Star Luo Continent

"But with the Dragon God Heart, it would be vastly different."

"That is the absolute core of the Dragon God. After devouring the Dragon God's divine soul, I would use the Dragon God Claw as a spark to ignite the Dragon God Core as fuel, thereby stimulating my bloodline to evolve toward the Dragon God Bloodline."

"All living beings on our plane, including but not limited to soul beasts and soul masters, originated from the Dragon God. We all share the same bloodline origin."

"Bloodline evolution, awakening, and atavism are far from uncommon."

"As a former divine dragon and now a true dragon, compared to most living beings on this plane, I am relatively close to the Dragon God's bloodline origin."

"Even if I cannot fully evolve into a Dragon God, merely possessing a thin and unstable trace of that bloodline, under the effects of the Dragon God Claw and Dragon God Core, the divine might I could unleash in a short period would be enough to survive the Million Year Soul Beast Tribulation."

Di Tian dared to lay everything bare not only because he and the Demon Empress were tied to the same fate, but also for two other reasons.

First, the Dragon Valley Small World was of great use to him, but not particularly useful to the Demon Empress.

Second, the Demon Empress had submitted to and followed him. How could that be merely an ordinary verbal promise? There were countless precedents of soul beast traitors, so how could he have failed to make preparations?

Astonished by Di Tian's grand scheme, the Demon Empress's heart could not calm for a long time. It was as though raging waves roared within her, leaving her in prolonged silence.

She did not ask the foolish question, "Why not let the Lord of the Soul Beasts devour the dragon soul? As the Dragon God's incarnation, shouldn't the Silver Dragon King be even more qualified to devour the Dragon God's divine soul?"

Among the circle of top ferocious beasts in the soul beast world, who did not know that Di Tian was the Silver Dragon King's most loyal subject?

Whether or not the Silver Dragon King had emerged, Di Tian's journey to the Star Luo Empire to search for the Dragon Valley Small World and his intention to devour the Dragon God's dragon soul alone already explained plenty.

However, the Demon Empress had not the slightest objection to Di Tian's betrayal.

Not to mention that she now followed Di Tian—even if she did not, she would never use such information to prove her loyalty to the Silver Dragon King.

The so-called Lord of the Soul Beasts was merely a title. It could not command the submission of every soul beast.

Especially when this lord had remained holed up in the Lake of Life at the core of the Star Dou Great Forest to recover from her wounds, turning a blind eye to the soul beast race's steadily declining state and never once taking action. Quite a few powerful soul beasts harbored complaints.

The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had been sacrificed for the Sea God's Godhood Inheritance, yet the Silver Dragon King had not uttered a word. This led to the death of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, the strongest rebel against the gods in the ocean, allowing the Sea God's faction to dominate the seas and take in countless Sea Soul Beasts as dogs.

As the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's widow, the Demon Empress might not have been free of resentment toward the Silver Dragon King.

Other than the Star Dou Great Forest, the beast kings of the other soul beast habitats were mostly in a state where they answered neither summons nor orders, only the size of one's fist.

Betray Di Tian, who was willing to help her, just to become a loyal minister and faithful servant of some so-called Lord of the Soul Beasts?

What a joke. Her brain was not broken.

With strength infinitely close to that of gods, it did not take Di Tian and the Demon Empress long to cross from one continent to another.

Their destination, the Star Luo Continent, arrived after the two had conversed for some time.

The Demon Empress stood half a step behind Di Tian, waiting for his instructions.

Di Tian did not use his vast, ocean-like Spiritual Power to conduct a carpet search, nor did he order the Demon Empress to do so.

Unlike the human forbidden zone of the Far North Land, this was a nation inhabited by humans.

A carpet scan would easily cause unnecessary trouble.

True, there was nothing in the Star Luo Empire that Di Tian feared, but caution kept one safe for ten thousand years.

Dragon Valley was difficult to find, but the Tang Sect was easy enough to locate. The Tang Sect Branches within the Star Luo Empire were especially conspicuous.

Having lived for countless ages and seen much of the world, Di Tian naturally found it effortless to probe the memories of soul masters with weak Spiritual Power and unsteady wills.

Although the Dragon Valley Small World was a secret location discovered by the Tang Sect, its greater uses had not been developed. It was merely used as an exploration reward for the younger generation, so many Tang Sect disciples knew its approximate location.

Before long, Di Tian casually tossed out a human soul master.

"Move."

"We found it."

Halos rippled around the two of them, blurring their forms until they vanished without a trace. When they appeared again, they had already arrived near the Dragon Valley Small World.

"This is the place."

Where Di Tian and the Demon Empress stopped was a mountain forest with complex terrain.

It stood at an elevation of over two thousand meters. Vegetation was relatively sparse, frost and snow had faintly accumulated on the ground, and the temperature in the air had dropped noticeably.

On a distant mountaintop stood a small stone house.

Inside lived a Titled Douluo with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul, the Tang Sect's keeper stationed at Dragon Valley, responsible for activating the formation leading into Dragon Valley.

"Tsk!"

The Demon Empress extended her Fair Hand and felt along the edge and boundary of the Dragon Valley Small World, unable to stop herself from clicking her tongue in amazement.

"The Dragon God has been dead for endless ages, yet an unattended small world still possesses such a solid world barrier."

"I can forcibly tear open a Space Channel, but with my strength, I can sustain it for at most six days."

"As long as you can forcibly tear open a Space Channel, that's enough." Di Tian nodded in satisfaction. Was that not precisely why he had invited the Demon Empress here—to have someone capable of forcibly opening a Space Channel as support?

"I'll go in first. I don't know when I'll return, so you only need to guard this place."

After a pause, he added, "If any major accident occurs, whether outside the small world or within it, you may decide how to handle it yourself."

The words made the Demon Empress's delicate body tremble, but she still answered in a low voice.

"Alright."

Deep within the Dragon Valley Small World.

Before long, deep hums suddenly echoed through the air. Dragon clouds of every color churned violently across the sky.

Immediately afterward, the space within a radius of ten thousand zhang began to collapse, shattering like a mirror. Every fragment of broken space resonated intensely, sweeping away vast swathes of dragon clouds.

A pitch-black streak automatically filled the gap left by the dragon clouds, as if splitting the entire sky in two.

As the ink-black mark steadily lengthened, a pair of black claws suddenly gripped the edges of the rift. Their scales reflected a dark, sinister gleam.

"Roar—roar—"

Deep draconic roars rang out without end, as though they were cheering themselves on and beating the drums of battle.

The dragon clouds driven to the surroundings gradually took on the rough shapes of dragons amid the roars that shook the heavens, bowing in worship toward those jet-black dragon claws.

Enduring Dragon Valley's immensely powerful repulsive force, the dragon claws erupted with black light and pulled to either side.

Only when the rift had nearly been stretched into an oval did the enormous ink-black dragon claws vanish, replaced by Di Tian, who had successfully forced his way in.

The moment his tall, imposing figure entered, the oval passage behind him was crushed by the Small World's vast and violent energy. It instantly shrank back into a fissure, then vanished without a trace.

Di Tian paid it no mind, not even sparing it a glance.

His attention was entirely fixed on the interior of the Dragon Valley Small World.

"Ah... I finally made it in."