by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
They immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Long Chen.
“There’s no need for this!” Long Chen hastily waved his hands. He never kowtowed to others, and he didn’t want anyone to kowtow to him either. He didn’t like etiquette.
“This is their way of expressing their gratefulness. Without you, they wouldn’t exist. Please accept their thanks,” said the Spirit Emperor.
Long Chen had no way around it, and could only endure as they continued with this etiquette. After kowtowing, the Spirit Emperor ordered them away.
“Their spirits were only just born so they can’t communicate with you. This was the only way for them to expression themselves,” said the Spirit Emperor.
Long Chen nodded. This kind of detail wasn’t a big deal. At this time, Chu Yao, Meng Qi, and Tang Wan-er now came back over. It seemed they had finally calmed down.
“Spirit Emperor, there’s something important I need your help with. I have an elder who lost the majority of her longevity, causing her to lose her beauty. Do you have a method to replenish what she lost?” Seeing Chu Yao, Long Chen immediately thought of this matter. Chu Yao’s heart began to pound anxiously.
“Is she from the human race?” asked the Spirit Emperor.
“Yes, her cultivation base is…” Long Chen looked at Chu Yao.
“Her cultivation base is at the great circle of Life Star. If it weren’t for me, my master might already be attempting to break through the Netherpassage realm,” said Chu Yao.
“This is simple. The human race’s life energy is very limited, and making up for it isn’t difficult. There’s no need to disturb the Life God Tree for this. I can help you myself,” said the Spirit Emperor.
Her staff began to shine, and a small shoot grew out of its head. The small shoot was shining, and a holy and pure energy gathered in it. Its light felt like it could cleanse a person’s soul.
Three drops fell from the soft shoot and into a wooden bottle. The Spirit Emperor handed the bottle to Chu Yao. She could tell that Long Chen was asking this for Chu Yao.
“A single drop is enough to replenish her longevity. You can keep the other two drops,” said the Spirit Emperor.
“Many thanks, Spirit Emperor!” Chu Yao carefully received the bottle. Thinking of how her master’s lost longevity and beauty could be restored, she was incredibly emotional. Even her hands were trembling.
With Chu Yao’s problem resolved, Long Chen said, “Spirit Emperor, the battle’s about to start. How is the Forest of Life’s total power compared to the Dark Forest? Can you give me a full summary?”
Chapter 1439 A Great Battle Approaches
When Long Chen brought up the power difference between both sides, the Spirit Emperor sadly shook her head. “Although the Forest of Life now has eight hundred thousand new Spirit Generals, our true power is still probably less than a tenth of the Dark Forest. Due to the passageway the Dark Forest established in the Martial Heaven Continent, they managed to absorb the air of death and resentment that exists there due to the constant battles. It was the best nourishment for the Dark Forest. The Heaven Devouring Forest that existed there was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. The Heaven Devouring Forest simply constantly funnelled the Martial Heaven Continent’s air of resentment into their channel as feed for the Dark Forest. To put it one way, they were just some workers for them. This is why I didn’t want you to participate in this battle when you first arrived. One reason is because I didn’t want to implicate you, but the other reason is that this is simply a hopeless battle.”
The Spirit Emperor sighed helplessly, looking at the huge Life God Tree sorrowfully. Chu Yao, Meng Qi, and Tang Wan-er were all startled. They hadn’t expected the Spirit Emperor to have such a pessimistic view of their odds.
Fortunately the others had all gone, or everyone’s morale would probably have received a grievous blow.
“The Life God tells me you are the lucky star that has come to save us. But the power difference is just too great. I really don’t know a better way to put it.”
The Spirit Emperor was unable to understand what humans were thinking. But seeing their expressions, she knew she had said something wrong to them.
“Spirit Emperor, I just want to know our total power, what our strengths and weaknesses are, and anything else of particular note. Just leave the rest to me,” said Long Chen. There was no need for him to think of a better way to phrase this. The Forest of Life’s lifeforms didn’t care about such things.
The Spirit Emperor nodded and began explaining the situation, with the four of them listening attentively.
The Forest of Life was not good at fighting. The only ones capable of fighting against enemies were the Spirit race warriors and the spirit beasts.
The huge trees of the Forest of Life were unable to fight. They could not participate in the front lines. They were pure existences of life. Death and resentment were poison to them.
This was why Yao Ling, the forest divinity that Long Chen had encountered back then, had to rely on weak villagers to bring her flesh despite being in possession of great power herself.
Long Chen wasn’t surprised by this at all. He had long since known of the Forest of Life’s greatest weakness. But the tree spirits could still help them in battle. They could form a connection with the fighters, sharing their life energy.
As long as they were within the Spirit World, their life energy could be shared with the Dragonblood warriors. As long as the Dragonblood warriors didn’t die instantaneously, all injuries could be rapidly healed. That kind of ability was very heaven-defying in itself.
After a general explanation of the Forest of Life’s total power, the Spirit Emperor gave Long Chen a green leaf. It merged into his hand, and an image of it appeared on his palm.
The Spirit Emperor said that this was a leaf directly connected to the Life God Tree. Through it, Long Chen could use his Spiritual Strength to send orders to the Life God Tree, and the Life God Tree would transmit its orders to all the Forest of Life’s creatures. It was the most effective way of commanding them.
Long Chen nodded and comforted the Spirit Emperor, promising that as long as he was here, the Forest of Life would be fine.
He left with Chu Yao, Meng Qi, and Tang Wan-er. But they didn’t leave the Forest of Life. Instead, they went to the floating islands.
One of the floating islands had a waterfall that rained down beautifully under the sunlight. The four of them sat atop a giant tree leaf and soaked in the scenery.
The most intoxicated one would have to be Long Chen. After so much effort, he had succeeded in brazenly leaning on all three beauties.
At first, the three of them were a bit uneasy like this, and Tang Wan-er pinched Long Chen a few times. But Long Chen succeeded in having all four of them relax eventually.
“This place is so beautiful. I really wish we could stay here forever,” said Tang Wan-er as she tossed a crystalline grape into Long Chen’s mouth.
Long Chen was lying on Chu Yao’s leg, holding Meng Qi’s hand, and munching on the grapes Tang Wan-er fed him. This kind of blessing was something he wouldn’t trade for anything.
“Hmm.” Long Chen closed his eyes and enjoyed this blessing, simply grunting his agreement.
“But the Dark Forest wants to destroy this beauty. They’ve already destroyed so much,” sighed Chu Yao. When she thought about how the Forest of Life was going to be replaced with the Dark Forest, she was infuriated.
“Don’t worry, Long Chen definitely has a plan, or he wouldn’t have made such a promise. Right Long Chen?” Meng Qi smiled.
“Hmm,” said Long Chen vaguely as he continued lying there.
“Long Chen, do you really have a way to handle the Dark Forest?” asked Tang Wan-er, once more dropping a grape into his mouth.
“Hmm.”
“What kind of plan? Can you tell us?” probed Tang Wan-er.
“Hmm.”
The three women smiled at each other. Long Chen usually liked t
o keep his battle plans to himself, so hearing that he agreed to tell them, they were happy.
“Can you tell us already?” After waiting a long time, Tang Wan-er got impatient.
“Hmm.”
Now Long Chen sounded like he was just talking in his sleep. Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er speechlessly looked at Tang Wan-er.
Tang Wan-er was just about to pinch Long Chen, when she suddenly had a thought. Suppressing her anger, she once more fed Long Chen a crystalline grape.
Conveniently, she also snuck in another grape-sized crystalline object in his mouth as well.
Chu Yao and Meng Qi stared at her in shock. Tang Wan-er simply gestured for them to be quiet, an evil smile on her face.
Crack.
The second ‘grape’ unleashed a loud crunching sound. Long Chen shot up, spitting out what was in his mouth.
“Fuck, are you trying to kill me?! You fed me a spirit stone?!” raged Long Chen when he saw the fragments.
Meng Qi, Chu Yao, and Tang Wan-er all laughed. Tang Wan-er heartlessly mocked, “Long Chen, your teeth are so strong! You even managed to crush a spirit stone. I admire you!”
“It’s not just my tongue that’s strong! There’s also my tongue! This move is called the dragon claw hand!”
Long Chen’s hand reached out for Tang Wan-er’s chest, causing her to cry out. Meng Qi and Chu Yao immediately came to help, and the four of them began to roll around. The four of them chased each other back and forth across the leaf, filling the forest with their laughter.
After chasing each other across hundreds of floating islands, they finally calmed down again. Meng Qi seriously said, “Long Chen, what are our chances in the upcoming battle?”
CHu Yao and Tang Wan-er’s smiles also vanished, replaced by grave expressions. They were facing the Dark Forest and the Martial Heaven Continent’s experts. Of course they were worried.
“Do you want the truth?” Long Chen sighed.
“Of course,” said Tang Wan-er.
“Then the truth is that I don’t even have a ten percent chance of beating the Dark Forest.”
“What are you saying?!” Tang Wan-er cried out.
Long Chen smiled mischievously. “But although I have no confidence in beating them, I definitely won’t lose.”
“What does that mean?” asked Tang Wan-er.
“Long Chen’s saying that in the upcoming battle, we’ll only be able to preserve the current state of the things. Neither side will come out with much of a victory,” said Meng Qi, looking at Long Chen.
“Correct. The Dark Forest is too strong. Adding on the Corrupt path, ancient races, and the ancient family alliance’s experts, our power is too low. However, I have my own trump card. As long as we can fight evenly against the Martial Heaven Continent’s experts, it’ll be a win for us. So right now, I’m just praying that they launch their attack as late as possible. With each passing day, we and the Forest of Life are growing stronger. The Life God Tree is giving birth to tens of thousands of Spirit Generals each day, and the Dragonblood warriors’ mental realms have risen by a massive amount thanks to the Life God Tree’s blessing. They can consume medicinal pills to increase their cultivation bases without worry. Guo Ran is also busy increasing the power of their armor and weapons. So the later the battle, the more favorable it will be to us,” said Long Chen.
“Long Chen, we have to work hard. The Spirit race is such a kind race. They shouldn’t be destroyed from this world,” said Chu Yao, with Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er nodding along. They had all fallen in love with the Forest of Life.
“Don’t worry, the Forest of Life once bestowed me its favor. We will repay this favor, even if I have to sacrifice this life of mine.” Long Chen patted his chest confidently.
“I knew you would be able to do this. Considering how evil you are, it’s only natural,” laughed Tang Wan-er, holding Long Chen’s neck intimately.
“If you got rid of that last sentence, it would be more perfect.” Long Chen glared at Tang Wan-er.
Meng Qi and Chu Yao laughed at that expression. It felt like as long as Long Chen was present, he would be able to handle any problems.
The four of them didn’t cultivate. They simply calmly enjoyed the beauty of the Forest of Life during these days. They enjoyed this rare moment of relaxation.
On the fourth day, news came from the front lines. The Dark Forest was moving out. A mass of experts was slowly approaching the Forest of Life. Shockingly, the entire Dark Forest had been mobilized this time.
An endless mass of tree demons was coming towards the Forest of Life. A great battle was approaching.
Chapter 1440 They’ve Finally Arrived
Black air surged out, turning the sky dark. This air was filled with slaughter and gloom.
“Is this the premonition of a world-shaking battle?” Gu Yang looked at the black clouds. The entire world had turned dim now, and his voice was subdued.
This kind of scene naturally felt ominous. The very air smelled of death, and it was oppressive.
The Dragonblood Legion had fully gathered now, standing in front of the Forest of Life. This was the final defensive line before the Forest of Life.
All the other defensive lines had been abandoned because of Long Chen’s orders. This final defensive line was like the gate to the Forest of Life. Once broken, their enemies would be able to swarm in.
Despite being in such a large group, this air of death was still hard to bear.
“What premonition? This is the dark energy released by the Dark Forest. That darkness is a mass of tiny runes that will allow them to unleash their attacks more effectively. That dark energy is like water, while they are the fish. Without the water, their combat power would sharply drop. Have you forgotten that the entire Dark Forest is covered in that kind of air constantly? Gu Yang, I’m puzzled, how can someone with a bright head like yours be unable to understand something so simple?” Long Chen looked at Gu Yang. That bald head that reflected the sun and moonlight was definitely bright.
“Hahaha…”
Guo Ran, Li Qi, Song Mingyuan, and the others all laughed. The laughter of the Dragonblood warriors made Gu Yang’s whole face turn red.
“Boss, you’re the one with the brighter head,” said Gu Yang.
“No, I rather like my long, flowing hair. In the Dragonblood Legion, you’re the one with the brightest head. Just having you is enough,” joked Long Chen.
Following Long Chen’s joking, the pressure everyone felt lessened. They now felt like they had just been scaring themselves. When they had first entered the Spirit World and dropped into the Dark Forest, they hadn’t felt that the Dark Forest’s air was so intense.
“This is the influence of the Forest of Life. It shrinks your guts.” Long Chen solemnly looked at everyone, gravely saying, “Right now, the difference between the Dragonblood warriors and the Dragonmark warriors has grown negligible. At the very least, your power is about the same. But the Dragonmark warriors are lacking a certain confidence and fearlessness in their souls. That is the only area where you are lacking compared to the Dragonblood warriors. That showed itself during your last tribulation, and now it’s showing itself in the face of the Dark Forest. The Dragonblood warriors are still able to stay calm, but I can see the Dragonmark warriors still feel a great deal of pressure.”
“Boss, we’ll work harder on tempering our wills,” promised a Dragonmark warrior.
Long Chen waved his hand, shaking his head. “It’s not that your will isn’t strong enough. The greatest difference is that you were born into too good of a family. The height that you were born into was different. The Dragonblood warriors followed me from the Eastern Wasteland, encountering countless pitfalls and battles. We slaughtered our way out of those restrictions, forcing our way into our current height. We paid a great deal, but we also gained a great deal. As for the Dragonmark warriors, you’ve also gone through many battles, all of them fierce and intense. You’ve long since tempered your wills to a good enough level. It
’s just that you still don’t understand the meaning of battle. Why do we fight? Fighting isn’t to kill, it’s to protect. Fighting isn’t to establish fame, but for your personal convictions. Only once you understand your convictions can you become fearless in the face of death. The reason your fear has appeared today is because of the effect of the Forest of Life.”
“The Forest of Life? What is that supposed to mean?” asked Guo Ran. The others also didn’t understand and looked at Long Chen for the answer.
Long Chen solemnly said, “You’ve been affected by the Forest of Life’s beliefs. They are a group of kind lifeforms, and they feel respect and gratitude toward all life. They don’t hold grudges, and they don’t feel hatred. When our human race betrayed them, did they complain? Despite being betrayed by the human race, they still accept and trust us. This is their instinctual reaction. They are pure-hearted and good. They love life, they revere life, and they make life their conviction. When you received the Life God Tree’s blessing, you were affected by that conviction. You’ve also started to feel respect for life, and a thirst for life. This kind of conviction is their Dao, but it’s not the Dragonblood Legion’s Dao. Our Dao is the weapons in our hands. The Forest of Life’s creatures are kind, but that kindness can only be given to good people. If given to bad evil, they will take advantage of it and destroy them. For example, the Forest of Life was betrayed by the human race, and now they’ve fallen into their current straits. Is that fair?”
“No!”
Everyone roared. Thinking of the human race’s betrayal, they felt furious. They felt this was a disgrace of the entire human race.
“We don’t have to feel guilty. That wasn’t done by us, and the Forest of Life has never blamed us for it. But look at the Martial Heaven Continent as a whole. How many good people really exist? If you put out your kind heart, what you will get in return is betrayal and the butcher’s knife. So you have to have a kind heart, but you can’t give it to just anyone. To love life isn’t wrong. To be grateful for life isn’t wrong. But we have to know to whom we should be grateful. To respect life isn’t wrong. To the people who protected us, who bestowed us with our lives, we naturally have to feel gratitude and respect. But other than our parents and those elders, there’s no one else worth our gratitude. If we want to protect our family in this bloody, chaotic world, then we have to bare our fangs. In the face of those evil people, we have to wield our butcher’s knife without hesitation. The Forest of Life gave us its favor, and today, even if we have to fight to the last, we have to use our hot blood and lives to prove our conviction and oath. Why do we have to be afraid? Remember, what we cultivate is not the Life Dao! We cultivate a Killing Dao! Our world is full of disorder, and there’s no way for us to discuss things reasonably. When convictions clash, the only thing that can protect us is our own butcher’s blade.”
