Chapter 220: The Death of the Ruler of Shiguo (1)

Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent

ChatGPT said:

“Teacher, Shiguo currently has five Divine Kings.” Luo Feng looked at Zuo Shan Ke. “We only need to kill three?”

Zuo Shan Ke nodded. “Only those three earliest rulers bear blood grudges with me—Heavenly Kun Ruler, Wuxiang Laozu, and Ancestor of the Blade Demon. Killing those three is enough for me!”

Luo Feng nodded.

The three earliest rulers of Shiguo shared the closest bond. Back when the Heavenly Kun Ruler was still in the First Stage Divine King, they had ventured across the Origin Continent together. They were all steeped in sin. The two later rulers, on the other hand, bore far fewer sins.

Divine King Kufeng had been invited to join by the Heavenly Kun Ruler because of his mastery of the Origin Path of Life and his skill in clone techniques, allowing him to handle many matters. He played a role of diligence and endurance in exchange for resources.

Divine King Liuyu, similar to Zuo Shan Ke, was once the ruler of a small border nation called Liuyu Nation. When Shiguo expanded and approached her territory, she surrendered even before they attacked. This gave Shiguo no reason to take action. Among the five Divine Kings of Shiguo, she was the most inconspicuous and held the lowest status—but at least, she preserved her people.

“Do you want to speak to them before killing them?” Luo Feng asked again.

“No need.” Zuo Shan Ke shook his head. “There’s nothing to say to them! The more said, the easier something will go wrong! I only want them completely dead!”

Luo Feng nodded and stood up. “Then let’s depart now.”

“Make sure you’re fully prepared. Do your best to keep the two Ancient Kingdoms from discovering your identity,” Zuo Shan Ke reminded as he stood up.

“Don’t worry.”

A black robe spread over Luo Feng’s body, a golden mask appeared on his face, and his hair grew significantly longer. His aura turned dark and deep, yet carried immense dread. He was imitating the great eye from the dream memory using ‘Formless and Phaseless’.

Luo Feng had studied that enormous eye deeply and even created the ‘Great Annihilation Form’ from it. Although the current impression he mimicked was far inferior to the dream memory, it still instinctively filled Zuo Shan Ke with fear.

It was like a lower-level lifeform instinctively fearing a higher-dimensional lifeform.

“Looking like this, hardly anyone could guess who I am.” Luo Feng chuckled.

“Your aura is even more terrifying than your true self.” Zuo Shan Ke couldn’t help but say, “I’ve seen the monarchs of the Ancient Thunder Kingdom. They cultivate the Primordial Bloodline, and their auras are immensely terrifying. But they still don’t seem as terrifying as you.”

Luo Feng smiled again.

Even his true form’s aura rivaled that of Emperors and Monarchs. Mimicking the aura of the ‘enormous eye’ naturally appeared even more fearsome.

“Only with such existence is it fitting to effortlessly and completely kill the three rulers of Shiguo,” said Luo Feng. “Let’s go.”

Zuo Shan Ke looked at his disciple and nodded slightly.

His emotions were surging. On one hand, he had waited too long for this revenge. On the other, his disciple had grown beyond anything he had imagined! One must understand, even ‘Earth’ was an environment Zuo Shan Ke personally transformed before nurturing humanity there. Luo Feng was like a child he raised himself, cultivating step by step until now—guided by the Star Tower, the Nine Tribulations Secret Codex, and the Lieu Yuan Technique.

He had watched Luo Feng grow, but now, he could no longer fully understand him. Still, Zuo Shan Ke felt gratified.

“Shhh.” A golden liquid flowed over Zuo Shan Ke’s body, and his aura eerily vanished. Under the flowing golden liquid, Zuo Shan Ke transformed into his appearance from the time he was in the Primal Universe.

“This is the Golden Armor Puppet I refined. It barely holds Divine King strength,” Zuo Shan Ke said. “My true body is hidden within the puppet. What appears on the outside has no signs of life.”

Luo Feng nodded. Most powerful Divine Kings had some means to conceal their aura. When heading to the Dream Domain, they would always hide their identity.

But his teacher Zuo Shan Ke’s concealment method was quite special—using a puppet body to walk the outside world while hiding his true self entirely.

“Teacher’s artifact refining skills are truly impressive. Then let’s head out now.” Luo Feng immediately took Zuo Shan Ke and quietly left Huyang City. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the royal capital of Shiguo.

Hovering above the royal capital, Luo Feng and Zuo Shan Ke looked down upon the vast city below.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng frowned.

“What is it?” Zuo Shan Ke asked.

“The true body of the Heavenly Kun Ruler isn’t in the capital.” Luo Feng furrowed his brow.

This time, Luo Feng had brought his true body of The World Life Form, and he carried the secret treasure, the Star Tower. The true body of The World Life Form had its Inner World fortified by the Lotus of Life, making it incredibly powerful! It could reflect the outside world, even draw vast external areas into its Inner World, imprisoning them.

Through the sensing of his Inner World, Luo Feng confirmed that there weren’t any sufficiently powerful beings in the entire royal capital—only a clone of Divine King Kufeng.

Furthermore, the Star Tower also had the power to capture, suppress, and seal enemies. Using it to sense the surroundings, Luo Feng similarly found no powerful auras. For Luo Feng in his current state, ordinary Divine Kings no longer qualified as powerful.

“Wuxiang Laozu and Ancestor of the Blade Demon—my clones have already locked on to both of them and can act at any time,” Luo Feng said. “But as for the Heavenly Kun Ruler, I can’t determine his location yet.”

“Then what should we do? If he’s cultivating in some treasure land, he might stay there for a long time,” said Zuo Shan Ke.

Luo Feng shook his head. “I’ve been subscribing to intelligence on several top-level experts of the Origin Continent for a long time, including the Heavenly Kun Ruler. According to the information from the Flame Pavilion, ever since his true body was destroyed and he used a Resurrection Vessel to recover, he’s been nurturing his Primordial Bloodline… During this time, he hasn’t visited any treasure land.”

Zuo Shan Ke nodded.

“As long as he didn’t go to a treasure land, he will eventually return. We’ll wait here in the royal capital,” Luo Feng said.

“That’s all we can do.” Zuo Shan Ke nodded.

……

Ancient Flame Kingdom, Flame Capital.

Emperor Yan sat there, savoring the food before him and praising, “Heavenly Kun, in terms of cuisine, there are very few on the Origin Continent who can rival you. Your understanding of ingredients is unique—you can uncover their inherent flavors.”

“With the Emperor’s supply of top-tier ingredients, I can create such dishes,” said the Heavenly Kun Ruler with a modest smile. “Moreover, these ingredients have improved my comprehension of the Primordial Bloodline and enhanced my cultivation. I must thank the Emperor for this opportunity.”

Emperor Yan glanced at the Heavenly Kun Ruler.

He liked the Heavenly Kun Ruler very much—obedient, always thinking of ways to please him. Most importantly… the food he prepared perfectly matched Emperor Yan’s taste.

The Heavenly Kun Ruler followed the Origin Path of Matter, researching all substances of heaven and earth. He had taken the concept of ‘flavor’ to an unimaginable level. After beginning his cultivation of the Primordial Bloodline, he even experimented with cooking its flesh—his culinary creations became even more astounding.

The royal clan of the Ancient Flame Kingdom loved such extravagant indulgences. After all, the finest cuisine on the Origin Continent was considered to be at the Divine King level. This allowed the Heavenly Kun Ruler to befriend many royal Divine Kings.

“You’ve been cooking for me for an entire era. Tell me—what do you want my help with?” Emperor Yan smiled at Heavenly Kun.

Heavenly Kun had a good habit—he never requested favors while serving Emperor Yan. He simply worked diligently. Only when Emperor Yan took the initiative to ask would he finally speak.

“The Emperor knows well, the surroundings of my Shiguo are full of troublesome forces,” said the Heavenly Kun Ruler with a smile. “The Ruler of Yuguo, Yu Shui Tianyu, has allied with Divine King Luo He from Huyang City! Shiguo now can only target another second-rate nation next door—Hansengu. The ruler of Hansengu is merely a Second Stage Divine King, even weaker than me. But Hansengu has a close relationship with the Tianmu Nation.”

Shiguo had long seized the surrounding lands that were easy to take.

Only Yuguo and Hansengu remained nearby.

Yuguo looked easy to bully, but then Luo Feng appeared! Now Luo Feng had reached the Second Stage Divine King, so Shiguo had completely given up on that idea. The Heavenly Kun Ruler even suspected… if Luo Feng sent all ten of his clones together, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Hansengu?” Emperor Yan nodded. “Very well, go back and prepare. Once everything is ready, I’ll send Divine King Yanxiu with you. With Yanxiu involved, the Tianmu Nation won’t dare interfere.”

As the first Emperor of the Ancient Flame Kingdom, Emperor Yan’s lineage had many strong individuals. Apart from himself, there were two Second Stage Divine Kings in the royal family: Yanqiong and Yanxiu.

Yanqiong was more ambitious and tried to become an Emperor by using an Ultimate-Level Primordial Bloodline, but his power fell short, leaving him half out of control. Now imprisoned in a Small World, he needed formation arrays to remain conscious. According to the Ancient Flame Kingdom’s rules, unless he was fully conscious, he wouldn’t be released. If he lived in the Ancient Thunder Kingdom, such half-controlled individuals… could still act during periods of lucidity and only be confined when they lost control.

Yanxiu, under heavy resource support, was the strongest royal Divine King under Emperor Yan.

“With Divine King Yanxiu stepping in, even if Tianmu Nation had guts, they would have to endure.” The Heavenly Kun Ruler was overjoyed.

Emperor Yan nodded slightly.

……

The Heavenly Kun Ruler left the Ancient Flame Kingdom and returned to Shiguo.

“Getting Divine King Yanxiu’s help is already quite good.” The Heavenly Kun Ruler was very pleased with the outcome. He had served Emperor Yan for so long and understood his temper well! Right now, as he was nurturing his Primordial Bloodline, if he asked for treasures to aid that process, Emperor Yan might turn on him.

After all, Emperor Yan was broke too!

Except for Emperor Qing, all twelve Emperors owed the royal clan massive debts! They even found ways to raise their debts to the limits allowed by the royal family, borrowing every kind of treasure and using it on themselves. So each one carried powerful secret treasures.

As for paying the debts? That could wait!

“If I can swallow Hansengu, I’ll be able to devour one-third of its population. The remaining citizens can continue to reproduce and sustain my cultivation.” The Heavenly Kun Ruler thought, “One-third of Hansengu’s population is enough to restore most of my Primordial Bloodline.”

Some types of Primordial Bloodline could be enhanced by consuming living beings.

The countless lifeforms born in the Source World were all condensations of heaven and earth’s essence, extremely nourishing for the Primordial Bloodline.

“Phew.” The Heavenly Kun Ruler leisurely returned to the royal capital.

In an ordinary cave dwelling within the capital—

Luo Feng and Zuo Shan Ke sat across from each other, casually discussing artifact refining techniques.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng’s expression shifted.

Zuo Shan Ke looked toward him.

“The Heavenly Kun Ruler has returned,” Luo Feng said.

Zuo Shan Ke’s eyes lit up.