The moment they stepped into the Dragon Valley, it felt as if they had passed through an invisible barrier.
A heavy, vast, and profoundly sorrowful yet majestic aura, like a tangible shackle, instantly pressed down on everyone's souls.
Looking around, the sky was not the familiar blue but rather a chaotic grayish hue.
Beneath this oppressive sky floated countless "clouds" of various shapes and colors—fiery red clouds like molten lava, deep blue water-like clouds, emerald green wind-like clouds swaying like forests, dark earth-like clouds as heavy as the ground, and rare golden or purple-tinged light and dark dragon clouds…
They moved slowly, gathering and dispersing like living spirits, exuding pure and immense elemental energy and blood essence. Stretching endlessly, they formed the unique landscape of the Dragon Valley.
The ground was a dark red, as if soaked with countless dragon blood, barren and devoid of vegetation, scattered only with jagged rocks and bottomless fissures crisscrossing the land.
The air was saturated with dense dragon essence, almost condensed into liquid. Each breath felt like inhaling heavy metal, yet carried a strange vitality that nurtured all things.
In the distance, enormous dragon bones stood like continuous mountain ranges. Some were intact, others shattered, their white skeletons reflecting a cold glow under the dim light, silently narrating past glories and tragic falls.
Deeper inside, low and prolonged dragon roars echoed faintly—the sighs and lamentations of true dragon souls.
Most unsettling was the omnipresent rule suppression.
The instant Gu La's seven bodies entered, they distinctly felt their connection to their martial souls forcibly severed and restrained by an immense and ancient power.
Soul power lay dormant deep within their dantians, completely unusable. Martial soul phantoms could not manifest, and soul skills were unattainable.
This place seemed like a "Martial Soul Prohibition" zone. The only thing still coursing through their bodies was the blood essence from their physical essence; their physique was now their sole weapon.
Gu La's powerful space-time perception keenly captured the essence of this space.
The Dragon Valley existed attached to Douluo Star, independent of the main space—a fragile small world.
It resembled a giant bubble, existing in the perilous crevices of space.
Its form mirrored the legendary "Round Heaven, Square Earth." Above was the endless flowing dragon cloud sky, below was the dark red earth bearing dragon bones, and at the boundaries lay chaotic, twisted spatial turbulence, forming an invisible "boundary wall."
This small world structure was extremely unstable, with fragile spatial laws. Any violent spatial disturbance or overly strong energy burst could collapse this "bubble" like puncturing a balloon, dragging everything inside into ferocious spatial turbulence and utterly annihilating it.
"Disperse, absorb any dragon clouds and dragon souls you encounter along the way."
Gu La's voice rang in everyone's ears. The Dragon Valley was both an opportunity and a potential crisis if mishandled.
Seven figures shot forward like arrows released from a bow, racing across the vast and oppressive Dragon Valley terrain.
Unable to use their martial souls, they relied solely on their robust physiques and surging blood essence for movement.
Along the way, the colorful dragon clouds in the sky and the semi-transparent dragon soul phantoms wandering on the ground became their primary targets.
"Hah!" Gu La's true body, Bo Xi, Mu Yi, and others let out low shouts, their blood essence burning and surging within them like a furnace.
They each activated their secret methods, emitting aura fluctuations matching their attributes, actively drawing in dragon clouds aligned with their properties in the sky.
Bo Xi had a significant advantage. His deep blue blood essence spread out like a profound typhoon, voraciously attracting surrounding water attribute dragon clouds and those imbued with dragon blood essence.
Azure clouds flowed like rivers returning to the sea, merging into his body, making dragon roars faintly audible around him, steadily enhancing his presence. In this dragon energy-rich place, his dragon lineage thrived.
Mu Yi's blood essence surged, exuding a vibrant green life force, drawing in dragon clouds rich in vitality and wood attributes.
As the dragon clouds merged, they nourished his body, as if every inch of flesh and blood rejoiced, compensating for the lack of martial soul usage.
Gu La's true body merely attracted some earth, wood, and space attribute dragon clouds. His mental strength was highly concentrated, always perceiving direction, never letting down his guard.
The other three avatars, with varied attributes, also drew in dragon clouds fitting their own, hungrily absorbing them. In this martial soul prohibition zone, the strengthening effect of dragon clouds on blood essence and physique was particularly crucial.
Among them, Bai Yuan appeared most domineering, like a dragon entering the sea, unstoppable.
He didn't need deliberate attraction. Though suppressed and unable to manifest, his Abyss Taotie martial soul, originating from the fifth son of the Dragon God, symbolizing extreme greed and devouring, acted like a beacon in the night here.
An invisible vortex of devouring seemed to form around him.
Whoosh—!
Regardless of attribute—fire, water, wind, earth, light, dark… any dragon cloud within a certain range was irresistibly drawn to Bai Yuan, involuntarily surging toward him.
Even the dragon souls wandering on the ground, more spirited and sentient, emitted submissive roars, forcibly pulled by the terrifying devouring force, transforming into a torrent of pure energy flowing into Bai Yuan's body.
His body was like a bottomless pit, accepting all comers. Any attribute of dragon clouds and dragon souls, before the Abyss Taotie bloodline, could only be decomposed, devoured, and turned into nourishment.
Though his efficiency might not match Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King bloodline's absolute affinity and conversion rate for dragon energy, relying on sheer quantity and the dominance of devouring, Bai Yuan's gains were terrifying.
His blood essence visibly became mighty and surging. The Abyss Taotie bloodline, nourished by dragon essence, seemed even more refined and profound, subtly radiating a dark golden sheen.
Next was Bo Xi, who possessed the divine beast bloodline of Walking Wake. His absorption efficiency for dragon clouds was second only to Bai Yuan, yielding equally tremendous rewards.
In comparison, Mu Yi, whose original martial soul was wood, and Gu La, who focused on reconnaissance, were significantly inferior in absorbing dragon clouds and dragon souls compared to those with dragon bloodlines.
The Dragon Valley, after all, was the burial ground of dragons. Those with dragon bloodlines held natural advantages here.
The seven raced swiftly, acting like seven efficient harvesting machines along the way. Wherever they passed, dragon clouds thinned, and dragon souls vanished.
Soon, they reached the edge of the core area of the dragon tomb.
The scene here was even more oppressive!
The dragon essence was thick as liquid, slowly flowing in the air. Gigantic true dragon skeletons were everywhere, some still burning with eternal elemental flames or encased in ice that hadn't melted in ten thousand years.
The air was filled with a sense of tragedy and majesty that nearly suffocated. The number of wandering true dragon souls greatly increased, their forms more substantial, exuding mighty dragon auras!
They either perched on their own bones or drifted aimlessly. The aura emanating from each far surpassed the dragon souls at the periphery.
These true dragon souls, even if retaining just one percent of their former strength, were not something a soul elder relying solely on blood essence could withstand. A single dragon breath could severely wound or even obliterate them.
"Unseal the Forest Sea Space?" Gu La frowned, preparing to use his trump card to forcefully counter.
But there was still some distance to the center of the dragon tomb. Forcing open a domain now posed great risks, possibly preventing them from reaching the central position.
"No need." Bai Yuan confidently stepped forward. He took a deep breath, the densely condensed dragon essence causing his Taotie bloodline to boil uncontrollably.
A dragon aura originating from the primordial era, carrying boundless greed yet supreme dignity, like an awakened ancient beast, erupted from him suddenly.
"Roar—!!!"
A deep, authoritative roar, capable of commanding myriad dragons, rolled out from the depths of Bai Yuan's throat.
This was not a physical sound wave but an absolute suppression from the bloodline level of a superior being. The Taotie's presence, amplified several times in this dragon tomb, resonated powerfully.
Buzz—!
The true dragon souls, previously fierce and intent on attacking, trembled violently upon hearing this roar, as if struck by an invisible hammer.
Their ethereal bodies shook violently, emitting mournful roars. Their eyes' rampant fighting spirit was replaced by deep reverence and fear.
The nine sons of the Dragon God held revered positions!
Though the Taotie mainly represented devouring, its bloodline origin was so high that it could suppress most ordinary true dragons. Feeling the Taotie aura, the dragon souls prostrated themselves, daring not approach further, emitting unwilling and sorrowful whimpers.
Countless true dragons' cries of demise, despair over the Dragon God's passing, and nostalgia for past glory... these residual thoughts surged like waves, impacting Bai Yuan's spiritual world, attempting to evoke his compassion.
Bai Yuan sneered at this, his gaze cold as ten-thousand-year-old dark ice, sweeping over the prostrated dragon souls and colossal skeletons: "Dead means dead, what good are your mournful cries? If the Dragon God cared, he could reshape souls and resurrect you anytime. Immersed in regret, disregarding the lives of your kin, why should outsiders worry about you?"
His words froze and dispersed those tragic remnants like a chilly wind. Other avatars remained indifferent. They pursued power and had no interest in being confidants of the dragon race. In this fragile and dangerous space, quickly acquiring resources was the priority.
Gu La's true body did not continue deeper into the valley. His space-time foresight clearly told him that in the deepest core of the dragon tomb, a dragon soul emitting seven-colored brilliance resided.
This was the final fragment of the Dragon God's will before his demise, containing terrifying power sufficient to easily destroy anything below god-level.
More terrifying was the extreme suppression of non-dragon martial souls in the core area. This was not their target and was absolutely off-limits.
At this moment, Gu La's keen perception caught two familiar presences in the distance—Tang Wulin and Dai Yun'er.
Seemingly guided by their Tang Sect identities and some mysterious pull, they were also arduously trudging toward the dragon tomb.
Tang Wulin's brows were tightly knit, seemingly resisting dragon aura suppression and rule constraints, his steps firm. Gu La paid no heed. Opportunities were based on individual abilities, as long as they didn't interfere.
"Begin. Act quickly," Gu La said gravely, his tone unprecedentedly serious.
The seven quickly dispersed, standing in the Big Dipper formation, surrounding Gu La's true body in the center. Each wore a solemn expression, knowing the upcoming action was akin to snatching food from a tiger's mouth.
Gu La's true body closed his eyes, a silver light abruptly illuminating his forehead.
His mental strength was highly concentrated, carefully controlling the output of power. "Forest Sea Space, unseal!"
Buzz—!
An extremely subtle yet profoundly deep space-time fluctuation centered on Gu La carefully spread outward.
This force cleverly "leveraged" the rule force suppressing martial souls in the Dragon Valley, like melting a small hole in solid ice.
A radius of about five meters, glowing with soft silver light, a "bubble" domain unaffected by Dragon Valley rules, painstakingly formed in front of Gu La like a soap bubble.
This domain was extremely unstable, constantly rippling at the edges. Gu La had to maintain full effort to prevent its collapse and avoid triggering spatial oscillations.
The power stored in the "Forest Sea Space" was carefully guided out like a trickle, converging in this small, fragile domain:
First was the vast temporal power of "Ancient Memories." A faint shadow of the river of time hovered above Gu La, emitting waves tracing back to the origin.
Next was the miniature black hole vortex formed by Bai Yuan's "Ultimate Devouring."
Gu La's "Gravity Vortex" induced slight spatial distortion.
Mu Yi's "Life Absorption" transformed into a fine green light net.
And various potent soul skills stored by other avatars for energy traction, soul soothing, and self-stabilization.
These soul skills, in an unrestricted state, were meticulously controlled and combined by Gu La with unparalleled mastery, forming a small yet extraordinarily intricate energy aggregation and transformation array core.
Rumble—!
Despite Gu La's efforts to suppress it, the moment the array activated, it triggered violent energy tides.
Energy from the entire dragon tomb area rushed wildly towards this tiny silver bubble like rivers flowing into the sea.
In the sky, dragon clouds within thousands of meters were forcibly pulled, forming a rotating, multicolored massive vortex, funneling into the array.
On the ground, the true dragon souls suppressed by Bai Yuan's bloodline were now forcibly pulled by the array's powerful traction, transforming into struggling roaring dragon soul streams, converging into the vortex center.
The gathered energy was compressed and purified within the silver bubble, forming a liquid energy source radiating seven-colored radiant light, its purity and vastness far surpassing the outside.
Gu La's purpose was crystal clear—he intended to leverage the Dragon Valley's unparalleled environment, with nearly infinite energy, using the Ancient Memories' power to trace origins and awaken potential, to conduct an unprecedented collective evolution for the spirit souls of all his avatars! Even attempting to push for the metamorphosis of the martial soul's essence!
At the vortex center, a seven-colored light pool with energy density almost liquefied.
The spirit souls within the six avatars' bodies—for instance, Bai Yuan's Dark Phantom spirit soul, Bo Xi's Great White Shark King spirit soul, Mu Yi's Adamantine Wood spirit soul—trembled with excitement, greedily absorbing the supremely pure dragon soul and dragon cloud essences.
Their auras soared and transformed at an astonishing rate. The entire silver bubble domain violently fluctuated, seemingly on the verge of being overwhelmed by this terrifying energy.
Just as this critical ritual reached its peak, with energy convergence at its zenith, the silver bubble domain intensely shaking, and the spatial ripples at the edges becoming increasingly dense,
A cold, angry gaze imbued with supreme dragon aura pierced through the chaotic and violent energy storm like a tangible icicle, locking firmly onto Gu La's true body at the array's center, maintaining the domain and ritual with full force.
Gu Yue had arrived!
She stood at the entrance of the dragon tomb valley, her silver hair moving without wind, her purple eyes burning with soul-freezing anger and profound sorrow.
She could freely use her martial soul. Though the Silver Dragon King's aura was intensely restrained, the rage from her bloodline over the desecration of her kin's remains, and the fear of the fragile space being forcibly disturbed potentially causing destruction, simmered like an impending volcanic eruption.
What did she see? Outsiders, in her dragon race's final resting place, in her home fragile as a bubble, plundering her kin's residual souls and legacies like bandits!
Especially that Bai Yuan, whose body carried the aura of her fifth son, the Taotie—this was a blatant insult and desecration!
"Stop, you're courting death!"
Gu Yue's voice was bone-chillingly cold, carrying unquestionable authority and a barely perceptible spatial vibration, cutting through the energy roar.
Feeling the distant dragon soul laments, she came to pay respects but was delayed from entering the core dragon tomb. Witnessing this scene, she immediately decided to stop Gu La's plundering and destruction of dragon souls.
The brilliance of the Silver Dragon King faintly appeared behind her. Powerful elemental tides began gathering around her, seven-colored elemental lights swirling, locking onto the teetering silver bubble.
A storm was about to descend!
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