The Hidden Sacred Mountain

The Tyrant Dragon and the Lion King Dragon stood close to each other, yet they remained at peace. Even more astonishing, not far from them, another powerful dragon of royal blood—a colossal Sword Dragon like a mountain of green jade—stood on a high ridge, roaring at the sky.

It was over forty meters long. To describe its appearance, it resembled a half-reared giant crocodile, though there were significant differences. A razor-sharp horn of emerald jade, ten meters long, grew from its head—a natural divine sword capable of cutting through anything, and the source of its name. Along both sides of its body extended two rows of sharp cone-shaped jade bone spikes, each several meters long, which could keep enemies at bay or be used as terrible weapons in a sideward charge. Though the Sword Dragon's body was smaller than the Tyrant Dragon's or the Lion King Dragon's, its abundance of blade-like spikes allowed it to contend with the other two without falling behind.

These ferocious dragons were all royal branches of the dragon clan. In the surrounding mountains, several more dragon roars could be heard, suggesting there were others no weaker than these three. Moreover, among the peaks, Xiao Chen glimpsed several colossal forms of other primeval savage beasts.

"What are they doing? Why are they gathered here..." Xiao Chen was filled with questions.

"Ya-ya..." Keke jumped onto Xiao Chen's shoulder and pointed a tiny claw ahead, as if offering an opinion.

Xiao Chen realized she was pointing at empty space. Surprised, he asked, "Keke, why are you pointing at the sky? There are no giant birds or winged dragons flying there."

Keke blinked her big eyes and kept pointing at the air, still crying, "Ya-ya."

"Keke, what are you doing?" Xiao Chen was puzzled.

Feeling her effort was wasted, Keke huffed in annoyance, tugged at a lock of Xiao Chen's hair with her tiny claw, then jumped off his shoulder and ran over to the three skeletons.

Xiao Chen shook his head in confusion. But just then, he suddenly noticed a towering mountain materializing in midair—a sacred mountain that exuded boundless age and primal antiquity.

Startled, Xiao Chen tried to look up, but when he straightened himself, the colossal mountain vanished without a trace.

"An issue with the angle?" Xiao Chen began to move, changing positions a dozen times before finally glimpsing the hazy sacred mountain again.

"Strange. Could there be some divine formation there? Otherwise, how could only a few positions within the same area see it?"

The sacred mountain shook him to the core. Its magnitude was breathtaking—even from the thousand-five-hundred-meter stump of the World Tree, he had to look up at it.

Mists shrouded it. There were no plants, no birds or beasts. From a distance, Xiao Chen could sense an eerie stillness. Many broken, magnificent ancient ruins were visible—grand palaces that must have stood for ages, some already collapsed. From the mountain's midslope all the way to its peak, shattered ancient buildings rose one after another, exuding an aura of age-worn desolation and deathly silence, making the place seem profoundly mysterious.

And the fierce dragons and primeval savage beasts were all gathered at the mountain's base. Clearly, they had assembled here because of this sacred mountain.

Heavy fog sealed the peak; dragon roars and beast howls sent chills down the spine.

Xiao Chen moved back and forth on the ancient tree stump, discovering that within a hundred square meters, only three spots allowed him to see the sacred mountain. This was extraordinary. He speculated that an ancient divine formation sealed it.

"Keke, have you ever seen this sacred mountain before?"

Keke shook her head. With a soft thud, she jumped onto the Wheel King's skull and began gazing curiously at the mountain.

"Have these savage beasts always lived in this area?" Xiao Chen asked again, trying to find out whether the primeval monsters had arrived recently or had been lingering near the mountain for ages.

Keke nodded, confirming that this region had always been frequented by such beasts.

"So the sacred mountain did not appear recently. These ancient beasts have known of its existence all along." Xiao Chen sank into thought. This was a sealed Dragon Island. Countless ages ago, the dragons that lived here had rivaled the gods. This meant that the ancient, mysterious palaces atop the majestic sacred mountain were either built by the dragon race themselves or were the divine palaces of ancient gods. And the World Tree standing before the mountain only deepened the mystery. Its broken trunk was likely connected to the sealing of the dragons.

Xiao Chen and his company climbed down from the World Tree and crept quietly toward the sacred mountain, taking a wide detour around the primeval savage beasts. They could only avoid the ferocious dragons and evil beasts. But when they rounded a large area and again approached the mountain hidden in the void, they found savage beasts encircling it from every direction. From a distance, colossal beastly shadows like small hills moved through the woods. A bleak, murderous aura flooded the forest—the mark of monsters that had slaughtered countless living beings.

Xiao Chen realized with frustration that they could not get close. Savage beasts roamed every side of the sacred mountain. Keke, whether genuinely oblivious or simply fearless, wanted to charge straight through. If Xiao Chen had not held her back tightly, she would have already bolted away.

Night fell. The beast roars diminished. The mountains shook as many monsters roared and departed, each returning to its lair.

Moonlight flowed like water. Xiao Chen and his group began to move. With this rare opportunity, he decided to approach the sacred mountain in the dark. The woodlands in this area were sparse; where there was no vegetation, the soil had been trampled as hard as rock by the primeval beasts—their highways.

Ahead, the towering sacred mountain flickered in and out of sight. The bright moonlight cast a hazy veil over the surrounding peaks.

"Roar!" A sudden, thunderous cry nearly deafened Xiao Chen. Leaves flew wildly as a boundless, baleful aura surged. The Lion King Dragon had not yet departed. Facing the sacred mountain, it roared at the moon. Its faint yellow light had almost entirely transformed into dazzling gold, and a suffocating stench of blood emanated from it—the killing aura accumulated from endless slaughter.

It seemed to want to charge up the mountain. After several roars, it suddenly leaped forward. The earth shook as if the world were ending; the nearby mountains trembled. The Lion King Dragon, massive as a mountain, smashed through endless trees. Radiating brilliant golden light, it rushed onto the sacred mountain. But then the dragon roar abruptly ceased. The Lion King Dragon had vanished.

A fifty-meter-long dragon king had evaporated into thin air.

Deathly silence!

The Lion King Dragon was gone, without a trace, as if it had plunged into an unknown world.