The Dragon Imprisoned Here, Awaiting the One Destined by Heaven

However, before he could finish his reflection...

Their companions, who had been watching from the sidelines, pounced on the five corpses like hungry tigers.

"I don't care about this or that, loot the bag first! Looting the bag is the priority!"

"Stop, you beasts! I killed the man! Don't you understand the right to priority distribution of spoils?!"

Shen Yian panicked and, ignoring his weak legs, charged forward with a howl.

By the time he rushed over, the five corpses had been stripped down to their underwear.

In the blink of an eye, the corpses were gone.

All eyes turned to the petite woman who had made the move.

She scratched her head sheepishly. "My system needs to collect corpses to become stronger."

"This is the first time I've seen a corpse of such a high cultivation level... I couldn't help myself..."

Shen Yian took a deep breath, pointing at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation:

"Well done, you guys... Before the boss came, every single one of you didn't have a system, and you were all good at hiding it."

"The moment he showed up, good heavens, it was like he stirred up a hornet's nest; everyone popped up, right?"

"Who else? Stop hiding, confess and you'll be treated leniently!"

His gaze swept over each of his companions.

After he finished speaking, there was an eerily quiet moment for a few seconds.

No one spoke up to admit it.

But at least three or four people's expressions became somewhat unnatural for a moment—their eyes darted around, their lips twitched slightly, or they subconsciously looked away; some even subconsciously touched their noses or cuffs.

Clearly, the Returnees possess far more strength than that.

Time passed day by day.

The Heavenly Sparrow Dynasty was Demon Race, and it did not possess sophisticated Law Treasure like the Human Race's Soul Lamp and Life Tablet that could provide real-time feedback on the status of its members.

For Shadow Feather Guard sent to the Lower Realm, the situation is usually confirmed through regular communications.

After months of no news, the ancient dynasty's higher-ups assumed the task was too difficult and continued their search.

No one would have imagined that ten Spirit Venerable would perish silently in the small Middle Thousand Provinces.

In this eerie calm, several months passed in the blink of an eye.

The signs of the birth of the True Dragon Tribe have been noticed by more and more people.

The Glazed Realm, the Ancient Dragon Minor Realm.

This is a secret land that has been sealed off for ten thousand years by the True Dragon Tribe with Great Divine Ability.

The mountains rise and fall like a dragon's spine, their Spiritual Qi rising in the clouds and mist.

At the center of the world stands a magnificent palace complex that takes your breath away.

The building is nestled against a towering ancient mountain range, overlooking the vast Dragon Breath Sea below, where Spiritual Qi energy has been transformed into liquid, creating a magnificent and ever-changing landscape.

Although most of the palaces were modeled after Human Race designs, they were far more magnificent and spectacular.

Most striking of all is the massive main hall at the deepest part of the palace complex, almost level with the mountaintop—

Myriad Dragons Facing Heaven Hall

It is not in the style of Human Race architecture, but rather resembles an ancient True Dragon coiled atop a mountain, its head raised towards the sky.

The dragon's head forms the eaves, and the dragon's ridge forms the beams.

It exudes a vast and majestic Dragon Might, and is the sacred place of the True Dragon Tribe.

At this moment, deep within the Chaotian Hall, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

Acting clan leader Ao Cang.

An old man with strong, weathered dragon horns on his head and brows etched with the marks of time and worry slowly spoke:

"The Old Ancestor has been gone for over a thousand years. He has been using his remaining body Origin Source to maintain this ancient Ancient Dragon Minor Realm."

"Now that the Origin Source is exhausted, the World Barrier could collapse at any moment."

"At that time, our people will be exposed naked before the Three Thousand Provinces."

Ao Cang's gaze swept over each aged face. "After ten thousand years of seclusion, the outside world has long since changed."

"According to scattered intelligence, those Immortal Power and Ancient Imperial Clan are even more powerful than they were ten thousand years ago."

"And my people... alas."

"Damn Demon Race! If the Ancestral Dragon Egg were still here, this wouldn't have happened!"

His unspoken words are a source of shame and fear etched in the hearts of every elder.

Ten thousand years ago, the True Dragon Tribe was also a supreme race that dominated a region, with strength between the top Imperial Clan and Immortal Power, standing out from the crowd.

The decision to live in seclusion with their entire clan was made to avoid a terrible Great Calamity and to protect themselves.

At first, they were quite diligent and hardworking.

However, due to its perpetual closure, resources have gradually depleted, and its Spiritual Qi energy has waned.

Comfort erodes ambition, and isolation hinders Dao Path.

The former hegemon is now so weak that even its ability to stand firm in the new era is in question.

But all of this should never have happened!

As long as the Ancestral Dragon Egg remains—that supreme Sacred Relic capable of cleansing bloodlines and recreating the landscape of the Ancestral Dragon.

Seclusion is not about escaping, but rather another Dao Path!

In the silence where no one interferes, the future is conceived, awaiting the day when the world returns to its former glory.

However, the change occurred on the eve of their seclusion.

Halfway through the process of seclusion, at the moment when the World Barrier were at their weakest, several Demon Race launched a joint surprise attack.

After a bloody battle, the powerful enemy was defeated, but the Sacred Relic disappeared without a trace.

Even more despairing is that the World Barrier have completely closed themselves off out of control.

Except for a few who managed to escape, the rest of the clansmen were trapped here.

From that moment on, all hope was lost, and the path to survival became imprisonment.

Decline, from that moment on, became its inevitable fate.

With Ao Cang's heavy sigh, the hall fell into a brief silence.

"The Ancestral Dragon..."

An elder with slightly curved dragon horns murmured softly, his voice filled with millennia of regret, "The older our race, the stronger it becomes."

"The scene of the Ancestral Dragon has not appeared in the world for tens of thousands of years."

"The Fate Warden prophesied that the day the Ancestral Dragon reappears will be the day our race truly rises, and even... rises above all the heavens."

Another elder spoke up, a flicker of almost extinguished fire flashing in his eyes.

"Ten thousand years have passed... Do you think that those clansmen who managed to escape back then, scattered to the outside world, might... is there even a sliver of a chance that they might have reverted to their ancestral ways?"

Some elders couldn't help but feel a faint hope.

There's a limit to dreaming.

Immediately, someone poured cold water on the idea, their tone bitter. "Without Ancestral Dragon Egg, the chances of reverting to one's ancestral form solely through one's own bloodline are extremely small."

"Furthermore, although the outside world is rich in Spiritual Qi, the competition is extremely fierce."

"Our clan's bloodline is outside the region; it's already a blessing that it hasn't been coveted and divided up. How can we talk about returning to our ancestral roots?"

Even so, the elder who had poured cold water on the idea couldn't help but start daydreaming himself:

"Speaking of which, a few years ago, didn't that girl Long Yue say..."

"Alright."

Ao Cang interrupted them in a deep voice, pulling everyone back to reality from their delusions. "Thinking about those unrealistic things won't help. Focus on the present."

He composed himself and regained the resolve of a clan leader:

"As planned, the Dragon Gate will open in ten days to draw in Spiritual Qi from the outside world and slow down the collapse of the small world."

"At the same time, it released the Myriad Dragons Paying Homage to Origin Phenomenon, and conveyed a message to the outside world--"

"Our clan is willing to use marriage alliances, Secret Method, pure Dragon Qi, and even contracts for future pure-blooded dragon offspring as bargaining chips to seek powerful allies."

At this point, Ao Cang paused.

"Our clan's Dragon Qi can nourish Young Master and Great Dao foundation; those powerful clans will not be unmoved."

"My biggest fear is that they'll shamelessly resort to suppression; I hope they'll be more accommodating."

"Once we survive this calamity and recover our strength... the Demon Race!"

"The hatred of that sneak attack years ago, the resentment of being trapped and killed for eternity—this hatred is etched into my bones!"

"Blood debts must be repaid in blood!"

All the elders in the hall straightened their hunched backs simultaneously, their eyes burning with the same flame, and roared in unison, their vows echoing throughout the hall:

"The day we return will be the day the Demon Race is annihilated!"