Chapter 1714: Deploying the Dragon
Eastern Divine Region, Zhou Tian God Realm.
Zhou Xuzi and Taiyu Zunzhe sat facing each other. Zhou Xuzi's eyes were lightly closed, his expression peaceful. But Taiyu Zunzhe's face was dark, his eyes filled with anger.
"What exactly does the Northern Divine Region intend to do!" Taiyu Zunzhe said in a deep voice. "The Void Cauldron fell into Yun Che's hands back in the Tai Chu Divine Realm. Those three star realms were very likely destroyed by themselves, and then they framed our Zhou Tian!"
"What do they intend…" Zhou Xuzi uttered softly, pondering various possibilities.
Using the Void Cauldron to frame Zhou Tian, and even willing to destroy three star realms as the cost. Was it to ruin Zhou Tian's reputation?
If that had happened in the Western Divine Region or Southern Divine Region, it certainly would be that way. Destroying a vast star realm due to personal grievance would surely draw the world's wrath and damage Zhou Tian's authority.
But, that was the Northern Divine Region! Even if the Zhou Tian God Realm used the most ruthless methods to destroy hundreds or thousands, they would never be considered guilty; instead, it would be a glorious achievement worthy of eternal praise.
"Alas," Zhou Xuzi gave a light sigh, opening his old eyes, and said slowly, "My journey to the Northern Domain was already conducted with utmost caution. I never expected not only to fall victim to the schemes of the Demon Empress and Yun Che, but also to be secretly recorded. It seems the older I get, the more useless I become."
Even the highest grade Mysterious Shadow Stone would produce fluctuations of profound energy when recording.
Although the stronger one's strength, the easier to conceal such fluctuations of profound energy. But Zhou Xuzi was no ordinary person.
This was the first time he had been secretly recorded without any awareness.
He thought of a person from the Northern Divine Region… the legendary Soul-Plundering Demoness with extreme concealment and transformation abilities.
The Seventh Demoness, Hua Jin!
It was said that once she vanished into darkness, no one could detect her existence. Her concealment ability was so strong it rivaled that of the Tiansha Xingshen in a perfectly merged state.
Taiyu Zunzhe said, "After all, that is the Northern Divine Region. The pervasive dark aura interferes with spiritual senses, and they must have been fully prepared. It is not surprising that Your Highness did not detect it."
"I am worried… that what they recorded is far more than that." Zhou Tian Shen Di's face slowly darkened. "Qing Chen is gone. What I fear most is that his transformation into a demon before his death might become known."
"Your Highness, the Eastern Divine Region is already rife with rumors. What should be done?" Taiyu asked.
Zhou Xuzi shook his head. "No need to pay attention."
Because explanations were useless, and they could not prove themselves. It was true that he had brought Zhou Qing Chen into the Northern Divine Region, true that he had sworn in anger when leaving, true that the Void Cauldron was real, and especially… no one would believe that their Zhou Tian Realm's Void Cauldron had fallen into Yun Che's hands.
He slowly rose, his wide white robe suddenly billowing, releasing a majestic Divine Emperor pressure like ten thousand mountains within this sacred hall: "I, on the contrary, am eager to know what they exactly intend to do!"
"If… Yun Che uses this to threaten a meeting regarding the projection of Qing Chen, that would be even better!"
In the Eastern Divine Region, no one had ever thought that the Northern Divine Region would launch a full-scale attack on the Eastern Divine Region. The Divine Emperors, who knew best the state and overall strength of the Northern Divine Region, would never think so.
Because the demons were confined to the Northern Domain, they could do nothing about it. If they forcibly stepped out, it would be equivalent to digging their own graves.
Therefore, facing this meticulously crafted, almost flawless frame-up, Zhou Tian's reaction was exceptionally cold, even finding it somewhat ridiculous.
At present, Zhou Xuzi, and everyone in the Zhou Tian God Realm, could never imagine what a terrible nightmare this firmly placed chamber pot on their heads would bring to Zhou Tian.
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Western Divine Region, Long Shen Realm.
The Long Shen Realm was incomparably vast, not only the most powerful royal realm, but also the largest star realm in the entire divine realm.
Every year, countless profound practitioners would come here to travel and make pilgrimages.
The aura of the Long Shen Realm was exceptionally ancient and heavy, somewhat similar to the Tai Chu Divine Realm. And this sense of antiquity and heaviness reached its extreme at the core of the Long Shen Realm, the sacred place called "Dragon God Domain."
Countless profound practitioners on pilgrimage would look from afar at the vast and majestic Dragon God Domain, not because they didn't want to approach, but because the overwhelming pressure from the Dragon God Domain was too terrifying.
A thousand miles away, they dared not take another step forward.
This unique and terrifying pressure of the Dragon God Domain was called Dragon Aura.
Nine Dragon Gods, forty-three Dragon Lords, three hundred and eight Master Dragons, plus the supreme Dragon Emperor.
This was the Long Shen Realm… the supreme existence of the four divine regions and chaotic space.
Unrivaled, unshakable.
For the strength of a royal realm, the most important factor was the immortal inheritance.
But the Long Shen Realm was not among them.
Because what they relied on was merely bloodline inheritance!
With dragon bodies beyond all creatures, long lifespans, and carrying the diluted bloodline of the ancient Dragon God, even without immortal inheritance, they became the supreme existence that crushed all other races and all royal realms.
The dragon was the honored lord of all creatures, unquestioned since ancient times.
At the center of the Dragon God Domain, the Dragon Aura was so dense that it could easily destroy the will of any living being. Without sufficient cultivation or soul strength, not to mention taking a step, one could not even straighten their knees.
At this moment, a tall figure descended from the sky, walking slowly toward the hall ahead.
He was nine feet tall, with long blue-gray hair, hands covered in dull gray scales, and a pair of dark blue pupils that seemed to contain a vast world.
When he landed, the Dragon Aura in the surrounding space lost its pressure, and the dragon guards on both sides all knelt down: "Greetings, Dragon God."
The blue-haired man didn't say a word, his steps slow, and even after he had walked far away, the dragon guards still bowed and knelt, full of reverence.
Cang Dragon God, one of the nine Dragon Gods of the Long Shen Realm, a transcendent existence second only to the Dragon Emperor in the Dragon God clan, able to stand as an equal to the Divine Emperors of other royal realms.
Stepping into the hall, his vision blurred, and a man with his back to him appeared.
In this Dragon God Domain filled with supreme Dragon Aura everywhere, the man before him had no aura at all. He wore white robes and black hair, was eight feet tall, and his physical characteristics were completely indistinguishable from a human.
Cang Dragon God knelt on one knee, saying nothing, but his dark blue dragon eyes were full of respect.
"Cang, you have come."
The man turned slowly. His face was extremely handsome yet awe-inspiring. Especially his pair of pupils, like the brilliant sun in the sky, releasing divine light that seemed to have passed through endless vicissitudes.
The Dragon Emperor!
Cang Dragon God rose and said, "On my way back, I heard an interesting matter."
"Is it about the Zhou Tian Realm of the Eastern Domain?" Long Bai said indifferently.
"Correct, the Dragon Emperor indeed already knew." Cang Dragon God said, "I am just somewhat surprised. Given the conduct principles of the Zhou Tian God Realm, for them to do such underhanded things and be caught with solid evidence is indeed somewhat laughable."
"I am even more curious. Why would the Zhou Tian Shen Di, who cannot tolerate darkness, bring his son secretly to the Northern Divine Region? Could it be, as some rumors say, that the Zhou Tian Shen Di's son was transformed into a demon back then?"
The Dragon Emperor glanced at him and said, "You interrupted your trip to the Tai Chu Divine Realm and returned so quickly. It shouldn't be for these trivial matters of the outer domains, should it?"
Cang Dragon God's divine light in his eyes dimmed, and his voice lowered: "In the Tai Chu Divine Realm, I detected the aura of the Dragon Queen."
"What did you say!?"
Those four words exclaimed in shock, like a thunderclap exploding. In that instant, the Dragon Aura went out of control, causing Cang Dragon God's long hair to suddenly fly upward, and the surrounding airwaves blasted outward. The dragon guards far outside the hall had their vision blur, their bodies shook violently, and they nearly fainted.
"… …" Cang Dragon God's long hair slowly settled, but his brows were deeply furrowed, astonished that the Dragon Emperor's reaction was so intense.
That momentary loss of composure, and the Dragon Emperor's aura returned to calm in the next instant. He said indifferently, "Impossible. My Dragon Queen has been in seclusion in the Reincarnation Forbidden Land all these years, and she needs to be in seclusion for at least a thousand years… or ten thousand years. How could she possibly appear in the Tai Chu Divine Realm."
The intense emotional shift and loss of Dragon Aura control just now, though only for an instant, caused a long-lasting shock in Cang Dragon God's heart.
He was the Dragon Emperor!
In a full two hundred thousand years, this was the first time he had seen the Dragon Emperor in such a state… just because he heard that he detected the Dragon Queen's aura in the Tai Chu Divine Realm?
Without saying more, Cang Dragon God slowly extended his hand, in which there was a small isolation barrier.
The barrier broke open, and in Cang Dragon God's palm appeared a handful of gray-white soil. Anyone who had been to the Tai Chu Divine Realm could easily identify this as the gray-white ancient soil of the Tai Chu Divine Realm. Every grain of dust rippled with a unique ancient aura.
And these ancient auras clearly carried wisps of… Light Profound Force!
Long Bai's pair of dragon pupils slowly contracted… With his first glance, the very first instant, he recognized that this was the light aura from Shen Xi!
He would never, ever, not even in death, mistake it.
It had been several years… the longest years of his life. The aura of Shen Xi appeared once more in his life.
Under Cang Dragon God's increasingly shocked gaze, Long Bai's hand slowly lifted, inch by inch, approaching the ancient soil of Tai Chu that released Shen Xi's aura. Every finger trembled slightly.
But suddenly, he finally turned back, quickly withdrew his hand, and placed it behind his back. All expressions on his face returned to calm.
He turned around and said with extreme calm: "Cang, where did you find this?"
Cang Dragon God suppressed the shock in his heart and calmly replied: "In the Southern Region of Tai Chu, within the Endless Rock Forest of the Ancient Forest Ruins."
"… Was it detected by anyone else?"
"No." Cang Dragon God answered without hesitation: "The Ancient Forest Ruins themselves are not places ordinary people can approach. And this wisp of light aura from the Dragon Queen is extremely faint. No one other than the Dragon Emperor and Dragon Gods could possibly recognize it."
A long silence, then the Dragon Emperor issued a low voice: "This matter must not be known to anyone… You yourself must completely forget it."
"Yes." Cang Dragon God responded: "Cang has already completely forgotten it."
The turmoil in his heart was now dozens of times more intense than before.
"Deliver my order on my behalf," Long Bai spoke again: "I need to go into seclusion for a few months… or a few years. Until I emerge of my own accord, no matter how great the matter, do not disturb me."
For the Long Shen Realm, unless an otherworldly heretic like Jie Tian Mo Di reappeared, there would be no such thing as a "great matter" in the world.
Because the Long Shen Realm itself was the sky, and the Dragon Emperor was the sky above the sky.
"Yes, Cang will go to deliver the order now."
With a bow, Cang Dragon God covered the ancient soil with the barrier again, placed it behind the Dragon Emperor, and then turned to leave… without asking a single question about the reason.
Leaving the hall, Cang Dragon God's dragon brows deeply furrowed.
He knew that the Dragon Emperor's "seclusion" was a pretense. He was likely going to delve deep into the Tai Chu Divine Realm.
His mind conjured the image outside the Reincarnation Forbidden Land, the isolation barrier personally arranged by the Dragon Emperor… and then he dared not think further.