Rise of the Demon God

"What? I thought you would be pleased? Why can't you accept? Don't you want to live a life outside?"

Long Chen hadn't expected that answer. He had expected many answers, but this wasn't one of them.

"Of course, I want to live my life. I didn't even live my childhood to the fullest, let alone the rest of my life. There is so much I'm yet to experience," Long Tian replied, sighing. "So much to see... So much to explore..."

"Then why do you say no? Is it because you think any other body is beneath you? You want this body instead?" Long Chen asked, frowning. "That might be difficult to do at this point or at any point in the future."

"Heh, don't worry. A body is just that... A body. I don't want your body either. I just don't think I can accept any body," Long Tian replied, sighing.

"Why not then?" Long Chen inquired. "I don't understand."

"It's not that complicated. I can't take a body because then I'll be disconnected from the Bloodline Temple and from your Martial Soul. Then I might not be able to help you in the future. And trust me, at this point, you'll need the help of the Bloodline Temple as much as you can," Long Tian explained, smiling.

There was some sadness hidden behind his smile, which was evident. All for the sake of Long Chen and his family, he was willing to let go of the opportunity of being free.

"I can't believe you. For me, you're refusing such an opportunity? You know you might not get this chance again after you're pulled back into the Bloodline Temple. Even I won't be able to help you then," Long Chen reminded Long Tian. He believed that Long Tian wasn't getting the full picture of the trouble he was inside.

"You think I don't know?" Long Tian asked, gazing at the moon. He laid lazily on the ground.

"However, if I leave the Bloodline Temple at this time, you'll be in trouble. You will need all the help you can get when facing Tian Shen. I can't let you go through it alone. Because if you fail, everything will be lost," he added.

"You don't have to worry about that. I have a plan for that. I'll be able to take care of myself. Don't risk your life for me," Long Chen let out.

"Like the plan you had when you freed Xun from the fake Bloodline Temple? You thought the same then, but tell me, did you never feel that it would've been better if she was still connected to the Fake Bloodline Temple?"

"She would've been able to guide you through the last trial on what you needed to or provide you with information of real life problems. As a mortal, she is always at risk whenever you call her out, which you can't do when you're in a battle. I don't want you to make the same mistake that you did with her."

"I can't be selfish this time, no matter how much I want to be. And by god, I want to be selfish at this moment so badly, but I can't. So don't bring this topic up again. I don't want to be reminded again because I might not be able to say no next time. Don't make me weak; it's for the good of both of us."

Hearing the words of Long Tian, Long Chen also realized that he wasn't wrong. He had felt the need of Xun during the Trials. Without her, he didn't even know what to do or what the goal of the trials was.

He glanced towards Xun, who was peacefully sleeping. "I know that I could've been in a better situation if I had allowed her to stay as the spirit of the ring, but if I were given a second choice, I would still do the same."

"I can't even imagine how dark that world can be, staying all alone inside an empty space in a ring. She deserved to live, even if it made life difficult for me. And in a similar way, you deserve to live." He glanced back at Long Tian. "But I won't force you. I will leave the decision to you."

"In any case, I need to find the needed items first. It's only after that we can think about anything else. So you can take your time and think clearly about it. We'll have a talk about it again. We're not done yet," Long Chen said. "Now, if you don't mind, would you turn around?"

"Hah, sure." Long Tian turned around, looking elsewhere.

"Xun, wake up!" As Long Tian turned around, Long Chen placed his hand on Xun's shoulder and started walking her up.

"Umm?" Xun slowly opened her eyes.  "What do you need?"

"Someone is coming here. I think it's time you get up and get dressed." Long Chen stood up and started wearing his dress. "Whoever it is should be here soon."

"Such wrong timing. I was having such a nice sleep." Yawning, Xun also stood up as she started getting dressed.

As both finished getting dressed, Long Chen turned to Long Tian. "You can turn now. Also, get up. We're leaving."

"Who are you talking to?" Xun asked, finding Long Chen talking to thin air.

"Long Tian? You can't see him, but apparently, he's able to come out of my Martial Space," Long Chen explained. "Anyway, I'll tell you everything later. But first, we need to get going. We don't know who is coming. It might be guards who are here to catch us, so cover our trail."

Long Chen sent the mattress and everything else inside his storage ring before calling out the Blood Dragon.

Without the Snake Monarch, the Blood Dragon was the only fast and viable option of travel.

He climbed on the Blood Dragon with Xun before commanding the Dragon to fly eastwards.

The Blood Dragon shot into the distance, disappearing into the horizon.

The people that Long Chen was worried about reached the pond as well.

"Someone was just here. I can feel it."

"This is a strange energy signature. You think it might be the person those villagers talked about?"

"It's quite possible. However, whoever that was, left. There's no trail anywhere. It's certainly fascinating. Either that person used a teleportation portal like we did to get to this forest, or he flew. Only that can explain the lack of trail."

A group of men stood in a circle, discussing about the possibility. "Check the air. If the trail isn't on the ground, it'll be there unless it's teleportation!"