Chapter 1442: Haunted Valley

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Long Kun and the two others immediately understood their leader's intention. They then quickened their pace, following him to the Netherworld Valley, Karl's residence.

The so-called Netherworld Valley, situated at the border of the Unrivalled Empire, is an ancient and mysterious jungle valley inhabited by various ancient exotic beasts and spiritual entities.

As a Main God-level powerhouse, Karl had a particular fondness for raising terrifying ancient evil beasts. He also used this method to bolster the Unrivalled Empire's national strength.

During previous empire-level wars, Main God Karl would integrate the ancient evil arts he had conceived into the legions' battles, delivering unimaginable destructive blows to the armies of neighboring empires.

The empire gradually ascended to the third position among the four empires. Originally, the Unrivalled Empire was the youngest and weakest. Yet now, it had clearly risen to third place with unimaginable speed.

Karl was largely responsible for this achievement. When Xu Yang and his three companions arrived at the valley, the incredibly dense aura of ancient evil beasts quickly captured their attention.

"Heh, it's these insignificant little brutes again. I'm genuinely too lazy to deal with them. Leader, what's your suggestion? How should we handle these creatures?"

Xu Yang subtly smiled. "It's simple. Release Old Dragon. Let him breathe some fresh air as well. It's been a while since we last saw the old fellow."

Upon hearing Xu Yang, the other three team members also looked excited. Then, Xu Yang gently touched his brow, and the mighty dragon materialized once more.

"Master, you finally thought to summon Old Dragon. I've been sleeping a bit long lately. It feels like millennia have passed; my body is almost numb."

Xu Yang chuckled, "Don't worry, there's plenty of food here for you to feast on."

As Xu Yang spoke, he gently waved his hand, and the mighty dragon let out an earth-shattering roar. In that instant, the dragon soared into the clouds, looking down at the evil beasts in the valley below with a haughty demeanor.

"Little creatures of the valley, if you wish not to become this dragon's meal, then obediently emerge, prostrate yourselves before me, and worship this dragon. Otherwise, do not blame me for devouring every single one of these little wretches in the valley to fill my belly."

As expected, with a thunderous roar from the dragon, not only the entire valley, but even Main God Karl himself was profoundly startled.

From the far end of the valley, he decisively stepped into the air, his gaze icy as he fixed it upon the mighty dragon above the clouds.

"It had been far too long since a dragon appeared in this era. The Dragon Clan was utterly annihilated by the rising forces under various Supreme Gods in the war a hundred thousand years ago. To think there's still a bloodline of dragons in existence."

The news of the Dragon Clan's annihilation astonished even Xu Yang and his companions, but it enraged the dragon even more. Although he had resided on the Yingzhou Continent for hundreds of thousands of years and had long since lost any ties with the dragons of the main continent.

However, as they were, after all, of the same lineage, the dragon perceived Karl's words as a profound insult to the Dragon Clan's dignity. He could not tolerate such a situation.

"Boy, do you realize that the moment you uttered those words, it sealed your fate in my presence?" Karl's eyes instantly turned cold. A black halo swiftly condensed around his body, completely enveloping Karl's true form.

Unbeknownst to them, this black halo did not appear meaninglessly out of thin air; it was a condensation of dark elements originating from the void. What further surprised Xu Yang and his companions was that after this black halo formed, under the influence of the concentrated power, the countless massive beasts in the valley below became extremely agitated, emitting muffled, pressure-filled roars.

Countless evil creatures soared into the sky at Main God Karl's summons, swiftly forming a terrifying beast legion engulfed in dark energy. Hundreds of ancient spiritual entities converged, creating an astonishing sight. Within a ten-thousand-mile radius of the entire valley, all life became restless due to the condensation of this black halo.

"Leader, it appears that the black halo coalescing around Main God Karl is indeed far superior in strength to those of Guardian God rank. The difference between them is like heaven and earth."

Xu Yang nodded slightly.

"Indeed. This appears to be an inherent rule within the Main Continent's current cultivation system. The reason Main God-level powerhouses so significantly surpass Guardian God-level individuals is their ability to control a specific elemental power to its absolute extreme, which in turn allows such a concentrated black halo to manifest. Furthermore, the condensation of a single attribute to its extreme inherently grants immense drawing power to other life forms of the same attribute. This is precisely why he can so effortlessly summon and assemble such a vast number of beast powerhouses using the power of darkness."

Xu Yang's insightful analysis was spot on, and it dispelled the doubts in his companions' minds.

"So, Leader, what should our next step be? Should we eliminate Main God Karl directly, or approach this from a different angle?" The dragon, already in a state of berserk rage, had already made its move prematurely.

An incredibly powerful draconic aura began to furiously condense around the dragon's body. Xu Yang had been observing his companion's physical state from the very beginning.

He noticed that after the dragon succumbed to rage, under the current continental system, its true power seemed to be significantly suppressed.

This was linked to special hidden laws existing within the continental void. It appeared that the reigning Supreme God faction on the continent, after conquering the Dragon Clan, had created special laws to restrict the Dragon Clan's lineage propagation and suppress their power indefinitely, integrating these laws into the continental void.

Thus, any subsequent dragon bloodlines would be unable to cause significant upheaval. Only by breaking these shackles or completely tearing apart these hidden laws could the situation be altered. Such a thought arose in Xu Yang's mind, and he simultaneously began to worry about the dragon's practical combat ability.

As expected, a long period without participating in life-or-death duels had severely curbed the dragon's inherent strength. Now, forcing it to confront so many ancient evil beasts and a legion of dark-enhanced evil creatures in an unsuitable battlefield environment made victory nearly impossible.

Indeed, the dragon was swiftly encircled by countless evil creatures, given no chance to break free from its shackles. At this critical juncture, Xu Yang, without further hesitation, stepped into the air, directly merging with the mighty dragon. The dragon instinctively assumed the role of its leader's mount.

"Hahahaha, Leader, you're not helping because you're worried I can't defeat this bunch of wastes, are you?"