The celestial realm spanned a vast expanse. To the extreme east lay the dominion of the Celestial Alliance, home to hundreds of millions of humans and Immortals. The far west belonged to the Earthly Alliance, a veritable hell teeming with countless fiends and demon races. As for the extreme north, it was the favored haunt of innumerable vengeful spirits and ghosts; the mere presence of a single Yu-level master there could be enough to establish yet another Ghost Alliance.
As for the extreme south, it was a desolate, uninhabited region fraught with peril. Rumor held that even a Yu-level expert could not easily set foot there, and whispers suggested it was the path to another, higher plane of existence…
At the very center of the celestial realm lay an enormous jungle, known to all as the Celestial Wilderness. It was this very jungle that served as the dividing line between the Celestial Alliance and the Earthly Alliance.
This Wilderness was so immense that it housed untold numbers of primeval Immortal Beasts and ferocious beasts. Unless one was a master above the Zhou level, even an expert at the Hong level risked annihilation here at any moment.
At this moment, standing quietly on the eastern edge of the Wilderness, Ye Jingyu, clad in a long black robe, gazed at the towering, cloud-piercing behemoths ahead. He stood momentarily stunned. Every tree here was thousands of feet tall, and the trunks were so thick that several hundred men would be required to encircle even one—a testament to the sheer scale of this Wilderness.
Shaking his head, Ye Jingyu took a step and entered the forest…
To find Ling'er, he had agreed with Liang Xiaoke the previous night that not a single piece of information regarding his whereabouts should be leaked. It was best that even Luo Ruofeng and Chief Fang were kept in the dark; the fewer who knew, the better. Naturally, Fang Wu and the others had also been placed under strict gag orders.
Before departing, Ye Jingyu had warned them sternly never to trust those haughty Immortals who sat on high. They must diligently accumulate their own strength. The words of Old Dragon still echoed clearly in his mind, and he had no intention of repeating Old Dragon's tragic fate.
Furthermore, the original intent of the Five Great Immortal Sages was to annihilate everything in the mortal realm entirely, causing the entire mortal world to perish alongside the fiends. Had Old Dragon not sacrificed his life to shield the Nine Provinces, even with the Shanhe Sheji Map, Luo Ruofeng and the others might not have survived. From this perspective, they held an irreconcilable feud with the Five Great Immortal Sages. It was simply that their strength was currently insufficient to challenge them.
What he needed to do now was maximize his personal strength and build up his forces while the Yu-level masters were restricted from making moves.
This time, he intended to journey to the Earthly Alliance to ascertain exactly what happened to Ling'er and why she couldn't remember Liang Xiaoke and the others. He had even contemplated infiltrating the Earthly Alliance and willingly submitting to the demonic path if necessary.
If he could seize this opportunity to instigate a massive war between the Earthly Alliance and the Celestial Alliance, forcing those old relics to exert themselves completely in a battle to the death, that would be even better.
However, perhaps due to spatial restrictions, one could not simply fly across the Wilderness to reach the Earthly Alliance; one had to traverse this massive jungle.
The Wilderness was home to countless Immortal Birds and beasts, with countless more ferocious creatures lurking within. Traversing it was far from easy.
Yet, Ye Jingyu felt no worry. Although his cultivation was still at the Desolate level, the power of his physical body, the sheer fortitude of his flesh, had been tempered by two opposing forces to an unimaginable degree. Even Liang Xiaoke, striking with full force, might not be able to harm him.
After walking for about half a day, he had encountered no ferocious beasts. Instead, he saw many Qilin and Suan Ni moving through the forest, and occasionally, a Phoenix or a Qingluan would take flight from the depths—truly a scene akin to paradise.
Just as he began to think he might pass through the Wilderness unharmed, a deafening dragon roar suddenly echoed from within the jungle. Moreover, the sound carried a distinct note of distress, as if a plea for help…
"A dragon? The Dragon Clan wasn't wiped out back then?" Ye Jingyu frowned, his body already shooting forward. Old Dragon had risked his life to protect the Nine Provinces back then, even transmitting his seed of power to Ni Bo and Taotie, effectively saving their lives. Ye Jingyu considered the Dragon Clan his own people. Hearing this tragic roar, he naturally had to investigate…
His speed was immense. In mere moments, he arrived at the edge of a vast lake. There, he saw a colossal dragon, exceeding a hundred feet in length, being dragged out of the water by a pack of monsters over thirty feet tall, their entire bodies covered in sharp spikes, resembling apes from a distance…
"What manner of monster is this? How dare they treat a Dragon this way?" Ye Jingyu felt a shock in his heart. Dragons were beings at the apex of the biological chain, possessing incredibly potent innate talents. Any adult Dragon, regardless of cultivation effort, possessed Heavenly-level power. Most wild beasts would instinctively tremble upon seeing a Dragon, yet these creatures were actively hauling a Dragon from the bottom of the lake…
This was utterly unbelievable!
Without pausing, Ye Jingyu launched himself forward, raising his hand to strike at these black monsters…
This Celestial Dragon possessed Heavenly-level cultivation, and these ape-like monsters also had Heavenly-level power, numbering several dozen. The Dragon was clearly exhausted, and several monsters had already bared their fangs, beginning to tear at the Dragon’s flesh. Ye Jingyu’s sudden appearance delivered a devastating blow to these beasts.
With nearly one monster per palm strike, every beast he hit exploded, not one remaining intact. In just a moment, all the surrounding monsters were slain by him.
But the Celestial Dragon was near death. The wounds where it had been torn were bleeding black, pus-like blood, indicating a deep poisoning. Many areas were already turning black. Such severe injuries left even Ye Jingyu helpless at this moment…
As Ye Jingyu stood there at a loss, massive cries suddenly echoed through the forest—sounds like the screeching of apes. Each cry was so tremendous that Ye Jingyu found it piercing; even covering his ears, the sound hammered directly into his mind…
"Human, flee quickly! They are coming! You are no match for them, run!" At this moment, hearing these sounds, the nearly dead Celestial Dragon fell into despair. Seeing the human who had come to its aid standing foolishly there, it immediately urged him, "Run!"
"They? Who are they?" Ye Jingyu was consumed by curiosity. What kind of monster could instill such dread in the Dragon Clan…
"Dragon Eaters… they are the Dragon Eaters…" The Celestial Dragon spat out those words through gritted teeth. Immediately after, Ye Jingyu heard a thunderous crash. A gigantic tree, three thousand feet high, directly behind him snapped in half and fell towards him.
Ye Jingyu’s figure flickered, narrowly avoiding the falling timber, but a massive silhouette materialized directly in front of him…