Chapter 1825: Dragon Emperor Returns to the Realm

Upon the Dragon Monarch's return to the Dragon God Realm, his unconcealed aura instantly alarmed all the Dragon Gods.

"Your Majesty, the Dragon Monarch, you've finally... finally returned!""The Northern Divine Region's power is extraordinarily terrifying. The Eastern Divine Region was utterly defeated. The Heaven Smiting God Realm was stained with blood, the Moon God Realm collapsed, and the Brahma Monarch God Realm knelt before the devils for self-preservation...""Yun Che's current strength is comparable to a Divine Emperor!""There are three extremely terrifying old monsters on the devil's side. Both former Brahma Monarch Divine Emperors, Qianye Wugu and Qianye Bingzhu, have appeared and sided with the devils! The news that the Brahma Monarch God Realm secretly possessed the Hongmeng Life-Death Seal can now be confirmed beyond doubt! And they have clearly found a way to activate it.""After the Eastern Divine Region, the Southern Sea God Realm was annihilated overnight. The Southern Divine Region was so terrified that the Azure Cloud, Xuanyuan, and Ziwei Realms surrendered without resistance.""Ashes was killed! Big Brother was wounded by the Devil Queen and has not yet recovered...""Your Majesty, the Dragon Monarch, Crimson Extinction... is too ashamed to greet you!""All realms in the Western Divine Region are already on standby, awaiting Your Majesty the Dragon Monarch's guidance and command..."The eight Dragon Gods' transmissions resonated in his ears, filled with excitement, agitation, and guilt... an unprecedented chaos that underscored the gravity of the situation.

But the Dragon Monarch did not respond to any of it; not even his expression or gaze showed the slightest flicker of emotion.

His footsteps moved at a steady, unhurried pace, silently treading the ground. As the supreme being of this era, he seemed to be afraid of disturbing something.

After a long while, his footsteps halted. Before him was an isolation barrier emitting a terrifying dragon aura, blocking out everything: aura, light, sound, and more.

Any living being approaching within a thousand miles of this barrier would instantly feel their bodies tremble, their souls shiver, daring not to take another step forward. This was because the barrier was personally set up by him. The dragon aura flowing on it was the Dragon Monarch's own. Not only was it forged from his dragon aura, but it also contained a trace of his dragon soul. If anyone attempted to force their way in or break the barrier, he would instantly sense it, no matter where he was in the current world, unless they were in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning. Undoubtedly, over the years, this barrier had shown no signs of being touched. People in this world often slayed dragons, but no one dared to touch the Dragon Monarch's reverse scale. And no one knew what the world behind this barrier looked like now.

The Dragon Monarch silently raised his hand. The barrier before him instantly parted like water, revealing an opening about ten feet high. He exhaled softly and slowly walked inside. Behind him, the opening vanished, not allowing any living being even a momentary glimpse.

Inside the barrier, the Dragon Monarch stared at the white light before his eyes, standing dazed for a long time. That was the barrier of the Samsara Forbidden Land, which had existed for a very long time. For over 200,000 years, it had always been so quiet, always so pure and flawless. Despite its supreme power, the white light it emitted carried no soul-shaking might, only a purity that could instantly penetrate and cleanse the hearts and souls of all living beings. But now, it had changed. It had become exceptionally faint, almost completely dispersed within just a few years, leaving only a layer as thin as smoke, as if it would dissipate at a touch.

It was a full half-hour before Long Bai finally took a step forward.

The surrounding world had completely changed. The elements were no longer gentle, the air was no longer refreshing, the wind no longer soothing, and the earth's scent no longer intoxicatingly pleasant. The swirling mists were gone, no birds sang, no butterflies danced, and there were no playful whispers of a thousand grasses and ten thousand flowers... Even the spiritual flowers and immortal herbs that once covered the landscape were now just withered remains. The Samsara Forbidden Land was originally where the dormant Samsara Well lay, not a paradise. Shen Xi's presence had turned it into a paradise. Now that Shen Xi was gone, all that remained were the rapidly withering land and an eternally silent, dead well.

For over 200,000 years, no matter what major events transpired, as long as he walked here and caught a glimpse of her, he felt boundless joy and contentment. But everything had changed; everything was gone.

"Long Bai... listen... if anything happens to Xi'er...""I will abandon light... become a devil... and make you suffer every torture in this world!""I will scatter your blood, your ashes... throughout every corner of this Divine Realm... so that you will be trampled upon by all beings for all eternity!"

Long Bai lifted his head, his eyes tightly shut, his face twitching in pain. Shen Xi's words from back then... those curses filled with tears and resentment, echoed countless times in his soul every day. Especially the look she gave him at the time, like the most cruel poisoned blade in this world, piercing his heart without a moment's reprieve.

After an unknown period, he finally reached the center of the Samsara Forbidden Land, the place where Shen Xi once resided.

The former bamboo house had turned into a patch of withered bamboo. Wisps of pure spiritual energy wafted gently. Long Bai turned his gaze, and in his line of sight, a large cluster of unusual spiritual flowers swayed in the breeze. In the past, such spiritual flowers were the most common things here, but now they were incredibly striking and eye-catching. Long Bai's eyes and heart pounded violently together. He quickly moved closer, but as he neared, his legs suddenly gave out. He stumbled and fell to his knees, his knees, which had never bent for anyone, pressing down on small flower petals and sinking into the soft earth.

In the middle of the flower cluster was a patch of dried blood. Years had passed, yet it still emitted a faint aura of light... Shen Xi's unique aura, etched into every corner of his soul. He reached out his hand, his fingers trembling in an uncontrolled sway, but just as he was about to touch the bloodstain, he abruptly pulled back... Then, his upper body suddenly bent forward, his head hung low, his nostrils flaring, gasping desperately for breath, like a dying fish thrown into a dried-up pond. Had one not seen it with their own eyes, no one could have imagined that the supreme Dragon Monarch would display such a pitiful... truly shameful posture.

After gasping wildly for a long time, he suddenly froze, then collapsed onto the ground, his body curled up. Only his right arm slowly lifted, his fingers trembling as they flexed and straightened. That year, it was this very arm he used to strike Shen Xi. Three hundred thousand years of acquaintance, over two hundred thousand years of dreams... utterly shattered. In his life, there was no longer Shen Xi.

"Dragon Queen... where are you... where are you...""I know... you must still be alive... but why... why can't I find you...""As long as you return... I will agree to anything...""Your child, I will spare no effort to rescue her and raise her as her birth father... With just a word from you, she will be the future ruler of the Dragon God Race...""As long as you return..."

"Ugh... Mmmph!" His eyes were vacant, his lips murmured, and blood trickled from his mouth, yet he was completely oblivious.

"This hand..." He looked at his right arm, his dragon eyes filled with deep resentment and disgust: "This hand that harmed you, I will sever it forever... But, I must keep it for now...""Kill Yun Che!"As the words "Yun Che" whispered from his mouth, the Dragon Monarch's gaze drastically changed, his murderous intent so intense it almost solidified.

"My Dragon Queen... no one in this world is worthy... And Yun Che, that beast... dared to defile...""He must die... He must die!""I will tear him apart... pulverize him... dismember him... reduce him to dust and ashes!!"

His fingers clenched, the sound of cracking bones rattling the ears and heart.

As much as Yun Che hated the Dragon Monarch, the Dragon Monarch hated Yun Che just as much. When invading the Eastern Divine Region, the Dragon Monarch was an unwanted variable for Chi Wuyao. But Yun Che was eager to face him as soon as possible, to sacrifice his divine origin and use the power of the Divine Ashes to tear him apart. And Long Bai... his madness towards Yun Che was even greater!

At this moment, deep within his pupils, the deeply ingrained shadow was Yun Che's image... not the devils of the Northern Region. Within that shadow, a sinister flame burned. For years, he had been waiting for Yun Che to appear; he knew he would return. Now he had returned, far earlier than Long Bai had anticipated. In just four short years, he had reached the Divine Emperor level and commanded the entire Northern Divine Region... what terrifying progress and achievement. What a dark yet exalted status. But he would never... ever be worthy of, or ought to, defile his Dragon Queen! To torture Yun Che to death sooner, this supreme being of the Divine Realm would unleash a madness unimaginable to ordinary people!

Southern Divine Region, Ten-Direction Azure Sea Realm.

Chi Wuyao suddenly stood up, her charming eyes darkening.

"What's wrong?" Qianye Ying'er quickly asked.

"..." Chi Wuyao slowly sat back down and said calmly, "The Dragon Monarch has returned."

"Oh?" Qianye Ying'er's face showed surprise: "Didn't we hear he would stay in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning for at least another two months? By now, only half a month has passed."

"That just goes to show, even the most reliable news can never account for variables." Chi Wuyao frowned in thought: "Could it be that my unease these past few days is due to Long Bai's early return? That shouldn't be the case..." Her Nirvanic Devil Soul was on too high a level, thus granting her a subtle, transcendent perception, allowing for a profound and indescribable soul premonition before crises arrived. In principle, this was quite different from Shui Meiyin's Untainted Divine Soul.

"Hmph, isn't that just perfect?" Qianye Ying'er said, "Yun Che is itching to personally slay Long Bai. Although shattering the Dragon God Realm and dismantling the Western Divine Region while the Dragon Monarch is away would be an excellent opportunity, for Yun Che, this might actually be good news."

"He'll be out in four days, which is perfect timing."

"..." Chi Wuyao remained silent.

"Are you worried?" Qianye Ying'er asked, her eyes slanted. "If the Dragon Monarch returns, the Dragon God Realm's momentum and control over the Western Region's realms will naturally increase significantly. But conversely, if Yun Che truly has a way to overpower and kill the Dragon Monarch, it would cause the Western Divine Region's morale to collapse directly. All of this has been considered, so what are you still worrying about?"

"Good question." Chi Wuyao's charming eyes half-closed. "I'm also asking myself, what exactly am I worried about?"

"Or, to put it another way, in the current situation, what kind of development could catch me off guard?" Chi Wuyao pondered deeply, her finger touching her lips.

"Hmph." Qianye Ying'er scoffed disdainfully, "Unless Long Bai can directly bring the entire Dragon God Realm down from the sky." What Qianye Ying'er said as a joke, however, made Chi Wuyao's expression drastically change.

Yun Che was currently in the Heaven Smiting God Realm and would not emerge for nearly four more days. If the Dragon God Realm truly led the core forces of the Western Divine Region to descend from the sky, then without the Devil Master personally overseeing and leading, the Northern Divine Region would surely fall into disarray and panic. Without his Calamity of the Devil Heaven, the Northern Region's core combat strength would also plummet. In such a case, they would barely be able to contend with the Dragon God Realm alone, let alone the vast Western Divine Region. There was an even more serious point: before Yun Che entered the Heaven Smiting God Realm, he specifically warned that during its activation, it must not be disturbed by external forces, not even moved... otherwise, it could easily cause the Heaven Smiting God Realm to collapse. The Heaven Smiting God Realm was a special divine realm with independent laws of time; if it collapsed, it could very likely cause spacetime distortion, with unimaginable consequences. It was not impossible for Yun Che and Shui Meiyin to be erased from existence. In other words, they couldn't even retreat.

Chi Wuyao opened her eyes and said in a deep voice, "In this world, what can deal you the heaviest blow is conventional wisdom."

"The Dragon God Realm doesn't know we possess the Primordial Profound Ark. Similarly..." Her voice deepened further: "Could the Dragon God Realm also possess something similar, beyond our comprehension?"

"After all, that is the Dragon God Realm! It has dominated the entire history of the Divine Realm, the oldest, most profound, and most powerful Dragon God Realm!"