The winds of time swept across the world.
They could corrupt all things, yet they could not corrupt the blazing faith in the Dinosaur Elder's heart.
Even if his oil had run dry and his lamp was about to go out, even if there were no Divine Kingdom in the heavens, the Dinosaur Elder was still filled with love for the God of Lava and Earth.
Looking back on his life, the Dinosaur Elder still remembered the emotion he had felt thousands of years ago when he first beheld the mighty form of his Father God.
Perhaps it was the worship a small being held for something great, or the fervent desire of a small being to pursue greatness and become powerful, or perhaps it was simply the peace of mind that came from being protected.
But none of that affected the Dinosaur Elder's piety toward his faith.
Because when those emotions piled together, they became faith.
It was the emotion that had run through the Dinosaur Elder's entire life.
He loved his Father God so deeply, hated the thought of turning to dust so deeply, and wished so dearly to gaze upon his Father God's magnificence forever.
But all of it was about to end.
By this point, the Dinosaur Elder had become completely calm.
It was not because he did not wish to struggle, but because there was no longer any way to struggle.
So, he chose to face death and chose to turn into flames beneath the statue of his Father God.
He only hoped that, at the moment his flesh decayed, the fire of his soul would truly return to his Father God's embrace.
Night was approaching.
Under the dim yellow sky, common violent winds had risen across the plains, which resembled rolling loess hills.
Strong Dinosaur People might normally ignore such winds, but the Dinosaur Elder now seemed like a firefly on the verge of going out amid the gale.
His body swayed, his thoughts were muddled, and his mind was filled with fleeting images of the gods.
He was about to die!
Yet perhaps this world was always full of fortune and miracles.
Or perhaps the god sensed that his sole long-lived believer was about to pass away. He awakened. He had returned!
When the dim, sand-filled world suddenly trembled, the muddled Dinosaur Elder abruptly opened his eyes, as though experiencing a final burst of vitality.
"What happened? Was it an attack by a massive swarm of Earth-Drilling Demon Worms?"
"Quick! Protect the Elder!"
Several priests who had been accompanying the Dinosaur Elder reacted at once and shouted.
Then one priest took a large stride forward and rushed to the Dinosaur Elder's side, reaching out to lift him up.
Yet at that very moment, the Dinosaur Elder suddenly stood.
His once-hunched body even gave off a series of crackling sounds as his bones stretched from his sudden straightening.
When the Dinosaur Elder turned to look at the priest behind him, the priest froze instead.
It was because the priest had never seen his Elder become so tall before.
But aside from the Elder's towering stature, tears were now streaming down his face like spring water.
They were tears of excitement, tears of emotion.
He did not leave the high platform beneath the statue. He merely stood there with tearful eyes, trembling as he waited.
At that moment, all the priests seemed to suddenly understand.
They trembled, they were excited, and they waited alongside the Elder.
The violent wind could not make their standing figures waver, the sand could not blind their eyes, and even the rolling boulders could not shake their resolve.
Underground, the terrifying rumbling grew closer and more dreadful.
But the point of eruption was not the plain. It was the modest mountain where the statue stood.
When the rumbling became like thunder and the gale ceased its howling, the entire mountain collapsed the next instant.
Together with the statue, the entire high platform caved into the ground.
At the same time, the Dinosaur Elder's body fell with it.
On Black Stone City's walls and in its skies, terrified figures were everywhere.
They looked toward the source of the rumbling and saw a sight that stunned all small beings.
The formerly tranquil plain began to heat up and scorch, the once-towering mountain of the statue completely collapsed, and the several priests who had still been visible vanished without a trace.
At that moment, without any warning, the plains within dozens of miles around the statue mountain turned into a sea of lava in what seemed like the blink of an eye.
"Roar!!!"
Along with a satisfied roar from some great ancient creature, all small beings were struck so hard by that terrifying sound that their minds reeled, unable even to stand or fly steadily.
What kind of terrifying creature was that?
Its head was like a mountain, its arms like giant claws holding up the heavens, and its body like a tower reaching the sky.
Waves of roaring flames burned across its entire body. Merely spreading a ring of scorching air caused the entire plain that had not yet turned to lava to ignite.
Even within Black Stone City, the temperature had now surpassed a critical threshold.
Below Black Stone City, the river boiled as though it had been set over a fire, and countless little fish and shrimp floated up dead from the riverbed.
The Shark People in the city began fleeing in all directions, even leaping without hesitation into the boiling river.
The Children of Wind who had originally been flying in the sky also descended one after another.
Their blade-thin yet tough wings had turned red and scorching, on the verge of melting and catching fire.
As for the Serpent People, they could still withstand the temperature of this aftershock.
But the countless Dinosaur People atop and below the city walls all stood rooted to the spot, as though their minds had been overwhelmed, staring blankly at the terrifying great being upon the distant horizon.
"F-Father... God...!"
"It's Father God!"
"That is the Father God of us Lava Populace, the ruler of Lava and Earth!"
At some point, the instant the first Dinosaur Person muttered those words, countless Dinosaur People snapped out of their daze and burst into tears of excitement.
Ah! Look! That terrifying, majestic, awe-inspiring great being was our Father God, who had long vanished and slumbered beneath the earth!
He was so majestic, even taller and more magnificent than what the Sacrificial Order had recorded and proclaimed!
At that moment, every Dinosaur Person was overwhelmed with excitement!
They shouted loudly, and the cheering crowd even embraced one another with tearful eyes.
But soon, amid their tearful excitement, when the first Dinosaur Person knelt and cried out in praise, every Dinosaur Person fell to their knees before their god as though in a chain reaction.
"Ah! Great Father God! You are the incarnation of Lava and Earth! You are as majestic as the Blazing Star, and your radiance will surely illuminate every inch of this world!"
"."
Waves of loud cries rose and fell, making heaven and earth seem to transform in an instant into a hall praising the god's magnificence.
The other three races were already dumbfounded.
They looked at the Dinosaur People, then at the towering figure rising from the sea of Lava Flame, their minds seeming to crash for a moment.
Why?
Why was this God of Lava so enormous?
Their gods had grown for thousands of years, yet they were not nearly this terrifying!
Why?
Thank you to reader Mofeng Zhushi for the 1,000 Qidian Coin reward; thanks as well to readers Tiger in the Bamboo Grove, Silent Melody, and Dao Fruit Celestial Venerable for their 100 Qidian Coin rewards. And thank you all for your votes. I'll keep updating diligently, but during the new-book period, I can only proceed slowly according to the process, so there will be two updates. That's all.
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