Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"Yurou, what happened?" Shangguan Wan'Er asked.

"Sister, Brother Qingmu is dead, and Father is heavily injured. He's been infected with Demonic Qi, and I'm afraid he won't make it either," Shangguan Yurou said, crying.

"What!" Hearing this, Shangguan Wan'Er grew extremely anxious. "How could this happen?"

"Ten days ago, many Ancient Demons emerged in the Empire. Every race has been affected. Even His Majesty was gravely wounded in a great battle with an Ancient Demon..." Shangguan Yurou said.

The Southern Wilderness had changed.

Ancient Demons had appeared in the world, bringing chaos to the land.

Upon hearing this, Ling Fei immediately used his Great Divine Techniques. As his eyes opened and closed, he saw scenes of Ancient Demons rampaging across the Southern Wilderness Land, slaughtering the Human Race.

'Ancient Demons have appeared, and among them, Great Demon Generals will emerge!' Ling Fei thought worriedly.

The auras radiating from the sealed Great Demons were so powerful that even he was alarmed.

But Shangguan Wan'Er was about to give birth, and Ling Fei simply couldn't get away.

Shangguan Yurou stayed with them.

Several days later, another visitor arrived.

It was Yuan Chong.

"The Patriarch is dead!"

"The Supreme Elder is dead too." Tears filled Yuan Chong's eyes.

Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun was dead. Many Elders of the Lingyun Sect were dead.

Now, all the sects in the Southern Wilderness were in imminent danger.

'Are they all dead?' Hearing of the fall of one old acquaintance after another, Ling Fei felt a wave of sorrow.

"Ling Fei, you must avenge the Patriarch!" Yuan Chong said, his voice choked with sobs as he grabbed Ling Fei's sleeve.

"Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun!" Ling Fei's eyes flickered as memories of the past surfaced in his mind.

Back when he was young, these elders of the Lingyun Sect had gone to great lengths to help him.

He never imagined they would all fall one by one, and his heart ached with grief.

'If I had gone to the Lingyun Sect back then, would they have been spared this calamity?' Ling Fei was wracked with guilt.

But then his gaze shifted to his wife, whose belly was growing larger by the day, and he hesitated once more.

He was now caught in a dilemma.

For the past two days, he would occasionally walk with Shangguan Wan'Er, but he remained silent.

It was as if nothing had happened.

However, Shangguan Wan'Er noticed the way Ling Fei would stare into the Void alone, his brow furrowed with worry.

"When are you leaving?" one moonlit night, Shangguan Wan'Er turned to Ling Fei beside her and asked, her tone surprisingly calm.

"Leaving?" Ling Fei was taken aback.

"You haven't said anything, but I know. You want to go defend the Lingyun Sect, protect your old friends, and go to war," Shangguan Wan'Er said with a smile.

Ling Fei didn't speak, but a warm smile spread across his face as he looked at Shangguan Wan'Er.

'Only she could understand my heart so well.'

No words were needed; she already understood everything.

This was what they called being perfectly in tune with each other.

"At first, I was very reluctant. I didn't want you to go off to war, because I didn't want our child to be born without ever seeing their father," Shangguan Wan'Er said. "But now that I think about it, I was being selfish. With these Ancient Demons attacking, we can hide for a while, but can we hide forever?"

"That's right," Ling Fei said. "As a man, I must protect my family and defend the Righteous Dao. My old friends are in danger now. How can I just stand by and do nothing? Even if my strength is limited, I must fight to the bitter end, protect this land, and battle for my family and friends until my last breath."

"Only then will my child have a chance to be born into a better world."

"No matter what you do, I support you," Shangguan Wan'Er said with a radiant smile.

For now, she could only suppress the reluctance in her heart.

"I'll make sure to stay alive," Ling Fei whispered, before gently kissing Shangguan Wan'Er on the forehead.

The next day, Ling Fei left the mountain. He went to the Great Tang Empire and dispelled the Demonic Qi from Shangguan Hong.

Afterward, he went to the Lingyun Sect. Wielding the Dragon Bone Pen, he joined his fellow disciples in suppressing the Evil Demons.

Wherever his True Dragon's Eye looked, he was invincible, and for a time, he managed to repel countless Evil Demons.

Wherever Ling Fei appeared, the Evil Demons retreated in defeat.

...

But the sealed Ancient Demons broke free, and the Great Demons of the Divine Demon Sea appeared.

The Southern Wilderness was plunged into a full-blown crisis.

Even Divine Mansion Realm Powerhouses were being killed in an instant.

Only Ling Fei was strong enough to fight the Great Demons.

On this day, the people from the various sects of the Southern Wilderness gathered together to make a stand.

The army of Evil Demons finally attacked.

In the Void ahead, Evil Demons, each thirty feet tall, stood in the air. Demonic Qi swirled around them like a ghostly mist engulfing the world.

These Evil Demons all radiated powerful auras, far surpassing those of Divine Mansion Realm Powerhouses.

Many of the Sect Leaders from the various sects in the Southern Wilderness had already fallen.

Before these Evil Demons, even Divine Mansion Realm Powerhouses were no match.

Now, the survivors had retreated to the Lingyun Sect, hoping that Ling Fei could turn the tide.

But...

Looking at the Evil Demons outside the sect's Great Array, Ling Fei's expression was grim.

'These eight Evil Demons all have Daoist Palace Realm cultivation. The giant demon leading them has even surpassed the Daoist Palace Realm. I can't stop them alone!' Ling Fei took a deep breath as he looked at the Evil Demons. He himself was only at the Daoist Palace Realm; turning the tide would be incredibly difficult.

"Brother Ling Fei, let's retreat! We can go to the Divine Wilderness. There are many powerhouses there, so we won't have to fear these Evil Demons!" At Ling Fei's side, Xue Xi frowned and spoke anxiously. They had been to the Divine Wilderness before and knew a safe path to get there, giving them a chance to escape.

Beside her, Shangguan Wan'Er was holding a baby, her gaze filled with worry as she looked at Ling Fei.

At this point, it was clear that Ling Fei alone could not control the situation in the Southern Wilderness.

"Let's retreat," Shangguan Wan'Er said, finally unable to hold back as she bit her lip.

She knew Ling Fei was unwilling to retreat.

But if she didn't persuade him now, staying behind would be suicide.

Behind Ling Fei were many disciples of the Lingyun Sect.

But they were all staring at Ling Fei with faces full of expectation.

In their moment of despair, they hoped someone would step forward and lead them to drive out the Evil Demons.

"Retreat?" Ling Fei turned his head and looked at Xue Xi and Shangguan Wan'Er.

At that moment, ripples spread across the Light Patterns of the Great Array in front of them. The mere pressure from the Evil Demons' auras was enough to make the Lingyun Sect's Array tremble.

But Ling Fei's fighting spirit remained resolute; he had no intention of retreating.

"We can go to the Divine Wilderness and ask for help. We can get people to come and drive out the Evil Demons," Xue Xi said.

"But by the time I return from the Divine Wilderness, will there be anyone left in the Southern Wilderness?" Ling Fei asked.

If he retreated, the nearly one hundred thousand Lingyun Sect disciples behind him would become food for the Evil Demons.

All one hundred thousand of them were staring at Ling Fei.

Their eyes held a desire to live, but also a sense of helplessness.

They desperately wanted to survive.

But everyone understood that Ling Fei was also in an impossible situation, unable to support them alone, so they didn't beg him.

However, even though they were silent, the desperate longing for survival in their eyes could not be concealed.

Feeling this atmosphere, Ling Fei's heart grew incredibly heavy.

How could he abandon these old acquaintances and leave on his own?

How could he possibly retreat?

"Do you really still intend to fight?" Shangguan Wan'Er asked through her tears.

"At a time like this, how can I retreat?" Ling Fei said resolutely.

It seemed as if he was speaking to Shangguan Wan'Er, but also to himself.

"If you die, what will happen to our child? You haven't even given him a name yet!" Shangguan Wan'Er looked at the baby in her arms, tears streaming down her face. She truly didn't want to see this happen. She even wanted to tell Ling Fei to ignore all of this and just leave.

With Ling Fei's strength, he could have easily stayed out of it.

BANG!

Just then, an Evil Demon in front of them attacked. Its massive hand tore through the air, ripping the Lingyun Sect's Array apart.

A monstrous wave of Demonic Qi surged forth, flooding into the skies above the Lingyun Sect.

AWOO!

Just as the Array was broken, a seven-foot-tall Demon Wolf appeared from behind the other Evil Demons.

The Demon Wolf roared, its ear-piercing cry shaking the Void.

ARGH! ARGH!

As the soundwave hit, people within the Lingyun Sect immediately began to scream in agony.

Behind Ling Fei, young disciples began to bleed from their mouths and noses before plummeting from the sky.

They had clearly been killed by the sonic shockwave.

"If my death can bring peace to the Southern Wilderness, then I will have died for a worthy cause. As for my son, I believe he will understand me." Seeing this, Ling Fei turned to look at the baby in the swaddling clothes and spoke, word by word. At this moment, the blood in his veins boiled, and his fighting spirit soared to the heavens.

At a time like this, if he didn't step forward, who else could?

"Wan'Er, I'm so sorry. Please, protect our child!" Ling Fei said, his eyes filled with tears and his face a mask of reluctance.

As his words fell, a small, snow-white beast appeared. With a wave of its little paw, it activated a Divine Technique, teleporting Shangguan Wan'Er and Xue Xi thousands of miles away.

Then, with a flash in his eyes, Ling Fei stepped forward, Treasure Sword in hand.

KILL!

With a low shout, Ling Fei charged forward.

ROAR!

Dragon's Might surged from his body, and a True Dragon materialized above his head.

In addition, Light Patterns flickered in his pupils as a True Dragon's Eye appeared.

A dense aura of death spread from the eye. Its Dao Patterns flowed with what seemed to be the power to destroy heaven and earth.

SWISH!

Ling Fei's Long Sword slashed through the air, and a True Dragon pounced forward.

At the same time, a beam of Divine Radiance shot from his eye, tearing through the air and piercing straight through the Demon Wolf's body.

Then, Ling Fei charged toward the front line.

A Golden Eagle appeared by his side, charging toward the Evil Demons like a draconic eagle.

However, the Ancient Demon on the other side swatted with its massive hand, sending Ling Fei flying and shattering his True Dragon attack completely.

Even though Ling Fei was clad in Dragon Bone and possessed the True Dragon's Eye, he was still no match for this Ancient Demon.

"Ant!" the Ancient Demon snorted. It opened its mouth and inhaled, pulling Cultivators from the Lingyun Sect into the Void one by one and devouring them.

ARGH!

ARGH!

Screams of agony rang out as the Cultivators fell one after another.

He Tianming was swallowed.

Fang Yuan was swallowed.

Zhao Fan was swallowed!

"Brother Ling Fei, save me!" Yuan Chong cried out in alarm as his body was pulled away by the Dao Patterns manifesting from the Ancient Demon's giant mouth.

But his voice had barely escaped before he vanished into the demonic maw.

After that, Ling Fei could no longer hear Yuan Chong's voice.

"No..." Ling Fei cried out in grief as he watched one familiar figure after another being devoured.

His eyes felt like they would split with rage, and tears streamed from their corners.

These people had all witnessed Ling Fei's growth.

To Ling Fei, they were an indispensable part of his memories. That they had all fallen now was something he found hard to accept.

If this Evil Demon was allowed to continue, everyone in the Southern Wilderness, and even the entire Great Tang Empire, would die.

This was a catastrophe.

"Damn it! If I were only stronger, how could this be happening?" Ling Fei cried out in anguish. He clenched his jaw, feeling a wave of powerlessness.

"There is still one way to turn this situation around," a voice suddenly said as Ling Fei cried out in despair.

It came from within the Dragon Bone.

[Author's Note: Sweatdrop. A lot of people said yesterday's chapter seemed like I wrote it while drunk. I quit drinking many years ago! Besides, I'm not going to end the book early. So far, you've only seen the tip of the iceberg. You'll see what's going on in the next few chapters. By the way, please send some votes my way to comfort my wounded heart!]