Gamers Are Fierce

Facing an enemy capable of self-healing, the best tactic is to burn them with fire, corrode them with acid, crush their bones to ash, and check if they can be stored in the System backpack slot to determine if they are truly dead.

Li Ang, from a distance, cut the Mountain Demon's body into pieces with the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear and pressed against the remains with his gloved hand.

The Mountain Demon's limbs and torso were easily stored in the backpack slot. However, as its severed head, already split in two, was about to be stored, it suddenly exploded in midair. It burst into countless thin tendrils of flesh, which scattered like snakes and fled in all directions.

"Splitting?"

Li Ang frowned and quickly took out a grenade launcher, bombarding the spreading fleshy tendrils.

The grenade launcher's coverage was limited. Seeing many tendrils escape the blast radius and about to burrow into the ground, suddenly, a Wooden Arrow fell from the sky. It exploded in midair, splitting into countless wooden fragments that precisely pierced all the tendrils, pinning them to the ground. After a short delay, all the fragments detonated simultaneously, disintegrating the pinned tendrils into ash.

Li Ang looked back at the cliff, waved, and walked through the widespread wreckage, heading straight toward the center of the clearing.

At this moment, the pole at the center of the clearing was already half-enshrouded by white light. Numerous fine Beams of light escaped from holes on its surface.

The Datura patients who had been brought here were now crying out weakly. Many of a frailer constitution were languishing to the point of nearly fainting, yet they still held firmly to the hands of others, carried along by the crowd as they continued to circle.

"It's about time to end this."

Li Ang took a deep breath. He removed the Palace Lantern that had been stuck in a seam of the clothes on his back. Through thick Anti-chemical Gloves, he held the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear in one hand and the Bloodworm Crowbar in the other. He clamped them onto the ritual pole at the center of the circle and slowly pulled it out.

The pole, made of an indistinguishable material, was pulled out of the ground. It seemed weightless as it floated automatically in the air.

The inky clouds in the sky, as if triggered by some mechanism, gradually ceased their rotation. A torrent of black qi spread out from them, rushing straight toward the pole—the ritual's focal point—in midair.

The surrounding Datura patients instantly stopped their circular motion.

Everyone simultaneously let go, stopped shouting, and collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

Li Ang, feeling a stroke of insight, lifted the Palace Lantern and headed toward the towering, serene misty gate.

As he drew closer, the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern, originally mild and even somewhat dim, suddenly burst into brilliant light.

The misty gate, like snow meeting the blazing sun, melted in an instant, revealing the spacious interior behind it.

The space inside the gate was far more expansive than it appeared from the outside, extending well beyond what the trench could seemingly contain.

Within this boundless space stood ancient structures of classical charm, starkly contrasting with the style of the trench outside.

Exquisite towers, majestic palaces with sculptured beams and painted rafters, multi-storied buildings piled upon one another... Traces of Eastern high-rise palaces and halls of various architectural forms could be found in this dense cluster of edifices. To describe them as anything less than magnificent would be an understatement.

Upon closer inspection, a layer of mist could be seen at the base of these buildings. The fog was significantly denser around the outermost edifices.

Of course, the most shocking sight was the legendary creature sprawled atop these structures—

It was an Eastern Giant Dragon of unimaginable size. Its head, long and slender, resembled that of a crocodile. Its crown was adorned with branching, rugged antlers, and below them grew elongated, pale ears lined with downy fur. Beneath its lion-like nose, two long whiskers extended. From its half-open mouth, one could faintly glimpse neat rows of sharp fangs.

The Giant Dragon's slender, serpent-like body was covered in fine, dark, earth-colored scales. A vibrant, blood-red mane flowed elegantly along its spine.

The dragon's body was at least ten meters in diameter. As for its length... a hundred meters? A thousand? It was impossible to estimate.

Most of the dragon's body was hidden within the jade-like palace structures. The few parts protruding above various rooftops had mist-like qualities, almost merging with the dense fog enveloping the complex. Its head was visible, but its tail remained hidden.

The slumbering Eastern Giant Dragon rested its colossal head, crowned with a crystal diadem, against the brilliant golden tiles of a palace dome.

With each breath, the dragon's head swayed gently, its nostrils exhaling thick vapors that mingled with the mist around the buildings.

To the people of the East, for whom the dragon is a cultural totem, this slumbering mythological creature held unparalleled significance.

This is... the Mirage Dragon...

Li Ang's body trembled slightly—not just from the excitement of seeing a mythological creature, but also from the profound, ancient, and primal aura it emanated.

The dragon, leader of scaled creatures, commands clouds, brings rain, dispels evil, wards off disasters, and bestows blessings.

The hint of Divinity granted by the Swamp Reindeer did not lessen Li Ang's awe at seeing the Giant Dragon in person. Instead, it deepened his reverence for the Mirage Dragon—a reverence for the ultimate power life could achieve, and for the raw, primordial history itself.

"Phew..."

Under immense pressure, Li Ang advanced toward the palace step by step, using the Palace Lantern to disperse the dense, almost tangible fog clinging to the ground.

By this time, several players from the cliff had descended to the trench floor. They maintained a kilometer's distance from Li Ang, guarding the fainted Datura patients.

After what felt like a long time, Li Ang finally stood before the palace. Only then could he truly comprehend its grandeur and the dragon's immensity.

Li Ang forced himself to look away from the Giant Dragon. Holding the Palace Lantern, he lowered his head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tendril emerge from the dark clouds above. It stretched down through the path cleared by the lantern, slowly drifting towards the dragon's head and its crudely made, flat crown, which resembled a rough-hewn piece of crystal.

The translucent crown, already tinged with grey, instantly took on an indelible black hue upon contact with the cloud tendril.

Dark impurities slowly but surely permeated the crystal crown, threatening to saturate it completely.

One second, two seconds... Time crawled by. Everyone awaited the moment the blackness would fully permeate the crown.

STEP. STEP. STEP.

Apart from the dragon's breathing, the otherwise absolute silence of the Misty Territory was broken by faint but distinct footsteps.

An instantaneous chill shot up Li Ang's spine. Palace Lantern in hand, eyes wide, he stared into the darkness from where the footsteps originated. With a tap of his toes, he instantly retreated dozens of meters.

"Are you hiding from me?"

A childish female voice with a strange accent spoke from behind Li Ang. A cold sensation prickled his neck. He whirled around, the Palace Lantern in his hand illuminating the darkness behind him.