Chapter 626 - 611: Great Power, To Be Completely Controlled

The Artifact Origin Sect was the holy land of Artifact Refiners.

Even Dark Gold Level Influences had to curry favor with them.

Even Legendary Sects had to show them some deference.

As a result, the people of the Artifact Origin Sect were accustomed to being arrogant.

And they had every right to be.

Yin Shanhan wanted to assert his dominance over Shen Lang and the Profound Dao Sect. It was a way to recover from the embarrassment he’d suffered at the Profound Dao Sect earlier, and also a chance to test Shen Lang’s limits.

After all, this was no ordinary partnership. This was a choice made under the "command" of their founding Elder Ancestor; it was a matter of pledging allegiance, of becoming subordinates.

The infuriating part was that the Artifact Origin Sect’s Elder Ancestor had been maddeningly cryptic, failing to explain the full story. He’d given no cause, no desired outcome, which gave the people of the Artifact Origin Sect a massive headache.

Pledging their allegiance was a certainty. Their founding Elder Ancestor had told Shen Lang to "look after" the Artifact Origin Sect in front of so many people. It was like entrusting an orphan to a guardian, a gesture most people could understand.

But even so, it was still unclear what their exact position would be once the Artifact Origin Sect was under Shen Lang’s authority.

Would they become one of Shen Lang’s subordinate powers, obeying his every command?

Or would it be an arrangement of equality and mutual benefit?

’Even if Shen Lang’s talent for Artifact Refining is astonishing—he even managed to take the nine Spirit Pattern Pillars—that alone is hardly enough to make the entire Artifact Origin Sect follow his every order, is it?’

It was precisely because of these questions and concerns that Yin Shanhan acted so arrogantly, hoping to test the waters.

After all, this would determine the future of the Artifact Origin Sect.

Even if it was the Elder Ancestor’s command, Yin Shanhan didn’t want the people of the Artifact Origin Sect to become another’s slaves.

However, he never could have imagined that Shen Lang’s reaction would be so extreme!

For just injuring a few ordinary disciples, Shen Lang actually wanted Duanmu Zheng to directly attack the King Martial Realm Artifact Refining Master he had brought!

’In Shen Lang’s eyes, is the prestigious Artifact Origin Sect—a Spirit Copper Level Artifact Refining Sect—and a dignified Emperor Martial Realm Artifact Refining Master worth less than these Spirit Martial Realm disciples?’

Yin Shanhan couldn’t understand. He truly couldn’t understand.

What he understood even less was how Shen Lang could be so ruthless, telling them to get lost one moment, while dangling such a tempting fruit the next: to build the Artifact Origin Sect into a Legendary Sect!

He had even mentioned Celestial Artifacts!

On the Star Continent, the levels of Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts, in ascending order, were: Ordinary Weapons, Spiritual Artifacts, Profound Artifacts, Imperial Artifacts, Emperor Artifacts, Sacred Artifacts, and Celestial Artifacts.

The legendary Celestial Artifacts were the most powerful Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts that could be forged in this world.

They were exceedingly rare.

The appearance of a single Celestial Artifact could throw the world into turmoil, unleashing terrifying upheaval and a rain of blood.

Every Celestial Artifact possessed supreme might and an unimaginable level of power. With a single swing, space itself could be shattered, and countless experts would be reduced to ash.

These were the ultimate Magical Treasure Secret Artifacts, requiring the combined effort of at least five Master Level Artifact Refining Masters—the very peak of the Human Realm’s Artifact Refiners—to even have a chance of being forged.

In addition to five powerful Master Level Artifact Refiners, forging one also required immense manpower and resources, and could take many years to succeed.

And yet Shen Lang claimed that a Celestial Artifact would be born from the hands of the Artifact Origin Sect!

Whether it was the claim to transform a Spirit Copper Level Influence into a Legendary Power within ten years, or the promise to have the Artifact Origin Sect produce Master Level Artifact Refining Masters capable of forging the ultimate Magical Treasure Secret Artifact... a Celestial Artifact—all of it was completely unimaginable!

In the entire world, besides a place like the War God Hall or the Myriad Beasts Mansion, who else would dare make such a boundlessly arrogant claim?

But Shen Lang had.

And in front of so many people, no less!

Yin Shanhan and his companions’ minds went completely blank. Even their breathing... seemed to stop.

It wasn’t just the members of the Artifact Origin Sect who were shocked beyond belief; even the Elder Ancestors of the Profound Dao Sect and the other sects, along with their disciples, were all in a stupefied daze.

The members of the Profound Dao Sect and the other sects, of course, had long known that Shen Lang’s skill in the Artifact Refining Dao was outrageously heaven-defying.

The old-timers, especially, had known ever since Shen Lang forged the Xingtian Battle Armor from a Four-winged Green Python Scale that few could rival his accomplishments in Artifact Refining.

But no matter how highly they rated Shen Lang’s abilities, they had never imagined this!

Ten years!

For the path of Martial Arts or the Artifact Refining Dao, ten years was nothing more than the blink of an eye!

For an ordinary Artifact Refining Master, advancing a single tier within ten years was an achievement worthy of pride.

To transform a Spirit Copper Level Influence into a Legendary Power in ten years, to cultivate Master Level Artifact Refining Masters within ten years...

This wasn’t a question of difficulty.

This was simply impossible!

The Star Continent had a long history, and in all those countless years, you could count the number of Artifact Refining Sects that had reached the Legendary Level on one hand!

As for Artifact Refining Masters, not counting the reclusive powerhouses, there were probably fewer than ten in the entire Star Continent!

’And to forge the legendary Celestial Artifacts, you need at least five Master Level Artifact Refining Masters... Does that mean Shen Lang is going to help the Artifact Origin Sect cultivate more than five of them?’

Whether it was the disciples from the various sects watching the spectacle or the old-timers from the Artifact Origin Sect at the center of it all, everyone’s minds completely short-circuited.

Only Shen Lang could get away with saying something like that. Anyone else would have been drowned in scornful criticism!

If Shen Lang truly had the qualifications and power to achieve something people wouldn’t even dare to dream of, then his previous words weren’t the least bit "arrogant."

Even Yin Shanhan himself had said that arrogance was the prerogative of the strong.

When a person reached a certain level of power, the truths they spoke of so casually were simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary people...

The courtyard fell silent. After speaking, Shen Lang said no more, simply watching Yin Shanhan and his companions quietly.

In the past, even if he truly possessed such power, Shen Lang would not have revealed it in front of so many people.

However, the powerful force behind the Candle Dragon was constantly spurring Shen Lang on.

Although there was currently no evidence to prove that the fall of the War Emperor and the disappearance of the War God Hall were related to the force behind the Candle Dragon.

But the Star Continent was a strange place; it was vast, yet it felt small at times. A power that could exist in this world and surpass the War God Hall? Aside from the Blood Race of old, it was truly impossible to find many others.

Shen Lang absolutely had to kill Xu Daolin!

The Elemental Power Fragment lay beneath the Profound Dao Sect’s Extreme Thunder Peak, and Candle Dragon’s group had already locked their target on the area around the Profound Dao Sect. Sooner or later, they would narrow their search to the sect itself.

Lan Mengling was being hunted by people from the War God Hall, and in the midst of it all, Donghuang—who appeared to be a traitor to the War God Hall—had shown up. This confirmed that the War God Hall and the force behind the Candle Dragon were mortal enemies.

Then there was Shen Lang’s identity as the War Emperor, and the matter of Xue Dangdang losing her memory...

All of this led Shen Lang to instinctively regard the force behind the Candle Dragon as his greatest enemy.

With so many threads of fate entangling him, Shen Lang had no way of avoiding this mysterious and powerful force.

Eventually, the two sides would have to fight to the death.

Shen Lang wasn’t a great believer in destiny, but some things were simply impossible to escape.

The time of the Blood Ancestor’s re-emergence was drawing ever closer.

Supreme Yin Qi continued to pour out from the Earth Rift, and the entire world was changing.

Xue Dangdang had lost her memory and subsequently developed some inexplicable connection to the force behind the Candle Dragon...

All of these things caused the pressure on Shen Lang to swell relentlessly.

Now, in addition to desperately raising his own cultivation, he had to build a powerful force of his own, no matter the cost, to be able to face what was coming.

With things having developed to this point, Shen Lang felt it was time to start revealing his hand.

That was why, inside the Heaven-Sealing Cauldron, Shen Lang had revealed everything about the Silent Extinction Divine Thunder and the North Netherworld Extreme Heaven Sect.

It was why he wanted to train Zhuge Xian’Er into a Restriction Array Master in the shortest time possible.

And finally, it was why he had spoken those unimaginably arrogant words directly to the people of the Artifact Origin Sect.

Now, only two choices remained for the Artifact Origin Sect: leave, or stay.

If the Artifact Origin Sect chose to leave, Shen Lang would gather the Artifact Refiners from the Profound Dao Sect and the other Four Sects and train them into Artifact Refining Masters.

Although the difficulty would be significantly greater and it would take much longer, at least it would be a force completely under his control.

That would be better than having the Artifact Origin Sect stay here begrudgingly.

The tides of the world were shifting. Shen Lang would rather eliminate any unfavorable factors and uncontrollable forces than tolerate their existence.

This was also why, even when he trusted certain people, he still made them offer up their Soul Blood.

If the Artifact Origin Sect chose to stay, they would have to completely shed their lordly attitude and submit—completely and utterly.

Otherwise, Shen Lang would rather have nothing to do with them!

While everyone was still in a daze, Shen Lang flipped his wrist, and a Jade Scroll appeared in his hand.

He gave the Jade Scroll a light flick, and it shot smoothly and swiftly toward Yin Shanhan.

Yin Shanhan caught the Jade Scroll with slightly stiff movements and, still somewhat dazed, extended his Divine Thought into it.

The moment he did...

Yin Shanhan’s hand trembled so violently that the Jade Scroll nearly fell to the ground!

Recorded within the Jade Scroll was the Refining Secret Technique for a Celestial Artifact!

Although some details had been deliberately obscured or removed, it was unmistakably the Refining Secret Technique for a Celestial Artifact!

Just as Yin Shanhan pulled the Jade Scroll away from his forehead to stare at Shen Lang in horror, the scroll flashed brightly, turned to ash, and scattered on the wind.

Just then, four figures suddenly descended from the sky. It was Nangong Yan, Shark’s Kiss, Chaos, and others who had arrived.

"Brother Yin, you came all the way to the Purple Chu Country! Why didn’t you let us know? If I had known earlier, I would have prepared a grand welcome!" Nangong Yan said with a charming laugh.

As she spoke, she shot a meaningful glance at Nalan Ziyun, who was watching the drama unfold with a carefree expression.

Shark’s Kiss and Shangguan Feiyue immediately flanked Yin Shanhan, taking his arms with an affection one might show to a dear in-law.

In the past, people from an ordinary Spirit Copper Level Sect could only dream of getting this close to Yin Shanhan.

But their arrival immediately eased the tension and alleviated some of the awkwardness for the members of the Artifact Origin Sect.

Yin Shanhan was so moved he could have cried...