Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  It was the Violet-Eyed Goldfur Ape who had squashed Kalan to death with one foot.

  Only, he couldn’t be sure if the Violet-Eyed Goldfur Ape in front of him was the same Violet-Eyed Goldfur Ape which had attacked Fenlai City.

  So many experts had gathered here. Human experts, and magical beasts as well. All of the powerful experts hidden away in the Yulan continent had come out today, and everyone present, humans and beasts alike, were chatting in quiet voices to each other. At this moment, humans and magical beasts were two races that were equal to each other.

  “Swish!” A black shadow flew out from the metallic castle. It was Bebe.

  All the humans and magical beasts present turned to stare at Bebe. In the past, aside from those three children of Lord Beirut as well as those Deities, not a single Saint-level expert had been qualified to enter this metallic castle.

  “Boss, it’s all taken care of.” Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “Let Barker come.”

  Linley laughed. In front of that mysterious Beirut, it seemed Bebe’s words were quite effective.

  “Haeru, go inform Barker and bring Barker here.” Linley immediately spiritually communicated with his Blackcloud Panther, Haeru, and Haeru’s voice sounded out in Linley’s mind as well. “Yes, Master.”

  After roughly an hour.

  Barker, under Haeru’s guidance, flew here.

  “So many people.” Barker looked at the experts present, and he couldn’t help but be shocked. All combined, humans and magical beasts, there were over eighty Saints here today. These experts all possessed astonishing strength. If he didn’t transform…Barker would be the weakest of them.

  But of course, after transforming, Barker would be above average.

  In this group, the highest tier belonged to the Desri, Fain, the other Five Prime Saints, and Linley.

  The sun rose to the zenith of the sky. The Saints clustered in the empty space around the metallic castle were quite patient, and they all waited quietly. Suddenly, four shadows flew out from within the living castle. There was the War God with his absolutely dominating aura, the graceful High Priest, the devilish Dylin, and the lazy Cesar.

  The four mighty Deities landed in front of the castle.

  Everyone, humans and magical beasts alike, listened respectfully for their orders.

  The High Priest, face covered by that green mask and long hair flowing gracefully, was the first to speak. “In this group, there are those of you who have gone to the Necropolis of the Gods before, and those who have not. But this trip is not like the previous trips, which is why we must remind you of a few things.”

  The High Priest’s voice was very gentle, yet very neutral. From the sound of it alone, it was hard to determine whether the voice belonged to a man or a woman.

  “Different from the past?” Linley smiled calmly. He had never gone there a single time before, so no matter what the past had been like, it didn’t affect him at all.

  All the humans and magical beasts present listened carefully to the High Priest’s reminders.

  “Those who have gone to the Necropolis of the Gods know that there are, in total, three tunnels that lead to the Necropolis of the Gods. One is here at the Forest of Darkness. One is on an island in the North Seas. And the third is in the watery depths of the South Sea.” The voice of the High Priest remained very gentle.

  The faces of the more experienced people, like Desri and Fain, began to change.

  “Three thousand years ago, the entrance to the Necropolis of the Gods was from the South Seas entrance. Two thousand years ago, the entrance was from the Forest of Darkness. One thousand years ago, it was from the island in the North Sea. Every three thousand years a cycle. This time, you will be entering the Necropolis of the Gods from the South Sea.” The High Priest’s voice entered the ears of every man and magical beast.

  Linley was surprised.

  “This Necropolis of the Gods actually has three tunnels?” Linley began to wonder. “But these three tunnels are extremely far apart from each other. North Sea, Forest of Darkness, South Sea…they are tens of thousands of kilometers apart. What’s going on?”

  Although he was puzzled, Linley knew that this wasn’t the time to ask. He could only continue to listen patiently.

  The High Priest’s voice seemed to contain a hint of laughter in it. “So you should know which tunnel will be used now. Those ten of you with previous experience should also know how dangerous this trip will be. Alright. Desri, come explain to everyone.”

  “Remember. Anyone who wants to give up can do so. But tonight, the remainder of us will head out together.” The High Priest’s voice remained soft.

  Dylin’s cold laughter rang out. “If you are afraid, then don’t go. There’s nothing embarrassing about it. It isn’t too late to give up now. If you give up later, after arriving there, and decide to flee at that point, that would be really shameful.” The four Deities walked to one side, waiting for midnight to come.

  Desri walked to the front of the group.

  Desri’s face looked extremely dark and downcast. Linley had never seen the suave Desri have such an ugly look on his face before.

  “Those of you who experienced the opening of the Necropolis of the Gods two thousand years ago or a thousand years ago, listen carefully.” Desri’s voice was very cold. “There isn’t just one Necropolis of the Gods, nor is there just two. There are three. The three different tunnels lead to three different Necropolises!”

  “Three?” Many people were shocked.

  Even Linley felt shocked, and he focused his energy on listening to what Desri had to say.

  “Although the Necropolises of the Gods which are reached through the tunnels in the Forest of Darkness and the North Sea’s island are dangerous, the danger isn’t that great. Generally speaking, as long as you are cautious and prudent, you won’t be in any risk. But the Necropolis of the Gods which is reached through the South Sea is extremely, extremely dangerous.” Desri said in a low voice, “In fact, I even believe that of the eighty or so experts present, even if we are extremely careful, we would be lucky to have a third of us survive.”

  “A third?” Many of the Saints let out startled calls.

  Many of them had gone to the Necropolis of the Gods before, but on the past two visits to the Necropolis of the Gods, only a quarter of them or so had died. But from what Desri was saying…it seemed two thirds of them were likely to die on this trip.

  “And that assumes you are being extremely careful. If you get greedy…I expect that perhaps we might be lucky to see ten survivors out of our eighty people present.” Desri looked at the people in front of him. “Remember this. If you die, that’s no big deal. But don’t drag down others with you.”

  After finishing speaking, Desri returned to stand next to Hayward and Higginson.

  The atmosphere was extremely depressed.

  “What is there to be afraid of? The more dangerous it is, the greater a chance of finding a divine spark or a divine artifact.” A voice rang out from the group.

  “Make it out alive first.” Fain’s cold voice rang out.

  Fain’s face was also exceedingly ugly to behold right now.

  Desri, Higginson, and Hayward were all silent.

  Linley walked towards them, then asked softly, “Desri, what’s wrong? This trip to the Necropolis of the Gods will be very special?”

  Desri looked at Linley, then sighed and said, “Linley, do you remember your first trip to our village? At that time, when Hayward was sparring with you, you asked why he, a Grand Magus Saint, didn’t have a magical beast companion.”

  “I remember.” Linley nodded.

  When Hayward had been sparring with him, Linley had been under the impression that a Grand Magus Saint who sparred with him without a magical beast companion would definitely be defeated. But then, Hayward had shown him the error of his ways by demonstrating how a Grand Magus Saint fought.

  “At that time, you said that his magical beast had
died in order to save him. That was more than two thousand years ago. In addition, a good friend of yours had died as well.” Linley responded.

  “Right.” Desri nodded. “And the event I spoke of us was our journey into the Necropolis of the Gods three thousand years ago.”

  Linley nodded.

  “Hayward’s magical beast was an Electrobolt Panther, very useful for staying alive in the Necropolis of the Gods. I begged Lord Beirut for another slot in order to let that magical beast come as well. However, on that trip…on just the outer perimeter of the sixth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods, our third brother and that magical beast both died. As for the three of us, we were on the fifth layer and didn’t dare to enter the sixth layer. Just like that…we stayed there in the fifth layer for five years, waiting until the exit tunnel appeared.” Desri’s face was very bitter.

  Linley’s mind was stirred.

  The fifth layer? Sixth layer?

  Although he didn’t know anything about the Necropolis of the Gods, from the sound of it, it was divided into many layers. And this ‘sixth floor’ was an extremely dangerous one.

  The night descended. Not a single Saint left. If they were afraid of an unknown danger…then they truly would have quite weak-willed.

  A black shadow suddenly appeared in front of the group, then slowly solidified. This person wore a very simple black robe. His black hair was loose and unbound, and his beard was so long that it reached down to his chest. He looked just like an old man.

  “Lord Beirut.” The High Priest, Cesar, the War God, and Dylin all immediately rose and said respectfully.

  All of the Saints immediately rose and bowed respectfully, regardless of whether it was their first, second, or third time meeting Beirut. The atmosphere was such that neither the High Priest nor the War God, much less the Saints, dared to even breathe.

  Beirut had a pair of little eyes, but they were quite lively, like two brilliant stars. His face seemed to have a perpetual hint of a smile on it.

  “Bebe, come over here.” Beirut looked at Bebe, then beamed at him.

  Bebe immediately jumped into Beirut’s arms. Everyone present looked at Bebe.

  “Grandpa Beirut, let’s go. I’ve waited here so long.” Bebe didn’t seem to feel any pressure from Beirut’s presence at all, and Beirut nodded indulgently, then flew towards the south with Bebe in his arms. “Let’s go.” Beirut’s slightly gravelly voice rang out.

  At this moment, the four Deities and the eighty-plus human and magical beast Saints all flew into the air as well.

  While flying, many people looked at Linley. Clearly, the close relationship between Bebe and Beirut had caused them to pay attention to Linley as well. But those people only knew…that Bebe was Linley’s magical beast. Many people had come to a decision…

  Even if they didn’t make friends with Linley, they couldn’t offend him.

  After all, in front of Lord Beirut, even the likes of the War God and the other three Deities acted as though they were children, afraid to even breathe loudly. One could completely understand how, in Lord Beirut’s heart, the status of Bebe was far greater than that of the likes of the War God.

  “This War God truly is formidable. He expressed goodwill towards me so early on, during my little brother’s wedding.” Linley laughed secretly to himself. “Lord Beirut has a relationship with Bebe, Bebe has a relationship with me, and I have a relationship with Wharton…there are two layers of separation here!”

  But the War God had even gotten involved in Wharton’s affairs, directly ordering that Emperor Johann to allow Wharton to become Nina’s husband.

  One could completely imagine how much respect and dread the War God felt towards Lord Beirut.

  …….

  The oceans took up an enormous amount of territory in the Yulan plane. The North Sea was already enormous, but the South Sea was simply shocking. Linley had once heard Hodan say that at the end of the South Sea, one would see the wild, chaotic space.

  Late night. The endless waters of the sea seemed dark and heavy.

  “Right here.” Beirut declared as he stood there in mid-air above the sea.

  “In the depths of the ocean here, you’ll find the entrance to the tunnel to the Necropolis of the Gods. That tunnel is roughly twenty thousand meters away from the surface of the sea.” Beirut laughed calmly. “I trust the water pressure of the deep sea won’t have any effect on you. If you can’t even withstand a tiny little bit of deep sea water pressure, then it is best if you give up right away.”

  As he spoke, Beirut himself was the first to dive into the water.

  Wherever his body passed, the deep ocean water itself naturally split apart around him, creating a corridor.

  Book 11, Necropolis of the Gods – Chapter 9: The Necropolis’ Sculptures

  “Rumble, rumble.” The sea roiled, and then four pathways into the sea appeared, and the High Priest, the War God, and the others all dove into the sea as well.

  The eighty-plus human and magical beast experts didn’t hesitate at all, hurriedly entering the water.

  “This deep sea is quite interesting.” Linley’s battle-qi was swirling around him. With his Pulseguard Defense, he was able to easily offset the outside water pressure. As for Linley himself, he curiously stared at the various scenes here, deep in the ocean. This was Linley’s first trip into the seas.

  In the deepest part of the ocean, it was silent and pitch-black. The only things that could be seen were a few creatures that naturally radiated light.

  Fain and Linley flew down together. Fain glanced at Linley, then his voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “Linley, in this vast expanse of land here in the South Seas, there are actually a great many magical beast, such as Aquatic Dragons, Dragon Turtles, Nine-Headed Serpents, Titanic Octopi…all of these are Saint-level magical beasts.” Fain naturally had the ability to engage in spirit-projecting communication.

  Linley secretly nodded.

  The South Seas were far larger than the Yulan continent in size. It would be unnatural if they didn’t contain a large amount of magical beasts in them.

  “But even if the magical beasts of the depth drew near, upon seeing us, they would be so frightened they would immediately flee.” Fain smiled calmly as he mentally spoke to Linley.

  Linley chuckled as well.

  The group continued to fly deeper into the dark, silent depths of the sea, while at the same time, they enjoyed the sight of these rarely-viewed sceneries. Occasionally, an enormous magic beast would appear, but upon discovering that so many experts were descending, it would invariably be so frightened that it wouldn’t even dare to move.

  The farther down they went, the greater the pressure was.

  At the end, the pressure was so great, it was as though a small mountain was weighing down upon them. Fortunately, all of these people were amongst the most powerful Saints in the world, and thus they could take it. They would either cast magic spells, or use protective barriers of battle-qi. The rainbow of colors surrounding them was quite resplendent to behold.

  “We’re at the sea floor.” The experts all came to a halt at the sea floor.

  There were some life forms such as corals down here, which radiated a bit of light. The bottom of the sea was covered with rows upon rows of coral reefs, while the ground was not level, sometimes convex while other times concave. It could rise up to a height of hundreds of meters, and sink down so deeply that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

  “Almost there.” Fain said mentally to Linley.

  Linley nodded slightly.

  Everyone continued to follow the leaders at the bottom of the sea. After travelling for several kilometers, they arrived at an enormous, pitch-black boulder. This pitch-black boulder stood by itself in the middle of a gorge, and in the water above the boulder, there was a translucent ‘door’ which was emitting strange ripples.

  “Here we are.” The gravelly voice rang out in everyone’s ears.

  Everyone stopped in front of this pitch-bl
ack boulder.

  “Hrm? This ‘door’ seems quite similar to the ‘door’ of my pocket dimension. Only, it’s twice the size.” Linley was intrigued.

  Lord Beirut’s voice could be heard in each person’s ears. “This interspatial door is the tunnel which leads to the Necropolis of the Gods. Normally, this interspatial door is shut and covered by a layer of invisible force.” As he spoke, Beirut’s body suddenly emitted a ray of black light.

  This ray of black light struck directly against the interspatial door.

  “Rumble…” The quiet sea floor suddenly began to shudder, and the previously translucent ‘door’ suddenly emanated with a blinding, dazzling light, as though a membrane had suddenly covered and sealed it.

  But a few seconds later, it burst apart like a popped bubble.

  “Pop!” With a very soft sound, the membrane collapsed.

  “Follow me. All in at the same time.” Beirut flew to the interspatial door, and with one step, crossed through to the other side. As he did, Beirut completely disappeared from the line of sight from the people present.

  The High Priest, War God, Dylin, and Cesar didn’t hesitate at all. They immediately entered the interspatial door as well, disappearing from line of sight.

  “So the Necropolis of the Gods is actually another plane.” Linley now understood. “Only, the plane of the Necropolis of the Gods is connected to the Yulan continent’s plane.”

  This was much like his pocket dimension. The hidden location of the Necropolis of the Gods was also linked up with the Yulan continent.

  All of the experts present entered the interspatial door together, and Linley and Fain entered as well.

  “What a strange vibration.” Linley could clearly sense that the moment he stepped across the interspatial door, he had a strange feeling, as though he were a person swimming in the water who suddenly stepped onto dry land. It was as though the entire environment had changed.”

  The many experts had arrived at a different plane.

  They were all still at the bottom of the sea. Only, it was the bottom of the sea of a different plane.