The Peerless Emperor

Chapter 409: Chapter 410: The Chief Culprit

Lin Qian had come here because Zhuge Ming had suddenly informed him that the thick spiritual energy of Coastal State, which had been on the rise, had abruptly started to decline.

Moreover, the planted spirit wood began to wither, with branches and leaves covered in blood-red lines, resembling the growth of blood vessels.

According to observations by scholars of the Heavenly Art Department in Coastal State, these bloodlines, much like blood vessels, seemed to be parasitic in nature, clinging to these spirit woods and sapping their nutrients.

At the same time, the spirit wood that was invaded by these blood vessel-like lines not only stopped absorbing the world’s waste gases and the dissipated soul power to produce spiritual energy but also began drawing the spiritual energy from between heaven and earth. This energy was then transported through these bloodlines invading the spirit wood to an unknown place.

And the only place in the whole Coastal State where the anomaly had occurred was the lake in front of Lin Qian.

The blood-red lake surface was incredibly captivating. Lin Qian could even clearly feel the spiritual energy from all around converging into this lake.

Looking at the crimson water, Lin Qian’s face turned very ugly. Coastal State was a part of the Huaxia Empire, and also his own heartfelt endeavor, yet the empire he nurtured was being eroded by unknown factors, just as a parasite greedily plunders the nutrients of the empire.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance at the cave piercing through the mountain wall next to him and slightly furrowed his brow, “Logically, since Dad is so strong and he went into the lake to break the seal on the relic, he should have known if there was something strange beneath this lake. Why didn’t he tell me when he left a message?”

Ye Xin also looked at the massive cave entrance in the mountain wall, and she couldn’t help but feel a bit shocked.

If it weren’t for what Lin Qian told her, Ye Xin could never imagine that the seemingly gentle Uncle Lin was actually strong enough to penetrate a mountain with an ordinary wooden spear!

And when her gaze followed to the lake, her eyebrows knitted tightly together.

The rapid decline of spiritual energy in Coastal State also filled her with deep concern.

Today’s Coastal State owed its success not only to the Huaxia Empire’s own astonishing national power but also significantly due to her own efforts while overseeing the State.

In essence, Ye Xin had tailored Coastal State by hand for Lin Qian, and now to see it weakening due to such an inexplicable reason caused her great pain.

“Little Qian, could the anomalies in the Southern Domain and the Southern Nine Provinces be related to this?” Ye Xin suddenly asked, looking at the mysterious lake.

Lin Qian stared at the blood-colored lake water and nodded inwardly, “The possibility is very high. I fear that in Coastal State here, once the spiritual energy in the Southern Domain’s Southern Nine Provinces reaches a certain concentration, this situation would occur!”

“This could also explain why the Southern Domain’s Southern Nine Provinces are lands of anomalies.”

Coastal State, Feng State, Lianshan State, Qi Province, Diao Shun State, Nanying State, Anjiang State, Chengmen State, and Southern Dragon State are collectively known as the Southern Domain’s Southern Nine Provinces.

In fact, after Lin Qian left Coastal State and experienced the other states in the Southern Domain, he found that the disparity between Coastal State and the other Southern Nine Provinces was far too vast compared to other states.

Indeed, there were disparities in strength between the other states in the Southern Domain, but these were also related to the powers that be. The concentration of spiritual energy varied in each state, but the differences were within an understandable range.

In comparison with other states in the Southern Domain, the Southern Nine Provinces weren’t much behind in terms of area, but their concentration of spiritual energy was pitifully low.

In the entire Southern Domain, people from the other states could at least enter the Basic Three Realms, and some could even step into the Shape Origin Realm by their forties. However, in the Southern Domain’s Southern Nine Provinces, most people didn’t possess soul power, and the best among them were merely at the Entering Yuan Realm. This situation was most pronounced in Coastal State.

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Like the situation in the other eight provinces, it was somewhat better compared to Coastal State, with at least a few Soul Martial Artists in the Life and Death Realm.

Even though the area of the Southern Nine Provinces in the Southern Domain wasn’t much different from the other provinces, the cultivation environment was much worse, leading other forces to show no interest in this region.

It could be said that in the eyes of others, the Southern Nine Provinces in the Southern Domain weren’t given much regard and were considered a very remote part of the Human Clan’s territory.

It was precisely for this reason that Lin Qian’s parents had eloped to this place—after all, it was indeed very remote.

The situation of the Southern Nine Provinces in the Southern Domain had always been a mystery, as no one could understand why this place, seemingly without much value, garnered little attention over time.

Only when the Huaxia Empire emerged did many start to speculate whether the peculiar circumstances of the Southern Nine Provinces were related to it.

In fact, the Huaxia Empire had been hiding in Coastal State, secretly monopolizing the spiritual energy of the Southern Nine Provinces and developing quietly until it finally made an appearance.

Regarding such speculations, the Huaxia Empire did not refute them, leading many to believe that the strange traits of the Southern Nine Provinces were indeed due to this reason.

In reality, Lin Qian intentionally did not counter these misunderstandings, as such mistakes could actually prevent much speculation, making the origins of the Huaxia Empire appear more justifiable.

However, he was keenly aware that the peculiarity of the Southern Nine Provinces wasn’t caused by the Huaxia Empire, and the true reason for this oddity was probably beginning to reveal itself right before his eyes.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Accompanied by two sounds of tearing through the air, two green figures suddenly shot past Lin Qian, diving headfirst into the blood-colored lake to scout ahead without a second thought.

Lin Qian stood by the blood-colored lake with Ye Xin, silently watching the ripples caused by the scouts diving into the water, quietly waiting for the results.

It wasn’t long before Lin Qian received a report from the scouting figures; there was nothing unusual under the lake—just cracks in the ground beneath it, from which minute amounts of blood-colored energy seeped, easily dyeing the lake red.

Lin Qian frowned as he looked at the lake, his Soul Power of the Minghuang Emperor suddenly surged forth from within him, rushing toward the blood-colored water of the lake.

In an instant, Lin Qian’s Soul Power transformed into an invisible giant hand, imprisoning all the water of the blood-colored lake, and then forcibly lifted it up.

All the water of the lake was thus raised by Lin Qian directly into the sky, floating quietly above where the lake originally was, enveloped by the Soul Power of the Minghuang Emperor.

At the same time, Ye Xin also coordinated with her actions, waving her delicate hand as her starlight Soul Power blocked the river water flowing into the lake, preventing any more from pouring in.

At that moment, the bottom of the lake and its condition were fully exposed, clearly visible to Lin Qian and Ye Xin.

There lay a well-preserved piece of ancient architecture quietly at the bottom of the lake, and upon seeing that old-fashioned structure, Ye Xin immediately understood that this must be the ruins Lin Qian mentioned.

However, the condition of the lake’s bottom around the building was truly startling; the cracked patterns spread out like a spiderweb, with the blood-colored aura constantly seeping out of them.

And that blood-colored aura was clearly the culprit behind the current distress in Coastal State.

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