The Broken-Winged Dragon's Sacrifice

"It is they!" Xiao Chen's eyes lit up.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were the holy ancestors of the Nine Provinces, their virtue blessing generations for ten thousand ages, but their glorious deeds had gradually been buried in the river of history.

"They truly fell in the past, but the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are not ordinary people—they span past, present, and future. Perhaps we have seen a strand of their divine will."

The words 'past, present, and future' were as heavy as a mountain, and the titles of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors could crush the ages.

The names of several figures flashed through Xiao Chen's mind. From childhood to the present, whenever he thought of them, he felt a strange power. He already had a clear answer in his heart.

"Emperor and Sovereign are not ranked; they are titles for those who have reached the absolute peak of power." Shi Zhongdi smiled self-deprecatingly. "There are some like me, not at the Sovereign level, who are still called the Stone Emperor, but we are not true Emperors or Sovereigns."

Xiao Chen nodded. He naturally understood all this—even the Little Stone Emperor before his ultimate sublimation was not a true 'Sovereign'; it was merely an appellation given in awe.

"I only learned many things from King Pangu. Since ancient times, those who reached the level of Emperor or Sovereign could hardly exist in this world. Almost all entered the Sole True Realm..." As Shi Zhongdi spoke unhurriedly, Xiao Chen learned much about Emperors and Sovereigns.

In the Primordial Age, countless ages ago, the myriad heavens and myriad worlds had not been absolutely unable to contain Sovereigns and Emperors, but no one knew what reason had ultimately led to their extinction.

"That era was too harsh. The great powers of the Primordial Age could destroy heaven and earth; there was no pure land among the heavens. It is a miracle that our ancestors were able to continue the bloodline."

This was a blood-soaked history of humiliation. The ancestors of the Nine Provinces held no advantage in that age; they struggled merely to survive.

Many races that emerged from the Sole True Realm were incomparably powerful, some even born as innate gods. Countless races perished. It was a world of survival of the fittest among the myriad worlds, and many great worlds were destroyed as a result.

Perhaps the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were not invincible, but they were unique—they were the ancestors of the Nine Provinces, their virtue blessing ten thousand ages.

Shi Zhongdi had already left, but Xiao Chen was still lost in thought. What countermeasures did the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors truly have? According to Shi Zhongdi, their Emperor-level enemies were in the Sole True Realm. How could they resist?

Charge in with hot blood? That would be walking to one's death.

Under the bright moonlight, the sacred mountain rose over three thousand zhang. A thousand-zhang waterfall cascaded down with a thunderous roar, plummeting to the ground, white waves galloping like ten thousand horses.

Xiao Chen, the fat man Zhuge Liang, and the others sat on the cliff opposite the waterfall, gazing at the cascade before them. They raised their cups to the moon, singing to the waterfall.

After three cycles of civilization, this reunion was incredibly hard-won.

"Let us sing and drink before the cup—how many years remain in a life? Like the morning dew, bitter days follow..." Unfortunately, Old Fatty Zhuge's voice was truly terrifying, startling night owls for hundreds of li into panicked flight. There was no beauty to the scene.

Three days later, Shi Zhongdi reappeared with new news. They must destroy the altar within the Otherworld at all costs, before it could communicate with the Sole True Realm.

After three cycles of civilization, the Otherworld was about to reforge a blood-colored sacrificial altar, once again inviting their holy ancestors to return. This was something King Pangu and the others could never allow. First, they could not withstand an Emperor-level enemy. Second, they had to seal all current news to prevent the Sovereigns in the Sole True Realm from learning of the outside changes. Otherwise, ten thousand ages of effort would turn to nothing.

The great counter-invasion into the Otherworld was naturally a world-shaking event, drawing the attention of many Stone Kings.

However, this time, all the powerful experts of the Nine Provinces felt a headache. The blood-red altar was built at the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps.

With the Sovereigns gone, who could shake the demonic shadow behind the stone gate?

The nine lamps blazed, protecting a large number of powerful experts. Instead of charging the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, they descended toward the region of the Primordial Prison.

"Excessively long ages have made you forget your history of groveling for survival..." From the distant horizon, on the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, the Stone King Lu Zhan looked down. But most terrifying of all, standing in a row around him was an array of figures, all motionless yet radiating overwhelming pressure, standing like petrified statues.

"Boom!"

The curtain of light cast by the nine lamps enveloped the Primordial Prison region. The first fifteen layers had already been breached in the past, leaving only the final three.

At that moment, from within the last three layers of the Primordial Prison, more than thirty figures rushed out—all of stone bodies!

Their killing intent soared to the heavens, their battle will endless, a terrifying aura that made even the nine lamps' light curtain flicker.

Though they were not perfect Stone King bodies, they were all powerful experts who had walked the Stone Man path! The captives in the final three prisons were some prisoners of war from the Nine Provinces and some slaughterers abducted from other worlds—all great powers from several cycles of civilization.

Instantly, the war cries shook the heavens, an unmatched momentum!

"Lu Zhan, do you dare to fight me?" the Human Demon Ge Qian shouted before the light curtain, gazing up at the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps.

A cruel, cold laugh came from the stone steps. A stone body wreathed in black fog stepped forward. "Combat prowess does not represent everything. In the past, strong as your mother, the Ancestral Dragon, was she not plotted and killed by the cultivators of our realm before she became King? Now you are about to follow in her footsteps."

"Who are you?" Ge Qian glared at the heavens.

"I had a third share in plotting the Ancestral Dragon's death, and now I have become King!" This was a new Stone King, standing on the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, already able to stand on equal footing with Lu Zhan.

Ge Qian's black hair shot upright, divine light blazing from his eyes, and he let out a mournful roar that tore the sky.

Xiao Chen quickly rushed forward and arrived beside him. "Don't charge out!" He was truly afraid that Ge Qian would recklessly burst through the light curtain.

The Human Demon Ge Qian pointed at the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps. "Wolf Fang has already been executed. I will temporarily leave your lives in your decaying shells. On that day, I will reap them with my own hands."

"Stop your glib tongue. Who is the decaying shell remains to be seen. I have prepared a great gift for you. Will it be your death, or your father's? Choose for yourself!" The Stone King smiled grimly, as if everything were under his control.

"Roar…"

A muffled roar erupted from the eighteenth layer of the Primordial Prison—the final prison—shaking the earth with boundless divine power.

Instantly, a terrifying blood light shot up, a blazing radiance that made even the soft light of the nine lamps flicker violently.

The ground of the Primordial Prison region split open, colossal chasms spreading from the surface into the distance.

From deep within the earth, the final prison shattered. A colossal creature soared into the sky!

It was a giant stone dragon, a true Ancestral Dragon's body, but with a pair of wings—though those wings were broken, most of them having been severed.

Its eyes were blood-red. It charged through the thirty-odd stone beings, all of whom scattered to the sides. Roaring and churning up clouds of blood mist, it slammed into Ge Qian.

It had locked onto the Human Demon. Its fearsome aura, even to a Stone King, was enough to make one tremble.

The Human Demon Ge Qian stood frozen, staring at the stone dragon before him.

Turbulent waves stirred in many hearts. The father of the Tenth Sacred Dragon—what a distant and ancient relic! If it were real, this would be a dragon-clan supreme expert comparable to the Ancestral Dragon herself.

"Life is but a series of tragicomedies. Patricide or filicide—you father and son may perform at your pleasure. Today will surely be a day to remember." At the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, the Stone King's voice was cold but calm, his expression cruel and gloomy.

"Lu Zhan, have you already stepped down to let a junior take charge?" Shi Zhongdi shouted toward the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps. "Let a junior point and order…"

"As you wish. I am here. Kill!" As Lu Zhan waved his hand, the stone gate behind him was respectfully opened. At the same time, from the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, boundless demon clouds descended, pressing down upon this place. A terrifying demonic shadow appeared!

The Human Demon Ge Qian stared at the stone dragon before him. The wingless dragon, imprisoned in the eighteen layers of prisons for endless ages, filled his heart with bitterness and pain.

"Roar…"

At that moment, the vast wingless stone dragon, blood dripping from its eyes, charged at the Human Demon Ge Qian. Its voice was deep, deafening.

The Human Demon Ge Qian's heart was bleeding. Such a scene tore at his bowels. Nothing was more painful than this—his own mother plotted and killed, then forced to devour the flesh and blood of his nine elder brothers, and now facing his father with broken wings, father and son turned mortal enemies.

"Hahaha…" From the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps, the Stone King laughed cruelly. "I love such scenes. All facets of human nature are reflected. Choose!"

At this moment, the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps had already descended, pressing down upon the light curtain formed by the nine lamps. At the same time, the holy shadow of the honored demon stepped out from the stone gate, walking down the steps one by one, closing in!

That fearsome aura made even Stone Kings tremble. Lu Zhan and the others respectfully stepped aside.

The mighty holy shadow of the demon surveyed all directions, its momentum crushing the myriad worlds as it descended the final stone step. It began to act, preparing to break the light curtain of the nine lamps.

At that moment, the nine lamps trembled. A beam of light surged upward, meeting the holy shadow of the demon.

"Their aura… it is their aura!" The holy shadow of the demon let out a low growl, then instantly lunged forward. It struck the light curtain with force, nearly knocking the nine lamps from the high sky.

"Roar…"

Then, a heaven-shaking dragon cry resounded through the universe. The stone Ancestral Dragon, its body as vast as a million demon mountains, surged into the sky. It did not attack Ge Qian but instead changed direction at the last moment.

Faster than lightning, it broke free from the bonds of time!

It actually brought more than thirty stone beings from the Primordial Prison region with it, all breaking free of the nine lamps' light curtain without being blocked, slamming into the end of the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps!

"A wingless dragon, gazing at paradise from hell…" The stone broken-winged Ancestral Dragon uttered such a desolate sound, shaking the heavens!

Blood tears streamed from its eyes. Leading more than thirty stone beings, it charged forward without turning back, burning the holy flame of life, crashing into the blood-colored altar at the end of the steps!

"Father!"

The Human Demon Ge Qian cried out, his roar shaking the heavens.

"Live well—that is the greatest filial piety to me…" The broken-winged stone Ancestral Dragon left only these words for Ge Qian.

Together with more than thirty stone beings, it charged at the Stone Kings of the Otherworld standing side by side, determined to destroy the blood-colored altar with their lives.

"Stop them!"

The Otherworld Stone Kings were enraged. They all unleashed their ultimate techniques.

"Kill!"

At that moment, King Pangu appeared, followed by Chi You, Xing Tian, and the other Human Ancestor War Gods, all of them charging the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps.

And at the same time, the nine lamps' light curtain expanded infinitely, enveloping the holy shadow of the demon and that sacred beam of light within it.

Everyone else charged out, attacking the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps!

"All of this was your scheme. You had already communicated with the final three stone prisons!" Lu Zhan roared in fury. "But this is useless. Except for the Holy Ancestor, no one can shatter the altar!"

"A wingless dragon, gazing at paradise from hell…"

The stone Ancestral Dragon, blood dripping from its eyes, resolutely and decisively led more than thirty stone beings to shatter themselves before the blood-colored altar, leaving behind one last desolate dragon cry that shook the heavens of ten thousand ages!

"Father…" The Human Demon Ge Qian wept in anguish, his long howl tearing the sky.

Shi Zhongdi sighed softly. "We could not truly awaken him. We could only make him lucid for a moment. Perhaps this was the best choice for them…"

At this moment, King Pangu and the others had already fought their way up the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps.

"The blood of the Stone Kings has been spilled, forming the blood sacrifice. If you do not summon the Heavenly Steles now, when will you?" King Pangu's voice rang across the sky.

At that instant, Xiao Chen sat solemnly in the void, radiating a billion beams of light.

"Rumble…"

Seven Heavenly Steles descended from the heavens, pressing down toward the Ninety-Nine Stone Steps!