Dao Companion Crippled, Coveters Move

Chapter 133 - 132: Resurgence of the Ancient Dragon

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH! Dammit, where did that Sword Dao Master come from? It looked like he was just passing by... Just my rotten luck!"

At the bottom of the Abyssal Pit, the black-robed man who had been blasted all the way down by the Crescent Sword Qi was in a sorry state. His robes were in tatters, and his body had been sliced clean in two at the waist.

But at the cross-section where he had been severed, there was no bloody mess of flesh and bone. Instead, there were wood-like grains and writhing vines, similar to those of the Wood Demon race. It was this inhuman physiology that had kept him from dying instantly from the fatal blow.

CREAK... SQUISH...

Dense shoots of new vines sprouted from both his upper and lower torso, weaving together to crudely reattach his body and grant him a moment of mobility.

He took out a Transmission Token and transmitted a Sound of Divine Sense.

"Calling the Main Base, this is the Grave Digger from Tree Sea Dragon Island. The Dragon Tomb here is under attack. I can't hold them off. Requesting instructions... *cough, cough*..."

The Grave Digger wiped away the green, sap-like blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his call for help weak and strained.

He lifted his head, gazing toward the top of the Abyssal Pit.

'The faint hum of a sword is drawing closer... That terrifyingly powerful Sword Cultivator probably knows I'm not dead yet.'

'The moment that Sword Cultivator comes down here will be the moment I die.'

Even though his body, completely turned to plant matter by the Demon Transformation, no longer possessed a heart, the Grave Digger still felt a tremor of fear and panic reverberating through his chest.

This feeling of death's imminent approach reminded him of when he was still a warm-blooded, living human.

BEEP—The Transmission Token in his hand displayed its instructions:

[Main Base acknowledges request from Tree Sea Dragon Island. Records indicate the Tree Sea Dragon Island Dragon Corpse's revival is seventy percent complete. This information must not be allowed to leak. The Grave Digger is ordered to activate the Dragon Corpse and eliminate the enemy with utmost speed.]

The Grave Digger was stunned by the order. He couldn't believe the Main Base would make such a rash decision, intending to prematurely reveal this terrifying creature—one that had supposedly gone extinct back in the early Divine Desolate Era—to the world.

'Has the Main Base already prepared for everything?'

The Grave Digger was shaken by the thought of the oppressive, storm-brewing future, but then he let out a sigh.

'Oh, well... None of that has anything to do with a nobody like me. All I need to worry about is how to stay alive.'

Leaning on the wall for support, the Grave Digger stood up and unfurled a Teleportation Scroll.

With a tug of spatial distortion, he opened his eyes to find himself in a Secret Realm Space, one choked with a chaotic, gray miasma.

The moment his feet touched the ground, the Grave Digger's body was forced to its knees against his will, as if crushed by an immense weight, making it impossible to stand.

This was a Suppression that stemmed from the bloodline.

The Grave Digger raised his head to gaze upon the colossal, magnificent, yet ferocious and noble carcass before him.

Its dark gray spine, stripped of flesh, cascaded down like a winding river. Patches of shriveled, black hide clung to the immense, terrifying frame, while sharp ridges of bare white bone protruded from the fleshless areas.

Dragon Horns, like a crown, were set atop the great beast's skull. The only thing marring the sight was a Broken Sword lodged in the Dragon's head, shattering its aura of absolute supremacy and revealing the stark reality that even this mighty creature had been slain by a sword.

But regardless, this was a creature from the very apex of creation. This was a messenger and favored servant of the Innate Divine Spirits from the Divine Era—a Dragon!

All living dragons today are of mixed, impure bloodlines.

The pure-blooded Dragons had been purged and driven to extinction long ago, when the Ten Thousand Races overthrew the rule of the Innate Divine Spirits.

And yet, to say they were extinct wasn't entirely accurate.

For the Dragon Race created by the Divine Spirits could not truly die. They were a kind of terrifying biological weapon; with enough Soul Blood as fuel, they would inevitably revive.

Even now, a legend persists.

When the messengers of the Divine Spirits begin to revive, They will once again descend upon this world to reclaim Their sovereignty.

With this, the objective of the Main Base to which the Grave Digger belonged became clear. They were reviving the favored servants and messengers of the gods all across the world.

"*Cough, cough*... I really hate this damned place."

Resisting the Suppression from the Dragon Corpse, the Grave Digger pushed himself up against the wall and prepared to activate the Grand Array that would revive it.

The Cultivators who had died on Tree Sea Dragon Island during the great war of the past had all become nourishment for the Dragon Corpse's revival. The Grave Digger wasn't worried about being unable to activate it; he only hoped he wouldn't be killed by the shockwave of the Dragon's awakening.

...

...

Pei Yuhang felt his senses suddenly go dead. His eyes narrowed as he muttered, "Did that person escape with a Great Transposition Talisman? No... there's a spatial rift here. A Secret Realm?"

The experienced Sword Immortal had spotted the discrepancy.

The new problem, however, was that with his current level of Cultivation, shattering the barrier of a Secret Realm Space and forcing his way in would be extremely difficult.

"The Sect will have to handle this."

Pei Yuhang's intuition told him that this Grave Digger had subtly taken control of the entire Tree Sea Dragon Island, which meant there had to be a greater mastermind behind the scenes. He had to inform the Dao Sect and have them intervene.

Just as Pei Yuhang was about to seal the area temporarily...

THUMP-THUMP—

His heart began to pound, and an immense sense of crisis washed over him.

Almost on pure instinct, Pei Yuhang used Sword Control to retreat, trying to exit the Abyssal Pit as fast as he could.

In the very next moment, just as the White-clothed Sword Immortal flew away...

The void shattered, and a giant claw—covered in patches of shriveled flesh but mostly exposed white bone—tore its way out.

The massive claw dug deep into the earth as a monstrous Dragon head emerged from the rift to the Secret Realm.

Scalding, golden blood dripped from its empty eye sockets. Because its eyes had not yet fully regenerated, the golden Dragon Blood flowed out freely, igniting upon contact with the air. It formed two balls of undying golden flame that burned within the Dragon's sockets—an eerie yet sacred sight.

By this point, Pei Yuhang had already flown out of the Abyssal Pit. He stared in astonishment at the enormous, skeletal creature in the chasm below, momentarily at a loss for words.

'So there really was a Dragon on Tree Sea Dragon Island.'

Pei Yuhang had no time to ponder where the Dragon had been hiding or why it had been resurrected.

He dove down on his sword, quickly locking onto the two lovely figures in the forest.

With a single motion, he swept them up, unceremoniously slinging them over his shoulders like sacks of rice.

A great gust of wind rushed past, and the mischievous breeze naturally flipped the girls' skirts wide open, revealing the view beneath.

Qing Yueqiu and Yu Xiaoyan felt the warmth of Pei Yuhang's breath on their thighs, and both blushed furiously in embarrassment, but neither said a word.

Not until the enormous dark silhouette in the distance launched into the air and gave chase.

The blush on their faces drained away, replaced by a deathly pallor.

"Is... is that... a Dragon?!"

Despite being several kilometers away, Yu Xiaoyan could still feel the crushing Suppression from the behemoth as it charged toward them.

She forced her eyes open and gathered her courage to examine the creature, one she had only ever read about in myths and legends. That's when a glittering glint of light from atop the Dragon's head caught her eye.

It was the reflection from a Broken Sword.