<h4>Chapter 848 - Return</h4>


    Long Chen clearly remembered the location of the Thunder and Demon ns. Unless something unexpected had happened, they would still be there.


    However, Long Chen used Sight the moment he came out to avoid encountering others. He had no idea whether the Divine n was searching for him or not.


    Still, he wasn’t that worried.


    Except for Wu Lian, no one in this ce could threaten him.


    Even Feng Qing couldn’t beat him now.


    He followed the path and soon reached where the Demon and Thunder ns were staying. They were living in the forest beside where Heavenly Wood City once was. They had turned it into a safe space, and many martial artists were asking for protection there. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they had turned it into a city.


    The order that was once present in Heavenly Wood City had returned.


    This time, Long Chen realized that a lot of people had died in the Ancient Graveyard. There were very few people left.


    Except for the Nine ns, most of the other cultivators had died for various treasures. Four of the Seven Lords’ Inheritances had been taken: the White Lotus Fairy, the Azure Lotus Lord, the Divine Demon Lord, and the Seven Star Lord’s inheritances. Only three more remained unopened. The Ancient Graveyard was a battlefield left behind tens of thousands of years ago, so there were many treasures to be found here. Many people killed each other for spiritual herbs, Divine Weapons, and martial techniques.


    Not everyone was like Long Chen, who could ignore the color of the Ancient Token. Many of them killed each other to turn their Ancient Tokens golden.


    That was why a lot of people had lost their lives.


    “This must be the trick of the demon race. They want us to kill each other. Every time the Ancient Graveyard opens up, many of the talented people from the Ten Thousand Nations Territory kill each other.”


    Long Chen revealed a hateful gaze when he thought about this.


    He hated the thought of other people controlling his life. His hatred for the six mysterious demons grew after knowing that they controlled the lives of everyone in the Ten Thousand Nations Territory.


    “Big Brother, does it mean that their goal is the Five Emperors’ treasure? Did they release the Five Emperor Keys because they want to use us to obtain it?”


    “Indeed.”


    Long Chen answered Xiang’s question as they made their way back.


    Xiang’s body radiated an incredible pressure, giving off the impression that he was an ice-cold vortex.


    After reaching the Emperor-tier, he could finally disy some of his strength even when he was in human form. Xiang was happy that he could fight in his human form right now, even though it was still significantly weaker than fighting in his demonic beast form.


    “Aren’t you afraid?” Xiang was nervous.


    Long Chen chuckled and shook his head. “It’s already a miracle that I managed to reach this point. I can only continue walking forward now. They are just stronger cultivators; there’s nothing to be afraid of.”


    Even though he had spoken lightly, Xiang noticed that Long Chen was actually very wary of them.


    Soon, they arrived at the settlement of the Thunder and Demon ns. Thankfully, everyone was still there and nothing had happened, thanks to Bai Lan and Lei Ji guarding the ce.


    Long Chen still couldn’t believe that no one had suspected him of killing Wu Guangyu even though five months had passed.


    He made no effort to hide it since the opening of the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm was right around the corner. Bai Lan and the others were waiting for him.


    As he had expected, Long Chen had just appeared near the perimeter when someone ran into the settlement to make a report. One of the Sect Elders greeted Long Chen. “Long Chen, you are finally back. The Patriarch and the Thunder n’s Patriarch have been waiting for you.”


    Long Chen smiled and followed him until they reached the temporary hall constructed by Bai Lan and the others. It was simple but still usable. There was only a month left before the Ancient Graveyard closed. Once the time arrived, they would all be able to return to the Ten Thousand Nations Territory and live peacefully.


    Long Chen saw many familiar faces in the hall. Bai Lan, Lei Ji, Suxue, and Suyan were all waiting for him.


    “Big Brother!”


    Suyan ignored everyone else and pounced into Long Chen’s chest when she saw him. Long Chen looked down at her. It had only been several months, but she had grown even further. She was starting to look more mature.


    Suyan was excited because she hadn’t seen Long Chen in a long time. She rubbed her face into his chest as she cried.


    Long Chen had previously saved her life, so she liked him a lot.


    “Yan’er, your father is right here. Why don’t you hold back a bit?” Bai Lan smiled while he enjoyed the scene.


    Even though everyone thought Suxue was Long Chen’s future wife, their engagement was actually fake. Bai Lan had orchestrated everything, so he only needed to provide a brief exnation once they were out of this ce. He had learned a bit about Long Chen’s n from Suxue.


    The Three Royal Territories.


    That was thend that every youth from the Ten Thousand Nations Territory wished to go to.


    Suyan stepped away and looked at Long Chen shyly. “Big Brother, I’ve missed you!”


    It was almost impossible to think that someone as shy as her would say something like that.


    She had indeed missed Long Chen a lot.


    Long Chen gently patted her head. “Yan’er, be nice. I missed you too. I didn’t break my promise, did I? I’m here right now.”


    “But you will be leaving soon.”


    Suyan was disappointed because she didn’t want him to leave.


    Now it was time for Long Chen to enter the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm with Bai Lan and the others.


    Bai Lan had no choice but to ask Suyan to return to her seat. “The candidacy to enter the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm is something your big brother earned after a huge ordeal. He must go at all costs. You cannot just think about ying. You reached the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage long before Long Chen, but now he’s already at the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage, while you haven’t improved yet.”


    Suyan had indeed reached the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage before Long Chen did.


    “I know ...”


    She felt wronged and her eyes turned red. She looked to Long Chen for help.


    “Father.”


    Just then, a beautifuldy exuding a bewitching fragrance interrupted them. It was Suxue. “Ten people are entering the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm. Everyone except for Long Chen will be at the Heavenly Martial Realm. Also, the Wind n and the Divine n are aiming to kill Long Chen. It will be dangerous for him ...”


    She was a cautious person and had already considered all the possible dangers.


    Long Chen knew what she wanted to say. “So, did they find out that I killed Wu Guangyu?”


    Bai Lan nodded. “Yes. When the Ancient Tree transformed into that monster, someone saw you with your pet. I suppose that the person standing beside you is that wolf?”


    Mo Xiang was indeed standing beside Long Chen.


    “This is my sworn brother, Mo Xiang.”


    Long Chen did not me them for calling Xiang his pet, since they didn’t know better, but it was ufortable for Xiang to be seen as Long Chen’s pet, so he had to correct them.


    “I’m sorry.” Bai Lan saw how serious Long Chen was and apologized.


    Even though he didn’t know why Long Chen would treat a demonic beast so well, he still etched it into his heart that the demonic beast was Long Chen’s sworn brother.


    He then continued, “Just a few days after you left, Wu Lian and Feng Qing came here with their troops to look for you.”


    Long Chen frowned. It was exactly as he had feared. “And then what happened?”


    “Nothing much. I fought against her, but there was nothing she could do when she learned that you weren’t here. She left, but before she did, she spread her people out like a web. Thankfully, you hid well. We were worried because we thought you were caught by them. But it seems that our worries were unwarranted.”


    Bai Lan made it sound easy, but Long Chen knew how difficult it must’ve been. He was the one to apologize this time. “Thank you, Patriarch Bai. I will be sure to repay the favor.”


    Bai Lan chuckled. “No need. You made the Demon n the winner of the Nine n Martial Youth Competition, which was an incredible feat to begin with. But I do need to ask you something. I know you’ve killed Wu Guangyu, but what about Feng Zhilin? She disappeared too. Did you kill her too? They told me that both of them disappeared on the same night and left no traces behind.”


    “Feng Zhilin?” Long Chen frowned and recalled the arrogant woman. “I didn’t kill her. Did she go missing?”


    Bai Lan nodded. “Then that’s strange. You didn’t kill her, so why is she missing?”


    Both Long Chen and Bai Lan thought about the people who hade from the Three Royal Territories. The only difference was that Bai Lan still thought that they were benevolent beings that wanted to protect them.


    “Father, I’m talking about Long Chen’s safety. What are you talking about?” Suxue interrupted them again.


    She was worried that Long Chen would die in the Five Emperors’ Secret Realm with so many strong people inside.


    Long Chen looked at her and exined, “I’ve reached the Ninth Earthly Martial Stage. I can deal with someone at the First Heavenly Martial Stage, so I will be fine.”


    “Oh?” Lei Ji was interested this time. Long Chen had reached the Eighth Earthly Martial Stage by training in Lei Ji’s domain in the past.