The six of them ran wildly. But this underwater palace was too vast; they had been inside for nearly half a day, and escaping was not a matter of moments.
At the same time, all the Breath of the Divine Dragon within the palace surged rapidly toward the direction of the Divine Dragon Hall.
Mo Tiange glanced back. The pitch-black passage was calm along the way, illuminated only by the faint glow of the moonlight stones they carried. Yet within this calmness lay a pressure that made her heart tremble with fear.
The Breath of the Divine Dragon was gradually thinning, and the pressure it brought was also fading, but the six people present grew even more terrified. Because this thinning Breath of the Divine Dragon was all converging on one person. What that person would become after obtaining this Breath of the Divine Dragon, none of them knew.
As they ran, a deafening roar suddenly echoed, water waves surged, and the palace shook.
The faces of all six paled drastically. The roar was low and indistinct, but the majesty within it was unmistakable. The might of the Divine Dragon... Could it be that Ren Yufeng had truly succeeded?!
"Senior Brothers..." Tang Fang called out, his expression grim. "What should we do?"
Qiu Zhiming wore a pained look. "Escape. We can only flee for our lives as fast as possible. Let's hope that Ren hasn't completed it yet, and we can escape back to the sect first to report..." He then looked at Yu Xiaoran, whom he was half-dragging along, his expression turning agonized. "Junior Brother Yu is severely injured. I... I'll take him with me. You all use your own abilities and escape as quickly as you can!"
"Senior Brother Qiu!" Tang Fang's expression changed. "Are you saying..."
"Some of us must escape back to the sect to deliver the news. Otherwise, we'll all perish here together!"
"Senior Brother Qiu is right," Xiahou Yuan said sternly. "Junior Brother Tang! Don't be indecisive. Preserving our own lives is paramount now."
Tang Fang's gaze darkened. He gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright. We'll each flee for our lives. Whoever escapes should return to the sect to report. If we can't escape, then..."
"Then we're just unlucky," Jiang Shanghang interjected, a ruthless look already on his face. "Once we're out of this underwater palace, we'll split up and flee. That gives us a higher chance of someone escaping than if we all run together."
There was no other choice.
Listening to them speak, Mo Tiange remained silent. They were all disciples of the Zhengfa Sect, bound by camaraderie. Someone like Qiu Zhiming was even willing to take Yu Xiaoran along, even though it would greatly slow his speed. But she was not a disciple of the Zhengfa Sect. She had only met these people by chance; she could only look out for herself.
"Junior Brother Ye..." Jiang Shanghang looked at her then, hesitating. "You..."
Mo Tiange knew that underwater, she couldn't match the water evasion techniques of Zhengfa Sect cultivators. The reason she could keep up now was firstly due to the extraordinary power of her Cloud-Treading Boots, and secondly because Yu Xiaoran's injuries were slowing their group's speed.
"Senior Brother Jiang, don't worry," Mo Tiange said calmly. "Although my evasion technique isn't great, I still have some means to preserve my life."
She had originally planned to find an opportunity to knock Jiang Shanghang unconscious and take him into the Void Heaven Realm, repaying the favor of him staying behind earlier to protect her life. But now that they had another plan, she didn't need to go that far. After all, her trust in Jiang Shanghang hadn't reached the point where she would exhaust all means to ensure his survival.
Jiang Shanghang's gaze wavered for a moment, but in the end, he gritted his teeth. "Then... we'll each trust to fate. If fate allows, we'll meet again another day."
Mo Tiange nodded, unable to suppress a sigh in her heart. Over so many years, the number of people she could entrust with her trust was few. Before twenty, there was only Second Uncle. After twenty, there were the handful from the Xuanqing Sect. Others encountered by chance might temporarily ally with her, but ultimately, there was never wholehearted trust.
For Jiang Shanghang, it had been the same initially. She had even been annoyed that he concealed the true purpose of coming here. But when he was willing to give up the chance to seek treasure to stay and protect her, she felt that perhaps this person could be trusted a little more. However, there was no opportunity to verify that now.
So be it. A chance encounter, each trusting to fate. They were all duckweed drifting under the mandate of heaven, meeting by chance and parting as fate dictated. As long as they lived, perhaps there would be another chance to meet—back when they fled Cloud Mist Mountain, they hadn't thought they would reunite later either.
"Enough, no more talk! Split up now!" Qiu Zhiming shouted, charging out of the palace first.
The others didn't hesitate either, exiting one after another via water evasion.
Once outside the palace, the group emerged from the Teleportation Array at the Divine Dragon Stele, each activating their water evasion technique and fleeing at their fastest speed.
Mo Tiange saw four streaks of evasion light flash away in different directions, vanishing from sight in an instant.
She sighed. Instead of following them out, she turned back and returned through the Teleportation Array to within the barrier of the Divine Dragon Stele.
These four had a natural advantage in water. She was destined to be left behind. If Ren Yufeng needed a long time, perhaps everyone could escape. But if he ultimately gave chase, then the first one he would catch would be her.
Pressing her brow, she silently recited an incantation. The light between her eyebrows grew brighter and brighter. After a few breaths, her figure flickered and vanished, disappearing from this Dragon Hidden Land.
She tapped her brow. The pearl floated out. With a flick of her finger, a tear opened in the Void Heaven Realm, allowing her to see the outside scene.
With the Void Heaven Realm, the scenario she had considered earlier was impossible. She could hide safely within the Void Heaven Realm. No matter what existence Ren Yufeng became, he would be unable to find her.
And she also wanted to see—the so-called Primordial Divine Beast, the Breath of the Divine Dragon. Just how strong would Ren Yufeng become?
The entrance to the palace remained open. The Breath of the Divine Dragon emanating from within grew weaker and weaker. Finally, even the aura on the Divine Dragon Stele began flowing toward the palace—this period wasn't too long. The Breath of the Divine Dragon near the Divine Dragon Stele had completely vanished.
Mo Tiange stared at the palace entrance. She was now within the Void Heaven Realm. Although she could see the outside scene, she couldn't use her divine sense, so she didn't know if Ren Yufeng had already chased out. However, since the absorption of the Breath of the Divine Dragon had stopped, he would emerge soon.
Sure enough. Not long after, Ren Yufeng's figure shot out from the palace entrance.
The moment she saw him, Mo Tiange frowned. She wasn't outside, so she couldn't sense Ren Yufeng's current aura, but Ren Yufeng's appearance was completely different from before!
Ren Yufeng's original appearance was that of a young man in his twenties. Although his demeanor was unpleasant, his face was fair and clean. But the Ren Yufeng before her now had a pitch-black, ferocious countenance, his entire body emanating a black aura, as if he had fallen into demonic ways.
Seeing him like this, Mo Tiange's heart skipped a beat. The dragon was a Primordial Divine Beast, rumored to possess vast, righteous, and awe-inspiring majesty, the race closest to the gods by nature. Whether it was the Divine Dragon Stele or the Divine Dragon statue in the palace, their Breath of the Divine Dragon was so vast and sacred.
But Ren Yufeng's appearance seemed as if he had entered demonic ways, with not a trace of the sacred feeling of the Breath of the Divine Dragon.
Mo Tiange was certain: he definitely hadn't absorbed the Breath of the Divine Dragon to become the so-called Son of the Divine Dragon. What was really going on?
Ren Yufeng also stepped onto the Teleportation Array, transmitting outside the barrier of the Divine Dragon Stele.
Mo Tiange thought for a moment, pressed her brow, emerged from the Void Heaven Realm, and walked back into the palace.
This world, from ancient times to the present, had existed for who knew how many millions of years. From a modern perspective, these long millions of years were divided into several stages: the Primordial Era, the Age of Gods' Extinction, the Ancient Era, and the Present Era.
The opening of primordial chaos, the formation of heaven and earth, the emergence of gods and spirits—this was the Primordial Era. The Primordial Era lasted for millions of years. Initially, it was a world of gods, monsters, and spirits. Later, humans appeared, and the gods left the mortal realm. But spiritual beings remained.
This period where spirits and humans lived together was also called the Antiquity.
The Antiquity was a special span of several hundred thousand years within the long Primordial Era. Humans were born here, gradually becoming the wisest of all creatures, and finally, immortal cultivators appeared. Over millions of years, they gained wisdom, learning cultivation methods from spirits and monsters. Those closer to spirits became Immortals; those closer to monsters became Demons.
The power of Immortals and Demons gradually grew strong, eventually erupting into a great war. The gods who had established the world's rules intervened, causing the Immortals and Demons capable of moving mountains and overturning seas to ascend. Spirits and monsters migrated to other worlds, leaving behind immortal cultivators and demonic cultivators whose power was still insufficient, remaining in the mortal realm. The Antiquity thus ended.
And Divine Beasts were the rulers of this period. Divine Beasts were the most powerful spirits. They possessed spiritual power innately, unlike immortal cultivators and demonic cultivators who had to cultivate to obtain magical power. The most powerful among them were nearly god-like, stronger even than Immortals and Demons. They were also the source of cultivation techniques for human immortal cultivators.
Judging by the sacrificial scenes depicted, this Divine Dragon sacrificial temple should date from a time not long after humans appeared, before they had cultivated into Immortals and Demons. The Primordial inheritance spanned millions of years. The Antiquity was a period of several hundred thousand years within it, also the period of human origin. During this time, the gods had left the mortal realm, and Divine Beasts were the most powerful force humans could contact. They possessed the bloodline of gods, hence their sacred and vast nature, the most powerful type of spiritual force among spirits.
In the Antiquity, Divine Beasts were the gods in human hearts.
The Breath of the Divine Dragon from the Divine Dragon Stele and the palace indeed possessed the majestic sacredness a Divine Beast should have.
If one truly absorbed such Breath of the Divine Dragon, then one's own spiritual energy would inevitably be upright and pure. It absolutely could not produce a demonic-like black aura.
Immortals originated from spirits; Demons originated from monsters. Absorbing the aura of spirits simply had no reason to turn one into a Demon!
Mo Tiange was almost certain: Ren Yufeng's so-called method of absorbing the Breath of the Divine Dragon was definitely wrong. But why was it wrong?
A secret method originating from this Divine Dragon sacrificial temple had no reason to result in demonic ways. Otherwise, how to explain this dense Breath of the Divine Dragon?
Spirits restrained monsters and possessed a natural restrictive power against demonic cultivators. Where the Breath of the Divine Dragon existed, there should be no demonic-like aura.
Unless... the aura on Ren Yufeng wasn't demonic energy. Or... what was here wasn't the Breath of the Divine Dragon at all!
Mo Tiange stepped into the Divine Dragon Hall once more.
Without the Breath of the Divine Dragon, this Divine Dragon statue no longer had its previous oppressive pressure.
She circled around the Divine Dragon statue and stepped through the stone door from which Tang Fang and the others had fled.
Although she had mentally prepared herself, Mo Tiange was still stunned.
It was a gigantic skeleton. Even though it had lost its life millions of years ago, it still retained a terrifying oppressive pressure. This was the bone of the Divine Dragon.