Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"What can I do?" Ling Fei asked.

"Use the True Dragon Essence Blood in your body as a catalyst and your soul as a medium. This will activate the Dao Patterns within the Dragon Bone, allowing you to suppress and annihilate these Evil Demons."

An almost indifferent voice came from within the Dragon Bone Pen.

"In addition, if you activate the True Dragon's Eye, you'll have a chance to kill off all these Evil Demons."

'Use the True Dragon Essence Blood in my body as a catalyst and my soul as a medium?' A glint flashed in Ling Fei's eyes.

"That's right. It is the only way to unleash the power of the Dragon Bone and Dragon Eye," the cold voice said. "However, you will also perish."

"I'll perish?" Ling Fei frowned.

"This Ancient Demon is too powerful. You won't be able to kill it unless you give it your all. That is why you will perish."

"Make up your mind. If you hesitate any longer, all of your friends are going to die," the indifferent voice added.

"Fine. If it can turn the tide, what does death matter?" Ling Fei's gaze hardened. He stared coldly at the Ancient Demon before him, its mouth open wide enough to devour the sky, and spoke in a low, heavy voice.

Immediately, he began circulating the Essence Blood in his body to activate the Dragon Bone.

WHOOSH!

As the True Dragon Essence Blood from his body poured into the Dragon Bone, Dao Patterns began to flow across it, instantly erupting with terrifying Power.

A boundless Dragon's Might swept out in all directions.

Dragon Qi soared to the heavens, as if ten thousand giant dragons were ascending.

In addition, Ling Fei also infused True Dragon Essence Blood into the True Dragon's Eye, activating the Power within it.

ROAR!

A dragon's roar echoed as Ling Fei's body merged with the Dragon Bone. He transformed into a True Dragon, coiling in the sky.

In that instant, his aura surged, becoming even a notch stronger than that of the Ancient Demon.

True Dragon's Eye!

The True Dragon's Eye on the dragon head Ling Fei had become flashed, and a beam of Divine Radiance carrying the aura of destruction lanced out, piercing toward the Ancient Demon.

BANG!

The True Dragon's Eye struck with astonishing might. Its Power of Destruction was so immense it seemed to drain the color from the world, and a look of dread instantly appeared in the Ancient Demon's eyes.

'Such terrifying Power!' In its terror, the Ancient Demon immediately swung its hand to intercept the attack.

The demonic hand blotted out the sky, ten thousand zhang wide. Swirling with Demonic Qi, it resembled a Demon Dragon as it swatted down at Ling Fei.

BANG!

But with a single flash, the Divine Radiance from Ling Fei's True Dragon's Eye pierced straight through the Void, tore through the Demonic Qi, and punched a hole through the Ancient Demon's palm.

Then, Ling Fei, wielding the Dragon Pen in his Dragon Claw, tapped a point in midair.

"Seize!" A net of Dao Patterns swept out, forming a massive True Dragon Vortex that enveloped the world, threatening to swallow the Ancient Demon whole.

At that moment, the Ancient Demon's Demonic Qi was drawn out and its Essence Qi began to dissipate, its aura gradually weakening.

Kill!

At the same time, Ling Fei activated the True Dragon's Eye. Its destructive radiance, suffused with the aura of death, shot toward the other eight giant demons.

BANG, BANG!

Wherever the destructive radiance passed, another Ancient Demon fell.

However, each time Ling Fei activated the True Dragon's Eye, his reserves of True Dragon Essence Blood diminished.

After slaughtering eight Ancient Demons in a row, the aura of his True Dragon Body plummeted. He began to sway, as if he lacked the strength to maintain the form.

Even his consciousness began to fade.

Activating the True Dragon's Eye consumed far too much Essence Blood.

And that was in addition to activating the Dragon Bone.

"You can't kill me!" the Ancient Demon roared, manifesting six Demon Arms.

The massive Demon Arms, each hundreds of zhang long, immediately began to rip and tear at the Qi Vortex Ling Fei had created.

"With my body as the catalyst, form the True Dragon Seal, and seal the heavens and the earth!" Ling Fei's gaze hardened as he used his own body as a catalyst, merging with the Dao Patterns of the Dragon Bone.

The next moment, a True Dragon Seal materialized and descended from the sky, bearing down upon the Ancient Demon.

BOOM!

The Giant Seal pressed down with overwhelming might. The world shook and the earth cracked, unable to withstand such Power.

In the rear, the Evil Demons were obliterated by the shockwave, one after another.

The six giant arms the Ancient Demon had manifested were immediately forced back by the impact.

"This..."

"Ling the Pill Master is so powerful!" Seeing this, the cultivators from the Lingyun Sect and the Southern Wilderness were all stunned.

"But Ling the Pill Master... he's burning his own Power of Origin!" someone else realized with dawning horror.

"No..." From the distant Void, Xue Xi's anguished cry could be heard.

"Burn my Demon Essence!" At that moment, the Ancient Demon also unleashed its full power, trying to resist the True Dragon Seal.

"Seal!" The Dragon Bone Pen erupted with terrifying might. Its Dao Patterns cascaded down, binding the Ancient Demon bit by bit.

However, Ling Fei's Essence Soul was also being constantly exhausted. His consciousness faded, his body grew illusory, and he merged completely into the True Dragon Seal.

...

After a long while, Ling Fei's consciousness dissipated completely.

With it, the Ancient Demon was suppressed and annihilated.

'Did I just die like that?' Ling Fei murmured as his consciousness was completely extinguished.

"This Ancient Demon is too strong. If you don't burn all of your Soul Power, you will only be able to suppress it, not destroy it. You must decide if you will press the attack," the cold, merciless voice came from within the Dragon Bone.

"Fine. Burn my Essence Soul and destroy it completely." Ling Fei's fading consciousness once again grew resolute.

"Are you certain? If you do this, your soul will be scattered, and you will never be able to reincarnate," the voice from the Dragon Bone said.

"If I can't destroy it, it will remain a scourge. In that case, why not end this once and for all and destroy it completely? This way, my son can grow up safely in this world, and my old friends will no longer be threatened by Evil Demons." Ling Fei's consciousness was continuously fading, but his resolve was firm.

"Very well. I shall lend you my strength!" The voice came from the Dragon Bone.

Then, the Dragon Bone used the power of Ling Fei's Essence Soul, activating its Dao Patterns to annihilate the Ancient Demon.

Finally, Ling Fei's consciousness dissipated completely.

"My son..." He turned, looking toward the patch of the Void where Shangguan Wan'Er had departed.

"Ling Fei!" From that same patch of Void, the voices of Xue Xi and Shangguan Wan'Er could be faintly heard.

But as Ling Fei's consciousness dissipated, he could no longer hear their voices.

His vision went dark, and he lost all perception.

Ling Fei...

It seemed he was truly dead!

A long, long time passed before Ling Fei regained a sliver of consciousness.

But he was still in a dark space.

He couldn't see anything here; there was only pitch-black emptiness.

A moment later, an Ancient Hall materialized before his eyes, and he found himself within it.

At the head of the Ancient Hall, a man wearing a Dragon Crown was seated majestically.

'Where am I?' Ling Fei stared, dumbfounded by the man's sudden appearance.

At the same time, he struggled to recall what had happened.

'I'm dead? I died from exhausting my Essence Soul to suppress the Ancient Demon.' After a moment of contemplation, Ling Fei remembered.

"That is correct. You are already dead. This is the Underworld, the final destination for the souls of the departed," the man on the throne said in a low voice.

'I'm dead!' Ling Fei murmured, his heart filled with sorrow. He vaguely remembered Shangguan Wan'Er's anxious expression as she held their baby.

She was afraid he would perish.

Afraid their child would be left without a father.

And yet, he had still fallen in battle!

'What will become of my son?' Ling Fei's heart was filled with both longing and worry.

"The Ancient Demon has fallen and the Southern Wilderness is safe. Your son will grow up without issue. You, however, must suffer the torment of Purgatory. Reincarnation will be difficult!" the man on the throne said coldly.

'Suffer the torment of Purgatory?' Ling Fei was taken aback.

"Like these," the man said, waving his hand. A series of images appeared.

In the images, countless souls suffered the torment of the Purgatory Fire.

Their wails of agony echoed from the scenes.

The scenes were enough to make one's skin crawl. Even Ling Fei felt his heart clench in fear.

'The Purgatory Fire tempering the soul... who could possibly endure such pain?'

"If you wish to reincarnate, your soul must endure the torment of the Purgatory Fire, to be tempered and strengthened. A weak soul cannot withstand the Power of Reincarnation. Once a soul scatters, it can never again be reincarnated; you will simply dissolve into the primordial chaos of the universe," the man explained. "Do you regret your choice?"

"I... do not regret it!" Ling Fei's heart pounded as he watched the scenes, but he answered without hesitation.

'As long as my son can live a peaceful life.'

'As long as the Ancient Demon has fallen and my old friends are safe from death, it is all worth it.'

'Isn't protecting one's family the whole reason for living?'

'It's a shame, though... I haven't even named my son yet. I can't be there to watch him grow up... I've let Wan'Er down.' Ling Fei's heart was still filled with regret.

"Haha, not bad, not bad at all! To be able to cast everything aside in the name of the greater good, to sacrifice your own life without fear to protect your family... To have such a noble spirit! Such character is truly rare among cultivators. For me, Ao Qian, to meet such a successor after my own death... I have no regrets!"

As Ling Fei was sighing, the man on the throne suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"To still remember your wife and son even after death... You are a man of deep feeling and loyalty!" This Ao Qian seemed extremely pleased with Ling Fei.

Even in death, his thoughts were of his wife and son, not of himself.

Such people were all too rare.

'Ao Qian?' Hearing the name, Ling Fei was completely bewildered.

'Didn't I fall into the Underworld?'

Ao Qian...

Successor!

'What is going on?'

"You are not dead!" At that, the gaze of Ao Qian on the throne sharpened, and he spoke with solemnity.

An air of supreme majesty emanated from him.

'I'm not dead?' Ling Fei was dumbfounded.

'But I clearly exhausted my True Dragon Essence Blood! I'm supposed to be dead!'

"Everything you just experienced was merely an illusion. It was a Xin Meng," Ao Qian said with a smile.

"It moves with the heart and arises from the heart. That is a Xin Meng," Ao Qian chuckled. "Within this dreamscape, the things that appeared—your wife, for example, your sister, your adoptive father—were all born from your own thoughts, then guided by me to create this shared dream."

'It was just a dream!' A glint appeared in Ling Fei's eyes as he recalled the events, deep in thought.

It really was a dream!

But every single scene had felt so real. How could it have been a dream?

The tortured screams of his fellow disciples from the Lingyun Sect.

The sound of his senior brother Yuan Chong's cries for help still echoed in his ears.

How could any of that be a dream?

WHOOSH!

Just then, Ao Qian pointed a finger, and a Light Pattern sank into Ling Fei's Heart Spirit.

The next moment, it was as if a veil was lifted from his mind, and more memories flooded in.

It was the memory of seeing the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

'The True Dragon Ancient Hall... the Falling Star Mountain Range... I was in the Falling Star Mountain Range, searching for the True Dragon Ancient Hall!' Suddenly, Ling Fei's mind reeled.

'But then, I suddenly fell into a daze!'

Ling Fei remembered the scene when he first saw the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

At that time, nine dragons had soared into the air, creating a world unto themselves. The universe had been turned upside down, and his consciousness had gradually faded.

Perhaps that was the moment he had been drawn into this dream by Ao Qian.

'So this really is a dream?' Ling Fei was utterly shaken.

He quickly began to connect the events of the dream.

In the dream, although he had memories of his rise in the Southern Wilderness and his journey to the Divine Wilderness...

...there was no memory of him ever being in the Falling Star Mountain Range.