Chapter 1320
Chapter 1320:
When thinking of the past, Lan Chaofeng sighed endlessly.
Feeling curious, Xiao Chen asked, "Senior, back then, what color was your Emperor's Road?"
Lan Chaofeng smiled and said, "You will not believe it when I tell you."
"What color was it?"
"Golden Emperor's Road with three thousand steps. Every step felt like there was a mountain on my back. There seemed to be some changes to gravity."
Xiao Chen was in disbelief. The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign, who also had a golden Emperor's Road, reached Prime, yet Lan Chaofeng was not even a Sovereign Martial Emperor. This was unimaginable.
Lan Chaofeng smiled bitterly and said, "I know you don't believe it. Actually, my current state is self-inflicted. I killed too many and have too much sin. The Lightning Tribulations of the Nine Heavens are so strong that they could make one despair. Little fellow, here's a reminder for you. The Heavenly Dao is fair. Do not accrue too many sins. There will be a time to pay for them."
Xiao Chen felt startled. He asked, "What is sin?"
"Sin…this thing could still be checked during the Immortal Epoch. Now, it is somewhat ethereal, but it definitely exists. Killing ordinary people, murdering the weak, cultivating evil Cultivation Techniques, these are actions that can result in sin."
Lan Chaofeng smiled. "There is no need for you to worry too much about this. Only evil cultivators or killers like me would have sin hindering them. Killing evil people or those who attacked you will not result in sin."
As the two spoke, Elder Qin cleared the fire tribulations. The Emperor's Door was only about three hundred steps away from him. Now, he could already clearly see every single detail of the door.
However, in the latter three hundred-odd steps, there would be wind and fire together. It would be even more horrifying. That would be the true test.
Lan Chaofeng thought to himself, Old Qin, Xiao Chen already helped you obtain this hope. Whether you can clear it or not is up to you now.
---
At the tallest pavilion of the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace, Ao Lang stared into the distance, looking in the direction of the island where Elder Qin was undergoing his tribulation.
The island was several tens of thousands of kilometers away. Even though Ao Lang was a Sovereign Martial Emperor, he could not see that far.
However, once the Blood-Clad Soldiers succeeded, their self-detonation and the mysterious phenomenon from failing the Emperor's Road and Great Tribulation of wind and fire would be visible even from tens of thousands of kilometers away. Those would be clearly visible.
Ao Lang waited in anticipation for a long time. However, the expected explosion did not appear, frustrating him somewhat.
"Why is there still no explosion?!"
After a while, Ao Lang could no longer remain calm. He felt that there must have been some accident. However, after thinking about it, he felt that it was impossible. Ten Martial Emperors self-detonating. Even if Lan Chaofeng was there, Lan Chaofeng would not be able to stop them all.
Furthermore, as long as one person succeeded in self-detonating, the shock wave would interfere with Elder Qin's tribulation. If a few managed to self-detonate, even Lan Chaofeng and Xiao Chen would be injured.
If Ao Lang was lucky, he might even draw out Xiao Chen's Great Tribulation of wind and fire in advance.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
Footsteps resounded below. A person ran up the stairs in a fluster and knelt. "Dragon King, the life jade strips of the ten Blood-Clad Soldiers who went to the island all shattered."
"What!"
Ao Lang roared angrily, glaring in rage. This frightened that kneeling person into trembling, not daring to raise his head.
The Blood-Clad Soldiers were Ao Lang's trump card. He treated all of them as his treasures. Deathsworn warriors were people who had to be nurtured from childhood. Without at least several decades, nurturing them would be impossible. With every death, that would be one gone.
Yet, right now, Ao Lang was told that those life jade strips had shattered—which meant that the ten who went to ruin Elder Qin's tribulation had all died already.
However, this was not the crucial point. Those ten men had been sending themselves to death in the first place. The crucial point was that he did not see the fluctuations of the mysterious phenomenon—which was to say, Elder Qin was still undergoing his tribulation. His losses were for naught.
Ao Lang's heart bled. He could not accept this.
The Blood-Clad Soldiers were so strong and did not fear death. They were stronger than ordinary Martial Emperors. Considering this, which Martial Emperor in the world would dare to casually self-detonate?
"Damn it! What's going on?"
Ao Lang's gaze flickered. After calming down, he started to analyze in his heart. However, he could not figure out a reason.
The set-up had been infallible. Why did it still fail?
"Reporting, Your Majesty the Dragon King, the Divine Daughter, Tian Youxi, and two Holy Scions came to seek an audience." Another person arrived with a message.
Ao Lang waved his hand impatiently. "I won't meet them. I already said it long ago. I will absolutely not permit the Deity Race to build shrines on the islands that the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace controls."
After the Thunder Sovereign vanished, the Deity Race expanded their faction extremely fast. Now, traces of the Deity Race could be seen throughout the Kunlun Realm.
Falling to pressure or wanting to gain benefits, several factions of the Heavenly Starry Ocean permitted the Deity Race to build shrines within their territory, building Deity Statues and drawing the power of faith.
However, the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace possessed rather deep accumulations. Furthermore, the four Divine Dragon Palaces took care of each other. They did not fear the pressure of the Deity Race in the Heavenly Starry Ocean.
Moreover, Ao Lang had the Blood-Clad Soldiers. He was confident enough not to need to bend to the Deity Race's request.
"Wait a moment!"
Suddenly, Ao Lang seemed to have thought of something. "The Holy Scions you mentioned are the two from the Martial God Palace?"
"That's right. The White Tiger Holy Son, Xia Houjue, and the Black Tortoise Holy Son, Feng Wuji, are here. However, the Divine Son, Di Wuque, is not here, only the Divine Daughter, Tian Youxi."
Ao Lang revealed a strange smile. "Interesting. The three Holy Masters must be unable to handle Ying Zongtian and are probably in a frenzy. To think that they actually joined up with the Deity Race! Isn't this just inviting a wolf in? I'll go take a look at what intentions these juniors have."
Everyone knew that before the Thunder Sovereign vanished, he handed the Martial God Palace's inheritance token to the Supreme Sky Sect's Sect Master, Ying Zongtian. The Three Holy Lands could not accept it; hence, they moved from a hidden conflict to open hostility.
However, even though the Three Holy Lands held the upper hand, they could not take down the Supreme Sky Sect, resulting in a stalemate.
---
Inside the hall, the Divine Daughter, Tian Youxi, and the two Holy Sons sipped tea as they waited patiently.
Xia Houjue said, "Will this Ao Lang agree? Although the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace is in decline, it is still an old faction with deep accumulations."
Feng Wuji felt dubious as well. He said, "Furthermore, I heard that he kept rejecting your Deity Race in the past."
The white-haired Divine Daughter, Tian Youxi, showed an extraordinary air. She smiled faintly and said, "Times have changed. Furthermore, with the two of you around, given his scheming nature, he will definitely understand the deeper meaning of your presence."
"Hahaha! Despite the Divine Daughter coming from far away, this Ao failed to come and welcome you. Pardon me for this!"
Ao Lang walked in amid loud laughter. Then, he sat in the center. Just based on his expression, there was no indication that the loss of the ten Blood-Clad Soldiers had affected him.
"Greetings, Western Sea Dragon King!" Xia Houjue and Feng Wuji said with cupped-fist salutes. No matter what, Ao Lang was still senior to them.
Ao Lang smiled and said, "I have heard of the two Holy Sons' fame. I also heard that after you came back from the Astral Battlefield, some Martial Emperors were no longer a match for you two."
Ao Lang's eyes were very sharp. He immediately could tell the difference between Xia Houjue and Feng Wuji from the Holy Scions of the Heavenly Starry Ocean. Their aura was vaster and denser. Most importantly, there was a certain sharpness and a vicious air. With one glance, it was clear that their aura was a result of killing over a prolonged period.
Compared to the Heavenly Starry Ocean's Holy Scions, they were much stronger. His precious son, Ao Yu, was not even worth mentioning, which felt even more hurtful.
Of all things, Ao Lang had a worthless son, a good-for-nothing. Furthermore, his son even caused trouble for him.
"You are too polite."
Despite hearing Ao Lang's praise for them, Xia Houjue and Feng Wuji both remained very calm. After several years of experiential training in the Astral Battlefield, their previous pretentious nature had already been worn away.
Tian Youxi put down her teacup and said indifferently, "Time is tight. I won't be able to spend much time with Senior Ao, so I'll get straight to the point. I have no other purpose in coming here than to invite the Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace into the Deity Dao Union. I believe Senior Ao knows that the current chaos is just the beginning. The true calamity has yet to arrive.
"When the calamity arrives, aside from banding together and resisting the enemy together, there is no other path."
Ao Lang felt suspicious. He understood what Tian Youxi said. Right now, the great chaos was indeed just the beginning. However, what kind of group was the Deity Dao Union? He had never heard of it before.
Tian Youxi explained, "The Deity Dao Union was just established. It is normal that Senior Ao does not know what it is. I'll give a simple explanation. The Deity Dao Union has the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign as the Union Chief with the Heaven Punishing Corpse God, the East Mountain Ghost Monarch, and the three Holy Masters serving as Vice Union Chiefs. It has gathered more than seventy percent of the Rank 9 sects of the Kunlun Continent."
When Ao Lang heard this, he sucked in a breath of cold air. No wonder when this Tian Youxi saw him, she showed no intention of bowing to him. Even the two Holy Sons were just being polite.
Compared to a massive organization like the Deity Dao Union, his Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace was pitifully small, not even worth a strike. Fortunately, he still had the Treasure Master and the Blood-Clad Soldiers. He still possessed some trump cards.
"I'll mention this as well, the Heavenly Starry Ocean's most mysterious Treasure Master already agreed to join the Deity Dao Alliance. The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign personally convinced him. However, the Treasure Master did not make any request to take up any position."
Boom!
It was like thunder roared in Ao Lang's mind. The hand he was using to hold the teacup trembled slightly. Then, the teacup fell to the table.
This last bit of news was too shocking to Ao Lang. Even the Treasure Master, whom he regarded as the most mysterious and unpredictable, had actually joined the Deity Dao Alliance as well.
Tian Youxi smiled and said, "Senior Ao, are you alright?"
Ao Lang reacted and said, "I'm fine, I'm fine. Can I have some time to think?"
Tian Youxi rejected, "No, we do not have time to waste here. If Senior Ao Lang is not willing, the Deity Dao Alliance will not force anyone. Goodbye!"
Xia Houjue and Feng Wuji stood up at the same time, not saying anything more.
Such a stance immediately worried Ao Lang somewhat. At first, he was prepared to get Tian Youxi to state her price; then, he would bargain. Who knew, the other party just directly walked away.
"Divine Daughter, there is no need to rush to leave. Our Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace still has some scenic spots. Stay for a few more days. I'll discuss with a few of my brothers, and we will come to an answer soon. The Divine Dragon Palaces of the four seas are of the same community. I am unable to make a decision alone."
Ao Lang's figure flashed as he arrived before the group, speaking with a smile and a hint of begging.
Tian Youxi smiled and replied, "The scenic spots of Western Sea Divine Dragon Palace are pretty good. However, my group really has some urgent matters to deal with. Dragon King, take your time and think. However, after you are done, the situation in the Western Sea might have changed already."
Ao Lang's heart sank. Suddenly, he thought of something. He asked with some understanding, "Are the few of you here because of the tribulation of the Dragon's Gate's Elder?"
Tian Youxi smiled faintly and replied, "That's right. This is a small gift that the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign is providing after the three Holy Masters agreed to join the Deity Dao Union. The Dragon's Gate's Azure Dragon King has been arrogant for too long already. It is time to suppress him. Not just anyone can clear their tribulation."
When Ao Lang heard that, his expression sank. He immediately came to a decision. "I agree to join the Deity Dao Union. If the Deity Race wants to build shrines here and spread the Deity faith, I will not stop it!"