Chapter 226: Chapter 171: Promotion to “Celestial Blessing Star”, Prince Jin’s Scheme, King’s Corpse Flesh

At this very moment, Lu Mingyuan arrived at a deserted area outside Yingsha Ancient City. He released his Dragon Transformation, reverting to his original form.

He estimated that he could maintain the Dragon Transformation for two hours. Any longer would be a strain.

In this form, a Martial Artist’s physical strength, Primordial Qi regeneration, and recovery abilities were all greatly enhanced, significantly boosting their overall power.

During his recent battle with Lady Flower Venerate, any non-fatal wound he received healed almost instantly. He was also resistant to various hallucinogenic pollens and poisons, and it was likely he had a similar resistance to ice, fire, mist, and lightning.

He took stock of his spoils, which were quite substantial.

He had stolen two Human Gu Celestial Eagle eggs, the Demon Blood Black Pearls which were the Lifebound Treasures of two Great Demons, the Flower Venerable’s Demon Pill, and numerous Magical Treasures left behind by Cultivators…

He even had Lu Guangyao’s Magical Treasure, the Thousand Mountains and Ten Thousand Resilient Spear, which was ranked twenty-seventh on the Ten Thousand Treasures Divine Weapons Record.

After taking inventory and consuming some Elixirs to replenish his qi and blood, Lu Mingyuan headed toward the ancient city.

He looked up at the clouds, from which multi-colored lights flashed intermittently.

Generally speaking, ordinary Barbaric Beasts were only categorized by Realm, from the First to the Fifteenth Realm.

However, the Demon Race had many exceptional species, such as descendants of Divine Beasts and those with Ancient Bloodlines.

The power of an ordinary Barbaric Beast had a ceiling, but these special species could break through that limit.

In the Mythical Era, there were many descendants of Divine Beasts, such as Dragons, Phoenixes, Qilins, and Vermilion Birds. A Demon Race member possessing their bloodline could not be judged by ordinary Realms. The Kongtong Deer Monarch, for example, possessed a Lifebound Divine Technique, making him stronger than a typical Demon Monarch.

It was the same for those with an Ancient Bloodline. Ancient Demon Blood came from races that had been overlords in the Ancient Era, such as the Red Flame Golden Lion Beast, the Eight-Clawed Fire Chilong, and the Nine-Winged Celestial Dragon that Lu Mingyuan had read about in ancient texts.

Before the Ancient Era, the Demon Race had been the overlords of the world, occupying all three of the world’s Ascension Platforms.

The so-called Ascension Platforms were relics left over from the era before the Ancient Era—the Mythical Era.

In that age, if any living being in the world wished to achieve Immortal Ascension, become a Saint, or attain Buddhahood, they could only do so through an Ascension Platform.

Lu Mingyuan didn’t yet know what the Ascension Platforms were used for, but he had a few guesses about the Demon Race’s plot this time.

Using the Demon Slaying Conference to get revenge was just the catalyst. Their main goal was undoubtedly the abundant Destiny and resources of the Central Plains World, as well as the world’s only remaining Ascension Platform.

Over the long course of history, two of the original Ascension Platforms had been destroyed. The ancient texts didn’t record how or why, only that one remained in the Central Plains World—in the hands of the Human Race.

’This time, the Demon Race not only failed to wipe out all the Human Race Cultivators, but they also lost several Demon Monarchs and a large number of Barbaric Beasts. They must be furious. I’m afraid they’ll launch a frenzied campaign of revenge next.’

Lu Mingyuan took the Dao-character Jade Token out of his Acupoints. Once free, the Jade Token immediately bloomed with a green light, pointing toward a location in the city.

’Do Acupoints also have the ability to block perception?’

Lu Mingyuan thought to himself. ’If Sui Yuqing had traced the Jade Token’s location just now, my identity should have been exposed.’

When he returned to Yingsha Ancient City, the group of Human Race Cultivators had already escaped from the Array at the center, and the ground was littered with the corpses of Barbaric Beasts.

The sounds of various battles echoed from within the city. Chunks of Demon Beast flesh occasionally fell from the city walls, kicking up clouds of dust.

RUMBLE… RUMBLE.

Suddenly, he saw a black Demon Pill rolling toward him out of the yellow sand. He quickly bent down, picked it up, and blew off the sand.

Upon inspection, he discovered it was the Demon Pill of an Eighth Realm Demon King. It was still stained with blood, likely having fallen from a corpse on the city wall.

’When did my luck get this good?’

Lu Mingyuan’s eyes were filled with astonishment.

[Fluorescent Green Fate Grid – Rolling Fortune, Refinement Level has increased to 100%]

[Upgraded to Azure Fate Grid – Celestial Blessing Star]

A prompt appeared before his eyes. He hadn’t expected “Rolling Fortune” to upgrade so quickly.

[Azure Life Chart (Celestial Blessing Star): Blessed with Good Fortune, continuous good luck, and augmented by Destiny. You can frequently turn peril into safety. Opportunities will flock to you. Those who follow you will find peace; those who serve you will find fortune.]

[Refinement Level at 10%, unlocking the trait “Great Luck”]

[Great Luck (Basic Level): Your Destiny is significantly increased. You will easily obtain Opportunities and have a chance to influence those around you.]

’After the upgrade, it’s become even more powerful. The restrictions on gaining Opportunities are gone, and now my Destiny can even affect the people around me?’

Lu Mingyuan was very surprised.

’If that’s the case, does that mean Mother, Grandfather, and even Mu Xue Hongling can be influenced by my Destiny and have good luck?’

’Not bad, not bad at all. This is a very useful Fate Grid.’

Lu Mingyuan silently put away the Demon Pill. He felt that when a person’s luck was good, even their steps felt lighter, as if they were afraid of accidentally crushing an Opportunity underfoot.

“Your Highness, have you only just arrived at Yingsha Ancient City?”

A Daoist Robe Woman with the air of a mature, composed lady and a voluptuous figure descended from the void. With a flick of her Duster, she immediately locked onto Lu Mingyuan, who was holding the Jade Token.

Lu Mingyuan looked up and saw it was Sui Yuqing. He gave a wry smile. “The journey was long, and I ran into the Demon Race’s army, so I had to take a detour. Fortunately, I made it through without any real danger.”

Sui Yuqing sized him up and down. ’The mysterious, white-haired, ghost-masked man just disappeared, and Prince Huai’an shows up right after?’

’Besides, this Grotto Heaven is teeming with the Demon Race. Without considerable strength, getting to the center of the ancient city alive would be harder than ascending to the heavens.’

’Many of the Human Race’s young prodigies died on the way precisely because they lacked strength and had to be abandoned, or were brutally killed while fleeing for their lives.’

She had her doubts, but she didn’t voice them.

She had suspected before that Lu Mingyuan had someone protecting him and that Prince Huai’an himself was hiding his strength. Now, that possibility seemed even more likely.

“As long as Your Highness is safe, that’s all that matters.”

A faint smile appeared on Sui Yuqing’s simple, elegant face.

Since the Celestial Master’s Mansion had chosen to side with Prince Huai’an, they had to ensure his safety.

Xu Changqing was currently at the Great Yan Imperial Palace and could not come here. In this Pocket World, she was the only one who could guarantee the Sixth Prince’s life.

“Mm.”

Lu Mingyuan nodded.

He glanced to the side and saw the chubby figure of the Seventh Prince, Lu Yunwan, trailing beside a Daoist True Monarch. He looked anxious and insecure.

’Looks like his luck is pretty good, managing to survive until now,’ Lu Mingyuan thought. ’But he’s clearly been scared half to death.’

Even Lu Guangyao had died at the hands of a Demon King, so for Lu Yunwan to have survived was truly remarkable.

“Sixth Brother!”

Soon, Lu Mingyuan heard a shout from the top of the city wall.

Looking up, he saw that it was Prince Chongwen, Lu Yunqing, and his group, who had been rescued.

“Sixth Brother, it’s so great that you’re okay!”

Lu Yunqing quickly came down from the city wall. Seeing Lu Mingyuan appear safe and sound, his face lit up with a genuine smile.

“I had Elder Sui’s protection, so I’m mostly fine.”

Lu Mingyuan gave a slight nod.

“You were trapped in the center of the ancient city?”

Having survived a great disaster, Lu Yunqing said with emotion, “Thankfully, there was a white-haired man, a supreme expert with a blade, who killed a Demon Venerable and bought us a sliver of hope to hold on until now. Otherwise, the Grand Array would have quickly fallen to that Demon Venerable. I was just looking for him. I really must thank that top-tier Blade Cultivator.”

“He also saved many Princes and Princesses from the various Dynasties. But he vanished into thin air. I don’t know where he went.”

Lu Mingyuan smiled. “Is that so? He probably didn’t want the fame, so he left first to go rescue other Human Race Cultivators who might be trapped.”

’It’s a good thing I managed to buy enough time. To think the one trapped in the city was Lu Yunqing.’

Hearing this, Lu Yunqing’s expression turned solemn with respect. “If that’s the case, then he is truly a role model for our generation!”

“Where are Second Imperial Brother and Ninth Brother?”

Lu Mingyuan scanned the crowd but didn’t see Prince Jin, Lu Guangjing, or Lu Yunhuang.

At the mention of him, Lu Yunqing’s brows furrowed, and he snorted coldly. “Him? I happened to run into him, but he refused to listen to my advice and insisted we split into three groups. He claimed it would prevent the Demon Race from wiping us all out in one go and buy us enough time. If he hadn’t taken most of the powerful Cultivators with him, we wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state! Ever since we split up, I’ve suspected he had ulterior motives and wanted to use our lives to stall for time.”

Lu Mingyuan mused, “So, that means they are still somewhere else in this Pocket World.”

He knew what kind of person Lu Guangjing was.

’Besides wanting to use the lives of the other young prodigies to buy time, the bigger reason he chose to split up was likely to exploit the Demon Race’s reverse psychology.’

’He deliberately went off alone while letting Lu Yunqing and the others travel together, calculating that Lu Yunqing would definitely group up with other Human Race Cultivators for safety.’

’Then, the majority of the Demon Race would go to intercept Lu Yunqing, leaving him alone. His own safety would be temporarily guaranteed.’

’That man is incredibly calculating. Who knows where he is now or what he’s plotting.’

Just when all the Human Race Cultivators thought victory was in their grasp…

A voice, incomparably cold, echoed from ten thousand miles across the void:

“All living beings in the Wilderness Pocket World, listen to my command! Go all out and annihilate the human experts! Anyone who kills a human expert will be rewarded with a piece of King’s Corpse Flesh! Anyone who provides clues to the whereabouts of the humans will earn the right to be nurtured into a Demon King or Demon Venerable!”

A Great Demon from the Wilderness World had used some unknown Secret Technique. The words it spoke formed ripples of sound that traveled extremely far, audible to every member of the Demon Race in the entire Pocket World.

Before long, the entire Demon Race within the Pocket World was in an uproar of excitement.

At the same time, numerous vortexes appeared in the void, and wave after wave of Demon Race armies were continuously sent in.

With the Demon Emperor offering King’s Corpse Flesh as a reward, all of the Demon Race naturally went mad.

King’s Corpse Flesh came from the corpse of a dead Throne Great Demon and was incomparably precious. A single drop of its pure demonic true blood was comparable to Celestial and Earthly Treasures and represented the chance to become a Venerable or a Monarch. Who wouldn’t want it?

The entire Pocket World was thrown into turmoil once again.

…

About thirty thousand miles from the center of the ancient city, there was an oasis filled with Golden Trees.

Three layers of Concealing Arrays were set up around the oasis’s perimeter.

From the outside, it looked like a barren desert where not a single blade of grass grew. Inside the Concealing Arrays, however, it was vibrant with life, with Spiritual Mist drifting about—an absolute holy land for Cultivation.

A large group of Cultivators had gathered in the oasis, about fifty in all, and every one of them was an expert. In addition, there was a Beast Taming Wizard in their ranks who used a Secret Technique to control an entire army of Bloodthirsty Ants, forming a considerably powerful force.

A handsome young man with an elegant air sat beneath a Golden Tree, a scroll in his hand.

His skin was fair and delicate, and his long, slender fingers slowly closed the scroll.

It was none other than Prince Jin, Lu Guangjing, who had not yet shown himself.

A faint smile played on Lu Guangjing’s lips. “It seems the Demon Race hasn’t given up. They want to use the King’s Corpse Flesh to annihilate the Human Race Cultivators. But I think the Three Religions’ Saints should be able to find this Pocket World soon. When that time comes, there might be a good show to watch.”

Beside Lu Guangjing stood three top-tier human experts.

They were a gaunt, one-eyed old man; a seductive woman with a fiery figure; and an unremarkable sword-carrying man.

“As Your Highness said, this is an excellent opportunity to trap and kill the other Princes. We absolutely cannot let it pass,” said the old man.

The old man was named Elder Du, one of the Endless Pavilion’s A-Grade Tributors. He cultivated six types of Gu Techniques, which were considered Forbidden Techniques, and had earned the moniker Refining Gu True Man. His history was quite terrifying; he had once tested the potency of a peculiar poison he’d concocted by poisoning a river, killing the entire populace of a small country. He was an absolutely dangerous individual.

Lu Guangjing turned to the seductive, fiery-figured woman, a New Tributor who had replaced the Shadow Scout, and asked, “In the center of the ancient city, under the siege of the Demon Venerable, did Lu Yunqing die?”

…

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