The Old Dragon's Gift and the Road North

The primal mountain ranges of the Southern Wastes were covered in dense, primeval forests. Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, each requiring dozens of men to encircle. They had grown for countless ages, and many ancient trees had long since become spirits.

Between the primal peaks, great rivers surged and flowed without end, carving valleys into lakes and filling the boundless mountains with spiritual essence. Heavenly treasures and earthly rarities were countless.

And in the deepest reaches of those boundless wilds dwelt a being of taboo, a presence that made few cultivators dare to set foot there.

Yes, this was the legendary forbidden land of the dragon race.

In an ancient war of ages past, a divine stele had fallen from the heavens, sealing Dragon Island. Aside from a few powerful beings who escaped, the dragons of Dragon Island had been completely sealed away, losing their great divine powers. Several gravely wounded Dragon Kings had fled and carved out a second homeland for the dragon race here in the Southern Wastes.

Though the dragons here were few in number, they represented the legacy of one of the mightiest races. Moreover, of those severely wounded Dragon Kings, one had survived—a being whose power rivaled that of a Half-Ancestor. Who would dare to slight them?

Primal mountains moved with a thunderous rumble that shook heaven and earth, like dozens of massive gates swinging open. Dozens of colossal peaks shifted to either side, revealing a radiant, wondrous land of jade pools and immortal springs ahead.

This was the outer boundary of the dragon clan's forbidden land, sealed off by dragon veins. Within lay a fantastical, bewitching world. Every plant and tree shimmered with flowing light, brilliant and dazzling. Waterfalls cascaded from flying springs, pavilions dotted the landscape, and many palaces floated in midair, dreamlike and surreal. Seven-colored rainbow bridges hung in the sky, connecting one majestic dragon palace to another. All that met the eye surpassed imagination.

Xiao Chen gazed from a distance, cautious, not advancing a single step. The Old Dragon of the Southern Wastes had a formidable reputation—even if not a Half-Ancestor, he could not be far from it. Even with a body full of sacred artifacts, approaching such a being was fraught with great danger.

"A distinguished guest arrives. I have been waiting for you. Why do you hesitate?" The old dragon's voice came from the splendid forest ahead.

With a flash of light, a mighty old man clad in black divine armor—gleaming with dark radiance—appeared in the sky. This was the famed Old Dragon of the Southern Wastes; few had ever seen his true form.

Then, a scholar of refined bearing, past fifty, floated out lightly—the legendary Confucius.

Xiao Chen instantly retreated a thousand yards and stood still, silently watching them.

"Farewell. I must also go to the Phoenix Palace," said the refined elder, cupping his hands toward the Old Dragon and nodding at Xiao Chen in the distance.

"I shall not see you off," the old dragon replied politely, returning the gesture.

With a flash, Confucius vanished.

"You hold a grudge against me?"

The Old Dragon of the Southern Wastes stood tall and imposing. The shining obsidian-gold armor he wore glinted with brilliant light, making him look as if he had been cast from steel.

"No," Xiao Chen answered coldly. "I lost my way. Excuse me for intruding. Farewell."

Xiao Chen could not let go of what had happened three years ago. If the Old Dragon had not stood idly by, the little beast Keke would never have met her end. He felt little goodwill toward the Southern Wastes dragon clan.

"Heh… your mouth says no, but in your heart you probably want to rip out my dragon sinew, don't you?" The Old Dragon was imposing even when smiling, his presence oppressive. "Let us not speak of the past for now. But at this moment, I truly bear you no ill will. Someone has looked after you. Your life is now very precious."

"Who?" Xiao Chen's expression showed doubt.

"You will know in time."

"In time… when exactly?"

"Perhaps ten years. At most, no more than twenty." Here, the Old Dragon laughed. "Do you not wish to see a certain little fellow?"

"Yes!" Xiao Chen knew whom he meant. In his heart, he truly missed his former companion.

The Old Dragon clapped his hands. From deep within the flowing, radiant forest, a magnificent palace suddenly opened its doors. A beam of light shot out and arrived in an instant.

It was a child of seven or eight years old, with hair that fell to his waist like a black waterfall. His jade-like face bore bright, spirited eyes. Though still very young, his cheeks were sharp as if carved by a knife, giving him a resolute and decisive air.

His temperament was somewhat proud and aloof, like a war-dragon standing alone among a herd—distinct and extraordinary.

Indeed, he was a dragon—the former Little Defiant Dragon. Under the Old Dragon's tutelage, he had successfully transformed into human form.

"Xiao Chen…" The Little Defiant Dragon was still as taciturn as ever. Upon reaching him, he only uttered these two words.

Xiao Chen laughed heartily and ruffled his hair. "Almost four years have passed, little stubborn one. Your appearance may have changed, but your nature is still the same!"

"Keke? I have saved many heavenly treasures and earthly rarities for her."

Hearing this, Xiao Chen's smile faltered, but he patted the boy's shoulder. "Keep them for her. When she wakes from her slumber, she will come and ask you for them herself."

"Where did she go?"

"It is a long story. Let us talk slowly."

"Here!" The Little Defiant Dragon's hands flickered with light, and a large bundle appeared. Colorful rays streamed out, releasing an intoxicating fragrance. It was an entire bag of supreme-grade spiritual essences. "I also prepared many heavenly materials and earthly treasures for you—enough to empower many more of your acupoints."

Xiao Chen did not refuse. Smiling, he ruffled the boy's jet-black hair. "I accept." He did not enter the deepest part of the Southern Wastes, that wondrous, strange dragon holy land. Instead, he took the Little Defiant Dragon and flew into the distant primal mountain ranges. The two talked for the better part of a day.

Most of that time, Xiao Chen spoke while the taciturn Little Defiant Dragon listened.

"Go back. I must leave now," Xiao Chen said, patting the boy. "I look forward to the day you defeat ten thousand dragons."

"Next year, I will leave the Southern Wastes and train in the outside world," the quiet Dragon said before he departed.

The Little Defiant Dragon went far away. With a flash, the Old Dragon of the Southern Wastes appeared once more in his gleaming obsidian-gold armor. "The World of Immortality will see great chaos in the future. You… must live well."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Chen stared at him coldly.

"Half-Ancestors will not act against you. But those below Half-Ancestor will constantly seek revenge. I hope you survive. Otherwise, someone's plans will be ruined."

"Which bastard is scheming against me?" Xiao Chen's anger flared.

"Scheming against you? You overestimate yourself. You merely happen to be caught up in it."

"#$%^&*…" Xiao Chen seethed. "I will not be anyone's pawn."

"Heh…" The Old Dragon's laugh faded as his figure slowly dissolved and vanished.

But just as he disappeared, Xiao Chen noticed an object hanging on his waist. Looking closely, he saw it was a dragon horn.

"Old Dragon of the Southern Wastes, what do you mean?" Xiao Chen would never believe the old creature had kindly gifted him a sacred artifact. He took the horn from his belt and hurled it away with force, simultaneously activating the sacred artifacts all over his body to counter the dragon horn.

Silently, the dragon horn flew back, accompanied by the Old Dragon's voice: "I do not wish for you to die too soon. For now, I lend you my artifact."

Xiao Chen's sword-like brows shot up, but then relaxed in an instant. He uttered only one word: "Fine." He tucked the dragon horn away. With a flash of light, he mounted the Twelve-Grade Lotus Platform and shattered the void in departure.

As he flew through the vast Southern Wastes mountains, Xiao Chen silently pondered recent events, then gave a heavy snort.

A phoenix cry rang out. From the grove of lush parasol trees ahead, a five-colored divine phoenix soared into the sky, swirling with five-colored divine flames. Beside her flew a young phoenix, blinking its large eyes as it stared at Xiao Chen with curiosity.

"You?" Xiao Chen started, recognizing her. Long ago, Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon had stolen some of this Phoenix Maiden's heavenly essences and been caught red-handed. She had once given him a phoenix feather and promised to help him once in the future.

"Every time we meet, you give me a new surprise. This time even more so—killing numerous demigods and becoming the public enemy of the entire Eternal Continent. You truly know how to cause trouble!" The Phoenix Maiden teased him.

"Is he… the legendary great villain?" The little phoenix beside her blinked its bright, dark eyes and looked at Xiao Chen with great interest.

"Children shouldn't speak nonsense."

"Oh, I see… Auntie," the little phoenix obediently closed her mouth.

"I just returned to the Southern Wastes from the Phoenix Palace. Let me give you a gift—you must accept it." Laughing lightly, the Phoenix Maiden sent a dazzling cluster of colorful flames.

Xiao Chen wanted to refuse but eventually accepted it. "Why?"

"Because someone doesn't want you to die too soon."

Xiao Chen grew even more suspicious. "Could it be your Phoenix Palace's ancestor who gave it to me?"

"Heh, you guessed right. It is from my grandmother." The Phoenix Maiden laughed.

The little phoenix beside her pouted and muttered discontentedly, "The ancestor is so biased—giving it to the great villain but not to me…"

"I understand. Farewell!" Xiao Chen shot into the distance, cursing under his breath, "Damn it!"

His entire body was now a treasure, a walking treasury.

Ahead, Heavenly Emperor City came into view. Xiao Chen had lived there for a long time; many things had happened. After a slight hesitation, he swooped down and landed on a familiar street.

The Xuanhuang Beast Arena, the Primordial Beast Arena…

Suddenly, he saw a magnificent Spirit Essence Hall that seemed to have just opened not long ago. And at that moment, he spotted a familiar, fleshy figure—it was Fatty Zhuge!

When Fatty Zhuge saw Xiao Chen, he was so startled he almost screamed. He quickly covered his mouth and pulled Xiao Chen inside. "Ancestor! You are my birth ancestor! After committing such a big crime, how dare you swagger in front of the world? You killed so many demigods—cultivators everywhere want you dead!"

"So what?" Xiao Chen said with a faint smile. "Have you been well these three years?"

"I… haha, I've gone numb. I no longer compete for family power. Using the gold coins you left me, I've made a lot of money these years. I think I can start my own faction. Not long ago, I traveled outside and decided to expand from the Southern Wastes outward." Fatty Zhuge went into the inner room and brought out a large bundle. "This is all top-grade spiritual essences. Take it and flee quickly. In the past few days, quite a few people have arrived in Heavenly Emperor City. I suspect they are waiting for you."

Xiao Chen accepted the huge bundle—it was exactly what he needed. If it were all supreme spiritual essences, his divine acupoints could increase by a dozen or even twenty. He had to admit that people had different talents. The fatty had a knack for things, earning so much money in three years and buying so many rare spiritual essences—truly an extraordinary man.

"When I return and have my day, I will make you the lord of the Southern Wastes." Xiao Chen strode away.

Fatty Zhuge opened his mouth but said nothing.

Xiao Chen walked calmly through the streets, wandering without aim. Just then, a commotion came from ahead—crying and shouting. "Hoffman, you beast! Let go of my granddaughter…"

"Hoffman…" Xiao Chen focused his gaze. It was indeed that scoundrel of the Rigen family, the one he had slapped dozens of times before. He had not expected to run into him again today. The villain's nature had not changed; after a recent trip outside, he was still as arrogant and despotic as ever.

With a flash, Xiao Chen appeared beside Hoffman and struck out with a slap—sharp and crisp.

"Who the hell…" The raging Hoffman cut off abruptly, then stared as if he had seen a ghost. "You… you're back…"

Xiao Chen had slain numerous demigods and become renowned across the continent. Hoffman, seeing his former enemy again, was scared out of his wits.

"Slap! Slap!…"

Without a word, Xiao Chen gave him more than a dozen heavy slaps. He had never had any good feelings for this thug; every time he saw him, he was committing crimes.

With a flicker, a sword-light burst from his fingertip. Xiao Chen intended to kill him. He was already a public enemy of the world; he cared little about the Rigen family's fury, especially since they were already his enemies.

On that bloody night in Heavenly Emperor City, this scoundrel had stomped on him and humiliated him. Now was the time to settle accounts.

"Don't kill me! I'll tell you a secret—many people have come to Heavenly Emperor City waiting to kill you!"

"That's to be expected. No need for you to tell me."

With a light stroke, a head flew obliquely. Xiao Chen strode forward. The commoners on the street scattered in panic. A murder in broad daylight, and of a young master from a major clan—if they did not flee, disaster would surely follow.

Xiao Chen walked straight down the street, because he sensed an expert waiting for him ahead.

A beautiful woman stood there, with a beauty that could sink fish and drop geese, outshine the moon and shame flowers—a city-toppling loveliness. It was Hai Yunxue. Her expression was complicated as she looked at Xiao Chen without a word. Around her were a dozen white tigers, and not far behind, several dozen Taoists.

A group converged and surrounded him.

"Who are you?"

"I am Duobao Daoren."

"I am Yun Zhongzi."

"Third son of the White Tiger Saint Emperor."

Xiao Chen sucked in a breath of cold air, fully aware of the terrible power before him. Duobao Daoren was Tongtian Jiaozhu's senior disciple, deeply inheriting his master's true teachings—his cultivation was unfathomable. Yun Zhongzi was a personal disciple of Yuanshi—equally inscrutable. And the third son of the White Tiger Saint Emperor—that needed no explanation; he bore the true White Tiger bloodline.

Xiao Chen looked through the crowd at Hai Yunxue. "You have a good mind. You calculated I would come here and set up an ambush to catch me?"

Hai Yunxue was as beautiful as the bright moon in the sky, especially with her faint smile—extraordinarily moving. Xiao Chen had brought her too many surprises, stirring ripples in her calm, pragmatic heart. She had once thought that if her earlier choice could have been different, perhaps both their situations would be entirely different now.

She had truly seen Xiao Chen's potential, but nothing could go back. Everything could only move forward. Only by utterly erasing Xiao Chen could her heart find peace. She had risked everything to suggest to the Tiger Clan's elders that they gather experts to wait here for Xiao Chen to walk into the trap—and she had calculated it perfectly.

Putting away her complicated emotions, Hai Yunxue quietly watched Xiao Chen, then revealed a charming smile. "It seems we are fated to clash. Today, I will kill you and end this once and for all."

Even faced with Tongtian's senior disciple and the others, Xiao Chen could not help but laugh. "You did calculate correctly. But what use is it? Perhaps you do not know, half an hour ago I was on the Demon Plain—but now I am already here…"

Hearing this, even Duobao Daoren and Yun Zhongzi changed color.

"The two places are over a hundred thousand miles apart. How can that be…"

"Kill him now!" Hai Yunxue shouted.

Without need for her order, Duobao Daoren, Yun Zhongzi, the third son of the White Tiger Saint Emperor, and other experts had already struck.

"Farewell… until we meet again." Xiao Chen sneered and activated the sacred artifact 'Boundless Distance.' A spatial passage appeared, and he stepped into it, vanishing before everyone's eyes in an instant.

His next stop was the Pure Land in the southwest, the holy land of the Forest and Barbarian tribes, a place where transcendent elders lived in seclusion.

At the moment of his arrival, Xiao Chen asked himself in doubt, "Why do I feel as if I am bidding farewell? It is as if I am waving goodbye to the places I once lived. Is this instinct? Do I somehow sense… something is coming? Is some subconscious impulse guiding me to say goodbye to the past?"

Thinking this, Xiao Chen felt an inexplicable fear. He trusted his spiritual intuition. Did his subconscious truly sense something? But why had it not surfaced clearly in his heart?

The Pure Land was still warm. The elders still treated him like their own grandson. Unfortunately, the ethereal and pure-hearted Qingqing was not there—she had already gone out into the world to temper herself. Fearing he would bring trouble to the Pure Land, Xiao Chen left resolutely after a brief reunion.

"Where to go? Where is my home in this vast world?" Xiao Chen felt as if there were truly no place left for him in all the world.

At this moment, the World of Immortality was in an uproar. Xiao Chen's name was on everyone's lips—slaying demigods, slaughtering numerous cultivators on the Demon Plain to break through the siege. Practically all the experts of the world were hunting him. Yes, the disciples of the demigods were spread across the world. Xiao Chen had become the public enemy of the World of Immortality.

In the end, Xiao Chen decided to journey far away, into those regions that even gods were said to be unable to cross.

North of the Eternal Continent lay the Ancient God Wasteland; to the west, beyond the Million Bronze Mountains; to the east, past the vast Eastern Sea's waves; to the south, beyond the ten thousand desolate islands—what unknown worlds lay there? No one could say. Even gods could hardly enter, let alone fathom what was inside.

Finally, Xiao Chen used the sacred artifact Boundless Distance to open a spatial passage and entered the legendary farthest north—the Ancient God Wasteland. He decided to use all his sacred artifacts as guides and keep journeying forward, to see what lay beyond the Ancient God Wasteland.

That journey lasted three full years!

In the third year, the Martial Saint Sun Wu abruptly opened his eyes in his secluded retreat and said, "Could it be… they have come?!"

At the same time, the butterfly fluttered—Zhuang Zhou surged into the sky. In the Great Xia Kingdom, a three-year-old child's eyes were as deep as the starry void, and purple qi streamed through the window lattice toward the horizon. In the Great Shang Kingdom, an infant born clutching a clump of blood opened its eyes like sharp swords and floated silently to the window. In the Roman Empire, a golden-haired child abruptly opened its eyes…