Chapter 673: Divine and Demon Clan
Long Chen told them the story as soon as they sat down. He skipped the part about Little Cat and just said he found the method to save Huangfu Qi in an ancient book.
Both Huangfu Fengchen and his wife were shocked to hear that Long Chen had gone to the Immortal Sea to kill the Heavenly Phoenix. They looked at him in disbelief. “The Heavenly Phoenix lived for hundreds of years. No one dared to provoke it, but you …”
Long Chen was officially stronger than Zhao Wuji now that he had killed the Heavenly Phoenix.
“The strongest beings in the Divine Martial Empire were Zhao Wuji and the Heavenly Phoenix. But Zhao Wuji has been killed by his disciple and Feng Xuan, while you killed the Heavenly Phoenix. It seems that the Divine Martial Empire has changed so much … Long Chen, I have never seen anyone with your talent before. I fear that you would be considered a genius even if you were to go to the other empires.”
Huangfu Fengchen was impressed and grateful that Long Chen had risked his life to save Huangfu Qi by killing the Heavenly Phoenix. Huangfu Fengchen knew that he would never be able to repay this debt.
He had given him the Willow Step, the prized martial technique of the Huangfu family, out of goodwill. Now he knew that he had made the right move. If it wasn’t for Long Chen, Huangfu Qi would likely be dead by now.
Long Chen thought this was a good time to ask about the Ancient Graveyard. The other empires would get a lot of Ancient Tokens, so he needed to know what kinds of enemies he would be facing. “Uncle Chen, could you tell me about the other empires?”
Huangfu Fengchen took a guess. “Do you want to enter the Ancient Graveyard by obtaining the Ancient Token?”
Long Chen nodded.Huangfu Fengchen shook his head. “Long Chen, I advise you not to do that.”
“Why?”
“You are young. You haven’t reached the age of twenty and yet you already have the strength of someone at the Fourth Earthly Martial Stage. While this is enough for you to be called a genius, you’re not considered strong yet. Those who get to enter the Ancient Graveyard are all incredibly strong. You might have a chance to get some treasures if you fight against the younger cultivators, but you are far weaker than those vicious old bastards. Cultivators at the Seventh Earthly Martial Stage are commonplace in the other empires. You are only considered strong if you reach the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage. Almost everyone who enters the Ancient Graveyard is at the Fourth Earthly Martial Realm at least, except for those who get lucky, of course. If you entered now, you would be the weakest one of them all. Why don’t you spend a few years cultivating first? You might be able to survive if you enter once you’re at the Seventh Earthly Martial Stage.”
Huangfu Fengchen’s analysis was accurate. There were a lot of treasures in the Ancient Graveyard, but there was a lot of danger too. Not only were there natural disasters, there were also demonic beasts and other cultivators. Only a few managed to survive every time. Long Chen would be committing suicide by entering now.
Huangfu Fengchen wanted him to become stronger before entering the Ancient Graveyard.
“If you think the Divine Martial Empire is blocking your cultivation, you can go to the other empires. There are a lot of strong cultivators there that might help you. You will have more chances to become strong. More importantly, it’s less risky than going to the Ancient Graveyard. Once you become the strongest person in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory, you can enter and find treasures with ease.”
Huangfu Fengchen was worried that something would happen to Long Chen. It would’ve been a waste of talent if Long Chen died just like that. Since Long Chen had saved Huangfu Qi, Huangfu Fengchen treated him like family and gave the best advice he could.
But Long Chen shook his head. “Uncle Chen, I have a reason for going there. I’m actually here in the Divine Martial Empire precisely because I need to enter the Ancient Graveyard. I won’t regret it even if I die there.”
“Is that so …” Huangfu Fengchen knew that Long Chen wouldn’t give up when he saw the latter’s eyes. He decided not to ask the reason why since it was important to Long Chen. “In that case, I won’t stop you. But you should know that Feng Xuan is here in the Divine Martial Empire to get the Ancient Token. You will have to fight her if you want it.”
“Uncle Chen, do you think that I won’t fight her if she stays in the Divine Martial Empire? There’s also Zhao Danchen. There will only be one winner amongst us.”
He appeared to be boasting, but Huangfu Fengchen knew that Long Chen had the strength to back it up.
Huangfu Fengchen didn’t try to discourage him anymore but instead told him about the other nine empires.
“There are Ten Divine Empires in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory. The Divine Martial Empire is mostly weakened. The thousands of smaller kingdoms that were once governed by us were also mostly split amongst the other nine empires. The Nine Divine Empires are also the nine largest clans in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory.”
“Nine Great Clans? Is the Wind Clan one of them?”
Huangfu Fengchen nodded. “Yes. The Nine Great Clans control the Nine Divine Empires. The Heavenly Wind Empire is controlled by the Wind clan. The Wind clan is also stronger than the Martial Alliance.”
“Then what about the other eight?”
“In the middle ages, there were many cultivators at the Divine Martial Realm in the Ten Thousand Nation Territory. The current Nine Great Clans are the descendants of some of those cultivators. The Five Element Alliance is an alliance between five of the clans. They are rumored to have five people at the Divine Martial Realm. They are also the descendants of the Five Emperors. The other four clans are also descendants of strong cultivators. The Nine Great Clans have three different factions.”
“Three factions?” Long Chen was shocked, but then he understood why. There was bound to be conflict between the Nine Great Clans.
Huangfu Fengchen nodded. “The three factions are mostly equal in power. The first is the Five Element Alliance. They are the direct descendants of the Five Emperors. They are naturally the Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth clans. Each of them is roughly as strong as the Wind clan. The other two factions are the Divine Wind faction and Thunder Demon faction.”
Long Chen realized that something was wrong. Why were they split into three different factions when the first faction already has five of the clans? The Divine Wind faction should be the Wind clan and Divine clan, while the Thunder Demon faction should be the Thunder faction and Demon faction. If the Wind Clan is as strong as one of the clans from the Five Element Alliance, then doesn’t that mean that either the Divine clan or the Demon clan is as strong as four clans combined?
Huangfu Fengchen sensed his confusion and answered, “You are right. The strongest clans are the Divine clan and the Demon clan. Their strongest cultivators make them more powerful than the other seven empires. It could be said that the Divine clan and the Demon clan are the strongest forces in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory. They are each allied with another clan, the Wind and Thunder clans. The other five clans have to work together to fight against them. That was how the three factions formed.”
“Uncle Chen, could you tell me more about the Divine and Demon clans?” Long Chen was interested in the two strongest clans.
“You don’t have to be too worried about them. They are humans just like us, the only difference is their bloodline. They have the Divine God Veins and Demon God Veins in them. They are stronger than the Heavenly Wind Veins or the Profound Flame Veins. I don’t know where those two clans came from, but I know that they weren’t that strong before. They were weaker than the Five Element Alliance a long time ago.”
Long Chen thought the Nine Great Clans were terrifying.
He suddenly realized how difficult it would be for him to enter the Ancient Graveyard to find Ling Xi.
The only resources he could use there were the Prismatic Key and the Scarlet Emperor Seal.
The Five Element Alliance, the Divine Wind faction, and the Thunder Demon faction. It would be terrifying to see all of them in the Ancient Graveyard, but I can worry about that later. I must defeat Feng Xuan and Zhao Danchen first.
His strongest martial technique right now was the Desolate Divine Seal, but he hadn't mastered it yet, so he dared not challenge them now.
Long Chen's next goal would be the Five Emperor Seal.
The Five Emperors were the five strongest cultivators in the Divine Martial Empire in the past. They had accomplished many miraculous feats and everyone worshiped them, especially those from the Five Element Alliance. All of them are proud of the fact that they are the descendants of the Five Emperors. The treasure hidden in the Ancient Graveyard was most likely hidden by the Five Emperors too.
Long Chen sorted out the information in his brain.
The Desolate Divine Seal is the strongest technique amongst King-tier martial techniques, and the Five Emperor Seal is an Emperor-tier technique. Its strength must be even stronger than the Yellow Martial Seal. Zhao Danchen, get ready …
Long Chen smiled when he thought about it.
“Uncle Chen, do you have any other plans now that Qi Qi is back? She’s now at the Ninth Passage Stage due to the Heavenly Phoenix’s blood. If she stays here in the Lingering Wind City, I fear that I won’t be able to protect all of you if Feng Xuan returns … ”