Chapter 1287: Arrival at the Northern Domain
More than half of the Dragonman race lived on Dragon Spirit Island, but some still resided on other small islands and had not had time to retreat.
At this moment, Wing Dragon King intended to use the Dragonmen on those small islands to threaten Ao Yi, forcing him to hand over Zhang Ruochen.
Over a million Dragonmen had already been devoured, becoming Wing Dragon King's food—a truly tragic and bloody massacre.
Ao Yi was ablaze with fury, trembling with rage as he roared: "Wing Dragon King, you old scoundrel, do you really think the Dragonman race is easy to bully?"
Wing Dragon King snorted coldly: "This Dragon King has made it very clear—hand over that human boy, and from now on, Ancestral Dragon Mountain will shelter the Dragonman race. If you refuse, the Dragonman race's fate will be extinction."
Ao Yi's face shifted between green and purple as he said: "Activate the Ten Thousand Stars Attack Formation."
Earlier, the Dragonman race had only activated the defensive formation in Divine Dream Marsh, with no intention of going to war with Wing Dragon King. But now it was different—Wing Dragon King had gone too far, and there was no room for compromise.
They had no choice but to fight.
"Boom, rumble."
From beneath the eight-thousand-mile stretch of Divine Dream Marsh came a dull sound. The lake water shook violently, and massive stone mountains, thousands of meters long, rose from the surface, ascending into the air.
The surfaces of these stone mountains were covered in dense inscription patterns, emitting brilliant light like tens of thousands of stars shining.
This was an ancient formation left over from antiquity. Though incomplete, it could still slay any powerful enemy who dared to enter Divine Dream Marsh.
Wing Dragon King was clearly aware of the Ten Thousand Stars Formation's power and did not clash with it head-on. Instead, he flew above a larger island, broke through its defensive formation, and charged inside.
On that island lived over eight million Dragonmen.
If the Ten Thousand Stars Formation attacked him, it would inevitably kill the Dragonmen on the island first.
"Want to use the formation to deal with me? You'll pay a heavy price." Wing Dragon King laughed wildly, emboldened, not believing Ao Yi would dare gamble with nearly ten million Dragonmen's lives.
On Dragon Spirit Island, a Supreme Elder of the Dragonman race emerged from seclusion, stopping Ao Yi, and said: "Wing Dragon King's cultivation is extremely profound. Even using the Ten Thousand Stars Formation might not be enough to destroy him. With his cunning, the Dragonman race would likely suffer heavy losses instead."
Ao Yi's expression was grim as he said: "There's no other choice now. We have to use the Ten Thousand Stars Formation. Even if we suffer heavy losses, it's better than letting him slaughter us."
"There may be another option."
Another Saint of the Dragonman race spoke, and as he said this, his gaze shifted toward Zhang Ruochen.
"To sacrifice the lives of millions of our people for someone who is already crippled—that price is too great."
Internal divisions emerged among the Dragonman race. Some Saints believed Zhang Ruochen should be handed over. Since he was already crippled, giving him to Wing Dragon King was no big deal.
They spoke loudly, deliberately letting Zhang Ruochen hear.
"If Zhang Ruochen is a man of honor, he shouldn't put the Dragonman race in such a difficult position. He should step forward on his own," someone said.
"What do you mean? Zhang Ruochen is a guest of the Dragonman race, not a tool to buy temporary safety."
Ao Xinyan was furious, drawing her sacred sword and slashing at the Saint who had spoken, but the Dragonman race's Supreme Elder stopped her.
Huang Yanchen watched coldly from the sidelines, then smiled and sent a voice transmission to Zhang Ruochen: "It seems your earlier choice was wise. You really shouldn't have stayed in the Dragonman race to recover."
"Let's go. Time to leave."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was calm, neither sad nor happy. He walked over to Ao Xinyan and spoke with her in a low voice.
"Clan Leader, you're really leaving? I'll go with you." Ao Xinyan felt guilty. She knew that given the Dragonman race's current situation, it was unrealistic to keep Zhang Ruochen.
But she was not afraid of danger and decided to follow Zhang Ruochen, helping him heal his injuries.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head: "You must stay and guard the Space Teleportation Array for me. Right now, you're the only one I trust."
Zhang Ruochen took off his Space Ring and handed it to Ao Xinyan, asking her to retrieve the Space Teleportation Array's formation plate from inside.
In the first gradient of the Endless Abyss, Zhang Ruochen had collected a Space Teleportation Array and carried it with him. This array connected to the outer realms, allowing him to leave the starry sky where Kunlun Realm was located and travel deep into the vast universe.
Unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Ruochen did not want to use it.
Zhang Ruochen stepped inside the space formation. Instead of going to the outer realms, he altered some of the spatial inscription patterns within the array, roughly locking onto a spatial coordinate in the Northern Domain.
This time, he was not using fixed-point teleportation but one-way teleportation, which would have a large margin of error.
In the final moments before activating the space formation, Zhang Ruochen reminded Ao Xinyan again: "This Space Teleportation Array is extremely important. Guard it well for me. Once my injuries heal, I will come back to retrieve it."
"Clan Leader, rest assured. Whoever dares to covet this Space Teleportation Array, I will behead them." Ao Xinyan's eyes reddened as she stared at the somewhat haggard figure standing in the formation. Softly, she said: "Clan Leader, you must get better."
Zhang Ruochen smiled at her, then activated the Space Teleportation Array.
"Swoosh—"
The Space Teleportation Array spun, emitting a dazzling white light. Even Wing Dragon King, standing far away, sensed the powerful spatial fluctuations coming from Dragon Spirit Island.
The Saints of the Dragonman race were all stunned, finding it hard to believe.
"Wasn't Zhang Ruochen already crippled? How can he still use spatial techniques?"
"Is that the legendary Space Teleportation Array?"
...
Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, and Qing Mo had already left. Only the Space Teleportation Array remained on the ground. Ao Xinyan quickly stored the formation plate back into the Space Ring for safekeeping.
Ao Xinyan knew that Zhang Ruochen's injuries were almost impossible to heal. After parting ways this time, she did not know if they would ever meet again.
She stared northward, lost in thought.
Among the Dragonman race, there were indeed some Saints who wanted the Space Teleportation Array, but no one dared to offend Ao Xinyan, so they suppressed their desires.
Wing Dragon King also realized Zhang Ruochen had escaped, which made him even more furious. He let out a fierce roar, unleashed his Devouring Sacred Art, and began a great slaughter on the island, devouring Dragonmen as food.
"There's no other choice. We have to use the Ten Thousand Stars Formation to deal with him."
Ao Yi's eyes blazed with flames. He could wait no longer and was about to order the attack when, suddenly, the sky above Divine Dream Marsh turned pitch black.
Layers of black clouds appeared, rolling across the sky. Even the light from the floating stone mountains dimmed.
"What's happening?"
The cultivators of the Dragonman race on Dragon Spirit Island all looked confused, not understanding why day had turned to night in an instant.
On the small island, Wing Dragon King stopped. Instinctively sensing a dangerous aura, he widened his dragon eyes and stared at the black clouds above.
"Boom."
From within the black clouds, a five-colored divine tower flew out and descended from the sky.
Wing Dragon King's eyes filled with terror. He immediately spread his wings and tried with all his might to flee.
The five-colored divine tower, like a massive mountain, struck him and pinned him beneath it.
"Roar—"
Wing Dragon King let out a roar, flapping his wings desperately, shaking the hundreds-of-miles-long island violently. The ground cracked, but he could not escape.
A figure radiating golden light, like a heavenly god, descended from the sky and stood in the void. His long golden hair swayed in the wind, exuding an aura that dominated the world.
It was an extremely handsome young man with a pair of golden dragon horns on his head. His gaze was deep, his expression cold, and tens of thousands of dragon shadows flew around his body.
If Zhang Ruochen were still on Dragon Spirit Island, he would have been extremely shocked. This person was the man who had been frozen on the stone bridge. He had not died but had walked out of the ice.
The handsome young man extended his palm, and the five-colored divine tower gradually shrank to half a foot tall, appearing in his hand.
"Roar!"
From within the tower came a low, resonant dragon roar.
All the creatures in Divine Dream Marsh were stunned into silence. A Dragon King from Ancestral Dragon Mountain, one of the top overlords of Kunlun Realm, had been easily suppressed and taken into a tower.
Who was this golden-haired man standing in the void?
"Divine Dream Marsh has become a place of trouble. The Dragonman race can no longer stay here. Follow me into Yin-Yang Sea. All resources of the Divine Dragon Clan will be open to you. How many of you can awaken your divine dragon bloodline depends on your own fortune."
The golden-haired man's voice was vast and ethereal, spreading across the entire Divine Dream Marsh, echoing between heaven and earth.
...
The Northern Domain had a long history and countless ancient legends. In the distant past, it was the most prosperous and thriving place of human civilization.
Of course, with the decline of the Way of Witchcraft, the Northern Domain's civilization had also declined. It was now far inferior to the Central Domain and even lagged behind the Eastern, Southern, and Western Domains.
Now, the Northern Domain was ravaged by the Undying Blood Clan. Slaughter was rampant. Every prefecture and commandery was engulfed in chaotic battles. Blood stained the mountains and rivers, leaving a scene of desolation and ruin.
Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, and Qing Mo were teleported to a valley piled high with human bones. These were not just cultivators' remains but also those of the elderly, children, and women—a veritable mass grave.
What was most chilling was that although the corpses were piled like mountains, not a single drop of blood could be seen. They were all dried corpses.
Only at the bottom of the valley was a blood pool a hundred zhang wide. A group of armored Undying Blood Clan soldiers surrounded the pool, absorbing blood energy as they cultivated.
This place seemed to be an important site for the Undying Blood Clan to stockpile blood.
(End of Chapter)