Ancient Dragon Secret Realm

The Dou Qi Continent was a wondrous land. There was no magic, no immortal cultivation, yet just as the world held two similar flowers, Dou Qi had arisen here!

The world was always full of strange wonders. Violent Dou Qi had also created the one-of-a-kind Dou Qi Continent! All living beings cultivated Dou Qi, comprehended Dou Skills, and embarked on the path of strengthening themselves and shattering the shackles of fate.

The path of cultivation began with condensing Dou Qi and becoming a Dou Zhe, followed by Dou Shi, Da Dou Shi, Dou Ling, Dou Wang, Dou Emperor, Dou Zong, Dou Zun, Dou Saint, and Dou Di.

After the passage of countless years, the Dou Qi Continent had divided into two factions: magical beasts and humans.

Among humanity, the most powerful forces were the descendants of the ancient overlords—the Ancient Eight Clans. As descendants of eight Dou Dis, those who possessed Dou Di Bloodlines naturally faced far fewer obstacles on the path of cultivation than ordinary people.

A thousand years ago, the Xiao Clan was nominally the strongest. After all, their ancestor Xiao Xuan had forcibly broken through to the pseudo-Di realm. However, the clan's overall strength was not great; otherwise, it would not have been defeated by the Soul Clan. Back then, the Soul Clan had even sent people to stop the Gu Clan. The Spirit Clan had been the first among the seven clans to be destroyed, so its combat strength should have been the lowest. The Shi Clan ranked second from the bottom, likely only slightly stronger than the Spirit Clan.

Yao Clan: Yao Dan (Seven-Star Dou Saint)

The Yao Clan's strongest combatant was Clan Leader Yao Dan, a Seven-Star Dou Saint. Next came Ten Thousand Fire Elder, a Six-Star Dou Saint. Neither had placed any pressure on Xiao Yan back then. The day after the Yao Ceremony was the day the Yao Clan perished. The power of Xiao Yan's Eight-Colored Fire Lotus was comparable to the self-destruction of a Seven-Star Dou Saint. Aside from several dozen clan members whose bloodlines were rescued by Xiao Yan and Yao Lao, no one else survived. All had fallen in that battle.

Thunder Clan, Flame Clan: Lei Ying, Yan Jin (Eight-Star Peak Dou Saints)

The younger generation of the Thunder Clan was stronger than that of the Flame Clan. Lei Dong had reached the strength of a Three-Star Dou Saint, stronger than Gu Qingyang of the Gu Clan at the time. He was second only to Xun'er and Xiao Yan. The Thunder Clan's Clan Leader was an Eight-Star Peak Dou Saint, equal to Yan Jin, the Flame Clan's Clan Leader. However, the Flame Clan's two younger members, Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi, had been on good terms with Xiao Yan from the start. Still, their strength could not compare to the younger generation of either the Thunder Clan or even the Yao Clan.

Gu Clan: Gu Yuan (Peak Dou Saint)

Gu Yuan, the Gu Clan's Clan Leader, was a Peak Dou Saint! He was one of the three among the ancient five great powerhouses. The Gu Clan also had the Three Immortals of the Gu Clan, all Seven-Star Dou Saints. Black Annihilation King Gu Lie was an Eight-Star Peak Dou Saint. The Gu Clan lacked no Dou Saint experts; it had Dou Saints of low, middle, and high levels. It was one of the strongest powers, likely second only to the Soul Clan. Of course, while the Soul Clan deliberately concealed itself, the Gu Clan was the strongest human force on the continent.

Soul Clan: Hun Tiandi (Peak Dou Saint)

Hun Tiandi was a Peak Dou Saint. Void Flame Swallowing was a Nine-Star Dou Saint. The Four Great Elders of the Soul Clan were all Eight-Star Dou Saints, the Four Demon Saints of the Soul Clan were all Seven-Star Dou Saints, Hun Xuzi was a Seven-Star Dou Saint, the resurrected Hun Miesheng was a Seven-Star Dou Saint, Hun Qianmo was a Six-Star Dou Saint, and Hun Mo Laoren was a Five-Star Dou Saint. The Soul Clan had the greatest number of high-level Dou Saints, and its power had truly ranked first as early as a thousand years ago.

As for the magical beast faction, it was divided into three top powers. The strongest was the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, followed by the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, the overlords of the skies. Last came the Nine Serene Earth Python Clan, descended from the Ancient Heavenly Serpent and rulers among serpents.

Magical beasts and humans were locked in both conflict and cooperation. From the moment all living things gained intelligence, they were essentially equal—travelers bitterly seeking the Dao.

After the previous Dragon Emperor, Zhu Kun, disappeared, the Ancient Void Dragon Clan split apart, becoming the four great dragon islands of east, west, south, and north. Within the Ancient Void Dragon World, aside from the four dragon islands, there was also a Void Thunder Pool.

Here lay the true foundation the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had accumulated over tens of thousands of years!

In truth, if the magical beast faction had possessed no foundation at all, it would likely have struggled to survive until today. This could be seen from the Soul Clan's later actions. They destroyed the Ling and Shi Clans, even the Yao Clan, yet they never made a move against the magical beast faction.

After all, magical beasts had long lifespans. Who knew how many ancient monsters had been born over those tens of thousands of years?

Within the Ancient Void Dragon World, at the Void Thunder Pool, lay the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's true foundation—the True Dragon Secret Realm!

The origins of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan were tied to a True Dragon. This True Dragon had originally been an expert of the True Dragon Clan in the Great Thousand World. Later, after encountering a powerful enemy and fighting desperately, it had no choice but to enter the Dou Qi Continent to take temporary refuge.

But unfortunately, it ultimately perished. Its flesh and blood gave rise to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, while the space where the True Dragon had secluded itself became the True Dragon Secret Realm.

Within the secret realm, only seven old men were cultivating in seclusion. The seven elders sat in a circle, their brows tightly furrowed as Dou Qi continuously flowed from their hands, endlessly sending nourishment into a massive egg at the center.

These people were the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's true foundation. The True Dragon Secret Realm had once possessed Eight Great Elders: Grand Elder Zhu Qian, a Nine-Star Peak Dou Saint; Second Elder Zhu Kun, also a Nine-Star Dou Saint; Third Elder Zhu Zhen, an Eight-Star Peak Dou Saint; Fourth Elder Zhu Li, an Eight-Star Peak Dou Saint; Fifth Elder Zhu Dui, an Eight-Star Peak Dou Saint; Sixth Elder Zhu Xun, an Eight-Star Mid-Phase Dou Saint; Seventh Elder Zhu Gen, an Eight-Star Early-Phase Dou Saint; and Eighth Elder Zhu Kan, an Eight-Star Mid-Phase Dou Saint.

These were the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's true experts, and the fundamental reason humanity had never dared invade the magical beast faction.

However, because of the True Dragon Egg, they had not emerged to travel the world.

Among the Eight Great Elders, Second Elder Zhu Kun had served as Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan ten thousand years ago, but later vanished without a trace. The remaining seven elders had continued guarding the True Dragon Secret Realm. Their sole purpose was to hatch the True Dragon Egg and fulfill Lord True Dragon's final wish.

"Big Brother, we have guarded this place for several thousand years. The True Dragon is finally about to reappear in the world! Our Ancient Void Dragon Clan is about to welcome a glorious age. A Dou Di is within reach!"

"Seventh Brother, that is indeed so! But we must still be cautious. No one knows what changes may occur when the True Dragon hatches. One wrong step, and all will be lost. Our Ancient Void Dragon Clan has only this one hope. More precisely, it is the last hope of the magical beast faction."

"Big Brother, don't worry. I, Old Seven, know my limits. Blame that damned Tou She Ancient God! He exhausted the last portion of Source Qi between heaven and earth, then turned the inheritance into Eight Jade and gave it to the eight great human clans. If humanity gains the inheritance and gives birth to a Dou Di, our magical beast faction will never be able to rise again!"

The other elders all looked toward Seventh Elder Zhu Gen in agreement.

"Old Seven is right. But I wonder where Old Two has gone. He said he was going to seek out the Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode and seize Tou She Ancient God's inheritance. If his life tablet had not remained unharmed, we likely would have been unable to hold ourselves back from going out to search for him."

"Big Brother, rest assured. Second Brother is immensely powerful. With no Dou Di left in this world, who could confidently claim they could kill him? Perhaps Second Brother encountered some matter."

"That is true. I trust Old Two's strength. But none of that is important. Since Old Two's life is not in danger, there is naturally no need for us to leave the secret realm to search for him. The True Dragon Egg comes first. Brothers, increase the output of your Dou Qi together and hasten the True Dragon's birth!"

"Big Brother! Leave it to us!" The dragons answered one after another, increasing their output of Dou Qi.

Meanwhile, within the Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode, Zhu Kun wore an unwilling expression, mixed with pain. Faced with Tou She Ancient God's backup plan, he admitted that he had been overconfident.

"A Dou Di truly is far beyond comparison to a Dou Saint. Coveting this Ancient Emperor's Inheritance has trapped me for several thousand years. My poor child, who had only just been born! And Big Brother and the others—they have waited for me in the secret realm for several thousand years!

But soon. Even without the Eight Jade, once the True Dragon of my Ancient Void Dragon Clan reappears and inherits the True Dragon Inheritance, it will surely attain the realm of a Dou Di. At that time, could this old dragon still fail to escape?"

In the end, Zhu Kun sighed. His complicated gaze turned in the direction of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan...