Chapter 282: Chapter 282: You Are All Good People
On a desolate island in the Endless Ocean.
Huang Mingzhi slowly regained consciousness. Sensing the presence of an array, he revealed a look of surprise. Then, seeing the Spirit Pill beside him, his brows furrowed even more.
On the other side, the Heavenly Dragon Prince had also woken up.
"I’m actually not dead?" the Prince muttered to himself.
Incredible.
He remembered that he had been struggling on the brink of death!
Both of them tried hard to recall what had happened, but no matter how intensely they searched their memories, they could not remember anything that followed.
Looking at the unfamiliar island, then at the vast expanse of ocean, the two geniuses immediately felt despondent. How long have we been asleep?
They still had tasks to complete!
The two quickly fled their respective islands.
By the time they reached Heaven Capital, everything was over.
The experts from the Heavenly Dragon and Ancient Dynasties, upon seeing the two appear, were also stunned for a moment. They spoke in unison, "You’re not dead?"
The Heavenly Dragon Prince: "???"
Huang Mingzhi: "..."
Behind the imperial dynasty experts, Chen Pingping also saw them. His heart pounded, but he still went forward bravely to greet them, "It’s great that you’re still alive."
Upon seeing Chen Pingping and recalling the scenes of the sea beast attack, they were deeply moved and immediately rushed over to give him a big hug.
The Heavenly Dragon Prince said, "Good brother!"
Huang Mingzhi, choked up, said, "Come to my Ancient Dynasty; I’ve got your back."
COUGH, COUGH!
Chen Pingping felt very awkward. After all, he had orchestrated everything himself. He didn’t know if they would try to cut him down with their swords after learning the truth.
He felt a bit guilty.
However, the task was finally completed.
The Earth Chicken must be close to finishing its absorption, right?
Next, I need to deal with the system task and find the Emperor’s Pet War Spirit.
May the Heavens bless me; I can’t get entangled with the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
He was panicking.
I’ve tricked so many experts from the Divine Clan, Golden Cicada included. If I actually have to face the Purple Gold Divine Clan, I’m done for!
"How could it just be over?" Huang Mingzhi asked him.
"Ah... if only you two had been here," Chen Pingping sighed lightly.
"What happened?"
"It’s a long story," Chen Pingping began.
"Can’t you make it short?" the Heavenly Dragon Prince leaned closer.
"Let’s move on, move on." Chen Pingping seemed unwilling to discuss it, appearing very sad.
Seeing this, the two did not press further.
If he didn’t want to talk, weren’t there still people from their own dynasties they could ask?
The two turned to inquire among their own.
When the Heavenly Dragon Prince heard that Chen Pingping also possessed an Emperor Scripture, his expression changed considerably; he felt that something was off.
Fortunately, his companion was a swift storyteller and soon moved on to the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
Chen Pingping had actually used the matter of an alliance to get the three great dynasties to slay the experts of the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
Good heavens! The two gasped, their eyes blazing with keen interest.
"And then?" they asked.
"Our young friend’s master, in an act of supreme self-sacrifice to suppress the killing power of the Undying Furnace, chose to perish together with the furnace, both stepping into the Void," an imperial dynasty expert said mournfully.
Such profound righteousness was deeply admirable!
The Heavenly Dragon Prince was startled; he felt that something was amiss again.
Huang Mingzhi felt the same, his brows tightly knitted.
Of course, this ending was fabricated by Chen Pingping. His aim was to create a false impression: he had tried very hard, even sacrificing his master there. He had given so much; they couldn’t blame him.
Lan Xiuzhi came forward and consoled him, "Pingping, don’t be too sorrowful. Entering the Void isn’t an absolute deathtrap. Perhaps there’s still a path to life. Your master is a virtuous person; he’s bound to be protected by the Heavens."
Chen Pingping forced a smile. "Thank you!"
The Saintess rolled her eyes.
"Ugh! We didn’t get the Undying Furnace, so we can’t invade the Heaven Martial Continent. Darn it!" Chen Pingping chided himself. "It’s all my fault for being so headstrong."
"How can you be blamed? You’ve already done your best," an expert from the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty said.
"Yes!" an expert from the Ancient Dynasty added.
"Thank you!" Chen Pingping sobbed. "You are all good people."
...
The expedition to the Endless Ocean had finally come to a close.
Chen Pingping and his two companions quickly fled the area, not daring to linger, fearing that those two would come to their senses and cause trouble for him.
"Pingping, I keep feeling like there’s a problem with the Phoenix Cauldron inside me," Lan Xiuzhi asked.
"An illusion," Chen Pingping said, his eyelid twitching. "How could there possibly be a problem with a Heaven Tao Divine Weapon?"
That seemed right.
Lan Xiuzhi was taken aback and didn’t think much more about it.
...
「Several months passed.」
News of the events at Heaven Capital in the Endless Ocean had spread far and wide.
The interiors of the three great dynasties erupted, especially within the Ancient Dynasty and the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty. The two young geniuses recreated some scenes from that time. By combining this with what others had witnessed, they deduced that Chen Pingping was lying.
When the sea beasts’ slaughter began, not a single person from the Purple Gold Divine Clan had appeared; not even a trace of their aura was detected.
Moreover, the two young geniuses were inexplicably gravely injured, and the last person each of them encountered was Chen Pingping. They had respectively handed over the blueprint and the Emperor Scripture to him.
That was what led to the scene before Heaven Capital.
With the Emperor Scripture in hand, Chen Pingping formed an alliance with the three great dynasties and ultimately used them to slay the experts from the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
And then there was the matter of the Undying Furnace.
His master had entered Heaven Capital first, followed by Chen Pingping. By the time the others entered Heaven Capital, the Undying Furnace and its sentient warmth had also vanished.
Mutual destruction? Stepping into the Void? Sacrificing himself for righteousness? All of it was utter nonsense! This was all Chen Pingping’s scheme!
He had played the experts of the three great dynasties and the Purple Gold Divine Clan.
How infuriating!
The upper echelons of the major powers gritted their teeth, their faces dark with fury and embarrassment.
At this moment.
「Within the Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty.」
A few experts who had returned from Heaven Capital said, "Our Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty didn’t suffer much loss."
Chen Pingping had tricked and killed the experts of the Purple Gold Divine Clan, and had also stolen the Ancient Dynasty’s blueprint and the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty’s Emperor Scripture. Thinking about it carefully, the Heavenly Phoenix Imperial Dynasty indeed hadn’t lost much.
Just then, Lan Xiuzhi strode in. "Here’s your Phoenix Cauldron back," she said, summoning the Phoenix Cauldron.
But the ancient cauldron was dull, without any luster or color. It was devoid of both the aura of the Great Tao and the Power of Laws, appearing like a ruined Heaven Tao Divine Weapon.
The experts present all stared, wide-eyed.
An elder stepped forward, scrutinized the Phoenix Cauldron, and then exclaimed, "The God is gone!"
The most important aspect of a Divine Weapon was never its forging materials, but its God.
That was the crucial component.
If the God was gone, the Divine Weapon was no different from scrap.
Everyone was stunned.
Lan Xiuzhi was also dumbfounded.
The Emperor on the throne abruptly rose, staring intently at the Phoenix Cauldron.
The God was gone.
How could this be?
That was a Heaven Tao Divine Weapon, after all!
...
System Alert: The bloodline concentration of the Descendant of the Ancient Phoenix has increased to 27%. Reward: three hundred years of cultivation, one hundred Seventh-Stage Spiritual Medicines, fifty Eighth-Stage Spirit Pills, one set of Sacred Soldier raw materials, and one Emperor Tao Attack Skill.
System Alert: Host’s realm has advanced to the Fifth Layer of Emperor Tao.
Hmm?
Chen Pingping smiled, looking at the Earth Chicken with a face full of satisfaction.
A 27% bloodline concentration... not bad at all.
The Earth Chicken had grown quite a bit, now weighing seven or eight pounds. Its feathers had begun to look lush, yet it lacked a phoenix crown. Both its cheeks were scarlet.
His expression turned peculiar. "You couldn’t possibly be a hen, could you?"