by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“I said that I don’t want to be your enemy and that we can work together. But it seems you're questioning my attitude. Fine.”
Space exploded, and a flame dragon appeared in the air, revolving around Long Chen. It let out a heaven-shaking roar, igniting heaven and earth. This huge flame dragon looked down upon the Ant Queen.
Chapter 1421 Mithril Essence
When Huo Long appeared, the world became a sea of flames. Those Silverwing Heavenly King Ants all had to retreat.
Huo Long’s flame energy grew more and more terrifying with each passing second. After absorbing so many Divine Flame Crystals, its aura was now several times greater than the golden phoenix it had absorbed back then.
Now that it released its full power, the Ant King and Ant Queen’s expressions changed. The might of the Heaven Incinerating Flame cowed them. If Long Chen ordered it to attack, the consequences would be unthinkable.
They felt an irresistible terror in the face of the Heaven Incinerating Flame. Their powerful bodies didn’t fear blades, but they were afraid of fire.
Their wings were especially vulnerable. Once they were incinerated, they would never grow back. In that case, they would never be able to fly again.
“Human, what do you want?!” shouted the Ant King uneasily.
Of course, even if Long Chen wasn’t facing the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants, his opponents would still be uneasy. Huo Long was just that terrifying. It could annihilate this swarm in an instant.
Although the Ant King and Ant Queen might be able to survive, so what? If their swarm was annihilated, their nation would still be ruined.
“Don’t panic. I said that I don’t want to fight against you. How about we just have a drink first?” Long Chen took out a jug of wine from his spatial ring, as well as a table and bowls.
The Ant King and Ant Queen exchanged a look. They slowly walked over to Long Chen, as well as silently ordering the other ants to retreat.
If a battle really did start, they wouldn’t be the slightest bit of help. They would only increase the casualties.
Long Chen put away Huo Long. Pouring three bowls of wine, he smiled and said, “Are you two not afraid my wine might be poisoned?”
“The Silverwing Heavenly King Ants aren’t afraid of poison,” snorted the Ant Queen.
“Good. Then let me express my sincerity toward our business. Whether or not we can strike a deal today, I’d like to first offer my respect to both of you with this wine.” Long Chen drank his wine in one gulp.
The Ant King and Ant Queen hesitated for a moment before drinking their wine as well. They truly weren’t afraid of poison, and they didn’t sense any danger before drinking, so they also drank it in one gulp.
“This wine…”
The Ant King and Ant Queen were shocked and delighted. This wine possessed a special Heavenly Dao realm. Even as Magical Beasts, they managed to sense the Heavenly Daos more clearly.
“Of course this wine is good wine, or how could I take it out to express my sincerity?” Long Chen smiled and poured out more wine.
This time, the Ant King and Ant Queen didn’t wait for Long Chen. They drank the wine in one gulp again.
“Human, are you planning on making a trade?” asked the Ant Queen directly, pointing at the wine jug.
“This wine is just an expression of my sincerity and isn’t part of our business transaction. If you like it, you can just take it,” said Long Chen magnanimously.
“You’re not using the wine to trade with us? Then what are you using?” asked the Ant Queen, seeming a bit disappointed.
As Magical Beasts, they possessed long lifespans. This was the advantage the Heavenly Daos had blessed them with. However, their comprehension of the Heavenly Daos was significantly inferior to the human race.
That was why pureblooded Magical Beasts that had reached the eleventh rank would normally transform to take human form. Humans were the most spiritual of all lifeforms, and this form allowed them to get closer to the Heavenly Daos.
The Ant King and Ant Queen were eleventh rank Magical Beasts, which was why they normally stayed in their human forms to cultivate.
They had never imagined that drinking wine could allow them to get closer to the heavenly Daos. That was why they were addicted to this feeling after just one taste.
“The wine’s usage is limited. You drink it and your comprehension only increases ever so slightly. What I’m offering will allow your future descendants to be immune to fire,” said Long Chen.
“What?! Impossible!” Both the Ant King and Ant Queen let out a startled cry. Their fear of fire was innate and could not be changed.
“Whether or not it’s possible is dependent on how much mithril essence you have,” said Long Chen. Clearly, this business was possible. When doing business, all you needed to know was what the other side needed most.
What he offered them was a way to make up for their one fatal weakness. It was enough to make them insane.
“If you can really do this, my Silverwing Heavenly King Ant colony will give you everything we’ve accumulated over thirteen hundred years,” said the Ant King.
Long Chen looked at the Ant King and felt that he wasn’t someone who would try to play cheap tricks. He nodded. “How refreshing.”
Originally, Long Chen had been worried that they would lie and say that they only had a few drops of mithril essence in their entire stock. That would make him cough up blood.
This kind of practice was common amongst the human race, and it was very irritating. But Long Chen felt that the Ant King wasn’t such a person, so he didn’t bother asking the exact amount.
A flame crystal appeared in front of him, one that was just as tall as he was. The Ant King and Ant Queen both jumped in shock, fearing that he was turning hostile.
They felt a terrifying pressure from this crystal. That was an instinctive terror from their souls.
“This thing, it has divine energy inside it,” exclaimed the Queen Ant.
Long Chen nodded inside. Magical Beasts weren’t good at tricking others. It seemed that he had been too careful.
In a normal business transaction between humans, even if the other side’s wares were amazing treasures that you needed, you had to act like it was nothing and nitpick at it. That was to make it easier to bargain the price down.
For the Queen Ant to directly exclaim that it had divine energy, it was clear that they weren’t used to this kind of scheming.
This crystal had come from an ancient formation in the Heaven Dragon Flame Region. It was because Long Chen had taken out all the crystals that the formation had lost its effect, and the Alldevil monster had been released. That was what had caused all the chaos in Pill Valley.
Now, all he did was take out one. Just one was very precious, and he still had many left. Exchanging it for what he needed right now was worth it.
“There’s no need for me to introduce this object, right? This divine flame crystal contains boundless flame energy that possesses a divine attribute. Although you can’t directly absorb the flame energy, the divine energy can be absorbed slowly, and by doing so, it will change your constitutions. The divine aspect of its energy possesses its own flame energy. Absorbing it won’t let you reach the point that you can control flames, but it will definitely make up for your weakness toward fire. I should mention that this divine crystal is closely related to my flame, and my flame is the Heaven Incinerating Flame ranked third on the Earth Flame Ranking. By absorbing its energy, not only will your resistance toward flames rise, but the change in your constitutions will also be inherited by your future descendants,” said Long Chen.
“You’re right. I’m willing to hand over all our mithril essence for it. Many thanks,” said the Queen Ant fervently. All of her previous anger had vanished. What Long Chen was offering them was useful for them presently and in the future.
The Queen Ant sent out orders to gather up all their mithril essence. Long Chen directly gave the divine crystal to them.
“You can try testing it first. Carefully draw out a strand of the divine energy inside and confirm there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“There’s no need. Just now I secretly tried absorbing a bit. Thank you!” said the Queen Ant frankly.
Long Chen laughed inside. Doing business with Magical Beasts was truly easy.
The mithril essence was quickly sent over, and Long Chen was shocked to get eighteen vats of it.
This was not the unrefined mithril ore. This was the highest purity mithril.
This mithril essence was stored as rations by the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants. In truth, it was a bit disgusting. After the mithril ore was eaten by the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants, it would be digested, and what they pooped out was the refined mithril.
That mithril wasn’t very pure, so the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants would continuously devour and refine it, leaving behind only the purest part of it which was the mithril essence.
This mithril essence was saved for the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants’ top geniuses. To put it frankly, one was eating unrefined grains, while one was eating fine bread.
It sounded a bit disgusting, but if you viewed the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants as tools to refine the ore, it was easier to accept.
In the Martial Heaven Continent, a drop of ordinary mithril was enough to buy a city. It was so rare that you couldn’t buy it even if you had the money. Guo Ran had been asking for more of it constantly, and even with the Huayun Sect’s power, he had only managed to obtain a bit in several months.
In the end, the little bit of mithril that he obtained and refined into mithril essence was only enough for his own armor. There wasn’t enough for anyone else. Long Chen had Guo Ran use it all on himself first, as after all, he was the one who depended on his armor. The others’ armor and weapons were just there to help them. But if Guo Ran didn’t have his armor, he’d be slaughtered on the battlefield.
In the end, Guo Ran had only produced thirty-some drops of mithril essence for his own armor.
However, now there were eighteen vats of it, and these were no ordinary vats. They were thirty meters wide and two hundred meters tall. That was why Long Chen jumped in shock.
“This is too much. How about I take half of them?” Long Chen was now embarrassed. He felt like he was swindling them.
“No, you can take it all. Or we’ll feel ashamed,” said the King Ant. He felt like he was the one getting a huge advantage.
Seeing that, Long Chen didn’t force him. He directly took all the eighteen vats of mithril essence.
The King Ant told him that they had a huge colony of Silverwing Heavenly King Ants that could refine more mithril essence each day. There was no need for Long Chen to worry about it.
After taking them all, Long Chen handed over a dozen jars of the Wine God Palace’s wine as well, delighting the ants.
With his business complete, Long Chen bid a sad farewell to the King Ant and Queen Ant. This time, he didn’t break through space. Instead, he headed off in a direction the Queen Ant had pointed out for him.
Chapter 1422 Illusion Formation
Long Chen learned from the Queen Ant that they were originally Magical Beasts from the Dark Forest. They had been under the Dark Forest’s rule.
However, the Dark Forest’s Magical Beasts were violent, and the competition between them was a fierce slaughter. They had only accidentally fallen into this world because they had been hunted down.
As a result, they had flourished in this world and never returned to the Dark Forest. They told Long Chen that within the Dark Forest, all Magical Beasts had to listen to the leaders, or they would be killed.
This place was like a paradise outside their original home. The tree demons couldn’t enter this region, and other Magical Beasts didn’t possess the power to kill them.
They had been here for over thirteen hundred years. They were local hegemons and very familiar with this world.
Some of the Silverwing Heavenly King Ants were always out scouting. They also went out to see the situation in other minor worlds and if there were more resources there.
Long Chen looked at the grass map in his hand. It was about as useful as grass. Even with the directions of the Queen Ant, he had difficulty understanding anything about it.
There was one particular location that he wanted to go to. Apparently, that was a place of chaos, most likely the core of this battlefield and a place a Sovereign had fought.
Following the map, Long Chen came to a sad conclusion: he was lost. He could only blindly look around.
On his way, he encountered quite a few people. He killed all the Corrupt experts he encountered, and as for the few from the ancient family alliance, he ignored them.
Suddenly, surging waves of pressure came from ahead. A violent and evil aura appeared, along with raging resentment.
Long Chen hastily rushed forward, only to see a region of chaos. Mist shrouded everything inside this space.
Lightning, wind, and rain would appear randomly, sometimes alone and sometimes together. Then the wild weather would suddenly vanish, replaced by a wonderland of flowing streams, graceful pavilions, and immortal music.
Then the wonderland was shattered by a mournful wail. Mountains of corpses and rivers of blood appeared, like hell on earth.
There was someone in the river of blood, crazily struggling to survive. It was like he was on the verge of death, simply trying to grasp a single strand of hope but he couldn’t grab it. That scene was chilling.
Long Chen’s expression was grave. He sensed an extremely terrifying aura from the mist. Whatever was inside, this place was filled with danger.
He looked around. Some people were also standing before the mist and staring at it in shock.
Long Chen stood there for a long time, examining it. However, he was unable to find any pattern to the changing scene. This was a region of chaos. Unable to see through it, Long Chen took a deep breath and walked straight in.
“That person…”
“He’s the Xuantian Dao Sect’s Long Chen.”
The few people watching the mist but not daring to advance all recognized Long Chen.
They were powerful rank eight Celestials, but sensing the mortal danger from the mist, they didn’t dare to enter.
“Hmph, that damnable Heaven-Seizer. He should have died a long time ago. He’s getting off too easy by dying here.”
Although Long Chen had already proven he wasn’t a Heaven-Seizer, under the secret urging of several powers, everyone ‘knew’ that Long Chen was a berserk Heaven-Seizer.
One person told ten, and ten told a hundred. Practically, everyone had perceived Long Chen as a Heaven-Seizer, but he had simply hidden himself very well. Without exposing any flaws, no one could do anything to him for now.
Although they had no proof, the ‘fact’ that he was a Heaven-Seizer was silently acknowledged by all, especially the people who belonged to the opposing factions. They didn’t doubt it at all.
Long Chen suddenly vanished. Lightning runes appeared on his feet, and he appeared beside the ancient family expert who had been mocking him.
The ancient family expert was appalled and hastily circulated his Heavenly Dao energy to resist. But Long Chen was too fast, and his neck was caught.
Long Chen held him like holding a chicken. He dragged that rank eight Celestial toward the mist.
“You’re so envious of me? Then come with me.” Long Chen quickly reached the border of the mist. The ancient family expert was completely terrified, but Long Chen’s berserk energy had completely sealed his spiritual yuan, and even his Heavenly Dao energy was cut off from him. Unable to use any power to resist, he could only watch as Long Chen dragged him into the mist.
The other experts were all shocked, but they also blessed their luck. Fortunately, their mouths were tighter, and although they had thought the same thing as this person, they hadn’t said it.
An old teaching said that disaster always originated from the mo
uth. This particular expert was using his life to demonstrate it.
The ancient family expert could neither move nor speak. A sobbing sound came from him that sounded like begging, but Long Chen ignored him. He walked into the mist, disappearing from their sight.
“How terrifying. A rank eight Celestial was unable to resist at all.” Those experts were all terrified as they watched Long Chen vanished.
Although there were countless stories about Long Chen in the cultivation world, many people thought they were simply stories the Xuantian Dao Sect was intentionally spreading to shock others.
The scene of Long Chen killing a rank nine Celestial had spread. However, many people thought that the only reason why Long Chen had been able to kill Luo Minghao was because of the Xuantian Tower supporting him in secret.
So they weren’t particularly afraid when they saw Long Chen. In their opinion, even if they couldn’t beat him, running away should be no problem.
Yet, as soon as Long Chen took action, they believed the legends. That ancient family expert had used his life as the price to prove those stories. He was truly a brave man.
Long Chen walked forward, and the mist grew thicker and thicker until he couldn’t even see his own fingers. His divine sense was suppressed and couldn’t extend out of his body.
Long Chen held the ancient family expert in front of him as he slowly walked forward.
Buzz.
The ancient family expert’s body suddenly twitched, and Long Chen immediately came to a stop.
The ancient family expert’s hair was standing on end, and his eyes were about to pop out. His expression was one of absolute terror. He bit down on his lip so hard that blood flowed down.
Long Chen released him and quietly watched. He quickly noticed that this guy’s Heavenly Dao energy was slowly leaving his body. It was entering the primal chaos space, being absorbed by the Heavenly Dao Tree.
“His Heavenly Dao energy left his body, so he will definitely die. The Heavenly Daos already view him as a dead person.” Long Chen was lost in thought.
