Chapter 18: Undying and Unrelenting? Can You Escape This Galaxy?

Heavenly Realm, Galaxy.

A million celestial soldiers manifest as cloud heads, stretching beneath the Heavenly Realm's Great Wall that spans billions of li, a giant dragon is bound by countless chains!

The terrifying divine light boils, and the area inside and outside the Heavenly Realm's Great Wall resembles a massive cauldron, crushing the Candle Dragon, attempting to melt it to death.

The multitude of Great Summer people watch, their hearts trembling.

"Ancestor, this is too insane—you're willing to pour all your strength to melt this Candle Dragon!"

"Thirty years, thirty years—Ancestor has placed everything upon us!"

"Can we, with our strength, truly contend with those demons after decades of time?"

"The divine pillars have been severed; besides Ancestor, Great Summer has no deities. We have no retreat—either we hold back countless invading demons after thirty years, or humanity perishes after thirty years!"

Millions of Great Summer people feel heavy in their hearts.

Thirty years seems long to humans, but to demons and cultivators, it's but an instant.

Can Great Summer truly produce a champion capable of matching demons within these thirty years?

Above the Heavenly Realm, the Candle Dragon, bound by chains, struggles wildly.

Staring at the heavens, the eyes formed by Lu Chen glared ferociously.

"Lu Chen, you cannot melt me to death."

"For humanity, thirty years to contend with demons is nothing but a dream!"

"I've shrouded the gods' aura; aside from this great array, what else can you do?"

Candle Nine Yin glared viciously at the sky, feeling the immortal essence within him being continuously drained by the chains.

But he is an innate demon god, immensely powerful; even the Zhou Tian Star Array, though strong, would take ten thousand years at his strength, and Lu Chen might not even melt him! Amid the ruined Heavenly Realm, clouds churn, and Lu Chen materializes a human form, descending.

He spoke softly.

"How do you know I have no means?"

Lu Chen's expression was cold; as countless divine lights were cut off and the many Western peoples were taken away by demons tearing through the void, he formed a plan in his mind.

Since he cannot awaken the gods through divine power, he will guide the Great Summer humanity toward the direction of the deities.

Over thirty years, he will spare no effort to pass the gods' methods to the hundreds of millions of Great Summer citizens.

If a human Heavenly Pride can inherit the divine mantle, in a moment of enlightenment or between life and death!

Then he can stir the scattered divine souls within this Galaxy's Heavenly Realm, guiding the gods back!

And Candle Nine Yin serves as nourishment for these Great Summer Heavenly Prides! Candle Dragon's blood and flesh are potent tonics, comparable to celestial elixirs!

At that thought, Lu Chen raised his hand, tore several dragon scales from the Candle Dragon, his divine power forming daggers that forcibly cut off pieces of dragon flesh! The excruciating pain twisted Candle Nine Yin's face.

It howled madly.

"Lu Chen, I must kill you!"

Gulu—

Lu Chen placed the dragon meat in his mouth; the flesh was fresh and sweet. After chewing and swallowing, it transformed into a torrent of divine power, nourishing his body.

"Not bad, but the divine power it contains is too strong; cultivators below the Hui Shen stage cannot easily swallow it."

"Cultivators above the Hui Shen stage may not eat more than half a jin of dragon meat per day."

"Great Vehicle cultivators, when crossing the heavenly tribulation, may drink dragon blood, thereby laying a solid foundation for them."

"If one becomes a human immortal, this is the time to elevate cultivation; one should eat premium dragon meat!"

"If one attains the Taiyi True Immortal, they can bear dragon marrow, though cracking open the bone marrow is a troublesome matter..."

Lu Chen pressed his chin, pondering, but his words made Candle Nine Yin shiver to the bone, terrified to the extreme! The creature actually planned to hammer out its own flesh and even bone marrow to feed those humans! The thought of being sliced for meat and blood daily for at least thirty years drove Candle Nine Yin into frenzy! It began a maddened struggle, its massive body nearly trying to smash the Galaxy's Great Wall that spans billions of li!

"No, no, Lu Chen, you madman, you madman!"

"If you have the skill, let me out, and we shall battle again!"

Lu Chen slowly lifted his head, looking at Candle Nine Yin as if at a fool.

"I spent great effort to lock you; how could I possibly let you go?"

"To trap you, I even dismantled the Zhou Tian Star Array; by your words, I'm gambling with the fate of the gods and humanity."

"With a body that massive, even if billions of humans ate it open, thirty years wouldn't finish it, though daily flesh‑cutting and blood‑letting would still be painful..."

Candle Nine Yin was almost despairing at that moment; a dignified innate demon god, yet forced to be sliced for flesh and blood!

"Lu Chen, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"If you release me, I will immediately withdraw my divine power, allowing you to sense the gods!"

"If that fails, I can join your humanity, become your Eastern deity, how about that?"

"I am the Great Dao's Celestial Expansion, able to let your humanity undergo metamorphosis; you have seen those demons—each generation becomes stronger after transformation!"

"By the way, you may revere me as a god; I can make your Eastern humanity produce endless Heavenly Prides to guard the Galaxy for you!"

Candle Nine Yin at this moment began begging for mercy; it could accept being suppressed or even killed by Lu Chen, but could not accept being treated like livestock to feed humanity!

"No need; if I melt you, I will naturally have this divine power."

"In ancient times, the Buddha cut flesh to feed eagles; after your death, I will have humanity erect a statue of you as a deity."

Lu Chen brushed his sleeve and left; to him, this demon lord is a great tonic, and for humanity also a great tonic.

How could one possibly believe the other's lies?

At this moment, Candle Nine Yin, realizing its fate, completely collapsed, its crimson dragon eyes filled with blood threads.

Chains clanged as he pulled them, yet the Zhou Tian runes above shone, suppressing him firmly.

"Lu Chen, Lu Chen!"

"If you let me break free, we shall be locked in endless conflict!"

"Hehe, you can break free before you speak!"

Lu Chen's voice echoed from afar.

……

……

A moment later, on the ruins of the Celestial Realm, countless Daxia people once again saw Lu Chen's figure.

He was a man with a weary expression, standing upon the desolate, barren sky.

"Gentlemen, our time is short; we have only thirty years."

"In these thirty years, as long as the dragon blood and dragon flesh are ample, your starships can reach the edge of the galaxy and naturally bring these things back to the ancestral land."

"In these thirty years, I will impart all the immortal arts without reservation; thirty years from now I expect that at least one hundred thousand people on the ancestral land will have ascended to become immortals!"

"The great calamity of the human race—this time the awakened demons are likely different from before."

"The gods have fallen; if the world no longer has deities, you will become the future gods of Daxia!"

"If I fall, and the human race survives, I hope that thereafter the Eastern human race will have flourishing incense, and everyone will be like dragons!"

(End of chapter)