Rise of the Demon God

Long Chen had reached the ninth stage of Sky Realm, and he wasn't even twenty yet.  He was only two minor steps away from the Heaven Realm; unfortunately, he didn't think he had enough time to reach the Heaven Realm before getting to the Estonia Kingdom.

"We should be entering the Empire tomorrow. You need to go back then. We'll be covering the rest of the journey on the other guy," Long Chen said to the Snake Monarch, talking about the Sun Destroying Condor.

"Why him now? Since we're already there, I can take you to the end as well," Snake Monarch asked back.

"We're entering the land of the strong. So far, we had been going through the empty land, trying to avoid the Kingdoms along the way. Since the Empire is our target, we can't avoid it in any case," Long Chen answered softly.

"So far, we didn't have to worry about people seeing us, but we can't be like that inside the Empire. A giant snake will attract too much attention since you're so rare. It's better if I travel without you inside the Empire," he continued. "At Least until we meet Mingyu's father," he continued.

" You're so annoying. You're right, though. This Monarch's glory is so appealing that everyone would be watching and praising me. I don't feel like attracting too much attention nowadays anyway. I'll be resting inside the Beast Region," the Snake Monarch said, but there was a tinge of disappointment evident in his tone.

"Don't be sad. I'm not saying you need to go back to the Beast Region," Long Chen chuckled as he said. 

"What do you mean then? You said you'll be traveling on him," the Snake Monarch said.

"I only said you don't have to be a mount. I didn't say you can't accompany me. You can still accompany me like before," Long Chen answered.

"What about me attracting attention?" Snake Monarch asked.

"Is that even a problem for someone as mighty as you?" Long Chen let out as he laughed. "You can freely control your size. That's not only for getting big but getting smaller as well."

"You can accompany me when you're smaller. It's not troubling for you," he continued as he explained. "Now, of course, you don't have to do it if you don't want to. I am not forcing you."

"Hmph, you're my right-hand man. Of course, I can't let you be on your own. Since you're pleading so much, I'll accompany you." Snake Monarch said as he laughed proudly.

Ming Lan was sitting beside Long Chen, laughing at their conversation. She was finding it amusing. 

"This guy is so cute," Ming Lan told Long Chen, talking about the Snake Monarch. "Just like a kid."

"You're the kid! Your whole family is the kid!" Snake Monarch protested as he took Ming Lan's words like he was mocking her.

"Don't talk to him like that. You know kids can be quite protective of themselves," Long Chen whispered in Ming Lan's ears as he smiled.

"I heard that!" Snake Monarch shouted.

A wry smile appeared on Long Chen's face as he replied, "I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Ji Shan. He is like a kid. Not you."

Ji Shan gazed at Long Chen blankly before he burst into laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. He was talking about me. Ming Lan talked to me about that before as well. That might be why he was reminding her," he supported Long Chen.

"Hmm, that is true. You do act like a kid sometimes. That's the only reason I haven't made you my left hand. You still have to grow a little more before you can call me your king," the Snake Monarch sighed as he chided Ji Shan.

Ji Shan grew even more stunned, but he knew how Snake Monarch was, so he only nodded his head.

Long Chen and Ming Lan laughed at Ji Shan's tough luck. He got a free scolding for no reason.

Long Chen rubbed his shoulder as he gave him a beer bottle.

"Let's have a few drinks together. This is the last day of this free journey. We will be inside the Empire tomorrow. Let's relax as much as we can today," He said, smiling.

Ji Shan took the bottle. He removed the cap. "Fortunately, the weather is decent too. There are no snowstorms today."

Long Chen took out another bottle.

The two of them lightly tapped the bottle in their hands before they started drinking the beer. 

"This thing is pretty amazing. Who knew a small town could have such nice beer," Ji Shan complimented.

"Yeah. We were lucky we decided to stop in that town to buy a few things," Long Chen replied as he smiled.

"Still, you bought all the bottles. Can we even drink a thousand bottles?" Ji Shan inquired as he gazed at Long Chen suspiciously.

"Of Course we can drink. Why wouldn't we be able to? We have a long time in front of us. We're both Cultivators who have a lifespan of over a thousand years. A thousand bottles are nothing for us," Long Chen answered.

" I would have bought more if they had more stock. Unfortunately, this was all they had," he continued as he sighed.

The two of them finished the bottles before they opened more bottles. 

The white snow was covering the ground and roads. A giant snake flew through the empty sky, raging against the cold winds.

Ming Lan's long hair flew against the wind as she gazed far into the distance while Long Chen and Ji Shan continued their session

Tomorrow they were going to enter the Empire. She wondered if things were going to change then. They were going to be in the middle of the battle between strong people. 

Even though Long Chen was strong, this wasn't a place where they could be certain of his safety. Even with all his abilities, it wasn't confirmed if he wouldn't be hurt.

She wondered how their next few months were going to pass, worrying about the future. She also had a feeling that something bad was waiting for them in the future. She didn't know what this feeling was, but it was gripping him.

This feeling was not leaving her. She wasn't sure if something was waiting for them in this Empire or it was a feeling for an even further future.

******

In an unknown place, a palace existed in the forgotten land which was undiscoverable by anyone 

A coffin was lying in the center of the deepest room of the Palace.

The coffin wasn't covered. It was wholly exposed to what was lying inside.