Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

“Your Majesty, you cannot send Long Chen into the little black room! He has such a strong heart-devil! Don’t tell me that you can’t see it! This is no joke!”

Within a pavilion by the lake inside the royal garden, Yu Xiaoyun was seated in front of a grill, eating fish and drinking wine. Jiang Huixin and Xu Lanxin came running over.

Xu Lanxin directly scolded the emperor, feeling a bit angry. With their cultivation bases being at their current realm, they could easily sense the state of a person’s heart just by looking into their eyes.

Also, Long Chen had not set up any defenses against them, so they could all see the powerful heart-devil within him.

The little black room was something that tempered a person’s will, and it drew out a person’s negative emotions to test them. Although it was called a punishment for princes and princesses, in truth, it was just a kind of trial and training.

However, for those with heart-devils, the little black room was a death sentence. Furthermore, it was the cruelest, most painful kind of death sentence as a person would die while tormented by their heart-devil. Once the heart-devil took control over the soul, the person inside would die without a doubt. There was no cure, no saving them.

“You can’t put it that way. That brat wanted to go in himself, don’t forget that. I didn’t force him. Furthermore, I even warned him, so you can’t blame me. Hmph, I still haven’t settled things with you two either! You caused me to lose face. Well, I suppose I’ve gotten a bit of compensation.” Yu Xiaoyun looked at them unhappily. It was because of them covering up the origin of the Vermilion Bird Pear Flower Wine that he had left himself open to Long Chen’s words. Thus, he was still a bit angry.

“Your Majesty…!” Xu Lanxin frowned and wanted to continue arguing, but Jiang Huixin grabbed her arm and smiled.

“Your Majesty is a wise and noble man, and everything is under your control. Let’s not worry ourselves. Anyway, this is a rare chance for us to accompany His Majesty to eat and drink. This is your Seven Color Dragon Fish, is it not? It looks very delicious.”

“Hmph, it’s a good thing I got there early enough. Most of it was still left. Otherwise, those two bastards would have eaten it all. But… that brat’s cooking skill really isn’t bad. He didn’t ruin its flavor. Let’s eat together. Come, there are no outsiders here,” gestured Yu Xiaoyun.

The great emperor of a powerful empire was actually eating other people’s leftovers. If that were to spread, it would definitely cause everyone to laugh at him. Thus, Yu Xiaoyun had ordered everyone to leave and activated a formation to prevent them from learning about it.

In truth, Long Chen and Zhu Yifeng had not eaten that much. It was so delicious that they were eating it slowly to truly savor the flavor.

Long Chen had also taken out a jug of wine packed with no less than two hundred liters of wine. He had been planning on drinking to his heart’s content with Zhu Yifeng, but now, it was all Yu Xiaoyun’s. It was only after confiscating this booty that Yu Xiaoyun felt a bit better inside.

With just a few mouthfuls of the fish, they were sprouting endless praise. One reason was that the Seven Color Dragon Fish’s meat was just that delicious, while another reason was that Long Chen’s cooking skills were unmatched. As an alchemist, he knew how to best draw out the taste of the meat, and the seasonings he used only added to its flavor. It could only be called perfect.

The meat was good meat, and the wine was good wine. Jiang Huixin suddenly said, “The two of us sisters really have to thank that child Long Chen. If it weren’t for him, His Majesty would never be willing to cook this fish for us to eat.”

Xu Lanxin also smiled. This Seven Color Dragon Fish was exceptionally precious. If Long Chen hadn’t come, they would really never know just how it tasted.

“What are you saying? Am I such a stingy man? If you want fish, you just have to ask!” declared Yu Xiaoyun awkwardly.

Of course, the fish was already dead, which was the only reason he said such a thing. If it was still alive, there was no way that he would be willing to eat it.

“Long Chen, will he…” asked Xu Lanxin.

“Empress, don’t worry about it. I’ve already ordered someone to install a formation inside. Everything will be under my control. I just want that arrogant brat to pay for his actions,” said Yu Xiaoyun.

Hearing that, Jiang Huixin and Xu Lanxin were relieved. As long as Yu Xiaoyun allowed Long Chen to back out before it was too late, it was fine.

…

“Long Chen, are you really going in? I’m telling you, no one has survived even seven days of the little black room. You’re being brash.” Once Yu Xiaoyun left, Yu Qianxue turned to Long Chen with a complicated expression.

She hadn’t expected Long Chen to be so righteous and actually took full responsibility for this matter. Of course, all of it was really caused by him.

Zhu Yifeng clenched his teeth. “Big brother, we should just admit that we were wrong to His Majesty. Beg him to go back to three days for each of us.”

Long Chen looked at Zhu Yifeng. This little fellow was loyal and willing to sacrifice. Long Chen smiled. “Your will is so weak. There’s no need.” He then turned to Yu Qianxue. “In truth, I’m a very good person. I also look very good.”

Yu Qianxue furiously cursed, “What’s the point of saying such nonsense? Can it solve your current predicament?!”

Long Chen continued to smile. “I’m always assured of what I do. I won’t use my life as a joke, so I have my own reason for entering the little black room, don’t worry!”

After saying that, Long Chen was brought away by the imperial guards. The moment they tried to put chains on him, Long Chen turned hostile.

“Don’t provoke me, or I’ll slap you!”

Long Chen was not a prince or princess, so he didn’t need to abide by the royal family’s rules. But upon hearing this, those guards’ expressions sank. Just as they were about to get angry, their elderly leader said, “It’s fine.”

This elder could count as tactful, knowing how to judge a situation before acting. Long Chen didn’t even give face to the emperor, let alone to the likes of them.

Right now, they still didn’t understand Long Chen. Perhaps if they were to treat him the same way as a prince or princess, they would be the ones to suffer.

After that, Long Chen was brought to a square-shaped palace. It was perfectly square, and its whole body was pitch-black, the kind of black that seemed to devour the light. Just getting close to it made the sun’s rays feel darker.

At the same time, a particular aura washed over them, causing Long Chen to be startled.

“The aura of hell?”

This aura was familiar. It was very similar to the aura of hell, which could draw out a person’s most primal fears. Even the guards were practically shivering as they looked at the black palace.

The stone gate slowly rose. Once inside, they saw an even larger palace. In truth, this was a visual misperception. The space inside just looked bigger than the palace outside.

These guards didn’t move once they reached the gate. Long Chen then pressed on and passed through eighteen palaces, and they only grew larger and larger, blacker and blacker. As he proceeded, the path behind him grew further and further away. It was like he was walking into the abyss of death.

Once he entered the eighteenth gate, the stone gate slammed down one by one. After that, the world fell silent. There was no light; there was no sound. He was within endless darkness, endless shadow, endless terror, and endless loneliness. At the same time, waves of negative emotions washed over Long Chen.

If an ordinary person came here, their will would instantly crumble. Even cultivators were unable to endure this terrifying darkness.

However, Long Chen simply smiled and sat on the ground. He closed his eyes and patiently sensed the darkness.

“Come out. Let’s have a chat.”