Chapter 2288 Raw 2395 : The Ninth Prince’s Guests
A deeply hidden aura lurked in that mysterious, evil left eye, inspiring a deep-seated fear of the black-clad man.
Even Jiang He was not immune.
Half a year ago, someone started hunting Jiang He. At first, he suspected that the Golden Dragon Palace had sent assassins.
Soon, Jiang He discovered that it was the Xuewu Dynasty’s people.
However, Jiang He did not pay it much mind. He had once obtained a Movement Technique that touched on the Space Great Dao in a fortuitous encounter. Even if a Peak Sovereign Emperor tried, he could still escape. Furthermore, he had other trump cards, so he was not afraid.
Hence, he still behaved boldly. Be it a super faction or a reclusive sect, he would steal anything that caught his eye without fear of getting caught.
However, Jiang He met this group of people when he first arrived at the imperial capital two months ago.
Jiang He could not figure out who the person before him was. He only knew that Ming Xuan and that woman addressed that person as Lord.
“I told you before, right? I don’t know anything about some inheritance key. Even if you capture me, I have no value. Why are you so stubborn?” Jiang He said to the evil-eyed man with a bitter smile.
The black-clad man glanced at Jiang He and said, “Right now, aside from your father, the Heavenly Dragon, no one in the world knows the secret of the inheritance key. Even the Purple God Dragon Emperor could not make him speak after torturing him for twenty-odd years.”
Helplessness flashed in the depths of Jiang He’s eyes. However, he covered it up very well. He merely laughed indifferently and casually, “Haha! Go look for him, then. At the same time, send him my regards. Tell him that I am unfilial and cannot save him.”
The black-clad man smiled coldly, ignoring Jiang He.
The Heavenly Dragon was in the Starry Heavens Dragon Prison. How could anyone go there on demand? Furthermore, even the Purple Gold Dragon Emperor could not dig out the information from the Heavenly Dragon. The black-clad man might not be able to, either.
“My Lord, is it possible that the inheritance key’s location has something to do with him, but he does not know it?”
Ming Xuan stood up and analyzed this from an angle that no one thought about.
“How so?” the black-clad man asked out of curiosity.
“For example, he might be carrying something important that the Heavenly Dragon gave him, all unawares.”
Ming Xuan sized up Jiang He, trying to see if he could find anything on Jiang He.
“I have already searched his entire body but did not find any clues,” a purple-clad old man by Jiang He’s side answered thoughtfully. “However…I discovered something slightly interesting in his memories. He has several treasures in his storage ring. Unfortunately, I cannot open it.”
Jiang He laughed softly, “You want them? Let me go, and I can give them all to you.”
The black-clad man showed a cold and disinterested expression. Then, he took a seat and said, “Continue to restrain him. We will bring him to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb when the time comes. Perhaps he will recall something when he sees the Ethereal Immortal Palace. If it turns out to be useless, then we can use the second method to break in.”
“Yes.”
No one in the fortress ship dared to disobey this black-clad man.
Even Ming Xian and the Azure Lotus Holy Daughter seemed to hold slightly inferior statuses next to him.
Outside the fortress ship, Zuo Yu, the imperial ancestral temple expert beside the throne, asked thoughtfully, “First Prince, are you really going to bring these people to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb? I don’t doubt their strength. However, these people are obviously Demonic Dao cultivators. Could…”
Wang Fei replied calmly, “Commander Zuo, there is no need to worry. It was the idea of some of the Royal Clan Elders to work with these people. Even my royal father has to show some respect to those Elders. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I know. I understand this. But…”
Zuo Yu showed a grave expression as his words trailed off. He did not know how to continue.
Using the Azure Lotus Church to balance the Hidden Spirit Temple was the Royal Clan’s plan one thousand years ago. It looked like the effects were pretty good. The Hidden Spirit Temple was practically hands-off with the succession race, unlike before.
However, Zuo Yu kept feeling something off about this. He knew that the Royal Clan Elders wanted to make use of these people. However, if they got careless, a great disaster might ensue.
“Commander Zuo, these are things for the Elders to worry about. We do not need to care. Let me ask you this, how strong are these people?”
Zuo Yu indicated that he understood. Then, he made a serious analysis. “They are very strong; none of them are weak. They all possess the strength of Great Perfection Sovereign Emperors, at the very least. I even find some of them tricky to deal with…”
Wang Fei nodded and asked, “How strong is that evil-eyed man?”
“As for him…I find him somewhat unfathomable. If we fight, I probably have only an even chance of victory.”
Zuo Yu felt some fear at the mention of that evil-eyed man.
Wang Fei laughed, “Great! As long as he is strong, that is enough. I have already lost too much. I must win this succession race. So, Commander Zuo, please don’t worry about this. I can tell you this: Demonic Dao cultivators have entered in every succession race.”
Zuo Yu felt slightly startled upon hearing that. Clearly, he did not expect such a thing.
“The Royal Court is fully aware of this. These people would not dare to cause trouble in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb, no matter how bold they are. After the succession races were over, the Royal Court even secretly recruited some of the Demonic Dao loose cultivators. They have always closed one eye on this matter.”
The First Prince continued calmly, “The world is not just black and white. Commander Zuo, you spend a lot of time in bitter cultivation. Although you are strong, your thoughts are somewhat naive.”
Zuo Yu remained silent. He kept feeling that there was something wrong with doing things like that. However, since the First Prince already said this, there was no need for him to dwell on it.
---
On this particular day, Xiao Chen showed a fatigued expression in the Ninth Prince’s secret realm. He spat out a breath of turbid air and sighed, “I finally raised my Universe Origin True Flame and Heavenly Snow Divine Flame to Rank 7.”
A Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram blocked out the sun and the sky above.
The two Primal Chaos Grade flames covered the entire secret realm, chasing each other in the sky, looking like fish. The Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram looked down on all life from the sky, like heaven.
As the flames moved, the entire world vaguely seemed to spin.
The surroundings twisted at the edge of Xiao Chen’s vision when he looked around.
After the two Primal Chaos Grade flames advanced to Rank 7 and formed the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram, they actually altered some spatial laws, giving him an enormous pleasant surprise.
“Withdraw!” Xiao Chen shouted. Then, he stretched out his hand, and the Taiji Yinyang Flame Diagram in the sky became a painting. After the painting furled, he firmly grasped it.
With a satisfied smile on his fatigued face, he murmured, “It was worth the effort. Unfortunately, I have no time to advance my Ten Thousand Dragons Art further. However, I probably do not need to use the Forbidden Art in the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb now that I have these two trump cards.”
The Nine Heavens God Demon Body Unsealing Technique, a Dragon’s Gate Forbidden Art, ignited one’s Soul Energy and reverted one’s bloodline to its ancestry. The stronger one’s bloodline, the mightier the Forbidden Art. With Xiao Chen’s Azure Dragon bloodline, he could bring back the ancient Azure Dragon. If he were strong enough, he could even become a Great Desolate Eon Ancestor Dragon.
However, once one executed the Forbidden Art, it would burn one’s Divine Energy and Soul Energy until they dried up.
Even worse, if one were not strong-willed enough and could not undo the transformation, one would drain all of one’s life force.
In reality, most people could not undo the reversion. When they executed the Forbidden Art, most of them already had the mentality of going wild and dying with their enemies.
The Forbidden Art was too risky.
Xiao Chen did not want to execute it if he did not need to. If he failed to undo the Nine Heavens God Demon Body Unsealing Technique, he could not bear the consequences.
“I hope that it goes as I want it to.”
Xiao Chen sensed that this trip to the Ancient Yan Emperor Tomb was a fortuitous encounter for himself. However, the danger he would face there might be one of the greatest in his life; the pressure from the competition was immense.
“Today should be the day when slots are contested. It is time to go out and see who the Ninth Prince recruited.”
Whether Xiao Chen wanted to or not, it was time; he needed to leave.
He closed his eyes and rested for a while. When he opened his eyes again, his fatigue was gone, and he had recovered his usual calm appearance. He walked out of the secret realm, preparing to meet up with the Ninth Prince Wang Yan.
Xiao Chen wanted to see who the Ninth Prince Wang Yan managed to recruit. If these people were too weak, he could not help the Ninth Prince take the throne all by himself.
“That is…”
When Xiao Chen exited, he happened to glance up and see something scarlet covering the sky. Feeling greatly startled, he looked carefully and noticed that it was a scarlet warship that radiated a horrifying might and pressure. A war banner fluttered at the bow of the ship.
Feeling excited, Xiao Chen exclaimed, “The Scarlet Blood War Banner! That is the Scarlet Blood Warship!”