Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

“Great son of the Nether Emperor, do my humble efforts meet your esteemed satisfaction?” inquired the tree demon, its voice quivering with a mix of trepidation and respect. Yet, its fear did not stem from Long Chen's presence, but rather from the weight of his exalted status.

“Don’t call me the son of the Nether Emperor. Call me the lord of the Nether Emperor. Can you not see that I am different from the sons of the Nether Emperor? I have the Nether Emperor’s supreme will on me. I don’t believe that you can’t see it.” Long Chen then took off his eyepatch and opened his left eye.

The image of the hell flower materialized within Long Chen’s black pupil, looking like the devil’s eye. But immediately after, black traces of blood quickly flowed out of his left eye, so he hurriedly shut it and put on the eyepatch.

His left eye had yet to fully recover, so opening it was still very painful. However, this was enough.

As expected, the tree demon was so frightened upon seeing it that he kowtowed reverently. Just looking at that pupil caused him to shiver in fear.

After the hell flower was absorbed by the Purgatory Eyes, it had gone through a transformation. Its energy was beyond the scope that Long Chen could control. Thus, even if Long Chen’s cultivation base wasn’t worth anything in front of this tree demon, this hell flower could still terrify him.

“This lowly elder greets the great lord of the Nether Emperor!” cried the tree demon hastily.

Seeing him so frightened, Long Chen felt very confident. He said, “You are not a member of my Netherworld. You come from the Undying World, am I right?”

The elder was startled. “Great lord of the Nether Emperor, although I am not a lifeform from the Netherworld, I don’t dare to be the slightest bit-”

Long Chen flapped his hand. “You don’t need to be afraid. I am not questioning your loyalty to the Nether Emperor.”

Hearing that, the elder instantly relaxed a great deal. Long Chen continued, “Do you come from the Undying World’s Corpse Devil Demon Forest?”

“Reporting to the-”

“You can just speak directly,” interrupted Long Chen.

“Yes.”

“If I have not misjudged, you should be from the Undying race’s Undying Dragon Tree, correct?”

The tree demon was startled, not expecting Long Chen to have seen through his origins. However, he still didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Thus, with a quivering voice, he said, “Yes, this lowly elder was originally from the Undying Dragon Tree race.”

“Then I will ask you a question. Do not lie, or it would be the greatest betrayal toward the Nether Emperor.” Long Chen’s expression suddenly grew dark and strict.

“Great one, please ask your question! This lowly elder will not dare to hide the slightest thing!”

“What relationship do you have with the Undying Willow race?”

The Undying Dragon Tree. Long Chen had seen an introduction about them in the High Firmament Academy. Just like the Devil Eye Water Lily, they were from the Undying World, but Long Chen wanted to be sure.

“Do not hesitate!” ordered Long Chen coldly.

The elder was originally hesitant to answer, but once Long Chen urged him on, he could only clench his teeth and say, “Our Undying Dragon Tree race is a subsidiary of the Undying Willow race. We have sworn our lives to the Undying Willow race.”

Long Chen smiled. That was the answer he had been hoping for. Seeing this smile, the elder instantly relaxed a great deal. It seemed that Long Chen was satisfied with his answer.

“May I know what relationship the great lord of the Nether Emperor has with our Undying Dragon Tree race?” probed the elder.

“Don’t move.”

Long Chen pointed at the elder’s head, sending images relating to Liu Ruyan into his mind.

“So you have such a deep relationship with our Emperor race!” The elder’s delight was overwhelming, almost bordering on disbelief.

The images Long Chen gave him were of Liu Ruyan fighting alongside him and the others, along with some conversations they had. It was enough proof of their connection.

“Hehe, since you’re on the side of the Undying Willow race, it should be easy to talk now. Tell me, how did you end up here? Why are you helping the Nether Emperor?” asked Long Chen.

“I…” The elder hesitated.

Long Chen smiled. “In order to express my sincerity, I’ll tell you who I really am. I’m not the son of the Nether Emperor, nor am I his daddy. Actually, I have no relationship with the Nether Emperor at all. I faked my identity to come and take a look at this place. And now, I want to see if I can steal the life crystal.”

“You…!” The elder couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you not afraid of me…?”

Long Chen smiled. “Don’t think that just because you are stronger that you can lie to me. You don’t have the power to lie in front of me, so I believe you.”

The elder stared at Long Chen for a long time before bitterly smiling and shaking his head. “Little brother, you should leave. You cannot take the life crystal. Even if you have a relationship with the Undying Willow race, I cannot help you. Once the life crystal is taken, I will also die.”

“I know. You have the Nether Emperor’s seal on you, but I can help you remove the seal. You can regain your freedom,” said Long Chen.

“You… you can do that?” In an instant, the elder’s calmness was shattered, his voice quivering with both excitement and nervousness.

“Of course. There would be no point in me lying to you. You were caught by the Nether Emperor and forced to act as a guard here, right?” asked Long Chen.

The elder nodded. Actually, he wasn’t caught by the Nether Emperor himself, but by some of his attendants who found him in the Undying World.

During that time, the Nether Emperor's seal was forcibly imposed upon him, and he found himself ensnared within the intricate web of the Devil Eye Grand Formation. Just like that, he became the Nether Emperor’s slave, tasked with the arduous duty of harvesting life energy.

According to him, various forces would send a few sacrifices his way, and he was only in charge of gathering them. Amongst those powers was also the Soaring Dragon Company. Additionally, some of those powers would simply lure Heaven Venerates into the surroundings, and he would be in charge of killing them.

As this explanation sank in, Long Chen realized a sobering truth: the lives lost here weren't claimed by the Nether Emperor, but rather by the actions of fellow humans.

Those powers that were sacrificing humans to the Nether Emperor were definitely related to him. As for what benefits there were for them, this elder didn’t really know. After all, he was only in charge of the reaping.

Certain powers would draw their most powerful enemies here to get rid of them without using the slightest effort, for example, that poor Heaven Venerate. He had been sent here through a trap transportation formation.

Other than the sacrifices, the fiend eye would also draw in any prey that wandered here. Anyone who attracted its attention would die, as even Heaven Venerates were nothing in front of the power of a fiend eye.

After all, this place was backed by the power of the Nether Emperor. Even if it was just a trace of it, it wasn’t something that ordinary Heaven Venerates could resist.

After learning all of this, Long Chen said, “Senior, prepare yourself. I am going to start absorbing the Nether Emperor’s seal. However, I have one condition. Once you regain your freedom, you must be my guard for a certain amount of time. Once I become a World King, you can leave, and we will owe each other nothing. Is that acceptable to you?”