The eternal Dragon Nest had endured through ages, cast from black dragon wood, cold to the touch, ringing like metal when struck—this wood was now nearly extinct.
It was said that in the mythical era, a dragon had built its nest here, leaving behind this mountain-tall, jet-black ancient nest. During the Primordial era, an ancient emperor had bred a great imperial clan here; later, Emperor Ruthless chose this ancient nest to bury a coffin, further adding to its mystery.
Purple mist drifted, the Dragon Princess’s figure graceful, her skin snow-white, moving swift as purple lightning, leading the massive clan in retreat.
Along the way, they brought out countless rare treasures from many ancient caves, sweeping clean the treasury and other vital sites entirely.
Boom!
Supreme pressure descended—the ancient nest was unapproachable; the moment they arrived, before even lifting off, everyone felt suffocated under the pressure.
“We can’t force our way in!” Everyone’s faces turned pale.
This place was a forbidden zone, normally never visited—the ancient coffin within that Chaos Dragon Nest radiated tremendous pressure, causing even sages to feel dread and trembling fear.
“Myriad Dragon Bell, revive—you are the continuation of Father Emperor’s life, please shield our clan!” The Dragon Princess kowtowed, leading everyone in worship before that now-dimmed imperial weapon.
“Imperial dao revive, protect our clan!” These people all knelt down, together channeling divine power, offering it to the Myriad Dragon Bell.
The divine sound transformed into bell waves, the ancient weapon connecting with the divine—indeed containing a nurtured spirit within, radiating overwhelming purple light, enveloping everyone.
In the distance, the old patriarchs from Fire Qilin Cave, Blood Phoenix Mountain, and Primal Lake watched with grim expressions, staring at the Man-Demon, then looking at Ye Fan, several times wanting to make a move but restraining themselves.
The Man-Demon had shocked the Primordial era, a peerless, terrifying figure—unless he could be killed on the spot, if he were allowed to escape, it would bring endless future disaster.
None of them felt confident—the opponent possessed the Green Cauldron; if he wanted to flee, he could simply tear open the void directly. Unless a true Quasi-Emperor personally intervened, there was no way to keep him here.
“Are we just going to watch the Myriad Dragon Nest be swept clean like this?”
The Man-Demon advanced along the gap in the formation diagram, penetrating deeper, slowly comprehending it—he would surely find his way through eventually; barring any accident, destroying this clan wouldn’t be a problem.
Before the ancient nest, the Myriad Dragon Clan’s people, faces pale, offered their power to the purple divine bell, feeling both disappointed and despairing—the several old patriarchs had never made a move throughout.
Ultimately, the Ancient Clans all had their own self-interests, not a monolithic bloc, especially with the imperial clans existing in fierce competition with one another. Otherwise, before Great Sage Qianlun’s death, someone should have come bearing an ancient imperial weapon to reinforce him—why had only Huntuo come to mediate!
“They hope our clan’s strength diminishes sharply, yet don’t want us destroyed either—but right now, awed by the Man-Demon’s might, they hesitate, unwilling to advance. We can’t rely on them—only on ourselves!” The Dragon Princess said, signaling to her clansmen not to fear, to bravely leap into the black nest, using it as a defense—perhaps yielding an unexpected result.
“Begin!”
The elders roared, exerting all their strength to activate the divine weapon, the ancient weapon’s dragon head raised high, its beams of light growing even more intense, the dragon body wrapping everyone up.
The purple dragon coiled, like a mountain of serpents, shielding them beneath its body, each segment a leisurely tolling bell, then the entire form sank into the dragon nest.
“They’ve entered, they’ve vanished into the black nest!”
Several old patriarchs’ expressions shifted, all quite shocked.
The Man-Demon sensed something, decisively retreating, standing with Ye Fan high in the firmament, watching that region.
Boom!
Purple light blotted out the sun, transforming into a vast ocean surging up to the high heavens, crashing through the sky, striking beyond the domain, causing many stars to tremble.
As for this ancient star itself, though there was no shockwave, the aura of an ancient Great Emperor permeated outward—any peerless expert would surely have sensed it.
“An ancient emperor!”
“Heavens, is this the fluctuation of a revived ancient emperor, is this real?”
Only those who had once reigned supreme over a domain during the Primordial era, fortunate enough to have witnessed the Fighting War Sage Emperor, could make such a judgment.
Though this fluctuation didn’t spread in all directions, only striking beyond the domain, it still made every Ancestor King tremble, unable to resist the urge to bow in worship!
This was even more terrifying than the previous Quasi-Emperor formation’s aura—stronger by who knows how many times!
As for everyone else, they simply believed this was the power of ascension to immortality, exceeding the limits permitted in this world, because they saw stars exploding beyond the domain, cut apart by the purple light.
“This is the ancient emperor’s formation diagram!” The Man-Demon’s expression turned extremely solemn, staring at that jet-black dragon nest, chaos surging within, the purple dragon sinking down.
“Never expected the Myriad Dragon Nest to have this clan’s ancestral emperor’s supreme formation diagram left behind—who could break it, who would dare?” Several old patriarchs trembled repeatedly.
That skyward-charging purple energy, that light pillar striking beyond the domain, those wisps of dao marks representing supreme dominance, continuously intertwining, shocking past and present.
Even after hundreds of millions of years, it remained undying, making heaven’s chosen bow their heads, unable to serve as enemies, impossible to resist! This was the ancient emperor’s formation diagram—once revived, even deities entering would meet regret, unable to break free, destined for destruction.
“The Primordial emperor’s formation diagram is as precious as an ultimate ancient weapon, but the threat faced when trespassing into it is even greater—capable of slaying anyone!”
“Is this the flawless… ancient emperor’s diagram?” Ye Fan asked, his heart unsettled, sensing an overwhelming force, truly too powerful and terrifying.
The Man-Demon remained silent for a long while, quietly observing, then said, “It’s not a flawless diagram. Only thirty to forty percent remains.”
Ye Fan was even more shocked—if thirty to forty percent of the formation diagram carried such might, wouldn’t a flawless imperial diagram be utterly heaven-defying!?
“The True Dragon Immortality Elixir!”
The old patriarchs of Fire Qilin Cave, Blood Phoenix Mountain, and Primal Lake, their eyes flashing with intense light, their yearning and desire unconcealed.
Their lifespans were nearing their end, with only a few years left to live—such a heaven-defying immortal elixir had only ever existed in a handful throughout history; if they could obtain it, they could live another lifetime!
“It once followed the Myriad Dragon Nest’s ancestral emperor…” one old patriarch said, his voice trembling.
The others also found their mouths dry, swallowing hard with difficulty—this was a peerless opportunity, yet unfortunately they didn’t dare force their way in, even with imperial weapons in hand.
The golden divine herb stood about half a meter tall, bearing nine brilliant leaves, with a small dragon the length of a palm coiled atop the plant, its whole body golden, dazzling and radiant—it was alive, trembling, peering toward this side.
Fragrant mist cascaded down, penetrating to the bone, every wisp of fragrance like an essence overflowing from the immortal realm, causing goosebumps and a deep sense of comfort throughout the body.
Unfortunately, no one could harvest this herb.
It stood some distance from the imperial weapon, rooted within the chaos, accompanying a mysterious ancient coffin, swaying gently, golden immortal light shimmering.
The ancient herb’s fragrance wafted—even the elders within the Myriad Dragon Bell longed to capture it; someone had tried, reaching out beyond the divine bell, only to scream in agony, crushed by an overwhelming aura.
Within the Chaos Dragon Nest lay peerless killing intent—that ancient coffin could withstand the ancient emperor’s formation diagram, suppressing this place, unapproachable by anyone.
“This coffin is truly astonishing!”
Several old patriarchs’ expressions had all changed—after their revival in this age, they had all been invited by Qianlun; in fact, virtually every leading figure of the Ancient Clans had come here to discuss and study this massive coffin.
In the end, not a single person had dared to act, even with imperial weapons in hand, none had acted rashly, because they sensed an undying, tremendous killing intent!
They seriously suspected that within the coffin lay not only an ancient Great Emperor’s corpse, but also a supreme killing formation diagram, capable of sweeping away everyone.
“Looking at it now, aside from the emperor’s corpse, the coffin likely truly does contain an ancient emperor’s formation diagram—otherwise how could it suppress the black nest!”
The old patriarchs’ faces all turned grim—the True Dragon Immortality Elixir was right before their eyes, yet unobtainable, deeply unwilling to accept this.
In fact, all these years, the Myriad Dragon Nest’s ancient sages had been equally frustrated, never able to obtain their ancestral emperor’s divine herb. Back when they had first awakened from slumber, they had once seen a woman who came here alone, like an immortal descending to the mortal world, not daring to confront her.
Ultimately, she had sunk the coffin within the dragon nest, paying them no mind, which was the only reason the entire clan finally let out a breath of relief.
“The ancestral emperor’s remaining formation diagram is too heaven-defying—part of it was worn away by heaven itself, dissolved into the passage of years. Another part is suppressed by this ancient coffin, which is why it currently only displays thirty to forty percent of its dao patterns.” one old patriarch said.
This was a heaven-defying treasured land, seizing the ultimate mysteries of heaven and earth’s creation, considered equal in status to the Purple Mountain. Both places had once been occupied by ancient emperors, and both had met the same fate, later having coffins buried there by Human Race Great Emperors—inevitably leading to much speculation.
“Aooowl!”
A single dragon’s roar echoed through the nine heavens—not just cultivators, but even mortals heard it, its sound clear and piercing, spreading across all five domains, charging beyond the domain.
Within the jet-black dragon nest, a third of the region began glowing, revealing a divine platform, illuminating undying radiance.
“The Ancient Emperor’s Platform—it’s actually a platform built by the Primordial emperor, said to be able to pierce through the universe, entering the other shore of the vast starry river, reaching the very end of the universe!” one old patriarch cried out excitedly.
Radiance overflowed in all directions, dispersing the chaos energy, making everything there clearly visible. The Myriad Dragon Bell transformed into a true dragon, sweeping those people into a star gate, vanishing from sight along with it.
“Heavens, the entire clan is traveling far away—could they be… returning to their ancestral star, to the very end of the universe?”
The people of Fire Qilin Cave, Blood Phoenix Mountain, and Primal Lake all cried out in shock—this was a monumental turn of events, an entire Primordial imperial clan vanishing from the Big Dipper just like this.
“The Primordial emperor left behind an escape route, a heavenly gate leading back to their ancestral star—did our own ancestral emperor lay down such a path of heaven too?” They couldn’t help but ask themselves, all thinking deeply.
The Primordial emperor had been proud above past and present, and the Human Race’s Great Emperor also possessed the spirit to swallow mountains and rivers—they had far-sighted vision, agreeing that all races should coexist; otherwise, if one person alone attained the Dao, what point would there be for the rest of the world to go on living?
Within the black nest, chaos surged wildly, that ancient emperor’s diagram extinguishing, leaving only the ancient coffin behind, soon to be swallowed by the chaotic mist too, the True Dragon Immortality Elixir swaying, fragrance overflowing, faithfully accompanying beside the coffin.
“Is that Emperor Ruthless’s sleeping coffin? Then who was that person from the wasteland?” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
The Bronze Immortal Palace, the Wasteland Forbidden Zone, the great tomb beneath Yao Guang, the Myriad Dragon Nest… one relic after another, all seemingly connected to her.
“When will I finally get to see a living Great Emperor? When will the path to immortality open, and will an emperor appear when that time comes?” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
He was filled with boundless anticipation, truly wanting to witness a supreme being standing atop the nine heavens—having cultivated for so many years, he had never even witnessed a Quasi-Emperor’s true might.
Gai Jiuyou had once been a Quasi-Emperor, but his bloodline had withered, his realm having fallen, no longer possessing his former majesty.
Ye Fan stared at the ancient coffin gradually vanishing within the Chaos Dragon Nest, unable to help but think of the Black Emperor’s mournful lament.
“Gazing at the heavenly path, a desolate dream, white hair scattered loose, the azure sea and blue sky withered dry, thirty emperors across eternity, how many sages turned to dust…”
The path to immortality was about to open—what kind of upheaval would that bring, would it turn into a great calamity?
The Myriad Dragon Nest’s entire clan had vanished—what kind of place lay at the universe’s end, what other races existed there, how many ancient stars had given birth to Primordial emperors?
“The Primordial emperor possessed the spirit to swallow mountains and rivers, and the Human Race’s Great Emperor held equally great ambition—they agreed that all races should coexist. Fellow Daoist, why must we cross blades, why has it come to this?” one old patriarch said.
“All I know is, heaven brings rain, people must eat, time moves forward—if someone comes to kill me, I devour him. The Great Emperor has his own principles, I have my own reasoning—I am still just one person.” The Man-Demon said.
Whether this was an eternal, unchanging law, or simply the principle of the strong preying on the weak, the several old patriarchs of the ancient imperial clans were left stunned—these words were as plain and simple as could be.