Shrouded Sky

Chapter 355 - Ancient Sect, Great Dragon Vein

The old ape stood tall and imposing, its fur white as snow and glimmering with a crystalline sheen. Eyes closed, seated in meditation, its form was sealed within profound ice, lifelike and vivid, as if it had merged with the Great Dao itself, almost still alive.

In ages past, this ancient ape had once dominated the world, defiant before all under heaven, capable of standing against sacred lands. Yet in the end, it sat here beneath the cold ice, still and silent, unable to escape death. Time passed; all things fade.

The ancient well sealed beneath the ice was bottomless, and from it wisps of dragon energy continuously overflowed. The group stared at it for a long while, hesitating over whether to remove the ice.

Ye Fan said, “We can’t go in from here. The old ape sealed this place himself. With the godpower he once possessed, he surely left behind contingencies.”

The black dog, the most experienced among them in formations and seals, studied the surroundings carefully. After a long while, its brow furrowed. “There are too many restrictions. Breaking through them would be extremely troublesome.”

They decided to retreat at once, there was no time to attempt breaking it. The snow apes would soon return, and if they were trapped here, the entire Ice Snow Palace would be alerted.

Sure enough, they had scarcely withdrawn when hundreds of snow apes howled as they returned, leaping from peak to peak. Their bodies were agile, their strength immense, born as true beasts of the wild.

“The six source dragon fruits have all been picked. What a pity!” the black dog said regretfully.

In the snow valley, the six green plants had withered completely. Their spirit essence was gone, and their remains were scattered by the cold wind.

“The dragon energy has overflowed from underground, nurturing the source dragon grass. If we follow it downward, we should reach the dragon vein itself,” said Ye Fan.

They began at once, breaking open a path through the ice, tunneling deeper underground. But after descending only a few dozen meters, they were shocked.

There were formation runes carved into the earth, everything beneath the surface had been completely sealed, impossibly firm.

Ye Fan was astonished. “Someone discovered the dragon vein long ago and sealed it below. There must be something extraordinary down there.”

“These formation runes have existed for tens of thousands of years,” the black dog said. “They’re extremely profound. Even I find them difficult to decipher.”

“This must be the relic left behind by the ancient sacred land,” Tu Fei said, both surprised and delighted.

“Then there may be a great fortune waiting for us,” Pang Bo said, laughing.

“It could be an opportunity that won’t come again,” Ye Fan said. Using his source arts, he deduced that something had changed underground, allowing the dragon energy to leak out.

This type of formation was called the True Dragon Nirvana Formation, involving yin and yang, life and death. Once the dragon energy retracted, it would be nearly impossible to locate again.

Ye Fan thought deeply. “The dragon vein is undergoing nirvana. This happens only once in tens of thousands of years, it’ll be completed in a few days.”

The black dog perked up at once, energized. “Let me try breaking it.”

After a full day and night of effort, it collapsed on the ground, tongue hanging out, panting heavily. Only after tossing a Godsource bean into its mouth did it regain its vigor.

“This is definitely an ancient sacred land’s formation. Normally, it’s almost unbreakable, but it’s too old now, and there’s a flaw. We might be able to get in.”

At that, everyone’s spirits lifted. This could very well be the underground palace of the sacred land that perished seventy or eighty thousand years ago.

The “flaw” was where the dragon energy was leaking out, the damaged portion of the formation. The black dog concentrated fully, walking in front, carving and rewriting runes along the way.

After an entire day’s effort, they finally reached deep underground, dropping into a vast subterranean palace.

“The dragon vein was sealed underground, someone recognized it long ago!”

It was a monumental project, clearly requiring endless manpower. The place stretched beyond sight.

The grand underground palace radiated an ancient aura, cloaked in the dust of ages. Stone chambers and halls bore the marks of time.

Yet it was not completely dark, strange luminous stones glowed faintly, illuminating everything around.

Dragon energy surged like rivers, rushing through the underground world. Immersed within it, one felt refreshed and renewed.

“The aura of Godsource!”

Ye Fan’s expression sharpened. Within the rolling dragon energy, Godsource essence was leaking out, clearly, supreme treasures lay deep within.

“Have we entered the divine treasury of the ancient sacred land?” Pang Bo said in surprise.

“Damn it, that dead dog’s going to steal everything again! Don’t run!” Tu Fei shouted.

The black dog didn’t reply, it had already dashed off like a streak of black lightning, vanishing from sight.

“That damn dog’s biggest flaw is its greed,” Pang Bo muttered as they gave chase.

The vast underground palace seemed endless, deathly silent, devoid of sound.

Without stopping, they followed the surge of dragon energy and divine essence, moving toward its source. The further they went, the stronger the aura grew.

“This place is enormous!”

They ran for dozens of miles and still hadn’t reached the end. The palace extended endlessly into darkness.

“I’m starting to think this wasn’t built by the sacred land,” Pang Bo said, frowning.

Passing through hall after ancient hall, they finally neared the origin of the dragon energy. The black dog was the first to halt.

Before them yawned an immense chasm, the ground simply ended, and beyond it stretched a bottomless abyss. The palace clung to the cliff’s edge.

The sight of that colossal pit made them all tremble. Below was pure darkness, unfathomable, radiating an eerie dread.

From the abyss surged endless dragon energy and divine essence, mysterious and oppressive.

Even the well-traveled black dog stood stunned, mouth gaping, eyes wide.

Such a vast chasm, like a bottomless void, seemed capable of devouring one’s very soul.

“I feel chills down my spine. There’s a sinister power here,” Tu Fei whispered, shivering.

The abyss was utterly silent, as if connected to the underworld itself, stirring unease in their hearts.

“I was wrong,” Ye Fan murmured, eyes wide. “This place is far more terrifying than a True Dragon Nirvana. It’s one of the most powerful formations in existence!”

Pang Bo and Tu Fei felt their hearts pound wildly. Even the black dog’s fur bristled. “What the hell is this place?” it muttered.

“The True Dragon Nirvana is only the surface formation, the terrain near the ground. Beneath it lies something far greater. There’s more than one dragon vein!”

Ye Fan felt a creeping coldness. He had never imagined something so strange and terrifying. He studied carefully.

From the abyss below, dragon energy surged like tides. Occasionally, flashes of divine light revealed crystalline source fragments, Godsource stones bursting upward.

“This is insane,” Tu Fei said. “Even source stones are shooting up, there must be more than one Supreme Godsource!”

“Kid, can we go down there or not? There’s got to be a divine treasure below!” the black dog said, restless.

“This must be the legendary Myriad Dragon Lair,” Ye Fan said softly, voice trembling. “Unbelievable… it actually exists.”

When he had rejected the idea of a True Dragon Nirvana, he’d already been shocked. But now, realizing what it truly was, he stood speechless.

The Myriad Dragon Lair, a legendary formation described in the Celestial Source Tome, was said to be unbreakable, one of the most dangerous and mysterious places in the world.

It was said to be a place where countless dragon veins were born, perhaps even once the lair of a real dragon in ancient times.

When heaven and earth aligned perfectly, a Myriad Dragon Lair could even give birth to a living dragon.

Tu Fei, Pang Bo, and the black dog were dumbfounded. Even a master of source arts would be helpless here.

“But wait,” Pang Bo said, “this entire underground palace was built atop the Myriad Dragon Lair, and yet it’s intact. That doesn’t make sense, it shouldn’t be possible.”

“Could the legends be true?” Tu Fei murmured, his face full of disbelief.

“What legend?” Ye Fan asked.

“The ancient sacred land was called the Underworld God Palace,” Tu Fei said. “And according to legend, their heritage did not originate from humans.”

“You don’t mean, from the Myriad Dragon Lair itself?” Pang Bo said in shock.

“It’s possible,” Tu Fei said. “Some stories claim they discovered an ancient, inhuman inheritance beneath the ground.”

“What’s that?” the black dog said suddenly, eyes narrowing, instinctively stepping back.

Deep in the abyss below, something shimmered faintly, a crystalline glow, slowly rising from the darkness.

“Something’s coming up from down there?” Everyone froze, unable to calm their hearts.

The dragon energy surged violently, divine essence flooding the air. The crystalline light grew brighter, rising steadily.

“It’s being lifted by the dragon energy!”

“It’s an ice palace!”

The dragon energy surged upward like a tide, carrying with it a small palace of pure ice. It rose and fell within the abyss, glimmering beautifully.

It wasn’t large, about the size of a house. Calling it a palace was generous. Yet its shape was unmistakably that of a true hall.

Completely transparent, the ice palace radiated celestial energy, mysterious and beautiful in the dim underworld.

“Underworld God Palace!” they all gasped. On the palace’s surface, three ancient characters were engraved, the same name as the ancient sacred land.

“Could it be… their inheritance truly came from the Myriad Dragon Lair?” None of them could stay calm.

“There’s someone inside!” Pang Bo cried, pulling Ye Fan back several steps, pupils contracting sharply.

Tu Fei and the black dog saw it too. Inside the ice palace lay a figure, snow-white and nearly transparent, her entire body formed of glacial crystal.

She lay motionless, draped in white silk. Her form was breathtakingly beautiful, skin like ice and jade. Her long, black hair shimmered, covering most of her face so that her true features could not be seen.

But there was no doubt, she was a peerless beauty. She seemed asleep, yet also like a lifeless corpse, peaceful and still.

“Could she still be alive?” the black dog murmured, eyes gleaming.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were uncertain. The woman looked so real, as though resting, her expression serene, her body radiant with faint vitality.

“She must have passed away,” Tu Fei said softly. “It’s been seventy or eighty thousand years.”

“You know who she is?” Pang Bo asked.

“There’s an old tale,” Tu Fei said. “The invincible God-King of the Jiang Clan wielded a Paragon Artifact, leveling the endless snow mountains that once filled this region. Only one person escaped, the female Sacred Lord of the Underworld God Palace.”

“She’s the Sacred Lord of that ancient sacred land?!” Ye Fan and Pang Bo were stunned.

“She should be,” Tu Fei said with a nod.

Just then, the dragon energy surged again, and the ice palace began to slowly sink, descending back into the darkness of the Myriad Dragon Lair, rising and falling with the pulsing dragon tides.

Watching this, Ye Fan’s heart trembled. “Perhaps… we can enter the Myriad Dragon Lair ourselves.”