Dragon Clan Secret Land

In the distance, the boundless Forbidden Sea lay deathly still. Though it was a golden ocean, strangely unique in appearance, it held not a trace of life, not even a single ripple. The empty, endless sea was like a realm of death.

The Forbidden Sea sealed Dragon Island, cutting it off completely from the outside world.

Xiao Chen descended from the cliff wall to the shore, where ancient trees rose green and lush. He flew through the dense wilderness, heading deeper into the island, eager to find Keke as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, he spotted a pile of ash in the forest. It looked to be several months old, washed faint by rain, with some animal bones scattered around.

"That person was here once," Xiao Chen muttered as he swooped down from low altitude, hoping to find some clues.

A tearing sound split the air. From a heap of rocks deep in the forest, a silver centipede as thick as a bowl and several meters long reared up, spraying beams of silver light at Xiao Chen. White mist rolled toward him, withering the surrounding mountain forest in an instant.

Deadly poison! Eight years ago, Xiao Chen had seen this same silver centipede. Many who entered Dragon Island had died in its jaws.

But times had changed. Xiao Chen's cultivation was far beyond what it had been eight years ago. The Eight Aspect Worlds broke through the limits of space, and he shifted sideways dozens of meters in an instant. His right hand waved lightly as he unfolded his spatial divine ability; cyan light flashed, sealing the silver centipede inside.

A spatial rending strike cut down without mercy. The cyan ball of light split apart, and the giant centipede within was severed into several segments.

The appearance of the silver centipede reminded Xiao Chen that this land was filled with primordial beasts, many not inferior to the Tyrant Dragons. He needed to be cautious.

He continued deeper into Dragon Island. Along the way, he avoided one terrifying dragon after another, as well as dozens of primordial monsters beyond imagination.

Two Tyrant Dragons raised their heads and roared at the sky, as if questioning the heavens for their injustice. They wanted to break the shackles of the divine stele, restore the glory of the dragon race, and cast off the chains of fate.

As Xiao Chen rushed deeper into the island, he discovered several more piles of ash along the way. Seeing them, he grew anxious. That simple little beast—could it have encountered that person?

His heart heavy with worry, he sped toward the direction of the Dragon Sacred Mountain. He had to find Keke as soon as possible.

Eight years ago, reaching the central region of Dragon Island had taken him days. Now, with his extreme speed, it took only a short while. From afar, he spotted the World Tree, its broken stump towering high. Its whole body gleamed with dark light, standing out against the surrounding mountains like a carving of ink jade.

This place was very close to the Dragon Sacred Mountain. The area was filled with primordial beasts; their great roars seemed to pierce the clouds, and the ground rumbled. Many colossal creatures moved through the mountain forests.

Besides Tyrant Dragons, Sword Dragons, and Eight-Armed Malignant Dragons, the ancient beasts that dared to gather near the Dragon Sacred Mountain were all kings. Even ordinary dragons were unwilling to contend with them.

Using his spatial divine ability and the Eight Aspect Worlds' speed, Xiao Chen evaded the eyes of many savage beasts, flew below the World Tree, and then shot upward.

At that moment, his emotions stirred. He could finally see the little one again. What expression would the poor little thing have when it suddenly found him?

Xiao Chen appeared instantly on the broken stump. He looked ahead and froze. The surface of the World Tree's severed section was completely empty. There was no sign of the little creature.

How could this be? Where had Keke gone?

Xiao Chen's heart pounded. Could something have happened to the little one? Dragon Island was no safe place.

He moved like wind and lightning, swiftly searching the area, hoping to find Keke. "The little thing must have gone looking for food," he reassured himself.

But after searching the area around the World Tree for nearly an hour, he found no trace of Keke. And he could not call out loudly, lest he alert the other person on Dragon Island.

Deep in the primeval mountain range, several young Tyrant Dragons, Sword Dragons, and Eight-Armed Malignant Dragons were locked in fierce combat. Xiao Chen saw a bloody scene from afar: the young dragons were fighting for their lives, showing no mercy in the melee. Before long, a young Eight-Armed Malignant Dragon was cruelly torn apart; blood flowed, and its corpse slowly stopped twitching.

The young Dragon Kings had already left, but many more young dragons remained on the island. They still fought desperately, hoping to evolve into Dragon Kings. This was why the dragon race always stood at the pinnacle of all races—ceaseless war, endless evolution.

In this mountain range near the Dragon Sacred Mountain, Xiao Chen found several more young dragon corpses, and then dozens of wounded young dragons one after another. These should all be dragons born in the last few years.

A foreboding sense surged in Xiao Chen's heart. Survival on Dragon Island was so brutal. Could Keke have... He dared not imagine it.

It was not impossible. With so many primordial beasts around, while young dragons could not harm Keke, that did not mean the powerful ancient ferocious beasts could not.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen spotted a white shadow. He flew over like lightning. Amid the brambles in the desolate forest, a small piece of white animal skin with dried bloodstains caught his eye—so piercingly vivid. The snow-white fur, flecked with dark blood, seemed to tell a tragic story.

Xiao Chen nearly fainted. His vision darkened. He rushed over and grabbed the tiny piece of white fur.

"This isn't the little beast's!" he shouted, his voice trembling, trying to convince himself it was false. But on that small piece of snow-white fur, he sensed Keke's aura.

A year had passed. The little beast should have condensed a physical body by now. Could the terrible thing really have happened to Keke?

Xiao Chen clenched his fist in pain. He truly and clearly felt Keke's aura on that mutilated piece of snow-white fur.

Why did it have to be like this?! It all felt so real. That aura could not be mistaken.

Never had Xiao Chen felt such regret. If only he could have entered Dragon Island sooner...

The little creature was so adorable, yet it had lost its parents, lived alone on Dragon Island, and now such a tragedy had befallen it.

Even though Xiao Chen's heart was as hard as iron, at this moment he felt on the verge of collapse. His body was taut, the blood vessels in his arms bursting, blood flowing freely and staining his clothes.

He grieved not for himself, but for the beast. Though a beast, it surpassed many humans.

Suddenly, an extremely terrifying aura enveloped Xiao Chen, making him feel as if he had fallen into an icy cellar, as if the gates of the abyss had opened for him.

He whirled around and looked behind him. A colossal creature had silently approached within ten zhang of him, like a green mountain. Dozens of huge bone spikes jutted upward from its body, glinting with piercing cold light. It was a rare Sword Dragon, one of the royal dragon lineages.

Its powerful and terrifying soul fluctuations made one tremble. Its cold eyes shot out two beams of chilling light, locking onto Xiao Chen.

With a roar, the Sword Dragon, like a mountain, sent blood-red light shooting from its eyes. The smell of blood washed over Xiao Chen—that was the unique murderous aura of having torn apart countless living beings. The mountain shook, trees snapped, and leaves flew everywhere.

Xiao Chen shot into the sky, narrowly avoiding the savage blow. The mountain-like Sword Dragon's claw had shattered that stretch of forest, and it was now staring coldly at the sky.

Could it be the killer? Xiao Chen stood in the air above the forest.

Suddenly, a vast shadow fell from the sky. A huge silver Winged Dragon dove down, sacred light shimmering. Its wings, spread wide, spanned dozens of meters, blotting out the sky. A violent gale swept down as its enormous dragon claws, larger than houses, tore at Xiao Chen.

"What's going on?!" Xiao Chen keenly sensed that the dragons' spiritual perception was far sharper than eight years ago. They had discovered him so easily and pressed so close. There was no time to think. He used the Eight Aspect Worlds to flee the area at extreme speed, not stopping until he plunged into a distant primeval forest, where he finally shook off the swift Winged Dragon.

Xiao Chen was utterly dejected. For the first time, he felt a sense of hopelessness.

"Ya ya..." In a daze, he seemed to hear the childish sounds of when he first met the little one. He seemed to see again that night in Heavenly Emperor City when Keke had desperately saved him.

Xiao Chen wandered lost in the desolate mountains. Before he knew it, he had arrived near the Dragon Sacred Mountain. The imposing mountain rose into the clouds, its entire body a reddish-brown, as if dyed by blood, giving an endless sense of antiquity.

Mist shrouded it. There were no plants, no birds or beasts—only deathly silence. Many broken, magnificent ruins could be seen. Countless grand palaces, perhaps weathered by too many years, had collapsed and shattered.

Walking unconsciously to the foot of the mountain, Xiao Chen suddenly felt a tremor inside him. The broken Stone Man slowly raised its severed right arm, pointing straight ahead at the Sacred Mountain.

On any ordinary day, Xiao Chen would have been thrilled, for something related to the Stone Man might be here, leading to a major discovery. But now, he had no heart for it. He walked forward in a daze, following the direction the Stone Man pointed, heading up the Sacred Mountain.

Suddenly, as if standing on the edge of an abyss, as if falling into hell, Xiao Chen felt the light around him vanish. He seemed about to sink into eternal darkness.

He snapped awake. The Dragon Sacred Mountain was a sinister place. Each broken palace seemed connected to the City of the Dead in hell. To approach recklessly was to vanish forever from this world.

A flash of light, and he abruptly appeared back on the surface, returning from the abyssal darkness. It was the broken Stone Man that had pulled him from eternal darkness.

No energy fluctuations, no light flickering. The Stone Man inside him had merely raised its broken right arm, and the rows of shattered palaces ahead rumbled, shifting sideways hundreds of meters to open a path.

Once before, in the Heaven-Earth Furnace, the Stone Man had helped Xiao Chen. But this was the first time it had truly revealed its inconceivable power.

Xiao Chen was fully jolted awake. He could no longer be lost in grief. Even if Keke had truly met with misfortune, he could not afford to be dejected now. In the Mortal World, Qingqing was still waiting for him to bring reinforcements.

Xiao Chen looked at the Sacred Mountain with doubt, then finally chose to move forward. Perhaps there would be an opportunity here. The Stone Man seemed to want him to ascend the mountain.

Rumbling followed the direction the Stone Man indicated. The rows of nearly collapsed ancient palaces continuously shifted aside, issuing vast, age-old sounds.

Xiao Chen strode forward. He did not know how long he walked before he found himself halfway up the Sacred Mountain. Here, an oasis lay before him.

Within, vegetation was lush and green, flowers bloomed and birds sang—a scene like a poem or painting. It felt bizarre. When looking up from below the mountain, there was not a trace of green to be seen. Yet here, vibrant life truly presented itself.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen heard the low growls of young dragons and sensed wisps of draconic qi.

Cautiously, he stepped into this unimaginable oasis. Vines entwined, fine trees flourished, and many unknown wildflowers bloomed, along with towering ancient trees.

Once inside, he clearly heard the young dragons' growls. After traveling deeper, he saw faint dragon shadows in the oasis.

A young Dragon King! It seemed not long born, barely a meter long. Its entire body gleamed with golden light. It had the head of an Ancestral Dragon and the body of a Lion King Dragon, and it was single-handedly fighting over a dozen ordinary young dragons. On the other side... there was another young Dragon King! It had evolved from a Tyrant Dragon, also a meter long, its body flashing with silver light, surrounded by a dozen young dragons.

This was likely a secret of the dragon race. To ensure that the young Dragon Kings who left Dragon Island would not meet with disaster, they had preserved some of the finest bloodline successors.

What astonished Xiao Chen most was that not far away, beneath a towering ancient tree, an old dragon, skin and bones, lay crouched on the ground, watching the young dragons' battles.

On Dragon Island, Xiao Chen had seen many savage dragons, but never one so serene, like a calm wise man.

But it was truly ancient. Its horns had already fallen off, most of its scales were gone, and wrinkled old skin was tightly wrapped around its bones, making it look like a skeleton dragon.

Its body was not very large, coiled like a snake, lying beneath the giant tree. It was about the size of three houses. Its murky eyes occasionally revealed a gentle, compassionate light. This was a dragon in its twilight years.

The old dragon slowly turned its head, gazing at Xiao Chen's hiding place. The moment it turned, Xiao Chen stood frozen like a clay statue, as if struck by a spell.

On the back of the old dragon's neck... a fluffy little creature was sleeping soundly.

Xiao Chen looked at the snow-white fur in his hand, then at the fluffy white ball on the old dragon's neck. He could not help but shout, "Keke..."

The two young Dragon Kings were startled, leading nearly thirty young dragons to charge over, surrounding Xiao Chen in an instant.

The old dragon remained calm, watching the scene like a still pond.

How could the little one be sleeping on the old dragon's back? Xiao Chen was overcome with excitement. He shouted, "Keke, wake up... I've come for you."

"Ya ya..." The little creature turned over on the old dragon's back, yawning lazily in its sleep.

"I brought you Yin Wood Ginseng Fruits, Heavenly God Fruits, Nine-Leaved Immortal Mushrooms..."

"Ya ya!" The snow-white beast shot upright. When it saw Xiao Chen, it seemed incredulous. It rubbed its big, sleepy eyes vigorously, then turned into a beam of white light and rushed over.