golden Emperor Body for Elder Qin.
The Three Life Mirror wobbled in the air as it fell continuously.
Xiao Chen shot forward and leaped up to grab the falling Three Life Mirror.
Inside the mirror, Little Three smiled weakly. "Hehe! I managed to let that old man become a Martial Emperor. Elder Brother White Robes, you can stop frowning now. Hey, I feel very sleepy. Little Three is going to take a nap…"
Little Three's voice faded away into silence. Then, the mirror turned black.
This startled Xiao Chen, and his complexion paled. "Little Three, wake up! Wake up!"
Ao Jiao, who was in the Immortal Spirit Ring, said, Stop calling out to her. Let her have a good sleep. This chatterbox really overestimated herself. She actually changed the trajectory of time with her own strength.
Xiao Chen asked quickly, Ao Jiao, what's going on?
Ao Jiao explained, The Three Life Mirror is a space-time-type Immortal Equipment in the first place. It is used for helping Immortals execute space-time-type Magic Skills. You have to understand that the Time Dao is something that even Immortals find hard to grasp. The Three Life Mirror allows one to achieve more with less effort when using the Time Dao.
You understand now, right? She is a support-type Immortal Equipment. However, despite her identity, she used her own strength to change the trajectory of time.
Xiao Chen understood now. Simply put, Little Three had overdrawn her energy, forcefully doing something that surpassed what she could provide, which resulted in a backlash.
Will she be fine?
Ao Jiao sighed, She won't die, but this is still quite damaging. If she messes around like this again, perhaps even gods will not be able to save her.
When Xiao Chen heard this, he relaxed slightly and carefully put away the Three Life Mirror. He did not know what to say. This Little Three chattered a lot, but at the crucial moment, she was unexpectedly so committed to her duties.
However, he still felt somewhat confused. When one made a move to stop the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, the Heavenly Dao was sure to impose a punishment, resulting in both parties dying. Why were Little Three and Elder Qin fine?
"Xiao Chen, was that your Secret Treasure that changed the trajectory of time earlier?" Lan Chaofeng asked gravely. The Time Dao was something that even Primes found unfathomable.
Xiao Chen was put in a spot, not knowing what to say. When Lan Chaofeng saw the situation, he said, "I understand. This matter is not convenient to talk about."
"Thank you, Senior, for understanding."
Lan Chaofeng smiled and said, "There is nothing to be understanding about in this. This old man was just curious and asked casually. Right now, I only have a smattering of knowledge of the Space Dao. I was fortunate enough to see the Time Dao, so I lost myself."
Shui Lingling said, "Look, Elder Qin's Golden Emperor Body is done."
Amid the Auspicious Signs filling the air, the golden light retracted and coalesced into a figure of light that continued to move about.
Boundless Spiritual Energy gathered at that figure, flowing in from all directions. Instantly, the focus of the golden light became the center of this world, covering up all other light.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, feeling happy for Elder Qin. He also anticipated such a day for himself.
---
Xia Houjue's group watched as Auspicious Signs danced around in the air while Elder Qin reforged his body into the Golden Emperor Body in the golden light.
Xia Houjue, who was rejoicing earlier, revealed a horrified expression. This dramatic scene confused him somewhat, even until now.
The moment the fire dragon descended, the trajectory of time changed, forcefully stopped by the Three Life Mirror's Item Spirit. However, in reality, time did not change. Xia Houjue and the others, who were hundreds of kilometers away, only saw the general situation.
All the group saw was the fire dragon charging with a ferocious roar, the Emperor's Door opening, a vast amount Primordial Energy surging out, and then the fire dragon dispersing.
Tian Youxi frowned and said, "This matter is somewhat strange. When we return, I have to report this to the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign."
Feng Wuji felt equally confused. "It was a dead end, and yet it got resolved just like that. This is indeed strange. If Xiao Chen could do the same thing in his Great Tribulation of wind and fire, we can only watch as he advances to Martial Emperor."
Xia Houjue shook his head and said, "That's impossible. He absolutely cannot use such an incredible heaven-defying move twice. If Xiao Chen dares to do that, then his Great Tribulation of wind and fire will mutate and become even more horrifying."
The truth was as Xia Houjue said; he was right. Even if Xiao Chen possessed the ability to use it again, he could not.
If the Three Life Mirror forcibly altered time again, it would not be able to withstand the strain. It would crumble, which would be a great loss. If Xiao Chen comprehended the Time Dao in the future, the assistance of the Three Life Mirror would be like giving a tiger wings, a godly resource.
"Whoosh!"
A sonic boom resounded as the Western Sea Dragon King rushed over. His face filled with rage as he demanded, "Tian Youxi, didn't you say that you would stop Elder Qin's tribulation? Why didn't you do it?!"
"Insolent! How can you speak to the Divine Daughter like that?!" the Deity Race Martial Emperor said with a cold expression as he stepped forward from the group. His Deity-natured Emperor's Might flooded out, putting heavy pressure on Ao Lang.
Ao Lang could not help feeling startled. This Deity Race Martial Emperor before him probably relied on himself to become a Martial Emperor and not on the power of faith.
In the Deity Race, there were two kinds of Martial Emperors. One was the kind that relied on the power of faith; their own strength was just supplementary. There were many such Martial Emperors. Of the three thousand Respected Deities, as termed by the Deity Race, eighty to ninety percent were such Martial Emperors.
The other kind was rather terrifying, relying on their own strength to advance to Martial Emperor and using the power of faith as supplementary. This kind of Deity Race Martial Emperor was rare, but they were the pillars of the Deity Race and were extremely strong.
"Sorry, I was somewhat rude. I hope the Divine Daughter forgives me!" Ao Lang felt dissatisfied, but he still lowered his head and apologized.
This woman before him could be considered the most respected woman in the Kunlun Realm. Even though she was not as strong as him, he could not just offend her.
Tian Youxi was already in a bad mood due to Shui Lingling and remained caught up in the heat of the moment. Hence, she did not give Ao Lang any face, snorting coldly. "Am I accountable to you? How are you qualified to question me? Ao Lang, from start to end, I never agreed to help you stop Elder Qin from clearing his tribulation."
When Xia Houjue saw this, he tried to diffuse the situation. "Senior Ao, it is a long story. I'll explain it to you when we return, but I was the one who got the Divine Daughter to give up on this. She has a Deity Talisman, which the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign refined, that can kill a Minor Heavenly Martial Emperor, but she did not use it."
When Ao Lang heard this, he asked in shock, "Why?"
Feng Wuji smiled and replied, "Senior Ao probably does not know how strong Xiao Chen is now. If we really used it, none of us would have been able to leave; we would have ended up falling there."
The Deity Race Martial Emperor said coldly, "Ao Lang, if I guess right, you should have some trump cards. However, you can't wash away the humiliation of the past just by relying on your trump cards. Throwing in your lot with my Deity Dao Union is the only choice. Don't bother having second thoughts."
Ao Lang nodded and said, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Before the major characters of the Deity Dao Union, Ao Lang was just an ant. No matter how dissatisfied he was, he could only pretend to submit for now.
Tian Youxi continued from here. "The shrine will be built in the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace in half a month. At that time, we will erect a Deity Statue for Senior Ao as well. After that, Senior Ao's strength will soar once more."
With these words, Ao Lang's heart filled with wild joy. The Deity Race's power of faith was a famous sharp weapon in the Kunlun Realm. If he could erect a Deity Statue, he could increase his strength by twenty percent without having to risk his life undergoing a tribulation.
However, Ao Lang was an old fox. After thinking about it, he realized that such a good deal would not come for free. Tian Youxi would surely put forward some demands.
Indeed, Tian Youxi said, "However, before this, we ask Senior Ao to pave the way for us. Convince the other three Dragon Kings to join my Deity Dao Union as well."
Ao Lang quickly weighed the pros and cons. Then, he smiled. "That's not a problem. With me speaking, my three brothers will definitely not reject you."
When Tian Youxi and the others heard this, they all smiled. Although they failed to stop Elder Qin from advancing to Martial Emperor and disrupt the Dragon's Gate's Luck, they managed to wedge their way into the Divine Dragon Palaces of the four seas, expanding the Deity Dao Union's faction into the Heavenly Starry Ocean.