The Prince Can Do Divination

Chapter 394 - 245: The Demon Country Retreats; Returning to the Capital Bearing the Destiny of the 3 Religions to Confront the Yan Dragon’s Celestial Mandate

It was just like an Ancient Demon Skill from the Demon Race’s past, one that treated all living beings as fuel for a Tripod Furnace.

In just a few moments.

The Blood Burial Duke’s youthful face and the light radiating from his body dimmed, while his twelve blood wings withered away.

In stark contrast, Lu Mingyuan’s aura grew ever stronger.

The effect was surprisingly good.

While Lu Mingyuan was in seclusion healing his wounds, the outside world was thrown into an uproar. News of the battle at Celestial Water spread like wildfire through the states and counties, reaching the Great Yan Court and the entire Central Plains World.

The impact of this battle was simply too massive. After all, for years, the name "Great Nether Empress" had been synonymous with the power of the Demon Country. No one had ever imagined she would be defeated by Lu Mingyuan.

"Impossible. How long has Lu Mingyuan even been cultivating? Even as a Crown Prince, it’s absolutely impossible for him to defeat Her Majesty the Empress. This must be a rumor."

Upon hearing this news, the many cultivators of the Demon Country scattered across the lands all refused to believe it.

After all, Witch Palace Language had always been an undefeated legend, her presence so overwhelming that all the prodigies of the Holy Netherworld were left breathless.

Meanwhile, on the side of the Three Religions’ Influence, those factions and individuals who held no grudges against Lu Mingyuan were naturally pleased with this outcome.

Many even saw Lu Mingyuan as a newly risen, peerless dragon among men, a sign that the Celestial Dao favored the rise of Great Yan.

In any case, the eyes of the entire world were now fixed upon Lu Mingyuan.

They would personally witness the rise of a True Dragon.

’First, he defeated Young Master Xiao and the Great Buddha of Heart Delusion, then the Blood Burial Duke, and now he has even beaten the Great Nether Empress. The forces of the Three Religions’ Influence gathered at Celestial Water City, vowing to retrieve Qi Xingyan’s coffin... It seems Lu Mingyuan’s momentum is now unstoppable. No one can block his path to becoming emperor. Perhaps the era of a new emperor is about to begin. I wonder if there’s anyone left who could possibly take his place?’

Considering Lu Mingyuan’s recent string of victories, many couldn’t help but be filled with awe.

At first, most people were pessimistic, believing that Lu Mingyuan’s journey to Celestial Profound alone would be fraught with hardship and that he might not even lay eyes on Qi Xingyan’s coffin.

No one expected him to receive so much support along the way.

This came as a surprise to many, including those in the Great Nether Court.

’This is bad. Her Majesty the Empress failed to capture the Crown Prince of Great Yan herself, and we’ve lost the perfect opportunity. Negotiating with the Great Yan Court from now on will be incredibly difficult.’

’We should just retreat for now. There’s no point in continuing this fight. The number of Great Yan’s Human Race Cultivators will only keep growing.’

Within the Demon Country’s camp, many masters of the Upper Three Grades were already considering retreat.

The main reason was that Her Majesty the Empress had ordered from the start that she must be the one to personally capture Lu Mingyuan. If a Divine Venerable of the Great Nether were to act, wantonly wielding the Power of Heaven and Earth, they would easily shatter the seal on the surrounding space.

This, in turn, would invite the focused attention of Third Grade experts from the Taoist Sect, Buddhist Sect, and Confucian Temple.

So, if one were to summarize, where exactly did the Great Nether lose this time?

Who did they really lose to?

Was it Destiny?

Or was it just bad luck?

Perhaps it was neither.

Only certain players in this grand game could perceive the truth.

It was a grand stratagem, laid out years ago by a certain gentleman long since passed. He used all living beings as his game pieces, setting an elaborate trap to lure his enemy in.

Not a Saint, yet greater than one.

He sacrificed himself to enter the game, and in doing so, defeated Heaven by half a move.

Lu Mingyuan sat cross-legged below the city walls. A small stream, formed from vigorous, concentrated Qi and Blood, flowed past him with a soft GURGLE.

「Half an Hour later.」

With the aid of the elixir and the Qi and Blood from the Blood Burial Duke’s entire Flesh Body, Lu Mingyuan’s injuries were mostly healed.

’The Great Nether Empress’s Thousand Hands Thousand Bodies Six Paths Reincarnation Divine Techniques are truly incredible. My Vajra Supreme Body is cultivated to the absolute peak beneath the Martial Saint level, yet it still couldn’t withstand her attack. An ordinary Celestial Martial Artist would have had their Immortal Flesh Body completely destroyed by that blow.’

’Thankfully, I had the Human Medicine, allowing my Flesh Body to recover completely. Otherwise, I would have had to reforge it from scratch. All my previous efforts would have been wasted.’

Lu Mingyuan’s skin was as flawless as white jade, and a brilliant golden radiance emanated from within him.

His Qi and Blood surged like a dragon, blazing as fiercely as the sun.

The Blood Burial Duke had become Lu Mingyuan’s sustenance. His body was used as a Human Medicine, continuously replenishing Lu Mingyuan’s Qi and Blood Power. As it healed his injuries, it also strengthened his brain and internal organs, which had not yet reached their peak Refinement. Even his Primordial Radiance, illuminated by the glow of his Qi and Blood, grew thicker and more condensed.

’The Blood Race truly is a species with incredible life force, seemingly undying and indestructible. The benefits of absorbing their Flesh Bodies are endless.’

This was the first time Lu Mingyuan had absorbed the Qi and Blood of a living being.

The Blood Burial Duke was a high noble of the Blood Race, a master of the Twelfth Realm. His power was self-evident; an ordinary Twelfth Realm Cultivator would be no match for him.

Although the battle against the Great Nether Empress had left Lu Mingyuan grievously wounded, his internal organs nearly pulverized, it had also been a blessing in disguise.

Having now absorbed the entirety of the Blood Burial Duke’s accumulated power and Dao Practice, the Heaven and Earth Bridge within his Dantian had become incredibly solid. He could now channel several times more Power of Heaven and Earth than before, and the strength of his Flesh Body had increased by another leap.

The duration of his Martial Dao Body also increased, from a quarter of an hour to a full Half an Hour.

Not only was Lu Mingyuan’s Cultivation rapidly consolidated, but it also advanced to the Late Stage of the Feather Transformation Realm.

’Unfortunately, obtaining another Human Medicine from the Blood Race would be next to impossible.’

After Lu Mingyuan injured him, the Blood Burial Duke had chosen to flee and hide. It was a long time before Luo Ying and the others managed to capture him.

Perhaps only someone like Luo Ying, a master of disguise, could have caught him.

’When Witch Palace Language fought me, she didn’t rely heavily on the power of Treasures or Divine Beings at the start. Instead, she used her own strength.’

Lu Mingyuan analyzed the fight in his mind, considering how to deal with the Great Nether Empress in the future.

From what he had gathered so far...

He at least knew that the Great Nether Empress was a master of Witchcraft and various Ancestral Witch Divine Techniques.

It was difficult for any technique to be effective against her green Demon Eyes; she could see through them in an instant and find their weakness.

Most outrageous of all was her mysterious Turtle Shell, which could channel the power of a Holy Nether Divine Being.

Lu Mingyuan could use the power of his Fate Grid to continuously increase his own strength.

But Witch Palace Language could do the same, absorbing the power of Divine Beings to empower herself, her strength constantly soaring.

Lu Mingyuan let out a long sigh. He had to admit that the woman known as the Great Nether Empress was truly, dazzlingly brilliant.

’She was once his sister.’

’He, of all people, knew just how talented she was.’

’Neither the Six Paths of Reincarnation Technique nor the Yellow Springs Bridge of Helplessness Skill were techniques that a mere Middle Fifth Grade Cultivator should have been able to master.’

And yet, she had done it.

However, Lu Mingyuan did not fear her. On the contrary, he was filled with soaring battle intent. Only an opponent as powerful as the Great Nether Empress could inspire him to become even stronger.

Just as he rose to his feet.

Lu Mingyuan noticed a significant commotion in the distance.

The sky, which had been black with armies, and the ground, which had been packed shoulder-to-shoulder, began to clear on a massive scale.

The sky, once alight with the kaleidoscopic glow of countless Divine Techniques, now fell silent. It seemed the fighting had stopped.

’The Demon Country is retreating?’ Lu Mingyuan thought in surprise.

He hadn’t expected the Demon Country to yield so easily.

’But on second thought, it made sense.’

The Great Nether Empress was not in good condition. Furthermore, the Demon Country was fighting far from home, while the Central Plains cultivators were on their home turf. Continuing the battle under these conditions would certainly favor the Human Race Cultivators.

"Reporting to the Crown Prince! We have something to present!"

From behind Lu Mingyuan, a contingent of the Border Iron Cavalry, blood-soaked from battle, emerged from the Inner City, escorting a massive coffin.

The figures of the Champion Marquis and his men gradually came into view.

They looked for all the world like a triumphant, returning army.

Celestial Water City was finally back in the hands of the Human Race!

"This is..."

Looking at the coffin, Lu Mingyuan felt a pang of sorrow well up in his heart.

’Elder Mr. Qi’s coffin.’

He had finally brought it back.

He had really done it.

Just then, however, Lu Mingyuan took a deep breath.

’The Demon Country has retreated, and the coffin is back.’

’Doesn’t that mean it won’t be long before I return to the capital in victory?’

’And returning to the capital in victory means... I’ll have to face my father, the emperor, won’t I?’

...