World-Ending Demon Emperor

Chapter 2106 - 994: Old Friend Bi Xiao! The Dragon Emperor’s Whereabouts!

Lanling was once again contemplating Emperor E Tian’s Wordless Heavenly Scripture, yet he still gained nothing.

As the construction of the Tower of Heavenly Fiends and Deities progressed, the time for the Northern Expedition was drawing ever nearer. If the Tower of Heavenly Fiends and Deities reached the southern part of the Ten Thousand Mountains and Demon Emperor Lanling did not proceed with the Northern Expedition, it would signify weakness, leading to a decline in morale and a decrease in the power of belief.

Moreover, the entire Northern Barbaric Lands was fervently constructing the Tower of Heavenly Fiends and Deities, and this pace could not be slowed down.

However, Lanling clearly felt that with the current strength, the defense line of the Ten Thousand Mountains could not be broken through.

Whether it was he, Demon Emperor Lanling, or the major elite legions of the Flame Demon Empire, once they crossed the Ten Thousand Mountains, their power would be strongly suppressed, and their strength would be greatly weakened.

How to break this impasse?

In fact, Lanling had long had a vague answer in his heart, but this path seemed suicidal, even more so than entering the Netherworld to seek the legacy of the Demon Emperor.

At this moment, Lanling felt a familiar power enter the aerial hall, and moments later a figure fell into his embrace.

It was Ashi Liren, who silently wept while holding Lanling.

Evidently, she had received the news of Jiang Shang’s death.

Jiang Shang was his mentor and also filled the role of his father.

"Was it Ji Yingsha?" Ashi Liren asked.

Lanling nodded and said, "It should be."

Ashi Liren said, "I must kill her with my own hands, absolutely!"

At this moment, Gou Li suddenly said, "Master, a human at the outer sea is seeking an audience with Your Majesty, claiming to be an old acquaintance of yours."

Lanling was startled and said, "Bring him here!"

Then, Lanling arranged a special energy barrier within the hall, to prevent the human from being suppressed to death by the Demon Emperor’s aura upon entry.

Several hours later, a human walked into the aerial hall and knelt before Lanling, saying, "This humble one, Bi Xiao, pays homage to the Demon Emperor, long live, long live, long live!"

Sword Master Bi Xiao, it’s really been a long, long time!

It’s been over a decade!

Vaguely remembering when Ashi Luo humiliated Bi Xiao’s female disciple to death, he had to leave Tianshui City to seek revenge against Ashi Luo. Since then, there had been almost no news of Bi Xiao.

Now, this Sword Master Bi Xiao appeared once more before Lanling.

Lanling said, "Sword Master, you have aged!"

"I dare not mention the title of Sword Master anymore; this humble one is truly looking at the sky from a well, how laughable." Bi Xiao said, "This humble one is indeed old, but Your Majesty’s grace far surpasses that of the past; this humble one is deeply moved."

"Please rise." Lanling said.

Sword Master Bi Xiao stood up, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "Upon hearing the news of King Jiang Shang’s death, this humble one was deeply grieved, which is why I resolved to come and pay my respects to Your Majesty."

He sighed deeply and said, "When King Jiang Shang was alive, I couldn’t help but slack off internally, couldn’t help but follow his lead. Since he did nothing, I also did nothing. Because he was the pillar of humanity, regardless of what happened, he was there to stand against it, so I pretended not to know many things. But now that he is dead, I feel I can’t hide away any longer; instead, I should stand up bravely."

Lanling said, "Please speak."

Sword Master Bi Xiao said: "No fear of Your Majesty’s laughter, my whole life I have been pursuing the supreme Martial Arts. I have always firmly believed the Dragon Emperor is not dead, and I have constantly been chasing the inheritance of the Dragon Emperor’s power. Similarly, Jiang Shang’s entire life has been in pursuit of the Dragon Emperor’s traces, only that he seeks to save human civilization and uphold the justice of the world, while what I want is supreme power. Although what we do is the same, our goals and ideals are as different as heaven and earth."

Lanling did not speak but waved his hand, and Ashi Liren stepped forward to serve a cup of tea to Sword Master Bi Xiao.

Sword Master Bi Xiao bowed and thanked them, then took it with trembling hands and drank it before continuing: "However, I very presumptuously went to meet Jiang Shang, firstly for a martial arts duel, because I believed my swordsmanship was extremely profound and feared no one in the world. The result, of course, was that I found myself laughable, utterly ashamed, so arrogant that no words could describe my foolishness. From now on, when I hear the word ’Sword Master,’ I wish a crack would open in the ground so I could crawl inside."

Sword Master once challenged Jiang Shang to a duel, which no one in the world knew about.

"Secondly, I was probing Jiang Shang, I wanted to know how much he understood about the secrets of the Dragon Emperor." Bi Xiao continued; "I hesitated and was evasive, while Jiang Shang was open and forthright, fully sharing what he knew with me. Thus, I felt even more ashamed. Then, on that day, we had a thorough exchange."

"At that time, I proposed a view, wanting to find the trace of the Dragon Emperor, ’Disaster of Nine Swords’ might be a breakthrough, because when I fully executed the first weight of Calamity Nine Swords, it turned out to compose the word ’Tomb.’" Bi Xiao said: "Of course, I thought ’Disaster of Nine Swords’ was a breakthrough back then because Dragon Temple had sealed it. Coupled with the extraordinary mystery of this sword formation, yet having no combat significance, it seemed likely to hide some kind of secret. Back then, I was obsessed, and chased wildly whenever I found a clue. Unexpectedly, Jiang Shang shared the same opinion upon hearing my thoughts, believing this sword technique might indeed be a sign left by the Dragon Emperor. So we agreed to keep searching for clues of the Dragon Emperor, and to exchange information accordingly."

In fact, Bi Xiao was not the only one curious about ’Disaster of Nine Swords,’ Lanling had also expressed suspicion. Because it was too strange, after learning the first weight of Calamity Nine Swords, he was horrified to discover these sword tips formed thousands of points in the air, eventually composing the word ’Tomb,’ making him unable to suppress a certain suspicion.

"Afterwards, Jiang Shang found me twice, because he had discovered the second and third weights of ’Disaster of Nine Swords.’" Bi Xiao continued: "But at the time, I was focusing on other clues, and didn’t pay much attention to Calamity Nine Swords. Also, Dragon Temple sent someone to find me and issued some warnings. For the sake of the thousands of disciples at the mountain estate, I gave up pursuing clues of the Dragon Emperor. This was indeed because I lost hope in the matter, searching for decades fruitlessly. The Dragon Temple spared me, possibly because there were too many people like me looking for the Dragon Emperor’s whereabouts, people like me who are ignorant just watching the sky from the bottom of a well constituted no threat, and I indeed achieved nothing. Until not long ago, I heard the name Demon Emperor Lanling, suddenly felt hair-stiffening fear and shock!"

One can imagine Bi Xiao’s shock at that time, Suo Lun had learned swordsmanship from him, this cheap disciple turned out to be the Demon Emperor, which was astonishing enough, and his real name was Lanling, which completely matched with ’Disaster of Nine Swords.’

"Laughably, after learning of this clue, I instead retreated even more, completely secluded in the mountain estate, without contact with the outside world, fearing a fatal disaster." Bi Xiao said: "Until a few months ago, Jiang Shang once again found me, ostensibly inviting me and the whole estate to enter East Li Kingdom to recruit talents, but actually to protect me, as Dragon Temple had already started wantonly slaughtering anyone searching for the Dragon Emperor’s whereabouts, rather kill three thousand innocents than let one escape. After transferring all disciples to East Li Kingdom, Jiang Shang immediately arranged for me to go out to sea, to a deserted island to escape the Dragon Temple’s pursuit."

"Not long ago, I learned Jiang Shang had died, all my disciples within East Li Kingdom were massacred." Sword Master Bi Xiao raised his head painfully, held back tears and said: "At this moment, I deeply feel my own inadequacy. I can no longer hide, can no longer retreat, so I courageously came to see Your Majesty. Yet I still came too late, I am truly a coward who loves life and fears death, selfish and weak. Hearing the news of Jiang Shang’s death really pierced my heart, and filled me with unbearable pain."

Afterwards, Sword Master Bi Xiao stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I have also contemplated the second and third weights of ’Disaster of Nine Swords,’ but got nothing, perhaps I am too dull, perhaps selfish and greedy, hence unworthy of the wisdom to discern them. Now, now I will demonstrate the second and third weights of this sword technique to Your Majesty, perhaps this can fulfill Jiang Shang’s last wish. I can feel his entanglement and pain, he wanted to serve you but could not."

Next, Sword Master Bi Xiao began to demonstrate the second and third weights of ’Disaster of Nine Swords,’ hoping Lanling could decipher the information regarding the Dragon Emperor inside.

...

Today is a grand day for Dragon Temple.

For the Dragon Emperor Puppet has finally been fully manufactured, signifying that within the Dragon Realm, Dragon Temple possesses a supreme powerhouse nearly equal in might to Demon Emperor Lanling.

Although Demon Emperor Lanling possesses complete Demonic Nihility Bloodline, he has even more dominion over the realm compared to Emperor EYun. But his personal martial cultivation still entirely stems from Emperor EYun and hasn’t truly broken through to the Emperor Level.

Moreover, he will be weakened upon entering the Dragon Realm, whereas this Dragon Emperor Puppet, though merely a puppet, fully inherits the Dragon Emperor’s energy heart, enhancing cultivation within the Dragon Realm, making the two’s strength likely equal.

Sky Holy Palace held a top-secret meeting at the highest level.

Only fourteen people attended, including the Sky Priest, Sky Judge, and Tian Daoqi.

The sole agenda for the entire secret meeting!

Regarding the Dragon Emperor’s tomb, Jiang Shang knew quite a lot, but did he leak it to Demon Emperor Lanling?

According to Ji Yingsha’s claim, he did not, for as soon as he revealed this idea, he was already killed by Ji Yingsha.

Moreover, a new topic emerged, whether to relocate the Divine Dragon Nihility Bloodline inside the Dragon Emperor’s tomb?

Is the Dragon Emperor’s tomb sufficiently secure? Is it necessary to transfer it to Sky Holy Palace, and if moved to Sky Holy Palace, what level of risk would it entail?

...

Note: Here’s the second update, pleading for support, thank you everyone!