Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  The wildly waving tendrils of the ‘green sea’ below suddenly halted.

  None of these plant creatures could dare believe it. Their mighty ‘Queen Mother’ had been killed in mid-air by this warrior who looked like a Draconian.

  Their invincible Queen Mother…had died!

  “Listen up.” Linley shouted coldly towards the people below. “All of you better scram. Otherwise…I’ll kill all of you, just like how I just killed your Queen Mother.” Linley swept the ground coldly with his gaze.

  “Rustle, rustle…”

  Countless tendrils and vines frantically sank into the sand, and the ‘green sea’ that had occupied an extremely wide expanse of space suddenly transformed into desert again. As for those plant creatures, they all fled at high speed in terror. Even their Queen Mother who was hundreds of times more powerful than them had died.

  How could they, mere ‘child’ components, compete?

  The black pyramid, which had been covered by countless vines and rattans, now revealed its true appearance once again.

  “Boss, you scared me to death.” Bebe was now by Linley’s side, and he had re-absorbed that layer of black light back into his body.

  Linley couldn’t help but hug Bebe.

  Although Bebe was emotionally immature, sometimes naughty and mischievous, while at other times as bloodthirsty as any magical beast, he was willing to give up his life for Linley’s sake. The two had grown up together, and their lives were like one. Their affection for each other was so deep…that with their souls interlinked, they could physically sense it.

  “I’m fine. Without a degree of certainty, would I, your Boss, dare act in such a way?” Linley snickered.

  At this time, Desri and the others flew over as well. After the sudden reversal in fortune they had just witnessed, they now all had incandescent smiles on their faces.

  “Linley, when you demonstrated that attack of yours in front of us earlier, I didn’t have much confidence.” Fain laughed. “But after seeing it just now, I now know how powerful that sword of yours is. No matter how powerful one’s defense is, one still won’t be able to take that sword of yours.”

  When Linley had demonstrated it, he was only demonstrating it into the air. How could Fain and the others clearly see how powerful it was?

  “Everyone, let’s hurry up and see if can find if there are any divine artifacts here on the seventh floor.” Desri said to everyone. “We agreed early on that the person to kill the Queen Mother would take possession of the divine artifacts, if there are any. Linley risked his life to kill her…and so he should get the divine artifact. Everyone, search carefully.”

  Linley hurriedly said, “No need to go to so much trouble…”

  “You just stay here. We’ll help you look.” One of the Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions said. They had underestimated the strength and power of the Queen Mother. Even when the three brothers had joined forces and executed their forbidden technique, they had only been able to paralyze the Queen Mother for an instant.

  Linley had made the greatest contribution to killing the Queen Mother. Everyone hurriedly began to help search for the divine artifact, and even Olivier voluntarily flew down to the ground. All of the experts began to carefully search.

  As for Linley, he flew to the exit platform next to the black pyramid.

  This was because last time, on the sixth floor, this was where the divine artifacts had been placed. But this time, it was different.

  “Nothing there?” Linley shook his head. He had searched for quite some time by the stairs, but he hadn’t found anything.

  The experts searched carefully in a circle with an area of a square kilometer. In the end, they all returned to the black pyramid.

  “Did you find anything?” Desri asked.

  The others all shook their heads.

  Desri frowned. “Strange. On the sixth floor, including the hatchet the Flame Tyrant had, there were a total of three divine artifacts. The Queen Mother Lachapalle of the seventh floor was at a higher level of power than the Flame Tyrant. But we weren’t even able to find a single divine artifact.”

  Linley was puzzled as well.

  “This shouldn’t be the case.” Fain was confused as well. “Where is that divine artifact?”

  “Oh, right.” Rosarie’s eyes lit up. “On the sixth floor, the Flame Tyrant himself was wielding that greataxe. Were there any divine artifacts on Lachapalle’s body? Linley, did you see anything?”

  “On her body?” Linley started.

  And then, Linley instantly thought of the round pearl he had already absorbed into his interspatial ring. He immediately retrieved it with a flip of his hand. “Right. When I killed the Queen mother and her body collapsed, I found a seemingly unusual pearl inside her body, and so I grabbed it. Take a look. What is this?”

  Linley didn’t think that this round pearl was a divine artifact.

  As he saw it….it should be something similar to a magical beast’s magicite core, the essence of the Queen Mother.

  “Pearl of Life.” Upon seeing the round pearl in Linley’s hand, the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions let out simultaneous cries of shock.

  Linley, Desri, and the others all stared at the three Six-Eyed Golden Lions in puzzlement. One of them immediately explained, “This Pearl of Life is a type of spiritual pearl treasure which we once saw in the past when we were with Father. Now we understand…why that Queen Mother ‘Lachapalle’ was able to instantly regrow her damaged tendrils.”

  “If the Pearl of Life enters one’s body, then the boundless life energy contained within the Pearl of Life will be provided to the user. Even if one’s body is chopped into eight pieces, it will return to normal in a flash, needing just one or two seconds. In other words…as long as your soul isn’t destroyed, then you will never die.” The Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion said excitedly, “To Saint-level experts, this Pearl of Life is more precious than any divine artifact!”

  Book 11, Necropolis of the Gods – Chapter 25, Entering the Eighth Floor

  Even after one’s body was chopped into seven or eight pieces, it would still recover in one or two seconds.

  Such a regenerative ability made the eyes of the surrounding experts all light up. To Saints, this sort of treasure was incomparably valuable.

  “But it’s only of use to Saints. To Deities, toys like this are totally worthless.” The Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion laughed.

  Desri nodded as well. “Deities possess a divine spark, and their divine bodies are formed from divine energy. Even if they are badly wounded, as long as their souls aren’t destroyed, their body can be reborn even if reduced to nothingness.” The difference between Saints and Deities was enormous.

  Linley and the others couldn’t help but sigh deep in their hearts.

  The Deity-level!

  Even someone as powerful as Linley, in front of a Deity, wouldn’t be able to fight back at all. A single step…but one which blocked countless Saints.

  “Big brother.” The other Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion said, “Even if a person puts this Pearl of Life into their body, and their soul is undamaged, they can still be killed. Have you forgotten what father said?”

  The leader of the Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions nodded. “Oh, you are talking about the body being entirely destroyed?”

  Linley, Desri, Fain, and the others all looked at the Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion in confusion. The leading Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion explained to Linley and the others, “The energy of this Pearl of Life can regenerate the body. In other words, you have to at least have a small part of the body left. Only then can the rest of your body be reborn from that part. If your entire body is destroyed, then you will die, of course.”

  “Oh, so that’s what you mean.” Linley and the others now understood.

  “But Linley…” The Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion looked at Linley. “With the Pearl of Life, don’t end up being too arrogant. In the countless planes, there are many techniques that can used to utterly destroy an opponent’s body. Opponents who
train in Elemental Laws of Fire and the Elemental Laws of Water all can accomplish such a thing.”

  “I know.”

  Linley laughed calmly. “The Elemental Laws are as vast as the ocean. I only know one or two drops of water in that ocean.”

  “Your body is very tough, and you have a Pearl of Life. What you need to do is to focus your time improving your spiritual attacks and spiritual defenses.” The Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lion seemed to take great interest in Linley’s well-being. “There’s all sorts of spiritual-type attacks, and they number beyond counting. If you are incautious just a single time, then you’ll be done for.”

  Linley nodded.

  The soul was indeed a profound, abstruse thing.

  For example, the Grand Magus Necromancer, Zassler, could easily command the undead, and even question the souls of others.

  For example, Beirut, who was at such a level that even Saints such as Rudi and Dillon had their memories scanned, without them knowing a thing. A technique like this…was absolutely astonishing and unheard of. For experts such as him, directly controlling Saints would probably be extremely easy.

  “In the past, when the Holy Emperor Heidens used his ‘Oracular Magic’ to attack me, my soul’s defense nearly collapsed. In the future, I need to be careful of this.” Linley said to himself.

  Heidens, if placed amongst the countless ranks of Saints in the myriad other planes, was nothing more than average. There were far too many Saints who were more talented than him in spiritual attacks. Linley’s spiritual defensive power was actually inferior to even the likes of Saints such as Rosarie and Desri.

  As least experts like Desri, when facing Heidens, wouldn’t have been nearly trounced so easily.

  “Soul-based attacks include charms, hypnotism, paralysis, destruction, and all sorts of other techniques. There are forceful ones, and there are soft ones.” Desri sighed. “The more one studies this, the more one realizes how boundless and deep it is. In the past, the War God had said that the High Priest, with but a glance, could let us sink into an illusion, and if in the illusion we think that we have died, in real life, we really will have died and our soul will dissipate.”

  “Oh?” Linley was greatly shocked.

  The High Priest was this terrifying?

  Rosarie chortled, “What can you do. After becoming a Deity, the weakest aspect one has is the spirit. Demigods, Gods, Highgods…all of them will spend their effort on studying the profound mysteries contained within the soul. After all, they don’t want to die.”

  Fain laughed. “Linley, you had best bind this Pearl of Life with blood. Otherwise, we’ll all grow covetous as we stare at it.”

  Chuckling, Linley immediately blood-bound it.

  Immediately, this translucent Pearl of Life, glowing with a hazy green light, entered Linley’s body. Linley could clearly sense that his heart, his muscles, and his bones were all filled with boundless life force. Even if part of his body was severed, he would still quickly be able to heal.

  Linley’s group was in no rush to go to the eighth floor. They first rested and made preparations here on the seventh floor. After all, once they entered the eighth floor, who knows what sort of terrifying creatures they would find there?

  Off in the distance, Tulily was constantly training with using his scimitar.

  It hadn’t been long since he had this Bloodshadow scimitar, and so he was now constantly testing how to best utilize its power. As for Olivier, Desri, and the others, they all sat off to the side, meditating quietly.

  “I’ve been at the rank of Arch Magus of the ninth rank for so long, yet I still haven’t made a breakthrough.” Seated in the meditative posture on the sand, Linley sighed to himself. But he understood that something like this couldn’t be rushed. The more you tried to rush it, the harder it would be to break through.

  Bebe was curled up on Linley’s leg, sleeping comfortably.

  “Bebe.” Linley spoke. Wharton was his little brother. And Bebe…was also his little brother. Towards his family, Linley always had a protective instinct.

  “Yeah, Boss?” Bebe raised his little head to stare at Linley.

  Linley said softly, “Bebe, each layer of the Necropolis of the Gods grows more and more dangerous. I can no longer imagine what we will encounter when we go to the eighth floor, or what will happen! But Bebe, it’s best if you don’t go to the eighth floor.”

  “Boss?” Bebe’s eyes instantly turned round.

  “Bebe, is your defense stronger than the Flame Tyrant’s? Is your attack superior to his? Bebe…you are still growing. There’s no need for you to risk yourself like this.” Linley himself wasn’t afraid, but he was somewhat worried for Bebe.

  “Boss, if you go, I go.” Bebe was very stubborn.

  Linley shook his head. “That isn’t it. I have the Pearl of Life. It’s much safer for me. More importantly, I feel as though there is something in this Necropolis of the Gods which is waiting for me, which is calling to me.” Especially after actually entering the Necropolis of the Gods, Linley could even more clearly sense that calling sensation.

  It was a call which set his soul a’strumming.

  Whether it was because of his desire to train himself, or because it had to do with discovering the profound secrets of the Four Supreme Warriors, or because of the call to his soul, Linley didn’t want to retreat.

  “Boss, I’ll go with you.” Bebe stared at Linley with his little eyes. “It’s just a bit of danger. What are you afraid of, Boss. In the past, when we were in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, we were so weak, but we even managed to survive the attack of the Armored Razorback Wyrm. When the Radiant Church pursued and tried to kill us, we still made it through. Back then, we were very weak, but we still weren’t afraid. Now that we are strong, are we going to start being afraid?”

  “You better understand that I, Bebe, am really badass now!” Bebe stood up straight, intentionally puffing his little chest out.

  Linley couldn’t help but laugh, but at the same time, he felt a surge of gratitude.

  In addition, Linley couldn’t help but think back to his memories of his youth, when he and Bebe together ventured into the Foggy Gulch.

  “Haha, fine. Whether we live or we die, we’ll do it all together.” Linley laughed as he hugged Bebe, and Bebe laughed as well.

  They stayed at the seventh floor for seven days. Linley’s group came to the entrance to the eighth floor. The Grand Magus Saints, Desri and Rosalie, had already prepared defensive spells for themselves, while Linley had transformed into his Dragonblood Warrior form. Everyone was ready now.

  “Everyone, be careful. Now…let’s head out!” Desri said.

  Immediately, the eleven experts entered the tunnel into the black pyramid one by one. This tunnel was completely covered with black light. After walking for but a short while, Linley’s group arrived at the eighth floor.

  “It is so similar to the third floor.” Linley stared at his surroundings.

  The eighth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods had an extremely thick layer of ice as its ground. This was a world of ice. From afar, there were enormous glaciers and icebergs which gleamed with dazzling light. Only the cold, desolate wind howled across the landscape, blowing a few pieces of ice here and there.

  Desri, Linley, Fain, Bebe, the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions, and the other experts all carefully inspected their surroundings.

  “Search for the exit.” Desri said softly while flying up.

  The eleven experts began to fly together, beginning to stealthily search for the exit to the ninth floor. But of course, as they flew, they were very cautious, afraid of finding living creatures here on the eighth floor. But after flying for a long time…

  “Hey…this eighth floor is strange.” Rosarie was puzzled. “We’ve been searching for such a long time. Why haven’t we seen a single living thing?”

  Indeed.

  In both the sixth and the seventh floor, as soon as they stepped in, they discovered living creatures, s
uch as the ‘Magma Demons’ of the sixth floor, or the ‘child’ plants of the seventh floor. They were very easily discovered.

  But here on the eighth floor, Linley and the others had flown for at least a thousand kilometers, but hadn’t seen a single living thing.

  “This eighth floor is quite bizarre.” Fain was staring at his surroundings as well.

  The three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions were also on their guard, constantly scanning the area, hoping to find any hints or clues.

  Staring at the surrounding area, Linley lowered his voice to a whisper. “No matter what sort of creature this eighth floor has, it would be best if we could enter the ninth floor without disturbing it. Let’s look for the exit first.” The others all nodded in agreement.

  If they could avoid a battle, that would be for the best.

  Everyone continued to carefully search for the tunnel

  Linley and the others were still worried that they might encounter the creatures of the eighth floor later, but….

  “Whooooosh.” On the eighth floor, Linley and the group only heard the howling cold wind, and didn’t see any living creature at all. After flying for nearly an hour, they finally discovered the stairways, covered with black light. This was the exit to the ninth floor.

  Linley, Desri, Olivier, Fain, and the other experts all exchanged glances, surprise and joy in their eyes.

  “We really are lucky this time. We didn’t encounter a single creature before finding the exit.” Rosarie laughed softly.

  The others laughed and nodded as well.

  “Let’s go. We’re going to the ninth floor.” Fain said, somewhat excited. He immediately moved towards it.

  But what none of the eleven experts had noticed was that on the slick, gleaming surface of a seemingly normal iceberg nearby the stairs, there was a black pattern. Suddenly…the black pattern exploded forth, revealing an eye that was at least three or four meters tall!

  A golden eye!

  “Bang!” The iceberg shattered apart with a boom, and from within it appeared a giant formed from ice. The only part of the giant that wasn’t formed from ice was that single, glowing golden eye. “Humans, you killed Lachapalle? That is truly excellent.”