Chapter 438: Dark Qilin
The Fire Qilin lowered his head, falling into deep thought. He knew exactly what a Great Emperor Level Spirit Beast represented.
’If I were at my Peak, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second,’ the Fire Qilin thought. ’But now...’
After much thought, the Fire Qilin steeled himself and said, "Kid, you helped me this time. I’ll remember this."
Waving a hand dismissively, Long Ao said, "I consider you a friend, otherwise I wouldn’t have helped you. As for gratitude, let’s just skip it. There’s no need."
The Fire Qilin was clearly taken aback by his words. His body trembled slightly, but he said nothing more.
After a few brief words, Long Ao and the Fire Qilin immediately departed the Sect for the City of Sin.
「Kyushu Spirit Realm, the City of Sin.」
The City of Sin was a far cry from its former self. Ever since the Five Great Emperors abdicated and Emperor Long Ao took control, the city’s order had improved immeasurably.
On his return to the City of Sin, Long Ao brought two Semi-Saints with him. Though the Sect was important, the City of Sin was equally so.
The moment he stepped into the City of Sin, Long Ao’s soul entered the Dragon Seal Space.
He got straight to the point. "Long Fu, help me sense where the underground entrance to the City of Sin is."
Long Fu nodded, replying as if he had already sensed it, "Master, the underground entrance to the City of Sin is located at..."
The Fire Qilin didn’t enter the City of Sin. After all, his body was simply too massive; his appearance would have undoubtedly caused a riot.
Once he had the exact location of the entrance, Long Ao immediately led the Fire Qilin toward it.
So the entrance wasn’t even in the City of Sin. No wonder the Five Great Emperors had searched for so many years without finding it. ’This misdirection was truly brilliant,’ Long Ao thought. ’Without Long Fu’s help, I would have never found it either.’
They arrived at a nameless, desolate mountain. There were no signs of human life, not even a single bird or insect.
Long Ao knew that in such a harsh environment, ordinary people would never come here. Following Long Fu’s instructions, he found a hidden mound of earth and pushed down hard.
Sure enough, before Long Ao could even react to what was happening, he and the Fire Qilin were enveloped in a white light and vanished.
It was a Chaotic Burial Mound. Skeletal remains were scattered everywhere, a truly gruesome sight.
An eerie wind gusted past.
A shiver ran down Long Ao’s spine. Just then, the Fire Qilin’s voice turned grave. "Be careful. The power this Great Emperor Spirit Beast wields is profoundly Evil. It’s starting to corrupt the souls of Martial Artists. If your soul is corrupted, you’ll become its puppet."
Long Ao was alarmed. ’I never imagined the Great Emperor Spirit Beast here would be this powerful.’
"Brother Qilin, can you sense where this Great Emperor Spirit Beast is?"
"No need. He’s already here."
’Here?’
Just then, a Qilin suddenly appeared before them. Its body was pure black, and it radiated a cold, sinister aura.
’A Qilin?’
Staring at the Qilin before him, Long Ao was completely dumbfounded. He had never imagined that the Great Emperor Spirit Beast sealed beneath the City of Sin would actually be a Qilin. In other words, this Qilin belonged to the same race as the Fire Qilin.
"A Dark Qilin."
’A Dark Qilin?’
Hearing the Fire Qilin’s words, the name struck a chord with Long Ao. He was not at all unfamiliar with the term "Dark Qilin." The Qilin Race, one of the most powerful beings between Heaven and Earth, was divided into several types: Golden, Wooden, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Thunder Qilin, which also included the Dark Qilin.
Among the Qilin Race, the Dark Qilins were considered the most powerful. Their strength certainly surpassed that of a Fire Qilin. Moreover, the Dark Qilin before them was clearly a Sealed Titled Emperor as well.
Long Ao knew with absolute certainty that if the Dark Qilin and the Fire Qilin were to fight, the Fire Qilin would be the one to lose.
Forget the fact that the Fire Qilin’s injuries hadn’t even healed yet; even at his Peak, he might not have been a match for the Dark Qilin.
Long Ao grew extremely wary. But just then, the Fire Qilin sneered, "So this is where you’ve been hiding. I thought you were dead."
’They know each other?’
Long Ao was no fool; he could tell the two Qilins obviously knew each other.
Suppressing his fury, the Dark Qilin sneered and said, "Cang Ye, if I hadn’t been so careless back then, did you really think you could have defeated me? Hmph. I just happened to run into a few despicable human Martial Artists who sealed me here. Cang Ye, you and I are both of the Qilin Race. If you release me, we can let our past grievances be bygones. How about it?"
"Hahaha! Dark Night, I have to admit, you’ve got to be fucking dreaming. Let me tell you right now, there’s no way I’m helping you break the Seal to get out of here."
The Fire Qilin burst into frenzied laughter, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world.
The Fire Qilin was no fool. ’Why would I help the Dark Qilin break the Seal and escape?’ He glanced around and then said with a sudden laugh, "I never thought I’d see the day you’d end up like this, Dark Night. I’m very curious—what exactly happened back then? Why were you sealed here?"
At the mention of this, the Dark Qilin’s expression instantly turned grim. After all, for a mighty Great Emperor Spirit Beast—and a Dark Qilin, no less—to be sealed in this place was a rather disgraceful affair.
The Dark Qilin let out a deep sigh. "After my battle with you, I was grievously wounded and ran into three Great Emperor Martial Artists who ambushed me. Had I been at my full strength, those three would have been no match for me. But at the time, the three of them joined forces to fight me to the death. Though they managed to seal me here, they all died in the process."
’So that’s what happened.’
’A pyrrhic victory.’
Long Ao was astounded by the Dark Qilin’s power. ’To kill three Sealed Titled Emperors while grievously wounded... Just what kind of power is that?’
"Cang Ye, if you’re willing to help me break this Seal, I’ll tell you a secret. A secret that will determine whether our Qilin Race can dominate the continent."
Both the Fire Qilin and Long Ao were taken aback, wondering what this secret could be. Cang Ye nodded and said, "Tell me first. If this secret is compelling enough, I’ll consider whether to help you break the Seal and get you out."
The Fire Qilin was no fool. He couldn’t just take the Dark Qilin at his word. ’What if this is all just a trick to get us to free him?’ For that reason, he couldn’t agree so easily.