Nine Star Hegemon Body Arts

Chapter 5501 An Opportunity

“Many thanks for your help, senior. Without you, we would have all died here.”

Once Netherdragon Tianfeng vanished, Long Chen felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion wash over him. The Nether Emperor was too powerful, so powerful that it made Long Chen feel despair. Even a wisp of his divine will on Netherdragon Tianfeng’s body was so powerful.

Long Chen had considered slaying Netherdragon Tianfeng, but his instincts warned him otherwise. While he was confident he could kill the Silver Hair Void Crusher, the idea of defeating Netherdragon Tianfeng felt like an impossible dream. That wisp of divine will was a stark reminder of the vast chasm between them.

“What nonsense are you spouting? You fought for the dragon race. I wasn’t about to let you lose your life,” said the primal chaos Dragon Sovereign, his voice carrying a hint of reproach. “In truth, if you had used the full power of the sovereign dragon reverse scale, you might have had a slight chance to kill Netherdragon Tianfeng.”

“There’s no need for that. Netherdragon Tianfeng’s life isn’t worth that much,” replied Long Chen.

Long Chen had borrowed the Primal Chaos Dragon Sovereign’s will to harness the sovereign dragon reverse scale. No matter how obstinate the scale was, it had to submit before the Dragon Sovereign. Its immense power was then bestowed upon the Dragonblood Legion.

However, Long Chen instinctively felt that even if he had unleashed all its power, it wouldn’t have been enough to kill Netherdragon Tianfeng. At best, he could gravely wound him. Rather than depleting such a priceless resource, he had chosen to hold back half of the dragon scale’s power.

“If we’d abandoned the Silver Hair Void Crusher and focused on Netherdragon Tianfeng, we might have been able to kill him,” said Evilmoon.

Long Chen shook his head, but it was the Earth Cauldron who replied, “It wouldn’t have worked. The moment the Netherworld gates opened, the Netherworld’s power started supporting him. Unless you could sever his connection to the Netherworld, he would always find a way to survive. And cutting that link is practically impossible.”

“Shut your mouth. You did nothing during the battle, and now you’re so chatty,” snorted Evilmoon disdainfully.

The Earth Cauldron had refrained from coming out during the battle, showing itself only briefly at the end. This irritated Evilmoon to no end.

“You can’t blsenior for that. It wasn’t that it didn’t want to help—it’s that I didn’t dare to use its power,” Long Chen explained on the Earth Cauldron’s behalf. “The Nether Emperor has long been targeting it. If I used the Earth Cauldron’s power, we’d be walking straight into his trap. I only let senior show up briefly to provoke the Nether Emperor.”

From the moment the Nether Emperor’s power emerged, Long Chen had been wary. He was certain that the Earth Cauldron was the true target of the Nether Emperor. To avoid springing any traps, Long Chen had refrained from using its power, revealing it only at the very end.

“Tch, so it’s useless either way,” muttered Evilmoon, his tone dripping with contempt.

Evilmoon never showed any manners to the Earth Cauldron, constantly targeting it. Even though the Earth Cauldron had tried to get along with Evilmoon several times, the latter’s animosity continued, giving Long Chen a headache.

Fortunately, the Earth Cauldron had a good temper, and it never fought against Evilmoon for small stuff like this. It didn’t even argue, simply acting like it didn’t hear anything.

Seeing the Earth Cauldron ignoring it, Evilmoon wasn’t interested in arguing either, so it simply returned to the primal chaos space.

The Earth Cauldron’s runes swirled around, and its divine light enveloped Long Chen, warming his body up. Following that, the energy of heaven and earth poured into him.

“Senior...!” Long Chen was surprised.

“Don’t move. I’ll help you recover,” said the Earth Cauldron.

“There’s no need. I can—” Long Chen began, but the Earth Cauldron cut him off.

“Look inside yourself first.”

Baffled, Long Chen turned his senses inward. What he found shocked him: countless black spots, like crawling centipedes, were embedded in his body. These cursed marks gnawed at his meridians and bones, spreading insidiously.

“What is this?!” asked Long Chen in alarm.

“You clashed with the Nether Emperor’s power head-on. Although you seemed to hold the advantage, you were struck by the Netherworld’s curse,” explained the Earth Cauldron.

“And that’s...?” Long Chen frowned in confusion. How was it possible that he hadn’t sensed this curse until now? If it weren’t for the Earth Cauldron’s warning, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

Most terrifying of all, the dark spots had already sunk deep into his bones, creeping further with every passing moment. Without the Earth Cauldron’s warning, they might have spread throughout his whole body.

The Earth Cauldron replied, “He is the Nether Emperor, and his will is the will of the Netherworld. The Dragonblood Legion’s attack triggered a backlash from the Netherworld’s laws.”

“What? I’m the one who’s cursed though,” said Long Chen in confusion.

The attack had been executed by Guo Ran, channeling the combined might of the entire Dragonblood Legion. Yet they were all fine. Why was the curse focused solely on him?

“The Dragonblood Cross Slash detonated the Eight Eye Beast Totem in Netherdragon Tianfeng’s hand. When this totem exploded, so did the curse energy. At the time, you were standing at the front, so ninety percent of the curse energy targeted you,” the Earth Cauldron explained. “The remaining curse energy dispersed across the Dragonblood Legion, so they aren’t in trouble. You’re the one in critical condition.”

“You must have known about the curse energy in that attack. Why didn’t you block it?” asked Long Chen, flabbergasted.

“This curse energy is a fatal poison to others, but for you?” The Earth Cauldron chuckled darkly. “It’s an opportunity.”

“An opportunity?” asked Long Chen.

“I’ve condensed the curse runes onto your palm. You can refine them into your core runes. From that point on, you’ll possess a Nether Hand, capable of controlling Nether power.”

“I’ll be able to control the Netherworld’s power?” Long Chen was taken aback, still trying to grasp the Earth Cauldron’s words.

“Sometimes you’re surprisingly slow,” scoffed the Earth Cauldron. “What did you use to withstand the suppression of the Netherworld’s laws?”

Long Chen froze as realization struck him. He carried the blood soul power of the Nethergod race—power gifted to him by Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue.

The Earth Cauldron continued, “These curse runes are the purest condensation of the Netherworld’s laws. They even contain a fragment of the Nether Emperor’s will. If you refine them, you’ll gain dominion over terrifying Nether laws.”

At this moment, all the curse runes spreading through Long Chen’s body surged toward his right palm, forcibly condensed there by the Earth Cauldron. His entire hand turned pitch-black.

Before Long Chen could ask how to refine the energy, a tattoo of two bone swords—gleaming like jade—manifested on his palm. These were none other than Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue’s innate divine weapons. The bone swords crossed, absorbing the black curse runes.

His right hand returned to its original color, but now there was a diagram of two bone swords intersecting at the center of his palm.

“Success?”

Long Chen stared at the diagram, his voice quivering with excitement.