Dragon Vein City:
After the blood dragon forced Gu Hai into the volcano, the surrounding cultivators found themselves in direr straits.
Everyone worked on breaking open the underground palace in the eastern sector, exposing more of the underground palace.
As the surrounding talisman scripts scattered, the surging Hanba’s fire crept out.
Initially, some of the experts wanted to continue breaking the palace open. However, the surging fire coming from below prompted everyone to flee.
The blood dragon flew to the underground palace’s entrance. While Hanba’s fire did not erupt here like in the western sector, there was still a thick layer.
Now that the talisman scripts had all disappeared, fire covered the ground.
The expression of Mister Dongfang, who was on the blood dragon, changed wildly.
“Big trouble! Big trouble! The seal is undone? She…she is going to awaken? Main Body! Main Body, it’s bad!” Mister Dongfang exclaimed with shock on his face.
Buzz! Buzz!
Suddenly, the fire at the western sector paused and shrank back.
Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!
Rattling came from underground, as though something stiff was coming to life. Furthermore, the Hanba’s fire from the volcano in the western sector seemed to have been attracted, slowly pouring into the space below.
Mister Dongfang raised his eyelids.
“It is all your fault! It is all your fault! She is waking up! She is waking up!” Mister Dongfang looked around with a fierce expression.
Boom!
The blood dragon rushed out, charging at the surrounding cultivators.
“Mister Gu is right. The thing under the underground palace can restrain the blood dragon!” someone yelled.
“Ah! Quickly leave!”
The blood dragon grew increasingly berserk. The surrounding cultivators fled. However, as long as the blood dragon left the underground palace, someone would immediately come to break the underground palace. When the blood dragon returned, everyone fled.
This continued for a day.
The blood dragon ate another thirty thousand cultivators, and the bloody stench grew heavier. A roiling blood mist surrounded the area.
However, the battle came to a stop.
The underground palace no longer absorbed Hanba’s fire. It had already sucked in all the Hanba’s fire in the surroundings, revealing the scene inside.
There was another large underground palace.
However, this one had one hundred thousand strange fiery-red creatures down on one knee. Fire clad them all, and fangs came out of their mouths. All of them wore armor.
“Those are hanba zombies? Zombies?” someone exclaimed.
[TL Note: The word for “zombie” in Chinese refers to something in between a zombie and vampire. They are undead and drain vital energy from people. As their bodies are stiff from being dead, they move by hopping around. However, in the context of this novel, zombies seem to refer more to body modification, treating the body as a treasure. The context might be that the body is dead, and they keep the soul within the reforged body. These zombies here appear and behave like normal humans. Hanba is used as both a category of zombie and a title in this novel. The ancestor of hanba zombies is given the title of Hanba, hence the different capitalization.]
At this moment, the one hundred thousand flaming vampires knelt on one knee with their eyes shut, making obeisance to a woman in red imperial robes at the center.
This woman had fire surrounding her. She held a fiery-red sword in her hand, leaning on it like it was a cane, and she wore a crown. Her eyes were gently closed as if she was sleeping while standing.
However, even her sleeping appearance gave off a shocking imposing air.
A spot of cinnabar on this person’s glabella and her sharp eyebrows made her look extraordinarily ferocious.
This was a lower level of the underground palace, and there was a transparent barrier above. The cultivators damaged it earlier, causing cracks to appear.
“Gasp! The seal is really going to break?” Mister Dongfang’s expression changed.
The surrounding cultivators appeared confused.
“A hanba zombie army? How can it be? Hanba zombies are rare in the world. They are a type of zombie, and they should mostly exist in the nether realm. No, even the nether realm does not have this many. One hundred thousand? There are actually one hundred thousand of them?”
“Hanba zombies are unruly and will not submit to others. Why are there one hundred thousand hanba zombies here, all clad in armor and kneeling to the woman in imperial robes?”
“Imperial robes? Is she an empress? Who is she?”
[TL Note: This usage of empress refers to a female sovereign in her own right, not through a marriage or a child. Also note that while Long Wanqing was designated an empress by Gu Hai, that was just as the wife of the emperor.]
Countless cultivators revealed shocked expressions.
Even the Bi-An King and Qin Zibai, who were in a deadlock, appeared confused.
“Mister Dongfang, who is she?” Qin Zibai asked, feeling uncertain.
Even though Qin Zibai was a Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivator, the aura coming from that sleeping empress still shook his soul.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
As more cracks appeared in the transparent barrier, the seals soon came undone.
The empress suddenly inhaled while her eyes were closed.
The instant she breathed, nearly all the Hanba’s fire in Dragon Vein City rushed frantically towards the cracked barrier as if commanded.
Bang!
The Hanba’s fire poured in, and the barrier exploded.
The surging Hanba’s fire suddenly shrank and entered the empress’s nose.
Hanba’s fire was so intense that it could burn everyone here. Yet, this empress breathed all of it in at once?
“This is?” Qin Zibai’s expression changed.
Even I have to retreat from Hanba’s fire, yet this empress can breathe it like it is air?
Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak! Creak!
The one hundred thousand hanba zombies quivered as though slowly waking up from their deep sleep while kneeling.
They are awakening? No one dared to get close, as the empress gave off a soul-shaking aura.
“Mister Dongfang, who is she?” Qin Zibai asked in alarm, his expression changing wildly.
However, Mister Dongfang kept looking at that empress in the underground palace in horror.
“It’s over? Is she waking up? No! I need to hurry. I cannot delay any further!” Mister Dongfang’s expression changed.
“Roar!”
The blood dragon roared as it soared into the sky. It no longer charged at the surrounding cultivators. Instead, it rushed to Qin Zibai and the Bi-An King, who were in a deadlock.
A bloody stench immediately surged over.
“What? Mister Dongfang, have you gone crazy? What are you doing?” Qin Zibai exclaimed.
“Does he want to kill you too?” The Bi-An King’s expression changed.
The two suddenly withdrew their attacks, appearing extremely shocked.
“There is no more time. Qin Zibai, you and the Bi-An King are both Middle Heavenly Palace Realm cultivators. Only you can allow me to progress faster!” Mister Dongfang roared with an anxious expression.
“You bastard!”
“No!”
The two shouted in horror.
Chomp!
The blood dragon opened its mouth and sucked. The two only just pulled their attacks back; left without time to resist, they got swallowed.
The cultivators in the surroundings trembled.
After the two entered the blood dragon’s body, they immediately sensed a vast energy trying to disintegrate their bodies.
“No!” the two roared in the blood dragon’s body.
However, Mister Dongfang no longer cared. Instead, he controlled the blood dragon to race to the volcano in the western sector.
“Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” Mister Dongfang yelled anxiously.
“Roar!”
The blood dragon roared, wanting to charge into the volcano’s mouth and go to the bottom of the surging fire.
“Roar! Roar! Roar!”
Just at this moment, dragon roars also came from the volcano’s mouth below.
Boom!
An explosion of fire rushed into the sky.
A horrifying amount of fire formed dozens of roaring, dragon-shaped flames. They moved through the surging sea of fire, crying out as they did so.
The blood dragon clashed head-on.
This eruption was a thousandfold greater than the earlier ones, instantly engulfing the entire blood dragon.
“Ah? No! How could it be like this?” Mister Dongfang roared in horror.
Rumble…!
The incredibly tyrannical blood dragon scattered like smoke in mere moments, completely burned up.
As the fire soared into the sky, it instantly blanketed Dragon Vein City.
“Ah?” the surrounding cultivators cried out.
This time, there was too much fire—a terrifying amount. If the fire covered the entire Dragon Vein City in an instant, then would everyone be finished at that time?
Suddenly, the empress in the underground palace inhaled again.
Rumble…!
Strangely, the Hanba’s fire that spewed out entered the empress’s nose again, even the dozens of dragon-shaped flames.
When the fire instantly vanished, the many cultivators released their bated breath.
The fire completely burned away the blood dragon before vanishing. This allowed Qin Zibai and the Bi-An King, who had not completely disintegrated, to escape. Blood covered the two, and they were incredibly weak. As they looked at this scene, they felt shocked and horrified.
“Old fogey Dongfang, I’ll kill you!” Qin Zibai roared when he escaped.
However, Qin Zibai no longer needed to take personal action.
Someone had already captured Mister Dongfang.
It was Gu Hai. Holding Mister Dongfang by the neck, he lifted Mister Dongfang. Fairy Waner stood by his side.
“Brother-in-Law! Brother-in-Law is still alive!” Long Wanyu cried out in joy outside.
“Gu Hai?” Qin Zibai and the Bi-An King felt slightly startled.
Wasn’t he forced into the volcano? He is fine?
“It’s Emperor Gu!”
“It’s Mister Gu! Mister Gu captured that evil demon!”
“Kill that evil demon! Kill him!”
The surrounding cultivators exulted.
“You are fine? Lin Waner? It’s you?!” Mister Dongfang’s expression changed wildly.
“We meet again, Mister Dongfang,” Gu Hai said with a cold expression.
“What are you planning? Gu Hai, what are you planning?” Mister Dongfang finally revealed a horrified and flustered expression.
Amid his fluster, Mister Dongfang twitched his finger. Large amounts of blood mist suddenly gathered in the surroundings, looking like they would charge at Gu Hai.
“Last time, I did not check. This time, I will not give you any more chances. After you die, everyone will be saved,” Gu Hai said.
“What are you planning? If you dare to, my main body will not let you off!” Mister Dongfang roared in horror.
The blood mist behind Gu Hai came closer.
Boom!
Surging flame suddenly burst out of Gu Hai’s hand and poured into Mister Dongfang’s body from the neck.
“Argh! No! Gu Hai, you can’t kill me! My main body will not let you off! He will not let you off! I’ll be back for revenge!” Mister Dongfang roared.
Buzz!
The inextinguishable divine flame mixed with Hanba’s fire. When Gu Hai unleashed them at full force, he burned Mister Dongfang away in an instant, not even leaving ashes behind.
Whoosh!
The blood mist behind Gu Hai vanished there and then.
Bang!
The barrier around Dragon Vein City exploded all at once.
When Mister Dongfang died, the Blood Dragon Lifespan Ritual Array broke.
“No one can revive the people that I kill personally,” Gu Hai said coldly.
Mister Dongfang’s souls entered the Karmic Energy pool in Gu Hai’s body, quickly transforming into Mending Heaven Energy. Mending Heaven Energy surged into the Mending Heaven Energy pool.
What a lot of evil Karmic Energy! You alone equal the Karmic Energy of more than one million evil people? The Mending Heaven Energy is still growing? Gu Hai found this strange.
“The evil demon is dead, and the ritual array broke! Quickly flee! Quickly flee!” Countless cultivators cried tears of joy as they frantically rushed out.
“Many thanks, Mister Gu!”
“Many thanks, Emperor Gu!”
The cultivators expressed their gratitude as they ran.
Whoosh!
Long Wanyu’s flying ship sped to Gu Hai’s side.
“Brother-in-Law, you managed to come out? Hurry! Get on!” Long Wanyu felt pleasantly surprised.
When Fairy Waner saw Long Wanyu, she showed a slightly complicated expression.
“Quickly leave. The treasure under the volcano is coming out. Jiang Ba is about to awaken,” Lin Waner said worriedly.
“Alright.”
Whoosh!
The flying ship quickly carried everyone into the distance.
At this moment, nearly everyone in the city was panicking, trying to get out at the fastest speed possible.
The volcano’s mouth was still spewing flames, erupting with even more fire than before.
This time, the empress did not inhale the fire. When the fire erupted, it soared into the sky.
Boom!
The ground within five thousand kilometers suddenly dried up. The trees immediately lost all moisture and started burning.
Both Hanba’s fire and ordinary fire spread in all directions, turning the land barren and scorched for five thousand kilometers around.
Everyone saw a bright light rush out of the fire that soared into the sky, giving off intense heat.
It looked like a fiery-red sun rising.
Buzz!
The intense heat spread as that fiery-red sun grew larger. The surrounding flames revolved around it, looking like many fire dragons coiling around this red sun.
It was noon at this moment. The golden sun in the sky shone down on the world.
However, as this red sun rose slowly, it dyed the surroundings red.
At the very least, it seemed to Gu Hai that there were two suns in the sky—one golden and one red.
Gasp! Lin Waner’s expression changed. “I know! I know now!”
“Huh?” Gu Hai said.
“I know what treasure it is. Previously, I saw it in books, but I did not understand. Now, I understand. The books record that Jiang Ba made a sun and got suppressed in an underground palace. All along, I thought making a sun was just a figure of speech. It turns out that she really made a sun? An artificial sun? No wonder this treasure can rival the sixteen top ancient treasures. An artificial sun? Is that real?” Lin Waner said in shock.
“Making a sun?” Gu Hai’s expression changed.
Long Wanyu could not understand, but Sima Feng and the others inhaled sharply.
“How can it be? How can you make a sun?” Sima Feng exclaimed.
The red sun radiated intense heat as it rose. In mere moments, it illuminated countless places in the world.
The red sun seemed to resonate with the golden sun across the distance; they shone on each other.
Gu Hai’s group kept retreating, as did everyone else.
About thirty minutes later, the golden sun in the distant sky suddenly shook, and a horrifying aura spread towards Gu Hai’s location. Everyone felt fearful, and their expression changed.
Caw!
A loud crow cry rang out everywhere.
Above the golden sun, golden flames suddenly billowed out in all directions.
Gu Hai and the others looked up, and they seemed to see a large bird in the golden sun, its wings outstretched.
“A three-legged crow?” Gu Hai’s expression suddenly changed.
Isn’t this the legendary three-legged crow from Earth?
[TL Note: The three-legged crow is a mythological bird in Chinese legends that is said to either be the sun, represent the sun, or reside in the sun. It is also known as the golden crow. Here is a Wikipedia entry on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-legged_crow.]
“The rising red sun startled the Supreme Singularity?” Lin Waner’s face sank.
Caw!
The golden crow above the golden sun cried out again.
Suddenly, a golden beam of light shot down from the sun, rushing at the red sun. That golden light seemed to cross time and space, moving extremely fast. In mere moments, it arrived at the red sun.
The golden light manifested a golden crow’s claw, as though interested in the red sun and trying to grab it.
“The Supreme Singularity wants to snatch the red sun?” Lin Waner’s expression changed.
Shing!
Suddenly, the sound of a sword rang out in the distant south.
Gu Hai turned his head to look, and he saw a beam of purple light rushing over from the south. It seemed to contain countless sword qi. Although it was still such a distance away, his hair stood on end.
“The Immortal Executioner Sword? Sect Master Heavenly Access also wants to snatch this red sun?” Lin Waner’s expression changed.
