Chapter 530: Deep Into the Dragon Lair
The Saint Lord of Wanchu was a peerless figure of his generation.
It didn’t need to say it, Ye Fan already knew what kind of place this was. According to the Source Heaven Scroll, if a true dragon existed in the world, this would surely be its abandoned old nest.
The ancient creatures had merely migrated in later, slumbering here. What lay within the true dragon’s old nest was almost unimaginable—it was a being spoken of in legends alongside immortals.
“There are still awakened powerful beings that haven’t come out yet!” the monkey warned.
“I know. Let’s hide in this dragon lair first and let them fight their life-and-death battles,” the big black dog said.
At this moment, they neared the central area of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest. In a cave beside it, they quietly waited for their chance.
A long roar rang out, surging with power like an ocean. The human great power Nan Gongzheng displayed astonishing might, killing five ancient creatures with his bare hands in succession.
Then, he engaged in fierce battle with a purple ancient being that was nearly humanoid, turning that area into a place of destruction. Other creatures dared not approach.
It was the same creature that had slain the Saint Lord of Wanchu. Its entire body flickered with purple light, its scales dense and forest-like. Above its head hung a purple-gold pagoda, which struck at Nan Gongzheng like a mountain.
“Boom!”
The two clashed violently, annihilating everything in their path. The Ten Thousand Dragon Nest was covered in innate patterns, eternal and indestructible, but the ancient caves near them still collapsed.
Several half-step great powers and ancient creatures were caught in the blast, instantly turned into meat paste, vanishing in a puff of smoke.
“Clang!”
A small tree flew out from Nan Gongzheng’s brow, radiating ten thousand beams of light. It shot out strands of chaotic sword light, unstoppable and unbreakable!
“Crack!”
The ancient creature’s purple-gold pagoda split open, failing to block the small tree as it rapidly closed in.
“Pfft!”
Nan Gongzheng spat out a mouthful of innate essence. The small tree blazed even brighter, heavy as billions of jun, pressing down and trapping the ancient creature, which was surrounded by a divine halo, beneath it.
“Roar…”
The purple-light-flashing ancient being struggled with all its might, but it still couldn’t withstand the tree’s suppression. Its body cracked all over, blood gushing out.
Everyone was astonished. Nan Gongzheng’s reputation for dominating the southern Eastern Wasteland, invincible and without equal, was no empty boast.
“Pfft!”
He shook with force. The foot-tall small tree trembled violently, raining down ten thousand sword beams. The nearly humanoid ancient creature shattered with a splat.
Bone fragments, shredded flesh, and the like splattered everywhere. The scene was bloody yet deeply shocking. The ancient being that had killed the Saint Lord of Wanchu was thus slain by the human great power.
“Nan Gongzheng lives up to his name—he actually killed such a powerful ancient being!”
“Even the Saint Lord of Wanchu was no match for that purple creature.”
People could only marvel inwardly, with no time to pay more attention. They were all desperately trying to break through.
“There really are ruthless ones here. This guy is that strong!” the big black dog exclaimed in surprise.
“He saw the remains of the Ruthless Person and came out alive from the Bronze Immortal Hall. He’s no ordinary man,” Ye Fan said, offering no further comment.
Ye Fan, Black Emperor, and the Battle Saint Ape hid inside the dragon lair, having almost entered the vast ancient caves of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.
They kept waiting. There were still awakened ancient creatures that hadn’t emerged, and most of them were likely extremely powerful beings.
“Get ready. If it’s humanoid, we flee immediately,” Ye Fan warned.
“Roar…”
Not far away, the battlefield grew even more brutal.
That terrifying ancient being, nearly humanoid with a crocodile tail and a body covered in golden scales, fought the Saint Lord of the Ji Family to a white-hot intensity.
Its methods were cruel and dreadful. In the process, it killed nine supreme elders from various holy lands in succession, and even the Ji Family Saint Lord couldn’t stop it.
“Chi!”
This golden ancient creature gained the upper hand. At a critical moment, it used a secret technique, walking through the void to strike near the Saint Lord of Zifu.
It took a blow from the Ji Family Saint Lord’s ancient mirror on its back, spitting out a wisp of golden blood, and coordinated with another ancient creature to attack the Zifu Saint Lord together.
The Great Dao evolved into a dense web of patterns, pressing down and freezing the void around the Zifu Saint Lord into eternity, briefly immobilizing him.
The golden creature let out a great roar, charging through. A deadly killing intent surged, and endless terrifying aura filled the air.
“Pfft!”
At the critical moment, the Zifu Saint Lord broke free, but it was too late. His left arm was torn off, blood spurting like a spring.
A second Saint Lord nearly fell!
This was just one example. Elsewhere, life-and-death battles raged. The Western Queen Mother, the Southern Ridge War King, and the Western Desert Divine Monk all fought fiercely.
Their opponents were all nearly humanoid ancient beings, each incredibly powerful. They fought with true fury, ancient pagodas, war halberds, and relics radiating ten thousand beams of immortal light in life-or-death duels.
Nearby, other sect master-level figures also fought in blood-soaked combat. Several powerful leaders had already fallen, their bodies and bones obliterated, turned into pus and blood.
“Boom!”
A deadly killing aura spread. Three ancient creatures walked out of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest together, even stronger than the earlier nearly humanoid beings.
Everyone’s heart sank. Three such powerful beings had suddenly appeared, tipping the balance. It was likely to end badly!
“Caw!”
At the critical moment, the Crow Daoist stepped forward, engaging one of them. This old demon was extremely powerful, having lived for over three thousand years, with unparalleled combat strength.
“Boom!”
An even more terrifying battle erupted. The two sides clashed fiercely, flesh and bone splattering in the ancient caves, a hellish scene on earth.
“Let’s go. Our chance has come!” the big black dog said in a low voice.
A corner of the Void Emperor’s array pattern shimmered with clear light. With a flash, it sent them deep into the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.
“Dead dog, we’re really inside!” Ye Fan knew it was too late to argue. They could only move forward.
“If you don’t enter the dragon’s lair, how can you get the immortal treasure?” the big black dog said, its bronze-bell-sized eyes flashing with divine light.
“Why wasn’t there a deviation of millions of li this time…” Ye Fan wondered.
“You don’t trust this emperor enough. It’s only a few li—how could there be a deviation?!” the big black dog fumed.
“Be careful. If the ancient king awakens, none of us will leave alive!” the monkey warned.
Now, Ye Fan understood that the ancient royal clans could become emperors when they reached the ultimate realm, but even in the ancient era, over endless years, there were only a few.
Yet even so, once an ancient royal clan member matured, they were at least comparable to human ancient sages, and some were even like the Great Accomplishment Saint Body!
“This emperor has used the Void Emperor’s array pattern to seal off all auras. Rest assured,” the big black dog said, though it was also tense.
Inside the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, life essence surged like a tide, and dragon qi flowed like a great river. At the deepest point, it seemed as if a dragon comparable to an immortal truly slumbered.
“That’s a huge source block!” Ye Fan exclaimed.
Not far away, a source block of four or five cubic meters shone with crimson light, burning like fire. At its core, there was quite a bit of divine source, sealing a creature about the size of a human.
“This isn’t the king of this clan,” the monkey judged. This clan had once produced an ancient emperor, incomparably powerful!
The Ten Thousand Dragon Nest was pitted and full of ancient caves, bearing the marks of time. Dragon qi surged like rivers and seas, with auspicious light flowing.
“A huge divine source block!” The big black dog’s black fur stood on end.
Two li away, in a dragon-shaped ancient cave, there was a three-meter-long divine source block, dazzlingly bright. Inside, a purple-haired middle-aged man slept, identical to a human.
He had no scales, no beast tail—very divine and martial, making one want to worship him. Sealed in divine source, he rested here peacefully.
This was a mature ancient royal clan member, comparable to an ancient human sage, or even more terrifying. Even the monkey was extremely tense.
The big black dog was also spooked. Even two li away, it dared not advance a step, circling far around to avoid this place.
“I want the immortal treasure, not divine source…” it comforted itself, but it kept looking back reluctantly at that large divine source block.
Soon after, they saw another large divine source block. Inside was a woman, very serene, like a human girl. It was hard to tell she was an ancient creature.
But careful sensing revealed an ocean-like terrifying power dormant within the girl’s body. Once unleashed, it would destroy heaven and earth together!
“Damn, another king. Their numbers must be about the same as in Purple Mountain!” the big black dog muttered.
They went straight ahead, their target clear: the vermilion ancient coffin, because the immortality medicine grew there, surrounded by ten thousand strands of dragon qi.
The ancient coffin floated, having existed for who knows how many years. It was buried under several cubic meters of divine source, but the ancient aura of the coffin was hard to conceal, engraved with the marks of time.
“I can’t take it…”
The big black dog was the first to be unable to bear it. That vermilion ancient coffin was too terrifying. Even with the protection of the Void Emperor’s array pattern, the deadly killing aura still seeped in.
Black Emperor, Ye Fan, and the monkey all had rare physical bodies, but now they showed signs of cracking.
The immortality medicine was rooted in the divine source pile beside the coffin. It was like gold, no more than a foot tall, surrounded by ten thousand small dragons, dazzling and brilliant.