Chapter 698: Departure
Just then, the Golden Crow Flames ignited in his core. The flames engulfed the Blue Devil Flame and turned it a blood-red color. The Golden Crow Flames were originally golden, but due to Long Chen’s Inherited Blood Essence, they were blood-red.
Once that was done, the Blue Devil Flame’s strength increased rapidly. The smaller runes coming from the Scarlet Emperor Seal started to appear in the flame too. More and more fiery red threads emerged from the Scarlet Emperor Seal to wrap up the Blue Devil Flame.
Thanks to the Golden Crow Flames and his previous research, the cultivation of the Scarlet Emperor Seal wasn’t as hard as he had imagined, but Long Chen knew that the Golden Crow Flames were the biggest factor behind his success.
There were also various problems in the beginning, such as the pain from holding the flame and the amount of concentration needed to continue chanting. One wrong move and the cultivation would fail.
Also, cultivating the first seal was the easiest. The second one would be significantly harder.
Long Chen was satisfied with the outcome. He had prepared sufficiently, yet it took a long time for the Blue Devil Flame and the Scarlet Emperor Seal to be tied together by numerous fire threads. The Blue Devil Flame was now orbiting Long Chen’s core in his Martial Meridian.
“Did I do it?” Long Chen sensed the power in his palm. He felt that only the Scarlet Emperor Seal had come to life. It pulsed in his palm like a small lifeform, and he could feel its every movement.
Thanks to the Scarlet Emperor Seal, his Martial Meridian was completely engulfed in flames. Long Chen felt like his right palm was warmer than his left, and faint, blood-red fire flowed between his scales. His right arm was now significantly stronger than his left.
Long Chen felt like his right arm was like a volcano that he could use at any time. His strength had quite literally exploded!His right arm was trembling nonstop at this point.
“What incredible power. If I'd learned this previously, Feng Xuan would’ve been dead in one hit …” Long Chen mumbled.
The Scarlet Emperor Burning Heaven Seal was at least ten times stronger than the Desolate Divine Seal! Even though Long Chen’s essence has been bolstered by his Dragon Soul Transformation, he could still only use the Scarlet Emperor Burning Heaven Seal once. The Emperor-tier martial technique was indeed very strong, to the point that it almost matched the strength of Blood Warp!
Long Chen opened his hand, and the Scarlet Emperor Seal glittered red. He saw a small red fire in the tattoo of the Scarlet Emperor Seal. The fire was a combination of the Golden Crow Flames and the Blue Devil Flame. The main strength came from the Golden Crow Flames.
Long Chen willed it, and his entire arm burst in blood-red flames. Even he was shocked by the intense heat.
“It seems that I’ve become Xiaolang.” Long Chen smiled.
But his flames were filled with Yang energy, while Xiaolang’s flames were filled with Yin energy. Their two flames were fundamentally different, which was why Long Chen couldn’t use the Nine Devils Ancestral Fire as the catalyst.
Mo Xiaolang stared at Long Chen with shock. “What strong fire energy!”
Xiaolang was an expert in flames, so his praise was a testament to how strong the fire was.
Long Chen nodded. “The first seal is relatively easy; the rest will be progressively more difficult to cultivate. But now that I have cultivated it, my chances of surviving in the Ancient Graveyard just got better. Wait, Xiaolang, how many days have passed since I’ve started cultivating?”
“Twenty-three days. We have seven more days until the Ancient Graveyard opens,” Xiaolang said.
“In that case, I should reinforce my cultivation a little before we spend some time with them. It’s best if we say our goodbyes before we leave.”
Long Chen then reviewed his cultivation of the Scarlet Emperor Burning Heaven Seal.
One day later, he returned to Martial Overlord City. Thanks to Long Yue, the Divine Martial Empire was finally back on its rightful course. Liu Yiyi had learned how to control the Ancient Demon Corpse while Long Shan focused on his recovery. He could now use as much strength as a Fourth Earthly Martial Stage cultivator, so Long Chen wasn’t worried about their security.
Long Chen found Long Yue in Martial Overlord Palace. Long Yue put down her work and checked on him.
“How’s your cultivation?”
“I managed to finish one of them, but I fear the rest will be hard …” Long Chen said.
“It’s already an excellent result.” Long Yue smiled. “You will be leaving in five or six days, right? To be fair, I really don’t want you to go. Time passes by so fast, and you are already leaving. I still remember the day we first met. It seems like it was just moments ago.”
“Don’t worry, your beauty will last for ages.” Long Chen chuckled. “And what about the Martial Alliance?”
“They want you to quickly announce that you will be the next Martial Overlord,” Long Yue said with a smile.
“You know I can’t stay here …”
“I know, but I wanted to tell them after you left.”
Long Chen spent some time at Martial Overlord City before he went to the Huangfu family. Huangfu Qi finally managed to see Long Chen and refused to let him go.
She smiled as she said, “Big Brother! I finally know what the martial realm is! My dad said that I will become an Earthly Martial Realm cultivator in just half a day. Then I can become the new patriarch!”
Long Chen never told her that he was leaving.
He only got to talk with Huangfu Fengchen after Huangfu Qi had to leave for her cultivation session.
“I’m sorry. I actually wanted to find a method to heal you, but I don’t have enough time …”
“Don’t worry.” Huangfu Fengchen smiled. “You and I are different. To me, strength means nothing right now. Once Qi Qi becomes an adult, I will finally be able to relax and live with my wife at ease. The path of cultivation is too perilous. I have to thank Feng Xuan for giving me a chance to relax like this.”
Long Chen was naturally happy after he saw how well Huangfu Fengchen was doing.
He silently left the Huangfu family and went to look for Liu Yiyi, but this time he did not get close. He saw her sitting in a gazebo alone, enjoying the silence. He didn’t want to disturb her, so he left Martial Overlord City with Xiaolang.
They found a quiet place and waited for the moment to come.
Long Chen knew that there would be another bloodbath tomorrow, but tonight was the calm before the storm. He had endured hardships throughout his journey and finally became the strongest person!
He only said goodbye to those close to him before he left quietly.
“Overall, my experiences in the Divine Martial Empire were good. I now have the strength to take on the next stage, the Ancient Graveyard.”
Long Chen looked towards the horizon.
The skies were filled with stars, but all Long Chen could see was a path drenched in blood.
“Big Brother!” Xiaolang warned him.
Long Chen looked down and saw the Ancient Token glowing gray.
“It’s going to start soon. Xiaolang, enter the Primordial Realm!”
Xiaolang turned into black flames and surged into Long Chen’s body.
The Ancient Token could only bring a single person, but since Long Chen had the Primordial Realm, he could bring in as many people as he wanted.
Long Chen put up his guard and held the Ancient Token in his hand. The cold token was suddenly radiating heat.
“It’s almost time …” The seemingly unremarkable token was now exuding an ancient aura that sealed Long Chen in a closed-off space.
The token suddenly flashed, and a gray array appeared in front of Long Chen. Dense runes appeared in the array and wrapped around him. He didn’t fight back, allowing them to cover him.
He had a feeling that he was now in a teleportation array. It swiftly activated as the runes covered his body.
Dawn came.
When the first ray of sunlight shone on Long Chen’s body, a shimmering ripple appeared and his body slowly disappeared.
That was how Long Chen completely vanished from the Divine Martial Empire.
What awaited him was a journey of massacre and blood.