Chapter 1211: Temptation of the Demonic Essence Core
“It’s fine. This elder sister has always been very magnanimous. I will not bicker with little children.”
Ao Jiao felt incredibly happy. Who told you to try and charm Xiao Chen? Now you have to obediently address me as elder sister. Little Yellow Feather felt that Ao Jiao held an awe-inspiring authority, so it also felt incredibly cocky as it flew circles around Ao Jiao.
Xiao Chen noticed Mu Xiyan clenching her teeth but still forcing herself to smile.
He also noticed that these two women did not seem to get along. However, he did not overthink this. While the Human-Demon Paradise still had not opened, he asked, “How much do you know about this mutated Flying Dragon Snake? Do we have a lot of competition?”
Dugu Ao thought for a while before replying, “This snake is actually only slightly stronger than a regular half-step Martial Emperor. The main problems are its Death Qi, which is too pure, and its recovery rate, which is too strong. It is not something that can be worn down just by having many people.
“As far as competition goes, based on the information I have, all ten of us outstanding talents are targeting this mutated Flying Dragon Snake. However, I’m not sure if there is anyone else.”
Xiao Chen frowned slightly. This news he obtained was somewhat different from what Su Tianyun said. According to Su Tianyun, very few people took the risk of facing the mutated Flying Dragon Snake because the danger was too high.
After Xiao Chen voiced out his doubts, Dugu Ao looked at the other outstanding talents and said, “That information is somewhat outdated. This Flying Dragon Snake happened to reach three thousand years old this year. The Demonic Core of a three-thousand-year-old Flying Dragon Snake should be able to evolve into a Demonic Essence Core.
“An ordinary Demonic Essence Core is already extremely precious. The value of a mutated Flying Dragon Snake’s Demonic Essence Core would be even more horrifying. It can increase a Demon mixed-blood cultivator’s chances of clearing the Great Tribulation of wind and fire by fifty percent.”
Xiao Chen now understood. No wonder these ten outstanding talents were all targeting the mutated Flying Dragon Snake.
The ten outstanding talents were all Consummation quasi-Emperors. There was a fear of the unknown with regard to the Great Tribulation of wind and fire. The mutated Demonic Essence Core would be like a confidence booster for them.
The two continued chatting casually. Xiao Chen shifted the topic to the white-haired old man who stirred some fear in him. He asked, “What is the background of that white-haired old man? Even after he scolded Old Man Feng, Old Man Feng did not dare to retort.”
At Xiao Chen’s mention of the white-haired old man, Dugu Ao’s expression also turned serious. “That is the Old Black Iron Monster. He possesses the bloodline of the Iron Demons and once even killed a Martial Emperor. He is one of the strongest half-step Martial Emperors of the Human-Demon Sea.”
These words startled Xiao Chen when he heard them, coming as an incredible shock. Killing a Martial Emperor as a half-step Martial Emperor—this completely exceeded Xiao Chen’s expectations, an unbelievable thought.
“No wonder when that white-haired old man said something, he scared that Old Man Feng into losing all the rage he had.
“However, is this true?”
Dugu Ao nodded and said, “Although he was in a very sorry state after the victory, he did indeed defeat and kill a Martial Emperor. Martial Emperors also have varying strengths. Some of the newly advanced Martial Emperors do not have a dense enough Heart of an Emperor and a pure enough Golden Emperor Body. Although they are ridiculously strong, they are not an undefeatable existence to us.”
Xiao Chen nodded to himself. Dugu Ao’s explanation clarified his doubts.
What the Old Black Iron Monster had killed was just a newly advanced Martial Emperor. However, that did not deny his strength.
At the very least, Xiao Chen could not say that he himself was a match for a Martial Emperor, even a newly advanced one.
“However, it is fine. He is trying to find another method to form the Golden Emperor Body and ascend the Emperor’s Road. His target is different from ours.”
Xiao Chen heaved a sigh of relief. Just the thought of such a person becoming his opponent was somewhat daunting.
Since the Demonic Essence Core was used to help quasi-Emperors clear the Great Tribulation of wind and fire, Xiao Chen’s competitors would primarily be Consummation quasi-Emperors who hit the limit.
At the very most, there would be some half-step Martial Emperors who came just to join in on the excitement. His chances of obtaining the Flower of Life were still quite high.
Given this thought, Xiao Chen relaxed somewhat.
“Rumble…! Rumble…!”
Just at this moment, the ground suddenly shook intensely. A wild aura spread out from the sharp end of the ancient stone stele.
Everyone showed a surprised expression as they all looked at the stone stele at the same time. Xiao Chen looked over and muttered, “Is the Human-Demon Paradise about to open?”
The chains on the stone stele fell off one by one with dull sounds. When all the chains were gone, a pitch-black clump appeared at the top of the stone stele.
After a while, the pitch-black clump transformed into a set of ancient doors, which then gave off a strange light that resembled ink. With a ‘pa’ sound, the doors of light opened, like they were a set of solid doors.
“Whoosh!” The Old Black Iron Monster, who was the closest, immediately went through the doorway with a flash.
“Come, let’s go,” Dugu Ao urged quickly. Then, he promptly charged in. Xiao Chen, Ao Jiao, and Mu Xiyan all moved at nearly the same time.
Although the desert seemed chaotic and messy, it still maintained the most basic order. The people entered in sequence, from the strongest circle to the weakest.
Any cultivator of a weaker circle that tried to charge in ahead would end up attacked by the entire circle ahead of them. The people of the stronger circle would definitely not let such a thing happen.
The ancient black-light doors, the many excited cultivators in the desert, and the experts continuously flying into the light doors in the air formed a spectacular scene.
These doors were a relic of an Immortal Epoch demonic Sect from long ago. Even with the six paths of reincarnation broken, this experiential training ground still gave off the brilliance and glory that it had in the days of yore.
After all the cultivators present entered the Human-Demon Paradise, two divine lights suddenly descended from the sky above the calm desert.
After the lights touched the ground, they revealed two handsome, white-haired and golden-eyed Deity Race cultivators, who glanced at the black doors above the stone stele and quickly entered without saying a word.
The sand suddenly erupted, and two coffins flew out, carrying two Corpse Race half-step Martial Emperors into the Human-Demon Paradise.
Two white figures flashed. Not long after the coffins flew in, two pale Ghost Race half-step Martial Emperors entered the Human-Demon Paradise one after another.
Soon, peak half-step Martial Emperors of the Fiend Race and human race appeared. After all the Demon mixed-blood cultivators entered, ten-odd cultivators of other races unexpectedly turned up.
Furthermore, all of them were ridiculously strong. If anyone knew, they would be dumbfounded, wondering what was happening. Why had this paradise that held great attraction to Demon mixed-bloods attracted so many experts of the other races?
“Tsk tsk! It looks like more than one major character has calculated that this fellow will rely on the Flower of Life to advance to Martial Emperor. It seems we’re not the only ones who do not want to see the coming of a second Azure Emperor.”
A clump of blood wriggled on the desert before forming a handsome red-clad figure who gave off a strange aura.
This red-clad figure possessed much denser Demonic Qi compared to any Demon mixed-blood’s. It was frighteningly pure.
A light flashed, and this mysterious red-clad person entered the Human-Demon Paradise as well.
The sun started to set in the west. Just as the entrance to the Human-Demon Paradise began to close, a youth with a calm gaze and a sword on his back appeared in the distant desert.
“That was close. I was nearly late,” that youth said happily, revealing a carefree smile despite being far away from the doors.
Right after this person spoke, he turned into two intertwining beams of light—one white and one black—and charged through the doorway at the very last moment before it closed.
Xiao Chen, who entered the Human-Demon Paradise, did not know that in this battle for the Flower of Life, several peak major characters had anticipated his move, and he would face an extremely grave tribulation.
These major characters had already reached the peak of the Kunlun Realm and come in contact with the somewhat mysterious and profound Heavenly Dao.
As long as one knew their target’s aura, they could defy the Heavenly Dao and make a prediction of the critical turning points of their target. Of course, such actions went against the Heavenly Dao, which exacted a high price.
Furthermore, the information that one obtained would not be very comprehensive. It could not predict a person’s future but only a few critical turning points.
On top of that, Xiao Chen possessed great Luck. Anyone who wanted to calculate his critical turning points would have to pay an even higher price.
Even though the Primes of the various races made this calculation only once, they had paid an astronomical price and required a long time to recover from it. Thus, they definitely would not dare to casually repeat it.
The few Primes already monitored Xiao Chen closely. All of them saw this critical turning point of Xiao Chen’s in the Heavenly Dao at the same time.
With the Thunder Sovereign protecting Xiao Chen, no one dared to openly make a move on Xiao Chen. However, they could still play some tricks to try and stop Xiao Chen from obtaining the Flower of Life.
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Inside the Human-Demon Paradise, Xiao Chen traveled together with Dugu Ao as they headed quickly for the Death Swamp where the mutated Flying Dragon Snake was.
The Human-Demon Paradise was incredibly vast. There were mountains, rivers, lakes, forests, swamps, ice deserts, and various other kinds of geography. It was complicated and changed very frequently, containing all sorts of hidden dangers.
Amid the dangers, all sorts of fortuitous encounters of various levels waited. The Human-Demon Paradise had already existed for millions of years. The general situation inside was already well known.
The cultivators of the various levels all already knew where they wanted to go to adventure. They would not mess around and blindly go to a place that was too difficult for them.
Of course, there would definitely be some strong people who were very arrogant, wanting to seek their fortune amid the danger, going somewhere risky for their cultivation.
Where these people wanted to go had nothing to do with Xiao Chen. Dugu Ao and his aim were very clear, which was to head for the Death Swamp as soon as possible.
After that, Xiao Chen needed to snatch the Flower of Life from his various competitors. Then, he could continue to the next step on this treacherous and thorny road of Emperors.
“For the past few thousand years, no one has managed to kill this mutated Flying Dragon Snake. Now that it has condensed a Demonic Essence Core, it will be even harder to deal with. How confident are you?” Xiao Chen asked Dugu Ao as the two of them flew side by side and the wind blew by their ears.
Dugu Ao glanced at Mu Xiyan, who fell behind a little. A complicated look appeared in his eyes. Then, he slowly replied, “Fully confident!”
This answer startled Xiao Chen. Just what trump card did Dugu Ao have for Dugu Ao to be even more confident than him?
“Don’t look at me. I did not prepare any trump cards.” Dugu Ao smiled, knowing what Xiao Chen was thinking. Whether he spoke the truth or not, Xiao Chen could not tell.
Dugu Ao paused here. He recalled that he was now collaborating with Xiao Chen, so it was not good to keep him in suspense. Thus, he explained honestly, “There is really no trump card. My trump card is myself. When the time comes, I’ll be responsible for blocking the other competitors, and you will be responsible for killing the mutated Flying Dragon Snake as well as taking away the Demonic Essence Core and the Flower of Life.”
“All of the competitors?”
Dugu Ao nodded seriously and said, “All of them!”
“Whoosh! Whoosh!”
When the four were still a distance from the Death Swamp, two figures landed and blocked their path.