"Jingyu, what are we going to do now?" Seeing the two savage beasts charging blindly toward the Tiangang Mountain Range, Luo Ruofeng's expression grew anxious...

"Your Majesty, deploy the Map of Rivers and Mountains with all your strength and leave first. I will go capture those two," although Ye Jingyu was inwardly furious that those two were still causing trouble at a time like this—especially Ni Bo, who was still heavily injured yet refused to obey—he couldn't bear to abandon them, simply because they were his best companions...

But he also knew the destructive power of the recent explosion. Even though the void had temporarily stabilized, no one knew what might happen next. He couldn't ask everyone to wait here for the two of them...

Luo Ruofeng gave Ye Jingyu a deep look, nodded heavily, snatched the Map of Rivers and Mountains, disappeared into it, and then transformed into a streak of cyan light, speeding away toward the east...

Ye Jingyu grit his teeth fiercely and spun around, rushing back. He absolutely would not allow anything to happen to those two little ones...

His speed was incredible, certainly much faster than Ni Bo and Xiao Taotao, so it wasn't long before he caught up to the two savage beasts. Just as he was about to use his Seizing Hand technique to capture them, he noticed they had suddenly stopped...

Simultaneously, they looked up toward the sky...

Ye Jingyu paused, then involuntarily raised his gaze. He saw that the sky, which had been heavily overcast with dark clouds, had cleared at some point, and in the bright expanse, the head of a dragon had appeared...

Yes, it was a dragon's head, one so enormous it defied comprehension...

The Dragon Clan Chief, Aofeng, had a massive body, and his head was large, but compared to this dragon head, it was like the difference between a sesame seed and a watermelon...

Even a single whisker on that head was thousands of zhang long, exceeding the length of an ordinary Heavenly Dragon...

As for the sheer size of the dragon's head, it was beyond description...

That deep, resonant dragon roar was issuing from this colossal head. Ye Jingyu followed the direction of the head and realized it was extending from the north. As the dark clouds dissipated, Ye Jingyu gradually discerned the true form of this dragon...

Its head emerged from the northern reaches of the Tiangang Mountain Range, about a hundred kilometers from Storm City. Its body length was even more unimaginable. Just the visible portion of its neck spanned several hundred kilometers...

Its eyes were larger than Storm City itself...

Vast, majestic, terrifyingly great...

"Ao..." Another crisp dragon roar echoed, and the enormous head began to move slowly. Although the movement appeared sluggish, each shift covered tens of thousands of zhang. Yet, even this distance seemed minuscule for it...

As the head moved, the entire Tiangang Mountain Range began to shake. Rocks cracked, and trees toppled. As for the savage beasts fortunate enough to have survived, they were now being struck by falling debris...

As segment after segment of the mountain range split apart, Ye Jingyu was stunned to realize that the giant dragon's body was actually beneath the mountains—or rather, the entire Tiangang Mountain Range was the body of this colossal dragon...

Upon this realization, Ye Jingyu's heart filled with shock. The Tiangang Mountain Range stretched from the northernmost tip of the Douhun Continent all the way to the Southern Barren Forest, spanning tens of thousands of kilometers. Could this giant dragon's body truly be that long?

But Ye Jingyu soon realized he was mistaken. While he could only see a portion of the dragon's body now, an image suddenly flooded his mind.

The entirety of the Nine Provinces was enveloped by a transparent energy barrier, forming a sphere. And this giant dragon's body was entirely wrapped around this sphere, as if it were the sphere's divine protector...

This vision imprinted itself vividly in his mind. The dragon encircling the sphere was identical to the one before him...

Ye Jingyu had no idea why such a vision would appear in his mind. Forgetting about capturing Ni Bo and Xiao Taotao, his body shot upward, leaping into the sky, soaring directly past the boundary...

At this moment, under the force of the self-detonation of over ten thousand Golden Armored Warriors, and with the simultaneous annihilation of so many demons, the entire Mortal Realm had been utterly destroyed, reduced to chaotic void, with countless spatial energies sweeping in, forcing him to summon the Eastern Emperor Bell just to preserve his form...

Focusing his gaze now, he saw that the Nine Provinces were indeed encased in an energy shield, becoming the only distinct scenery left in this void...

Could it be... could the Nine Provinces be the last sanctuary of the Mortal Realm? Ye Jingyu struggled to comprehend. Much of the Mortal Realm's current topography had been forcibly reshaped by the ancestors of the Fangzhu Nation and others using immense power. But why would the Nine Provinces be the final haven? Furthermore, the barrier covering it was clearly not established by their ancestors. Had they never discovered it back then?

Little did Ye Jingyu know that the current location of the Nine Provinces on the Douhun Continent was precisely the center of the Mortal Realm, and this giant dragon was the Dragon... Venerable... guarding the Mortal Realm.

He was the most powerful guardian left behind by the Immortals of the Heavenly Court when they departed the Three Realms long ago...

Even this barrier was formed from his own Dragon Qi. However, over countless years, he had remained in deep slumber. As long as he, or the foundation of the Nine Provinces, was not threatened, he would never awaken...

In his sleep, he appeared as nothing more than a mountain range, undetectable by anyone, no matter how high their cultivation realm...

Now, the demon invasion had instantly triggered the barrier of the Nine Provinces, followed by the infusion of countless Heavenly Dragons' bloodlines into his body, causing him to slowly awaken from his slumber. Finally, the chain reaction of the self-destruction of the ten thousand Golden Armored Warriors had completely disturbed the Nine Provinces. If he hadn't awakened, even the Nine Provinces would have been annihilated...

The massive dragon head still looked somewhat groggy. The Seven Great Lords who survived the void watched with shifting expressions as the giant dragon’s colossal body continuously broke free from its stone shell, especially the Devouring Demon, who had just slain so many Heavenly Dragons...

As for Ye Jingyu, after clearly seeing everything, he let out a heavy sigh. With a flash, he arrived next to Ni Bo and Xiao Taotao, intending to forcibly take them away. After all, a battle of this magnitude was beyond his current capacity to intervene...

"Since you've arrived, stay a while... Let me teach these two little ones a lesson..." But a low voice entered Ye Jingyu's ears...

(Stars, it's the weekend! Don't forget your Golden Bricks and recommendation votes~~)