The glowing orb had an unusual beauty to it. In the view of his divine sense, he seemed to merge with his surroundings, as if he were the embodiment of heaven and earth.
However, the orb seemed to be in poor condition. It was nearly transparent, and chains stretched out of the void, binding it tightly. Strands of multicolored light were being stripped away and disappearing along the chains.
Watching this, Long Yuan had a faint suspicion.
"Long... Yuan... please... help me..."
The orb's voice came in fits and starts, ethereal and unsteady, as if it might vanish at any moment.
"You're the Plane Master of Douluo Planet, aren't you? Did you call me here?"
By now, Long Yuan had realized that the one who had come to this space wasn't his true body, but a wisp of his divine sense.
"That's right. I am the Plane Master of Douluo Planet."
As if on its deathbed, the orb's voice gradually grew clearer.
"But I'm on the verge of fading away. The one who came from the heavens is stealing my power, and he's almost succeeded. The Life Core has already fallen. Alone, with no source of power, I can't hold out."
"Oh? Then why did you call me here? Did you expect me to fight the Plane Master?"
Long Yuan spoke coldly.
The orb trembled slightly. "I believe you'll oppose him."
"Oh? What makes you so sure?"
"Because you are... a dragon, while he came from the heavens. You could never be on the same side."
The orb's voice was certain. Though its tone never changed, Long Yuan could still sense the emotion it meant to convey.
He frowned. From the sound of it, this formless Plane Master seemed to know secrets unknown to ordinary people.
"How long have you existed?"
"How long have I existed..." The Plane Master seemed to fall silent. After a long while, it said, "I don't know how many years it's been. But back then, I often saw dragons circling in the sky, while people on the ground struggled to survive among all kinds of beasts..."
In other words, the Plane Master had come into being back when the Dragon Clan ruled the realms.
At that time, the Dragon God still existed. He had established the Dragon God Realm and ruled over more than a dozen nearby star systems, making it worthy of being called a half-step God Star.
However, when the Dragon God led the Divine Dragon Realm in an attempt to ascend to God Star, He failed. The backlash of the laws of the universe gravely wounded Him, and the Dragon Clan's most important Dragon Ascension Pillar was lost in the Space-Time Turbulence stirred up by the laws' upheaval.
Later, the five God Kings, led by Asura God, seized the chance to launch a rebellion while the Dragon Clan was gravely wounded by the backlash of the universal laws. The Divine Dragon Realm, already on the brink of collapse, was shattered completely.
As Long Yuan fell silent, the orb continued its account. "Later, the dragons seemed to vanish overnight, and the constraints on me seemed to disappear as well. But before long, that feeling of restraint returned, bringing new rules with it. After that, the constraints vanished once more. I thought new rules would soon follow, but instead, what came was a gaze full of malice. I had no power to fight back, and could only resist as best I could."
To a Plane Master like it, it didn't matter who ruled the starry sky or what rules the Divine Realm imposed. It would accept them all, as long as the plane didn't collapse.
But how could it, naive as it was, have imagined that Tang San would set his sights on Douluo Planet—and on it, the Plane Master, as well?
After listening to the whole story, Long Yuan said, "You're right. I'm an enemy of the one who wants to replace you. But you know he's almost succeeded. He'll soon become the new Plane Master, and you'll only be devoured. No one will remember you. He's practically invincible on this plane, and I can't stand against him either. Tell me, how much longer can you hold out?"
"Probably another seven years before he devours me completely."
Long Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Seven years? Are you sure?"
"At most, I can last seven more years. It won't be less than six."
If that was what it said, then Long Yuan could be sure: it would happen around the time Tang Wulin's thousand-day burial of the dragons was nearing its end in the original story. After that, Tang Wulin would break through to level fifty and officially become the Child of the Plane.
"If that's the case, we still have a chance of winning. But I'll need your support."
"Tell me..."
"Give me a copy of your Elemental Origin. As the Plane Master, you should be able to do that, right?" Looking at the miserable orb, Long Yuan still refrained from making any outrageous demands.
The Plane Master's Elemental Origin was different from its authority over the plane. It represented the elemental power of the entire plane.
This power could regenerate, and it contained the methods of using every elemental force that had ever existed on Douluo Planet. It was practically an encyclopedia. If an elemental Soul Master obtained it and comprehended even a fraction of it, they could unleash power far beyond that of someone at the same level.
Of course, Long Yuan only wanted it as a precaution. If he perfected his Dragon God Bloodline in the future, he wouldn't need to spend time mastering elemental power. For now, he still fought using his own strength.
"By the way, do you still have enough strength to act?" Long Yuan suddenly asked.
The orb went dormant for a while before replying, "I can still use some mental suggestions at most. If I do anything more, I'm afraid I won't be able to resist that person."
"Mental suggestions? That'll do. Let's stop here for today. Send me back first."
"All right."
A multicolored speck of light separated from the orb and drifted into Long Yuan's palm.
"If you need me to act, just use your divine sense to communicate with this Spiritual Origin."
As the orb finished speaking, Long Yuan's vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in bed.
Long Yuan walked to the window, wide awake. He looked at the Elemental Origin he had received from the Plane Master.
"At most, seven years left. Time really won't wait."
But for him, this was already the best of times. The Douluo God Realm had been swept away by the Space-Time Turbulence, and the order of heaven and earth was absent. As long as he could deal with Tang Hao and Ah Yin, everything would be settled.
After that, becoming the Dragon God, reviving the Dragon Clan, and even rebuilding the Divine Dragon Realm would all fall into place.
Long Yuan stopped letting his thoughts wander and drew the Elemental Origin in his palm into his body. In an instant, all kinds of power surged forth.
The vastness of water, the searing heat of fire, the weight of earth, the swiftness of wind, the warmth of light, the depths of darkness, and the nimbleness of space.
Then each element revealed its many variations. Water, for instance, could flow gently or surge in a mighty torrent...
Even an ordinary Titled Douluo would probably burst from the pressure in an instant.
But Long Yuan didn't feel a thing. It was as easy as cracking a sunflower seed.