Chapter 4: Arrest Them
Leaving Vans City, Linley and the others immediately boarded a metallic lifeform and headed toward the Sky Sacrifice Mountains.
"The Sky Sacrifice Mountains are still in the northern region of the Youlan Prefecture. From Vans City, it's nearly two hundred million miles away. Flying there would take over half a year." Linley felt relatively relaxed.
Knowing the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan, Linley also understood somewhat: "I guess that's why the Bolin family dared to be so arrogant—because it's too far from the Sky Sacrifice Mountains." Linley speculated.
"Still half a year to go." Bebe stretched lazily and sighed deeply. Then he looked at Linley, grinning. "Hey, boss, how about we compete to see who can fully comprehend the fifth profound mystery first?"
Linley's "Profound Mystery of Strength" was currently at the late stage.
As for Bebe, his fifth profound mystery of the Darkness Laws had reached its limit. With a single moment of enlightenment, he could break through. But that "moment of enlightenment" was something that couldn't be forced—who knew how long it would take Bebe?
Linley immediately calmed his mind and began to cultivate.
Time passed quickly during cultivation. Linley only woke up three times in between. When he opened his eyes for the fourth time, the Sky Sacrifice Mountains were only a hundred thousand miles away. They would arrive soon.
The front of the metallic lifeform turned transparent, and Linley and his group could see ahead through the transparent metal.
"The Sky Sacrifice Mountains! The Four Divine Beasts clan!" Linley felt his breathing become unsteady, and the blood in his veins boiled. From the Yulan Continent, traveling all this way, he was finally about to return to his clan.
"I see it. Ahead are the Sky Sacrifice Mountains." Delia said in surprise.
Linley's eyes lit up.
Towering peaks rose like they were piercing the sky, each one incredibly tall. They were named the "Sky Sacrifice Mountains" precisely because many of the peaks here were so extraordinarily high.
"That is—"
Linley's eyes widened. He saw a massive bird, almost as tall as the peaks, spreading its wings as if about to take flight, its entire body ablaze with flames. It had fiery red feathers and cyan plumes on its forehead. Linley and the others could feel its domineering aura.
"Such a huge carving." Linley was astonished. "It must be nearly a hundred miles tall." The tallest peaks in the Sky Sacrifice Mountains were only tens of thousands of meters high.
This giant carving was as tall as the highest peaks.
From the book he had read half a year ago, Linley had learned about the Four Divine Beasts clan and discovered that the four divine beasts were the "Azure Dragon," "White Tiger," "Vermilion Bird," and "Black Tortoise." He could understand the Azure Dragon and White Tiger from their names.
But he had never heard of the Vermilion Bird or the Black Tortoise.
After carefully reading the book and looking at some of the illustrations, Linley learned that the Vermilion Bird was a fire-attribute divine beast similar to a "Fire Phoenix" but far more powerful. The Black Tortoise was similar to the "Dragon Turtle" he had seen before, a powerful earth-attribute divine beast.
Even the divine beast "Azure Dragon" was not like the two-winged dragons or Tyrannosaurus Rexes he had seen on the Yulan Continent. It was a perfect, noble, and majestic true dragon.
The strongest water-attribute divine beast—the Azure Dragon.
"The southern region of the Sky Sacrifice Mountains should be the territory of the Vermilion Bird clan." Linley immediately controlled the metallic lifeform to fly northeast.
As expected, the eastern region of the Sky Sacrifice Mountains was the Azure Dragon clan's territory.
"This..."
Hovering in midair, looking into the distance at the scenery of the Azure Dragon clan's "Reding family," Linley was stunned speechless. Even Delia, Bebe, Olivier, and Tarossa were momentarily unable to speak.
A winding, coiling dragon, tens of thousands of miles long, lay sprawled across the mountain range.
Of course, it wasn't a real dragon.
This dragon coiled across tens of thousands of miles of territory. The dragon's body was built as a structure, carved with dragon scales, and also served as a pathway. The entire pathway emitted a cyan glow. From a distance, it looked like a terrifyingly huge Azure Dragon!
"In the Infernal Realm, building a giant structure tens of thousands of miles long is unbelievable." Tarossa exclaimed in awe.
"Look closely. The entire dragon's body is a pathway, with countless castles and mansions around it." Dilin also said loudly.
Linley was completely immersed, stunned by the sight before him. A tens-of-thousands-of-miles-long "Dragon Path" coiled through the mountains, with countless castles and mansions surrounding it. This Dragon Path connected the countless castles and mansions into a perfect whole.
At the dragon's head, the largest golden castle was like a dragon pearl.
"Just this grandeur alone surpasses any family I've ever seen." Linley was deeply shaken.
The Four Divine Beasts clan had once roamed the Four Supreme Higher Planes and the Seven Divine Planes. Even in decline, they would never forget the glory of their past. The construction of their clan's headquarters naturally had to be impressive.
Even though they had already seen it, Linley and the others still flew for a while before reaching the foot of the Sky Sacrifice Mountains.
At the foot of the mountain, Linley and his group looked at the large number of soldiers patrolling and standing guard on the distant "Dragon Path," all wearing cyan armor. Their hearts pounded. At a glance, there were at least ten thousand of these soldiers.
And every single one Linley saw was a Highgod!
"So many experts." Tarossa exclaimed in admiration. "No wonder it's the Four Divine Beasts clan. At least the number of Highgod soldiers is no less than the Bagshaw clan."
"This is a truly powerful clan." Dilin also marveled.
Back then, Salomon's Boyce family seemed impressive, but compared to the Bagshaw clan or the Four Divine Beasts clan, they were nothing. Look at the Bagshaw clan and the Four Divine Beasts clan—every single soldier in their armies was a Highgod. "This is the Azure Dragon clan!" Linley felt his blood surging. "My roots!"
This seemingly endless Dragon Path gave Linley a familiar feeling, resonating with the blood in his veins. It was like a wanderer returning home—the sense of belonging was incredibly strong.
"Linley." Delia held his hand.
Linley turned to look at Delia, and they smiled at each other. After nearly seven hundred years of hardship, entering the Infernal Realm as a mere Demigod, and now being able to easily kill ordinary Highgods.
After all this journey, he had finally reached his destination.
The roots of the Four Ultimate Warriors!
The legendary gathering place of the Four Divine Beasts clan—the "Sky Sacrifice Mountains" in the Youlan Prefecture!
"Who goes there!" A loud shout came from above in the distance.
On the wide Dragon Path, ten of the patrolling soldiers flew over directly. The leader of the squad barked, "This is the Azure Dragon clan's restricted area. Leave immediately."
Linley smiled and stepped forward. "Everyone, I am a member of the Azure Dragon clan's branch line. After so long in the Infernal Realm, I've finally made it here."
"Hurry up and have someone receive us." Bebe said carelessly. "It's been so long, and we're exhausted."
"You're a member of my Reding family's branch line?" The squad leader looked at Linley suspiciously. "Kid, all the branch members of my family returned long ago." The other patrolling soldiers also seemed skeptical.
"You should know that we Azure Dragon clan members can undergo Dragonization." One of the patrolling soldiers said.
Linley smiled.
"Chi chi~" Cyan-gold dragon scales emerged from Linley's body, and spikes sprouted from his forehead. Linley's dark golden eyes locked onto the squad leader. "Now, do you believe me?"
The patrolling soldiers all smiled.
The squad leader also grinned broadly. "Indeed. From the aura on you, it seems you have quite pure clan bloodline. But why are there spikes on your back? Still, the aura is unmistakable."
Dragonization was an easy way to determine if someone was a member of the Azure Dragon clan.
The Dragonmen among the beastmen were completely different from the Azure Dragon clan's Dragonization—both in strength and aura. They only looked somewhat similar.
"Haha, brother, you've had a hard journey." The squad leader immediately came forward warmly and said sincerely, "Back then, when our clan withdrew from all the planes, it was too rushed. I guess you didn't manage to return with the main force at that time."
The squad leader sighed with emotion.
"When our main force returned, it was tragic. My brother died in battle back then." The squad leader had tears in the corners of his eyes. "Come on, let's go home! Once you're home, you'll be safe."
The word "home" struck Linley deeply.
"These friends of mine came with me all the way." Linley said.
"Them?" The squad leader frowned.
"What's wrong?" Linley asked, puzzled.
The squad leader frowned and said, "These are your friends, and you want to live with them?"
"Mm." Linley nodded. "They've been through life and death with me along the way. It's better for them to live with me. Is that not allowed?"
"It's not impossible." The squad leader thought for a moment and said, "Our clan's management is very strict now. If you come alone, you'll get good treatment. But if you want to bring them, you'll have to live in the most remote area of the Sky Sacrifice Mountains."
"Being remote is fine." Linley quickly shook his head.
"That works too." The squad leader nodded, then smiled. "Come on, follow me to register. We'll check which branch you're from. Hey, you all come along too." The squad leader beckoned to Tarossa, Bebe, and the others.
So Linley and his group followed these ten patrolling soldiers as they flew inside.
"Brother, my name is Isol. I withdrew from the Fire Divine Plane. Which plane are you from? Your bloodline is so pure?" As they walked, the squad leader asked warmly.
"Yeah, which plane are you from?" The other patrolling soldiers also asked with smiles.
"I'm from the Yulan Continent plane." Linley said with a smile.
The squad leader's expression instantly froze, and the other patrolling soldiers' expressions also stiffened.
"Arrest them!" The squad leader, Isol, shouted coldly. Immediately, the other nine patrolling soldiers moved like lightning, directly surrounding Linley and his group. At the same time, many other patrolling soldiers on the Dragon Path who saw the commotion also flew over.
Linley and his group were stunned.
"Hey, what's going on?" Bebe shouted.
Linley looked at the squad leader. "Captain Isol, what's the matter? Why are you suddenly arresting me?"
Captain Isol said coldly, "Sorry, brother! Although my Azure Dragon 'Reding family' has branches in various planes, those are all in the Supreme Higher Planes and Divine Planes. I've never heard of a branch in the Yulan Continent plane."
"Am I not a member of the Azure Dragon clan?" Linley retorted.
"You are, I'm sure of that." Isol nodded.
"But if we can't fully confirm your origins and which branch you belong to, you can't be completely trusted." Captain Isol said coldly. "Some members grew up scattered outside and were adopted by other families. Those families raised them and then sent them back to be planted as spies! This has happened more than once."
For the past ten thousand years, the Azure Dragon clan had been very cautious because they had suffered too many losses.
"You suspect I'm a spy?" Linley found it hard to believe.
"Captain Isol, if I were a spy, I wouldn't say I'm from the Yulan Continent plane. I would fabricate a perfect background." Linley said quickly.
Delia also spoke up. "Captain Isol, you may not have heard of a branch in the Yulan Continent plane, but others in your clan might know. Why not check first?"
"Hmph, is there any branch I don't know about?" Captain Isol was very confident.
"What's going on here?" A shout came from above, and a middle-aged man in a light gray robe flew over.
Seeing who it was, Captain Isol immediately said respectfully, "Sir, there's a man here who claims to be a member of our Azure Dragon clan. He does have Azure Dragon clan bloodline, but he says he's from the Yulan Continent plane branch. I've never heard that our clan has a branch in the Yulan Continent plane."
"Oh?" The middle-aged man looked at Linley and the others with surprise. "A branch from the Yulan Continent plane?" He looked at them. "Which one of you is it?"
"Me." Linley stepped forward.
The middle-aged man smiled. "Yes, our Azure Dragon clan does have a branch in the Yulan Continent plane."
Captain Isol and the other soldiers were all astonished.
"That was six thousand years ago. Not many people know about it." The middle-aged man said with a faint smile. "That branch also calls themselves the Baruch clan. Quite unique. I wonder which ancestor left that branch there."