Checking in for 100,000 Years

Wherever eyes could see, there was a dark, starry sky.

Stars filled the sky like countless gems adorning the night, constantly flickering with light.

Through the faint starlight, one could see in the distance a black mountain range resembling a giant dragon, standing tall upon the boundless land.

The majestic mountain range seemed to stretch for tens of thousands of miles.

It twisted and wound, with varying heights and dips.

In the deep valleys of the mountains, golden orbs of light were everywhere, illuminating the surrounding small, dark worlds.

Within these golden orbs, Eternal Life Immortal Grass grew, radiating a divine glow.

Some had six leaves, others seven, and some even had nine leaves...

These golden orbs were hidden within the twisting mountain range and were invisible from the front of the Bronze Door.

After all, within the Nine Soul Underground Palace, one's Divine Sense was compressed to a limited range.

「At the same time.」

Not only did a Bronze Giant Door appear where Big Black Cat was, but at this moment, a Bronze Giant Door also appeared at each of the countless tunnel exits in the Nine Soul Underground Palace.

Many Cultivators, intentionally or unintentionally, pushed open the Bronze Giant Doors, witnessing the endless Black Mountain Range under the vast starry sky.

Everyone was extremely shocked.

The scene before them was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

"What... where exactly is this?"

Big Black Cat stared straight at the Black Mountain Range in the distance, an unspeakable fear rising in his heart.

In my mind, that Black Mountain Range is like a Black Dragon, he thought. It's very similar to the Black Dragon I saw back at the Dragon God Sect.

No, there can't be such a large Black Dragon...

Big Black Cat shook his head, quickly dismissing this thought.

"This..." Cat Baor also poked her head out from the side, her face etched with shock as she looked at the newly emerged starry world.

"A Bronze Giant Door suddenly appeared. Could it be hinting that we should enter a new world to continue searching for the Eternal Life Immortal Grass?" Cat Baor said shakily.

"It's highly possible!" Big Black Cat's eyebrows shot up, and he responded, his face somewhat gloomy.

As soon as his words fell, he saw shadowy figures flying out from an unknown location, swiftly heading towards the Black Mountain in the distance.

Seeing this, Big Black Cat immediately understood.

It wasn't just him who had encountered a Bronze Giant Door; many others must have reached the end of the tunnels in the Nine Soul Underground Palace.

Some, driven by curiosity, had already ventured into the Black Mountain Range to seek their fortunes.

"Let's go! We can't fall behind!"

Big Black Cat gritted his teeth and, pulling Cat Baor along, rushed forward.

A step ahead is to be ahead at every step, he thought.

At this moment, Big Black Cat unhesitatingly activated the Teleportation Boots.

Fortunately, he had Divine Pills given by his Master to maintain his Mana; otherwise, with his current cultivation base, continuously using this flight-type Emperor Artifact would be unbearable.

After flying into the Black Mountain Range for some distance, the two of them stopped in mid-air.

Big Black Cat surveyed the towering, undulating mountain range in the distance.

Cat Baor also took out the Heavenly Spirit Mirror and began to scan the surroundings.

The more I look at this mountain range, the more it resembles a dragon, Big Black Cat mused. But... where in the world could there be such a massive dragon...

Big Black Cat sighed softly. He looked at Cat Baor and urged, "Have you found anything yet?"

Cat Baor continuously infused Mana, activating the Heavenly Spirit Mirror's search ability, and projected it towards the depths of the mountain range.

After a few seconds, beneath a large boulder in a valley, a golden orb of light appeared.

"I've found Eternal Life Immortal Grass!" Cat Baor exclaimed joyfully.

"Haha, then let's hurry!"

Big Black Cat quickly grabbed Cat Baor and, under her guidance, they immediately flew towards the golden light.

This time, Big Black Cat did not use the Teleportation Boots. Having flown from the Bronze Door, he had already gained a significant lead over many others.

He also needed to conserve some energy now.

After all, to evade the Nine-tailed Spirit Cat and that stupid and naïve guy, he had flown for a full two hours, consuming an enormous amount of Mana.

As Big Black Cat flew towards the Eternal Life Immortal Grass, Ye Yun, residing in his mind, suddenly opened his eyes.

A trace of surprise flickered within his pair of illusory eyes.

This mountain range, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, is actually the corpse of a dead giant dragon! Ye Yun realized. To possess such a colossal body, this dragon must have been at least at the Divine Dragon level.

Ye Yun's gaze flickered, tiny runes within his eyes appearing and vanishing like stars.

He meticulously observed the Black Dragon's enormous corpse, searching for any clues.

The Black Dragon had a peculiar appearance. Its tail was positioned towards the Bronze Giant Door, the closest point, while its entire body sprawled towards the distant horizon.

In the farthest reaches, its gigantic head was raised towards the sky, its eyes wide open as if it had died with grievances.

Ye Yun carefully examined the exterior of this Black Giant Dragon, not even overlooking the patterns on its scales.

Slowly, the name of a Divine Dragon surfaced in his mind.

Evil Phantom Dragon!

Why is there an Evil Phantom Dragon within the Nine Soul Underground Palace? This is clearly one of the Divine Dragons from ancient mythology... Ye Yun whispered to himself, his face etched with disbelief.

As the thirteenth Sect Master of the Dragon God Sect, Ye Yun possessed extensive knowledge about the Divine Dragons that had once roamed the Cangnan Continent.

After all, the Dragon God Sect housed many secret codices that recorded ancient, primordial, and archaic secrets.

Ye Yun had read them all.

That was why he could identify the origin of this Black Dragon based on its form.

The Evil Phantom Dragon belonged to an exceedingly rare race among Divine Dragons. Inherently malevolent, it had always been ostracized by the God Dragon Clan.

One of the Dragon God Sect's secret codices described an Evil Phantom Dragon that had wreaked havoc, harming many members of the Dragon Clan, before being imprisoned in the Ten Directions Dragon Prison.

The Ten Directions Dragon Prison was a jail specifically designed to punish the most heinous members of the Dragon Clan.

Both the Evil Phantom Dragon and the Ten Directions Dragon Prison were extremely well-kept secrets.

Now, a hundred thousand years later, it was likely that no one in the world still knew these two names.

Ye Yun then recalled the golden humanoid creature.

That creature had remnants of decaying Divine Nature within it, a Divine Nature that did not originate from this Evil Phantom Dragon.

This place is rather interesting... Ye Yun muttered to himself, a look of keen interest on his face. This trip to the Nine Soul Underground Palace was not in vain. I believe that after a while longer, the truth of the matter will surface.

Big Black Cat flew above the valley, gazing at the hazy golden light below, a frenzied look on his face.

Cat Baor held the Heavenly Spirit Mirror, constantly scanning their surroundings.

"Big Brother, there's something strange about this place," Cat Baor said, pointing. "Look, there's a deep cave entrance over there in the valley…"

Big Black Cat looked over and only then noticed a dark cave at the bottom of the valley, southwest of the golden light. Cold air continuously seeped out from the pitch-black cave entrance.

The cave was tall and wide, with some kind of winding tracks outside it.

All of this indicated that a serpentine creature still lived in this cave.

"I see. Could it be the Nine Soul Earth Python in this cave?" Big Black Cat said, his expression grave.

If he wanted to seize the Eternal Life Immortal Grass, he would undoubtedly have to pass that cave entrance. Heaven knew if a Nine Soul Earth Python might suddenly thrust its head out to attack.

Just as he was hesitating, a streak of golden light suddenly shot from afar, landing directly before the Eternal Life Immortal Grass.

This was a man dressed in a dragon robe, with a pair of dragon horns on his head. He was burly, with a dignified demeanor and a powerful aura.

"Dragon Lord?"

Upon seeing this person, Big Black Cat's eyes widened.

He had seen this Dragon Lord of the Ten Thousand Dragon Ridge outside the Nine Soul Underground Palace before.

This fellow had a prestigious reputation in the Heavenly Star Dynasty and was also a ruthless character.

Big Black Cat had not expected the Dragon Lord to appear at this moment and actually try to seize the Eternal Life Immortal Grass that he had discovered first.

This enraged him instantly.

"You wait for me here. I will go seize the Eternal Life Immortal Grass…" Big Black Cat turned around, his face gloomy as he instructed Cat Baor.

"Big Brother, Dragon Lord is already at the Tenth Layer of the Divine Bridge Realm! You must be extra careful!" Cat Baor said, terrified.

Big Black Cat nodded.

He was well aware that the Dragon Lord's cultivation base was far superior to his own.

Whether in the Destiny Realm or the Divine Bridge Realm, this Dragon Lord far surpassed him. Trying to seize the Eternal Life Immortal Grass from the Dragon Lord was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

At this moment, Big Black Cat fervently hoped that a Nine Soul Earth Python would suddenly leap out from the depths of the cave and ambush the Dragon Lord.

That way, he might be able to fish in troubled waters.

Without hesitation, Big Black Cat activated his Teleportation Boots, transformed into a streak of black light, and flew toward the Dragon Lord at an unbelievable speed.

The Dragon Lord looked at the immortal herb before him, a surprised look in his eyes.

This stalk of Eternal Life Immortal Grass in the golden light had a full seven leaves.

This was the highest quality Eternal Life Immortal Grass he had ever seen in the Nine Soul Underground Palace.

The Dragon Lord was just about to pluck this stalk of Eternal Life Immortal Grass.

Suddenly, he felt a violent gust of wind from the side, and a huge black snake head abruptly protruded from the cave.

The black snake's head was as large as a small hill, an astonishing sight. Its twin blood-red eyes were like two enormous lanterns, illuminating the dark space.

WHOOSH!

The Nine Soul Earth Python opened its mouth and spat a beam of black light that swept towards the Dragon Lord.

The Dragon Lord knew how powerful this black beam was, but he couldn't dodge it; otherwise, this stalk of Eternal Life Immortal Grass might be destroyed.

"Nine Soul Earth Python, let's see just how powerful you really are!"

The Dragon Lord hesitated slightly. A flash of golden light appeared on his hand, and immediately a golden Longsword materialized in his grip.

He held this golden Longsword and fiercely slashed out.

SWISH!

An earth-shattering sword light whistled through the air.

It collided with the huge black beam in mid-air.

RUMBLE!

The sword light forcibly split the black beam and descended towards the Nine Soul Earth Python.

The Nine Soul Earth Python was not afraid at all; it even used its enormous snake head to fiercely ram the incoming attack.

CRASH!

The Nine Soul Earth Python smashed the sword light to pieces, and a deep gash appeared on its head.

The appearance of this gash, however, only provoked the Nine Soul Earth Python's ferocity. It immediately flew out of the cave and lunged at the Dragon Lord.

Heaven is indeed helping me! Big Black Cat thought, overjoyed as he had just flown nearby and witnessed the Nine Soul Earth Python attacking the Dragon Lord.

He descended towards the Eternal Life Immortal Grass.

If not now, when would be a better time to seize the Eternal Life Immortal Grass?

The Dragon Lord furrowed his brows. He had also noticed the streak of black light that suddenly flew towards him and, without hesitation, slashed with his sword.

Faced with the Nine Soul Earth Python's attack, he fiercely extended his left hand, his arm radiating a golden light.

In that instant, his arm transformed into a dragon claw, fiercely reaching for the Nine Soul Earth Python.

It could be said that the Dragon Lord was now fighting one against two, demonstrating the grandeur of a supreme demonic beast.

Big Black Cat saw how incredibly sharp the sword light was. Even from a distance, he felt a chill crawl up his scalp and was secretly astonished.

This Dragon Lord is indeed worthy of being the master of the Ten Thousand Dragon Ridge, he thought. His strength far surpasses those two Saints, Golden Eye and Silver Eye.

Without hesitating, he channeled his Mana into the Black Shield in his hand and thrust it towards the sword light.

The Black Shield instantly swelled in size, becoming about thirty feet wide and completely covering Big Black Cat.

CLANG!

The golden sword light struck heavily onto the Black Shield, emitting a series of deafening CLANGS as the powerful rebound shattered the sword light.

Big Black Cat tumbled continuously in mid-air, forced back by the powerful impact.

Just then, a red streak of light shot from the distance—it was Cat Baor, flying at lightning speed towards the golden glow.

This one wants to steal it too? Enraged, Big Black Cat channeled all his Mana, surging it into his Teleportation Boots.

His tumbling body lunged forward swiftly, transforming into a streak of black light, and landed before the Eternal Life Immortal Grass.

In an instant, he landed before the Eternal Life Immortal Grass first.

Cat Baor swiftly turned the Heavenly Spirit Mirror, aimed it towards Big Black Cat, and the mirror flashed with a layer of light.

"You dare?" Big Black Cat roared.

I can't believe Cat Baor harbored such ill intentions, actually trying to attack me with the Heavenly Spirit Mirror! he fumed internally. And after I brought her all this way!

"Big Brother, dodge quickly!" Cat Baor stared at Big Black Cat in panic and screamed at the same time.

Big Black Cat immediately sensed something was amiss. Turning back, he found the Dragon Lord already standing behind him, a golden dragon claw reaching out for him.

This guy is too treacherous! Big Black Cat thought. He actually snuck up behind me without a sound!

WHOOSH!

The Heavenly Spirit Mirror in Cat Baor's paw emitted a brilliant light, and a beam of light shot violently towards the Dragon Lord.

Big Black Cat hastily dodged, evading the Heavenly Spirit Mirror's line of attack.

"Overestimating your abilities!" The Dragon Lord sneered. His golden dragon claw fiercely grabbed at the beam of light and, with a BANG, crushed it instantly.

Watching this scene, Big Black Cat gasped.

This Dragon Lord's physical strength is monstrous! he thought. As expected of the Dragon Clan, their physical prowess is truly too formidable. If it came to a direct confrontation, I'd probably lose my life to the Dragon Lord in a single blow.

Seeing the Dragon Lord drawing closer, Big Black Cat activated the Sky Exterminating Phantom Eye without hesitation.

Deep within his eyes, a faint purple, tiny rune sparkled again, emitting an unimaginable mysterious power.

This mysterious power instantly descended upon the Dragon Lord.

The Dragon Lord was immediately dazed, frozen in his walking posture, standing rigidly on the spot.

Great opportunity!

Seeing this, Big Black Cat immediately grabbed the Eternal Life Immortal Grass, stashed it in his storage ring, then grabbed Cat Baor, activated the Teleportation Boots, and vanished in a streak of black light.

Big Black Cat never expected that at such a critical moment, his half-baked Sky Exterminating Phantom Eye would end up saving his life again.

As expected of a Supreme Divine Power cultivated by a 'God', this Sky Exterminating Phantom Eye is truly too powerful... Big Black Cat lamented internally as he fled rapidly through the air.