Free Web NovelChapter 243: Chapter 242: Apprehensive
In the void, where no Laws should exist, Tang Guang, Yu Ri, Jes, and the others were unable to move. They could only quietly watch the progress of the Northern Boundary’s Chosen One contest.
After [Extreme], also known as [BaKi], had appeared, they had yet to process what was happening. Their hearts were still reeling from the shock when they suddenly saw the figure unleash its power, using some special means to shatter a layer of shackles.
Visible to the naked eye, the peak of the towering Northern Boundary Mountain split open with a horizontal fissure. Crimson light spilled out from within as the entire Northern Boundary began to tremble.
A mysterious Array, originally invisible, began to hum and vibrate. The Ancient Inscriptions that covered the entire Northern Boundary burst forth from the ground. In several important heritage sites, like the lands of the West Ice Tribe, pillars of blue Spirit Charm shot skyward, piercing the dark clouds that threatened to engulf the whole of the Northern Boundary and nearly breaking through into the void!
The entire Northern Boundary trembled in response, like a dilapidated wooden cage about to be smashed to pieces by a waking lion from within.
The Northern Boundary Peak was incredibly vast. If one’s gaze were to pull back from [BaKi], past the Enlightenment Fruit Tree that stood over a hundred feet tall, and then pan out even further, the edge of the peak would still be out of sight. Only when the figures of the person and the tree had shrunk from view could the full outline of the summit be discerned.
It was this very disc-like, concave summit that had split down the middle. The crimson abyss within it widened continuously, like a slowly opening eyelid.
The Enlightenment Fruit Tree was instantly incinerated by the abyss, dissolving into invisible white smoke that drifted away. The entire Northern Boundary was now shrouded beneath dark clouds.
Witnessing this scene, some of the Chosen Ones suddenly felt their bodies begin to fall. They felt a pull like that of a black hole, and their original bodies, at the Dharma Realm, were dragged directly into the Northern Boundary!
"What’s going on? Have the rules of the Northern Boundary been broken? The Realm restrictions have been lifted too!"
As a peerless prodigy closest to the Grandmaster Realm, Tang Guang was the first to react. He felt his blood boil as the seals that bound his body were released.
Of course he had heard the legends of a True Dragon being buried in the Northern Boundary Mountain.
Not counting the year he spent at the North Sea Palace, he had lived in the East Shore Tribe, with its tens of thousands of years of history, for nearly two decades. He knew most of the ancient legends.
However, he could never have imagined just how powerful a True Dragon was. After all, the strongest expert he had ever seen in his life had only reached the Grandmaster Realm, not nearly strong enough to shatter heavens and sunder the earth.
The first time he heard of the True Dragon, he thought it was probably on the same level as the Demon Emperors of ancient times—the strongest of their kind. But as time went on, the legends had grown more and more exaggerated.
But now, it seemed the legends had been a bit conservative.
’The Northern Boundary Mountain, which props up the entire Northern Boundary, is the eye of a True Dragon?!’
As he reeled from the shock, his body was already falling with the other Chosen Ones. They were dragged down from the void by an unknown pressure, plunging through the layer of dark clouds in a flash of light, and continuing their descent amidst crackling thunder and lightning!
At that moment, they crossed into the bounds of the Northern Boundary. All Laws applied once more. They could summon their weapons, Secret Techniques, and Dharma Aspects, and they could move freely again.
Yet not a single person made a move. Like little birds clutched in a giant’s hand, they didn’t dare to breathe, falling like meteors through the dark clouds.
Their vision was plunged into darkness. Occasional flashes of stark white lightning illuminated the layers of clouds. The all-encompassing view they had in the void was gone, and they could only perceive the world through their own senses.
It was because of this that they realized just how barren the Northern Boundary was. Their Realms, which consumed immense amounts of Spirit Charm, couldn’t absorb even a trace of it from the air.
They felt like land tortoises thrown into the sea, suffocating as the air left their lungs.
Fortunately, they were all peerless prodigies from Blue Star. They had seen the world and could keep their composure. No one was screaming or crying...
"what?!"
A sharp cry suddenly erupted from Jes not far away. His eyelids were nearly peeled back by the rushing wind of their descent, and his bloodshot eyes reflected a single point of light like a red sun.
In almost the same instant, all the Chosen Ones lost control of their emotions and began to shout, including Tang Guang, who had always considered himself a genius of the Sword Dao: "Holy shit, the True Dragon’s Eye!"
Amidst the astonished cries of the Chosen Ones, a single source of light appeared in the dark, sunless world.
The fissure on the peak of Northern Boundary Mountain had been stretched to its widest, revealing the roiling, scorching magma within. With the entire Northern Boundary shrouded in dark clouds and devoid of light, this was the only source of light and heat—a dazzling, crimson red.
In the center of the flat Northern Boundary, the great mountain that propped up the heavens had opened its eye, like a supervolcano on the verge of eruption.
In that instant, everyone’s souls trembled involuntarily. Even though the "eye" of the Northern Boundary Mountain was not looking directly at them, they couldn’t help but feel an instinctual fear.
A flame cannot face a gale, and an ant cannot face a sea of fire. Such was the feeling of this moment.
An extremely ancient pressure settled silently upon their hearts.
A single thought surfaced in all their minds at once: ’With an aura this terrifying, what if the True Dragon has also been preparing for tens of thousands of years and is about to be resurrected today?’
...
「Blue Star, Northern Wilderness, North Border City.」
Three months had passed since the prodigies of the major powers entered the Northern Wilderness’s only Great Secret Realm. During this time, conflicts had frequently erupted in various places, highlighting the strife between the Demon Race and the Human Race.
Meanwhile, Ice Lotus was still staying at the Xia Country Hotel. Entrusted by Jiang Qiu before his departure, she was following a Xia Country Martial Artist to learn a basic Cultivation Technique.
She had never formally practiced Cultivation in the first half of her life. Her ability to undergo Transformation relied mainly on her special hybrid bloodline. As for reaching the so-called Spirit Communication Realm, that was primarily because she had met Jiang Qiu and formed the Ice and Snow Contract.
What Jiang Qiu wanted was for her to gain the ability to protect herself, and to at least properly digest the surging Spirit Charm within her body instead of just storing it like a battery.
So, for the past three months, she had been training with the Xia Country Martial Artist. Due to her special Bloodline Talent, she was following the Spirit Control Cultivation System.
Perhaps because this path suited her and didn’t require an extensive Casting Body foundation, she had managed to make up for her physical shortcomings in just three months. She had even stepped into the Dharma Realm, and her personal Bloodline Talent had improved tremendously.
Having just completed a full cycle of Spirit Charm circulation within her body, she parted her cherry-red lips and exhaled a puff of white air. Her eyelids slowly opened, revealing blue pupils as clear as the water of an icy lake, yet they inexplicably held a hint of worry.
’Why is my heart starting to beat faster again?’
With a soft murmur, she left her private Cultivation Chamber and walked out onto the balcony. Her brow furrowed instantly. "The sky is so dark."
The Northern Wilderness was certainly a place of ceaseless snow, but the days were always bright. Today, however, a layer of dark clouds was spreading from the north, seeming to cover a vast, rolling shadow of mountains.
She had last felt this uneasy three months ago, when North Border City was being besieged by those from the Demon Race.
Ice Lotus lightly bit her lip, her ten fingers with their pointed nails curling into fists. "Could something have happened in the Northern Wilderness Great Secret Realm? Jiang Qiu will be okay, won’t he...?"
