23: Dominate all ages? What nonsense!
“This is...!!!”
“Destruction and Life... coexisting in one body?!”
“No! There is also... Decay?!”
“This... what kind of constitution is this?! How can such a thing exist in this world?!”
Even if it was just a wisp of a remnant soul, even if his lamp had run dry of oil.
But Ao Cang was, after all, once a Saint King.
His vision and knowledge were far beyond what Ao Ning could compare to.
With a single glance, he saw through the essence of Su Jue's constitution!
That strange structure—contradictory yet harmonious—which subverted the fundamental laws of the universe!
“A monster...”
“A true... monster...”
Ao Cang's remnant soul let out a shocked whisper.
He saw even more clearly than Ao Yuan and Elizabeth!
Because he could feel that at the core of those three powers within Su Jue's body, there lurked a force even more terrifying and ancient, one that made even him—a former Saint King—shudder!
The Power of Creation and Destruction!
“No wonder... no wonder you could come here...”
“So that's how it is...”
Ao Cang seemed to understand something.
His tone shifted from its initial exhaustion to one of slight excitement.
“Child... come here...”
He called out to Su Jue.
Su Jue blinked, feeling a bit hesitant.
This old grandpa looks like he's about to kick the bucket; he wouldn't want to do something weird to me, would he?
Like... body snatching?
That's how it's always written in novels.
[Ding! Target detected: Storm Dragon Emperor Remnant Soul (Saint King Level).]
[Status: Extremely weak, about to dissipate.]
[Analysis: The target bears no ill will and seems to have a request.]
Seeing the system's prompt, Su Jue finally felt at ease.
He moved his short little legs and walked beneath the massive dragon skull, looking up at the two points of golden flame.
“Child... I can feel the aura of the Demonic Dragon Emperor on you... are you that fellow Ao Yuan's descendant?” Ao Cang asked.
Su Jue thought for a moment and nodded.
Although he was of the human race, Ao Yuan was indeed his adoptive father.
Saying so wasn't wrong.
“Haha... good! Great!”
“That Eternal Bachelor Ao Yuan actually has a descendant! How rare!”
Ao Cang's remnant soul let out a weak laugh, seemingly very happy.
“Child, since you are his descendant, I won't beat around the bush with you.”
“I, the Storm Dragon Emperor Ao Cang, request one thing of you.”
His tone became incredibly solemn.
A request?
A Saint King, making a request of a baby?
Both Su Jue and Ao Ning were stunned.
“Senior, please speak,” Ao Ning said hurriedly. “As long as it's within our power, we will certainly not decline!”
“No.”
Ao Cang shook his head.
“You cannot do this.”
“Only him... only this child has the possibility of doing it.”
His gaze fell upon Su Jue once more.
“Child, do you see that seed?”
He gestured toward the seed of immortal life located where the heart would be.
Su Jue nodded.
“That is no seed of immortal life.”
“That is my heart.”
“It is the world sealing core... condensed using the very last of my Life essence and the Law of Time.”
What?!
Ao Ning was shocked once again.
That seed containing infinite vitality was actually the heart of a Saint King Dragon Emperor?!
“In the War of the Eras back then, my Dragon Clan won a pyrrhic victory.”
“But we inadvertently broke a weak point in the cosmic barrier, opening a rift to the 'Void Abyss'.”
“Countless abyssal monsters swarmed out from the rift, tainting the universe.”
“To plug that rift, I led the last of the Storm Dragon Clan and fought a bitter battle against the abyss for a hundred thousand years.”
“In the end, my clansmen were all killed in battle, and I was heavily wounded, contaminated by the source power of the most terrifying Lord of Decay in the abyss.”
Ao Cang's voice was filled with sorrow and indignation.
“To prevent the Power of Decay from spreading and contaminating the entire universe, I could only choose self-exile, coming to this cosmic 'junkyard'—the Star of Wither.”
“Using my heart as the core, my body as the formation, and my soul as the guide, I laid down this ‘Eternal Demon-Suppressing Grand Formation,’ sealing that abyssal rift along with myself... right here.”
“The land beneath your feet is no mere grotto.”
“It is the entrance to that abyssal rift!”
“And this skeleton of mine is the... final seal suppressing the entrance!”
Hearing this, Su Jue and Ao Ning finally understood.
So that's it!
To think the secret of this planet was actually this!
A great Dragon Emperor, to protect the universe, sacrificed himself and his entire race, turning himself into a seal to suppress the abyss for eons!
Truly a feat of standing alone through the ages!
Ao Ning's eyes were filled with reverence.
Su Jue was also somewhat moved.
Although he had little concept of what the universe or the abyss were.
He could understand that kind of sacrifice and protection.
Just like how the old servant of the Su Family had risked his Life to send him into the Space-time Wormhole.
“But, Senior...” Ao Ning asked in confusion, “since this is a sealed land, why would the Queen Mother send us here for a trial? And even have us look for your... heart?”
“Elizabeth...”
Ao Cang sighed.
“She likely doesn't know the truth of this place either.”
“Endless years have passed, and my power has been completely exhausted; the seal... is about to become uncontrollable.”
“The Life essence in my heart began to leak uncontrollably, creating the illusion of what you call the ‘seed of immortal life’.”
“Perhaps she sensed this massive vitality and mistakenly thought there were some natural treasures here.”
“You haven't come at a good time...”
Ao Cang's soul fire grew even dimmer.
“Just now, the energy fluctuations from your battle with that Broodmother alerted the thing beneath the seal.”
“I can feel it... it... has awakened.”
“The Lord of Decay... it is battering the seal!”
No sooner had he spoken.
The entire underground grotto suddenly began to shake violently!
As if an eighteenth-magnitude earthquake were occurring!
“Rumble—”
That massive Dragon Emperor skeleton began to tremble violently.
Streaks of black mist, as dark as ink and emitting an aura of ultimate Decay and evil, frantically seeped out from the crevices of the dragon bones!
“Jie jie jie jie...”
Bursts of strange laughter that made one's soul tremble, filled with malice and madness, drifted up from the deepest depths of the earth.
That laughter seemed to possess infinite magical power.
Su Jue felt as if his very soul was about to be contaminated and assimilated by that laughter!
[Warning! Warning! Out-of-spec ‘Abyssal Power of Decay’ detected!]
[This power level far exceeds the current law system! ‘Chaos Dragon Body’ cannot fully grant immunity!]
[Soul is being contaminated! Host, please stabilize your mind immediately!]
“Not good!”
Ao Ning's expression changed drastically.
She immediately propped up a Frost Shield, protecting herself and Su Jue.
But that black mist was pervasive, finding every crack.
It actually penetrated her Saint Domain directly, seeping in bit by bit!
“It's useless...”
Ao Cang's remnant soul let out a sigh of despair.