Chapter 407: The Sword Emperor’s Appearance
Blood Warp was the least used technique that Long Chen had obtained from the Inherited Blood Essence, but it was by no means weak.
He had used it to escape the Category Nine Earth-tier beast even though he was only at the Fourth River Stage. Now that he was at the Eighth River Stage, his speed had increased dramatically to the point that he disappeared the moment he used it.
Everyone was stunned by his disappearance. “Where is he? Wasn’t he here just now? Where did he go?”
“Did he escape?”
“Probably. He’s probably a peerless individual if the Sword Devil had to go in himself. It’s impossible that all of us were hallucinating at the same time. He must be so strong that he managed to escape all of us!”
“We need to enter the Counter Essence Realm and see what has happened! Since he managed to escape, does that mean the Sword Devil lost to him?”
The leader barked orders after ascertaining what had happened.
“Impossible! He must’ve escaped from the Sword Devil! Chase him! Leave three people guarding the entrance and the rest of us will search around the area with me! He could be hiding nearby!”
“Sir, do we need to send someone inside? We don’t know what’s going on in the realm.”
“Yes. You, and you! Enter the Counter Essence Realm to discover what the situation is inside. Ask for a report there!”
“Yes, Sir!” Two cultivators ran into the Counter Essence Realm while three of them stood guard at the entrance. The rest followed the leader and combed Counter Essence City.
A short moment later, everyone felt incredible pressure coming from the top of Counter Essence City. Regardless of what they were doing, all of them kneeled and shouted, “Greetings, Sword Emperor!”
As soon as the greeting was given, one of the guards ran out of the Counter Essence Realm, shouting in a panic, rage, and despair, “Bad news! The Sword Devil has been killed! The Heaven-tier spiritual herbs are missing too!”
Because it was incredibly silent outside, his shout was heard throughout the city, and everyone was shocked.
“What?!” the Sword Emperor yelled.
The messenger was suddenly killed and died with blood coming out of his orifices.
Everyone knew what had happened. The Sword Emperor, the most powerful individual in the Cangyang Kingdom, had killed him with his mere voice.
***
Long Chen was ten Li away by the time everyone realized what was happening. He had used almost all of his Qi just to get that far. Even though he had a lot of Qi, it was insufficient for him to sustain the cost of Blood Warp!
He then used the Soul Swallowing Gaze and found where Xiaolang was. He stopped and immediately shouted, “Xiaolang, we need to run towards that direction now!”
He had detected a dangerous presence coming from the imperial city while escaping using Blood Warp. It was a pressure given off by someone at the Heavenly Passage Realm. Long Chen realized he was outmatched. Even though he was ten Li away, he was hesitant to take it slow.
Xiaolang was no fool. The moment Long Chen called out to him, he transformed into his battle form and carried Long Chen towards the direction he had pointed to. Because they were only ten Li away from Counter Essence City, Long Chen didn’t want to risk being discovered despite the Sword Emperor not knowing where they had gone.
Long Chen had chosen to go south. He had depleted his Qi thanks to Blood Warp, so he was immobilized on Xiaolang’s back while trying to catch his breath. Just as they started escaping, they heard a thunderous roar coming from Counter Essence City. The voice shook the very earth even though they were ten Li away. Long Chen shuddered when he thought about what would’ve happened to him if he hadn’t escaped fast enough.
Thankfully, I listened to Xiaoxi and escaped just in time.
Xiaolang ran as fast as he could towards the south. Time slowly passed while he ran uninterrupted in the wilderness. Half a day later, Long Chen stopped him. They were almost a thousand Li away and were sure that the Sword Emperor would not chase them this far.
Long Chen collapsed onto the ground in the forest with Xiaolang. The latter confirmed that they were safe before asking Ling Xi what had happened.
She told him what they had done in the Counter Essence Realm in detail. By the time she was finished, both he and Long Chen had recovered their Qi. Another half a day had passed by that point.
The situation just now was indeed very dangerous.
After stopping and catching their breath, Long Chen talked to Ling Xi, who reminded him of their harvest. Even though they hadn’t managed to get the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit, they had come out with three treasures.
If the Sword Devil was telling the truth, the Nine Heavens Immortal Fruit might really be in the clutches of the Sword Emperor. I can’t fight him yet, so it’s best not to reveal myself for now. It seems that I have to keep a low profile if I want to take revenge for both me and Xiaolang by killing the Sword Emperor …”
Long Chen settled down to think about his next move.
Xiaolang was naturally very happy after learning that one of the three people he had a grudge with, the Sword Devil, was killed. Though he would’ve been happier if he had done the deed himself.
Just then, Long Chen called Xiaolang over and took out a jade box from his Universe Pouch. “Xiaolang, I really have to thank you for just now. This is your reward. Take it and refine it now. This is a safe place!”
Xiaolang knew that it was something that would make him stronger the moment he sensed the Eight Desolate Dragon Fruit. He was very sensitive to items with the fire attribute, much less the Eight Desolate Dragon Fruit, a Heaven-tier herb. He was pleasantly surprised as the spiritual herb would be a delicious meal for him.
He gave Long Chen a thankful gaze and took the fruit to refine it elsewhere. When he returned, he was at the peak of Earth-tier beasts. He was now a Category Nine Earth-tier beast!
Xiaolang’s newfound strength will be of great help to me. Unfortunately, I can’t bring him into the capital, as he will be recognized. Since it’s not that urgent to kill the Sword Emperor, I should aim for someone I can take out right now—Lin Zichen!
Long Chen would never forget how Lin Zichen had used the Imperial Sword Qi and forced Ling Xi to give up the Profound Jade Lotus. Lin Zichen had been arrogant back then, but now Long Chen was strong enough to take him on!
I will give you a big surprise.
“Brother Chen, what are you going to do with the Bloodseal Lotus and the stone talisman?” Ling Xi was more interested in the stone talisman.
“Can I refine it even without a Heaven-tier Body Tempering technique?” Long Chen was confused.
“You can refine it, but since you don’t have a Heaven-tier Body Tempering technique, the Bloodseal Lotus energy will temporarily be stored in your body. It will then exhibit its power once you have one in the future.”
Long Chen nodded. “In that case, we should check the stone talisman first.”
It would be Long Chen’s largest reward if he was lucky, but he still remembered how two days had passed in just a breath’s time when he infused it with his Qi. He would be more careful now.
He took out the stone talisman and examined it. The translucent dragon illusion was clearer this time.
“What is this? I can’t even look inside of it.” Ling Xi was worried. She flew around the stone talisman but failed to see what it was. “That’s strange. There’s not even a seal on it, but it’s as if there’s a strange fog covering it.” Ling Xi tilted her head in confusion.
She looked cute when she frowned like that.
“Should I infuse some Qi again?” Long Chen asked tentatively.
“Aren’t you afraid that a few years will pass in the blink of an eye?” Ling Xi was worried.
A few years? Long Chen suddenly recalled his experience in the Counter Essence Realm. Back then, the translucent dragon illusion in the sky projected two rays of light into his eyes, and he felt like he was standing in a river that made him age rapidly.
Wait, is that river the passage of time?
Long Chen tried recalling how Ling Xi had told him before that one of the Dragon Ancestors controlled time itself and was much stronger than the Ancient Bloodsoul Dragon.
While he thought about that, the Dragon Jade Pendant inside his sea of consciousness suddenly moved. The moment it did, a strong suction force was exerted on the stone talisman. Before Long Chen realized it, the stone talisman was forced to his torso and merged into it.
Doge & Chacha's Thoughts
Power-up?