The Ancestral Dragon and the Companion Lords

"Otherworld beings... Gods?"

"Yes. In the future, you may see twenty-meter-tall giants, perfect beings with lifespans of a thousand years, and races with wings of energy that can soar through the sky."

Xiao Chen asked abruptly, "How do the legendary Bodhidharma, Dugu Qiubai, and Lang Fanyun compare to gods?"

Yizhen nodded. "Those heroes who have already broken through life and death could perhaps already be called gods."

"May I ask, Venerable Yizhen, do you have an urgent purpose on Dragon Island?"

Yizhen smiled. "Please, no 'Venerable.' Just call me Yizhen. I came here to try my luck—to see if I could find the Ancestral Dragon."

Xiao Chen showed surprise. "The Ancestral Dragon? You mean the totem from the Mortal World? Isn't that a fictional existence from legends?"

What they called the Ancestral Dragon was the mythical divine dragon of the Mortal World. Royalty had always styled themselves as the Sons of the Divine Dragon, but the divine dragon had never actually appeared in the real world—unlike the Tyrant Dragons, Winged Dragons, and Thunder Dragons that had indeed existed in history. Later generations considered it a mere fabrication.

Yizhen said seriously, "The Ancestral Dragon does exist, but there can only be one in heaven and earth. The two never meet. It is the dragon of dragons, born perhaps from a Tyrant Dragon, perhaps from a Sword Dragon... any dragon can give birth to it. From the infant stage, it fights amidst the lesser dragons, constantly transforming and changing its original form, until it defeats ten thousand dragons and metamorphoses into a five-clawed Ancestral Dragon."

"So the Ancestral Dragon isn't born that way; it emerges through combat among the ten thousand dragons and transforms?"

"Yes. Any infant dragon has the potential to transform into an Ancestral Dragon! But a true Ancestral Dragon, even in its infancy, already shows extraordinary promise and is easily recognized." Yizhen gazed at Dragon Island, where the roars of savage beasts rose and fell. "The seers of all races on the mainland have foretold that an Ancestral Dragon will be born on Dragon Island, and the sealed island may be unsealed because of it."

Dragon Island—as the name implied, an island where dragons dwelled. The ancient dragon clan had been sealed here, making it a fitting place for an Ancestral Dragon to emerge.

In ancient times, the dragon clan, when not sealed, could rival gods! The legendary Ancestral Dragon was something to marvel at. It was easy to understand why Prince Feng, Guluo, and the others had come. If one could subdue an infant Ancestral Dragon, the possibilities were unimaginable.

Yizhen shook his head with a smile. "Seeking the Ancestral Dragon is merely a fantasy. My goal here is to find a Companion Dragon Lord—that would be enough."

"A Companion Dragon Lord?"

"When an Ancestral Dragon is born, several Companion Dragon Lords emerge alongside it. Their strength is not far inferior to the Ancestral Dragon's; they are its finest whetstones. Like the Ancestral Dragon, they show their excellence from infancy and are easily recognized. They too can transform through battle and are the Ancestral Dragon's most powerful opponents and mortal enemies. Some legends even say that a young Companion Dragon Lord can kill the infant Ancestral Dragon and take its place, becoming the supreme sovereign of dragons."

"The Ancestral Dragon's path is brutal," Xiao Chen remarked.

"Yes, extremely brutal. Otherwise, it could not possess a power that makes even gods tremble."

A question occurred to Xiao Chen: if the Ancestral Dragon was so powerful, would those heroes who had achieved immortality also come here to seek the infant Ancestral Dragon? Yizhen's answer deepened Xiao Chen's sense of Dragon Island's strangeness.

After Dragon Island was sealed, not only did the dragons lose their divine abilities, but even gods who entered the island suffered the same fate. However, gods could recover after leaving the island and undergoing a long period of cultivation. The dragons were not so fortunate.

Moreover, the surrounding thousand-li sea was affected. Under normal circumstances, it was a death zone, nearly impossible to cross—truly a Forbidden Sea. Only once every few hundred years did the deadly seal of the Forbidden Sea dissipate for a time. Now, another cycle had come, and the sea was temporarily passable.

"Venerable Yizhen, did you cross the sea alone?"

Yizhen shook his head. "This island is tens of thousands of li from the mainland. I don't have the strength to cross the sea alone. I came by ship with some other practitioners. According to the notes of our predecessors, there are also ferocious dragons in the waters around Dragon Island, so we split up when we approached. I merely went ahead."

As they spoke, several figures appeared on the blue sea, approaching rapidly from all directions. Some drove small boats with mystical arts, while others rode flying scrolls through the air. What surprised Xiao Chen most was a golden-haired youth who flew directly through the sky.

Noticing Xiao Chen's astonishment, Yizhen explained, "That is a God-Gifted Spellmaster of the Western tribes. It is said they can borrow the power of the gods they worship."

The figures quickly landed on the beach. Seeing Yizhen standing with a tall, handsome youth, they seemed surprised.

Xiao Chen studied them in return. All seemed to be outstanding individuals, each with an extraordinary bearing.

A beautiful woman always draws attention, and a city-toppling beauty who could dim the moon would forever be the focus of gazes. Among the four who landed on the beach was such a woman, one whose radiance rivaled that of the Royal Celestial Maiden Zhao Lin'er.

"Yan Qingcheng, a successor of the Undying Evil King lineage," Yizhen said softly to Xiao Chen alone, as the two parties were still some distance apart.

A very distinctive name, but perfectly fitting. Her graceful, flowing figure seemed the finest work of heaven, enough to make all flowers pale in comparison. Clad in fluttering purple robes, her snow-like skin seemed even more delicate and alluring. Long black hair fell naturally over her shoulders. Beneath long lashes, her eyes were filled with spirit. Her nose was straight, her lips moist and red, her teeth like jade. Her peerless, unmatched face seemed shrouded in a faint mist, like a dream.

Yan Qingcheng—one could not help but remember her deeply. A woman of such stunning beauty would be etched into the heart of anyone who saw her.

But Xiao Chen felt a sense of unease. This woman might become his mortal enemy. Yan Qingcheng was very likely the younger martial sister of Prince Feng, whom he had killed!

While Yan Qingcheng's beauty demanded attention, the last person to land on the beach was not handsome at all, yet equally attracted notice.

This man stood a full three meters tall—a head taller than an ordinary person. His brownish-yellow hair was disheveled on his shoulders. He had thick brows, leopard-like eyes, and a rugged appearance. What shocked Xiao Chen even more was that he had a pair of upright wolf ears and a long, powerful tiger tail.

Yizhen whispered to Xiao Chen, "Kai'ao, a young strongman of the Barbarian clan. The Barbarian population is very scarce, but they are born warriors with unmatched martial power. Legend says that ancient, powerful beast souls are sealed within their bodies, so they are also called the Beast Clan."

Xiao Chen looked at the three-meter-tall Kai'ao, imagining his explosive power and the unknown, fearsome beast soul within. Such a man must be incomparably fierce in combat.

The sound of sand shifting came from the beach. Green vines began to sprout from beneath the sand, a surprising sight. The vines coiled around the feet of a young man among the group.

He had been the most unremarkable of the four—plain in appearance—but now he became the center of attention.

"Dragon Island truly has a strange power. My spiritual energy is being disrupted!"

Hearing his conclusion, the others frowned. Yizhen explained softly to Xiao Chen, "Yarode, a young strongman of the Forest Clan. His people possess the spiritual power to control plants."

Yarode had dark green hair, and even his pupils were pale green. His appearance was ordinary, his body slender, but Xiao Chen did not underestimate his strength. In just a few moments, the beach had turned lush and green. This otherworld youth had very peculiar abilities, and his means of attack must be equally special.