Its enormous body, even with only a small portion revealed, already surpasses the limits of ordinary people's understanding. It meanders and coils like a mountain range stretching across the void!
Lin Ming hovered in the void. Even with his eyesight and Soul Perception, he couldn't see its full form in a short time. This was enough to imagine just how incredibly large, even despair-inducing, this mysterious creature must be!
Such a size reminded Lin Ming of the enormous purplish-black fire dragon formed from the Three Thousand Burning Flame that he had encountered in the Pill Tower. At that time, he thought it was already a colossal creature, but compared to the being below him, the Three Thousand Burning Flame was like the difference between a mudfish and an ancient Giant Python, insignificant and not worth mentioning!
A terrifying pressure, originating from the difference in Life Level and absolute power, spread out from the behemoth below like an invisible tide. Although the other party did not release it actively, the residual power that naturally emanated from it had already made this Ancient Emperor Space freeze.
Lin Ming was well aware of this. The colossal purple-gold creature perched beneath the entrance to the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion was none other than the true form of Zi Yan's biological father, the emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, the peak powerhouse who had been missing for thousands of years— Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun!
The real challenges and the most crucial negotiations are only just beginning.
At that moment, an immense pressure from Dragon Might's might instantly descended.
In response, Lin Ming clenched his fist, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. He forcefully suppressed the Dou Qi within his body, which was somewhat agitated by the boundless Dragon Might and was about to burst out, as if stabilizing a small boat in a raging storm.
After smoothing his face slightly, Lin Ming's gaze remained unwavering, fixed firmly on the direction of the dragon's head he had anticipated in the deep darkness. Lin Ming knew clearly that in the depths of that darkness, where even the Soul Perception was compressed, a pair of enormous dragon eyes, capable of piercing through the void and seeing into people's hearts, were now coldly and indifferently staring at them, two insignificant intruders.
The air seemed to solidify, so heavy it was hard to breathe. The invisible pressure wasn't an active attack; it was simply its very existence, like the entire sky collapsing and pressing down on one's shoulders.
Just as Lin Ming and Zi Yan were almost suffocating under this terrifying gaze, suddenly, from the dark void, a voice that seemed to have slumbered for countless ages, carrying endless vicissitudes and an ancient aura, came without warning like rolling thunder, each word causing the space to tremble slightly:
"Can tomb raiders possess Ancient Jade?"
His voice was indifferent, devoid of any emotion, as if he were merely executing a pre-programmed sequence, or like a lonely gatekeeper repeating the same question that had remained unchanged for millennia.
As this sound rang out, in the endless darkness, a pair of enormous eyes, which had been closed for who knows how long, suddenly snapped open!
These eyes, enormous to the point of despair, were a pale red, like two Blood Moon suddenly descending upon this dark space!
Within their eyes, the pupils overlapped, seemingly containing an endless starry sky and the cycle of reincarnation, so profound that one's soul seemed to sink into them. And the size of just these two open eyes alone was hundreds of times larger than the combined size of Lin Ming and Zi Yan!
As soon as those enormous eyes, seemingly forged from blood and flames, opened, their indifferent and ruthless gaze acted like tangible shackles, instantly locking onto Lin Ming and Zi Yan, who were suspended in the distance from the Stone Door.
At the same time, a Dragon Might, far more extreme and terrifying than the natural pressure emanating before, crashed down like billions of tons of seawater, mercilessly enveloping Lin Ming and his companion!
"Hmm!"
Under this targeted and terrifying pressure, Lin Ming groaned, his body trembled violently, and his bones made faint sounds of being unable to bear the burden, as if they were about to be crushed at any moment.
His Dou Qi circulated wildly, and the New Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame autonomously protected his body, forming a dark purple veil of flames on his skin, desperately resisting the crushing force originating from the Life Level and absolute power.
Meanwhile, Zi Yan's face turned deathly pale instantly. If it weren't for the royal blood flowing through her veins, which gave her a natural affinity and resistance to this oppressive aura, she would probably have fainted instantly.
However, this terrifying pressure, enough to instantly collapse even an ordinary Peak Dou Venerate expert, descended upon Lin Ming and Zi Yan without a moment's hesitation!
A sudden change has occurred!
The terrifying pressure that enveloped the two of them seemed to be wiped away instantly by an invisible hand, fading and dissipating abruptly! It came quickly and went even faster!
At the same time, the crimson aura in those enormous dragon eyes, which were originally a pale red and as cold as ten thousand years of ice, vanished instantly, receding like a tide.
Instead, it has an indescribable crystalline color, as if starlight is gathering and twinkling within it.
In the depths of those overlapping pupils, the original coldness and indifference were replaced by an extreme shock, disbelief, and a sense of guilt and tenderness that had accumulated over countless years!
That gaze was fixed, almost greedily, on Zi Yan, who was trembling slightly with fright beside Lin Ming.
Silence, a deathly silence, enveloped the space.
It felt like an eternity, yet also like a fleeting instant. A voice, entirely different from the previous indifferent thunderous sound, trembled violently, brimming with uncontrollable excitement, even carrying a hint of a sob, seemed to have traversed Eternal Space-Time, echoing once more from the depths of darkness. Every syllable was filled with indescribable emotion:
"A... a child?!"
This cry was no longer an interrogation of the intruder, but a father's most instinctive and fervent shout, born from the deepest part of his soul, when he suddenly saw his beloved flesh and blood after endless years of imprisonment in despair!
Upon hearing this call filled with endless complex emotions, even if Zi Yan was slow to react, she now understood completely and thoroughly.
The enormous, unimaginably purplish-gold creature below, the Giant Dragon trapped in endless darkness, is probably the father Lin Ming had repeatedly mentioned before—the one she had never met, the one she both resented and missed!
For a moment, Zi Yan was in a state of utter confusion.
Images of his childhood struggle for survival in the forest, his vague longing for and unresolved resentment towards his parents, and now, witnessing the desolate sight of this enormous dragon trapped in this deathly dark space, unable to move...
These emotions surged through her heart like a flood bursting its banks. So much so that her deep-seated belief that her father had abandoned her vanished upon witnessing this reality. In its place came a bittersweet pang of heartache and a strange, visceral connection to her blood.
At this moment, Zi Yan subconsciously raised her head and looked at Lin Ming beside her, her amethyst-like eyes filled with confusion, helplessness, and a longing for support.
Lin Ming felt Zi Yan's gaze, reached out and took Zi Yan small hand, looked down at Zi Yan, gave her a firm and encouraging look, and nodded gently, telling her with his eyes: Be brave and follow your heart.
Encouraged by Lin Ming, Zi Yan felt as if she had found a pillar of support.
So, Zi Yan took a deep breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart and slightly tight throat. Her gaze returned to the pair of bright, expectant dragon eyes below her. She opened her mouth, and with a trembling, stammering voice, finally uttered that unfamiliar and heavy word:
"You... you... you are my father?"
This question, tinged with hesitation, probing, and a hint of hidden expectation, was like the sharpest sword in the world, and like the warmest sunlight, instantly piercing the heart of the ancient Giant Dragon below!
For Zhu Kun, who had been trapped for thousands of years, watching alone, and whose heart was filled with despair and self-blame, the word "father" was such a luxury, such an unattainable dream!
He had heard it countless times in his dreams, only to wake up to cold darkness.
Hearing those two words from his own blood-related daughter, even with their unfamiliarity and uncertainty, was enough to shatter the defenses he had built up over millennia!
The tears that had been building up in the Giant Dragon's enormous, lake-like eyes could no longer be contained, and they flowed down like a river bursting its banks!
Those were no ordinary tears, but Dragon Tears, shimmering with a purple-gold light and containing immense energy!
Each teardrop was as large as a meteorite, streaking across the dark void, leaving a dazzling trail of light, before finally dissipating into the nothingness below, as if playing a bittersweet hymn to this reunion that was ten thousand years overdue.
"It's... it's me! I'm your father! I'm Zhu Kun!" A voice, trembling with excitement and barely audible, boomed out, choked with sobs and filled with a sense of overwhelming relief and joy.
"My child, my child! I've finally... finally found you! I'm so sorry... so sorry... Father is so sorry!"
The enormous dragon head seemed to want to get closer, to get a better look at its daughter, but the invisible shackles held it firmly in place, preventing it from moving even an inch, and it could only let out anxious and painful dragon roars.
Seeing this, Lin Ming hovered to the side, watching this reunion that transcended Space-Time, filled with tears and excitement, and felt an indescribable sense of relief and emotion welling up in his heart.
At this moment, all his efforts and risks seemed to have been rewarded in the best way.
He successfully brought Zi Yan, and is about to bring a glimmer of hope for the imprisoned Dragon Emperor to break free of his shackles.
Lin Ming waited quietly, without disturbing the father and daughter who had just reunited and were deeply moved.
He knew that the real business was about to begin, and that it would be time to discuss how to resolve the unresolved issue of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.
And his first formal conversation with the legendary Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun is about to begin.
This is not only for Zi Yan, but also for his own future plans and the final game of the Dou Qi Continent.