The Five Major Barren Regions were vast in size and had hundreds of states and countless cities. As powerful as the Savage Wastes were, they were only able to conquer a few key posts and cities. It would take them thousands of years to fully digest what they had taken.

Once the main force of the Fiend Sects were eliminated, the cultivators from the Five Major Barren Regions fought back against the invaders, picking off the remaining Fiends one after another. Members of the Lin Family lead the way, slaughtering countless enemies.

By the end, only a very few perfected cultivators from the Fiend Sects got back to the Savage Wastes in one piece.

News about this battle was quickly swept across the Tianlan Region. Everyone heard the story of Chen Fan’s incredible display of strength that drove the enemies away. Many people proposed to call Chen Fan the Master of Five Lands.

“The Lords of Beihan, Yuanwu, and Muling could not do anything to push back the Seven Fiend Sects’ invasion, leaving the Lin family fighting all by themselves. However, Perfected Cultivator Chen returned from the west and killed Seven Fiend Lords in one fell swoop. Who else would be more worthy of this title?”

However, it didn’t sit well with the leaders of the five regions, such as Lord Yuanwu and Lord Mulin. Fearing Chen Fan’s might, they agreed to the proposal at first, but tried everything they could to stop its realization.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan had returned to Old China Town.

“Welcome back, Perfected Cultivator,” Grand Elder Xie Changying greeted him.

“We salute you, Perfected Cultivator Chen!”

The Sect Masters of the Six Major Grotto-heavens, and leaders of the great families stood behind Xie Changyin and greeted Chen Fan. Chen Fan spotted a powerful late-stage Golden Core Cultivator among the crowd.

“Perfected Cultivator Chen, this is Grand Elder from the Xukong Sect, Perfected Cultivator Taixu. He has decided to join us and sever his ties with the Seven Fiend Sects,” Xie Changying said. A hint of disdain flickered in his eyes.

Perfected Cultivator Taixu was over two thousand years old. His silky white hair framed a surprisingly youthful looking face.

He had noticed the mockery in Xie Changying’s words, but it didn’t bother him. He cupped his hands and greeted Chen Fan with a bow.

“My name is Taixu, nice to meet you Perfected Cultivator. Seeing you banishing evil from this world was a wake up call for me. May I suggest a course of action? You could ride the momentum of your victory and claim the seat of power in the Tianlan Region. Perhaps under your reign, the five lands would eventually rise to be on par with the Heavenly Regions.”

Perfected Cultivator Taixu’s words took everyone by surprise.

Everyone was still steeped in joy after their victory and didn’t have the time to think about the next move. They all agreed that it was a good time to unify the five regions.

Xuan Mingzi from the Tianji Grotto-heaven chimed in, “Lord Beihan is dead, the Lin family is in shambles, and Lord Spirit Husbandry has lost his prestige since he gave up his land. Even the Xuanfeng Region is in ruins. There would be no better time to unify the five regions under one rule. You have just achieved victory and won the people’s hearts, if you claim the seat of power right now, no one would dare to oppose you.”

A light came up in many people’s eyes.

Their gaze on Chen Fan grew more respectful as the elder’s breath became heavy with expectation.

However strong Chen Fan was, he was one individual and the Chinese would still be a weak group with only one powerful warrior. However, if Chen Fan became the Master of Five Lands, the Chinese would also become the most prestigious group in the five regions. It would put a nondescript race in the middle of nowhere directly under the limelight at the center of the stage. By then, each and every Chinese would live under the halo of royalty.

Even Grand Elder Xie Changying’s hand started to shake in excitement.

However, a dim light flashed across Zhao Juexian’s eyes. But he hid it from everyone right away.

“Let’s talk about it later,” Chen Fan said.

Chen Fan went into the main temple to meet his old friends.

Mu Hongti, Yun Yier, Lin Wuhua and many servants greeted him with great excitement at first. After a while, that excitement had turned into caution.

Be it Yun Yier or Mu Hongti, their faces were awash with deference, and their words became increasingly succinct.

By that point, Chen Fan was the most powerful man in the five regions and many people even considered him a Heavenly Lord. He was likely to become the Master of Five Lands.

They would not act with flippant casualness in front of such a heavyweight. Even if they wanted to, their elders and masters wouldn’t advise them against it.

As a matter of fact, the Mu family, the Yun family and the Xuanming Grotto-heaven had agreed to offer the three girls to Chen Fan as his wives. The thought of marrying Chen Fan made Mu Hongti blush.

However, Lin Wuhua kept her chin up and didn’t subscribe to her family’s idea.

Old Ding hurried to Chen Fan as soon as he saw him.

“Master, you’re finally back! Xiao Mang was taken away by that strange woman three years ago and has yet to return home. I have no news of her. Please, master, take her home. She is still young, I’m worried that people are going to take advantage of her. ”

Old Ding had always treated Xiao Mang like his own daughter. Tears poured out of his eyes as he spoke.

Chen Fan padded his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I will take care of it.”

Grand Elder Xie Changying also approached Chen Fan and said in embarrassment, “Shenxi came here three years ago. She said she would take the girl back to the Reincarnation Heavenly Region on your behest. The girl didn’t want to leave, but we weren’t strong enough to stop her either. So we let Shenxi take her in the end.”

“I did order her to do that. Xiao Mang has a precious Divine Meridian. It would be too dangerous for her to stay with you. Shenxi is future Sect Master of the Reincarnation Sect, and is strong enough to protect her.”

Chen Fan nodded.

The moment he returned to Tianhuang, Chen Fan had noticed that the Dinghai Pearl was gone. He knew right away that Shenxi had taken the Dinghai Pearl and Xiao Mang away with her. However, he wasn’t worried about their disappearance.

He had created the artifact himself, so he could find it with ease if he wanted to.

Chen Fan paced to the other side of the temple, and noticed that Xie Changying was still there, biting his tongue as he struggled to keep things to himself.

“Are you wondering why I didn’t go along with Perfected Cultivator Taixu’s plan and become the Lord of Tianlan?”

Before Xie Changying could say anything, Elder Mulei jumped into the conversation.

“That’s right! Lord Red Dragon was here today and he mentioned the same thing. With your prestige and standing, who would challenge you? Lord Yuanwu, or Lord Spirit Husbandry? Not even the Lin family could withstand the mighty thunder, much less them.”

Qin Hao had remained silent, but he agreed with the elder.

Chen Fan linked his hands behind his back and gazed at a painting of a Chinese ancestor. He said in a calm and cool voice, “Tell me, which one do you think is more powerful: a Heavenly Lord Essence Neonate or the Lord of Tianlan?”

Everyone was perplexed by how obvious the answer was. Xie Changying replied with a furrowed brow, “Of course a Heavenly Lord is more powerful. The Wang Family has claimed dominance of Tianhuang solely because of a Heavenly Lord amongst them. All the five regions are under his wings. Anyone who is able to become a Heavenly Lord is more important to us than a Golden Core Ancestral Patriarch.”

“Indeed. Why would I join the ranks of Lord Beihan and Lord Spirit Husbandry while I can be a Nascent Soul Cultivator? Once I reach Soul Formation, I will be the greatest cultivator on this planet. What would the Barren Region be to me by then?”

Chen Fan heaved a sigh.

Everyone finally got what Chen Fan was getting at.

They realized that Chen Fan didn’t even consider the seat of power in the Tianlan region worthy of his time.

“The Royal family of the Beihan Region has the Sky-Swallowing Python’s bloodline. Once they mastered their art, they could be as powerful as Nascent Soul Cultivators. The Lin family of the Tianlan Region has generations of extraordinary cultivators, not to mention the three mighty Ancestral Patriarchs. Lord Spirit Husbandry can trace his lineage to the Heavenly Wolves, and their ranks were filled with Golden Core Cultivators… The Yuanwu Royal family and the Xuanfeng sects both have their unique advantages. But what do we have?”

Chen Fan turned around and looked at everyone with a cold glare.

“Humph. We don’t even have a single Golden Core Cultivator. Even if we claim the seat of power, we would just be warming it up for someone else. What would become of you when I left this world?”

Chen Fan snorted.

His words embarrassed the elders. Sweat ran down their faces.

Xuan Mingzi nodded in agreement.

All the royal families of the five regions boasted their powerful abilities, and it would take an equally powerful group to contain them. If the Chinese kept being restricted by their bloodline, unable to stand out, they would only become a laughing stock.

“Now off you go! Think about what I just said,” Chen Fan said with a wave of dismissal.

The elders removed themselves from the temple in a hurry. Before Xie Changying left the room, Chen Fan called out to him. “Grand Elder, I need to talk to you about the issue regarding your Bloodline’s limitations.”

Xie Changying was taken aback at first. He looked around and noticed that they were not alone; Lord Zhao Juexian was also with them.

Chen Fan said in a cold voice, “Zhao Juexian, I have kept many questions to myself over these three years, and I think it’s about time for you to give me some answers. What happened to the Chinese? How did they fall from grace? Where is Heavenly Lord Qi and what happened to the Heavenly Region? Did anyone cast a curse on our bloodline? If so, who did it?

“Don’t even try to fool me. If you do, I will rend your soul from their pathetic body, light it on fire and let it burn for ten thousand years!”

Chen Fan’s cold threat sent a chill down Zhao Juexian’s spine. Despite himself, he uttered, “Got it.”

Xie Changying clenched his fist and glued his eyes on Zhao Juexian. He knew that Zhao Juexian’s revelation was going to change the fate of his people forever. Every Chinese wanted to tear the culprit to pieces, and finally they would know who they should go after.

Zhao Juexian hesitated for a brief moment and then said slowly, “The culprit is… Mount Emperor.”

“Mount Emperor?”

Xie Changying was stunned when he heard the name. His face paled, face awash with disbelief and despair.