Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048

by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k

  “Here.”

  Just as everyone was feeling like Long Chen had gone too far, Wang Shan tossed out a spatial ring at Long Chen. He sneered, “Take care to stay alive long enough to spend it.”

  Clearly, Wang Shan and Wang Hai hated Long Chen to the bone now, and the enmity between them was one that would not end without the other side’s death. If this wasn’t the Skywood Divine Palace, they would probably have started a fight to the death.

  “Thank you for your care. I don’t have many outstanding points, but my life is pretty tough. If anyone wants to take my life, they can come at any time.” Long Chen received the spatial ring. Looking at the ten thousand spirit crystals inside, he laughed just like a petty person who had gotten their way, causing Wang Shan and Wang Hai to clench their teeth furiously.

  “Just wait. My brother is friends with Di Xin! He’s a heavenly genius from the Central Xuan Region! Now that you’ve offended us, no one can save you!” said Wang Hai through clenched teeth. He didn’t care about the ten thousand spirit crystals, but he was thoroughly infuriated and said some vicious words.

  Long Chen placed the spatial ring in his pocket and disdainfully said, “You shouldn’t constantly bring up who is friends with who. Does that have any meaning? Is a court eunuch capable of having the emperor avenge him? He doesn’t even have his life rod, so who cares?”

  “You…!” Wang Hai coughed up another mouthful of blood, and sharp pain suddenly wracked his body. His unmentionable illness was flaring again, and he hastily swallowed a medicinal pill to suppress it.

  “I’m sure you know best just how many evil things you’ve done. If you’re so bored as to cough up blood constantly, you should think about those resentful spirits. If you simply think of your current situation as retribution for them, you’ll feel much more at ease,” advised Long Chen.

  “Long Chen, you have gone too far!”

  Just at this moment, someone new spoke out, criticizing Long Chen. He was another expert from the Southern Xuan Region. He felt like Long Chen had gone too far with his bullying.

  “That’s right. Are you challenging our Southern Xuan Region? If you weren’t a guest here, there wouldn’t be any chance of you leaving alive now.

  “How can you humiliate others like this? You’ve lost the demeanor a cultivator should possess. So what if you’re strong? All you are is a strong monster.”

  More and more of the Southern Xuan Region’s experts added in their criticism. One reason was that they didn’t know what the retribution Long Chen was talking about, while another reason was that Long Chen was, in the end, an outsider. There was naturally discrimination in each region toward people from the other regions.

  Some women even stood up and said that Long Chen was as skinny as a monkey and had no muscle. He wasn’t a real man, so he didn’t have the qualifications to mock others.

  Toward their criticism, Long Chen merely smiled and didn’t retort. People always liked to judge things from their point of view and think that they were the ones who were correct. There was no need to explain anything to them.

  In any case, Long Chen had finished slapping some faces and extorting some money. His mood had improved. At this time, he should quit while he was ahead.

  If he decided to try explaining things to fools, he’d just end up irritated again. That wasn’t worth it.

  Ignoring these people, Long Chen left. Those people thought that he was afraid and immediately charged over to block him. As a result, that Elder reappeared and stopped them, saying that this matter ended here. Anyone who brought it up again would be kicked out.

  After throwing off those people, Long Chen continued strolling through the Skywood Divine Palace. It was truly unimaginably huge.

  In truth, the Skywood Divine Palace’s main palace wasn’t that much bigger than the original Xuantian Dao Sect’s. However, its outer territory was huge. Everything within hundreds of thousands of miles was their territory.

  This entire territory was filled with beautiful scenes of nature. Range upon range of mountains, criss-crossing streams, heaven-reaching ancient trees, it was like a scene out of a painting.

  However, this previously peaceful scene had become rowdy with the countless geniuses that had come.

  Long Chen had to cross two mountains before shaking off those people. Here, the path diverged into many possible routes. Long Chen then chose an isolated little path.

  It wasn’t that Long Chen didn’t want to provoke them, but that looking at idiots irritated him. He was constantly busy, and it was rare for him to get a chance to relax on a scenic stroll. He naturally didn’t want to bother with them.

  As he was walking, he saw a plum tree with plentiful red plums, so he turned to walk toward it. It was a thirty-meter-tall tree. He climbed up, sat on one of the branches, and plucked a plum. As soon as he bit into it, its juices overflowed and sweetness filled his mouth.

  Long Chen smiled. He still remembered that when he was young, there were a dozen plum trees in the corner of his home’s courtyard. Each summer it would be packed with fruit.

  At that time, the Long family had already started to decline. All the fruit he had eaten had basically come from their own yard. That had resulted in plums being his favorite fruit.

  Ever since leaving the Phoenix Cry Empire, he had eaten countless delicacies, however, he hadn’t eaten such simple fruit.

  The Skywood Divine Palace had all kinds of precious fruit around. Only the few plum trees here were ordinary. The flavor was the same as back then, however, he no longer had that nostalgic feeling.

  He remembered when his mother would look after him and not allow him to eat too many plums, saying that it would hurt his stomach. So many years had passed. He had obtained many things, but at the same time, he had silently lost many precious things as well.

  “Brother Long Chen!”

  Long Chen was silently contemplating this when a small figure rushed over to him. What startled Long Chen was that he had only just sensed her existence when she threw herself into his embrace, too quickly for him to react.

  Long Chen was startled. The one who had charged into him was a seemingly fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl. Although she was still young, she was already starting to show a nation-collapsing kind of beauty. She was a very cute and beautiful girl, but Long Chen didn’t recognize her.

  “Big brother Long Chen, I’m little Cloud! Do you not recognize me? I helped carry you so many times, have you forgotten?” asked the girl disappointedly as she hugged Long Chen’s neck.

  Only at this time did Long Chen realize that this girl was no human but the Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow that had taken on human form.

  Long Chen was about to speak when a group of men and women walked by and heard Cloud. They immediately stopped and looked over with strange expressions.

  Cloud was sitting on Long Chen, her arms wrapped around his neck. That appearance was very intimate. Adding on her words, they were clearly shocked.

  “What a brute. How could he do such a thing to a little girl?” said one man angrily. However, he couldn’t conceal a trace of envy in his eyes.

  The others were also staring strangely at Long Chen. However, when they sensed Cloud’s terrifying fluctuations, their expressions changed.

  “She’s a Xuan Beast!”

  Only now did they realize Cloud was no human but a Xuan Beast. A human wouldn’t possess such fluctuations.

  “Cloud, you’ve managed to transform! Congratulations. Let’s go find somewhere to talk.”

  Long Chen pulled Cloud away, finding a private place. He gently rubbed her head. “I didn’t think you’d be able to transform so quickly. And you’re so beautiful.”

  She truly was beautiful with her curves already starting to show. Furthermore, her legs were longer than average, just like the Spirit race’s warriors. This was a golden ratio countless women would long for.

  “Hehe, sister Wan-er said that you would definitely like me, especially if I wasn’t wea
ring any clothes. Big brother Long Chen, do you want me to take them off right now for you to look?” Cloud actually began to take off her clothes.

  “No, no, no!” Long Chen jumped in fright and hastily stopped her. Even if she wanted to undress, she couldn’t do it here.

  “Why not? Sister Wan-er said that you would like it,” said Cloud with a confused and naive expression.

  Doom. Wan-er, you wretch, you completely ruined my reputation. Long Chen turned red with rage. Cloud was still a child. How could Wan-er say such a thing to her?

  Just as Long Chen was embarrassed and wondering how he could explain this to Cloud, the sound of a melodious zither came from the distance. Long Chen narrowed his eyes. Had she also come?

  Chapter 1627 Di Xin

  The zither music came from a great distance. However, it was still sharp and clear, penetrating deep into the soul.

  “This is definitely the sound of the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither.” Long Chen recognized this familiar zither sound. It belonged to Zi Yan’s divine item. “Oh? No, this isn’t Zi Yan playing.”

  Suddenly, Long Chen paused. He had heard Zi Yan play the zither several times now. Her music was always boundlessly majestic but gentle like water, without any trace of the mundane world.

  However, this zither music, while it came from the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither, was entirely different. It lacked a bit of gentility and instead had a sharpness to it, as well as a kind of faint decisiveness. Its style was completely different from Zi Yan’s.

  “Cloud, let’s go and take a look.” Long Chen pulled Cloud over in the direction of the music. Cloud was like a little girl, she jumped and skipped happily along.

  …

  “Wan-er, how could you say such a thing to Cloud?” rebuked Meng Qi when she heard what Cloud had said to Long Chen.

  “I was wrong to do it, but it wasn’t as if it was entirely a lie… That fellow Long Chen… he has a perverted side…” Tang Wan-er lowered her head but still quibbled.

  Meng Qi and Chu Yao exchanged a glance, both seeing each other’s helplessness. Fortunately, the palace master had taken her leave already, or if a senior had heard this, what could they have said?

  “Cloud is still a child. Although she’s strong, her intelligence hasn’t caught up yet. She’ll believe anything you say. Long Chen probably hates you now. Did you not see how he looked like he wanted to find a hole to bury himself in?” said Meng Qi, shaking her head with disappointment.

  Cloud had just taken her human form, exciting her. While Meng Qi and Chu Yao were both the calm types, Tang Wan-er was very lively, perfectly matching Cloud’s nature. So these days, it had always been Tang Wan-er accompanying Cloud to play.

  Who would have thought that Tang Wan-er would say such a thing to Cloud? Cloud didn’t know anything about the human world and almost stripped right in the open.

  “Alright, Long Chen knows Cloud is still a child. He can understand it. Just don’t blame Wan-er,” said Chu Yao.

  Meng Qi shook her head. “I’m not blaming Wan-er, it’s just that… it’s just that Cloud is still a Xuan Beast. In her foolish youthfulness, her instincts in that area are particularly intense. As for Long Chen, it’s not like he’s ever had a chance to do it with us… What if the two of them… What would we do?”

  “It’s so serious?!” Tang Wan-er jumped in shock.

  “Of course. Even if you don’t get jealous, Cloud still needs decades to fully mature. If anything happens between her and Long Chen, it will gravely affect her growth and future,” sighed Meng Qi.

  “Heavens, then what do we do? We can’t let Cloud be harmed like that!” Only now did Tang Wan-er realize how grave the situation was.

  “It’ll be fine. While Cloud still doesn’t understand anything, you warn her not to get too close to Long Chen. We’ll also warn Long Chen. He’ll understand,” said Chu Yao.

  “Ah? Why me?” Tang Wan-er blushed.

  “This is your punishment,” said Meng Qi and Chu Yao in unison. Tang Wan-er could only helplessly agree. However, she had no idea how she was supposed to say such a thing.

  …

  Long Chen didn’t know that each and every one of his actions was being watched by Meng Qi, Chu Yao, and Tang Wan-er. He pulled Cloud over to the source of the music.

  “Cloud, are your injuries healed yet?” asked Long Chen on the way. Cloud had suffered serious injuries in the Grand Han, and even its soul had been harmed. She had been recuperating within Meng Qi’s spiritual space ever since. This was Long Chen’s first time seeing Cloud since.

  Cloud said that her injuries had fully healed, and the trickery that Sha Guangyan and Hu Xiaolin had done to her soul had been erased.

  When she brought up what happened, she clenched her fists and began punching furiously, saying she had fallen for a trap. At that time, she had just advanced to the tenth rank and hadn’t become accustomed to her new power, which was the only reason she had been caught.

  However, despite not being accustomed to it, Cloud had still been extremely powerful at that time. Back then, there had been over forty experts of the Xuan Beasts who had surrounded her. They had all been eleventh rank Xuan Beasts. However, Cloud’s death struggle had killed half of them before she was caught.

  Once she was brought back into the Xuan Beasts’ land, they had done a soulsearch and learned her secrets. As soon as they had found out about the heaven-defying treasure that was the Myriad Spirit Diagram, they immediately brainstormed over how they might obtain it.

  It just so happened that at that time, Pill Valley had invited them to attend the Dragon Slaughtering Convention, so they had sent Hu Xiaolin. That way, not only could the Xuan Beasts get a favor from Pill Valley, but they could also obtain the Myriad Spirit Diagram.

  Originally, they had thought that since Pill Valley had made the arrangements, Long Chen would be a turtle caught in a jar, and that everything would go seamlessly. Unfortunately for them, they had miscalculated. Not only had they not obtained anything, but they had also lost a genius like Hu Xiaolin.

  “I’m still curious about how they found me. They caught me as I was traveling. Sister Wan-er guessed that there might be some traitors amongst my Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow race,” said Cloud.

  “That possibility can basically be eliminated. If there were traitors amongst the Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow, they’d have long since found your nest. There’s no foundation to this deduction. Also, Cloud, sister Wan-er is very fiery and excitable. Don’t listen to her so much. It would be better if you listen more to sister Meng Qi and Chu Yao. Learn from normal people like them, alright?” Long Chen felt that Tang Wan-er had taught Cloud quite a few bad things, most likely quite a few about him. He had to make some defenses first.

  “Why? Sister Wan-er’s very nice. She plays with me all the time. However, she did say that she is a bit empty-headed sometimes, so I need to go find sister Meng Qi for big decisions,” said Cloud.

  “It’s not that her head is empty. It’s that she’s so fiery that she doesn’t even open an umbrella when it’s raining. It’s easy for water to get in… here.” Long Chen pointed toward his head.

  …

  “Bastard, you’re the one with water in your head!”

  Meng Qi, Chu Yao, and Tang Wan-er were listening attentively to what Cloud and Long Chen were saying, and their ears immediately perked up when Long Chen told Cloud not to listen to Tang Wan-er’s words.

  However, his final line made Tang Wan-er fly into a rage. She looked like she wanted to drag Long Chen out of the image on the wall and strangle him. Meng Qi and Chu Yao laughed. These two were really a pair of clowns.

  …

  “Hehe, then I’ll just listen to brother Long Chen. Brother Long Chen always treats me the best.” Cloud intimately wrapped an arm around Long’s Chen elbow.

  “Do I really treat you so well?” Long Chen smiled.

  “Of course. In the Grand Han, when those evil people used me as a hostage
against you, you saved me regardless of the danger. Furthermore, you’re the strongest because you beat those evil fellows black and blue!” said Cloud excitedly.

  The two of them talked and laughed as they walked. They quickly arrived at a mountain stream with a waterfall falling from midway up the mountain. Mist spiraled through the air and toward the other mountains.

  Between these mountains was a small, mirror-like lake. There was an island in the lake, and the zither music came from the island.

  The island had no buildings. However, it was packed with people now. Long Chen roughly estimated them to be in the tens of thousands. There was a woman gently plucking a zither, infatuating those who listened.

  “As expected, it’s not Zi Yan.”

  Long Chen couldn’t help being curious. He didn’t recognize this woman at all; however, she was definitely holding the Illusive Music Immortal Palace’s divine item, the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither.

  As this woman played, the music flowed out like water falling from a high mountain. The music began to grow in tempo. It was like it had reached its climax. In the blink of an eye, her fingers plucked dozens of strings. However, the music never grew chaotic. Each sound was still completely clear.

  It grew louder and louder, like a Great Peng soaring into the sky, spreading its wings and soaring beyond the horizon.

  In the end, she suddenly pressed down the zither with both hands, and the music came to an abrupt stop. The image of the Great Peng in everyone’s minds shattered, as if it had fallen. The music had stopped, but it still seemed to echo in their ears. That feeling deeply shocked everyone.

  When the woman stopped, a tall man in the crowd clapped and praised, “Fairy Bijun’s divine technique is truly admirable. I, Di Xin, have never heard such beautiful zither music. It was like being between the mountains and the clouds. This kind of music can only exist above the heavens. As expected, the Illusive Music Immortal Palace’s fame is not for nothing.”