Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “What a strange feeling.” Linley had a sense of being ill at-ease upon entering this new dimension.

  Fain drew near Linley and said to him spiritually, “Linley, in this plane, even my spiritual energy can only encompass ten or so meters. In addition, this plane is filled with countless experts. We can’t fall behind the others, as if we do, if we are surrounded by those countless magical beasts, we will die for certain.”

  Linley was secretly shocked.

  The group of people followed Beirut forward. Beirut wasn’t the slightest bit nervous, leading them flying for over ten kilometers.

  “That mountain-sized building over there is the Necropolis of the Gods.” Fain drew near Linley yet again and spoke to him spiritually. Linley stared at that distant, massive structure. He couldn’t help but feel his heart shake. “This Necropolis of the Gods really is astonishingly large.”

  Linley was certain that this Necropolis of the Gods was over a hundred kilometers away from them, but Linley could nonetheless make it out clearly.

  “The Necropolis of the Gods is nearly twenty thousand meters tall, and each of the four sides of its base is over ten thousand meters long.” Fain spoke to Linley spiritually. He was very familiar with this Necropolis of the Gods.

  “How was such an enormous edifice built?” Linley couldn’t help but sigh nonstop with praise.

  Given their flying speed, the distance of a hundred kilometers was quickly reached. Once they drew near it, Linley began to sigh in amazement yet again. The reason he sighed in amazement…was because although the Necropolis of the Gods was primarily cuboid, the top of it still tapered off into narrow edges.

  The Necropolis of the Gods had four sides, and the side facing Linley had a massive carving on it.

  “Dragon?”

  Staring at this twenty thousand meter high, ten thousand meter, massive carving, Linley saw that it was of an enormous, winding dragon. This dragon was different from the dragons of the Yulan continent’s plane, because this dragon didn’t have wings. And yet, the sculpture of the dragon gave off an aura of majesty which made others want to bow towards it.

  “The four sides of the Necropolis have four different carvings.” Beirut’s voice rang out in everyone’s ears. “This side is of a massive dragon. It truly is the carving of a dragon. The opposite side is the massive carving of a white tiger. On the other two sides are massive sculptures of a phoenix and of a dragon-turtle.”

  A massive dragon…a white tiger…a phoenix…and a dragon-turtle?

  “Why does this Necropolis of the Gods have these four sculptures here?” Linley was puzzled.

  Beirut patted Bebe, still in his arms. At this point, Bebe jumped off and scampered onto Linley’s shoulders. Beirut then laughed calmly and said, “These four massive sculptures represent four different parts of the Necropolis of the Gods. As for the side of the massive dragon, beneath it, there are a large number of smaller sculptures.”

  Linley and the others saw it as well.

  The massive sculpture of the dragon took up roughly 70%-80% of the entire area, while the other sculptures, all combined, only took up 10%. The rest was just blank.

  “These sculptures…” Linley carefully inspected the smaller sculptures below the massive dragon. All of them, amazingly enough, were in the form of a dragon or serpent-type magical beasts. There was a certain rhythm and sequence to them as well.

  “Judging from these small sculptures…” Beirut looked at the smaller sculptures as well. “This time, it seems that the guardian of the first eleven layers of the Necropolis of the Gods will be the divine beast, the ‘Ba-Serpent’.”

  “The divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’?”

  The eighty-plus experts of the Yulan continent’s plane were all very confused, but they all knew one thing…since it was termed as a ‘divine beast’, this ‘Ba-Serpent’ clearly had already reached the Deity-level. How would the Saints here possibly break past it?

  “Ba-Serpent? Lord Beirut, but…how will they even stand a chance?” Dylin spoke.

  Lord Beirut glanced at him, then laughed calmly. “This divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’, reached adulthood tens of thousands of years ago. From what I understand, it has already reached the level of being a full God. Let’s not discuss the Saints for now; even if the four of you went in, once you got into a fight with the Ba-Serpent, you would definitely die.”

  The faces of the eighty-plus experts changed.

  “Last time, the leader of the upper eleven floors was only a Two-Headed Vile Dragon from the Infernal Realm. I didn’t expect that this time, it would actually be the divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’. And a God level one at that.” Fain’s face was extremely sour.

  Linley understood this as well.

  This Necropolis of the Gods was for the group of Saints to enter. Even if the Deities entered, they wouldn’t enter alongside them. Given the power of Saints, upon encountering a full God, they would definitely die. There was no question about this whatsoever.

  Lord Beirut laughed calmly. “Don’t worry. The path before you isn’t a path of certain death. First, let me explain some basics regarding the Necropolis of the Gods to you. The Necropolis of the Gods has a total of eighteen layers! The top ten layers definitely do not have divine sparks. From the eleventh layer onwards, there will definitely be corpses of Deities as well as divine sparks to be found.”

  Many of the experts who had never been here before immediately had looks of joy on their face.

  Hearing that there were divine sparks on the eleventh floor, many people immediately made the decision that they absolutely had to break through to the eleventh floor. Once they found a divine spark, they would become a Deity. The prerequisite, of course…was that they find the divine spark of a Demigod.

  “The part of the Necropolis of the Gods which you are about to enter into has the divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’, as the leader of the top eleven floors. As for the twelfth floor and beyond…even Deities which enter it have a very high chance of death.” Lord Beirut laughed calmly, and the people who had unconsciously contemplating giving the twelfth floor a try immediately gave up the notion.

  Beirut looked at the people present. “As for the Ba-Serpent, he might be on the first floor, or he might be on the eleventh floor. Regardless…he is definitely within one of the eleven floors.”

  Linley couldn’t help but feel nervous.

  “If we run into the Ba-Serpent, doesn’t that mean we are doomed?” Linley worried.

  Beirut seemed to know what Linley was thinking. He explained, “Regarding the Ba-Serpent…the Ba-Serpent is fond of sleeping, and when asleep, a Ba-Serpent generally will not wake up, unless there is a huge commotion of some sort. If you encounter the sleeping Ba-Serpent on your floor, you’d best not wake him up, as otherwise, you would definitely die.”

  Everyone present was secretly cursing in their heart.

  Who would be idiotic enough to wake up the Ba-Serpent? But everyone knew as well that if the leader of these first eleven floors was the Ba-Serpent, then there would definitely be other barriers as well.

  “The Ba-Serpent is fond of sleeping, but if the Ba-Serpent just so happens to be awake when your group enters…all you can do is blame your own terrible luck.” Lord Beirut explained.

  The faces of all the experts present changed.

  If they encountered the divine beast ‘Ba-Serpent’ while it was awake, most likely not a single one of them would be able to escape.

  “Haha…” Lord Beirut laughed loudly. “All I can do is wish you good luck. Remember. The first eleven floors has more than just the divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’. It also has all sorts of other monsters, or undead creatures, or aberrations from other planes. There are quite a few creatures within that are much more powerful than even the most powerful of you.”

  The faces of Fain and Desri were extremely solemn.

  They knew this very well, because last time, they had suffered as a result of it.

  “Remember. Be careful and be
vigilant. Don’t be greedy.” Lord Beirut said. “If you die inside, I won’t be able to rescue you from outside either.”

  As he spoke, Beirut’s hands flashed with two rays of black light which struck the bottom of the wall. Instantly, two gateways appeared there at the bottom of the massive wall. “Human Saints will enter through the left gateway, while magical beast Saints will enter through the right gateway. If you survive the first four floors, then…you’ll meet again on the fifth floor.”

  Linley immediately understood.

  The insides of the Necropolis of the Gods were very complex, and these two tunnels led to different paths through the first four floors. Only on the fifth floor would it all merge together.

  “All of you, go inside now.” Beirut laughed calmly. “Remember. If you are afraid, you can just hide on the first floor, which has the least danger, and wait ten years. In ten year’s time, every single floor will have portals to the outside world appear, at which point you will be able to leave.”

  Ten years!

  Nobody hesitated. The human Saints and the magical beast Saints all separated into their own groups.

  “Bebe, be careful.” Linley said mentally.

  “Boss, you be careful too.” Bebe couldn’t bear to part from Linley either.

  Book 11, Necropolis of the Gods – Chapter 10: Moving Cautiously

  After the human experts and the magical beasts experts entered the Necropolis of the Gods, the High Priest finally spoke.

  “Lord Beirut?” The High Priest looked at Beirut. “If that Bebe encounters the divine beast, ‘Ba-Serpent’, what then?”

  Perhaps Beirut didn’t give a damn about the lives of the others, but he definitely cared about Bebe. And, in the Necropolis of the Gods, even Beirut wouldn’t be able to save them. The High Priest was confused…why did Beirut dare to do such a thing!

  Beirut laughed. “It’s fine. Bebe won’t encounter the Ba-Serpent. Because…he took the right tunnel.”

  “Lord Beirut, what are you saying?” Cesar’s face changed.

  Beirut laughed calmly and nodded. “Just now, when I opened the tunnels, I did a quick investigation. The Ba-Serpent is in the area of the left tunnel, and it is beneath the fifth floor…thus, I had the magical beast Saints enter the right tunnel.”

  The High Priest, War God, Dylin, and Cesar all sighed secretly.

  “Then Linley…” Cesar said in a quiet voice.

  Beirut said calmly, “I hope his luck is good. I can’t always protect them. They made the decision for themselves to enter the Necropolis of the Gods. Enough. Let’s go. We’ll come again in ten years.” Beirut immediately turned and flew out from the tunnel they came in from.

  The High Priest, the War God, and the others all hurried after him.

  …..

  The dark, gloomy tunnel was ‘lit’ by black light. The group of experts entered the tunnel. The waters of the deep sea weren’t able to enter this tunnel at all. Fain and Linley walked side by side.

  “Linley, remember. If you encounter anything dangerous, the safest thing you can do is retreat to a lower floor.” Fain was giving Linley the benefit of his experience. “Every single layer here has a large amount of terrifying creatures or undead, but they remain on their own floor.”

  Linley nodded slightly.

  “Also. No matter what, do not release your spiritual energy in the Necropolis of the Gods.” Fain said solemnly. “If your spiritual energy draws the attention of some creatures, they will quickly discover your presence.”

  “I know.” In a dangerous place like this, actively releasing his spiritual energy was telling all the creatures and undead of this floor his location. That was as good as looking for death.

  Linley said questioningly, “Fain, the Necropolis of the Gods is built with so many types of creatures on each floor…I have the feeling that someone built it on purpose.” It was simply too bizarre. After all, if many Deities had died here, it should have been a chaotic place.

  But instead, it looked indeed like an enormous necropolis.

  “From what Master said, Lord Beirut had told him once before that this Necropolis of the Gods is actually nothing more than a Sovereign’s game.” Fain laughed bitterly.

  “A Sovereign’s game?” Linley was stunned.

  But then, Linley immediately understood. “That Hodan had said that in the Higher Planes, there are trillions upon trillions of Deities, but there are only seven of each type of Sovereign. Sovereigns sit on high, far above the Deities. One must have sent his subordinates to construct a necropolis for the corpses of many dead gods, and then intentionally allow Saint-level experts or perhaps Deity-level experts to enter here and seek treasure.” Linley felt a sense of helplessness.

  Sovereigns were far and above their level.

  All of them, including the High Priest, the War God, and the other Demigods were nothing more than a tiny chess piece in this game to the Sovereign.

  “Perhaps the Sovereign would actually find some amusement in watching us fight for our lives.” Fain sighed.

  Linley understood. The Sovereigns were far above them, looking down and watching as they struggled, much like how when he was young, him and the other children watched the ants on the ground.

  All of them, including the High Priest and the War God, were nothing more than ‘ants’ in the eyes of the Sovereigns. Perhaps even the seemingly powerful Beirut, in the eyes of the high Sovereigns, was nothing more than a rather large ant.

  “Regardless, the chance we have here to seize a divine spark is far greater than the chance we would have in the Higher Planes.” Fain sighed deeply.

  Linley sighed deeply as well.

  It was time to prepare to fight.

  “If I can get a divine spark, even if I don’t use it, I can give it to Delia.” Linley deeply treasured Delia. He had left and would be gone for ten years, but she hadn’t said a single word of complaint. He truly felt lucky to have been able to marry such a wife, who always thought about him first and foremost.

  “Everyone, we’ve reached the end of the tunnel.” A callous middle-aged man who wore a turban on his head said loudly. “If we continue forward, we will be at the first floor. Remember. Don’t be too greedy. You dying isn’t a big deal, but don’t drag down others with you.”

  After speaking, the turban-wearing man walked out of the tunnel.

  This person was one of the Five Prime Saints, the number one expert of the great plains of the far east, the War Saint Tulily.

  Behind him, one Saint after another exited the tunnel.

  “Who knows what will be on the first floor. We better not encounter that terrifying Deity-level ‘Ba-Serpent’ magical beast on the very first floor.” Linley stared at the pitch-black end of the tunnel, then stepped through it. Instantly, the world spun and the environment changed.

  “Whooooooooooooosh.” A wild wind was blowing desolately, and yellow sand was flying everywhere.

  This was an extremely desolate desert world, and the wild wind blasted the yellow sand everywhere, causing the entire world to seem blurry. The heat waves here caused the air itself to distort as well.

  “There’s magical beasts over there.” Linley could clearly tell that off in the distance, there was a ferocious, three-horned magical beast that was hundreds of meters tall, which was currently roaring with anger. Its entire body was covered with a metallic shine, and its fierce fangs were dripping with some sort of liquid. “This magical beast appears to be quite formidable.”

  Linley was secretly surprised, and he immediately transformed into his Dragonblood Warrior form.

  In a place like this, he didn’t dare to be incautious.

  “Hrm?” Linley suddenly realized that a great deal of sand was being blown by the wind through the body of that ‘ferocious magical beast’. Soon, the ferocious magical beast disappeared from view.

  “Mirage?” Linley began to understand.

  Many of the Saints were inspecting their surroundings carefully upon entering this
place, and then quickly were beginning to fly in search of the passageway to the second floor.

  “Where’s Barker?” Linley hadn’t discovered Barker yet. “This damn place. There’s sand everywhere, the air is distorted, and mirages constantly appear. I can’t even see anyone clearly.” Linley secretly cursed. Aside from a few of the nearer Saints, whom he could make out clearly, he couldn’t see any of the other Saints at all.

  Linley didn’t waste any more time thinking, and he immediately flew out as well.

  “Linley.” Suddenly, someone drew near Linley.

  Linley looked at him. This was the fifth personal disciple of the War God, Eddins [Yi’deng’si]. Eddins reminded him, “Linley, remember, this damn place is filled with mirages that are hard to tell apart from reality. They are truly irritating. Don’t stay in one place. What you need to do is run everywhere and search for that gateway to the second floor. If you stay in this place and waste too much time, it’s possible that trouble will find you.”

  After speaking, Eddins immediately flew away by himself at high speed.

  The scorching waves of gas caused the air itself to distort. Soon, Linley could no longer see Eddins any longer.

  “I can only do what Eddins recommended.” Linley immediately began flying everywhere, searching for that gateway to the second floor. The most common life form here in this desert was an enormous cactus. As for creatures…he didn’t even see one.

  Linley flew in the air while carefully inspecting all of his surroundings, searching for that gateway.

  “Swish!” A flash of light suddenly shot out from beneath the yellow sands, shooting directly towards Linley. Linley’s iron-whip-like draconic tail struck at it lightning fast, and with a ‘whap’ sound, the ray of light was immediately shattered and broken.

  Immediately afterwards, six skeletons whose entire bodies were covered with a diamond aura emerged from the yellow sand at high speed.

  “Draconian, obediently give us your corpse, and we’ll give you a clean death.” One of the six Saint-level undead spoke out, his eyes-sockets filled with two lively balls of fire. The six Saint-level skeletons surrounded Linley, their weapons at the ready.