From a certain point of view, Dusk of Deities was very much related to Di Wuque’s Split Second Beginning Conscience Sword. Split Second Beginning Conscience Sword represented the start of glory, the first flash of light illuminating the darkness.
Dusk of Deities represented the end of glory, the collapse of the myth, the instant the setting sun looked like blood, the last sorrowful light before the darkness at nightfall.
Xiao Chen was not in a rush to test this move. He sat cross-legged on the ground. Then, the scene of Di Wuque using Split Second Beginning Conscience Sword appeared in his mind.
After that, the scene of Di Wuque summoning out the Deities’ Nation image appeared, followed by the thirteen Keepers working together to summon a Deities’ Nation image.
All sorts of scenes flashed in Xiao Chen’s mind. If there were any deficiencies, he patched them.
After sitting there for six hours, Xiao Chen opened his eyes. Light gleamed in his eyes. Without standing up, he stretched out his hand and pointed to the front.
The pitch-black night scene instantly turned scarlet. A setting sun hung in the distant sky as many beautiful strands of flaming scarlet light streaked towards the ground like a meteor shower. Every one of these meteors was actually a fallen Deity Statue.
Sorrowful music resounded in the heavy sky. A heavy, solemn, and tragic atmosphere spread throughout the world.
“Bang!”
A strand of scarlet light shot out of Xiao Chen’s fingertip. It tore through the sky, crossing five kilometers in an instant, looking like a scarlet river lingering for a long time.
With a casual wave, the various mysterious phenomena disappeared. The sky turned dark again, and the setting sun and scarlet light faded away. Night returned. Only the scarlet river that Xiao Chen sent out remained, not scattering.
The remnant might lingered, emanating the aura of an Armageddon. Everywhere the river passed, all five kilometers of it, the birds and beasts fled in fear.
Xiao Chen slowly stood up and dusted himself off. He muttered, “That is still not enough. If I can personally witness a Deity Statue of the Deity Domain falling, I would be able to materialize the state of sorrow better.
“Or perhaps, I need to find the Despair Throne of the seven thrones. That would strengthen the might of this move.”
After a while, Xiao Chen’s lips curled up. He said, “Deficiencies mean that there is room for improvement. At this moment, the might of this move is sufficient.”
There was still the final move of the Myriad Heaven Divine Fist—Burial of Deities. Compared to dusk, burial was an even colder state. It marked the end to a glorious myth.
However, Xiao Chen did not dare to casually test this move at the moment. He had a hunch that this move had something much deeper hidden within it.
At present, the Myriad Heaven Divine Fist that Xiao Chen comprehended already surpassed the brief introduction of the secret manual. Now, he gained a more complete comprehension of it.
There were several details that many of the Deity Race experts could not see. Nevertheless, Xiao Chen made up for them and even added a few embellishments of his own.
Xiao Chen originally already had a very strong comprehension ability. After he absorbed a large amount of the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring’s essence, his comprehension ability reached an incredible level.
He remained in this place for three days, repeatedly practicing the two moves. Although there were no major breakthroughs, he became much more familiar with executing the moves.
At the very least, he could casually unleash them with a thought.
By exerting some control, Xiao Chen could bring out and retract the move as he moved his hands.
The arranged time with Ying Qiong finally arrived. He unfurled the Freedom Wings, executed So Close Yet Worlds Apart a few times, and returned the city in about seven minutes.
Xiao Chen sat in the restaurant and drank tea leisurely as he quietly waited for Ying Qiong.
He felt assured about Ying Qiong’s capability. Since she said she could obtain a large number of Secret Treasures containing dragon souls, she would definitely be able to do it.
“Young Master, there was a letter delivered for you at this establishment three days ago.” When the waiter in the restaurant saw Xiao Chen, he immediately walked over joyfully.
Letter? From whom?
Xiao Chen put down his teacup and tossed a Black Astral Coin to the waiter. Then, he looked at the letter. He was not in a rush to read the contents. Instead, he looked at the superscription on it.
“It is from Senior Sister Shui Lingling,” Xiao Chen muttered as he opened the envelope and carefully read the letter.
After a while, he put down the letter. His expression looked somewhat unsightly. He picked up the teacup and took a sip. Bitterness was all he tasted on his tongue.
“Haha! This is a rare expression for Young Master Xiao. What happened?”
Ying Qiong arrived as arranged with a smile.
Xiao Chen did not say anything. He only pushed the letter over to Ying Qiong. After she read it, her smiling face turned extremely angry. “How could they do this? This is too much. They…!”
The letter that Shui Lingling sent was a declaration by the Martial God Palace to the world.
Two months later, the White Emperor City’s Xia Houjue would be holding a King conferral ceremony and be conferred the White Tiger King. However, it did not mention Xiao Chen at all.
Ying Qiong could not help being angry. This was originally Xiao Chen’s King conferral ceremony. However, the Three Holy Lands postponed it for half a year, delaying until Xia Houjue could be conferred King. Xiao Chen became merely an accompaniment.
At the end of the letter, Shui Lingling expressed some worry. The Three Holy Lands seemed to have some connection with three of the human Sovereign Noble Clans, the Jiang Clan, Yan Clan, and Lin Clan.
During this last period, they would make their moves to attack Xiao Chen, preventing him from appearing at the King conferral ceremony.
“I’ll send people to escort you back!” Ying Qiong expressed her worries as well. If Xiao Chen missed the King conferral ceremony, it would be equal to Xiao Chen giving it up.
It would be extremely difficult for him to obtain the title Azure Dragon King in the future.
Xiao Chen waved it off and said, “There is no need. Pass over the Secret Treasures containing dragon souls to me first.”
The Supreme Sky Emperor had said before that there would not be any quasi-Emperors making a move on him for three years. This was the rule between the upper echelons.
This was Ying Zongtian’s promise, which indicated that he stood behind Xiao Chen. It held very heavy weight.
Without these words, without Ying Zongtian, who expressed his stance long ago, the road that Xiao Chen had to walk would be even more arduous.
If quasi-Emperors were not allowed to make a move, then Xiao Chen had nothing to fear. If he could not clear such a test, he would be too embarrassed to participate in the King conferral ceremony.
Ying Qiong looked somewhat critically at Xiao Chen. Then, she did as he said, taking out the Secret Treasures containing dragon souls one by one.
Aside from a few complete Sage Grade Secret Treasures, they were all damaged, including the King Grade Secret Treasures.
Most of them were so damaged, they were unrecognizable for what they were. They were far from the half of the Flood Dragon Scissors that he obtained.
Seeing Xiao Chen carefully poke around every Secret Treasure containing dragon souls, Ying Qiong asked somewhat nervously, “How is it? Will these do?”
To her, these were basically a pile of garbage. At best, the materials of these items were valuable. To others, they were not even worth mentioning. Aside from some forgers who would be interested in their materials, no cultivator would buy them.
Xiao Chen raised his head and said, “Not bad. Many thanks. This should not be all, right?”
Hearing what Xiao Chen said, Ying Qiong’s expression turned blank before she smiled embarrassedly. “There is still more but not a lot. Even so, I have not finished spending your thirty million Black Astral Coins yet.”
There was still some more. In that case, he should not have any problems gaining another two Dragon Force.
After all, the materials of these Secret Treasures were far from comparable to that of the Flood Dragon Scissors, which was once Immortal Equipment. The dragon souls in these were also not as strong as that flood dragon spirit.
As for the thirty million Black Astral Coins not being depleted, that was within Xiao Chen’s expectations. Secret Treasures containing dragon souls, even damaged ones, were not easy to find.
Moreover, three days was a rather short time. Ying Qiong’s obtaining this many was already very impressive. If Xiao Chen had to search for them himself, he would not even find half as many.
Ying Qiong extended her hand, proffering a spatial ring. “I don’t want your thirty million Black Astral Coins. These are just rubbish taking up space in the Flourishing Heaven Pavilion’s warehouses. There is basically no expenditure.”
Xiao Chen accepted the spatial ring. However, he did not show any joy on his face. Even the Flourishing Heaven Pavilion could only obtain this small number of damaged Secret Treasures with dragon souls.
How was Xiao Chen to accumulate ten Dragon Force and cultivate the remaining parts of the Azure Dragon Body Nourishing Art? Where should he go to look for Secret Treasures containing dragon souls?
Apparently having made out Xiao Chen’s concerns, Ying Qiong said, “As the saying goes, the dragons hide in the depths, in the deep abyss. There are more of these Secret Treasures containing dragon souls in the Heavenly Starry Ocean than here.”
The Heavenly Starry Ocean was a very vast place filled with many islands, sects, and experts.
For many of the cultivators in the Kunlun Realm, it was a mysterious place.
It looks like I really have to make a trip to the Heavenly Starry Ocean, Xiao Chen thought to himself. The dragons hide in the depths; this saying is definitely not wrong.
After taking his leave of Ying Qiong, Xiao Chen took the Secret Treasures containing dragon souls to his room at the inn.
Not wasting any time, he immediately started circulating the Azure Dragon Body Nourishing Art to consume these damaged Secret Treasures.
There were so many of these Secret Treasures that Xiao Chen spent an entire day consuming them all. As he expected, from being able to bring out three Dragon Force with a casual move, he gained another two Dragon Force.
Collecting Secret Treasures containing dragon souls was indeed a shortcut for cultivating the Azure Dragon Body Nourishing Art.
Xiao Chen stood up and gauged his strength. Then, he revealed a satisfied expression. Now, he could bring out five Dragon Force with one casual move. He would not need Martial Techniques to hold his own while exchanging moves with great grandmaster-level Martial Sages.
When executing Deities Descending, he would not need tenfold combat prowess but just a small portion of it to fight with great grandmaster-level Martial Sages; he would be able to save a lot of his energy.
He took out the wooden box containing the ten-thousand-year-old Flame Crystal once again. Then, he revealed a somewhat serious expression. He muttered to himself, “Ao Jiao should be back already, right?”
Given Situ Leihong’s ability, four days should be more than enough to revive Ao Jiao.
Let’s go!
Xiao Chen could no longer hold back the anticipation in his heart. He leaped out of the window and executed the So Close Yet Worlds Apart Magic Skill, quickly flying to Sword Forging Peak.
With each step, he moved fifty kilometers. After traveling about a thousand kilometers, taking about twenty steps, Sword Forging Peak was already within sight.
He quickly rushed up Sword Forging Peak, his urgent strides stunning the many swordsmen on the peak.
Xiao Chen had come to Sword Forging Peak a few times already. Each time these swordsmen saw him, he was calm and collected.
He did not even get agitated when people mocked him. At least, he did not show it on the surface. His steps were also never hasty like this.
With just a brief look at Xiao Chen’s expression, one could easily tell he was anxious.
“What exactly happened? Why is the White Robed King Xiao Chen in such a rush?”
“Could it be because the duel is about to start and he is under a lot of pressure?”
“I heard that Wen Ziran became very famous this time. He even managed to defeat several older-generation great grandmaster-level Martial Sages.”
“The younger-generation bladesmen these days are indeed sharp and flourishing. How unfortunate! Our sword school may have many outstanding talents. However, when it comes to peak experts, aside from Yan Shisan whose location is unknown, there is no one to rival them.”
The rare look of anxiety and urgency on Xiao Chen’s face confused the swordsmen, so they all started speculating.