Lan Shaobai recovered his smile. He nodded and said, “Yes, most people end up losing their lives when failing to break through to Sovereign Martial Emperor. Master being alive is already the best news.”
After this exchange of words, the two arrived before Lan Tianji and Lan Chaofeng. Xiao Chen performed a cupped-fist salute and said, “Many thanks to Senior for helping out this time. Just thanks cannot cover the gratitude I feel.”
The unprepossessing Lan Chaofeng smiled and said, “You are too humble. Even if I did not appear, you already more or less dealt with the situation. This is the first time this old man saw a youth managing to hold fast to his own principles before a Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor.
“Furthermore, this matter happened because you were standing up for Shaobai, inviting trouble, yet you took on all the blame. I should be the one saying thank you. Tianji was right; Shaobai followed the right person.”
Lan Tianji smiled and said, “All the while, Master never believed that Shaobai would be willing to follow another person at such a young age, given his character. Now that he has seen it for himself, he has no choice but to believe it.”
Lan Shaobai was more concerned with the matter of his master breaking through to Sovereign Martial Emperor. He asked, “Master, how did breaking through to Sovereign Martial Emperor go?”
The moment Lan Shaobai said this, the smiles on Lan Tianji’s and Lan Chaofeng’s faces faded away. Xiao Chen and Lan Shaobai immediately sensed that something was wrong; there had probably been some kind of accident.
“Alas, it is truly difficult for an Emperor to be conferred King. Tianji, tell them about it,” Lan Chaofeng sighed, reluctant to say it himself.
Lan Tianji mulled over the topic for a while before saying sullenly, “Failed. The tribulation to advance to Sovereign Martial Emperor is boundlessly horrifying. Master now has only twenty to thirty more years to live.”
“What!”
When Lan Shaobai and Xiao Chen heard this, their expressions changed drastically. Lan Chaofeng was fortunate to survive failing to be conferred King. Unexpectedly, there was still such a severe consequence.
Lan Chaofeng smiled gently and said, “Everyone will eventually die. Even someone as strong as the Azure Emperor and the current strongest, the Thunder Sovereign, cannot avoid it. Without advancing to Martial God, no one can avoid death. There is no need to mind it too much. This old man has lived enough already.”
“Master…” Lan Shaobai sounded choked with emotions. In hindsight, Lan Tianji probably did not return for so long because he was taking care of Lan Chaofeng after Lan Chaofeng failed in his tribulation.
Unexpectedly, after meeting up with Lan Tianji, there was such news.
Feeling touched, Lan Chaofeng half-scolded-half-joked, “It’s fine. Just continue to work hard. Who knows, maybe one day, I will be able to see both you and Tianji get conferred King together.”
Xiao Chen, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly thought of something. He asked, “Senior, have you ever used natural treasures for increasing lifespan?”
Lan Chaofeng smiled bitterly. “Such natural treasures for increasing lifespan are hard to find. They are things that can only be found and not sought. I managed to find a few when I was young, but I did not pay them any notice then, just gave them to some old friends. However, now that I need it, I can’t find any.”
There were some things that one did not need to use most of the time and thus did not value. However, when one really needed them, one would discover them to be things that one could obtain only by luck and not effort. No matter what one did, one could not find them.
Xiao Chen still had two Longevity Fruits in his hands. He quickly took one out and said, “This is the Longevity Fruit. It can extend lifespan by one hundred years. If Senior is unable to find any better natural treasures, you can use this one first.”
Everyone’s faces lit up in joy. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen possessed such a treasure that could only be found and not sought.
“Shaobai, help your master receive it. I have no need for such an item.” Xiao Chen handed the Longevity Fruit to Lan Shaobai to pass to his master.
This matter was really laughable. Xiao Chen had a Longevity Fruit that could give others one hundred years of lifespan. However, he could not shake off his nightmare of the four-year deadline.
Lan Chaofeng received the Longevity Fruit from Lan Shaobai. Then, he entered deep thought like he was trying to come to a decision. After a while, he said, “Originally, I was planning to come to Heavenly Star Island just to visit Shaobai before leaving to search for natural treasures for extending lifespan.
“Since you gave me a Longevity Fruit, this old man shall remain here for a period of time. I can’t keep watching others bully my two disciples.”
Xiao Chen rejoiced in his heart. Lan Chaofeng’s words meant that he intended to remain in Heavenly Star Island. With an Asura Race Martial Emperor that could force the Purple-Clad Marquis to retreat, there was no need to worry about Heavenly Star Island’s safety.
Both Lan Shaobai and Lan Tianji were likewise delighted with Lan Chaofeng’s decision to stay in Heavenly Star Island.
“Master, have you heard about Xiao Chen’s matter?” Since there was a rarely seen Martial Emperor here, a relative at that, Lan Shaobai could not help asking about Xiao Chen’s problem.
Lan Chaofeng nodded. If the Azure Dragon King did not become a Martial Emperor in another four years, he would have only about twenty years to live. For some reason, this news had set the Kunlun Continent abuzz already, spreading throughout the entire Kunlun Continent in less than a month.
Lan Tianji entered deep thought. “It might be possible to advance to Martial Emperor in another four years. So far only a year has passed, and Xiao Chen already advanced to Great Perfection quasi-Emperor. In this age of geniuses, miracles can happen.”
As someone who had walked the path to Emperor, Lan Chaofeng shook his head and said, “That is hard to say. For a Small Perfection quasi-Emperor to advance to Great Perfection quasi-Emperor, all one needs is sufficient resources, and they can proceed quickly. Historically, Xiao Chen’s current cultivation speed is not really that fast.”
Xiao Chen nodded and said, “In regard to resources, there are no issues. Senior, will you give some advice on how to fuse the soul into the Heavenly Seal and form the vague form of the Heart of an Emperor?”
The Great Tribulation of wind and fire that came after was still far away. What Xiao Chen was most concerned about was how to fuse the soul with the Heavenly Seal.
Lan Chaofeng said, “Given the comprehension ability of you outstanding talents, this step is actually not difficult. Sooner or later, you will succeed. This just requires time to test slowly. After that, when all the conditions are right, it will happen in one step. This is something that others are unable to provide guidance on. However, the very thing you lack right now is time.”
Lan Chaofeng struck the crucial point. The step could stop ninety percent of quasi-Emperors. However, this ninety percent definitely would not include the outstanding talents with great comprehension ability.
Naturally, Xiao Chen was not an exception. The only thing he lacked was time.
“Is there any way that can make me quickly pass this step?” Xiao Chen continued, “Or perhaps in history, was there anyone who once used a very short amount of time to fuse the soul and Heavenly Seal?”
Lan Chaofeng thought carefully. Then, he shook his head and replied, “As far as I know, there is none. However, all I know is the history of the Kunlun Continent. It’s possible there was one in this oceanic world.”
Xiao Chen felt slightly disappointed. It looked like he could not rely on others for this step. As Elder Qin said, he could rely only on himself.
------
Ten days later, the story of the Purple-Clad Marquis running into a wall at Heavenly Star Island spread quickly throughout the entire Western Sea. Cultivators gossiped about the scene of Xiao Chen opposing a Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor in great detail.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen dared to clash with a Greater Heavenly Martial Emperor like the Purple-Clad Marquis. Furthermore, he even managed to come out on top. No one would believe an incredible story like that if not for the other side confirming its veracity.
For three days, aside from the nearby sects, all the sects in the entire Western Sea came to pay a visit in an unending stream. Even Qian Zongchao, whom Xiao Chen expelled with a palm strike, came back offering big gifts and an apology.
During this period, Heavenly Star Island basked in glory. It had finally established a foothold in this chaotic Heavenly Starry Ocean.
Heavenly Star Island would no longer be seen as an outsider. No longer would people eye those satellite islands laden with resources.
Xiao Chen declined to entertain anyone in person, focusing himself on cultivation. He did not let any of these matters interrupt him. However, this particular day, a certain piece of news got him to come out of seclusion without any hesitation at all.
Jin Dabao had returned from the Black Sea with the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s large merchant ship.
Upon receiving news of Jin Dabao’s return, Xiao Chen immediately roused from his state of silent cultivation. He had already long thought about going to the Black Sea and wished to go as soon as possible.
The moment Xiao Chen entered the pavilion, he saw Jin Dabao, who still looked the same as before, very gaudily dressed and covered in pearls and gold. The fatty appeared to be in excellent health as he fanned himself with his gold fan, the very image of a merchant.
However, Xiao Chen noticed faint black lines on Jin Dabao’s forehead, indicative of some kind of negative emotion in his heart.
“Hehe! Brother Xiao Chen, you finally came back.” When Jin Dabao saw Xiao Chen, he immediately laughed loudly.
The two exchanged greetings before Xiao Chen started asking about the Black Sea and the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s situation. Finally, he asked about Ba Tu.
From Jin Dabao’s description, the Black Sea was no smaller than the Heavenly Starry Ocean. It was very vast, and the islands were more closely clustered together.
According to legend, the islands of the Black Sea was originally one whole continent with many ancient factions and legendary characters. At some point in time, it split apart for some unknown reason, resulting in the current situation: as many islands as there were stars in the sky.
After so many years of changes, the Black Sea of today primarily had five great sea domains: the Black Water Sea, the Black Wind Sea, the Black Cloud Sea, the Black Fire Sea, and the Dark Sea, which was the core of the Black Sea.
The Black Sea was the place that was the richest in resources in the entire oceanic world, the region with the most lands of fortuitous encounters. However, it also had the worst natural environment in the entire oceanic world. It was not only the Black Sea in name but also in reality.
Boundless dark clouds covered the entire Black Sea all year round. The sky was always dark. No matter how piercing the sunlight was, it could not reach the sea.
There was also a mysterious substance in the air that could not be eliminated. This substance would affect the minds of the cultivators, making them violent, easily angered, and unable to restrain their bloodlust.
All the cultivators in the Black Sea were very hot-tempered, displaying antisocial behavior, and were very unreasonable. The entire place was in chaos.
However, it was very easy to train experts in such a place. Furthermore, such experts would fight to the death at the drop of a hat.
Any cultivator who could remain unaffected and maintain their mental state in such an environment for an extended period of time would possess a state of mind far surpassing that of cultivators from other places.
When Jin Dabao spoke of the Azure Dragon Merchant Association’s development, he became very animated, his words pouring out in an unceasing torrent.
The fatty already earned back the initial one hundred million Black Astral Coins and flipped a profit of fifty million Black Astral Coins—superb progress. However, when he heard that Xiao Chen had discovered one billion Black Astral Coins in the Dragon’s Gate Treasure Trove, he was shocked.
Jin Dabao said, “Damn it. This Fat Lord worked so hard for more than a year, and I still lost out to what you and that girl did in two or three days.”
However, after a while, the fatty’s smile returned, and he asked, “About that, can you give me more capital? There are many goods in the Black Sea, simply too much. Our merchant ship is clearly insufficient.”