22: The remnant soul of the Dragon Emperor has appeared! The abyss is about to awaken!
A desolate, ancient aura, carrying a hint of Dragon Might, wafted from the depths of the crack!
Su Jue and Ao Ning glanced at each other.
Both saw the surprise in each other's eyes.
Dragon Might?!
How could there be Dragon Might on this Star of Wither, a place even Saint Kings considered a forbidden zone?
Without hesitation, the two of them leaped directly into the crack.
The crack was very deep.
They plummeted rapidly for nearly ten thousand meters before finally landing on solid ground.
This was an incredibly massive underground karst cave.
Countless glowing crystals were embedded in the cave's ceiling, illuminating the entire space as bright as day.
And right in the center of the cave...
A skeleton so massive it defied imagination lay there quietly.
It was a dragon skeleton!
A complete skeleton of a giant dragon that had been dead for an unknown number of years!
Its size was several times larger than Ao Ning's Winter Giant Dragon form!
Its entire body was bronze-colored, and even after endless years of death, it still exuded an unyielding, terrifying power that seemed capable of contending with heaven and earth!
"This is..."
Ao Ning stared at the dragon skeleton before her, completely stunned.
She walked quickly to the dragon's skull.
Beneath those massive, hollow eye sockets, she saw an emblem branded by laws.
A circling dragon emblem, its entire body wreathed in burning storms!
"The Storm Dragon Clan!"
Ao Ning cried out in shock.
"It's the Storm Dragon Clan, which went extinct as far back as the Primeval Era!"
"Heavens! How can there be a complete skeleton of a Storm Dragon Emperor here?!"
As a "historian" and "archaeologist" among the Dragon Race, Ao Ning knew all the secrets and ancient heritages of the dragons like the back of her hand.
The Storm Dragon Clan was an ancient branch of the Dragon Race.
Born with the ability to control storms and lightning, their combat power was extremely formidable.
In the Primeval Era, they could even stand on equal footing with the Starry Sky Demon Dragon of her father, Ao Yuan.
But for some reason, after an "Era War" that swept across the entire universe, the Storm Dragon Clan completely vanished.
Everyone thought they had gone completely extinct.
To think that a Storm Dragon Emperor's remains could be found here!
This was definitely a world-shaking discovery that would shock the entire Dragon Race!
Ao Ning's breathing became rapid.
Her gaze was even more fanatical than when she had seen Su Jue using the Devouring Law!
She rushed to the dragon skeleton and reached out, touching the bronze bones as carefully as if she were caressing a peerless treasure.
"A perfect skeletal structure... the law brand preservation exceeds 70%..."
"Heavens! This is a living fossil! A priceless treasure!"
"With this, I will surely be able to reconstruct the complete law system of the Dragon Race from the Primeval Era!"
She muttered to herself while taking out various instruments to begin scanning and sampling the dragon skeleton.
She completely forgot about Su Jue and the trial mission.
Su Jue: "..."
Fine then.
You do your thing.
I'll look for mine.
He had absolutely no interest in the Storm Dragon Clan or any archaeological discoveries.
His attention was entirely captivated by something else.
Right at the position of that massive dragon skeleton's heart.
There was a seed, only the size of a fist, entirely emerald green, and still faintly pulsating.
That seed emitted an endless aura of Life.
With every pulse, it released a majestic surge of Life energy, nourishing this long-dead dragon skeleton and allowing it to remain immortal for billions of years under the pervasive erosion of the Star of Wither's Decay Law!
Without a doubt.
This was their mission objective—the [seed of immortal life]!
[Ding! Detected top-tier cosmic wonder: seed of immortal life (Grade 11)!]
[A paradoxical object condensed from pure Law of Life and Law of Time; it is the core of the Star of Wither's existence and the antithesis of its laws.]
[Effect: Contains infinite Life force, can bring the dead back to Life and regrow flesh on bones, and can even reverse the flow of time in an area, making it eternally immortal.]
[Devouring Suggestion: Strongly discouraged! The laws contained in this item are too vast and pure. With the Host's current constitution, forcibly devouring it will cause you to explode! Not even a speck of dust will remain!]
Looking at the "strongly discouraged" warning from the system, Su Jue curled his lip.
Tsk.
You said the same thing about the Saint King's essence blood last time.
And what happened?
I ate it anyway.
Although I really can't eat it right now, I can collect it first.
This is good stuff!
He moved his short little legs, huffing and puffing as he climbed the massive dragon skeleton and ran toward the heart.
However, just as he was about to touch the seed...
A sudden change occurred!
The emerald green seed suddenly burst with light!
An irresistible force pushed Su Jue directly away.
At the same time, an ancient, desolate voice filled with endless fatigue echoed in the depths of both Su Jue's and Ao Ning's souls.
"Junior..."
"Do not... touch it..."
"Leave this place quickly..."
"It... does not belong to you..."
"The Abyss... is about to... awaken..."
That voice seemed to have traversed the long river of time for billions of years.
It carried an unquestionable majesty.
Su Jue and Ao Ning were both shaken simultaneously.
Both looked toward the source of the voice.
They saw that in the two hollow eye sockets of the massive Storm Dragon Emperor's skeleton, a spark of golden soul fire had ignited at some point.
It was a remnant soul!
This Primeval Dragon Emperor, who had fallen endless ages ago, actually left behind a wisp of a remnant soul?!
"Are you... the Storm Dragon Emperor, Senior Ao Cang?"
Ao Ning asked uncertainly, looking at the spark of soul fire.
She had seen this Dragon Emperor's name in ancient dragon records.
Ao Cang, the last emperor of the Storm Dragon Clan, a 13th-realm Saint King of unfathomable strength!
In one battle, he had single-handedly confronted three alien Saint Kings of the same level and severely wounded them all!
Although he couldn't compare to the peerless Ao Yuan, he was still a legendary figure who could rank among the top ten in dragon history!
"Ao Cang... Heh, it's been a long time... since anyone called me by that name..."
The spark of soul fire flickered slightly, as if reminiscing.
"Little one, you have the aura of the Life Dragon Emperor on you... Are you Elizabeth's child?"
"Yes, Senior," Ao Ning lowered her head respectfully. "My name is Ao Ning."
"Ao Ning... a good name."
The Storm Dragon Emperor's remnant soul let out a long sigh.
"I didn't expect that after endless years, I would see a junior of the Dragon Race again."
"Unfortunately... you shouldn't have come here."
"This place is a cursed land, a grave that buries everything."
His gaze, or rather the attention of that spark of soul fire, turned toward Su Jue.
The moment he "saw" Su Jue, that faint flame flickered violently!