Chapter 364 Heading to Ancient Dragon Island

But he did not retreat.

Purplish-gold light surged from within his body, condensing into a thick barrier before him.

Shen Wen did not retreat either.

Qiankun Xuantian Palace.

The phantom of the ancient, simple palace reappeared. The runes on the palace body danced wildly, decomposing and dispersing the incoming runes one by one.

great desolation monument.

The stone tablet lay horizontally before them. The runes on the tablet shone blindingly. A vast, desolate power of suppression poured down, pinning those runes that tried to bypass the barrier.

dark holy scythe.

Pitch-black blade lights slashed out one after another, shattering the attacks that had already condensed into form time and time again.

Shaluo Flower.

Shen Wen took an object out of his storage ring.

It was a palm-sized flower, entirely deep purple. Its petals were layered, and a faint light flickered at the heart of the flower.

This was a special lifeform he had obtained from a System reward previously. He had been keeping it in his storage ring, feeding it with various rare Materials, and had never taken it out to use.

At this moment, he tossed the Shaluo Flower into the air.

The flower ballooned in size against the wind, becoming a hundred zhang large in the blink of an eye. The petals opened, and a pitch-black vortex appeared at the heart, emitting a terrifying devouring power.

Those incoming runes were sucked into the vortex, twisted, decomposed, and devoured by the power at the flower's heart.

The Shaluo Flower shuddered violently, the purple light on its petals flickering, clearly bearing immense pressure.

But it held on.

Zhu Kun glanced at Shen Wen, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

This kid's foundations were far thicker than he had anticipated.

But that counter-force was still strengthening.

Deep within the crack, more runes surged out, becoming denser and more violent.

They no longer came in single streams but poured forth like a tide, surrounding the two of them completely.

Shen Wen let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Each impact of those runes was equivalent to the full-force strike of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng.

With dozens, even hundreds striking at once, even with his dragon phoenix ancient armor and Desolate Ancient Saint Body protecting him, he could not withstand it.

Zhu Kun's face also turned pale.

The Dou Qi within his body was being consumed frantically. That spatial barrier trembled continuously under the impact of the runes, and cracks spread one by one.

"Let's go!" Zhu Kun roared in a low voice, his tone laced with anxiety. "If the power here erupts, it will only destroy this place!"

Shen Wen did not move.

He looked up, his gaze piercing through the layers of runes, landing on the spatial crack that was frantically spewing power.

He was silent for a moment.

"Above this, there is an academy where I once taught." He spoke, his voice calm. "It is also the place where Zi Yan once lived."

Zhu Kun's body stiffened abruptly.

Shen Wen continued, "If she knew that this academy was destroyed because you came out, she would hate you to death."

Zhu Kun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he could not speak at all.

Zi Yan.

His daughter.

The daughter he had owed for thousands of years.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging thoughts in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Then what should we do?"

Shen Wen raised his hand, pointing at the slowly rotating Qiankun Xuantian Palace in mid-air.

"Pour your power into that Formation Plate."

Zhu Kun was stunned.

Shen Wen continued, "The Qiankun Ancient Formation Plate can decompose power. No matter what kind of power it is, once it enters the Formation Plate, it will be broken down into the most primal energy.

No matter how strong the counter-force of this Formation is, it is still just power. As long as we pour it into the Formation Plate, it can be decomposed."

Zhu Kun stared at the phantom of the ancient palace for a moment and nodded.

He did not ask where Shen Wen got this thing, nor did he ask if it would work.

Now was not the time to ask questions.

Purplish-gold light erupted from his body, turning into a torrent that surged into the Qiankun Xuantian Palace.

That power was vast as the sea, carrying the domineering and majesty unique to the Dragon Clan, creating a violent resonance with the runes on the palace body.

Shen Wen also moved.

The power of eight ancestral talismans surged into the Xuantian Palace simultaneously. Crimson, deep blue, pitch-black, silver-gray, deep purple, black-and-white, golden-purple—eight types of light intertwined, merging with Zhu Kun's purplish-gold dragon power.

The Qiankun Xuantian Palace shuddered violently.

The runes on the palace body shone blindingly, and the entire palace phantom spun frantically.

That counter-force surging from the crack was drawn in, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, frantically pouring into the palace body.

The runes were decomposed one by one, turning into the most primal energy and dissipating into the air.

But that counter-force was still strengthening.

Deep within the crack, it seemed as if something had been thoroughly enraged. Those surging runes were no longer targeting just Shen Wen and Zhu Kun; they began to attack everything around them indiscriminately.

Space was collapsing, the rock walls were shattering, and the entire underground space was trembling violently.

Shen Wen's face grew paler and paler, and the blood at the corner of his mouth increased.

Zhu Kun was no better off; that purplish-gold light had dimmed significantly, and his breathing began to grow rapid.

Shen Wen did not hesitate.

Inside the storage ring, countless jade bottles shattered simultaneously. Those Medicinal Pills he had saved for a long time—Seventh Grade, Eighth Grade Pills—all turned into pure medicinal power, surging into his and Zhu Kun's bodies.

The moment the medicinal power entered their bodies, both their auras stabilized simultaneously.

Shen Wen's face regained a bit of color, and Zhu Kun's dim purplish-gold light also brightened once again.

Medicinal Pills were consumed without regard for cost, and power was poured in without regard for the price.

The Qiankun Xuantian Palace spun faster and faster. The runes on the palace body were shining so brightly that the patterns could no longer be seen. The entire palace phantom turned into a brilliant wheel of light, swallowing, decomposing, and dispersing the incoming runes one by one.

Finally.

The last wisp of runes surged from the crack, was sucked into the Xuantian Palace, and dissipated silently.

The silver-gray light around the crack gradually dimmed, and those originally violently dancing Seal runes fell silent one by one, hiding back into the Void Realm.

The underground space fell silent.

Shen Wen stood in mid-air, his robes more than half shattered, blood hanging from the corner of his mouth, his face pale as paper.

But his eyes remained bright, and his back remained straight.

Zhu Kun stood by his side, his aura equally weak, but his golden eyes were full of the relief of having survived a disaster.

He looked down at his hands, then looked up at this space he had been separated from for thousands of years, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

"I have finally come out."

His voice was low, carrying the ecstasy and emotion suppressed for thousands of years. Those golden eyes turned slightly red, but it was only for an instant before he recovered the majesty that a Dragon Emperor should have.

Shen Wen stood by his side, his robes more than half shattered, blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth, his face pale as paper. His gaze fell upon the spatial crack that had already closed up again, and he was silent for a moment.

"Can we go in?" Zhu Kun turned his head to look at him, his tone carrying a hint of urgency. "There is the power to become a Dou Di inside here..."

Shen Wen shook his head.

"We can't go in." He paused, raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. "The counter-force of this Formation is much more terrifying than I imagined. Being able to let you, Dragon Emperor, out is already the limit of what I can currently do."

Zhu Kun was silent for a moment and nodded.

He did not press further, nor did he urge him. This kid was only a Dou Zun, yet he could attempt to fish him out from the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Seal. When he reached Dou Sheng, it was not impossible for him to have a chance to truly step into that Immortal Cave.

"Then let's go out first." Zhu Kun spoke, his voice regaining its composure.

He glanced at the churning magma beneath his feet, then looked at Shen Wen's pale face. If this kid really got trapped inside and couldn't come out, Zi Yan would likely hate him to death.

The two stepped out of the magma layer, appearing above Jia Nan Academy.

Sunlight shone through the clouds, gilding the buildings below with a layer of pale gold. People came and went in the academy, and young students walked by in twos and threes; no one looked up at the two figures hidden in the spatial folds in the sky.

Zhu Kun's gaze swept across this unfamiliar land and finally landed on the ancient, simple tower in the distance.

"Tell me," he spoke, his voice low, "what is the current situation with the Void Ancient Dragon? Why are there so many Dragon Islands?"

Shen Wen was silent for a moment.

He summarized the events of these years—after Zhu Kun went missing, the Dragon Island split into four: East, South, West, and North. Each Dragon King acted independently, vying for the position of Dragon Emperor.

He came to the Northwest, discovered the space Zhu Kun had left behind, and sensed the royal Bloodline in Zi Yan.

Zi Yan was brought back to Central Plains, refined the dragon phoenix origin fruit, evolved into a Dragon Phoenix, and was currently subduing the various factions on Ancient Dragon Island.

He spoke plainly, skimming over those heart-stopping processes. Only when mentioning "discovering Zi Yan's Bloodline" did he pause slightly, omitting certain details that were inconvenient to explain.

After listening, Zhu Kun was silent for a long time.

In those golden eyes, emotions surged—anger, guilt, relief—finally turning into a low sigh.

"These traitors..."

His voice was very light, yet carried suppressed killing intent.

"Let's go," he turned his head to look at Shen Wen, his tone unquestionable. "Come with me to Dragon Island."

Shen Wen nodded.

He happened to want to go see Zi Yan and check on how the situation was over at Dragon Island.

...

Ancient Dragon Island.

Deep within East Dragon Island, in the council hall.

Zi Yan sat in the main seat, wearing a purplish-gold dress with a Dragon Phoenix pattern embroidered on the hem, lifelike.

She rested her cheek on one hand, her purplish-gold eyes half-closed, listening to the reports from the people below.

Grand Elder Qingshan stood in the hall, his beard and hair white, his face square, his eyes bright and piercing.

He held a Jade Slip in his hand, recounting the recent battle situation against West Dragon Island.

"—The West Dragon King has retreated. In this battle, we lost seven Dou Zongs and two Dou Zuns were injured. But they didn't fare well either; three Dou Zuns were heavily injured, and over a dozen Dou Zongs were lost."

Zi Yan nodded without speaking.

Second Elder Qingmu stood beside Qingshan and continued, "There is also movement from North Dragon Island.

According to reports from our scouts, the North Dragon King has been frequently contacting outsiders recently, and his actions are becoming increasingly secretive. The people we planted have gathered some information—"

He paused, his voice lowering slightly. "There are traces of Heavenly Demon Phoenix on North Dragon Island."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Qingshan frowned tightly and said in a deep voice, "Heavenly Demon Phoenix? Is the North Dragon King crazy? The Void Ancient Dragon and the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix are mortal enemies; their descendants are both food and mortal enemies to each other. He actually invited a wolf into his house?"

Zi Yan leaned back in her chair, a flash of coldness in her purplish-gold eyes.

Since returning, she had been cultivating frantically with the help of the island's resources, and with the addition of the Dragon Phoenix Bloodline, she had already broken through to Dou Sheng.

Coupled with the fact that the two Grand Elders, Qingshan and Qingmu, had come out of seclusion, she had exchanged blows with the other three Dragon Islands many times and had also subdued a portion of the clansmen willing to submit.

But the matter of the North Dragon King colluding with the Heavenly Demon Phoenix was trickier than she had anticipated.

The Heavenly Demon Phoenix and the Void Ancient Dragon were ancestral enemies. That was not some petty grievance, but a hatred carved into their Bloodlines, an irreconcilable feud.

To vie for the position of Dragon Emperor, the North Dragon King was even willing to do something like inviting a wolf into his house.

Just as Zi Yan was about to speak, her expression suddenly changed.

She stood up abruptly, her purplish-gold eyes staring fixedly at the entrance of the main hall.

Qingshan and Qingmu sensed something simultaneously; they circulated the Dou Qi in their bodies, their figures leaning slightly forward, blocking in front of Zi Yan.

Two figures stepped out from the Void Realm.

One was in black robes, with a young face and a slightly pale complexion.

The other had purplish-gold long hair draped over his shoulders, a resolute face, and a pair of golden pupils that were particularly striking in the hall.

Zi Yan's gaze crossed over Qingshan and Qingmu, landing on the black-robed figure, and she was stunned.

"Brother Shen Wen!"

A smile bloomed on her face, and her whole body turned into a purplish-gold stream of light, throwing herself into Shen Wen's arms.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her little face in his chest, rubbing against it, and muffledly said, "Why are you here? I thought you had forgotten about me!"

Shen Wen smiled and rubbed her head, lowering his head to whisper something in her ear.

Zi Yan's cheeks flushed slightly, but she did not let go, only burying her face deeper.

To the side, Zhu Kun awkwardly withdrew the arms he had subconsciously opened.

He stood there, watching his daughter throwing herself into someone else's arms, his lips moving, but he could not say anything.

Shen Wen patted Zi Yan's back and said softly, "Let go first, someone is watching."