142: Dragon Vein Rebirth

Core of the Jing City Dragon Vein.

Li Dong's body was surrounded by swirling Spiritual Qi, and the medicinal power of the final "Qian Yuan Cleansing Spirit Pill" merged into the earth vein like spring rain. He shifted through hand seals, and his [Spiritual Domain] combed through every inch of the dragon vein with unprecedented depth and breadth, down to the finest detail.

"Hum—"

A distant "Dragon Roar," seemingly from the primordial era, echoed through heaven and earth. It was not a physical sound, yet it resonated clearly in the heart of every living creature. In an instant, endless colorful auspicious light burst forth above Jing City, thousands of rays of auspicious energy illuminating the entire city like a fairyland. Following this, Spiritual Qi, concentrated to the extreme, transformed into a sweet rain that fell softly, spreading inside and outside Jing City.

"Heaven has bestowed auspicious signs! The dragon vein... the dragon vein has truly recovered completely!"

"I feel... I feel that the hidden ailment that has plagued me for years is mostly gone!"

"Look quickly! Those withered spiritual plants are sprouting again!"

On the streets, countless commoners and Cultivators poured out, bathing in the rain of Spiritual Qi. Feeling that pure and majestic vitality, they all cheered and wept with joy. The sick were instantly cured of their chronic illnesses, Cultivators felt their Bottlenecks loosening, and the entire Jing City was immersed in a joy and vitality of rebirth.

Li Dong slowly opened his eyes, feeling the joy and closeness coming from the dragon vein, and could not help but reveal a faint smile. This Jing City was finally...

However, at this very moment, before his smile could fully bloom, an indescribable palpitation came without warning from the abandoned medicinal garden in the Western Hills of Jingjiao, deep underground in that "Vortex Trap Zone"!

That was not a fluctuation of power, but a kind of... consciousness!

A consciousness far surpassing any Golden Core Stage Cultivator he had encountered, even a hundred times more terrifying than Ying Mei, Bone Scythe, and their ilk combined, suddenly opened its scarlet eyes like a Vicious Beast that had been sleeping for eons. This consciousness was no longer the messy and chaotic evil energy from before, but carried an incomparably clear malice that froze the Divine Soul and the most primitive greed for living creatures!

"Hmm?" Li Dong's expression changed abruptly.

Almost at the same instant, that awakened evil will, as if across endless space, locked onto Li Dong with pinpoint accuracy! More accurately, it locked onto the unique and pure Spirituality emitted by the [Perfect Dao Body] within Li Dong!

"Hah—"

An invisible, intangible "roar" that seemed capable of tearing apart the Divine Soul exploded directly in Li Dong's Sea of Consciousness!

"Urgh!" Li Dong let out a muffled groan, feeling as if his entire head had been viciously struck by an invisible giant hammer. His Sea of Consciousness was churning, and the pain was piercing. This impact was purely targeted at the Divine Soul, and it was overwhelmingly domineering!

"Such a strong mental impact... What kind of monster is this?!" He forcibly stabilized his mind, and his [Spiritual Domain] instinctively contracted for defense.

Meanwhile, in the Western Hills of Jingjiao, where the "Vortex Trap Zone" was located, a sudden change occurred!

The area, which had previously only emitted an ominous aura, now saw the space above it twist and fold strangely, as if an invisible giant hand was kneading that piece of heaven and earth. Even more chillingly, from deep underground in that area, came faint, dull, and powerful "Thump! Thump! Thump!" sounds, like the heartbeat of a giant beast, each one striking at people's hearts and invoking the deepest fear.

This "heartbeat" sound seemed to herald that an existence more terrifying and destructive than the dragon vein pollution itself was about to break through the ground!

Amidst the intense pain, Li Dong's [Spiritual Resonance], while resisting that surge of will, unexpectedly generated an extremely brief yet incredibly clear "connection" with it.

In an instant, countless bizarre, fragmented, and ancient images flooded into his mind like a tidal wave!

It was an extremely towering black temple, with countless fanatical believers prostrating on the ground, worshipping an unspeakable totem... It was a war spanning the Star Domain, with countless living creatures annihilated in despair... The images flashed by rapidly, finally settling on one scene: a group of people wearing strange sacrificial robes were surrounding a "light cocoon" that emitted pure radiance, bearing a seven or eight-tenths similarity to the aura of his [Perfect Dao Body], performing some kind of evil ritual.

A vague and grand voice echoed in the images: "...Using the 'Perfect Dao Body' as a bridge, to bring about the descent of the 'God Lord's' power... to forge an eternal Theocratic Empire..."

"Theocratic Empire? Their ultimate goal... is actually to use the Perfect Dao Body as a medium to guide the descent of Forbidden Power?!" Li Dong's heart churned with massive waves. So, everything the Shadow Council had done, from polluting the dragon vein to hunting him down, was all for this!

"Not good!"

In the Demon Suppression Division, Wei Zheng and the Seventh Princess Li Qingxuan, who had rushed over, sensed the suffocating, terrifying aura coming from deep beneath Jing City at almost the same time. Their faces turned deathly pale instantly.

"This... what is this?!" Wei Zheng's voice carried a trace of trembling, "It's ten times more terrifying than the commotion Ying Mei caused before!"

Li Qingxuan frowned, looking toward the Western Hills, her tone grave: "That power... seems to have been completely activated! Our previous victory, I fear, was only... delaying the real crisis."

"Boom!"

A loud noise came from the direction of the Western Hills; even though it was dozens of miles away, the entire Jing City trembled because of it.

That awakened ancient will, after initially locking onto Li Dong, seemed to have also sensed the "deliciousness" of the Jing City Dragon Vein, and actually began to divert a portion of its power, attempting to re-erode and pollute the dragon vein that had just been purified!

"Ang—"

The Jing City Dragon Vein let out an unwilling roar, and the newly born pure Dragon Qi burst forth, struggling to resist the erosion of that evil power. For a time, the auspicious energy that had just condensed above Jing City clashed violently with the black fog spreading from the Western Hills, emitting sizzling corrosive sounds.

Although the purified dragon vein temporarily resisted most of the erosion, fine cracks had already begun to appear in its core area, in the perception of Li Dong, Wei Zheng, and the others!

"It... it is devouring the dragon vein in return!" Li Dong's expression looked terrible to the extreme.

He finally understood that the previous battles with the Shadow Council's Golden Core Elders and black-robed men, and even the arduous task of purifying the dragon vein, were all just appetizers.

The real... doomsday-level crisis had only just begun!

What he had to face was an ancient existence beyond imagination, a "God Lord" that fed on the "Perfect Dao Body" and attempted to descend into the human world!

"Vortex Trap Zone... will that be the main battlefield?" Li Dong looked toward the Western Hills, where the heart-palpitating "heartbeat" sound was becoming clearer, as if that Forbidden Power was waking up step by step, and its terrifying true face was about to be initially revealed.

Although Jing City had temporarily blocked the first wave of impact due to the rebirth of the dragon vein, Li Dong had a strong premonition that this was merely the beginning.

When the will of the "God Lord" truly descended, the entire Great Xia, no, the entire world, would face an unprecedented catastrophe.

"This chess game... turns out it has only just entered the real endgame." Li Dong muttered to himself, his eyes not filled with fear, but instead burning with an even more intense Battle Intent.

He looked toward the source of the terrifying aura and slowly clenched his fists.

"Want to descend? You'll have to ask me, Li Dong, if I agree!"