In a corner of the Star Luo Empire, countless faint, multicolored rays seeped from a tiny crack. This signified that an unstable minor plane closely connected to the Douluo Continent was becoming active.
If someone could see past the barrier of the world and the confines of the crack, he might have glimpsed a world brimming with life pulsing vividly beyond it, like a heart filled with power and mystery, or a hidden paradise secluded from the world. In the sky, clouds of brilliant colors drifted like swimming fish, each containing a different kind of elemental power that gave it its color. Across the land, countless dragon souls of every strange shape and kind ran, fought, and lived like real creatures. This world made of dragon souls held not a trace of deathly stillness. Instead, it teemed with life, like a true dragon planet-after the Dragon God's fall, no such planets remained in the lower planes of the Douluo God Realm.
This was Dragon Valley, a small world bound to the planet where the Douluo Continent lay.
The dragon souls in Dragon Valley varied greatly: some were active, while others lay deathly still. But one thing was the same for them all: nothing in Dragon Valley would disturb the slumber of these departed dragon souls. Whether they were still or active, no being could shatter the peace and tranquility of Dragon Valley.
But today, turbulent undercurrents suddenly stirred beneath Dragon Valley's calm.
The deepest part of Dragon Valley had once been the most tranquil place in the entire valley. Then a low rumble sounded, and the Dragon Clouds in the sky, like startled birds and beasts, were forced to flee in every direction. The whole of Dragon Valley seemed to have been stirred by an outside force. Like a placid lake struck by a massive boulder, it had no choice but to tremble violently.
Suddenly, a pitch-black mark, dark and deep as an abyss, tore through the sky and descended upon the small world.
Like a brushstroke from some great power, the black mark grew larger and larger, as if it meant to rip the entire sky apart. Moments later, the mark covered half the sky, and a pair of enormous black dragon claws reached out of the void into Dragon Valley.
A closer look revealed that the giant claws were black as ink, their scales distinct as if carved by blade and chisel, flashing with a chilling, terrifying light. As soon as they emerged, the claws seized the two sides of the fissure, just as a human might try to pry something open.
The owner of the black claws meant to use his strength alone to tear open the barrier of Dragon Valley's sky.
As time passed, the fissure grew wider and wider, like a great door slowly opening with Dragon Valley's sky as its frame. The owner of the black claws was already panting heavily, his strength beginning to fail him. Clearly, even for an extraordinary being like him, breaking through the barrier between worlds was no easy task.
Just then, four figures of yellow, red, black, and green light suddenly burst from the fissure and descended into the depths of Dragon Valley.
After entering Dragon Valley, the four figures gradually took on solid form from the power that made them up, faintly resembling two men and two women. Both men were powerfully built, with firm muscles. The yellow power came from a bald man, while the red came from a burly man whose hair and beard were both crimson. Both women were beauties capable of toppling cities. One had black hair and purple eyes, with a conspicuous air of death surrounding her; the other had green hair and green eyes, and was surrounded by abundant vitality. As soon as the four landed, vast, magnificent Soul Power poured from their hands, forming almost tangible beams that completely stabilized the trembling fissure in the sky.
Seeing that the fissure had stabilized completely, the owner of the giant black claws withdrew them. Then a streak of black light shot out and landed before the four, transforming into a tall, handsome middle-aged man. His black hair fell to his waist, and his golden eyes were full of majesty, seemingly a symbol of his exceptional bloodline and status. The five bowed deeply to the fissure. Then a silver-haired, purple-eyed young woman of queenly and breathtaking beauty stepped through it and returned to the world that had always been hers.
"We welcome our lord!"
All five spoke loudly and reverently. Gu Yuena gave no reply, merely nodding gently before taking flight. Silver wings spread behind her as she headed toward the destination she had already scouted.
Xiao Yan followed close behind. He nodded to Di Tian, who returned the nod with a grave look in his eyes. Then Xiao Yan spread his Heavenly Phoenix Wings and shot into the air. Together, the two flew into the depths of Dragon Valley to begin the trial they had long prepared for.
"Di Tian, did our lord really say that? The inheritance of our Soul Beast Clan is truly going to be given to that human brat..." the muscular bald man grumbled. Of everyone present, he was the largest, a full size bigger even than the equally burly red-haired man. Yet for all his strength, he seemed somewhat lacking in intelligence.
The black-haired man at their head sighed. "Xiong Jun, don't speak recklessly. Our lord is still missing some of her power. She probably couldn't retrieve that treasure on her own, or she wouldn't have placed her faith in a human's strength and let him benefit for nothing. Even so, we cannot treat him as an ordinary human. The bloodline he carries is no inferior to our lord's. In a manner of speaking, he can be counted as half one of our own-and one of exceptionally noble status at that."
"Even so, he's still just a human..." Xiong Jun curled his lip but said nothing more. After all, he had no standing to challenge their lord's decision.
Despite what Di Tian had said, he knew full well that the vast majority of the Silver Dragon King's power still slumbered in the core of the Star Dou Great Forest. Their lord's human body and split soul before them possessed only thirty percent of the Silver Dragon King's power. If the human brat suddenly attacked, or possessed some technique far beyond the limits of his level, the odds would be grim for their lord. Unfortunately, after the Silver Dragon King turned her excess emotions into Gu Yuena, she had become even more autocratic, heedless of the consequences in pursuit of her goals. Even Di Tian found it difficult to persuade her. Sigh... I can only hope that human brat truly means to help my lord.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Yuena and Xiao Yan vanished from the sight of Di Tian and the other Ferocious Beasts. Though the five Ferocious Beasts were anxious, they could do nothing now but strive to maintain the fissure in the sky and await the pair's return.
Just then, a streak of golden light flew out of the fissure. Judging by her power, a gap like an impassable chasm seemed to separate her from the Ferocious Beasts present, yet not one of them could look down on her. The golden light hopped about playfully, seemingly full of interest in the strange little world before her. Di Tian sighed at the sight, but there was not a trace of displeasure on his face, only a loving smile.
"Little one, what are you doing here? Dragon Valley isn't a particularly safe place. Even with an Auspicious Beast's bloodline and the Power of Destiny protecting you, you won't be completely safe. Be good and go back."
The golden light Di Tian called "little one" looked at him, then landed and transformed into an adorable little beast about a meter long. She had dragon claws on all four limbs, but her body resembled that of a little golden-haired lion. Hidden on her forehead was a vertical pupil, a surprising sight. This little beast actually had a third eye.
"Di Tian, Di Tian, look! The feeling here is so comfortable. I think my cultivation could reach a new level if I stayed here." With that, the little golden beast immediately lay down and began absorbing the surrounding clouds of dragon souls, as if she had not sneaked in after giving in to her desire to play, but had obediently come to cultivate and advance. Her charmingly silly manner delighted Di Tian, and he stopped trying to persuade the Emperor Auspicious Beast to leave. With him, the Beast God, here, no being could harm the adorable little beast he regarded as both a companion and a child.
In a basin a thousand miles away.
Xiao Yan followed close behind Gu Yuena, the two of them charging straight there without the slightest hesitation. When he first landed, Xiao Yan noticed nothing special about the place, aside from a slight stirring in his Ancient Void Dragon Phoenix bloodline, as though it felt a faint sorrow. Then he looked more closely and discovered a terrifying sight on the mist-shrouded valley floor, one that made his whole body tremble.
In the valley lay tens of thousands of enormous dragon skeletons. Dragon souls retaining faint traces of consciousness drifted above their bones, and Xiao Yan could hear their mournful cries, filled with heart-rending pain. This place was like a mass grave for dragons, except these pitiful remains would not even have graves of their own.
On the Douluo Continent, true dragon bloodlines were on the verge of disappearing entirely, and descendants of that great ancient race were now hard to find. Apart from the powerful, ancient Ferocious Beast races hidden deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, the only ones Xiao Yan knew of who retained any true dragon blood were the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon lineage. Yet the thousands of corpses here were unmistakably all fallen true dragons. Otherwise, they could never have remained undecayed for a thousand years.
Gu Yuena did not say a word when she saw this. She simply walked quietly into the dragon graveyard and stroked the dragon bones exposed in the wilderness one after another, tears falling from her eyes unbidden.
Xiao Yan was not a dragon, but the Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline within him kept pulsing, filling his soul with grief. Those low dragon cries, like weeping and lamentation, sounded ceaselessly in his ears. Even a true man forged from iron and steel could not face such a sight without being moved to sorrow. Looking at these ill-fated true dragons, he seemed to recall a certain friend, yet he could only vaguely remember her circumstances. Even without remembering, that friend made him feel more keenly the sorrow of the countless dragons who had perished here, until he could no longer contain himself.
Xiao Yan and Gu Yuena touched every dragon skeleton here, one after another. Through their touch, the countless remains felt a peace they had not known in ages, while the two of them felt the anguish within those remains and shared the sorrow that had accumulated over thousands and tens of thousands of years.
A faint halo radiated from each of them. After the dragon bones had been enveloped in the silver or purple-gold light, their pain seemed to have eased considerably, and a faint sense of relaxation miraculously emerged.
Half a day passed. Gu Yuena and Xiao Yan had communed soul to soul with every dragon skeleton present. Then Gu Yuena wiped away her tears, composed herself, and said to Xiao Yan:
"I'm sorry I made you grieve for my True Dragon Clan, and sorry for troubling you to comfort these souls wandering in pain."
Xiao Yan smiled at her without saying anything and gently held her in his arms. In that warm embrace, he did not need to say a word; Gu Yuena already knew what he wanted to say.
In his arms, the sovereign of the Soul Beasts, who had felt so much sorrow, rallied her spirits once more. Then Gu Yuena pulled free of his embrace, slowly turned around, and said to Xiao Yan:
"Xiao Yan, this place is called Dragon Valley. It is where the dragons met their final end in the last battle of the Divine Dragon Realm, tens of thousands of years ago. In that battle, the Dragon God was slain by human gods, and the True Dragon Clan was slaughtered to the last. In the end, the final trace of clarity in the Dragon God's maddened soul protected the remains of those true dragons, crossed layer upon layer of the void, and created this small world. This is the True Dragon Clan's last world, and also a symbol of our suffering."
Gu Yuena spoke with a sorrowful expression. As the half that carried more emotions, she was clearly more emotional, and her feelings for the True Dragon Clan ran deeper.
"In this Dragon Clan Graveyard, the Dragon Clouds in the sky are formed from the power of dragon souls, and the little dragons on the ground are all dragon souls as well. These weak dragon souls have already lost the awareness of their past memories, like lonely souls and wandering ghosts. For the first few days, we only need to absorb the power in these dragon souls and do our best to increase the concentration of our bloodlines and our strength."
"After three days, we must go into the depths of the Dragon Clan Graveyard. Before then, I hope you'll do everything you can to improve yourself."
"I... don't want you to fall here..."
Gu Yuena's voice trembled, thick with tears, and she could barely continue. As a half, she could not stop the Silver Dragon King's plan, but she truly, truly did not want Xiao Yan to die here. So, over these three days, she would do everything she could to help Xiao Yan improve himself, seeking a sliver of hope beneath the Dragon God's pressure and power.
"This trip to Dragon Valley was arranged by the 'Silver Dragon King' of the Star Dou Great Forest. The beings who opened the fissure between worlds for us are all powerful members of the ten great Ferocious Beasts. But even with their help, they can only maintain that fissure for five days. After five days, Dragon Valley will be sealed again, and no one will be able to do anything about it."
"So we must obtain that thing within five days."
With that, Gu Yuena embraced Xiao Yan. She could not look at him while saying those words. She felt some regret, as though she had brought Xiao Yan to a very dangerous place. At first, when the Silver Dragon King had asked her to use Xiao Yan's strength to obtain the Dragon God's Heart, she had only wanted to find a place where she could increase Xiao Yan's Bloodline Power. And only here could the excessively powerful and noble bloodline within Xiao Yan be improved.
"Xiao Yan, please, stay alive..."
With that, she released him and began helping him absorb as much dragon soul power as possible.
Xiao Yan and Gu Yuena rose high into the sky. Multicolored Dragon Clouds passed through their bodies one after another, flying into the distance with traces of silver or purple-gold about them. As his Bloodline Power surged, Xiao Yan felt an almost imperceptible power awakening within his bloodline. A faint dragon's roar and phoenix's cry immediately rang across the sky. A thousand miles away, the five great Ferocious Beasts and the Emperor Auspicious Beast heard them clearly. Beneath that faint sound, their exalted bloodlines could not muster the slightest desire to resist, only to submit.
"Di Tian... this power..."
Di Tian shook his head without a word. But the stirring in his bloodline would remain with him for the rest of his life.
The legendary progenitor of all beasts from another world, the Ancient Void Dragon Phoenix, truly possessed heaven-overturning might.