The group reached a region deep within the Dragon Ascent Sect. In the center floated a black object that looked like a small rock. Everyone stared at it, curious, but they couldn’t feel anything from it at all, like it was just an ordinary black stone.
"It doesn’t look like much, but if a dragon touches that, they’ll clearly feel it’s from the Primordial Yin Dragon," Yulong said, moving closer to the stone along with the others.
Ruri stepped forward and extended her hand. The moment she did, her whole body pulsed, and multicolored scales covered her skin. A supreme draconic aura emerged, making Yulong shudder at the sight of her.
She had already absorbed five of the seven reverse scales. Now that the dragon was with her, completing the process would be much easier, and she would soon absorb them all.
"I need a bit of your pure bloodline," Ruri said calmly, turning to Yulong. He nodded, and several pure bloodline runes floated out from him, drifting toward Ruri.
Using that bloodline and the method she was taught to open the place, it took Ruri just a few minutes before the sound of something breaking in the black stone echoed.
Then, a spatial rune, almost identical to the one for inventory, appeared on the stone. The place was open now, allowing anyone to enter or exit that small hidden space.
"Let’s go," the whale said, snapping Yulong out of his daze. "You need to remove all your Qi from your body to get in."
Runula and Deryu entered Ruri’s bestial world since they couldn’t be without Qi with their active transformations. Plus, getting in with their giant bodies would be a hassle. They would watch everything through Ruri’s eyes.
This issue only affected the two Wyverns; Yulong, having pure draconic bloodline, could maintain his transformed state using that. After all, the three were soon engulfed by a distortion.
Before long, they found themselves floating over a mountainous area. A cold, dry feeling surrounded them. There was no light or heat source in that place. The death’s Yin permeated the air, and the region resembled a vast, mountainous graveyard.
From above, they could see the limits of the place. That world was a large dome, at most a kilometer in diameter. It was a small, suffocating space, and it was extremely distressing to imagine living there.
The three slowly fell to the ground. Even without Qi to fly, their bodies were strong enough to withstand the fall without a scratch. Taking a deep breath, they noticed that the ground around them was disturbed, and all over, the massive bones of colossal dragons were visible at a short distance.
Millions of years had passed since that place was created, and the two eggs had hatched. Apparently, the bloodline somehow continued to multiply. Many had been born and died there.
Countless generations had succeeded one another. Without Qi to cultivate, they relied solely on their powerful bloodline to survive. Even as newborns, because they were pure dragons, their physiques were equivalent to divine cultivators. They didn’t need to eat or have any other sustenance.
But living in such a small space, with everyone being dozens of meters tall and absolutely nothing to do, felt like an eternal prison. Given the death’s Yin and the scattered bones, it was evident that, without space, they naturally died off and covered the entire area.
"Heavens!" Yulong was catatonic. "They... they are... it can’t be..."
He tried to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. Ruri, however, confirmed, "Yeah, they’re from the extinct race in the universe: the Celestial Dragons."
"This is impossible! In the past war, the heroes made sure they exterminated everyone. This race is extremely unstable; at first, they fought alongside the heroes, but then they switched sides," Yulong spoke, dazed. "Legends say if they still existed, our nine dragon races would never be free. They’re the emperors among pure dragons, and with just their will, we have to obey."
"The Chaos Yin Dragon saved two eggs and hid them here. A lot of time has passed... I hope they managed to multiply by now," Ruri murmured, not caring about Yulong’s shock.
The answer came the very next moment.
In the sky, amidst the darkness, a serpentine figure emerged, radiating an indescribable presence. Its body was covered in celestial blue and white scales. It was the embodiment of divinity and the connection to the heavenly laws.
Yulong fell to his knees. With a sigh, his bloodline went out of control, and his true draconic form emerged.
"Azure Dragon? Who are you?" a deep voice, making their souls tremble, echoed.
Ruri snorted, and her bloodline pulsed again. The whole environment was engulfed by three powerful draconic bloodlines. The dragon in the sky widened its eyes upon sensing that.
Ruri spoke, "You must know everything. She left her legacy with a lot of knowledge about the universe, cultivation, and more. It took longer than expected, but we’ve finally come to free your race."
"Hm?" The serpentine figure nodded, its eyes briefly locking onto Ruri and the whale. After a few seconds, it sighed and turned away. "Come..."
The figure moved in a direction. Yulong stood up, ecstatic, barely believing what he saw. An instinctive adoration and submission acted upon him.
Alm and Bruno clearly felt something and almost let a sarcastic smile slip. Immediately, Ruri used her soul to communicate through the array, furious. ’This idiot is planning something shady!’
The whale silently nodded, but with pride. Ruri already had very sharp instincts; no one would be able to plot against her without her noticing.
"Let’s go with the flow. Destiny brought us here, so let’s see where it leads," the whale replied calmly as the group slowly moved toward the nearby location.
Yulong could fly, but he didn’t dare. He was in a strange state, torn between fear from the stories about that extinct race and a growing reverence.
After a few minutes of walking, they saw a tall mountain. Wrapped around it was a decomposing body — another Celestial Dragon, looking like it had died not too long ago.
Everyone felt the dense death’s Yin in the air, but the guiding dragon landed near the massive entrance to the inside of the mountain.
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As they entered, they stopped in surprise: three gigantic eggs, but at the back, there was also a broken shell and traces of blood.
"These are my children," the dragon’s voice rang out. "Until they are born, I am the last of my race. Their mother died three thousand years ago."
Ruri looked at the eggs and felt a slight fluctuation in the soul, indicating they were close to hatching. This place had no Qi or life; it was almost unbelievable that they could develop here. But somehow, it seemed like the moment was near.
Seeing the broken shells at the back, a feeling of distress overwhelmed her. The dragon, noticing her gaze, sighed and spoke.
"Yes, there were four. In this place, they would never have been born without many sacrifices. The mother gave her life to bear them, and I refined one of the eggs to allow the others to develop. Now, I have one female and two males. I had already decided to sacrifice one of the males so that the other two could survive. That’s how we do things here, or we would never continue…"
Ruri took a deep breath, understanding the situation. Originally, there were two eggs. They hatched, and their offspring had to join, which was already disturbing. Then the parents died to give life and nourish the new dragons, and the siblings were refined so only two could survive. That place was a prison, a cycle of pain and death.
"If you’re here, it means everything is finally over. Do dragons still live in the universe?" the Celestial Dragon asked, curious.
Yulong, excited, bowed and began talking about his sect and the nine dragon races. They ruled all other pure dragon races and were the number one sect in the universe. He proudly explained the end of the war and the heroes’ victory.
"Sir, it happened a long time ago. The punishment for your race has been carried out. If anything happens, our sect is influential enough to secure the heroes’ full forgiveness. The Celestial Dragons can live in the universe again without issues," Yulong said seriously. "We need you and your race. We are facing a tribulation."
The Celestial Dragon looked curious. Yulong then explained that, in less than three days, millions with pure blood would need to be sacrificed to stabilize the Chaos Yin Dragon’s seal.
Yulong added, "The Forge God is on our side. He has a plan. Maybe nothing will happen. In any case, your children and you will be free."
"Finally…" the Celestial Dragon murmured, letting his emotion show. His powerful aura spread, and at that moment, Ruri’s eyes widened.
Alm and Bruno noticed her reaction and confirmed their suspicions through the array. ’Yes, he might be telling the truth about how the race survived. But his intentions and words are quite different,’ the whale said mentally.
Ruri felt a strange fluctuation from another soul, mixed with that dragon’s. It was something only an extremely powerful soul could detect. Yulong, though at the peak of cultivation and able to sense it as well, didn’t notice in his shaken and agitated state.
’He has a dark karma around him,’ the whale spoke slowly. ’And the death’s Yin here isn’t from just one dragon. He’s the one who killed the one outside, and at least another adult dragon as well. Probably, he devoured the other.’
The whale spoke slowly, and Ruri took a deep breath. ’And about the eggs… he wouldn’t sacrifice one to save the other two. He would surely kill both males and keep the female; as for her future, you can imagine. And we can’t even guarantee he’s their real father. Maybe the other dragon was their father. But the relation between them is so close it doesn’t make a difference. These dragons are far from what they used to be; living trapped here twisted them deeply. They are anything but trustworthy.’
Ruri clenched her fists, furious. She was about to ask what they would do, but before she could speak, she saw the dragon’s bloodthirsty gaze on them. There was no need to speculate about what he was thinking.
"Yulong, right?" the Celestial Dragon asked dryly.
The Azure Dragon nodded. "Yes, sir."
"We don’t need the ’Forge God’ to solve our problems. I will lead everyone from now on, and I’ll handle this personally. Use your authority to call everyone here," he ordered, and a dark aura enveloped the area.
Yulong was stunned. "But…"
"Shut up, insect. I’ve given the order, and I won’t accept any discussion. OBEY!" the dragon roared furiously, releasing an infinite draconic power.
Yulong trembled for a moment before his eyes lost their shine. It was as if his soul lost control of his body. He moved in a strange and silent manner, activating a rune on his scales that emitted an alarm throughout the sect.
That woke up everyone who was meditating and training in the courtyard. "Remove Qi from your bodies and come immediately to where I am," Yulong’s voice echoed in everyone’s minds, along with his location.
Inside the mountain. The Celestial Dragon snorted, looking at Ruri and the whale with a sinister smile. "What a perfect welcome gift."