143: In Chapter 143, "The Dragon's Invitation," a Seventh-Order Demigod...

Su Bai stood in front of the attic door, not stepping inside.

Those eyes watched him in the darkness for three seconds, and then a voice came from inside the door.

The voice was aged and raspy, like wind blowing across a dry riverbed. But the power contained within that voice caused the contestant bracelet on Su Bai's wrist to flash suddenly.

[Warning: High-level demigod aura detected. Rank: ???]

[Suggestion: Maintain a safe distance.]

Su Bai did not retreat.

He just stood there, looking into the darkness within the doorway.

From the darkness inside came a low chuckle. There was no malice in that laughter, but no kindness either, only a weariness and indifference that came from living through long years.

"Little fellow, your alertness is quite good."

Footsteps sounded. Slow, heavy footsteps, as if every step required the strength of his entire body.

A figure stepped out from the darkness.

It was an old man.

His stature was tall, but he was severely hunched, his back bent nearly ninety degrees. His hair was white and sparse enough to see his scalp, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as if carved by a knife, each one recording endless time. He wore a grey-white robe embroidered with star patterns, but the embroidery threads of those stars were so worn they were barely visible.

His eyes were deep grey, and in the depths of his pupils, countless stars swirled, but the light of those stars had dimmed, like stars that were about to go out.

His aura.

Su Bai could not see it clearly.

It wasn't that he couldn't see it, but rather that he couldn't see it clearly. The old man's aura was like an ocean—the surface was calm and without waves, but deep beneath the seafloor, undercurrents surged. He couldn't sense the old man's rank, only a sense of pressure that made his very soul tremble.

That kind of pressure was something he had only felt from one person.

Chu Zhentian.

But Chu Zhentian's pressure was sharp and unstoppable, like an unsheathed blade. This old man's pressure was heavy and slow, like a collapsing building.

However, the gap between the two was large; this old man was clearly at least a hundred times weaker than Chu Zhentian.

The old man stood at the door and lowered his head to look at Su Bai.

In those deep grey eyes, Su Bai's figure was reflected, as was the towering Ghost Gate Pass behind him.

"Su Bai," the old man rasped his name, "Tianxuan Star Sector, Qinglin Province, Netherworld World. Third round of the elimination tournament, defeated Bei Chenyao."

He recited all of Su Bai's information in one breath. His speech wasn't fast, but every word was as precise as if copied from a file.

Su Bai did not speak, simply looking at the old man.

The old man smiled, the expression squeezing into a gentle curve amidst his wrinkled face.

"I am Old Man Stargazer, master of the Stargazing Pavilion in the Tiance Star Sector. A Seventh-Order Demigod."

He paused, seemingly waiting for Su Bai's reaction.

Su Bai gave no reaction whatsoever.

The corner of Old Man Stargazer's mouth twitched slightly as he continued.

"I have been waiting here for you for a long time."

Su Bai finally spoke.

"Waiting for me?"

"Yes, waiting for you." Old Man Stargazer nodded and stepped aside from the doorway. "Shall we come in and talk?"

Su Bai did not move.

Old Man Stargazer glanced at him and sighed, appearing both appreciative and helpless regarding his alertness.

"Fine, then we shall talk here."

He raised his hand and took a dark gold crystal from his robe sleeve. The crystal was only the size of a thumb, but it contained heart-palpitating energy fluctuations. Within those energy fluctuations, Su Bai felt a familiar aura.

Dragon Might.

Though thin, it was indeed Dragon Might.

"On the outskirts of the Tiance Star Sector, there is a Sub-dragon world," Old Man Stargazer's voice grew low. "The race of that world is called the 'Dragon Lizard Race,' a branch bloodline of the Ancient Dragon Race, with about thirty percent dragon blood flowing through them. Their numbers exceed five million, and they possess a complete civilization system and military power. Their leader is a Seventh-Order peak 'Dragon-Lizard King,' whose dragon bloodline has awakened to the second generation."

He handed the crystal to Su Bai.

Su Bai did not take it, only giving it a glance.

Inside the crystal, a faint phantom of a creature was visible. It was a giant lizard-like creature over a hundred zhang long, covered in dark gold scales, with three curved horns on its head and a pair of massive fleshy wings on its back. Its eyes were dark gold vertical pupils, identical to those of the Dragon-Blood Orc Blood Howl, but even more primal and violent.

"The Dragon Lizard Race undergoes a large-scale migration every three hundred years. One month from now is the day of their migration. Their migration route will pass through the outer colonies of the Tiance Star Sector, at which time over three hundred million civilians will face a life-threatening danger."

Old Man Stargazer's voice became heavy.

"The Tiance Star Sector's defensive forces are enough to handle this migration, but if we engage in a direct confrontation, there will be at least several million civilian casualties. I would like to invite you to go to the Dragon-Lizard World in one month to assist the Tiance Star Sector's defensive forces in dismantling the Dragon Lizard Race's migration forces from the inside."

Su Bai looked at him.

"Why me?"

Old Man Stargazer smiled.

"Because of your Netherworld World. Yin Qi, souls, reincarnation. Although the dragon bloodline of the Dragon Lizard Race is powerful, they have a fatal weakness. Their souls are deeply bound to their dragon bloodline. As long as their souls are attacked, the dragon bloodline will run wild and backlash against their bodies. Your Netherworld World possesses the ability to attack souls. The Ghost King's Nether Slash and the Black and White Impermanence's Soul Hooking are the natural banes of the Dragon Lizard Race."

Su Bai was silent for a moment.

"And the reward?"

Old Man Stargazer raised his hand and took out another item.

It was a fist-sized Crystal Core, gold-red in color, with countless tiny points of light swirling inside like a miniature nebula. The Crystal Core emitted a scorching aura, and within that aura was a power that made Su Bai's heart skip a beat.

Dragon power.

"The Dragon-Lizard World Core," Old Man Stargazer said. "After the Dragon Lizard Race is annihilated, their entire world will become unclaimed land. You can devour the Dragon-Lizard World, absorb the souls and bloodlines of the five million Dragon Lizards, and integrate their dragon bloodline into your Netherworld World. Your Dragon-Blood Orcs will evolve because of this. Their dragon bloodline can undergo an Ancestral Return from the third generation to the second, or even the first generation."

He paused, his deep grey eyes looking at Su Bai.

"In addition to this, the Tiance Star Sector will provide an extra five hundred million federal credits' worth of faith crystals as your assistance reward."

Su Bai looked at that gold-red Crystal Core and remained silent for a long time.

The Dragon-Lizard World. Five million Dragon Lizards. Thirty percent dragon bloodline. The evolution of the Dragon-Blood Orcs. Second or even first-generation dragon bloodline.

He truly wanted these things.

He wanted them very much.

Just as he was about to speak, a wave of fluctuation suddenly came from the depths of his consciousness.

It was not a fluctuation from the Netherworld World, but from the City God.

The City God's voice echoed in his mind, steady as a bell but carrying a rare hint of urgency.

"My Lord, there is something strange about this person."