Chapter 526: Deep into the Dragon's Lair

Saint Lord Wanchu, a peerless figure of his generation, met his end in the Myriad Dragon Nest. A purple creature ripped open his skull, his brains spilled out, and his upper body, a mix of red and white, lay sprawled on the ground.

This was no ordinary powerful individual; he was one of the masters of the Eastern Barrens in this era, far surpassing other potentates. Few in the mortal world could rival him, yet he was annihilated.

This event was nothing short of a major earthquake, its immense impact astonishing everyone and chilling them to the bone. The Myriad Dragon Nest was proving too dangerous; even Saint Lords were beginning to fall.

"Roar..." In the ancient cave, primeval creatures roared. Several, almost divine and enveloped in halos, wielded ancient sacred artifacts, pressing upon powerful figures from all sides.

In the distance, the Black Emperor recoiled, his eyes flickering. "Damn it," he muttered, "this is too brutal. They even took off the head of a peerless Saint Lord."

"Now that you know, let's get out of here!" Ye Fan grabbed its bald tail, almost lifting it upside down.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," the big black dog bared its fangs and broke free. "No one in this world values their life more than I do!"

Then, a flash of light revealed mysterious patterns around them—it was precisely a corner of the formation map left by the Void Emperor.

"We can cross the void at any time," the big black dog transmitted. However, it also became much more cautious, even a bit fearful. After all, a peerless Saint Lord had been killed, and the Eastern Barrens was bound to experience a major upheaval soon!

With a "swish," a clear light moved, and they vanished from their spot, reappearing in a nearby dragon cave that had not been affected.

"Are you really going to go in?" Ye Fan tugged at a tuft of its mane.

"Damn it, let go! This Emperor knows what he's doing!" the dog snapped. "This is a true dragon's nest; it very likely contains things beyond human imagination. If we get them, we might ascend to heaven in one step."

Ye Fan knew what kind of place this was without being told. According to the records of the Origin Heaven Book, if true dragons existed in the world, this must be their abandoned old nest.

The primeval creatures merely moved in later and slumbered here. What exactly lay within the true dragon's old nest was almost unimaginable—a legendary existence, said to be on par with immortals.

"There are still powerful awakened creatures that haven't come out yet!" the monkey reminded.

"I know," the big black dog said, "Let's hide in this dragon cave for now and let them fight to the death."

At this moment, they were approaching the central area of the Myriad Dragon Nest, quietly waiting for an opportunity in a nearby cave.

A long roar echoed, and ocean-like power surged. The human potentate Nangong Zheng, with astonishing courage and strength, single-handedly killed five primeval creatures.

Afterward, he engaged in a fierce battle with a purple ancient creature that was almost human-like, turning the area into a land of destruction. Other creatures dared not approach.

It was precisely the creature that had killed Saint Lord Wanchu. Its entire body shimmered with purple light, its scales were dense and terrifying, and a purple-gold pagoda hovered above its head, striking towards Nangong Zheng like a mountain.

"Boom!" The two collided fiercely, destroying everything in their path. Although the Myriad Dragon Nest was permeated with innate patterns and eternally indestructible, the ancient caves near them still collapsed.

A Half-step Potentate and several primeval creatures were swept in, instantly turned into a bloody pulp, and vanished in an instant.

"Clang!" A small tree flew out from Nangong Zheng's glabella, radiating myriad beams of light. It shot out strands of chaotic sword qi, proving utterly invincible!

"Crack!" The primeval creature's purple-gold pagoda cracked, failing to block the small tree, which rapidly approached.

"Pfft!" Nangong Zheng opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of innate vital energy. The small tree became even more dazzling, weighing as much as billions of juns, pressing down and suppressing the halo-enveloped primeval creature beneath it.

"Roar..." The primeval creature, shimmering with purple light, resisted with all its might, but still couldn't withstand the small tree's suppression. Its entire body cracked, and blood gushed out.

Everyone was astonished. Nangong Zheng, renowned throughout the southern Eastern Barrens as invincible and rarely meeting his match, truly lived up to his reputation.

"Pfft!" He shook it forcefully, and the small tree, over a foot tall, vibrated violently, releasing myriad sword beams. The nearly human-like primeval creature shattered with a *pfft*.

Bone fragments and shredded flesh splattered everywhere. The scene was bloody yet utterly shocking: the ancient creature that had killed Saint Lord Wanchu was thus slain by the human potentate.

"Nangong Zheng truly lives up to his name; he actually killed such a powerful ancient creature!"

"Even Saint Lord Wanchu was no match for that purple creature."

People could only exclaim in their hearts, having no time to pay further attention as they were all desperately trying to break through.

"There's really a tough one here; this person is actually so strong!" the big black dog exclaimed, surprised.

"He has seen the Brutal One's corpse and was able to emerge alive from the Bronze Immortal Palace, so he's certainly not an ordinary person," Ye Fan said, without adding further comment.

Ye Fan, the Black Emperor, and the Battle Saint Ape hid inside the dragon cave, almost having entered the vast ancient chambers of the Myriad Dragon Nest.

They had been waiting for more awakened primeval creatures to emerge, most likely extremely powerful beings.

"Be ready. If they're human-shaped, we flee immediately," Ye Fan warned.

"Roar..." Not far away, the battlefield became even more gruesome.

That terrifying ancient creature, very close to human form, with a crocodile tail and covered in golden scales, was fighting the Ji family's Saint Lord in a white-hot battle.

Its methods were cruel and terrifying. In the process, it killed nine Supreme Elders of the Holy Land, which even the Ji family's Saint Lord could not prevent.

"Whoosh!" This golden primeval creature gained the upper hand, suddenly employing a secret technique at a crucial moment. It traveled through nothingness and appeared right before the Saint Lord of Zi Fu.

It risked taking a hit from the Ji family Saint Lord's ancient mirror on its back, spat out a wisp of golden blood, and coordinated with another primeval creature to jointly attack the Zi Fu Saint Lord.

The Great Dao evolved into a dense array of patterns, pressing down and making the void where the Zi Fu Saint Lord stood eternal, briefly immobilizing him.

The golden creature let out a roar, rushed past, emitted peerless killing intent, and an endless aura of terror permeated the air.

"Pfft!" At the crucial moment, the Zi Fu Saint Lord broke free, but was still a step too late. His left arm was violently torn off, and blood gushed like a fountain.

The second Saint Lord almost perished!

This was just a microcosm of the battles; elsewhere, life-and-death struggles were raging. The Queen Mother of the West, the Southern Ridge War King, and the Western Desert Divine Monk were all fighting desperately.

Their opponents were all nearly human-shaped ancient creatures, each incredibly powerful. They had all unleashed their true power, with ancient pagodas, halberds of the War God, and sarira radiating myriad immortal lights in a life-and-death struggle.

Nearby, other sect master-level figures were also fighting in a bloodbath. Several powerful figures had already fallen, their bodies reduced to nothing but putrid blood.

"Boom!" Peerless killing intent permeated the air as three primeval creatures emerged from the Myriad Dragon Nest together, slightly stronger than the nearly human-shaped ancient creatures seen earlier.

Everyone's heart sank. With three more such powerful creatures appearing at once, this shift in power likely meant their fortunes would turn for the worse.

"Caw!" At the crucial moment, Daoist Crow stepped forward, confronting one of them. This old demon was peerlessly powerful, having lived for over three thousand years, and his combat strength was incomparable.

"Boom!" An even more terrifying battle began, with both sides clashing fiercely. Flesh and bone fragments splattered in the ancient cave, creating a horrifying scene of a living hell.

"Let's go, our chance has come!" the big black dog whispered.

A corner of the formation pattern left by the Void Emperor flowed with clear light, and with a flash, it transported them into the interior of the Myriad Dragon Nest.

"You damned dog, we're actually inside!" Ye Fan knew it was too late to say anything else, so he could only move forward.

"How can one obtain immortal treasures without entering the dragon's lair?" The big black dog's bell-like eyes gleamed with divine light.

"How come there wasn't a deviation of millions of miles this time...?" Ye Fan wondered.

"You have too little faith in this Emperor!" the big black dog retorted indignantly. "This is only a few miles; how could there be a deviation?!"

"Be careful. If the Archaic Kings awaken, none of us will leave here alive!" the monkey warned.

Now, Ye Fan had learned that members of the Archaic Royal Family could become Emperors after reaching the extreme realm, but even during the Archaic era, throughout countless ages, there were only a few such beings.

But even so, once an Archaic Royal Family member matured, they would at least be comparable to the Ancient Sages of the human race, and some could even be as powerful as a Great Accomplished Holy Body!

"This Emperor has isolated all aura with the Void Emperor's formation patterns, so don't worry," the big black dog said, though it, too, had become nervous.

Inside the Myriad Dragon Nest, life essence surged like a tide, and dragon qi swelled like a great river. In its deepest part, it seemed as if a dragon comparable to an immortal truly slumbered.

"Such a huge piece of Origin Stone!" Ye Fan exclaimed in astonishment.

Not far away, a large Origin Stone block, four or five cubic meters in size, shimmered with crimson light like burning flames. At its very core, there were many divine Origin Stones, within which a creature similar to a human was sealed.

"This isn't even the king of their race," the monkey concluded. "That race once produced an Archaic Emperor, incomparably powerful!"

The Myriad Dragon Nest was full of potholes and many ancient caves, brimming with the vicissitudes of time. Dragon qi surged like rivers and seas, and auspicious light flowed.

"A huge divine Origin Stone block!" The big black dog's black fur stood on end.

Two miles away, in a dragon-shaped ancient cave, there was a three-meter-long divine Origin Stone block whose light was dazzling. Inside, a purple-haired middle-aged man was sleeping, looking exactly like a human.

He had no scales or beast tail; he was incredibly majestic, making one feel an urge to worship him, sealed within the divine Origin Stone, peacefully slumbering there.

This was an adult Archaic Royal Family member, comparable to an Ancient Sage or even more terrifying, making even the monkey incredibly nervous.

The big black dog's fur bristled. Even though they were still two miles away, it dared not take another step forward. Instead, it gave the place a wide berth, avoiding it entirely.

"I want immortal treasures, not divine Origin Stones," it comforted itself, but kept looking back longingly at the huge divine Origin Stone block.

Soon after, they saw another huge divine Origin Stone block, with a very serene woman sealed inside. She looked just like a human maiden, one couldn't tell she was a primeval creature at all.

However, upon careful sensing, one could discover an ocean-like terrifying power dormant within the maiden's body. If unleashed, it could destroy heaven and earth!

"Damn it, another king! The number must be similar to those in Purple Mountain!" the big black dog grumbled.

They went straight forward, their target clear: the vermilion ancient coffin. The immortal medicine grew there, surrounded by tens of thousands of strands of dragon qi.

The ancient coffin floated, its age unknown, buried by several cubic meters of divine Origin Stone blocks. Yet, the coffin's ancient aura could not be concealed, engraved as it was with the marks of time.

"I can't stand it..." The big black dog was the first to be overwhelmed. The vermilion ancient coffin was too terrifying; even with a corner of the Void Emperor's formation patterns protecting them, the peerless killing intent still seeped through.

Whether it was the Black Emperor, Ye Fan, or the monkey, their physical bodies were rare in the world, yet at this moment, they showed signs of cracking.

The immortal medicine was rooted in the pile of divine Origin Stones beside the coffin. Cast like gold and no more than a foot tall, it was entwined with tens of thousands of miniature dragons, dazzling and eye-catching.

What exactly is inside the ancient coffin?