Chapter 236: The Undying Underworld Emperor (Seventeen)

Su Chen returned to the Demon Kingdom, only to find everything changed.
He learned from Jin Da that many demons had perished since his disappearance.
Yuan Yuan, after his departure, had stalled at the Saint King realm. In her final moments, nearing the end of her lifespan, she chose to seal herself within her Divine Source.
She awaited the day Su Chen might return to the Demon Kingdom.
And indeed, Su Chen returned.
Yuan Yuan, lying within her Divine Source, was awakened by Su Chen.
“Brother Wu, is it really you who’s back?”
The first thing Yuan Yuan saw upon being awakened was the long-lost figure.
Su Chen was still the same young man, his bearing unparalleled.
However, the little fox had grown from a tiny creature into a mature woman. Having ruled the Demon Kingdom for many years, she lived a life of luxury and possessed a subtle regal air. Yet, in Su Chen’s presence, she remained that little girl.
Su Chen looked at the large fox, her eyes wide and trying to be obedient, and said, "These past years have been tough for you, little one."
Yuan Yuan smiled.
"Yuan Yuan isn't tired, it's just a pity... Yuan Yuan can't continue walking with her brother anymore."
Her lifespan had come to an end.
After leaving the Divine Source, she wouldn't live more than a few months.
Su Chen patted the large fox's head. This fox saint, renowned throughout several star domains and infamous for her ferocity, was like a little girl at this moment.
...
Several days later
The Heavenly Gang Divine Sect was suddenly struck by devastating news.
The entire Heavenly Gang Divine Sect was razed to the ground overnight, even the Great Saint Ancestor was brutally murdered, and all its resources had no chance of revival.
The destruction of the Heavenly Gang Divine Sect became an unsolved mystery.
Some said that the Heavenly Gang Divine Sect angered the heavens and was punished by divine intervention.
Some said that the Heavenly Gang Divine Sect possessed something it shouldn't have, leading to the annihilation of its entire power.
Some speculated that the current Great Emperor, dissatisfied with the Heavenly Gang Divine Sect, had annihilated it.
Undeniably, the annihilation of a powerful Daoist sect overnight without any resistance was truly terrifying.
The one who destroyed the Heavenly Gang Divine Sect was, of course, Su Chen.
The reason?
The great fox before him had fallen into a deep sleep.
Su Chen had destroyed the entire Heavenly Gang Divine Sect, transforming it into a divine medicine, allowing Yuan Yuan to comprehend the Dao and live a second life.
He truly wasn't holding a grudge for being hunted down for a thousand years.
Now a Quasi-Emperor, why would he care about such a trivial matter?
Unfortunately... the Great Emperor Yao Tianxin was still around.
Su Chen muttered to himself.
Yuan Yuan was reversing life and death, striving to live a second life.
Su Chen also spent some time refining Jin Da's artifact.
Successfully upgraded from a Saint King Artifact to a Great Saint Artifact.
"Master, what is your current strength?"
Jin Da was very curious.
Even with a Great Sacred Artifact, he still felt that his master could break it at any time if he wanted to.
Su Chen looked at the sky and said calmly, "Apart from the 'Emperor' and the Supreme Beings of the Forbidden Zones, those in this universe who can rival me can be counted on one hand."
A Quasi-Emperor!
Jin was shocked.
In a great era, the number of strong individuals is not scarce, yet his master was among the top five in the universe.
Hundreds of years later
Yuan Yuan lived a second life.
The current Great Emperor still existed, suppressing all living beings.
No one could attain Dao.
But Su Chen did not choose to seal himself away.
Because... he was waiting for a good show.
For tens of thousands of years, the Heavenly Heart Emperor not only failed to curb the arrogance of his descendants, but the situation escalated, causing immense suffering to many forces, leading them to choose self-imposed isolation.
The Heavenly Heart Emperor's strength weakened far too quickly.
Su Chen sensed... perhaps a great chaos would soon engulf the world.
Two thousand years later
Su Chen's guess was correct.
The Heavenly Heart Emperor was finished.
This was good news.
Bad news.
The Heavenly Heart Emperor appeared before him.
The Heavenly Heart Emperor praised, "A mere mortal crow, to have reached this level... unprecedented in history, you are truly extraordinary."
The visitor was not friendly!
"Great Emperor, what brings you to me?"
Su Chen asked.
"You are far too extraordinary... you should not have been born in this era."
Su Chen sensed the danger, but it was too late. The Heavenly Heart Emperor directly suppressed Su Chen, severing his small world and turning it into a cage, imprisoning Su Chen within.
"You want to suppress me, to prevent me from competing for the title of Emperor!"
"You want your descendants to become Emperors!"
Su Chen, suppressed within the small world, sat cross-legged, staring at Emperor Tianxin, and posed this question.
For a moment, Emperor Tianxin was in a daze, as if some ancient sage, spanning a distant era, was glaring at him.
However, he was ultimately an Emperor, the supreme being of the universe.
In just an instant, his mind returned to normal.
"What's wrong with that?"
Emperor Tianxin stood proudly, unrivaled in the eight wastelands.
He was the current Emperor, and all the races of the universe were his subjects!
"Do you know what the consequences of this will be?"
Su Chen spoke.
Emperor Tianxin said calmly, "I have no father or mother, I attained enlightenment as a primordial being, do you understand the loneliness of a world utterly silent?"
"No...you don't understand."
"I only wish to pass on my bloodline, what's wrong with that?"
"I know that in this life, no matter which of you becomes emperor, all races will not spare my bloodline descendants. Only if my bloodline descendants become emperors...can my descendants continue the lineage and become an imperial clan."
Su Chen felt that Yao Tianxin had gone mad.
He should have slapped this guy to death back then.
Throughout history, never before has an emperor swept away everything just to give his bloodline descendants a chance to become emperors...is an emperor created in this way truly not the blood food of a supreme being?
Especially since the current supreme being once hunted down an emperor.
It seemed some Supreme Beings, besides possessing the most advanced methods of ascension, could also unleash the power of an Emperor for a short time. If Emperor Tianxin died at the hands of a Supreme Being, and then another Emperor died at the hands of a Supreme Being, Su Chen couldn't imagine what the final outcome would be. The efforts and hard work of countless Emperors over hundreds of thousands of years would all be in vain, and the Supreme Forbidden Zone would be in turmoil once more!
"You are a sinner to all races!"
Su Chen spoke.
Emperor Tianxin's actions were far more dangerous than severing his own path and escaping into the Forbidden Zone.
Emperor Tianxin's expression was complex upon hearing this.
Perhaps, as Su Chen said, he would be a sinner to all races.
However, he didn't regret it.
The continuation of his race was more important to him than transcendence.
Emperor Tianxin left.
Su Chen was suppressed within a small world, surrounded by countless Emperor Formations and restrictions.
He couldn't break through the restrictions and return to the universe in the short term.
Emperor Tianxin ultimately did not choose to exterminate them all.
Perhaps his offspring will fail.
In that case, someone like Su Chen, capable of breaking the restrictions,
will be the last resort for all races.
Provided... they are still alive!