Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  As he saw it, there shouldn’t be any dangers in the main lair for his clan.

  But it seemed he was wrong!

  Dylin laughed. “Linley, don’t worry about it. No matter what happens, my life can be considered to belong to you. What have I to fear?”

  “Let’s go. Even if someone wants to kill us, first they have to have enough power to do so!” Tarosse said.

  Linley nodded. If the Four Divine Beasts clan was comparable to the Bagshaw clan, then, as an incredibly powerful force, there was no way they would simply be destroyed. As the saying goes, a camel which died of starvation is still larger than a horse.

  Mosi’s words implied that the weakened Four Divine Beasts clan was still comparable to the Bagshaw clan.

  But before its downfall?

  How could such an originally incomparably powerful clan possibly be completely destroyed?

  “Let’s go to Fansi City first.”

  Fansi City was a city in the eastern part of Indigo Prefecture, and was the first city which Linley’s group was heading towards in Indigo Prefecture. Fansi City was just like every other city in the Infernal Realm; it was very bustling!

  The streets were rowdy and filled with people everywhere.

  “Boss, where shall we go to find the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Bebe asked, puzzled.

  The War God, O’Brien, laughed. “Any place works. For example, the Fiend Castle. We can just ask some people there. There are definitely people here in the Indigo Prefecture who know quite a bit regarding the exceedingly famous Four Divine Beasts clan.”

  Asking around at the Fiend Castle was indeed an excellent idea.

  “No rush. Let’s go to the Bloodridge Castle first!” Linley said.

  The Redbud Continent had Redbud Castles, while the Bloodridge Continent had Bloodridge Castles. The two were the same; they both purchased and sold large quantities of items.

  “Why are we going to the Bloodridge Castle?” Dylin asked.

  “Bebe, do you still remember how we had gone shopping for books that time in the Redbud Castle?” Linley turned to look at Bebe, who hurriedly nodded. “I remember. That time, we went to buy some books regarding the geography of the Infernal Realm.”

  “Right. Last time, we only went to investigate the general geography of the Infernal Realm, which is why in the books we bought, the information regarding each of the 108 Prefectures was very brief. But that time, however, we did see quite a few books which discussed each prefecture in detail.”

  There had been five or six centimeter thick books that discussed each prefecture.

  Those detailed books each focused on one prefecture, and naturally would discuss and point out some of the unique areas in a prefecture, as well as provide some very detailed information on some of the most powerful clans. Most likely, even some ultimate experts would be described within.

  Delia’s eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement. “Buy one which goes into detail regarding the ‘Indigo Prefecture’. The Four Divine Beasts clan is very famous in Indigo Prefecture. It will definitely be described in detail, and the location will be clearly mentioned as well.”

  Linley laughed and nodded.

  If they asked others, others might point them to a specific place which they didn’t even know was located where.

  After all, they had never had a detailed map of the Indigo Prefecture. They only knew the rough geography of the place. By buying a detailed book regarding the Indigo Prefecture, they would even get a clear understanding of the geographical information in the Indigo Prefecture.

  “Buying books? I’ve never gone book shopping in the Infernal Realm.” Tarosse laughed.

  “You normally lived on Miluo Island. Why would you need to buy books? You’d only go buy them when you needed them.” Linley said, then headed towards the Bloodridge Castle.

  The three castles in every single city were bustling with activity. Following the flow of people, Linley’s group quickly reached the Bloodridge Castle. At the gate to the Bloodridge Castle, there were Bloodridge Army soldiers standing guard.

  “Heh heh, I must say, the uniform of the Bloodridge Army is quite stylish. It’s much better than that of the Redbud Army and the Starmist Army.” Bebe said softly as he looked at the Bloodridge Army soldiers at the gates.

  Linley glanced at them. “The baleful aura it emanates is rather heavier than that of the Redbud Army and the Starmist Army.”

  “Let’s go.” As he spoke, Linley led the group into the first floor of the Bloodridge Castle. The way the Bloodridge Castle was organized was quite similar to the Redbud Castle. Linley’s group easily found the room which specialized in selling a large number of books.

  In the room, there were only three people, one of whom was the staff member.

  “What do you want to buy?” Seeing Linley’s group walk in, and that most were Highgods, the staff member immediately came to welcome them.

  “Which book has information regarding the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Bebe was the first to say.

  But Linley said, “This place should have a detailed description of the entire Indigo Prefecture, right? Give me that book.”

  “We do.” The female staff member withdrew an enormous, black covered book that was two fingers thick, then walked over and handed it to Linley. “This one should be the book with the most complete introduction to the Indigo Prefecture.”

  Linley immediately accepted it and began to flip through it.

  This book, in its table of contents, was divided into ‘geography’, ‘dangerous areas’, ‘famous people’, ‘clans’…and so on and so forth. From the table of contents, Linley easily found the top ranked ‘Four Divine Beasts clan’.

  “Page 158!” Linley couldn’t help but grow excited.

  The first thing which drew Linley’s attention was…

  The Four Divine Beasts clan was actually the general term for four mighty clans of divine beasts.

  They were:

  The Azure Dragon clan: The Redding [Lei’ding] clan!

  The Vermilion Bird clan: The Nimo [Ne’mo] clan!

  The White Tiger clan: The Laius [Li’e’si] clan!

  The Black Tortoise clan: The Bowen [Bo’wen] clan!

  The Four Divine Beasts clan was led by the Azure Dragon clan, the Redding clan. The four great clans were joined together into one, and were spread throughout the Four Higher Planes…

  While reading the detailed information regarding the Four Divine Beasts clan, Linley couldn’t help but begin to sweat. The history of the Four Divine Beasts clan simply astonished Linley. So originally, the Four Divine Beasts clan wasn’t just limited to the Infernal Realm!

  “Divine Water Plane, Divine Earth Plane, Divine Fire Plane, Divine Wind Plane, and the Four Higher Planes of the Celestial Realm, Netherworld, Infernal Realm, Life Realm…they all have branches of the Four Divine Beasts clan!”

  Linley was completely thunderstruck.

  Based on the description within the book, the Four Divine Beasts clan was considered an extremely, terrifyingly powerful clan throughout the Four Higher Planes as well as the Seven Divine Planes. They were spread everywhere, but of course, in the Infernal Realm, Indigo Prefecture was a headquarters for the Four Divine Beasts clan.

  “They are so powerful?” Linley found it hard to believe.

  “Boss, lemme see.” Bebe, seeing the look on Linley’s face, couldn’t help but snatch the book over from Linley and begin to read it carefully as well. As he read, Bebe’s eyes began to grow round. “Wow, Boss, the Four Divine Beasts clan is really badass.”

  Delia leaned over to look as well.

  “They really are quite formidable.” Delia was stunned as well.

  “We can leave now. I now know where the Four Divine Beasts clan is located.” Linley couldn’t help but smile. The Four Divine Beasts clan was the root and foundation of his own Baruch clan, which could only be considered one of the many branches.

  Naturally, Linley was delighted at
how powerful the main clan was.

  “Wait.” Linley suddenly frowned.

  If the Four Divine Beasts clan truly was so powerful, then why was it that when he came, he saw that member of the Boleyn clan, the one who could grow golden wings, be so arrogant and unbridled?

  “You are looking for the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?” Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.

  Linley’s group turned to look. The speaker was that female staff member.

  The female staff member laughed and said, “If you want to just follow the information in the book to look for them, there’s no way you’ll find the Four Divine Beasts clan.”

  “Eh?” Linley was stunned.

  “Why not? Is the book fake?” Bebe immediately asked.

  The female staff member shook her head. “No, the descriptions in the book are real.”

  “If they are real, then why can’t we find them?” Bebe said.

  The female staff member laughed. “This book is in general circulation and for sale in every single city in the Infernal Realm. Because the Infernal Realm is too vast, just sending it out to each location will most likely take a thousand years.”

  Linley nodded. To send it throughout the Infernal Realm, it would indeed take upwards of a thousand years.

  “Because the shipping process alone takes so much time, the geographical information in the book will be re-evaluated and updated once every million years. This book is several hundred thousand years old, and it described what the situation was like for the Four Divine Beasts clan hundreds of thousands of years ago.” The female staff said.

  The Infernal Realm was vast and endless. A million years, in the ancient history of the Infernal Realm, really wasn’t much.

  “Are you saying…?” Linley began to understand.

  “Right.” The female staff member laughed. “If you asked others, they might not know, but since I’ve always lived in Indigo Prefecture, I’m quite familiar with the Four Divine Beasts clan. The Four Divine Beasts clan, roughly ten thousand years ago, underwent a huge change. The branches that had been located in the Divine Planes or the other Higher Planes all returned and regrouped here in the Indigo Prefecture of the Infernal Realm.”

  Linley now understood.

  Lord Beirut had not deceived him. The current Four Divine Beasts clan really was in Indigo Prefecture.

  Delia asked, puzzled, “What caused the Four Divine Beasts clan to summon and concentrate all of their branches here in the Indigo Prefecture?” Delia didn’t understand.

  “I’m not sure.” The female staff member said with a laugh. “That year, a large number of experts of the Four Divine Beasts clan returned, but when they did so, they shook the entire Indigo Prefecture, because when they returned, they brought countless battles with them!”

  “Countless battles?” Linley was stunned.

  “Right.” The female staff member nodded, then laughed. “But of course, I’m just a minor figure, and what I know is limited. All I know is that back then, the battles were quite fierce. Afterwards, the Four Divine Beasts clans that had been scattered throughout Indigo Prefecture all came together at one location.”

  “One location?” Linley still clearly remembered what that book he had read had said.

  As that book had described it, in the Four Divine Beasts clan, each of the four clans was located in one of four locations.

  “Right. The Four Divine Beasts clans are living quite close to each other now. The place they live is known as the Skyrite Mountains!” The female staff member said.

  Hearing this, Linley immediately thought back to when he had first read the book giving a general introduction to the geographical features of the Infernal Realm, and the information it had regarding the Skyrite Mountains. The Skyrite Mountains were a very famous area within the Indigo Prefecture.

  It could, in fact, be described as the mountain range which symbolized the Indigo Prefecture.

  Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 4, Seize Them

  After leaving the city of Fansi, Linley’s group immediately rode on their metallic lifeform to head towards the Skyrite Mountains.

  “The Skyrite Mountains are located within the northern borders of Indigo Prefecture. From Fansi City, there is a distance of nearly two hundred million kilometers. To fly there will take half a year.” Linley felt rather relaxed.

  After knowing where the Four Divine Beasts clan was, Linley also understood: “Most likely, this place is too far away from the Skyrite Mountains, which is why the Boleyn clan dared to be so arrogant.” This was Linley’s guess.

  “Another half year to go.” Bebe stretched lazily, letting out a long sigh, then looked at Linley. “Heh heh, Boss, let’s have a contest and see who will be the first to master a fifth profound mystery. What do you say?”

  Linley had already reached the late stages in training in the Profound Truths of Strength.

  As for Bebe, he had already reached a peak with regards to this fifth profound mystery of Darkness, and as soon as he gained an insight, he would break through. But ‘insights’ were something that one could hope for but not count on. Who knew how long Bebe would take?

  Linley immediately calmed down and began training.

  While training, time passed extremely quickly. Linley was only awakened from his training on three occasions. By the fourth time he opened his eyes, they were only a few hundred thousand kilometers away from the Skyrite Mountains and were about to arrive.

  The metallic lifeform’s front became transparent, and Linley’s group could completely see through the metallic lifeform to the front.

  “Skyrite Mountains! The Four Divine Beasts clan!” Linley felt that his breathing was growing ragged. The blood in his body was beginning to boil. He had come all the way over here from the Yulan continent. Finally, he was returning to his own clan.

  “I can see it. The Skyrite Mountains are up ahead.” Delia said in delight.

  Linley’s eyes were shining.

  One massive mountain peak after another could be seen piercing through the clouds and the sky, each of them astonishingly high. The reason why this area was known as the ‘Skyrite’ Mountains was precisely because so many mountain peaks here were so tall.

  “That is…”

  Linley’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. He saw an enormous bird of almost the same size as a mountain peak that looked as though it was about to take flight, its entire body surrounded by flames. Its feathers were fiery red, and it had green plumage on its forehead. Linley and the others could all feel the dominating aura which emanated forth from it.

  “What an enormous sculpture.” Linley couldn’t help but be amazed. “It has to be at least a hundred kilometers tall.” The tallest mountain peaks of the Skyrite Mountains reached upwards of tens of thousands of meters.

  This enormous sculpture was comparable in height to the tallest of mountain peaks.

  From the book he had read half a year ago, Linley had gained a better understanding of the Four Divine Beasts clan and had learned that the ‘Four Divine Beasts’ referred to the ‘Azure Dragon’, the ‘White Tiger’, the ‘Vermilion Bird’, and the ‘Black Tortoise.’ Just from the names ‘Azure Dragon’ and ‘White Tiger’, Linley was able to understand what the creatures represented.

  But Linley had never heard of a ‘Vermilion Bird’ or a ‘Black Tortoise’.

  After carefully reading through the book as well as reviewing some of the pictures in the book, Linley learned that a ‘Vermilion Bird’ was a fire-type divine beast that was similar to a ‘Fire Phoenix’, but which was far more powerful. As for the ‘Black Tortoise’, it was an earth-type divine beast that seemed quite similar in appearance to the ‘Dragon-Turtles’ which Linley had seen before.

  Even the divine beast ‘Azure Dragon’ was not like those enormous winged dragons that he had seen on the Yulan continent, nor was it like the Tyrant Wyrms. It was a dominating, noble, and utterly perfect, true divine beast.

  The most powerful water-type
divine beast – the Azure Dragon.

  “The southern parts of the Skyrite Mountains should be where the Vermilion Bird clan resides.” Linley immediately controlled the metallic lifeform, ordering it to fly towards the northeast.

  Indeed, the eastern part of the Skyrite Mountains was where the Azure Dragon clan lived.

  “This…”

  In mid-air, staring afar at the distant sight of the Azure Dragon’s ‘Redding’ clan, Linley was stupefied. Even Delia, Bebe, Olivier, Tarosse, and the others were so shocked, they couldn’t speak.

  An enormous, coiling dragon that was over tens of thousands kilometers long was within the mountain range.

  Of course, it wasn’t a real dragon.

  This enormous coiling dragon covered an area of tens of thousands of kilometers, and carved atop of its massive body were giant draconic scales. At the same time, it was also, in and of itself, a long passageway in the mountains, and the entire passageway emitted an azure light. From afar, it truly looked like an enormous, terrifying Azure Dragon!

  “To build an enormous edifice of tens of thousands of kilometers long in the Infernal Realm is…unbelievable.” Tarosse sighed in shock.

  “Look carefully. The entire body of this Azure Dragon is actually one long passageway, with many castles and residences around that passageway.” Dylin said loudly.

  Linley was completely lost in the awe-inspiring sight before him. A ‘dragon passageway’ that was tens of thousands of kilometers long and which coiled through the mountains, with castles and estates surrounding its perimeter and which formed a perfect whole with it.

  In front of the dragon’s head was an enormous golden castle, which looked like a dragon pearl.

  “The aura and majesty alone far surpasses any clan that I’ve ever seen.” Linley was truly stunned.

  The Four Divine Beasts clan had originally dominated the Four Higher Planes and Seven Divine Planes. Even after their fall, they wouldn’t forget the former glory of their clan. Naturally, they cared deeply about the construction of their clan’s headquarters.