Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"How is this possible?"

King Ji couldn't believe it. 'Back then, the strongest person in the insignificant Southern Wilderness was only the Marsh King. If it weren't for the corrosion from the Destruction Dao Pattern making my injuries difficult to heal, the experts of the Southern Wilderness would never have been able to force me to leave. A thousand years have passed since then. Could the Southern Wilderness truly have produced such a powerful individual? Is that even possible?'

'When I left the Southern Wilderness, I was already on the verge of surpassing the Divine Mansion Realm. Now, a thousand years have passed, and I've long since become a true expert. A Realm such as mine is legendary in the Southern Wilderness. No one has reached this stage for a thousand years. The Essence Qi in the Southern Wilderness has grown thin and its Dao traditions have been wiped out. It's simply impossible for it to support any cultivator in reaching this stage.'

'And yet, just now, I was on the verge of divining something, but I suffered a backlash. This clearly means there is a more powerful entity, or at least one on my level, repelling the divination.'

How could King Ji remain calm?

As his thoughts churned, King Ji quickly composed himself. 'Besides, he doesn't have the Eye of Destiny. There's no way he can divine my existence.'

'Furthermore, it's exceedingly difficult to cross the Divine Demon Sea from the Southern Wilderness to reach the Divine Wilderness. The few passages that exist are unstable. The stronger a person is, the greater the repulsion they will face. Cultivators at the Divine Mansion Realm and above can't use those passages to get here, unless they have the ability to cross the Divine Demon Sea directly.'

'The Divine Demon Sea has special Seals and Restrictions. Even with heaven-defying abilities, crossing that region is no easy task.'

Thinking of this, King Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I shall first focus on comprehending the Path of Destiny and use it to gradually master the Destiny Divine Gaze," King Ji murmured. "Then, I will use my Heaven-Reaching methods to go to the Southern Wilderness and find out what's going on."

"Over the years, I have gained a new understanding of this Destruction Dao Pattern. Once I take that final step, I can come out of seclusion!"

At this thought, a confident light gleamed in King Ji's eyes, and the majestic aura of a King radiated from him.

At this moment, he was like a sovereign king, exuding an aura of one who could control heaven and earth.

Although this divination attempt had shaken King Ji to the core, his yearning for the Eye of Destruction had not dissipated.

No matter what, if he had the chance, he would definitely seize control of the Eye of Destruction.

...

「In the Southern Wilderness.」

In that mysterious space, the unease in Ling Fei's heart dissipated, and the feeling of being spied upon vanished along with it.

"It's gone?" Ling Fei muttered, feeling the change on his back. 'Did the Dragon Bone just manifest a Dao Pattern to protect me?'

"That is correct. The Dragon Bone protected you," said Ao Qian Dragon King.

"Dragon King, do you know who was spying on me?" Ling Fei asked, looking up at Ao Qian Dragon King.

"It was that youngster who calls himself King Ji," said Ao Qian Dragon King. "When you took control of the Eye of Destruction, his Eye of Destiny sensed it. He then performed a divination, trying to understand the whole story."

"King Ji? He can actually perform divination on me?" Hearing this, Ling Fei's brows knitted tightly.

The Marsh King had mentioned King Ji before, hoping Ling Fei could avenge him.

But in the end, the Marsh King had shaken his head, telling Ling Fei not to take it too much to heart.

Because King Ji was too powerful.

Back then, Ling Fei hadn't thought much of it, only planning to do what he could when the time came.

But now, unexpectedly, King Ji had discovered him, and an inexplicable connection had formed between them.

For some reason, Ling Fei felt that he and this King Ji were destined to cross paths in the future.

"The Destiny Divine Gaze is incomparably profound. He has already comprehended a sliver of the Destiny Mystical, which allows him to divine certain Celestial Secrets," said Ao Qian Dragon King. "However, you possess the Dragon Bone, which can obscure those secrets. If he divines too much, he is bound to suffer a backlash, so he won't be trying to investigate you again anytime soon."

As the former owner of both Divine Gazes, he was clearer than anyone about the drawbacks of the Destiny Divine Gaze.

The profoundness of destiny also made him sigh softly.

Back then, he too had sensed that a great calamity was awaiting him. He had tried to divine it but suffered a backlash.

But no matter what, he had never imagined that would be the result.

"He can't keep divining." Ling Fei breathed a small sigh of relief, but he also knew that he would probably be unable to escape this King Ji in the future.

A time would surely come when the two of them would meet.

'I hope I'm strong enough by the time we meet,' Ling Fei thought to himself.

"You don't need to worry too much," said Ao Qian Dragon King. "You have already merged your Heart Spirit with the Eye of Destruction. As your strength grows, you will gradually gain mastery over it. This is an advantage that King Ji cannot match. However, he has cultivated for a thousand years longer than you, and that is your weakness."

"As for the outcome, it all depends on fate. Liu Ji is your tribulation. If you can overcome it, you will transform into a dragon and ascend, soaring through the nine heavens."

Ao Qian Dragon King continued, "This is your fate, and it is also destiny's test for you. Therefore, I will not interfere."

This was Ling Fei's destiny, so the Dragon King had no intention of interfering.

If he interfered with fate, it would lose its meaning.

After all, if he wanted to grow, everything depended on Ling Fei himself.

Ao Qian Dragon King also couldn't accompany him to the very end.

Doing so would also defeat the purpose of him leaving behind his inheritance.

"I understand," Ling Fei nodded, showing no signs of fear.

Obtaining the Eye of Destruction was already a tremendous stroke of fortune; he didn't dare ask for more.

As for King Ji, Ling Fei would face him himself.

"It is good that you understand," Ao Qian Dragon King nodded, then said, "You have now gained initial control of the Eye of Destruction, which can be considered the first step."

"Your current strength is too weak to fuse with all the Essence Blood. I will first help you seal this Dragon Blood within your body, and you can slowly absorb and fuse with it in the future..." As he spoke, Ao Qian formed a Hand Technique, sealing the remaining drop of Essence Blood within Ling Fei's mind.

This Dragon Blood was too powerful. Even with the help of the Dragon Bone, Ling Fei couldn't fuse with it, so he could only fuse with some of the True Dragon Blood Qi first.

Otherwise, that level of Power was not something he could control.

After all, the Marsh King and King Ji had only fused with a single wisp of True Dragon Blood Qi back then!

A single wisp of True Dragon Qi had made him a King of the Southern Wilderness.

How powerful must this one drop of Essence Blood be?

Therefore, Ling Fei had never thought of fusing with it all at once; that was too unrealistic.

Now that Ao Qian Dragon King was helping him, Ling Fei was naturally happy to have this drop of Essence Blood sealed away.

With Ao Qian Dragon King's help, the drop of Essence Blood was sealed within Ling Fei's mind.

A moment later, the Eye of Destruction also merged into Ling Fei's mind.

With just a thought from his Heart Spirit, the Divine Gaze would appear between his eyebrows.

However, trying to control the Destruction Divine Gaze at this moment consumed too much of his Heart Spirit.

'Once I'm stronger, I should be able to gradually master this Eye of Destruction.' With a flicker of his Heart Spirit, Ling Fei retracted the Divine Gaze into his mind.

After all this was done, Ling Fei had truly obtained the inheritance of the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

Then, Ling Fei raised his head and looked at Ao Qian in front of him.

"You have received my Essence Blood and taken control of my Divine Gaze. My final wish can be considered fulfilled," Ao Qian Dragon King said with a sigh of wistful emotion.

"Senior, I will never forget the grace of receiving this inheritance," Ling Fei said, bowing deeply to Ao Qian Dragon King.

"You only need to abide by your oath and uphold the Righteous Dao," Ao Qian Dragon King said with a serious expression.

"I will not fail to live up to your expectations, Senior," Ling Fei said.

"Mm." Ao Qian Dragon King nodded slightly, but when he looked at Ling Fei, a complex emotion showed in his eyes.

He was but a remnant soul, a lingering will.

To have been able to linger for a thousand years was already a rare feat.

Now that his business was concluded and his will was fulfilled, it was time for him to dissipate.

In fact, Ao Qian Dragon King's aura had already begun to weaken.

"I hope... I can see you again in the future!" Ao Qian Dragon King said, gazing at Ling Fei with some reluctance to part.

As his words fell, his body began to turn illusory.

Even the Ancient Hall began to crack, on the verge of collapsing.

Ripples spread through the space, forming a Qi Vortex that enveloped Ling Fei, preparing to teleport him out.

"This space is collapsing?" Seeing this, Ling Fei was startled.

"Senior!" After seeing Ao Qian Dragon King's illusory body, he felt an inexplicable sadness.

In his eyes, this Ao Qian Dragon King was like a benevolent teacher.

"I am but a remnant soul. If not for my lingering will, I would have dissipated long ago. Now, you have received the inheritance. Your path is your own to walk," Ao Qian Dragon King said with a smile.

But as his words faded, his expression turned to one of grief as he gazed into the Void. "Above the nine heavens, the war of Divine Demons plunged all life into misery. My blood stained the skies, yet I was powerless to turn the tide. In this world, who can right all wrongs, establish order, and determine the fate of the universe... Who will be the one? How tragic, how lamentable! I hate that I was not strong enough to pacify the world!"

The sorrowful words echoed from Ao Qian Dragon King.

In Ao Qian Dragon King's eyes, light and shadows flickered, and scene after scene materialized.

They were scenes of the great war between Divine Demons.

As these scenes materialized, his body grew more and more illusory.

At the same time, he gazed into the Void, as if trying to pierce through space to see into the distance, to see the grand state of the world.

"I wonder how the nine heavens are now?" Ao Qian murmured.

He was still deeply worried about the matters of the nine heavens.

Unfortunately, his body was disintegrating, fading into nothingness along with the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

'Above the nine heavens, the war of Divine Demons?' Ling Fei was being pulled by the Qi Vortex, about to leave this space, but Ao Qian Dragon King's voice lingered on.

Hearing that voice, filled with sorrow and endless unresignation, Ling Fei was deeply moved.

'This Ao Qian Dragon King appears so mighty and extraordinary, yet he possesses such a compassionate heart for the world's suffering,' Ling Fei thought. 'No wonder he made me swear an oath to uphold the Righteous Dao.'

"Senior, rest assured. If I have the ability, I will definitely not disappoint you," Ling Fei said, looking up at the collapsing space.

'However, the most important thing for me right now is to increase my strength. I must at least reach King Ji's level.'

This was one of his tribulations.

If he couldn't deal with King Ji, the man would remain a constant threat.

In the span of a thought, Ling Fei's body flashed and appeared outside the vortex.

However, the space had shattered and the True Dragon Ancient Hall was gone. The Qi Vortex that connected to it no longer possessed its former might.

"Ao Qian Dragon King!" As his feet touched the ground, Ling Fei gazed at the weakening Qi Vortex and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Thinking back on it now, it still felt like a dream.