Chapter 391: Stratosphere

Words : 1347 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Chapter 391: Stratosphere Hearing that Li Qingran might also be in danger, Chen Huaian’s expression instantly turned serious. He didn’t really care about himself—he could accept life or death and would fight if challenged. Still, Dang Kang’s explanation was close to what he’d already guessed. That gray aura definitely wasn’t anything good. But… he wasn’t even an Ascender. He’d never taken an Ascender’s pill, never practiced an Ascender’s technique—so how did he have gray aura on him? It seemed Dang Kang had seen through his thoughts. It unfurled a scroll in front of Chen Huaian and Li Qingran. The scroll depicted Earth Star’s mountains, rivers, oceans, skyscrapers—like a high-definition satellite map. From this god’s-eye view, Chen Huaian could see threads of gray aura spreading to every corner of the world. “Master, what is it showing us?” Li Qingran, unaware of the mental exchange between Chen Huaian and Dang Kang, looked at the scroll, completely confused. Chen Huaian casually replied, “It says it’s giving us a house. We can pick any spot on the map.” Li Qingran: “???” Was that really what it meant? Something felt off! But since her Master said so, it must be true. Li Qingran answered, “Then I want one by the sea!” Chen Huaian gave her an ‘OK’ hand sign. Once they got out, he’d have Zhao Ying make the arrangements. His precious disciple just wanted to live by the sea, not on Mars. That wasn’t much of a request, right? Dang Kang pretended not to hear and continued: 【Dragon Soul inheritor, as you can see, this gray aura has already spread to every corner of this world. And as someone born and raised here, you’ve naturally been tainted by it as well.】 “What if this Venerable One leaves for another world?” Chen Huaian recalled how the virtual girlfriend game had a feature that let his real body temporarily escape into a small world. 【It would make no difference.】 Dang Kang replied: 【Even if you went to another world, the gray aura on you would not disappear.】 Chen Huaian frowned. “Isn’t there any way to break free?” 【There is! Kill the beings behind the Ascenders. End the cycle of reincarnation completely.】 “Alright. Who are they? Where are they? This Venerable One will go kill them right now!” Dang Kang laughed heartily. Its laughter shook the heavens and the earth. Li Qingran was bewildered and asked, “Master, wh-what’s it so happy about?” “It…” Chen Huaian paused, then squinted. “It probably likes the seaside too. When it saw you pick a spot by the ocean, it felt like it found a kindred spirit. That made it really happy.” “Huh?” Li Qingran scratched her head and looked curiously at the now-silent Dang Kang. “Nobody lives by the sea in this world?” “Nope. It’s too polluted.” Chen Huaian added, “If you really want to live there, it’s not impossible. But we’d have to purify the nearby seawater first. Our world has a country that dumps nuclear waste into the ocean.” Li Qingran didn’t understand what “nuclear waste” was, but she had a hunch it was something filthy. She immediately frowned, her voice turning cold: “There’s actually such a shameless nation? Master, when we go there later, I’ll level it with one sword stroke!” Chen Huaian thought to himself, she might not even get the chance. That place was already crawling with ghosts, and while this side was ascending, that side was still stuck in the Onmyoji era. He figured before Li Qingran could even unsheath her sword, the people there would already be wiped out by monsters. Back in the early days of spiritual revival, it was true that monsters didn’t attack people from Daxia. It was always evil spirits and demonic cultivators. But monsters didn’t harm Daxia’s people because Daxia’s bloodlines contained traces of the Ancestral Dragon. Whether that other place had such bloodlines was doubtful. 【I think I’m beginning to understand why the Ancestral Dragon chose you.】 After laughing, Dang Kang’s voice echoed once more in Chen Huaian’s mind. 【Every person the Ancestral Dragon ever selected had to meet four criteria—fortune, strength, talent, and temperament. From what I see, you only have fortune. Nothing else. But your fortune is stronger than any previous inheritor’s!】 It looked up at the sky and sighed. 【Even the Ancestral Dragon has begun putting his faith in something as intangible as luck? So be it…】【Since this is already the final round, let’s take one last gamble for the Ancestral Dragon’s sake!】 “What final round? Stop speaking in riddles!” Chen Huaian had heard similar things from the Flood Dragon. Didn’t Blood Amber Mountain Lord say it was an endless reincarnation? If he failed this time, wouldn’t there still be another chance? But Dang Kang replied: 【Over a hundred cycles of reincarnation, we’ve tried every method imaginable. We resisted countless times, and every time we failed.】【With each cycle, our power diminished. Just look at me now.】 Dang Kang stood up. The clanking chains rang out as it revealed its massive body. As the dust and dirt fell away, deeper layers of its skin were exposed. Chen Huaian saw that Dang Kang’s jade-colored skin was covered in cracks. 【This is my final reincarnation. One more time and my soul will completely vanish. So this is also our last chance!】【To end the cycle, the most fundamental thing needed is strength. From now on, you must begin receiving the sacrifices of the Nine Divine Beasts.】【In past cycles, we followed the Ancestral Dragon in battle, then later the inheritors… but nothing ever changed. This time, the Ancestral Dragon and we have decided to go all-in and focus every ounce of power on you!】 “You guys are gonna force-feed this Venerable One like Blood Amber Mountain Lord did?!” Chen Huaian was alarmed. 【The soul essence of the Nine Divine Beasts will be enough to place you outside the chessboard entirely.】 Dang Kang ignored Chen Huaian’s weird phrasing and continued: 【Of course, the Ascenders and those mysterious beings won’t sit by and let that happen. They’ve been hunting us for years.】 Chen Huaian was dumbfounded by Dang Kang’s explanation. He looked the chained beast up and down. “They’re looking for you guys? Then who locked you up here?” 【We did, of course. If we didn’t use formations to imprison ourselves, those beings would discover our whereabouts!】 Dang Kang grinned, a pleased curve forming at the corners of its mouth. 【Do you remember what I told you?】 “What?” 【This is the upper nine levels of the Demon-Locking Tower. There are eighteen levels total, which means there’s a lower nine levels.】【I’m imprisoned in the upper ninth floor. So tell me—what kind of monster do you think is locked in the lower ninth?】【And do you know who the Demon-Locking Tower is actually meant to be shown to—me, or the monsters in the lower nine floors?】 Chen Huaian stared at Dang Kang in stunned silence. This colossal beast actually had a crafty glint in its eyes. Who would’ve thought the Demon-Locking Tower wasn’t set up by those mysterious entities? Who would’ve guessed that these divine beasts actually locked themselves inside to hide in plain sight? No wonder it had reincarnated a hundred times. This plan really was… stratospheric. … At the same time— In the lower nine floors of the Demon-Locking Tower. Baji and Wang Shouyi, who had gotten separated from Chen Huaian and Li Qingran, were now facing a giant ape. This ape had white hair and fangs, and tiger-like stripes on its body. The most shocking part was—behind it, smoke billowed and corpses littered the ground, as an illusion of an ancient battlefield appeared. Everyone was paralyzed under the beast’s terrifying pressure. Wang Shouyi, among the crowd, saw the illusion behind the beast. His pupils shrank, and his voice trembled: “It’s over! That’s… Zhuyan!” … …

Chapter 391: Stratosphere

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