Dragon-Marked War God

“Strange. Why has there been such a great upheaval in this land? We can’t even use any of our techniques here.”

A young man in white robes said in a deep voice. He was handsome and seemed full of pride. Even with his brows slightly furrowed, he still looked extremely domineering.

Behind the white-robed young man were three people, one man and two women. All of them were remarkably strong. A group like this, placed in Tianlai Boundary, could probably destroy the entire boundary in an instant.

Among the four, the young man in black was the coldest. Dressed in a black robe, his aura was also the most powerful. He had starry brows and sword-like eyes and was full of arrogance. He stood with his arms folded across his chest. Clearly, he was the strongest of them.

But the young man in black did not say a word. Apart from the woman in blue beside him, the others all looked at him with a hint of wariness whenever they glanced his way.

“Senior Brother Yingjie is right. This land seems to have been completely sealed off. There’s no way to pass through. For ten thousand miles around, the divine origin qi seems to have been drained away.”

The woman in purple chimed in. She seemed to greatly admire this Senior Brother Yingjie, and there was an affectionate look in her beautiful eyes.

“What do you think, Lan Luo?”

The young man in black, who had been silent for so long, finally spoke and looked at the woman in blue beside him. This person was none other than Lan Luo.

“I don’t know. This land seems to have had some kind of prohibition placed on it. We can’t use our methods at all. Neither our techniques nor our divine origin qi can be used. If we want to cross these ten thousand miles of mountains, I’m afraid we’ll have to do it on foot.”

Lan Luo said in a low voice.

“Hahaha, that’s true. Lan Luo is right. Someone seems to have sealed this place with some great technique, turning it completely into a wasteland. And there must have been a life-and-death battle here before.”

Lan Yingjie said with a hearty laugh. He did not look at the woman in purple, but kept his eyes entirely on Lan Luo, which made the woman in purple snort angrily.

Lan Yingjie’s expression shifted. He looked at the young man in black, a little embarrassed, and asked in a low voice.

“Second Senior Brother, what do you think is going on here? Is there really someone with such power, able to seal off ten thousand miles without relying on a formation?”

The young man in black shook his head without saying anything. This place was unusual, and even he did not know what kind of land it was.

After a moment of silence, the young man in black finally said indifferently.

“This place looks a lot like a Land of Fengshan I once read about in the records. That is, a place where a Great Emperor sat down in death and derived the Dao.”

“A Land of Fengshan? What is a Land of Fengshan?”

Lan Yingjie asked again.

“The Dao of a Great Emperor sweeps across everything and makes heaven and earth lose their color. Only in a Land of Fengshan, where a Great Emperor derives the Dao of heaven and earth, could the land lose all of its vital energy and finally become a barren wasteland, just like what we see in front of us. However, after the ancient era, no Great Emperor ever appeared in this world again. Whether any Great Emperors still exist in this world, or how many there are, is an unsolved mystery.”

Lan Luo murmured in a low voice.

“No way. Could this really be a Land of Fengshan?”

The woman in purple said with a look of astonishment.

“Lan Zi, let Lan Luo finish.”

Lan Yingjie frowned.

Lan Luo shook her head and continued.

“That’s all I know. It doesn’t look much like a Land of Fengshan, but this place really has lost all the vital energy of heaven and earth and become a barren wasteland.”

Lan Zi snorted coldly and looked into the distance, only to discover that on top of a mountain peak that rose as sheer as a wall, there stood a man in tattered clothes. His figure was bent like a hook, standing there as if he had not moved since the dawn of time.

“Look, there’s someone over there!”

Lan Zi cried out in surprise, because the person seemed to have appeared there out of thin air. Lan Zi had never expected to see such a desolate figure on top of a mountain peak that could not be reached by flight. That figure seemed to carry an endless sorrow, and even those who looked at him were touched by an indescribable desolation.

“Why does he feel so familiar?”

Lan Luo frowned. That figure was upright and unbending, as if he had merged into one with the mountain. It was hard to put into words, as if he had been standing there from beginning to end.

“You know him?”

The young man in black said indifferently.

“I’m not sure. Let’s go up and take a look.”

Lan Luo said. At this moment, the four of them quickly headed for the top of that peak.

Although they could not fly through the air, their agility and strength were still there. In the blink of an eye, they bounded up and climbed onto the highest peak.

“It really is him!”

Lan Luo frowned. Jiang Chen’s appearance came as quite a surprise to her. Why was he here? Could everything here have been caused by him? Lan Luo did not quite believe it. Although Jiang Chen’s strength was remarkable, he was not yet capable of something like this. It was just that he stood there looking extremely down and out, or rather, desolate. It made people feel his pain, and the whole land seemed to be filled with an air of sorrow.

“Jiang Chen, is that you?”

Lan Luo called softly.

The figure did not move. His gaze seemed unchanged as he looked far into the distance.

Lan Yingjie said in a deep voice.

“Brat, she’s talking to you. Turn around and let this Venerable have a look at you.”

Jiang Chen’s clothes were somewhat tattered and covered in dust. He stood with his back to everyone, but his body was extremely straight, firm and unyielding.

Lan Yingjie took a step forward and reached out to grab Jiang Chen’s shoulder, but he was knocked back by an extremely strong force. Lan Yingjie staggered back a full seven or eight steps before he managed to steady himself, his face full of shock.

“Stop, Lan Yingjie!”

Lan Luo barked in a deep voice and stopped Lan Yingjie directly. No one had expected this. Jiang Chen’s body was like an unshakable Buddha. Lan Yingjie had been injured by the rebound force. Not only him, even the young man in black and Lan Luo were greatly shocked, because Lan Yingjie’s strength was at the Late Hierarch Realm, even close to the peak. Someone with that kind of strength had actually been knocked back by this man in ragged clothes. The young man in black grew more and more shocked, and more and more curious about him.

The young man in black’s pupils contracted as he stared coldly at Jiang Chen. This guy was like a dead man, standing there without moving at all, yet he gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

“Step back, Yingjie.”

The young man in black finally spoke, and only then did Lan Yingjie reluctantly step back.

“I’m Lan Luo. Do you still remember me, Jiang Chen?”

Lan Luo said in a low voice.

Jiang Chen slowly turned around and glanced at Lan Luo. He nodded silently, but his face was expressionless. At that moment, Lan Luo seemed to see Jiang Chen’s eyes, as if they had already died.

Lan Luo’s gaze faltered slightly. She did not know what Jiang Chen had been through, but just like this barren land, his eyes were dead, and his heart was dead too. He had lost all his vitality, as if he were nothing more than a walking corpse. There was no longer any light in his eyes.

Was this still the same Jiang Chen who had once been so full of spirit, the one who would risk being cut to pieces to drag even the Heavenly Emperor off his horse?

Lan Luo did not know. But at least the look in his eyes at this moment was something she would remember for the rest of her life. Perhaps Jiang Chen had already died. What on earth had turned him into what he was now?

There is no grief greater than the death of the heart.