Chapter 5505 The Final Treasure
The first thing that struck them about the divine palace was the gate—its sheer size. Even Long Chen, who had witnessed countless wonders, had never seen a gate so huge before.
However, what truly astonished them was the material of the palace itself. The entire structure consisted of countless reverse dragon scales seamlessly linking together.
The scales were of various colors, emitting their own divine light. Standing in front of it, Long Chen felt like he was being stared at by millions of dragon souls. Their silent stares carried an overwhelming pressure that sent a chill down his spine, causing him to instinctively grip Evilmoon.
Every scale represented the will of a dragon scale. Their gazes were devoid of warmth, family, or friendship—only cold, unyielding pride.
“Is... is this a trial? Is it testing us?” asked Chi Yue.
“It seems so,” replied Mo Ying hoarsely, her throat dry from nervousness. “If we want to enter, we’ll have to earn their approval.”
The scales belonged to ancient dragons who had ascended to the Human Emperor realm, and each of them carried an unimaginable power. The sheer number of these scales—perhaps billions, even trillions—defied comprehension. When their might united, it dwarfed even the sovereign dragon reverse scale.
The thought struck everyone: countless years had passed, yet no one had ever managed to gain the approval of that reverse scale. How could they possibly earn the recognition of an entire palace of them?
Before the imposing gate and its oppressive dragon might, Long Chen stepped forward with unwavering determination. As he approached, tens of thousands of streaks of divine light converged, forming a barrier to block his path.
Clearly, even though he possessed dragon blood, he would need to pass through the palace’s test. If they didn’t have dragon blood power, perhaps this palace would have attacked them.
Long Chen extended his hand, revealing a blood-colored cross in his palm—the Sovereign Blood Seal. Slowly, he pressed it against the barrier. Under countless anxious gazes, the moment his hand made contact, the barrier quivered and vanished.
They no longer sensed the aura of hostility from the palace. A deep rumbling followed as the enormous gates began to open, revealing an enormous passageway beyond.
When this passageway opened, dragon might washed over them like a flood. It was so potent that those below the Heaven Saint realm were sent flying by its force. Only after the flood subsided could they cautiously approach the gate.
Once inside, they passed through three successive gates, each grander than the last, before arriving at a massive plaza.
At the center of this plaza stood an altar. There was no treasure or divine artifact atop it, only a solitary stone stele. The stele bore no intricate divine runes or carvings—just two lines of words, written in dragon blood.
The simple words radiated an overwhelming will to fight:
“Protect my dragon race. Let rivers of Brahma’s blood flow. Until there is no more blood to spill, the battle shall not stop.”
As Long Chen read the inscription, a vivid image formed in his mind—a vision of every dragon in Sovereign Dragon Valley marching into battle, their hearts steeled with the resolve to never return.
“Lord Brahma...”
The experts of the Dragon Domain clenched their fists, their expressions darkening at the mention of this name. Much of the dragon race’s history had been lost to time, leaving them unaware of such ancient truths.
While they had always distrusted Pill Valley, suspecting its ambitions were far from pure, they had never imagined that Lord Brahma was the mortal enemy of their race. If they had known, they would have never allowed the resonant dragon race to align with Brahma Pill Valley.
“This is an absolute disgrace!” the black dragon race’s patriarch roared, his face twisted with fury.
To actually join forces with their enemy, how would they have the face to see their ancestors?
The stele’s words cut into their hearts like blades. Their ancestors had fought to the bitter end, sacrificing everything to uphold the dignity of the dragon race. Yet, their descendants squabbled over power and alliances, oblivious to their heritage.
The black dragon race’s patriarch was the first to kneel and kowtow ruthlessly onto the ground. With a loud crack, his head struck the plaza’s hard surface, and blood splattered across the ground.
One by one, the other patriarchs followed his lead, their foreheads smashing against the stone in penance. Soon, the entire Dragon Domain knelt in submission, tears streaming down their faces.
“I have shamed my ancestors!” cried the black dragon patriarch, his voice hoarse with grief. “Throwing away the dignity of the dragon race is a sin worthy of a thousand deaths. But the dragon race still needs me. Ancestors, forgive me for not offering my head now. Let me live a little longer—to spill my final drop of blood for the dragon race. Only then will I face you with honor.”
His powerful words echoed across the plaza, igniting a wave of remorse among the other patriarchs. They had allowed the Dragon Domain to fall into a state of disgrace. If they could atone for it, even if they were sliced into a thousand pieces and ground to dust, they would not frown.
However, no one could forgive their sins, nor was there anyone left to punish them. This absence of judgment only deepened their guilt.
For now, all they could do was put their bodies to work. They had to do as much as they could for the dragon race before they died.
The race leaders remained silent, their hearts heavy with guilt. In truth, they bore the greater share of responsibility for the Dragon Domain's decline.
Staring at the words left by their ancestors—those who had fought to their very last breath to protect the dragon race—they felt a profound sense of shame. While their ancestors had sacrificed everything for the greater good, they had squandered that legacy by waging internal battles among themselves. Their foolishness now seemed so profound that they questioned whether their lives held any worth at all.
Comparing their petty struggles to the heroism of their ancestors, they felt utterly disgraced. They had the urge to kill themselves just to try to atone for their sins.
Long Chen walked up to the stele. Looking at the bloody words on it, he felt a swell of reverence.
“Senior, how did the dragon race become enemies with Lord Brahma? Why have you never mentioned such a thing to me?” asked Long Chen.
“I cannot tell you yet, but you will know in the future. Ignore these fools. Let them reflect upon themselves here. Continue on,” replied the primal chaos Dragon Sovereign.
Long Chen looked at the dragon race’s experts who were kneeling and crying on the ground. Following the Dragon Sovereign’s directions, he went around the stele.
Beyond the plaza stood another gate, but this time there was no clear path forward. Instead, a bottomless abyss stretched before him, veiled in swirling mist that obscured the surroundings.
At the edge of the abyss, at the very end of the path, stood a stone table. As Long Chen approached, he noticed a claw-shaped imprint carved into its surface.
“Place a drop of dragon blood on it,” instructed the Dragon Sovereign.
Without hesitation, Long Chen pressed his hand to the imprint, summoning a drop of dragon blood. As the blood seeped into the stone, the entire world seemed to tremble.
Following that, Long Chen and the others saw an absolutely enormous Ten Thousand Dragon Nest rise out of the abyss.
“This is the final treasure they left behind,” the Dragon Sovereign’s voice resounded in Long Chen’s mind. “If you can control it, not even the eight divine commanders combined will be able to stop you.”