Chapter 1778: Mad Demon (Part 1)
In this world, no living being is without flaws. To the Ashen Dragon God, who had regarded the pride of the Dragon God as surpassing everything throughout his life, Qianye Ying'er's few words were a thousand times more cruel than the torment inflicted upon his dragon body by the Three Yan Ancestors.
Yun Che slowly turned his eyes sideways and said contemptuously, "Oh? Is this lowly dragon giving orders to this Demon Lord? If you want this Demon Lord to grant you a merciful death, beg for it."
"..." The entire face of the Ashen Dragon God slowly became covered with faint blood-colored lines.
Since becoming a Dragon God, aside from the Dragon Emperor, he had never begged anyone. Besides the Dragon Emperor, no one in this world was worthy of making him utter that word.
But the words painted by Qianye Ying'er, every single one, were like nightmares that plunged him into the depths of purgatory. Such a thing no one could do, and no one dared to do. Apart from angering the Long Shen Realm, it was an act against the laws of heaven and human ethics, inevitably incurring the condemnation of the world.
But Yun Che would definitely do it!
The tragic state of the Dong Shen Domain, and everything he had done today, all proved that he stood at the level of an "Emperor", yet had not a shred of imperial dignity—he was clearly a complete madman!
He was afraid, and he regretted it, truly regretted it... regretted why he had provoked such a madman.
As his will crumbled, the pain on his body became increasingly unbearable. He truly understood what it meant to wish for death rather than live.
"Beg..." His dragon mouth opened and closed tremblingly a dozen times, and he finally uttered that word which absolutely should not belong to a Dragon God: "Demon Lord... grant me death..."
This was the hardest and most painful sentence he had ever spoken in his life.
A moment of immense humiliation, followed by deep relief. Even the pain on his body seemed to lighten several times. The crimson in his dragon pupils gradually turned into a dim, dead gray.
Everyone from the Southern Domain was greatly shaken.
To the crumbling and yielding Ashen Dragon God, Yun Che did not laugh or mock. There was almost no trace of emotion on his face, as if all this was only natural. He still looked sideways at the Ashen Dragon God and said indifferently, "Answer this Demon Lord's last question: who is the fool?"
"..." In the terrifying silence, a hint of mockery actually flashed across the Ashen Dragon God's contorted face—self-mockery. Then he even let out a low laugh: "Heh... hehe... I am... I am a fool... heh... ha..."
Throughout his life, he had been so arrogantly rampant, even when facing a Divine Emperor from another realm.
Upon seeing Yun Che, he had naturally displayed condescension, oppression, and a touch of contempt and mockery—because he was a Dragon God!
For this, he was paying a price he could never have dreamed of in his life.
Indeed, he was a fool. Having reached this point, he was doomed to die. And his death today, while igniting the fury of the Dragon God Realm... would undoubtedly become a disgrace to the Dragon God, a disgrace to the Long Shen Realm.
"Very good." Yun Che gave a word of approval, turned his back, and casually waved his hand behind him: "Eliminate him."
"Yes!" The Three Yan Ancestors responded in unison. The Yanma black light on their bodies surged a thousand zhang, and the vast Nanming Royal City was instantly shrouded in darkness.
But in fact, they no longer needed to do so, because with the last sound of the Ashen Dragon God, he no longer had any resistance, and even actively withdrew his struggling dragon force within—only seeking a quick death.
Bang!
In just an instant, the Ashen Dragon God's dragon body—the most indestructible Dragon God physical body known to the world—violently shattered into dozens of pieces under the terrifying force of the Three Yan Ancestors, scattering a vast downpour of reddish-black dragon blood.
As easily as if crushing the body of an ordinary dragon.
Under this scene, everyone was rooted to the spot, their pupils long fixed on the shattered dragon body and the dragon blood filling the sky.
Even the Four Divine Emperors of the Southern Domain, even their successive ancestral Divine Emperors, had never witnessed such a gruesome death of a Dragon God.
And the calmest of all was Yun Che, who had committed this shocking act. He leisurely walked to his seat and said unhurriedly, "A minor personal matter. I hope it hasn't spoiled everyone's enjoyment. If it inadvertently damaged this royal hall, I beseech Nanming Divine Emperor not to take offense."
These few words were as plain as if he had just casually crushed an annoying mosquito.
"..." Qianye Ying'er stared at him, her thoughts racing in silence.
She could more or less guess Yun Che's purpose for coming to the Nanming Divine Realm so decisively this time. She just hadn't expected him to be so ruthless right from the start.
Moreover, she was extremely clear that Yun Che's brutal killing of the Ashen Dragon God was by no means due to the other's rudeness... even if the other had been as respectful as a grandson before him, Yun Che would have found a "suitable" reason to make him die a violent death here.
Dragon blood still sprayed across the sky. The trembling of everyone's souls could not stop for a long time. The Ashen Dragon God—one of the Dragon Gods whose status in the eyes of the world was almost comparable to the Divine Emperors of other Royal Realms—had died just like that!?
There was no fierce battle, not even much struggle. His death was extremely easy... and humiliating.
They stared blankly at the torn remains of a Dragon God, but in their sea of souls, what trembled was Yun Che's figure, as if shrouded in endless darkness.
This was... the Northern Domain Demon Lord who had cast the Dong Shen Domain into despair in less than a month!
This was... the overly innocent Yun Che of the Eastern Domain in their eyes back then?
The scene before them would undoubtedly shake the world. However, in doing so, Yun Che had forged an irreconcilable enmity with the Long Shen Realm. The Xi Shen Domain, which had been in a watchful state, would also inevitably become as incompatible as fire and water with the Bei Shen Domain.
As the Northern Domain Demon Lord, Yun Che would not fail to understand this, but when he killed the Ashen Dragon God, he had absolutely no hesitation or fear.
Nanming Divine Emperor slowly turned around and said with a slight smile, "This king just said that a true man should freely repay kindness and enmity. The Northern Domain Demon Lord's action could be considered the ultimate expression of this principle. This king admires it."
"Admire?" Yun Che said lightly. "You, the mighty Nanming Divine Emperor, actually use these two words?"
Nanming Divine Emperor neither confirmed nor denied. Suddenly, he flicked his golden sleeve, and a storm swept up, instantly clearing the debris all over the hall.
With a single shift, Nanming Divine Emperor returned to his royal seat. Compared to the stiff faces of the other three Divine Emperors and the many Ming Gods, he wore a calm smile and said, "Since the private matter between the Northern Domain Demon Lord and the Ashen Dragon God is settled, next should be the grand event of my Nanming. Respected guests, please take your seats again..."
Bang!
Before Nanming Divine Emperor had finished speaking, a dull sound came. Along with a streak of abnormal gray light, accompanied by a dense and majestic dragon aura.
Yan Er's ghostly claw slowly rose. In his hand was a dragon pill he had just extracted.
The Ashen Dragon God had been shattered by Yun Che's soul might as a true Dragon God, and suppressed by the five ancestors. From his suppression to his death, he had no power to struggle or counterattack. Thus, his dragon pill was not damaged in the slightest, flawless and perfect.
And this was a dragon pill from a Dragon God!
It was a divine object that none of the Divine Emperors present had ever seen!
Because in the history of the Divine Realm, every Dragon God had died naturally, and their dragon pills would disperse with their lives ending. No one had ever been able to forcibly kill a Dragon God.
Even taking a thousand steps back, even if someone truly had the ability and the courage to force a Dragon God to the point of death, given the Dragon God's pride, they would definitely destroy their own dragon pill before dying, never allowing their power core to fall into the hands of the other party.
But unfortunately, the Ashen Dragon God was completely suppressed by the power of the five ancestors. His wish to self-destruct before death was completely a pipe dream.
In Yan Er's hand was perhaps the first... and perfectly flawless Dragon God dragon pill in the history of the Divine Realm.
Under its aura, even Nanming Divine Emperor's voice halted and his gaze suddenly condensed.
Yan Er's black shadow flickered. He had already knelt before Yun Che, holding the dragon pill high with both hands: "Master, how should this item be handled?"
Yun Che reached out, and the Ashen Dragon Pill lightly fell into his palm.
The ownerless dragon aura became extremely docile under his slightly released Dragon God pressure, not daring to stir in the slightest.
Yun Che slightly released his spiritual sense. The one-foot-sized dragon pill seemed to contain an endless world, with dragon force so vast it seemed boundless and infinite.
Qianye Ying'er glanced at Yun Che. From his eyes, she knew what he would do with this dragon pill. However, this was after all power at the Dragon God level. With Yun Che's current "Void" power, could he really refine it?
With a flip of his hand, Yun Che had already thrown the Ashen Dragon Pill into the Heavenly Poison Pearl. Everyone's eyes also jumped sharply, as if awakening from a dream, with myriad waves in their hearts.
A Dragon God's dragon pill, obtainable only by forcibly killing a Dragon God... this was something that should never have appeared in the world!
Yun Che waved his hand and said indifferently, "Collect its corpse. It's an eyesore."
Yan Er accepted the order. With a grab of his hand, the shattered dragon body of the Ashen Dragon God was instantly gathered into a ball of black light. As Yan Er's five fingers closed, the black light contracted into a half-inch-sized pitch-black space crystal.
Yun Che took the dark crystal containing the Ashen Dragon God's corpse, then suddenly smiled eerily. He slightly turned his face, shifting his gaze to the young man standing beside Nanming Divine Emperor.
As the Nanming Crown Prince, Nan Qianqiu's mental state had naturally been sufficiently tempered, not ordinary at all.
The events that had just occurred left even the Divine Emperors shaken for a long time, let alone a mere crown prince!
When he suddenly realized that Yun Che's gaze was fixed on him, Nan Qianqiu, who had always been neither servile nor overbearing and elegantly composed before anyone, suddenly stiffened. It felt as if all the blood in his body had stopped flowing. His unconsciously clenched hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and even gripping his fingers tightly could not stop it.
Looking at Nan Qianqiu, Yun Che said with a half-smile, slowly, "This Demon Lord said that my arrival would definitely present a grand gift to the newly crowned Nanming Crown Prince."
He slowly raised his hand, between two fingers holding that space crystal containing the Ashen Dragon God's corpse: "The blood, flesh, tendons, and bones of a Dragon God—any one of them is a treasure of the world. Even your father, the king, cannot hope to obtain them."
"Nanming Crown Prince, dare you accept this grand gift?"
"..." Nan Qianqiu was stunned, his spine chilled, his scalp numb, unable to speak.
He had just witnessed the gruesome death of a Dragon God. Facing Yun Che, who was staring directly at him, he, as the Nanming Crown Prince, suddenly had an extremely terrifying feeling: his own life seemed to be held in the other's hands, and if he wished, if he was displeased, he could take it at any time.
Everyone trembled in shock... Yun Che was actually offering the corpse of the Ashen Dragon God as a congratulatory gift for the Nanming Crown Prince's investiture!?
Was this the "grand gift" he had mentioned earlier? Was this why he had said to the Ashen Dragon God, "Unfortunately, you probably won't get to see it"?
Wait, could it be that at that time... no, from the very beginning, he had intended to kill the arriving Dragon God from the Xi Shen Domain!?
Those who thought of this all felt a sudden chill in their hearts.
By now, how could they not understand? Yun Che's purpose in coming here was completely different from what they had thought. It might even be completely opposite.
"Hahahaha!"
A loud laugh rang out, like an evening drum and morning bell, shaking Nan Qianqiu's heart and soul violently. Nanming Divine Emperor said loudly, "Although Qianqiu is still young in age, as my Nanming Crown Prince, there is nothing in this world to fear. How could there be a gift he dares not accept?"
"Qianqiu, the blood and bones of this Dragon God are indeed treasures that even your father dare not hope for. You must properly thank the Demon Lord for this generous gift."
Nan Qianqiu's heart and soul quickly steadied. He knew that the fear he had shown earlier must have greatly disappointed his father, the king.
He bit his tongue sharply, and his eyes regained clarity. Then, meeting Yun Che's gaze, he slowly stepped forward, extended his hand, and accepted the space crystal from Yun Che... from beginning to end, he looked directly into Yun Che's eyes without averting his gaze.
"Qianqiu thanks the Demon Lord for the heavy gift. This legacy of the Dragon God, Qianqiu will surely make good use of." He slightly bowed in salute, his voice firm and imposing.
"Very good." Yun Che glanced at him and nodded slightly, like an elder approving of a junior... although in terms of lifespan, Nan Qianqiu was much older than his own grandfather.
"As expected of the successor chosen by Nanming Divine Emperor. Not only is your appearance outstanding, but your boldness is also extraordinary. At least you are much more likable than that lowly dragon just now." Yun Che said slowly. "Since you have accepted this Demon Lord's grand gift, why not answer a few questions for this Demon Lord as well. How about it?"