Chapter 180: New Beginning

Located in the northwest corner of the Yuanyang Empire's imperial palace was a standalone pavilion, a forbidden area that connected directly to the Earth-Vein Heavenly Array Seal. No one was qualified to enter it, except for Emperor Yuan Haotian and the elders from the top cultivators' residences of the empire's various Heavenly Net Halls.

At this moment, as Emperor Yuan Haotian strode in, pushing the door, the assembled top experts of the empire turned their heads, preparing to bow.

"Dispense with the formalities! Tell me, what's the situation?"

Emperor Yuan Haotian was usually calm and composed, but this time, he could not help but panic. If the underground Dragon Lair became dangerous, the very foundation of the Yuanyang Empire would be shaken. Should things escalate to an uncontrollable point, all the petty villains normally lurking in the shadows would emerge overnight, threatening the empire with collapse at any moment.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it has been confirmed that the disturbance is coming from deep within the Dragon Lair. We must take action. Although I cannot fathom who managed to break into the Dragon Lair or how, these individuals could bring unimaginable disaster to our Yuanyang Empire. They must all be eliminated!"

Yuan Haotian took a deep breath. "King Nanliang, personally lead five thousand of my Dragon Guards to Saint Soul Academy. Bring all their leadership to me; I want to question them thoroughly. As for the others, gather all experts above the Nascent Soul stage from every hall, organize teams, activate the Heavenly Array, and kill all intruders!"

"As you command!"

...

At the same moment, the confrontation between Xu Yang and the Silver Dragon had also reached a fever pitch. Both sides had exhausted their abilities and were now in a state of exhaustion.

Xu Yang's full potential was displayed in this battle. It was worth noting that the Silver Dragon's power was also terrifyingly strong; even though it was severely cut and wounded by Xu Yang and was breathing heavily, it showed no sign of wanting to retreat.

"Should we attack together? The Silver Dragon is past its peak and exhausted. If we go in together now, we should be able to help Boss!"

Long Kun was also eager to try, but he was stopped by the bearded general.

"Absolutely not! Dragons possess powerful energy conversion abilities; all kinds of elemental spiritual energy can be devoured and absorbed by them for their own use. If you rashly attack now, and it fails, you'll only make things worse."

Hearing this, Long Kun rubbed his nose, looking disgruntled, and said no more. At the same moment, Xu Yang changed his approach from direct confrontation. He formed hand seals and quickly entered a meditative, ethereal state, allowing his mental power to spread out to its maximum extent.

"Hmph, what tricks are you trying now? Boy, I have to admit you're strong. Even the Desolate Heaven Emperor of your era might not have had your fortune and talent. But to dare to contend with a Dragon, you are destined for a dead end."

Xu Yang sneered, "Then come and kill me!"

Roar! The Silver Dragon seemed successfully provoked. In a furious rampage, it suddenly swung its tail, and its two front claws vigorously lashed out. After each movement, an unparalleled powerful pressure followed.

However, at this moment, Xu Yang seemed to have entered an extremely unique selfless state. Even his physical body flickered erratically, as if he could, to a certain extent, merge with the void, making him unfathomable and mysterious!

"Incredible... This is a form close to the Dao, comparable to the Soul Transformation realm. This young man truly has no predecessor!"

The Guardian Dragon couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, seemingly speaking its astonishment to the Heavenly Array above its head.

"Hahaha! It seems it's time to help you inherit the supreme divine artifact of my Ancient Desolation lineage! Desolate Heaven Limitless, awaken!"

Roar!! The Guardian Dragon let out a roar towards the sky, and both parts of the Desolate Heaven Limitless simultaneously flashed with dazzling golden light.

It turned out that before this, the two parts of the divine artifact had not truly awakened. Now, after being stained with Xu Yang's blood and under the activation of the Guardian Dragon's dragon soul power, they erupted with unimaginable energy fluctuations, emitting the true aura unique to a top-tier divine artifact.

"No, this is!"

For the first time, the Silver Dragon showed a hint of panic, because it truly felt a life-threatening power emanating from the divine artifact!

In an instant, the left and right parts of the divine artifact seemed to perfectly integrate with Xu Yang's bloodline. As a world-shaking golden light spread out, the two parts of the artifact achieved a true perfect fusion with Xu Yang.

This time, not only could he use the external power of the artifact itself, but he could also change its external form, using it as two dragon bones. At the same time, the outer edges of the artifact's left and right dual rings, after spiritual energy was infused, would gradually manifest two faint, ephemeral dragon soul auras.

"Now, you are the true master of this divine artifact. With the supreme True Dragon power of my Ancient Desolation lineage, slay this evil dragon!"

Boom!

In that instant, Xu Yang's aura perfectly merged with the Guardian Dragon's. A gigantic dragon-slaying sword light appeared in the void. That was an unparalleled dragon-slaying blade, temporarily manifested by Xu Yang through his peak sword intent, combined with the True Dragon power inheritance he had received.

"Oh my god, it's terrifying! The power of this sword could at least obliterate a Soul Transformation realm expert. This is definitely Master's strongest strike right now!"

Boom!

The sword light slashed down from the sky, accompanied by an incredibly powerful dragon soul sound. Wherever its pressure passed, a wave of faint golden aura rippled, as if every corner of this inner space was enveloped by Xu Yang's aura. No matter how powerful the opponent, ultimately, there was nowhere to hide, no escape from death.

"Perish, evil dragon!"

Boom...

The sword light heavily struck the Silver Evil Dragon's neck, and a dragon source, shimmering with silver light, flew towards Xu Yang.

This dragon source was incredibly hot. When Xu Yang held it in his palm, its scorching temperature startled him. Fortunately, with the Guardian Dragon's help, the Desolate Heaven Limitless artifact rapidly transformed and reassembled into a cylindrical golden container, perfectly sealing the dragon source within.

"Hahaha, I can't believe you youngsters have such an opportunity! A dragon source is even rarer than true dragon blood. It can strengthen your bloodline and bring many unexpected benefits. However, this item cannot be used immediately; it must cool down completely before it can be processed."

With a wave of his hand, the dragon source, along with the Desolate Heaven Limitless artifact, disappeared into Xu Yang's body. He then flew to the top of the Silver Dragon's head with a commanding presence, looking down coldly at his opponent.

"Listen! The destiny of humanity will never be handed over to any other race to control. The achievements that our predecessors could not accomplish, I, Xu Yang, will complete! You are the first evil dragon I have slain!"

The Tai Chi Diagram slowly condensed. Its powerful Dao force fluctuations quickly crushed the Silver Dragon's soul consciousness, causing it to completely dissipate between heaven and earth.

Boom...

A strong tremor emanated from above.

"This is bad. It seems those guys from the Yuanyang Empire have discovered the activity here and are about to take action. What should we do?!"