Chapter 769: Remains of the Primeval Dragon

Naxus Fu Kong Cheng returned to the Prime Material Plane much earlier than Lei En had expected.

He had originally thought the Disaster Legion would keep the floating city on another plane for a while to evade the teacher and Elder Suo Lim's tracking. Now it seems they are very confident in the city's ability to interfere with tracking.

This also indicates that the floating city normally resides on the Prime Material Plane, which is why it returned so quickly.

Lei En stood up.

The three brain fragment crystals sent into the floating city went undetected; one attached to a Death Knight, merging with its rune armor.

However, the Death Knight's range of movement is tiny, spending most of its time in a camp‑like area, tirelessly practicing combat techniques and honing Death Power.

The other two brain fragment crystals lie hidden in the darkness, motionless.

Although he cannot see outside the floating city nor discern exact coordinates, Lei En, after multiple detections of the three brain fragment crystals' movements and their relative distances, roughly calculated the city's location.

It is deep within the Karnod Icefield in the north of the New Continent.

In the detection, Lei En could discern the floating city's direction fairly clearly, but not the distance; lacking a map of the Karnod Icefield, he could not pinpoint the exact location.

That is easy to solve—just send another avatar to get closer.

Lei En's mind shifted.

While Aibolaken's forces were clearing the undead, three newly‑promoted legendary Thundercast Celestial Soldiers gathered, found a concealed spot in the wild, entered meditation, and in just half a day constructed a Six‑Ring Teleportation in the Lake of the Stars.

Then the three Thundercast Celestial Soldiers activated the teleportation, entered the interior of the New Continent, and traveled northward.

Lei En, at Gra Morgan Castle, monitored their movements.

During that half‑day, the Naxus floating city shifted position again, but remained within the Karnod Icefield, not far away.

This should be the floating city on automatic patrol.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers stayed invisible the whole time, teleporting cautiously to avoid any combat.

Before long, the three entered the Karnod Icefield. This bitterly cold, barren icefield is perpetually shrouded by death‑power‑generated black clouds, never seeing sunlight, like a dead, silent world, with the biting wind as the only sound.

Yet beneath this lifeless zone lie countless undead.

The farther north into the icefield's core, the more often one encounters undead tombs, and even undead creatures wander aimlessly across the ground.

In the sky, the roar of Bone Dragons occasionally echoes.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers possess Truth Willpower, resisting the pervasive erosion of Death Power, and teleport repeatedly according to Lei En's sensed guidance.

Three invisible figures leapt forward across the icefield.

After two rests to recover mana, by the next day's noon the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers had penetrated deep into the Karnod Icefield. In Lei En's detection, they drew ever closer to the three brain fragment crystals, nearly overlapping.

Roar!

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers heard the dragon roars growing more frequent.

Above the frozen wasteland, Bone Dragons are often seen soaring on the distant horizon; the terrain is also quite complex, with criss‑crossing canyons and snow‑capped mountains in the distance.

The endless wilderness hides innumerable undead tombs.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers discovered massive dragon bones in several canyons—at least hundreds—all long dead. Most have weathered away over ages, some even fossilized.

Even so, seeing so many dragon bones is still shocking.

Through the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers' eyes, Lei En also saw those canyon‑buried bones and guessed that this wilderness was likely a dragon graveyard in ancient times.

He just doesn't know when the long‑dead giants were revived and transformed into Bone Dragons.

"The floating city should be nearby."

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers scattered, exploring in different directions.

Moments later, a Thundercast Celestial Soldier on the east side of the dragon‑burial canyon spotted the floating city. It hovered thousands of meters above the ground, hidden within thick black clouds formed by concentrated Death Power, and generated a massive sound‑light barrier that concealed the entire city.

Ordinary people could hardly ever discover its existence.

Nor would they guess that a floating city hides within those endless black clouds.

Yet this camouflage is no match for Truth Willpower; without the clouds, the Thundercast Celestial Soldiers could detect it from over a hundred li away.

"Finally found it!"

The Thundercast Celestial Soldier did not rush forward.

The floating city is rigged with numerous pre‑warning formations to monitor its surroundings and scan a vast area.

They lurked in a gale‑swept icy canyon, tens of li apart, watching a huge pyramid that occasionally peeks from the clouds like an iceberg.

The floating city is not completely stationary; it drifts slowly within the clouds.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldier observed covertly for a full day, confirming that the floating city's movement range is fixed above this dragon‑bone wasteland, with a diameter of roughly a hundred li. At the center of that area lies a canyon containing a massive dragon bone that left Lei En speechless.

Most of the dragon bones have vanished, leaving only a short, rock‑like spinal fragment that still resembles a hill.

From the skeleton's dimensions one can calculate the terrifying size of the dragon in life; from head to tail it likely exceeded five hundred meters!

Even after countless years of death, the dragon bone still emits a mysterious energy that repels the ever‑present Death Power and wards off winter. The canyon enjoys a mild, spring‑like climate year‑round, teeming with lush vegetation, a forest, clear lakes, and abundant wildlife— a vibrant world starkly contrasting the barren frozen wasteland.

Such a colossal creature is beyond imagination.

The largest dragon Lei En has seen is Yu Yan, an ancient red dragon barely a hundred and fifty meters long— less than a third the size of this skeletal giant. The older the dragon, the larger and stronger it becomes.

A dragon of this magnitude must be a Primeval Dragon that lived for at least ten thousand years!

Possibly far beyond ten thousand years.

Theoretically, a dragon's lifespan has no limit and it could live forever; yet it is unknown why this Primeval Dragon perished here.

The Primeval Dragon's power rivals that of a deity; who could slay it?

In Ai Lun E Si's history, the Second Era—when dragons and giants ruled the world—began 14,500 years before the New Era Calendar and ended around 8,300 years before it, over ten thousand years ago; the cause of this Primeval Dragon's death is forever lost to the river of time.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldier gazed at the distant floating city; the Disaster Legion certainly did not place it here by chance—there must be a purpose.

Most likely, it is linked to these dragon bones.

Lei En did not act rashly.

He sent a Thundercast Celestial Soldier, invisible, to slip into the canyon and scour around the massive dragon bone, but found nothing. The only certainty is that the mysterious energy indeed emanates from the bone, nourishing the canyon and deterring undead.

"Divinity? Or some other high‑level energy?"

The Thundercast Celestial Soldier researched for a while, found no result, and could not even determine the species of this great dragon in life.

Lei En was very interested, already considering whether to go himself or let Reslin go.

The All-Seeing Eye of the Key of Doors can see through the dragon's bones and should obtain some key information. Sending Reslin is best—convenient and swift—but the Hesi magical array in the Obsidian Tower is at its final stage; in a few days it will be finished, truly beginning to assist in constructing Time Stop and launching a strike against the Grand Mage.

At such a critical moment, it's best not to create any side issues.

Lei En thought it over; after all, they aren't going to assault Fu Kong Cheng so soon, and they should at least wait for the brain crystal shard to investigate Fu Kong Cheng's interior before acting.

Especially, they need to confirm the location of Korstted's Soul Box.

"Wait a little longer."

"Anyway, Fu Kong Cheng is right here; it can't run away."

The three Thundercast Celestial Soldiers hid in the canyon; undead creatures dared not enter, making it very safe. They built a shelter in the forest, taking turns monitoring Fu Kong Cheng's movements—one on watch, the other two meditating and constructing spell models.

A few days later, Lei En teleported to Gotham City.

He was invited by Countess Lifulin to visit the Santara Residence.

An Extreme Warrior squad accompanied him.

Under the dwarves' gaze and salute, Lei En led the Extreme Warriors out of the city wall, which was a half‑month from completion, stepped onto the ice, and crossed the strait onto Aibolaken.

The Thundercast Celestial Soldiers have almost cleared Aibolaken's undead, harvested a wave of energy, and promoted a dozen Thundercast Celestial Soldiers to Legendary.

Looking at the twisted black forest around him, Lei En couldn't help shaking his head.

The forest had been completely corroded by the power of death, leaving only trunks and branches, not a single leaf. The ground was also tainted by death's power, becoming a breeding ground for undead.

In his plan, Aibolaken had already been incorporated.

This place had once been the most splendid magical city on the New Continent, with the most advantageous location; during the Third Epoch, it was the economic and political center of the elf civilization. Although its area was only about one percent of Shield Island, in the past Shield Island was actually a suburb of Aibolaken.

When Gotham City had established its foothold on Shield Island and began expanding outward, the first target would be Aibolaken.

"These dead trees cannot remain; they must all be burned."

"Also the land must be purified by a priest. The whole vacant area is perfect for a grand city plan."

While pondering, Lei En entered the forest's center and arrived beneath a massive tree that required several people to embrace.

This is the entrance to the Santara Residence.

The base of the tree was entwined with a mass of vines and thorns, but today they had cleared a wide passage. A group of blood elves stood on both sides of the passage, solemn, awaiting Lei En's arrival, led by the stunningly beautiful Countess Lifulin.

When Oukule led Lei En there, all the blood elves turned to look.

"Lifulin Light Song has seen the lord."

The Countess Lifulin's face blossomed with a smile, and she was the first to salute Lei En. Her enchanted armor had been repaired, revealing a tall, well‑proportioned figure, with dark‑red hair neatly tied at the back, exposing a fair neck and a pair of long pointed ears.

When Reslin first saw her, the Soul Eye immediately sensed her poor mental state.

Now, the barely perceptible blood‑red tint in Lifulin's eyes had vanished; she looked very relaxed and her spirit was full.

The effect of the bottle of Sunlight Blood she drank a few days ago was still present, preventing her headache from occurring.

"I have seen the lord."

The blood elves behind Countess Lifulin also knelt in unison.

They were all blood knights, already having heard of Sunlight Blood's existence, and would follow Countess Lifulin to pledge loyalty to Lei En. Curiosity filled the blood elves' eyes; before this, they had never imagined becoming subjects of a human.

"No need for formalities, everyone."

Lei En responded with a gentle expression, then smiled at Lifulin: "Madam, how have you been these days?"

"Very well!" Lifulin nodded cheerfully, "Thank you for the lord's magic elixir; it not only freed me from torment but also gives hope to strike at the Saint Rank."

"May you ascend soon, madam," Lei En offered his blessing.

"Thank you, lord," Lifulin replied, full of anticipation, making an elegant gesture, "Welcome, my lord, to the Santara Residence; please follow me."

Lei En followed her through the magical gate on the tree trunk and was teleported underground.

Lifulin personally led Lei En on a tour of the Santara Residence. In fact, he had already learned about the place from Reslin, but he could only pretend it was his first visit, while blood elves in the residence watched along the way.

Compared with before, the blood elf population of the Santara Residence had increased greatly.

The Soul Eye saw that most of the newly added elves were blood knights; in their gaze there was fervor and anticipation, as if they had seen a beloved. If not for the towering, mighty Extreme Warriors accompanying them, the blood knights would have rushed forward already.

After completing the tour, Lifulin led Lei En to a plaza illuminated by crystal lanterns.

Over a thousand blood elves had already gathered there.

"Fellow compatriots," Lifulin announced loudly, her clear voice reaching every blood elf, "Come and see our lord, His Excellency Ryan Augustus. From now on, he is our lord."

"I salute the lord."

Under Lifulin's lead, the blood elves swore loyalty to Lei En.

This was only the first batch of blood elves; more would follow. The Soul Eye saw many blood elves' true attitudes, still conflicted about pledging to a human.

But Lei En did not mind.

Blood elves share a common nature with humans; once they become residents of Gotham, gain benefits and witness power, they will naturally be contentedly obedient.

Moreover, with Lifulin's supervision, there will be no problem.

After the oath, Lifulin led Lei En into the center of the Santara Residence, the luxurious towering building that was also her dwelling. She pushed aside the sides, leaving only Lei En and Lifulin in the living room.

She looked at Lei En with bright eyes, appearing on the verge of speaking but holding back.

(End of Chapter)