Black Dragon King Di Tian!

In the sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's divine soul trembled violently. It was a shudder that came from the depths of her soul.

She stared fixedly at the black shadow tearing across the night sky, her voice filled with unmistakable fear:

"Ling Xuqing, be careful! He's Black Dragon King Di Tian! He has cultivated for over eight hundred thousand years. I don't know exactly how long, but he's definitely one of the most powerful beings on this continent!"

Ling Xuqing said nothing. He simply stood where he was.

He could feel the blood in his body, which had just fused with the power Xiao Wu had offered through her sacrifice, boiling beneath the terrifying pressure from outside.

High above, the black shadow finally revealed its true form.

It was a massive black dragon, over a hundred meters long, its entire body covered in dark golden scales. Deep, dark runes flowed across every scale.

Its eyes were pure dark gold, without a trace of any other color, as if they could see through the very essence of all things.

Black Dragon King Di Tian.

He hovered in midair, his enormous dragon head dipping slightly as his dark golden, slit-pupiled eyes swept coldly across the forest below.

When his gaze passed over the spot where Ling Xuqing stood, Ling Xuqing felt his whole body tense, as if an ancient Ferocious Beast had fixed its stare on him.

Di Tian's gaze swept back and forth over Ling Xuqing, a flicker of surprise passing through his dark golden eyes.

"Hm?"

A low dragon's roar exploded in Ling Xuqing's mind.

"Boy, who are you?" Di Tian's voice rang directly inside Ling Xuqing's mind, low and imposing, devoid of emotion. "How did you persuade a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to offer itself in sacrifice?"

His gaze dropped to Ling Xuqing's feet.

"And your Soul Power... it's already reached level twenty-eight?" A trace of confusion entered Di Tian's voice. "How did you do that?"

Ling Xuqing did not answer, but he knew Di Tian had already seen through the situation.

The Golden Dragon King's source power within him, combined with the source power of Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin and the Hundred-Thousand-Year source power Xiao Wu had provided through her sacrifice, had erupted completely during their fusion. His Soul Power had shot straight from the peak of level twenty to level twenty-eight.

"You know her?" Ling Xuqing asked.

"Of course." Di Tian's voice held a faint, condescending detachment. "She's the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit who stayed by the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python. What, they aren't with you, and you were still willing to sacrifice yourself to a human?"

In the sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's body shuddered.

"He... he recognized me?"

"But," Di Tian continued after a slight pause,

"once a Soul Beast sacrifices itself, it vanishes completely. Not even its soul remains. Since you've already sacrificed yourself, why can I still sense your presence?"

Ling Xuqing raised his head and met Di Tian's slit-pupiled gaze, speaking each word clearly:

"Xiao Wu isn't dead. She became my Soul Spirit."

"Soul Spirit?" Di Tian's pupils constricted slightly.

"What kind of Soul Spirit?"

"A way of existing in which our divine souls meld and we share our lives."

Ling Xuqing explained, "She offered herself in sacrifice, but I preserved her complete divine soul and let her exist in my sea of consciousness as a Soul Spirit. She won't die. Instead, we'll live and die together."

Di Tian fell silent for a moment. A complex emotion flickered in his dark golden eyes.

"Fine. We'll leave this little rabbit aside for now."

Di Tian's voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable pressure. "I'll ask you just one thing: where did the Golden Dragon King's source aura on you come from?"

Ling Xuqing's lips curled into a faint smile as he answered coolly:

"Of course the Golden Dragon King offered himself in sacrifice."

"Utter nonsense!" Di Tian's voice rose sharply, and an even more terrifying pressure crashed down.

"How could our lord possibly offer himself in sacrifice?! Don't try to fool me, boy!"

"What would I gain by lying to you?"

Ling Xuqing refused to back down. "Besides, I know the Silver Dragon King sent you here, right? As the Beast God and Black Dragon King, you should know what the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King mean, shouldn't you?"

Di Tian's body stiffened abruptly.

He stared at Ling Xuqing, a dangerous glint flashing in his dark golden eyes.

"Hmph. I don't care how you got the Golden Dragon King's source power." Di Tian's voice sank. "You have two choices. First, come with me to the Star Dou Great Forest and meet our lord. Second, I'll take you to the Life Forbidden Zone right now. If our lord can be healed, I'll give you a dignified end. Otherwise—"

His voice turned icy:

"I'll kill you right now and take the Golden Dragon King's source power!"

In the sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's body trembled violently. She wanted to speak, but under Di Tian's pressure, she could barely even gather her thoughts.

Ling Xuqing felt the warmth of Xiao Wu's power within him and smiled with confidence.

"What if I refuse?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Di Tian moved.

Boom—!

A terrifying force of dark dragon energy burst from within him, forming a black, dragon-shaped phantom that crashed down toward Ling Xuqing.

With a thought, Ling Xuqing instantly drew Xiao Wu's divine soul deep into his sea of consciousness. At the same time, with a hiss, an enormous pair of golden wings unfurled behind him, their scales densely patterned and gleaming with molten gold!

Dragon Wing Sky Soar!

His body shot into the air. His golden dragon wings traced a graceful arc across the night sky, letting him narrowly dodge the black, dragon-shaped phantom.

Thousand Feather Shattering Gale!

The moment Ling Xuqing beat his wings, thousands upon thousands of golden scale-feather blades and gale-force energy burst from his back, sweeping toward Di Tian from every direction.

Infused with destructive dragon power, the scale-feathers carved countless tiny cracks into the space around Di Tian.

"Interesting." A hint of surprise entered Di Tian's voice as his enormous dragon tail swept sideways, smashing every golden scale-feather to pieces.

Ling Xuqing flipped through the air, and both his hands instantly transformed into razor-sharp Purgatory Golden Dragon Claws.

Dragon Shatters Mountains and Rivers!

His entire body became a golden streak of light as he dove toward Di Tian's dragon head.

Immense Dragon Emperor power gathered in his claws, carrying the special effect of absolute armor penetration as they raked fiercely at Di Tian's scales.

Clang—!

The clash rang out like metal striking metal. Ling Xuqing's claws scraped Di Tian's scales, leaving only a few faint white marks.

Those scales are tough. Ling Xuqing flipped through the air and pulled away again.

Dragon Lock Nirvana!

With a thought, golden binding runes burst from his claws and locked precisely onto Di Tian's limbs.

But Di Tian's cultivation was simply too terrifying. The moment the golden runes touched his scales, a horrifying force of dark dragon energy shattered them.

"Boy, you're pretty strong."

Di Tian's voice held a trace of approval. "But this is still far from enough."

His body shook violently, and an even more terrifying pressure crashed down, pinning Ling Xuqing in midair.

Ling Xuqing felt his entire body grow heavy, as if a mountain had been pressed down on him.

He began to sink slowly, while the trees beneath him snapped apart under the pressure.

"Since you want to fight, then I'll see it through to the end!"

Ling Xuqing took half a step back and lifted his eyes to Di Tian. A note of grim resolve flashed in his dark golden eyes.

He turned his right hand over, and an ancient-looking golden spear appeared in his grasp, radiating an overwhelmingly domineering aura.

The Golden Overlord Spear!

Then, two Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

The first was a platinum-colored Soul Ring, its aura woven from holiness and dominance.

The second was a Hundred-Thousand-Year red Soul Ring, wreathed in a deep, blood-red glow.

His level-twenty-eight cultivation erupted completely. A dragon's might no weaker than Di Tian's surged from his body, meeting the terrifying dark pressure head-on.

Di Tian's pupils shrank sharply. He stared at the platinum-colored Soul Ring, his voice filled with unconcealed shock:

"God-Bestowed Soul Ring? No... this is a divine Soul Ring! Your First Soul Ring is actually a divine Soul Ring? How is that possible?!"

Ling Xuqing held the Golden Overlord Spear, the corner of his mouth curling up with confidence.

"There's nothing impossible about it. Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you've cultivated for eight hundred and fifty thousand years!"

Di Tian felt the power contained in that platinum-colored Soul Ring, and his expression suddenly changed.

"This is... Lord Dragon God's aura?!"

His voice rose sharply, disbelief filling his dark golden eyes.

"Why does Lord Dragon God's aura linger on you? Who are you? What connection do you have to Lord Dragon God?!"

In the sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's divine soul shuddered. Her voice brimmed with shock:

"Dragon God... Lord Dragon God's aura?!"

Ling Xuqing watched Di Tian's stunned expression and spoke calmly:

"My connection to him? The Lord Dragon God you speak of used the Golden Dragon King's source power to offer himself in sacrifice to me in the Forbidden God Land. He rebuilt my body and bloodline and sent me to Douluo Continent. He also gave me the Golden Dragon Spear and the Ascending Dragon Pillar."

As he spoke, he lifted his left hand. A pillar radiating holy golden light slowly appeared in his palm.

The Ascending Dragon Pillar!

The pillar was barely a foot long, formed entirely from pure golden dragon runes. Countless lifelike dragon totems were carved into its surface.

Holy light flowed over the pillar, and it emanated a supreme aura that made every dragon submit.

"Th-the Ascending Dragon Pillar?!"

Di Tian's voice began to tremble. He stared fixedly at the pillar in Ling Xuqing's hand, disbelief filling his dark golden eyes.

"It really is our Dragon Clan's treasured Ascending Dragon Pillar! With it, our lord can recover from his injuries and heal the hidden wounds left by the Asura God! You actually possess the Ascending Dragon Pillar..."

"Y-you're the successor chosen by Lord Dragon God? Where is Lord Dragon God? You've met him? How is Lord Dragon God?!"

Urgency crept into his voice, along with a trace of pleading.

In the sea of consciousness, Xiao Wu's divine soul was completely stunned.

Though she wasn't a member of the Dragon Clan, she knew what the Dragon God meant to the Soul Beast Clan.

He was the true lord of the entire Soul Beast Clan, its one and only sovereign!

And Ling Xuqing was the person Lord Dragon God had chosen—the successor of Lord Dragon God!

"My heavens... I actually met Lord Dragon God's successor, offered myself in sacrifice to him, and became his Soul Spirit..."

Xiao Wu's voice brimmed with shock and a hint of relief.

Ling Xuqing looked at Di Tian's agitated expression and spoke slowly:

"Dragon God... may already be gone."

"After all, back in the Forbidden God Land, he could still rely on the Golden Dragon King to resist the erosion of the chaotic laws. But now that the Golden Dragon King's source power and bloodline have fused with me, and the Golden Dragon Spear and Ascending Dragon Pillar are in my hands, how could he, with only a remnant soul, withstand the erosion of the chaotic laws at the edge of the Divine Realm?"

Silence fell all around them, as still as death.

Di Tian's body trembled slightly. A trace of grief flickered in his dark golden eyes.

After a long while, he slowly folded away his dragon wings and reined in the pressure radiating from his body.

Then, to Ling Xuqing and Xiao Wu's astonishment, the eighty-five-hundred-thousand-year Black Dragon King stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Your subordinate Di Tian pays his respects to the young lord!"