Supreme Sword Exalt

As Gu Han and “Zhao Mengyou” vanished, the real divine maiden regained his consciousness.

She reverted back to her original appearance. “What happened?”

Zhao Mengyou only recalled the female cultivator entering, and everything after that was a complete blank. She instinctively felt something was off.

Just as she walked out of the military camp, the group of cultivators who had stayed behind were taken aback. “Miss Zhao? Weren’t you following Vanguard Gu to the Heaven Burial Valley?”

***

The Flame Emperor’s purple flames now carried an additional dragon might that was unseen before.

In the sky above, the severely injured purple dragon’s demeanor had changed. Within its fluttering amethyst-like pupils, endless ages seemed to turn, filled with indifference and authority.

The origin was the dragon-shaped mark on its brow. Whether from its severe injuries or loss of control, the mark trembled increasingly violently, as though it might collapse at any moment.

Yun Ao stared at the mark, brimming with regret and desire. “I told you long ago that you don’t deserve it! Only I can unleash its true power!”

From beginning to end, the Flame Emperor only said, “Return him!”

As if sensing his intent, another dragon’s cry rang out. The purple dragon’s gaze fell upon the green dragon. The green dragon cried mournfully, rapidly disintegrating.

Despite being much stronger than the purple dragon, the mark had completely dominated it. The green dragon couldn’t muster the slightest will to resist, even showing a faint trace of submission.

Yun Ao, as if expecting this, showed no surprise. “Yun Tian, you know very well that I won’t release him, just as you won’t give me that mark. I told you back then, Yun Tu was just the beginning. Yun Lie, this brat, Yun Zhan, Yun Fan, and in the end, it will be Feng Lid’s turn! If you insist on guarding that ethereal ancestral dragon legacy, I promise you’ll lose everything in the end!”

With a furious gaze, the emperor raised his hand and pressed down heavily. Space shattered, and an ancient, eternal dragon might descended.

In response, Yun Ao compressed his blazing green flames to their limit. Many more white hairs appeared at his temples.

After that strike, the Flame Emperor’s mark dimmed briefly, and several wounds split open on him. He simply couldn’t withstand the mark’s power.

Yun Ao was somewhat surprised. “Is this brat so important to you?”

The Flame Emperor didn’t answer. He raised his hand and brought down another dragon might. His wounds grew even more.

Yun Ao suddenly smiled, slowly fading. “Yun Tian, from the day we met, you’ve never beaten me. This time is no different! Even if I can’t use much of the Dragon Seal’s power at my level, I don’t need to act.

“You know better than I what kind of place that is. Even those beings died inside. How long do you think that brat can last in there? A month? Half a month? Or—”

Before he finished speaking, the trace of overbearing dragon might fell once more. Within several li, space shattered and disintegrated inch by inch, as if embodying the emperor’s boundless rage. Yun Ao had already vanished.

Just as the Flame Emperor was about to pursue, he shuddered. Over a dozen more wounds appeared. His mark trembled violently for a moment before vanishing, and the purple flames reverted back into crimson flames. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

***

After seeing Gu Han’s sudden disappearance, Fatty turned ashen white. “Where is he? Gone... just gone? Not even bone fragments left? That bastard... he didn’t just die, did he?”

Those who had rushed over from afar were on the verge of breaking down.

Feng Xi shook her head with a hint of confusion. “He’s not dead. He should be inside the Dragon Seal.”

Fatty perked up. “Not dead? And what is this Dragon Seal place?”

Everyone also appeared bewildered.

Just then, the War Prince landed before everyone, appearing quite battered. Despite being injured by Yun Ao, he still fought fiercely, worsening his injuries.

Yun Fan was startled. “Father? Since Brother Gu isn’t dead, we have to save him!”

Instead of answering, the War Prince sighed. “The Dragon Seal is our clan’s supreme treasure. Originally a piece of ancestral dragon scale, containing a small world within. After being refined by our clan’s successive wise ancestors, it became what it is now. Even I’m not sure exactly how long it has existed.”

He paused and sighed. “At the same time, it is also a great prison.”

“A great prison?”

“Yes. The seal was forged to imprison some extremely troublesome evil spirits and aberrations that couldn’t be easily destroyed, as well as some ineffable beings.”

Fatty interrupted him. “Wait! Your clan’s supreme treasure? Why is it in the hands of Yun Ao? Which clan are you from anyway? Ancestral dragon scale? Don’t tell me you’re connected to the ancestral dragon?!”

Not just them, even some learned scholars in the mortal world were familiar with the ancestral dragon. The records about the ancestral dragon were very simple, just a sentence. Dragon Ancestor, the first real dragon in the world.

Yun Zhan nodded. “Yes, we carry a trace of the ancestral dragon’s bloodline. And Yun Ao, as you saw, is our kin of the same root.”

This statement stirred up huge waves in everyone’s hearts. A powerful overlord like the ancestral dragon, existing only in legends, had vanished for endless ages. And yet, its bloodline descendants still existed and stood right before them.

Even Yun Fan was shocked by Yun Ao’s identity. In fact, apart from the Flame Emperor, the War Prince, Elder Cen, Yun Lie, and Feng Xi, no one knew Yun Ao’s identity. Even Ji Cheng and Song He only received fragmented introductions when secretly contacting the barbarian tribe’s higher ups.

Fatty suppressed his shock, then asked the most critical question, “Don’t tell me the things inside the seal are still alive?”

Yun Zhan was silent for a moment. “There’s no spirit qi there, no trace of life... Even the most ferocious creatures should be mostly dead after enduring endless years.”

Fatty stared at him. “Mostly? So there might still be some alive?”

Yun Zhan said nothing.

Shen Xuan couldn’t hold back anymore. “Your Highness, how strong are those things?”

Yun Zhan sighed. “The weakest is far, far stronger than my brother.”

Everyone’s hearts sank.

Fatty’s eyes instantly turned red. “Damn it! Then what’s the difference from being dead?! That bastard... he... he still owes me a bunch of cultivation techniques! He just went and died like that?”

Yun Fan’s gaze dimmed. “And there’s Divine Maiden Zhao. She actually went in with him.”

Everyone was silent. They weren’t blind, so they could see that Zhao Mengyou had gradually developed feelings for Gu Han. Still, no one expected her to make such a resolute choice.

Xue Yu lowered her head, saying nothing. She suddenly envied Zhao Mengyou a little.

Just then, the Flame Emperor landed before everyone. Yet before he could speak, he paled and staggered, more lines of blood bursting from him.

Yun Zhan was extremely worried. “Brother!”

No one knew better than him how great the backlash from rashly using the ancestral dragon mark was.

Feeling somewhat gratified, the emperor forcibly stabilized his breath after seeing how concerned Feng Xi was. “It’s fine. The Dragon Seal is vast, nearly comparable to a small world. With Yun Ao’s cultivation, he can’t unleash much of its power.

“And after so many years, the most powerful things inside died long ago. The rest are half-dead and not very powerful. That kid is cautious by nature, so he should be able to hold on for a while.”

Fatty’s eyes were red. “Damn it! I’ll summon my old ancestor—no, all the experts of the Fu family! We’ll smash that Dragon Seal to pieces and save him!”

Feng Xi shook her head. “It’s useless. If the Dragon Seal could be destroyed, those beings wouldn’t have been trapped inside until they died.”

The Flame Emperor was silent for a moment. “There is a way to save him. Kill Yun Ao and seize the Dragon Seal.”