Chapter 378 - 280: Mountain and River World, Black Dragon Venerable (Part 2)

This world was immense. At some point, many Divine Countries began establishing Teleportation Arrays here and stationing Transmission Envoys to facilitate Divine Kingdom Teleportation.

Over time, more and more teleportation points appeared in the Mountain and River World, and it became a peculiar, neutral world.

At that moment, atop a certain cliff, a reclining statue of a golden lion abruptly opened its eyes.

"He... he actually destroyed my illusionary projection!"

The golden lion statue rose and threw its head back, letting out an enraged roar.

He was the Golden Lion Venerable!

He was also the Transmission Envoy from the Mingyu Divine Country, stationed in the Mountain and River World with the authority to initiate Divine Kingdom Teleportation!

"This boy has already become a real threat. If I don’t deal with him now, he’ll become a disaster in the future!"

The Golden Lion Venerable looked down at the churning river below the cliff, let out a low snarl, and said, "Old friend, do me a favor. I’ll owe you one!"

A massive head suddenly emerged from the churning river. It was the head of a dark green serpent, but a single horn had already grown from between its brows.

The serpent’s head looked up at the cliff, opened its great maw, and spoke in a human voice, "Golden Lion, are you asking for my help?!"

"I am bound by the Divine Lord and cannot leave this place until my time is up. Go and kill a Chaos Lord named Zhenyuan for me. While you’re at it, shatter the World Line of the Typhon World. When I regain my freedom, I will reward you handsomely!"

"You stubborn, arrogant fool, what trouble have you gotten yourself into now? If you don’t explain it clearly, I absolutely will not act!"

The Golden Lion Venerable fell silent for a moment, then explained the situation with Wang Yi in full detail.

After listening, the being in the river roared with laughter and said mockingly, "You’re the same as always. There was no real grudge, yet you had to turn it into a life-or-death struggle. Listen to me: send another illusionary projection, bow your head, apologize, explain yourself properly, show some sincerity, and offer some compensation. The matter will be resolved."

"Impossible! How could I, the Golden Lion, bow my head to a mere Player?"

"Hmph. You’ll never change. No wonder the Divine Lord punished you to stay here for three thousand years!"

"Enough nonsense, old friend. Tell me, are you willing to help me or not?"

"I am not! Find someone else. I can’t do this for you!"

With that decisive refusal, the massive head in the river sank back beneath the water.

"Bah! You disloyal coward!"

The Golden Lion Venerable cursed angrily, then looked toward a distant mountain peak and roared, "Panshan Monarch, help me kill someone!"

The mountain peak trembled, and a black dragon flew out from it. The dragon was a thousand zhang long, with six legs and four horns, but a chain was wrapped around its neck, connecting it to the peak.

Clearly, this Black Dragon was chained to the mountain.

The Black Dragon said, "I want a hundred years of freedom!"

"No! Ten years at most!"

"Sixty years, or I won’t do it!"

With that, the Black Dragon started to fly back toward the mountain.

The Golden Lion Venerable said, "Fine, sixty years it is! I will use a Divine Kingdom Teleportation method to send you to the Typhon World. You must kill Zhenyuan, shatter the World Line, and bring back the Ming King!"

"Don’t worry. You are a Venerable, and so am I. Once I’m free and can unleash my full power, forget about that puny Chaos Lord—I could even destroy one of the top one hundred Royal Courts in the Fourth Dimension!"

"Good!"

The Golden Lion Venerable nodded, then spat out a golden character. The character landed on the distant mountain peak, and with a CLICK, the chains binding the Black Dragon instantly came undone.

The Black Dragon was overjoyed. He soared into the sky, laughing heartily. "After a thousand years, I am finally free again!"

The Golden Lion Venerable shouted after him, "Don’t forget your promise! Your holiday is only sixty years long. In sixty years, whether you’ve succeeded or not, you must return. Otherwise... you should know the consequences!"

"Don’t you worry. I will definitely return in sixty years!"

The Golden Lion Venerable nodded and then began his work. He spat out a beam of golden light that pierced through space, creating a swirling vortex.

Excitement shone in the Black Dragon’s eyes. With a great roar, it plunged headfirst into the vortex.

Soon, the vortex vanished, and everything returned to normal.

The Golden Lion Venerable lay back down on the cliff. In the great river, the massive serpent head suddenly reappeared. It looked at the golden lion statue on the cliff and said tauntingly, "So this is how you use the authority the Divine Lord gave you? Releasing a prisoner without permission, and the Black Dragon Venerable of all people... Do you have any idea what the consequences will be?"

"There will be no consequences! And even if there are, it’s none of your business!" The Golden Lion Venerable closed his eyes, clearly unwilling to engage further.

"I see the Divine Lord’s punishment was far too light on you!"

But the serpent head chattered on, "The Black Dragon Venerable is a Level 405 Destruction-class. In the Mingyu Divine Country, that’s equivalent to a Great Cultivator at the Mahayana Stage. The Divine Lord personally sealed him on Zhongjun Mountain, and you dared to release even him! Is there anything you won’t do? You’ve turned a minor issue into such a complicated mess. If I were the Divine Lord, it wouldn’t be the Black Dragon Venerable locked on Zhongjun Mountain—it would be you!"

"Say what you will. As long as that Zhenyuan is killed and the Ming King returns, I will not be at fault! I have no desire to speak with a disloyal mount like you anymore. From now on, let’s act as if we’ve never met!"

"Well now, you egg-born creature, you truly don’t know what’s good for you. I clearly gave you a better idea! Fine, if we don’t know each other, we don’t know each other. It’ll save me the trouble of being dragged down with you when you’re punished in the future!"

The massive serpent head sank back into the river once more.

Meanwhile, outside the Typhon World, on the World Line, the battle was still raging. One after another, the Exotic Star Centipedes were being slain, but Wang Yi’s Soldiers were also suffering casualties.

However, he breathed a sigh of relief.

In his view, now that the Golden Lion Illusion was dealt with, the rest were no cause for concern. He could just harvest them slowly.

Wang Yi reverted to his human form and landed on the World Line. His gaze swept over the corpses of the Exotic Star Centipedes before him. ’The spoils of war this time will probably just be these bodies,’ he mused.

’This can be considered the second defensive battle for the World Line, and it was probably a net loss. The territory’s ecosystem has degraded significantly, and the World Line’s Durability has likely dropped a lot again. I can only hope that one decisive punch will save me from a hundred more!’

As Wang Yi sighed to himself, he stepped on starlight and flew into the Starlight Gate.

Wang Bushi, who was in charge of destroying the Starlight Gate, had already managed to damage it. An occasional Earth Star Centipede would fly out from it, only to be sniped by the three thousand Sky Warriors guarding the entrance.

’Once this Starlight Gate is completely destroyed, blocking the Alien Star Royal Court’s army from arriving, the battle should be all but over!’

As Wang Yi mulled this over, a thought crossed his mind. He drew the Cyan Blade Sword from his back, intending to destroy the Starlight Gate for good.

But at that very moment, right where the Golden Lion Illusion had been slain, a golden light suddenly descended, followed by the appearance of a swirling, misty vortex.

"ROOOAR!"

A strange roar echoed from the vortex, and then the thousand-zhang-long Black Dragon flew out.

"Fresh air, a new world... a feeling both familiar and strange. I’ve missed this, I’ve really missed this!"

The Black Dragon spoke in a human voice. Its body was immense, covered in overlapping scales, and its great maw was filled with fangs—a terrifying sight!

Wang Yi’s pupils contracted sharply.

[Black Dragon Venerable: Level 405 Destruction Dragon King. Class changed from Destruction. Possesses the Black Dragon Body and the Killing Dao Body. One of the Venerables of Destruction from the Mingyu Divine Country. Original name: Jiang Tie. Has destroyed seven worlds. Destruction-class name: Panshan Monarch.]

’Level 405! That’s equivalent to a Mahayana Stage Cultivator!’

Wang Yi was shaken. The job description for Junior Alchemist had mentioned that in the Cultivation system, Level 1 to Level 10 corresponded to Qi Refining; Level 11 to Level 30 corresponded to Foundation Establishment; Level 31 to Level 60 corresponded to Core Formation; and Level 61 to Level 100 corresponded to Golden Core.

Furthermore, Level 101 to Level 200 corresponded to Nascent Soul; Level 201 to Level 300 to Divinity Transformation; Level 301 to Level 400 to Crossing the Tribulation; and Level 401 to Level 500 to Mahayana.

According to the information Wang Yi possessed, a Golden Core Cultivator was the limit for the mortal realm, corresponding to King-level Combat Power. A Nascent Soul Cultivator was already beyond the mortal realm, corresponding to Celestial God Level combat power—the same tier as a Starry Sky God!

After a territory ascends, all its units gain a level.

The Starry Sky was vast, with countless worlds and innumerable cultivation systems. Wang Yi guessed that across the Starry Sky, levels were likely a key standard for measuring the combat power of various classes and cultivation systems.

But regardless of the cultivation system or class, a Level 405 existence was an absolute top-tier expert!

’This Black Dragon has destroyed worlds seven times. His level is too high; I doubt I can fight him. Why is he here? Could it be...’

A terrible premonition bloomed in Wang Yi’s heart.

Just then, the Black Dragon Venerable looked at Wang Yi and said, "Zhenyuan? The Great Immortal Zhenyuan? The Ancestor of Earth Immortals? Haha, I’ve found you! Kill you, and my mission is halfway done. Now, die!"