Strongest War Emperor

An error occurred while copying the content for the previous Chapter (Chapter 480), leading to some continuity issues where part of the following Chapter was accidentally included. This has now been corrected. Please feel free to go back and reread it. My apologies.

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Watching Lan Mengling disappear, Candle Dragon felt like crying but had no tears to shed.

The world was filled with countless beauties, but his heart belonged to Lan Mengling alone.

Alas, it was a classic case of unrequited love; the day could never understand the darkness of the night...

But this time, it was about more than just their feelings. It concerned the Blood Pool within the Blood Ancestor Tomb—the key to a breakthrough in his cultivation.

This was an immense opportunity granted to him by his master.

This was the primary reason he had been so fixated on the Blood Ancestor Tomb all these years.

The Blood Pool was where that undying old monster, the Blood Ancestor, had accumulated the better part of his power.

If he could absorb the power within it, he, Candle Dragon, could instantly achieve the rank of Great Emperor. Then he could dominate the Human Realm without ever needing to rely on those old geezers again.

He would finally be able to stand tall before them.

If he’d had this kind of power back then, how could he have been so brutally beaten by the War Emperor, hunted down and sent scurrying in all directions?

The Demon God Hall controlled many Elemental Power Fragments, and these fragments could also allow him to reach the rank of Great Emperor. The problem was, he couldn’t use them. He didn’t dare.

The Elemental Power Fragments had to be saved to activate the Floating Altar, which would open the Space Gate and guide their master’s return.

Since the Elemental Power Fragments were off-limits, there was practically nothing else in the entire Human Realm, besides the Blood Pool, that could allow someone at his Emperor Martial Realm level to experience a massive surge in cultivation in a short time, let alone break through directly into the Great Emperor Martial Realm.

Therefore, he was determined to claim the Blood Pool!

But if Lan Mengling refused to cooperate, this grand opportunity would become nothing more than an illusion...

It might even be snatched away by those bastards from the other Wildernesses. Not only would he become their laughingstock, but he’d also have to watch helplessly as their cultivation soared and they lorded it over him!

Candle Dragon would absolutely not allow that to happen!

A ferocious light surged in Candle Dragon’s eyes. He spoke grimly, "Xi Yao, what is the status of the Earth Rifts?"

Below the steps, the person who had been silent the entire time looked up, revealing a beautiful, short-haired woman in a sharp purple outfit.

The woman’s aura was so immense, it could even rival Candle Dragon’s!

The short-haired woman, Xi Yao, spoke with an icy gaze and a deep voice, "In the Four Wildernesses and the Central Province, more and more Earth Rifts are appearing. Supreme Yin Qi is pouring out from within them. Specters run rampant, and Demons wreak havoc. The situation is difficult to control. The various factions are scrambling, sending out their experts to locate the rifts and suppress the Supreme Yin Qi."

"This Supreme Yin Qi is incredibly beneficial for us Demonic Cultivators, even more so than the pure Spiritual Qi of the world. Should we mobilize our forces to destroy the seals the Sects have placed on the rifts?"

Displeasure flickered in Candle Dragon’s eyes as he said coldly, "Absurd! The Human Realm is our Demon God Hall’s pasture, and these creatures are our livestock! While the Supreme Yin Qi is indeed very beneficial to us, if it’s left uncontrolled, the entire world will collapse into chaos..."

"When that happens, the various races will go to war, and all our livestock will be wiped out. Where will our benefits come from then? Are you going to do all the grunt work from now on?"

"You say the Supreme Yin Qi benefits us? Does it benefit us more, or does it benefit the Blood Ancestor more?"

Xi Yao lowered her head, not daring to utter a word.

Candle Dragon continued, "That undying old monster, the Blood Ancestor, has waited for countless millennia, hiding in his shell like a coward. We’ve searched for so many years without finding a single trace of him. Why is he preparing to emerge now?"

"It’s because of the Nine-Star Linked Pearls and the emergence of the Supreme Yin Qi! The entire Human Realm will be blanketed by it! When the time comes and the Supreme Yin Qi has completely eroded this realm, Yin will flourish as Yang wanes, and the cosmos will be inverted. Before our master returns, who could possibly deal with the Blood Ancestor in such an environment?"

"Yes, I was wrong," Xi Yao said respectfully.

Candle Dragon sighed softly. "Besides, Xi Yao, you must understand, this world is quite nice. It’s rich in resources, has countless species... and the scenery isn’t bad either. It would be a shame to destroy it completely."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Xi Yao nodded respectfully. "I understand, my lord. Rest assured, I will dispatch people to keep a close watch on these rifts. If the Sects can’t handle them, we will lend a hand to help contain the Supreme Yin Qi. This will prevent the situation from spiraling out of control while also causing some trouble for the Blood Ancestor."

"Good. You are dismissed."

With a light wave of his hand, Candle Dragon sent a ripple of energy that instantly enveloped Xi Yao and the other person below the steps.

The ripple trembled once, sweeping the two of them away and vanishing into the void.

Only then did Candle Dragon turn his cold gaze toward Donghuang’s position.

The two of them were like fire and water, and every meeting was fraught with hostility.

He had just been discussing the Blood Pool with Lan Mengling, only to be rejected to his face and even threatened...

Having Donghuang witness such a humiliating scene, a killing intent so tangible it was almost solid erupted from Candle Dragon, instantly enveloping Donghuang completely!

It was as if he were ready to strike Donghuang down at any moment!

However, the killing intent vanished in a flash, as if it had never been there at all.

Candle Dragon said indifferently, "The Demon God Hall is rife with treachery and factions. Everyone acts like brothers to your face but secretly plots behind your back. As for the Blood Ancestor, Taotie and the others are watching that situation very closely. Surely Lord Donghuang wouldn’t pass up such a great opportunity to win favor with the master, would you?"

"How about we work together? You help me and Lan’Er seize the Blood Pool and find the ’Blood God Atlas,’ one of the Nine Great Celestial Books. In return, I’ll help you get back that one-third of your Divine Soul from the master."

Donghuang was silent for a long moment before saying in a low voice, "A very tempting proposal, but unfortunately, it’s all impossible. The matter of the Blood Pool is somewhat more feasible. Even if the Princess refuses, you still have a chance to enter with another woman... But the ’Blood God Atlas’ is the supreme scripture of the Blood Race. It’s the very foundation upon which the Blood Ancestor built his race. No one even knows if it still exists in this world."

"Even if you manage to enter the Blood Ancestor Tomb, obtaining it will be as difficult as ascending to the heavens."

"With our power, even if the Blood Ancestor only has half his strength left, we wouldn’t be able to gain any advantage against him."

"What’s more, the War God Hall and the Myriad Beasts Mansion have also been watching the Blood Ancestor for many years, scheming for just as long. The Blood God Atlas is said in legends to hold the fate of the entire world. It’s the foremost of the Nine Great Celestial Books. If you covet such an item, you will surely become a public enemy!"

"Taotie and your other rivals in the Demon God Hall will move against you. The War God Hall and the Myriad Beasts Mansion will also come for you. Candle Dragon, you think too highly of yourself... Even if your true body were to awaken, there are more than a few people in the War God Hall and the Myriad Beasts Mansion who could kill you. If you want to die, that’s your business, but I, Donghuang, would like to live a few more years."

"Donghuang, don’t you think you’re being a bit too insolent?" A violent aura suddenly flared in Candle Dragon’s eyes, and his killing intent surged, vast and overwhelming.

Donghuang chuckled lightly. "Good advice is often hard to hear. Whether you listen is up to you. I’m a direct person; there’s no use in you getting angry. Even if I truly intended to cooperate with you, I’d be powerless to help. Candle Dragon, I advise you to just give up on this idea. Hehehehe..."

As he spoke, smoke suddenly filled the area where Donghuang stood, and his aura began to slowly fade away.

Before Candle Dragon could react, Donghuang’s voice rang out again. "Oh, by the way, all that talk about ’Yin Yang Harmony’ and ’burning down your lair’... I didn’t hear a thing. You don’t need to be so embarrassed. Even if I had heard, I wouldn’t have given you any advice. As for working together, that’s even more impossible, because... we’ve never been friends."

"I am but a shadow, while you... are destruction."

The moment Donghuang finished speaking, his aura vanished completely, as if no one had ever been standing there in the shadows.

Candle Dragon stared grimly at the shadows. After a long moment, a ferocious aura, as if from a primordial age, suddenly erupted from his body. The aura swept through the grand hall like a tempest before engulfing him completely.

...

Atop a single flower petal, Shen Lang and Nalan Ziyun sat as it streaked through the sky like a bolt of lightning, its speed was unbelievable.

"Why... is this petal called ’Tears of Paradise’? It sounds like such a sad name," Nalan Ziyun said, a little puzzled.

An image of a pair of tear-filled eyes immediately surfaced in Shen Lang’s mind.

He sighed softly and said, "Perhaps... it contains someone’s tears."

As he spoke, he instinctively wrapped an arm around Nalan Ziyun’s shoulders.

"What are you doing? Get off me!" Nalan Ziyun chided, her face flushing red as she slapped the back of his hand.

Shen Lang awkwardly let go and shifted a little away from her.

"I tell you to get off me and you actually do it? Don’t you know you’re supposed to pull me in closer and then it’d be fine?" Nalan Ziyun said, her eyes wide.

"..." Shen Lang was speechless.

’A woman’s heart is truly a mystery,’ Shen Lang thought. ’And Nalan Ziyun’s is more fickle and unfathomable than most.’

"Where are we going now? Aren’t we headed to the Imperial Capital?" Nalan Ziyun asked.

"I have a few things to take care of first. It won’t be a long delay."

Shen Lang looked up at the sky, activating his Silver Eyes of Truth. After observing for a while, he steered "Tears of Paradise" toward the area where the Supreme Yin Qi was most concentrated.

’Since Earth Rifts have already appeared in the Purple Chu Country, I should take this opportunity on the way to the Imperial Capital to investigate them properly.’

A moment later, he turned around and said with a look of "deep affection," "Just a man and a woman, all alone together... Don’t you think we should do something?"

Nalan Ziyun stiffened, then said, flustered and angry, "Do what? Sister You Yue and the others are watching..."

Shen Lang took a deep breath, as if psyching himself up and mustering his courage.

His gaze grew more intense, raw and undisguised, making Nalan Ziyun feel flushed from head to toe.

"I want..." Shen Lang’s breathing grew heavier.

"Want what?" Nalan Ziyun didn’t dare to look at him. Her gaze darted away as she lowered her head, her face bright red.