The Ancient Dragon's Revelation

“Ya-ya, ya-ya…”

Keke’s bright eyes were filled with joy, her long lashes fluttering as she leaped onto Xiao Chen’s shoulder. A tiny, snow-white, fluffy paw clutched a strand of his long hair, as if afraid that if she let go, he would vanish.

Like a lost child in the desert who suddenly finds a crowd and spots a loved one, the little creature’s joy was beyond words. She babbled endlessly, pouring out her heart.

Months ago, the little one had been pitiful, alone on a broken log, gazing sadly into the distance and weeping. Then, with tears still wet, she had curled up on that broken timber and sobbed until she had no strength left, finally falling asleep.

Now, in this sudden reunion, the little beast had fully recovered her former lively nature, casting off the despondency of the past months.

The two young dragon kings and the nearly thirty young dragons around them saw that the snow-white beast was familiar with Xiao Chen, so they halted their advance, though hostility still lingered.

Xiao Chen had braced himself for the worst, but now that the little one was safe, it felt like a sudden ascent from hell to heaven. Smiling, he took out a Celestial Fruit and waved it before Keke’s eyes.

A fragrant aroma began to drift through the woods. The diamond-shaped Celestial Fruit was shrouded in hazy light, as if carved from fine mutton-fat jade, its radiance flowing ceaselessly.

“Ya-ya…”

The snow-white beast snatched it into her arms, took a blissful bite, and her big black-gemstone eyes nearly narrowed into crescent moons, filled with intoxication.

The surrounding young dragons unconsciously showed envy at the sight of the Celestial Fruit. Though these little ones might one day grow powerful enough to make even gods tremble, they were still very young now.

From the distance, the old dragon coughed softly, like an old man. At that signal, all the young dragons receded like a tide, returning to the old dragon’s side.

Xiao Chen hesitated briefly, then strode forward to the clearing ahead. Facing the withered, skin-and-bones old dragon, his heart was full of questions. This decrepit old dragon was clearly extraordinary—how else could it dwell on this fearsome Sacred Mountain?

He remembered that when he first came to the Sacred Mountain eight years ago, he had seen a powerful Lion King Dragon fail in its attempt to force its way in. Yet this old dragon, with its horns fallen, scales shed, and bones protruding, led nearly thirty young dragons up the mountain. It was utterly out of the ordinary, giving a feeling of unfathomable depth.

Still, Xiao Chen was not worried, for Keke seemed deeply cherished by the old dragon; otherwise, how could she have slept soundly on its back?

“Greetings, elder.”

Xiao Chen bowed respectfully. He believed the old dragon was more divine than bestial and could understand his words.

Indeed, the old dragon nodded silently. A faint light flickered in its turbid eyes as it fixed its gaze on Xiao Chen’s chest—the very spot where the broken stone man sat. This shocked Xiao Chen. Even half-ancestors could not detect the stone man, only sensing that Xiao Chen’s body was unusual. How could this old dragon sense it?

Xiao Chen soon understood. The broken stone man inside him was trembling, and the old dragon trembled slightly in response. Then the old dragon extended a claw, and from its tightly closed grip emerged a stone arm.

Xiao Chen was stunned twice over. First, that the old dragon possessed an Ancestral Dragon claw, and second, that the Sacred Mountain truly held an artifact connected to the stone man. It had clearly been in the old dragon’s keeping, and the vibration of the broken arm had alerted it to the stone man’s presence.

Like a wise elder contemplating, the old dragon held the stone arm and pondered for a moment. Then it opened its claw, and the forearm flew silently toward Xiao Chen, instantly vanishing into his body.

He vaguely heard a “crack.” The stone man’s right arm was now complete; the stone man’s four limbs were whole. The limbs connected through faint mist, legs crossed in meditation, hands holding the stone drill and stone ball, as if they had never moved—like a statue that had existed since time immemorial.

But a strange sensation surged within Xiao Chen. The broken stone man seemed different now. He could actually establish a faint, extremely weak connection with it.

Yes, it was definitely different from before—an ineffable, mysterious feeling.

This excited Xiao Chen. If he could command the stone man in battle, how formidable would his combat power be? He always felt the stone man was even more mysterious than the Twenty-Four War Swords.

“Elder, do you know the origin of the stone man?”

The old dragon shook its head. It now looked weary, the fatigue on its face very apparent. The thirty young dragons nearby showed concern, gathering around it. Keke, still holding the Celestial Fruit, also grew anxious and rushed to the old dragon’s side. She waved her little paw, summoning the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree and planting it in the ground. Radiant light and prismatic splendor immediately flowed, enveloping the old dragon with numinous energy.

“Ya-ya…” The snow-white beast held up the Celestial Fruit, offering it to the old dragon. Clearly, she had deep affection for it; otherwise, she would never have parted with the Celestial Fruit.

The skin-and-bones old dragon shook its head, refusing. With a loving gesture, it extended a claw and gently patted the little beast’s head.

Xiao Chen was startled. The old dragon seemed near the end of its life, as if it had reached the very limit of its vitality. He caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the old dragon, in the oasis behind it, and was stunned. That was a burial ground!

Among the rustling trees, he could dimly see enormous graves. There were no headstones, but in front of each grave stood a pair of massive dragon horns.

Only seven or eight graves, yet they occupied a vast area. Evidently, the dragons buried here were all of extraordinary status. Though the dragon race was numerous, only this many were worthy of interment in this place.

Could it be that the old dragon knew its death was near and had come to bury itself here? This further confirmed its extraordinary identity to Xiao Chen.

Back when the Dead City had appeared on Dragon Island, dragon horns had been used to ram the city walls. He wondered if those horns were among the ones in this graveyard.

Looking at those huge dragon horns, Xiao Chen’s eyes grew hot. They were absolutely top-tier treasures. If seen by a refiner in the cultivation world, they would surely drive him mad.

The auspicious radiance emanating from the Seven-Colored Sacred Tree was gradually absorbed by the old dragon. Its weary expression slowly eased, and it seemed much more spirited.

Suddenly, it fixed its gaze on Xiao Chen’s left arm, its eyes showing astonishment, completely unlike its earlier calm.

“What is that?” It actually spoke in a hoarse, aged voice.

Xiao Chen’s heart stirred. He removed the bracelet from his arm and said, “I come from Ancestral Dragon Village in the Mortal World. Some say this is one of the keys to unlocking the seal of the Nine Provinces of the Mortal World.”

“Ancestral Dragon Village…” The old dragon showed a confused expression. The moment its giant claw touched the purple bracelet, a golden Ancestral Dragon phantom surged out from within, shooting rays of golden light into the old dragon’s body.

“Roar…” A tremendous dragon cry erupted from the oasis, shaking the entire dragon clan’s Sacred Mountain violently.

The old dragon’s aura was astonishing. At that moment, it was as if all the giants of primordial times had descended together, shaking heaven and earth. Across Dragon Island, the roars of savage dragons and the howls of primeval beasts rose and fell in response. The entire island seethed.

The golden dragon phantom flashed once and disappeared back into the bracelet. The old dragon’s roar ceased. It now seemed greatly changed, as if it had been watered by the essence of life and was much more spirited.

“It seems I will not need to go to the grave just yet. Perhaps I can hold on until the day the seal is broken.” The old dragon’s aged voice echoed across the oasis. Then it lowered its head and looked at Xiao Chen. “The bracelet contains a strand of Ancestral Dragon’s vital essence. Thank you for extending my life.”

“That is nothing to me. I also thank you, elder, for giving me that stone arm. Do you truly not know its origin?”

The old dragon shook its head and was silent for a long time before speaking. “An Ancestral God left it on this island.”

Seeing that it seemed unwilling to say more, Xiao Chen did not press. He turned to other questions. “Why were the dragon clans sealed? What is the Dead City? What happened in ancient times?”

At the word “ancient,” the old dragon’s eyes gradually filled with pain. It muttered disjointedly, “Rather than a seal, it is more accurate to say we were implicated because we were on Dragon Island…”

Xiao Chen’s heart pounded. He was finally about to touch the secrets of antiquity. Even Keke and the young dragons showed focused expressions.

The old dragon seemed to be talking in its sleep, sinking into painful memories. “Men, dragons, and Ancestral Gods—all went mad… all died! The Dead City… No! It should be called the Abyss of Evil! It must not be opened. It cannot be opened!”

Xiao Chen did not fully understand. Why had such a tragic war broken out in ancient times? Was the Abyss of Evil referring to the Dead City, or to the Demon Well beneath the Heavenly Stele? He had many questions, but the old dragon had fallen into silence again, refusing to speak further.

After a long while, Xiao Chen could not help but ask, “If the Abyss of Evil is not opened, how can the dragon clan’s seal be lifted?”

“When a new, more powerful Ancestral Dragon appears, it will break the dragon clan’s curse,” the old dragon said desolately.

“What exactly happened?” Xiao Chen desperately wanted to know.

But the old dragon sank back into silence.

“Which mighty beings fell in the Dead City?”

“Countless people, gods, and dragons. Nearly all who entered were annihilated. Two generations of dragon kings fell. Seven young Chi You died. The evil avatar of the little monk Buddha perished. Xuan Yuan, who had the potential to become an Ancestral God, was crippled, and only one soul escaped. Shennong… ah, he led a dozen dying survivors out. Youchao was lost in the abyss. Suiren’s whereabouts are unknown. And…”

It seemed that only Shennong had led a dozen survivors out. All other earthly immortals and gods had perished in the Abyss of Evil.

Xiao Chen was truly shaken. For a long, long time, he did not know what to say.

“Why did it happen?”

The old dragon shook its head and fell silent.

“What race is Keke?” Xiao Chen suddenly asked. Since he had encountered this “living fossil” of a dragon, he had too many things he wanted to know.

Hearing this, the snow-white beast also blinked her big eyes and stared at the old dragon.

“You need to know… or you can think of her as a dragon.”

“Dragon?!” Xiao Chen was very dissatisfied with this answer.

“Ya-ya…” The little beast scratched her head in confusion.

“Why do people from other worlds say the World of Immortality is an illusion?”

The old dragon’s expression froze. After a long pause, it said, “Perhaps the World of Immortality will eventually collapse… But what they do not know is that many worlds will collapse, not just this one.”

Xiao Chen stayed in this oasis for an entire night. He found the old dragon truly… “quiet.” He asked many questions, but the old dragon only answered a limited few.

During this time, Xiao Chen finally learned the story behind the snow-white beast-skin in his possession.

On Dragon Island, Keke had undergone a rebirth, emerging again from a rainbow-colored divine jade egg. During that process, a small incident occurred. A nine-tailed mystic fox coveted the power within the jade egg but could not break it open. It waited for a long time, naturally absorbing the egg’s aura.

Unfortunately, this attracted several powerful savage dragons. The nine-tailed mystic fox was a sacred beast, but it was no match for adult savage dragons. It was killed and then devoured by the young dragons.

When the rainbow divine jade egg reappeared, it drew the old dragon’s attention.

But this time, the eggshell cracked far faster than when Keke had first been born.

“I have learned from Keke about some things on the Eternal Continent. I would like to ask for your help,” the old dragon finally spoke again at dawn.

“Elder, please tell me. If I can help, I will do my utmost.”

“You have met the dragon king of the Southern Wastes, and you have also seen a little white-shelled turtle. Alas, they are brothers. How vicious, to seal one’s own brother into a turtle!”

Xiao Chen was shocked. That little white turtle was indeed a dragon! And moreover, the brother of the Southern Wastes dragon king. This was completely unexpected.

He retrieved the black iron chain that had bound the little white-shelled turtle from his divinized acupoints.

Forty-nine divinized acupoints were like forty-nine strange spaces, capable of storing any artifact.

The old dragon took the chain, examined it, and frowned. “A very vicious sealing method. Fortunately, it was contaminated by the blood of that stubborn little dragon and broken.” Saying this, it turned its claw over, and a small, crystalline jade-like dragon horn materialized out of thin air. “If you ever see that little turtle again, give this to it. It will help it recover.”

Finally, the old dragon sighed. “If you meet the little defiant dragon, tell it to stay away from that Southern Wastes dragon king. I do not like him.”

That the little defiant dragon was also worthy of the old dragon’s attention surprised Xiao Chen.

Sensing his confusion, the old dragon murmured to itself, “That stubborn little one—I watched it being born.”

At last, the old dragon slowly extended its skin-and-bone claw and gently pushed. It opened a spatial passage, directly bringing the thirty young dragons and Xiao Chen to the base of the mountain.

Xiao Chen was utterly shocked. Were the dragon clans not sealed? This old dragon could not only speak but also display such terrifying divine abilities. Its power was truly unfathomable.

“You may go.” At the mountain’s base, the old dragon halted.

Keke seemed reluctant to leave. She ran to the old dragon, chirped a few times, and then, very generously, distributed the spiritual essences Xiao Chen had gathered to the two young dragon kings and the ordinary young dragons. The unruly little ones looked a bit embarrassed, accepting only after the old dragon nodded.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

The earth trembled. From the distance, many powerful savage dragons came running—Tyrant Dragons, Lion King Dragons, Sword Dragons, Thunder Dragons, Eight-Armed Malignant Dragons, and others. All of them, as if on a pilgrimage, knelt from afar.

The scene was truly magnificent.

Dragons as massive as small hills crowded the foot of the Sacred Mountain. Many other primeval beasts, no weaker than the dragons, also prostrated themselves, as if in worship.

Xiao Chen was astonished beyond measure.

When he left with Keke, no savage dragon blocked their way, and no primeval beast harassed them. They smoothly distanced themselves from the Sacred Mountain.

Unfolding the Eight-Aspect Worlds, Xiao Chen brought Keke to the center of Dragon Island. The vast white Bone Sea stretched endlessly before them, and a Heavenly Stele stood in its midst.

Xiao Chen felt an indescribable sensation. Everything he had experienced had begun with the Heavenly Stele, and since then, various events had revolved around the several steles. Was his fate linked to them?

Near the Heavenly Stele in the Bone Sea, black mist swirled. Beneath it—was that the Abyss of Evil? Xiao Chen had no time to waste. With a brief gaze, he soared into the sky with Keke and flew toward the coast.

The golden Forbidden Sea sealed Dragon Island. How were they to leave?

On the beach, Xiao Chen began to draw. He still vividly remembered the Nine Abyss Heaven-Reaching Formation diagram left by the Demon. He wanted to try summoning the King Ship again, though he was uncertain whether it would work.

But just then, Keke’s actions left him dumbfounded.

The little creature stood proudly on the shore, gazing at the sea, and began to cry out: “Ya-ya-ya-ya…”

Just as when she had mischievously joined the eleven young dragon kings in summoning the Ancestral Dragon Ship, her voice was young but resounded clearly through heaven and earth, as if piercing space and time to convey her will into the depths of the Forbidden Sea.

An immensely vast, ancient, and desolate aura began to spread from the heart of the Forbidden Sea, as if some unknown, mysterious power was responding to Keke.

To Xiao Chen’s astonishment, a tremendous dragon roar came from within the boundless golden ocean—like a vast heavenly sound from time immemorial, making the very soul tremble.

This was truly shocking. The little beast could summon the Divine Ship all by herself! Just who had summoned the ship last time—Keke, or the eleven young dragon kings? Xiao Chen found it hard to guess.

The Divine Ship, built from Ancestral Dragon bones and World Tree wood, had been adrift in the Forbidden Sea for endless years, free to come and go.

Legend said that at least nine dragon kings were needed to summon the legendary Divine Ship, or else a true young Ancestral Dragon could summon it alone—one equal to nine dragon kings.

Keke was not a dragon, so how could she summon the ship like a young Ancestral Dragon? Xiao Chen was extremely surprised. Could the little one really be the equal of a young Ancestral Dragon?

“Ya-ya-ya-ya…” The little beast puffed out her chest and cried out with all her might.

A huge dragon boat, blazing with seven-colored light, sailed through the wind and waves, appearing on the golden horizon as if it had truly crossed time and space from the ancient past.