<h4>Chapter 644 - Calm Before the Storm</h4>


    The Demon Emperor was close to dying because he had forgotten about Zhao Danchen. Almost everyone from the Ancient Demon Domain was huddled around the Demon Emperor, trying to give him all the spiritual herbs they had. The two Demon Saints and the remaining Demon Kings were shouting in anger at Zhao Danchen.


    “Zhao Danchen, you despicable man! How dare you attack us from the back!”


    “You dare harm the Demon Emperor and steal the Ancient Demon Corpse?! You are despicable!”


    Few knew about the Ancient Demon Corpse, including the Martial Overlord. Only those at the higher echelons of the Ancient Demon Domain, or those at the same seniority as Long Shan, knew about its existence.


    The Ancient Demon Domain had kept the Ancient Demon Corpse hidden for a long time, and no one would’ve guessed that Zhao Danchen would be the one who would profit from it.


    They were frustrated and refused to yield to reality. The two Demon Saints attacked Zhao Danchen recklessly, but thetter scoffed and waved the Ancient Demon g. The Ancient Demon Corpse swung its arm at the two Demon Saints. Although its attack missed, the strong wind blew them away.


    They rolled on the ground several times, their faces bing pale when they stopped.


    They looked at each other and sighed as they resigned. They had lost. The Demon Emperor was unconscious and they had lost control of the Ancient Demon Corpse. No one in the Ancient Demon Domain could stand up to Zhao Danchen now.


    Even though Zhao Danchen was bloody and had lost one of his arms, he had control over the Ancient Demon Corpse.


    “Shit. To think I gave him a chance to survive.” Long Chen was frustrated too. Letting Zhao Danchen gain control of the Ancient Demon Corpse was bad news. If they didn’t do anything now, they would face terrible danger in the future.


    He looked at Long Shan, and thetter nodded. “You help them evacuate. I will do my best to try and take Zhao Danchen down.”


    Long Chen couldn’t fight against the Ancient Demon Corpse, so Long Shan’s idea was their best shot.


    Long Shan was also worried that the Ancient Demon Corpse would attack Long Chen and the others.


    Long Chen sighed and nodded.


    Saving the lives of everyone here was more important.


    “There’s no need to run. The one who should be running is me.” Zhao Danchen’s cold voice came from above.


    His glee had turned into a deadly calmness. He looked at everyone, and his gaze stopped on Long Chen.


    “I lost to you today and you broke off one of my arms. The next time we meet, I will break off all of your limbs in return.”


    Zhao Danchen ignored everyone, including the people from the Martial Alliance, and waved the Ancient Demon g. The Ancient Demon Corpse ran as fast as it could with him in tow.


    Even though Zhao Danchen’s actions had saved a lot of trouble for Long Chen and the others, Long Chen knew that they now had another threat.


    Zhao Danchen was heavily wounded, and the Ancient Demon Corpse was in bad shape after fighting against Long Shan. Even so, if Zhao Danchen had fallen to madness, he would’ve killed everyone here even if he lost his own life. He had lost once, and his ego wouldn’t allow him to lose again.


    Zhao Danchen would be stronger than Long Shan once he recovered and gainedplete control over the Ancient Demon Corpse.


    Long Shan was too injured to chase Zhao Danchen.


    In fact, it would be more dangerous since Long Shan could die if he pushed Zhao Danchen to a corner.


    Zhao Danchen’s final words were aimed at Long Chen.


    Long Chen felt the pressure increase.


    The Martial Alliance already had the Martial Overlord, and now there was Zhao Danchen and the Ancient Demon Corpse. Long Shan wouldn’t be able to block both of them.


    They had to change their original n now.


    The ground shook as the Ancient Demon Corpse disappeared with Zhao Danchen. He would be stronger after surviving today.


    Everyone was silent as they took in the situation.


    The pressure of survival had be intense.


    “Damn it. It’s my fault for not killing Zhao Danchen. Now the Ancient Demon Corpse is in his hands. He’s even more dangerous than Jiang Wuxie ...” Long Chen was feeling guilty. If it wasn’t for how sturdy Zhao Danchen’s Golden Combat Body was, Long Chen would’ve been able to kill him easily.


    “Seventh Brother, don’t be too harsh on yourself. No one expected things to turn out this way. Even Jiang Wuxie fell for his ns. Right now, we should prioritize heading back to the Battle n to rest ...” Long Yue then looked at Long Shan. “Grandfather, you are injured.”


    Long Shan nodded. “I’m old and useless now. I still have a lot of hidden injuries in my body that cannot be healed without the proper spiritual herbs. I fear that I won’t be able to return to the Fifth Earthly Martial Stage. In fact, I might be weaker than a Fourth Earthly Martial Stage cultivator after today’s fight.”


    Long Shan was their barrier. Everyone would be in trouble if he died, so they were worried about him.


    At the same time, Jiang Wuya looked at Jiang Wuxie.


    “Go and look after him.” Long Yue knew that Jiang Wuya still had some brotherly love for Jiang Wuxie.


    Jiang Wuya nodded and walked towards the Ancient Demon Domain. Everyone was depressed over there, and they would never ignore Jiang Wuya. He returned after a short while. “He’s not in danger anymore, but he needs a lot of time to recover. I think the Ancient Demon Domain will be quiet for a very long time. I hope the Martial Alliance won’t destroy them.”


    “The Martial Overlord is not stupid. He’s targeting us and will most likely ignore Jiang Wuxie,” Long Yue said.


    “In that case, we need to head back to the Battle n right now.”


    They separated into two groups and headed back to the Battle n. Jiang Wuya was apanied by the Clear Shallows King and Liu Yiyi while Long Chen was apanied by the others. Jiang Wuya had lost one of his arms but gained his family back. Long Chen was genuinely happy for him.


    Long Yue said nothing, but Long Chen had a feeling that she was feeling conflicted.


    Several dayster, they reached the Battle n without incident.


    The news of what had happened at the Ancient Demon Domain had spread everywhere. Lei Zhen, Lan Xiang’er, and Chi Ying had learned everything that had transpired. Even though defeating Zhao Danchen was supposed to be joyful news, what happened afterwards dampened the mood.


    Everything had changed too quickly.


    After losing the Ancient Demon Corpse, the Ancient Demon Domain was destined to lose its reign of supremacy. Meanwhile, the Martial Alliance had gained two cultivators at the Fourth Earthly Martial Stage. As for the Dragon n, they had gained Long Shan as a Fourth Earthly Martial Stage cultivator. Overall, the Martial Alliance was still stronger, and because Long Shan was a potential threat, the Martial Alliance would never let them go.


    A menacing force had gathered in the north of the Divine Martial Empire.


    They had one person at the Fourth Earthly Martial Stage, three Third Earthly Martial Stage cultivators, and numerous people at the First and Second Earthly Martial Stages. The Dragon n was almost as strong as the Martial Alliance.


    The only bad news was the Ancient Demon Corpse.


    It gave them a lot of pressure.


    Long Chen was well aware of Long Shan’s condition. His injuries were worse than he had thought. It was already hard enough for him to maintain his strength, much less regain his strength as a Fifth Earthly Martial Stage cultivator. Long Yue and the others hurriedly scoured for spiritual herbs once they reached the Battle n. Chi Ying used his massive informationwork to find the most crucial spiritual herbs, but it was a monumental task.


    The Martial Alliance’s pride had been challenged after the Dragon n and the Martial Alliance fought so viciously outside the Ancient Demon Domain. No one believed that the Martial Alliance would let such a humiliation slide, especially once Zhao Wuji saw Zhao Danchen’s lost arm.


    The storm wasing.


    Everyone was depressed because they were too weak.


    Long Chen and the others met up with Lei Zhen and the rest. After a short conversation and a few days of rest, they gathered to strategize.


    Long Shan was the oldest and the strongest person present. “My job is to rest and recover as much as I can. I suggest that we don’t move now. We have a lot of geniuses here, so the more we stall, the better it will be for us.”


    That was indeed one of the best choices they could make right now.


    When he mentioned geniuses, he mainly meant Long Chen.


    Everyone knew how strong the Martial Overlord was. Long Chen was only considered strong in the younger generation; there was arge gap between him and the Martial Overlord. And he didn''t have enough time to bridge that gap.


    Resting and bing stronger was their only way to escape danger.


    But they were still pressured by what was happening.


    “Fifth Brother, from today onwards, the Red Souls will monitor Martial Overlord City and observe the movements of the Martial Alliance. Report to us the moment anything happens over there. Also, don’t forget to search for the spiritual herbs,” Long Yue instructed.