Volume 1, Chapter 471 – Qinglan

After silently memorizing the Divine Phoenix Undying Scripture, Qinglan took three Heaven Demons with her and headed toward where Huang Ze’s corpse lay.

This time, after entering the realm, the Feather Emperor’s main objective had been to find the Dao-Extinguishing Flower.

This strange flower would only grow on the bones of an Emperor Realm powerhouse. Huang Ze’s remains might perhaps bear such a flower.

Aside from that, Qinglan also wanted to try and see whether she could refine some true blood from the remnants of the corpse.

Watching Qinglan’s figure recede into the distance, Tu Shan Yuqi looked somewhat haggard, and the puzzlement in her eyes deepened.

Whether it had been the terrifying scene of the great sun shattering earlier, or the fall of the Heaven Demons, Qinglan’s expression had never changed in the slightest, as if everything had long since been within her expectations.

This woman who had suddenly appeared in the Demon Domain carried far too many secrets.

…

Huang Ze’s corpse was not hard to find. In less than half an hour, a pitch-black mountain of flesh appeared in Qinglan’s sight.

Two Heaven Demons of the Divine Phoenix clan had already arrived ahead of her and were cleaning up the battlefield.

Not the slightest trace of blood and qi could be felt from the enormous corpse. Its flesh, blood, and bones had all been scorched into charcoal in an instant by the tyrannical power of lightning, completely ruined.

Only a few scattered feathers lying on the ground had escaped destruction and were still of some use.

With things having turned out this way, there was obviously no point in thinking about the Dao-Extinguishing Flower anymore.

Qinglan carefully swept over every inch of the surrounding space, searching for fluctuations in Huang Ze’s aura.

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After a long while, she withdrew her divine sense, having found nothing.

Not far away, the two Heaven Demons of the Divine Phoenix clan were digging a pit with their heads lowered, intending to gather up their ancestor’s remains for burial.

Qinglan did not touch the feathers scattered all around. She had no interest in such foul leftovers. After giving Huang Ze’s remains one last glance, she stepped into the air and flew alone toward the horizon.

Tian Bai was still hiding from place to place. Shi Lan could not get away at the moment, so Qinglan could only go look for her herself.

…

The Heaven Demons under the Feather Emperor still refused to give up, searching nearby in hopes of finding even the slightest trace of the Dao-Extinguishing Flower.

After searching bitterly for several days and finding nothing, they could only end the matter in disappointment.

What remained of Huang Ze’s corpse had already been buried in a deep pit. The two Heaven Demons stood quietly beside it, their expressions both complicated.

With a newly advanced Demon Emperor and the Divine Phoenix Undying Scripture, the Divine Phoenix clan had originally been all but destined to become the greatest winners of this expedition into the realm.

Yet events had taken a sudden turn. More than half of their middle and younger generations had been lost, their vitality greatly damaged, and even the Divine Phoenix Undying Scripture remained incomplete.

A gust of sinister wind suddenly swept through the void. One of the Heaven Demons abruptly felt a chill in its heart and shuddered. Deep in its eyes, a strand of golden light flashed past at incredible speed.

…

The one-month deadline passed in a hurry.

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Boom!

The earth split apart, opening a wide fissure, and Shi Lan stepped out, loosening her limbs. She had received a message from the human Heavenlords: Chu Hanzhou was already prepared to act and bring them back.

After cultivating in seclusion for a period of time, aside from the Spirit-Burning Art having consumed nearly three hundred years of her lifespan, the injuries to her fleshly body had long since recovered.

Her primordial spirit had never been properly nursed back to health to begin with, and after being forced into battle again, it had been injured even more severely. It would still require quite some time to recuperate.

A figure in green stood not far away, her long hair casually tied back and hanging past her waist, her clear, waterlike eyes utterly indifferent.

Tian Bai stood some distance away from Qinglan, far off to the side. Her fair face was smeared with a few dirty marks, and her silver hair was uneven, the tips slightly charred black.

She had listened to Shi Lan well and had not run around recklessly, remaining hidden in a mountain range the entire time. Only after Huang Ze had been executed by the heavenly punishment, when endless true fire ignited countless mountain ranges, had she been forced to run out.

After stopping and starting along the way and picking up a few immortal herbs, she was finally found by Qinglan.

Shi Lan looked Tian Bai over a couple of times. After finding nothing amiss, she turned to Qinglan.

It was inevitable that Qinglan would have to leave for beyond the realm.

Lingyang would not permit Qinglan to achieve Dao Union. If she did not want to die, going beyond the realm was imperative. The only problem was what would become of the Lan Clan after Qinglan left.

“I want to take the Lan Clan with me.”

Shi Lan, who had been deep in thought, turned her head toward Qinglan in a daze. The instant Qinglan spoke, this very thought appeared in the depths of Shi Lan’s mind.

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For a moment, she could not tell whether the thought belonged to herself or to Qinglan.

The woman before her stood there quietly, her expression never changing from beginning to end, wrapped in a world of darkness like a porcelain doll that had lost all emotion.

Shaking her head slightly, Shi Lan cast off the somewhat absurd thought in her mind and began seriously considering whether this was feasible.

In truth, as long as there was a spatial passage, taking the Lan Clan away would not be difficult. The question was where they should be sent.

Middle thousand worlds were too small, while great thousand worlds brought certain complications.

This was not one or two demon beasts. It was a demon beast population numbering in the millions.

No matter what world such a force descended upon, it would bring an incomparably enormous impact to that world’s ecological balance.

The first problem to face would be rejection by the foreign world. Even if those worlds were not as hostile to outsiders as Lingyang, with such a massive influx of foreign power, there was no guarantee that the Heavenly Dao of those worlds would not react violently.

Entering the Qiongluo Realm and achieving Dao Union there would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. Qinglan would likewise be equivalent to vanishing completely from the Lingyang Realm.

If she assumed the worst, and Shi Lan were to fall someday, then even the Qiongluo Realm might be hard-pressed to preserve itself. If Qinglan remained in the Qiongluo Realm all along, then this avatar would have no meaning left in existing.

The more she thought, the more her head began to ache. Shi Lan rubbed her brow, and suddenly a flash of inspiration crossed her mind. Silently, she asked:

“Samsara, would the Heavenly Dao of those great worlds that transcend the great thousand worlds reject outsiders?”

“That… most likely not.”

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Understanding Shi Lan’s line of thought, Samsara considered it for a moment before replying:

“The consciousness of the Heavenly Dao in worlds of that kind was itself formed through mutual devouring and fusion, and has already become a kind of unusual aggregate. It embraces all things and is extremely inclusive. Most of the time, however, it remains asleep, with certain powerful beings wielding the authority of the Heavenly Dao in its stead.”

At this point, Samsara paused slightly before continuing:

“However, such worlds keep an extremely tight grip on origin power. The moment the world’s origin power shows any sign of leaking away, it will certainly alarm supreme existences.”

“Then we just won’t touch origin power.”

Shi Lan gradually made up her mind. To great worlds that frequently devoured other worlds, the sudden appearance of some additional living beings should not attract too much attention.

The heavens and earth of a great world were vast enough that, at the very least, they would be enough for Qinglan to grow in for a very long time.

One day, Shi Lan herself would also step beyond the Lingyang Realm. If Qinglan went out first, she could also scout the way for her.

Once she had settled on the idea, all that remained was to carry it out. Shi Lan left with Tian Bai and hurried toward the location from which the human Heavenlords had sent their message.

Qinglan stood quietly where she was and lifted her head to look at the sky.

The vault of this great world had already been completely shattered. Heaven and earth essence was draining away, and not a trace of starlight could be seen. There was only a pure, all-encompassing blackness.

The corners of her lips slowly curved into a faint arc. Within her indifferent gaze, a wisp of laughter surfaced with startling abruptness.

“I am Qinglan, lord of the Lan Clan.”