299: Chapter 746 The Dwarf Guests

"Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!"

Rumble—!

The dull and violent cracking sounds of earth and stone exploded continuously among the deep subterranean mountains.

Gravel rolled down in rustles, dust flew all over the sky, the thick and dark rock layers shook violently, and the entire subterranean valley was on the verge of collapse amid continuous tremors, as if the next second it would completely collapse and bury all traces.

Two figures darting at high speed, taking advantage of the chaotic cover of the collapsing rock layers, fled wildly without looking back toward the deeper and darker dense forest fissures underground.

Shi Jin led the way and fled ahead. His plain long robe, which had long been stained dusty by gravel and dirt, was torn and damaged in many places, with scorched and curled corners, covered with scratches and bloodstains of varying depths.

The blue veins on his temples were taut, fine cold sweat thoroughly soaked the hair at his temples and continuously slid down his resolute and tense jaw. His breathing was heavy and hurried, his chest heaved violently, and every step of his frantic run carried extreme exhaustion and thinly veiled irritability and grievance.

His broad and sturdy back steadily carried a tiny figure that looked exceptionally tender and well-behaved.

It was Yuan Doudou.

Compared to Shi Jin's disheveled panic and desperate flight, Yuan Doudou, who was steadily carried on his back, was ridiculously leisurely.

The little fellow wore an exquisite and magnificent snow-white brocade robe, spotless and warm like jade, which was particularly glaring amidst the flying dust and rubble all over the sky.

His hands lazily wrapped around Shi Jin's neck, his small head lightly leaned against Shi Jin's warm back, and he blinked a pair of clear and translucent dragon pupils. His gaze was lazy and relaxed, without the slightest panic, dread, or terror of fleeing.

Not to mention worrying about the dangers ahead and the impending pursuers, he was even so idle that he felt somewhat bored. His small head swayed gently from side to side, curiously examining the dim, deep, and rubble-interspersed subterranean scenery around him. His posture was relaxed and steady, as if he were not being hunted down by alien races and fleeing for his life, but rather lying on an elder's back, leisurely touring mountains and rivers or strolling through a Secret Realm, cozy and carefree.

Such an extreme contrast, falling into the eyes of Shi Jin who was full of grievances and on the verge of collapse at this moment, only made the depressed anger in the depths of his heart surge upwards. Being powerless to vent or release it, he could only forcefully hold it inside his heart; the more he thought about it, the more unlucky he felt, and the more aggrieved he became.

His footsteps did not stop. He stepped on the loosened and rolling gravel to dodge swiftly, avoiding falling boulders and fractured rock layers. While running desperately for his life, he lowered his voice, filled with speechlessness and deep grievances, and could not help muttering and complaining in a low voice.

"I just came to take a look, and forcefully turned myself into a cross-realm flight and alien chase. I really yield, completely yield."

"Other people cultivate and upgrade, climbing to the Peak step by step; I cultivate and upgrade, fleeing across realms. This luck is simply the most extreme unluckiness encountered in ten thousand years."

He ran wildly all the way and muttered all the way, every single word coming from the speechlessness and grievances in his heart.

Yuan Doudou on his back listened to his endless complaints and banter. His small eyeballs rolled gently, and instead of having any tension or fear, he blinked his translucent eyes, his tone soft, glutinous, innocent, and nonchalant, and slowly spoke to comfort him. His crisp voice exuded extreme relaxation: "Uncle Shi Jin, you don't need to panic."

"If they chase, let them chase; just run, how big of a deal is it."

The little fellow's tone was light and airy, completely not taking the closely pursuing Dwarf Clan pursuers behind him or the life-and-death perilous escape to heart.

Right at this moment, at Shi Jin's chest position, a cyan Little Pebble that was lustrous and transparent throughout, about the size of a thumb, shook very slightly.

The Little Pebble's spiritual light flickered slightly, revealing a wisp of tender and lively consciousness. As if it had just woken up, it gently shook its stone body, making a tiny, small child's voice, and followed up on Yuan Doudou's words, chiming in solemnly.

"That's right, that's right!"

The Little Pebble's voice was crisp and tender, earnestly comforting Shi Jin who was collapsing and complaining all the way: "Daddy, you don't have to worry! Doudou's daddy is super powerful and has long prepared a whole bunch of super powerful life-saving treasures and protective secret treasures for Doudou!"

"What protective barriers, concealment divine patterns, death-substitute jade pendants, Void Realm escape talismans, and life-locking spiritual beads—a whole bunch of them, all top-tier treasures! Whether it's spatial tearing, alien chases, Cultivation Technique bombardments, or Formation imprisonment, they can all block and protect against them!"

"We will definitely not get into trouble! There's no need to be afraid of these short bad guys at all! Just run with peace of mind!"

Listening to this dual comfort from one big and one small, one soft and one tender, Shi Jin stumbled under his feet and almost directly stepped into empty air and fell into the pile of rubble.

He forcefully steadied his figure, continued to lower his head and run wildly, his mouth corners twitching fiercely, pulling out a bitter smile that was uglier than crying on his face, full of helplessness and collapse.

"I know that big shot Yuan Chen has a thick family background and many treasures, and I also know the two of you have a bunch of life-saving methods and countless trump cards."

Shi Jin lowered his voice, feeling both amused and exasperated, and complained in a low voice with extreme grievance: "But the problem is, I don't!"

"I am just an honest, hardworking, and steadily cultivating ordinary Cultivator! I don't have Supreme treasures of the heavens, no death-substitute secret treasures, no Void Realm escape arts, and no layers of trump cards! If I had even half of your capital for saving my life, I wouldn't have run so disheveled and aggrieved today!"

At this moment, the bitterness in Shi Jin's heart was simply like the roaring river waters, endless, with nowhere to confide and no one to empathize.

He was truly too wronged, wronged to the extreme and aggrieved to the extreme.

Previously, the outer space fissures of the Canglan Realm opened widely, and the Prodigys of various races successively came out of seclusion.

Shi Jin was naturally no exception.

At that time, he was only a step away from the Mahayana Stage Peak, with sufficient foundation and a solid Dao Heart, lacking only the last bit of Opportunity and Spiritual Qi accumulation to achieve Perfection in Breakthrough, and ascend to the Immortal Realm.

And then just happen to play through this 'dungeon'.

But who could have thought that worldly affairs are unpredictable and Heaven does not follow people's wishes; the more one seeks stability and caution, the more unlucky one becomes and the more one flips over.

After he smoothly stepped into this Golden Core fissure, the entire Secret Realm was empty, quiet, vast and spacious, with Spiritual Qi lingering. Looking around, the mountains were tranquil and the vegetation was peaceful, "truly not even a Yao Beast, a fierce spirit, or a trace of an enemy".

Such a large natural Secret Realm was ridiculously quiet and bizarrely Elder Ping He.

Afterward, he ran into Yuan Doudou, who was aimlessly wandering around, playful, and active.

Yuan Doudou at that time had also come to this area for trials.

Shi Jin and Yuan Doudou had never met before, did not know each other, and had no prior intersection.

The two looked at each other from afar across a spiritual spring, meeting for the first time and being strangers to each other.

But at the instant their gazes intersected, Shi Jin keenly captured that extremely obscure, extremely domineering, and extremely noble Dragon Might on the other party.

Coupled with the Top-tier Divine Beast innate aura lingering around Yuan Doudou, and the naturally endowed Supreme Bloodline foundation.

He instantly understood in his heart that with such an ultimate, pure, and unique top-tier Dragon Clan Bloodline, and such a uniquely endowed Divine Beast innate foundation, looking across the entire Canglan Realm, the Juniors who could possess such a top-tier Dragon Clan Bloodline and pure Divine Beast bone structure were few and far between.

Almost without much thought or repeated verification, a name instantly surfaced in his mind—Yuan Chen.

Only that big shot Yuan Chen, who spanned the heavens, possessed monstrous foundations, and had connections spreading across all realms, could give birth to such a Dragon Clan offspring with pure Bloodline and peerless talent.

Shi Jin instantly became certain in his heart that the seemingly tender, well-behaved, lively, and nimble little boy before him was definitely Yuan Chen's son!

After confirming this point, Shi Jin did not have the slightest hesitation or the slightest alienation.

Solely because Yuan Chen had a solid and substantial "great favor" toward him.

Bestowing Opportunity and guiding the path ahead gave him today's cultivation foundation and steady path of cultivation.

A favor of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring; such a life-saving grace of recreation was even more deeply engraved in his heart, and he dared not forget it.

Now encountering his benefactor's offspring by chance, even though they had never met and did not know each other, in terms of emotion, reason, and righteousness, it was impossible for him to turn a blind eye, ignore them, or brush past them.

Therefore, Shi Jin took the initiative to step forward, spoke gently, smiled and started a conversation, took the initiative to get acquainted with and look after the Junior, intending to do his best to take care of his benefactor's child.

But he never expected that this most simple, pure, and natural greeting would directly pitch him into miserable depths.

The two had just gotten acquainted, chatted briefly for a moment, and became slightly familiar with each other, when not long after, they saw the Void Realm fissure.

Within the fissure, black mist surged and Chaos flowed, making it impossible to see the opposite world's pattern, appearance, and racial beings. It was unknown, mysterious, perilous, and unpredictable.

Cross-realm fissures have always been the most perilous, unknown, and uncontrollable existences in the heavens.

No one knew whether the opposite side of the fissure was a Supreme blessed land or a desperate dead zone, an Elder Ping He small realm or a slaughter purgatory, a deserted wasteland or an alien fierce nest.

At the very first moment of seeing the fissure, Shi Jin subconsciously wanted to pull Yuan Doudou away from the fissure and avoid the unknown danger.

But he did not know that Yuan Doudou's personality was inherently "playful and lively, extremely curious, afraid of neither heaven nor earth, and not cowardly in the face of danger at all".

Looking at the spatial fissure high in the dome that was pitch-black, profound, and continuously circulating Qi of Chaos, Yuan Doudou not only did not have the slightest fear or terror, but instead his eyes lit up instantly, his dragon pupils filled with intense curiosity and excitement.

His small body trembled slightly, his Spiritual Qi flowed briskly throughout his body, eager to try and itching with impatience, staring straight at that cross-realm fissure, his face full of novelty and his eyes full of yearning.

"Wow! What a pretty spatial opening!"

Yuan Doudou could not help uttering an exclamation, his soft, glutinous voice full of jubilation: "Pitch-black and so fun! I've never seen this kind of Secret Realm opening before, I want to go in and take a look!"

Before his voice fell, Spiritual Qi moved slightly beneath his feet, and his figure had already leaped up lightly, about to rush toward that perilous and unpredictable cross-realm fissure.

Seeing this, Shi Jin's scalp instantly went numb, his heart stopped abruptly, and he was so scared that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

"Don't! Doudou, don't move!"

He almost instantly burst forth with all his cultivation, his figure flashed out in an instant, and he reached out to stop the eager little fellow. His expression was extremely solemn, his tone extremely anxious, and he tried his best to dissuade him: "This is a cross-realm spatial fissure! It is incomparably perilous and unpredictably unknown!"

"The opposite side is a completely unfamiliar unknown world, and we know nothing at all! We don't know if there are powerful enemies over there, fierce fiends, absolute kill Restrictions, or world-destroying crises!"

"It's too dangerous, you absolutely cannot go in and mess around!"

Shi Jin spoke extremely quickly with a solemn tone, earnestly and desperately trying to persuade him, explaining the dangers, pros and cons, and life-and-death crises one by one, only wanting to stop this bold and playful little Dragon cub to prevent him from mistakenly entering a perilous situation and perishing in the unknown.

Yet Yuan Doudou wouldn't listen at all and wasn't afraid in the slightest.

The little fellow shook his head, breaking free from Shi Jin's obstruction. His little face was filled with a carefree and innocent smile as he waved his hands, shook his head, and said in a relaxed, casual tone, "It's fine, it's fine! Uncle Shi Jin, you're too timid!"

"It's just a small tear, what danger could there be? My daddy left me so, so many life-saving treasures, I definitely won't die!"

"I'll just go in to take a look, wander around, and play for a bit, then come right back out. Nothing will happen! Rest assured, rest assured!"

Ever since he was young, he possessed a top-tier Dragon Clan Bloodline and countless Supreme treasures of the heavens. Protected in every possible way by Yuan Chen and backed up at every turn, he had never experienced a truly perilous and desperate situation, having no inkling of what danger, death, or fear meant.

In his world, everything could be played with, everywhere could be strolled through, and all perilous realms had a safety net, so there was fundamentally nothing worth fearing.

Watching his innocent, fearless expression completely oblivious to the danger, Shi Jin was sweating profusely and burning with anxiety, desperately continuing to dissuade him:

"An unknown world, unknown rules, unknown powerhouses—once you cross realms and fall into the encirclement of alien races or a desperate death trap, even if you have trump card treasures, you might not have time to activate them! Be good, stop messing around, let's obediently go back and cultivate!"

Alas, once the playful little Dragon cub got caught up in his playfulness, ten oxen couldn't pull him back.

Yuan Doudou shook his little head, giggling and smiling happily. He couldn't take in a single word of persuasion, his heart and eyes completely filled with the novel and fun unknown world.

"Not scared, not scared, really not scared!"

He smiled softly and cutely, his tone firm and brisk, "My luck is super good, nothing will definitely happen! I'll just play for a little bit!"

As his voice trailed off, before Shi Jin could stop and persuade him again, the little fellow's figure suddenly flashed, transforming into a snowy-white stream of light. Carrying a heart full of curiosity and a face full of elation, he dove headfirst into the pitch-black and profound cross-realm spatial rift!

Swish—!

The stream of light vanished in a flash, completely sinking into the Chaos black fog and disappearing deep within the rift.

In place, only Shi Jin was left frozen in mid-air, his body stiffened, pupils sharply contracting, and whole body rigid. His brain went blank in an instant, leaving him utterly sluggish and dazedly absent-minded.

The wind stopped, sounds died down, and space stagnated.

The entire Secret Realm instantly turned deathly silent, leaving only him standing there alone, his heart instantly filled to the brim with boundless panic, anxiety, and despair.

It was over.

Completely over.

Lord Yuan Chen's only son, the apple of his eye, the precious pearl in his palm, had dove headfirst into the unknown and perilous cross-realm rift right before his eyes, disappearing without a trace.

If Yuan Doudou met with misfortune in the rift, fell into a desperate situation, suffered even the slightest injury, or encountered the slightest accident, he, Shi Jin, would not be able to shirk his blame even if he died ten thousand deaths!

The child of his lifesaver, due to his poor protection and failure to stop him in time, had mistakenly entered an unknown perilous realm and a cross-realm desperate situation.

If any mishap truly occurred, he would never have the face to face Yuan Chen for the rest of his life, owing an eternal debt that he could never repay!

In an instant, countless thoughts flooded into Shi Jin's mind frantically.

He froze in place, his body trembling slightly, his face as pale as paper, while a fierce battle of heaven and man raged in his heart.

Go back?

If he left alone and returned to the Canglan Domain, leaving Yuan Doudou stranded alone in an unknown alien world and trapped in danger, how would he explain to Yuan Chen when the truth came to light one day? How could he live up to the past kindness?

Not go back?

The cross-realm rift was unpredictably perilous and filled with unknowns. Stepping into it meant completely leaving his native world and breaking into a strange alien realm, where life and death were unpredictable, the path ahead was unknown, and fortune and misfortune were uncertain.

Yet even if the path ahead was a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, an abyss of ten thousand zhang, or a guaranteed death trap, he had no other choice and nowhere to retreat!

Clenching his teeth, closing his eyes, and hardening his heart!

A trace of resolution and steadfastness flashed in the depths of Shi Jin's eyes, leaving not a shred of hesitation or wavering.

At worst, it was just death!

Even if he had to exhaust his own cultivation and gamble his entire life today, he must bring his benefactor's child back safely!

The next instant, his figure moved. Without the slightest hesitation and with resolute determination, he followed closely behind, leaping forward and stepping into that pitch-black, profound, and chaotically unpredictable cross-realm spatial rift as well!

Space was torn apart, air currents were violent, Chaos surged, and the world spun.

Endless spatial turbulence frantically tore at his Physical Body and Divine Soul, while violent alien rules continuously battered his body and Meridians, a heaven-overturning dizziness sweeping through his entire body.

A mere few breaths of spatial travel felt as though it had spanned myriad ages, long and agonizing.

When his vision finally cleared up again and their figures landed and stood firm, the two had completely left the Canglan Realm, descending into an entirely strange and new world—within the territory of the Dwarf Clan in the Wanling Cultivation World.

The moment they landed, what hit them head-on was a completely different Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and vastly unfamiliar heaven and earth rules. The mountains and rivers, vegetation and living beings, and the heaven and earth charms were entirely different from the Canglan Realm and completely foreign.

Here, continuous mountain ranges, crisscrossing subterranean hollows, and thick, hard rock layers were everywhere, filled with black stones, steel rocks, and interlacing mineral veins. The terrain was rugged, heavy, dark, and hard, everywhere exuding a rigid and unpolished alien style.

Floating in the air was dense metallic Spiritual Qi and heavy earth-stone Dao charms, vastly different from the refined Spiritual Qi of the Canglan Realm, making it extremely recognizable.

The instant they landed, Shi Jin tensed his mind for the first time, guarding against all directions, while instinctively turning his head to look at Yuan Doudou by his side.

The little fellow was safe and sound without a single hair harmed, still wearing a look of novel excitement, curiously looking around with glittering eyes. There wasn't a trace of discomfort or fear; instead, he was full of joy and high spirits.

Seeing that the little fellow was safe and sound, the heart that had leaped to Shi Jin's throat dropped back slightly, though he still dared not relax his vigilance, pulling his whole-body defense to the maximum.

Yet he never expected that, "The moment they crossed realms, landed, and set foot on this strange land, their traces were already exposed, accurately locked onto by the Dwarf Clan's mountain-patrol guard team!"

The Dwarf Clan had inhabited subterranean mountain ranges and mineral caves for generations, naturally adept at perceiving earth pulses, insightfully tracking rock layer movements, and locking onto strange auras.

This subterranean territory was the core domain occupied and sealed in protection by the Dwarf Clan for generations. Every inch of land was covered with sensory Formation patterns, detection Restrictions, and earth imprints set up by the clan.

For ordinary native living beings and fellow clansmen, their auras were long familiar to the Formation patterns and recorded on the roster, so traveling back and forth wouldn't trigger any alerts.

Yet flowing on the bodies of Shi Jin and Yuan Doudou were the heaven and earth charms, cultivation rules, and Bloodline auras of the Canglan Realm, which were vastly different and incompatible with the local setup of the Wanling Domain and the clan aura of the Dwarf Clan.

Such an unfamiliar, vast, noble, and distinct extraterritorial aura instantly impacted and triggered all the detection Formation patterns and alert Restrictions of the entire subterranean mountain range the moment it landed.

Hum—!

Countless hidden Formation patterns in the subterranean mountain range instantly lit up with blinding spiritual light, and layers upon layers of detection light screens spread across the air. The earth trembled slightly, patterns flickered, and the silent alarm swept across the entire territory.

The Dwarf Clan's mountain-patrol guard team and subterranean scouts stationed here captured these two utterly unfamiliar and unknown auras at the very first moment.

"Unfamiliar aura detected! Extraterritorial invaders!"

"Report immediately! Seal the territory! Full pursuit!"

Urgent, sharp, rugged, and heavy shouts from the Dwarf Clan instantly exploded and echoed from the rock layers, caves, dense forests, and rifts in all directions.

Countless Dwarf Clan warriors with short, robust figures, knotted muscles, wearing heavy dark iron battle armor, and holding giant mountain-splitting battle axes and heavy war hammers rushed out like a tidal wave from the subterranean passages and cave fortresses in all directions.

Densely packed and countless Dwarf Clan warriors closed in layer by layer, pressing forward step by step, instantly sealing off all retreats, all exits, and all escape rifts of the entire valley.

The clanging friction of iron armor, the heavy footsteps treading on the ground, the piercing friction of sharp weapons cleaving through the air, and the uniform shouts of the army overlapped, covering the sky and earth, completely shrouding all directions.

Pairs of fierce, sharp eyes filled with vigilance and hostility locked tightly onto the two unfamiliar figures that had abruptly appeared in the center of the valley.

The Dwarf Clan was naturally bellicose, extremely xenophobic, and guarded their domain with their lives, inherently holding extremely strong vigilance and hostility toward all unfamiliar extraterritorial beings.

Coupled with the frequent unusual movements on the borders of the Wanling Domain recently and the undercurrents of alien races, the alert levels of all clans were maximized. Once extraterritorial invaders were discovered, without the need for questioning or verification, they would directly be surrounded by all members, strongly suppressed, to the death without end.

"Seal all mountain passes! Do not allow the invaders to step half a step out of this place!"

"Those who dare to trespass into my Dwarf Clan's territory shall be executed without mercy!"

"Form the Earth Suppression Array! Surround and capture! Catch alive to interrogate their origins, and execute stubborn resisters on the spot!"

A series of sharp and murderous military orders resounded through the valley, reeking of Killing Intent and full of majestic dominance.

Countless Dwarf Clan warriors rapidly formed arrays, linked seals, and activated Formation patterns. The heavy earth-stone spiritual power and fierce metallic Evil Qi layered on top of each other, condensing into a massive and heavy suppression array that tightly shrouded the entire valley.

Earth spiritual power surged, rock layers were imprisoned, and space was locked down, completely sealing off all escape routes.

In just a few breaths after landing, before Shi Jin could even fully figure out the surrounding environment, he directly fell into a desperate situation of "full army encirclement, dead-end siege, and alien clan pursuit".

Ahead was an unknown strange alien world, and behind was a heavy troop encirclement and pursuit. There was no path to heaven, no door into earth, and it was a dilemma of advance or retreat.

Shi Jin's expression changed drastically.

"My fu—"

Fortunately, Shi Jin and the others appeared too abruptly, so even the Dwarf Clan did not react in time.

Before a large number of Dwarves could close in to surround them.

Shi Jin directly transformed into a Dragon, relying on his superb combat power at the Mahayana Late Stage to forcefully smash the Formation to pieces, and charged out with Yuan Doudou.

Then the endless life of fleeing began.

Back when he was hanging around in Shuibo, he had never been in such a pathetic state.