"Buzz buzz buzz...
Inside
the massive passage, endless energy burst forth. The Ten Thousand Dragon Nest blocked its front, pulled by the energy, causing it to shake.
"Such pure power of destiny...
Tang
Wan'er looked at the surging energy and couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. Now that all enemies had retreated, this endless energy would be enjoyed exclusively by them.
"Long Chen, your divine artifact, Dragon Blood Power, should be able to open the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest. Go inside and see how Gu Yang and the others are doing." Tang Wan'er said.
Long Chen nodded, patted Aman's shoulder, and said, "Aman, you and Sister Wan'er stay here. I'll go check out the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest."
Aman looked at Long Chen, feeling a bit reluctant. After reuniting with Long Chen, he didn't want to be apart from him for even a moment.
Seeing this, Tang Wan'er realized Aman didn't understand Long Chen's meaning. She thought that once Long Chen left, who knew how long it would be before they could meet. She quickly comforted him, telling him that Long Chen would be back soon. Only then did Aman show a simple, honest smile.
"By the way, Aman, do you still have any rations?" Long Chen suddenly asked.
Aman was different from others; he couldn't go hungry. Once his stomach was empty, his combat ability would plummet, and if he was severely exhausted, he would fall into a coma.
"I don't have much food left in my pocket, enough for me to eat twice." As Aman spoke, she opened a strange pouch at her waist.
Long Chen and Tang Wan'er peered inside through the mouth of the bag, their hearts pounding wildly. Inside were all beings at least fifth-rank Divine Emperor.
There were magical beasts, demon beasts, and some creatures even Long Chen didn't recognize—over a hundred of them.
This bag, called the Qiankun Bag, was made from the hide of a spatial beast. The space was enormous, and those mountain-like magical beasts inside looked as small as chicks.
Over a hundred high-level Divine Emperor-level beasts were only enough for two meals—Aman's appetite was truly astonishing.
Upon learning that Aman still had 'rations,' Long Chen felt relieved and reminded him to stay here, listen to Sister Wan'er, and then head toward the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.
"Buzz!"
Long Chen used the power of dragon blood to activate the barrier of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest and slipped inside.
As soon as they entered the main hall of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, they saw Gu Yang, Li Qi, Song Mingyuan, Guo Ran, Xia Chen, and other warriors of the Dragon Blood Legion sitting cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by endless divine radiance. Each of them kept their eyes tightly shut, still meditating.
Long Chen swept his divine sense across the entire Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, and soon, in another grand hall, he spotted the powerful figures of the Dragon Domain.
What shocked Long Chen was that tens of millions of Dragon Domain experts lay sprawled on the ground, their faces pale as paper, their bloodlines nearly spent, their life force extremely weak, and their soul flames seemingly on the verge of extinguishing at any moment.
"How could this happen? What exactly happened?" Long Chen couldn't help but look shocked.
"I was the one who guided them here, luring the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao out from underground. However, to trigger the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Path comes at a price." Suddenly, the voice of the Chaos Dragon Emperor echoed in Long Chen's mind.
"Is this a price of your life?" Long Chen looked utterly incredulous.
"This is a test. If they don't have the courage to sacrifice their lives, how can they be touched by the fortune of the Imperial Dao's reverse scale?" The Chaos Dragon Emperor said.
Long Chen's heart tightened. It seemed the Chaos Dragon Emperor still harbored resentment toward these descendants, and his methods were extremely harsh. If they failed the trial, he would never allow them to benefit from the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao.
"At that time, I gave them a choice: either sacrifice their blood soul and life force to fulfill the Dragonblood Legion. Or part ways with the Dragonblood Legion and find your own path." The Chaos Dragon Emperor said.
"Senior, you're being a bit too ruthless!" Long Chen gave a bitter smile.
Sacrificing blood souls and life force—even if they didn't die, it would cost them half their lives. More importantly, blood soul power and life force are the lifeblood of cultivators. Too many sacrifices can seriously affect a person's aptitude, and their entire realm might be frozen forever.
For a genius, he could accept death, but absolutely could not accept this outcome. So, the Chaos Dragon Emperor's approach was too ruthless.
Moreover, judging from the situation of the strongest prodigies in the Dragon Domain, like Mo Yang and Chi Wufeng, their blood soul power was almost completely depleted. They truly risked their lives to support the Dragon Blood Legion. Thinking of this, Long Chen couldn't help but feel annoyed. The Chaos Dragon Emperor was far too cold-hearted.
"The disciples of the Dragon Domain have exhausted their blood soul power and life force, activating the bloodline power of the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Path.
Their lives could only rely on this Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, but this was only the first step.
To lure the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao out of another world, the invincible will of the Dragonblood warriors and the power of their dragon souls within them are needed. So, with the Reverse Scale appearing in the world, the Dragonblood Legion has almost exhausted its own strength.
But for them, this will be a tremendous opportunity." The Chaos Dragon Emperor said.
"A tremendous opportunity?" If Aman hadn't shown up, we'd all be dead." Long Chen said irritably.
"Pushing yourself to the brink of despair is because you were too foolish. When you defeat Hou Tianwu and Xue Yingfeng arrives, this is no longer a fair decisive battle. You should summon the Hexagonal Evil Fly.
But you foolishly fought them head-on, until you were completely drained, and you didn't even have the power to summon the hexagonal evil fly." The Chaos Dragon Emperor snorted coldly.
Hearing the Chaos Dragon Emperor's words, Long Chen immediately shut his mouth. He still had one strongest trump card he hadn't used, but facing a peer-level expert, Long Chen's pride wouldn't allow him to use it.
However, when Long Chen tried to use the Hexagonal Evil Fly, he found that his bloodline and soul power had been severely depleted, and he couldn't activate the curse on the fly. This was something he had never expected beforehand.
If Aman hadn't arrived in time, Long Chen might have truly been doomed today. According to the Chaos Dragon Emperor, today's situation was entirely his own foolishness.
"Alright, I admit I was foolish, but you know that deep within my soul lies a proud will that won't allow me to do that." Long Chen could only shamelessly shift the blame.
Hearing Long Chen say this, the Chaos Dragon Emperor didn't dwell on the matter any longer and continued:
"I had them exhaust their energy for their own good. At this moment, the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao begins to awaken, its origin aura starts to release. This is when they are in an ethereal state—the best opportunity to absorb the source energy.
As the saying goes, 'Don't leave the old, don't let the new.' This transition between old and new is nothing short of a complete transformation for them."
"Thank you, Senior."
Only
then did Long Chen understand the Chaos Dragon Emperor's good intentions. Thinking of his earlier misunderstanding, he felt deeply ashamed.
The Chaos Dragon Emperor said, "Previously, Gu Yang and the others tried to use the power of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest to repair their bodies, but I stopped them. Not only did they fail to recover, but the remaining power inside them was drained by the Nest, all to save them something better.
Now you have two choices: one: let them absorb the aura of the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao and carry out a new and old replacement right now.
Second: Keep them in an empty cup. When the Reverse Scale of the Imperial Dao truly awakens and the Imperial Space blooms, let them absorb source power a hundred times purer than now."
"Of course, you chose the second one?" Long Chen didn't even hesitate.
"However, at that time, everyone will enter the Imperial Dao Space, and all your enemies will appear. Do you think you can protect them?" The Chaos Dragon Emperor said in a deep voice.
"This ..."
At
that moment, Long Chen was left speechless.