As Ou Yangming and He Jian walked along the gravel path, the air was slightly moist. The fog dispersed in the air, wetting their clothes. A faint fragrance of fruits wafted from the path.
Ou Yangming took the initiative to walk in front. His mental power was very strong, and he could predict danger in advance. Moreover, he also knew about formations and restrictions. Even if he accidentally stepped in one, he could still break out. This alone could not be done by He Jian.
The young fellow’s mental power spread out, and he was as meticulous as he did not disregard even the slightest trace.
Nonetheless, there had been no danger. This made them tenser because the unknown danger was the most terrifying.
The stone walls on both sides of the small path were uneven. Water droplets were constantly dripping and making sounds. Ou Yangming and He Jian did not know how long they had walked for. It could have been an instant, or it could have been a century. They felt a sense of anxiety in their hearts.
All of a sudden, a ray of sunlight appeared on the other side of the path, emitting a halo.
Stepping out of the stone path, their eyes opened up, and they felt as if there was a bright future ahead. A huge valley appeared in front of them. Sunlight and stars appeared in the sky at the same time. The sunlight was warm, and so was the wind. It was as if this place was no longer a cursed land, no longer the Big Ruins, but a paradise that could be leisurely hidden from the world.
Streams gurgled, flowers dazzled, and the lights of the stars and the sun shone down at the same time. Everything seemed to be perfect.
The only flaw was that it was too quiet and lacked a worldly aura.
Ou Yangming and He Jian exchanged a look and saw the shock in each other’s eyes.
The young fellow took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, “Senior He, look—what’s going on? Isn’t this too strange? There’s actually a valley in a mountain, and the Sun and the stars appear at the same time.” He shook his head. It was hard to accept the scene in front of him as it exceeded the limits of his imagination.
He Jian’s eyebrows scrunched together, and he said with a bitter smile, “Brother Yu, I’m just an old man who carves wood. How would I understand such things?”
Looking at this world, Ou Yangming could not help but think of the scene of Xu Aoran carrying a goldfish with a leaf. His thoughts were complicated, and he thought to himself, ‘What on earth is going on? Does all of this have anything to do with him?’
After thinking for a long time, he still could not find an answer.
He took a long breath of spiritual Qi and exhaled all the turbid air in his chest. He said softly, “Let’s see what’s here first. Since we’re here, we must find something useful.”
Furthermore, He Jian had learned the Heaven-lifting before entering the valley and became a mountain in front of his peers, suppressing them and making them insignificant. If he could learn the entire sword technique, how strong could he be? Thinking of this, even Ou Yangming felt impassioned.
The two of them could be considered experts among Spiritualists. How fast were they? Every step they took was more than 33 meters long as if the ground had shrunk into an inch.
“Roar!” Without warning, a voice was heard. It was not loud, but it was ear-piercing. This made Ou Yangming feel as if every cell in his body was trembling.
Following that, countless tornadoes as wide as buckets rose from the ground like nine dragons sucking in water.
Ou Yangming felt a chill in his heart. It was as if he had stepped into a 33-kilometers-deep iceberg. A sense of crisis that he had never experienced before appeared in his mind. Even when he was being chased by Li Xin, the feeling was much weaker than this sense of danger that could dry up his body and destroy his soul. After all, Li Xin had wanted to capture the young fellow alive and possess his powers of the Dragons and the Phoenixes. Now, something wanted to kill him in one strike.
“Run!” Ou Yangming sounded urgent. His expression changed drastically as he yelled.
Before he could finish his words, his body swelled up like a balloon. Every meridian and every inch of his skin seemed to be inflated.
A blood-red light shone from his waist, and his body transformed into a long arc as he shot out.
He Jian’s expression turned cold. He chose to use a Sword Transformation Art to flash out.
Just as they stepped out of this area, a pair of gigantic claws descended from the sky. It was like a grey mark that was drawn out of thin air. It appeared for a fleeting moment, and its force was so great that it caused ripples to appear in the air.
“Boom…” A loud sound rang out. A violent wind rose from the ground and swirled around. An invisible storm spread out with the gigantic claws as the center. Ripples appeared in the air, and everything within tens of meters collapsed inch by inch. Not a single blade of grass could be seen.
The clouds in the sky gathered and scattered, then they got together again. A Bone Dragon that was 200 to 233 meters long retracted its claws and shuttled through the clouds. Even though it was already dead, it still carried a domineering aura. This was the Dragons. Even if one was dead, one’s imposing aura would not be gone.
Its eyes were cold, and its body was covered in sharp bone spikes.
The horn on its head was dark and was about 1.6 meters long. It was engraved with the words “Xu Aoran’s pet”, which was written in one stroke. Just one look was enough to let one feel a sense of pride. Every bone of the Bone Dragon was carved with exquisite patterns. The white spaces between them carried an indescribable charm.
“This is… A Dragon?” He Jian’s voice trembled with disbelief.
After all, in the Spiritual Realm, dragons were only legendary creatures, but one was appearing in front of him at this time. Besides, the locals of the Big Ruins had a special respect and fear toward dragons and phoenixes.
Ou Yangming did not answer. He was only focusing on the few words on the dragon horn. His emotions were complicated, and his mind was in a mess.
Just as he was imagining things in his mind, the Bone Dragon moved. Its huge body seemed to be very agile.
It spat out a mouthful of black gas and blew away all the fog within 33 meters in front of it. It separated its claws and ruthlessly pressed the ground from the sky. Its claws seemed to have transcended time and space as it pounced toward Ou Yangming. The attack carried an immense cold intent.
He Jian was slightly stunned. His pupils contracted, and he roared, “Brother Yu, quickly dodge!”
He lifted his finger lightly, and his sword case shook. When the lid flew up, the Meridian Sword, the Chronicle, and the Blood Helianthus flew out at the same time. He waved his sleeve lightly and pointed his finger forward. 3 streams of green light flashed. 1 sword turned into 10 swords, and 10 swords turned into 100 swords. They condensed with a loud bang and went straight for the skull of the Bone Dragon and chopped down.
As for Ou Yangming, he only felt a heavy and majestic aura wrapping around him. His blood vessels, meridians, blood, and flesh… Every cell in his body was burning, and his mind was in sharp pain. Only then did he get out of that muddled state.
From his perspective, the claws grew bigger, and a monstrous sense of danger filled his mind.
‘Faster, faster!’ He roared internally.
The spiritual Qi in his dantian exploded, turning into mist that flowed along his meridians.
At this time, the strength in his body was as one, and he had a good grasp of every muscle and every pore on his body. He had reached a profound state. The young fellow’s muscles, bones, meridians, and internal organs were accumulating strength, and his body was half-squatting. After lowering his center of gravity, he got up again and pounced out with astonishing momentum. He was as fast as a shooting star, trying to pull away from the claws.
The Heavenly Phoenix Fire burned fiercely, and his body was enveloped in flames.
“Not enough—this is not enough. Faster… Faster!” The claws were the only thing left in his view, and it was constantly pushing his potential.
Faster and faster, faster and faster. The blood in his body was boiling. Even so, the claws were getting closer to him, blocking out the sun and the sky.
“Quick, quick!” His body was covered in blood and sweat as he roared loudly.
At the spur of the moment, there was an explosion in his mind as if he had broken through some kind of shackle.
All the thoughts in his mind stopped at once. There was no joy and sorrow, no matters and self. He had entered a wonderful state.
The Bone Dragon’s claws, which seemed to be able to transcend space, seemed to have slowed down too. This was—the connection between Heaven and man.
It was a state that was even more magical than the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous.
Ou Yangming saw the Meridian Sword, the Chronicle, and the Blood Helianthus being sent flying by the claws. His eyes were still as calm as an ancient well. A peaceful conception that could accommodate the world rippled out from his body. He sped up, and the claws missed.
“This… The connection between Heaven and man?” He Jian was shocked at first, but his face revealed a look of surprise and joy.
Generally speaking, as long as one could comprehend the connection between Heaven and man, they could become a Venerable One.
Even Master Kurong, who was the greatest human powerhouse in Danzhou, had only taken half a step into the state. This kind of spiritual realm was mysterious and endless, and one who fathomed this would have the upper hand in battles. It was a great fortune for Ou Yangming to comprehend this by chance.
Seeing that its attack was dodged, the Bone Dragon was furious.
Its grey eyes lit up, and a destructive power gathered in its body.
It suddenly gathered its Qi and exhaled. A black spot was spat out from its mouth. This was the Dark Breath.
Ou Yangming twisted his body in an exaggerated manner and dodged again. Where the breath landed, gravel disappeared into thin air as if they were disintegrated by a powerful force. A 33-meters square, 3-meters-deep pit appeared and emitted corrosive black smoke.
“Senior He, quickly run! I can’t hold on much longer!” Ou Yangming’s face was pale. This kind of spiritual realm was a level higher than the thoroughly meticulous. Even if he had the spiritual world of the Phoenixes as support, he could not hold on for long.
He Jian was also very decisive. He pointed with his finger and called his longswords back, then he turned into a sword light and shot out.
Ou Yangming gritted his teeth and attracted the attention of the Bone Dragon, which followed behind him as he fled into the depths of the valley.
Wherever they passed, it was a disaster. The grasses and trees withered, and all life was extinguished.
Not long after they disappeared, the valley became quiet again, and a cool breeze blew.
The cracks on the ground were smoothed out, and the shattered grasses and flowers gathered again. The place went back to how it was—full of vitality and full of spring.
Even the skeleton of an antelope that had been shattered by the shockwave was regenerated. Flesh and blood grew out from its body, followed by fur. Quickly after, its chest contracted, and it took in a long breath of spiritual Qi. Its limbs shook, and it slowly opened its eyes, revealing a dazed look. The creature began to leisurely eat grass on the hillside again.
The laws of this world seemed to have been changed, where nothing was allowed to be destroyed.
