C1738 The Answer

A figure clad in vibrant attire suddenly ripped through a void crack and emerged outside Ionodios with effortless grace.

"Chronowyrm!"

"Zhong Chichen!"

Exclamations of surprise echoed from the hidden places throughout the Annihilation Nebula.

Van Heqing's face took on a serious cast, his demeanor instantly solemn.

Another arrival!

"I do enjoy a lively scene," Zhong Chichen said, his smile radiant. He stood next to Loong Jie, who was as imposing as a range of golden mountains. After exchanging a glance and a subtle nod with Loong Jie, he continued, "Besides, this affair concerns our Naga. Since I've sensed it, naturally, I must come to see for myself."

He was on the fringe of the Dark Star Domain when he first detected the stirrings of the evilkind. Then, through the Wintermaw rooted in the Annihilation Nebula, he caught wind of Loong Jie's presence.

Loong Jie was expected to be in the Ashlands, yet his sudden appearance in the Annihilation Nebula had set off alarms for Zhong Chichen.

Upon discreet inquiry, he learned that Yu Yuan had orchestrated Loong Jie's visit to make contact with Lin Daoke, the most formidable human warrior. Consequently, he set aside his current tasks.

For him, Loong Jie's well-being was of paramount importance, warranting his utmost caution.

He was there to bolster the defenses.

"A confrontation could be beneficial," Zhong Chichen said, his smile giving way to a serious expression. He addressed the golden dragon with a firm tone, "Without testing yourself against Lin Daoke, you'll never truly grasp your strength. I've always reminded you, the past is the past, and now is now."

"With Sabonis gone, your Ultimate Golden Body has just begun to manifest, and there are few who can penetrate your defenses."

Looking down at Lin Daoke in Ionodios, Zhong Chichen spoke with reverence, "Even the leader of the Sword Sect might not be able to harm you, Loong Jie! The legendary might of your ancestor is no mere boast. The old patriarch I revere, the golden dragon god who has reigned over the Everlands for years, is no ordinary being."

"Back in the day, even the Dark Phoenix would steer clear of your ancestor's edge!"

Zhong Chichen bolstered Loong Jie's morale with his words.

Loong Jie, with his dragon blood already boiling, twisted his sinuous golden form and let out a roar towards Ionodios.

Aoao!

With the dragon's roar, Sunsilver and golden iron shrouded in cosmic order burst forth from the gaps in his scales, materializing into tangible blades of golden iron cosmic order.

Like the sharpest swords in existence, wielded by unseen deities and demons, they cleaved towards Ionodios.

Chi!

The wall was effortlessly penetrated as if it were a mere membrane.

Brilliant beams of light, born from the depths of Ionodios's earth, rose to intercept the Sunsilver, only to shatter mid-flight.

In mere moments, over half of the rule structure within Ionodios lay in ruins.

"Move the battlefield to the Star River beyond our realm!"

Yu Yuan, from his distant vantage in the Everlands, bellowed furiously towards the chilling stream where Youyu resided.

He hadn't anticipated that Loong Jie, the golden dragon god, would lose his mind in the moment Zhong Chichen inspired him. With a dragon's roar and seething blood, Loong Jie unleashed his blood magic, nearly obliterating Ionodios.

This realm, meticulously crafted by Taishi, housed numerous Boulderdawn and Chamber of Commerce members, along with countless Otherkin warriors ensnared within.

The blades, born of cosmic order and mixed with star iron and chaos, threatened to riddle Ionodios with holes, undoing Taishi's painstaking work.

The wrath of Loong Jie could spell death for untold numbers.

"Mr. Lin, please, take the battle outside!"

Zhong Chichen, sensing disaster, feared Yu Yuan's wrath might descend upon the dragonkin of the Ashlands. In haste, he reached out, casting ribbons of rainbow light downwards.

Beneath the wall, now riddled with innumerable breaches, a colorful sea of clouds emerged as time and space twisted and turned.

The cosmic order blades, once hurtling towards Ionodios, now seemed redirected into various little worlds, averting any real harm. They all descended upon Ionodios.

"Loong Jie!"

"Can the power overflowing from these dragon scales truly be refined into metal magic?"

"My heavens! The golden dragon god is truly extraordinary!"

The mightiest warriors of Ionodios, along with Otherkin warriors like Beru and Rebecca, were thoroughly intimidated by the display of Loong Jie's power.

Having never lived through the era dominated by the golden dragon god, their perception of the Everlands was somewhat superficial, leading them to suspect the legends of the Nagas were possibly embellished.

After all, the Nagas had ultimately been dethroned.

They found it hard to believe that the tenth-level golden dragon god had feared only the great Demon God Bertain across the vast expanse of the starry sea.

Beyond that, there was no entity that could compel the dragon god to flee.

"Lin Daoke!"

Loong Jie, enveloped in an endless cascade of divine light, lowered his dragon claw, which resembled a golden anchor propelled by the collective might of the gods. It descended slowly, as though it intended to root itself within the Star River, providing a berth for his massive draconic form.

Boom! Crack!

The wall crumbled, and the intricate array etched by Taishi and Tianqi, laced with hidden patterns of the Way of Heaven, was torn asunder by Loong Jie's devastating strike.

The golden claw of the dragon methodically made its way toward Lin Daoke's head.

Every remaining expert in Ionodios looked up to see the golden claw obscuring the heavens, its dragon's breath threatening to shatter their very spirits as it fell.

In that instant, every luminous star in the Annihilation Nebula seemed to dim, and all the formidable beings seemed to hold their breath.

"Zhong Chichen! Keep him in check!" Yu Yuan bellowed once more.

He could see that Loong Jie had succumbed to a berserk frenzy akin to that of a giant beast, deaf to any restraint or rebuke.

Loong Jie's dragon blood surged tumultuously, with new bloodline chains crystallizing within his heart, as if countless voices were screaming, spurring him and Lin Daoke to engage in a fierce and unrestrained battle.

Consequences be damned!

At this moment, Loong Jie was singularly fixated on annihilating Lin Daoke, devoid of any other thought.

"You've come a long way."

Lin Daoke, seated at the Starway, watched the golden anchor-like claw, its joints mountainous, effortlessly tear through the wall and erase the secret patterns woven by Taishi and Tianqi. He nodded slowly in approval.

It seemed as though he had finally recognized Loong Jie's ascent to divinity.

In the next instant, Lin Daoke manifested his Divine Transcendence. Clad in azure robes, his form was magnified a millionfold, yet astonishingly, his transcendent appearance was indistinguishable from his original one.

He appeared uninterested in any embellishment, unwilling to expend even the slightest bit of energy on the outward appearance of his Divine Transcendence.

Lin Daoke, with his left hand raised like a Titan supporting the heavens, firmly caught the golden dragon claw that Loong Jie had unleashed. Then, with a tightening grip, he seized the claw in his grasp.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Five sword lights, capable of cleaving the cosmos, burst forth from Lin Daoke's palm, striking the colossal dragon claw.

Howl!

Loong Jie let out a pained roar as his body, as vast as a mountain range, contorted and thrashed wildly.

Despite the force, his golden dragon claw, with Lin Daoke's Divine Transcendence in tow, flung Lin Daoke from the Ionodios into the starry expanse of the extraterrestrial.

Within the boundless Star River, Lin Daoke, in his Divine Transcendence, was still dwarfed by his dragon form. Yet, he never lost his grip on the dragon claw, which remained firmly in his hand.

Subsequently, Lin Daoke pointed his free hand toward his own brow.

The blade, formed from his divine authority, was drawn from the depths of his consciousness and held effortlessly in his hand.

As the blade materialized in his grasp, the entire starry sky fell silent, the gaze of every intelligent being drawn to the brilliance of the sword.

"I, too, am eager to know the answer," Han Miaoyuan confessed, his voice tinged with a rare hint of nervousness and uncertainty.

Previously, he had never questioned Lin Daoke's swordsmanship, and Lin Daoke had never let him down.

But this occasion was unlike any other.

This time, Lin Daoke had refined the "Ultimate Golden Body," dissolving the Blood King Sabonis, a tenth-level golden dragon god!

In the ancient times of the Everlands and beyond, only Bertain and the God-King Taiyin could contend with such a golden dragon god, not even the Dark Phoenix.

Yet the Lin Daoke he had mentored had long surpassed all predecessors of the Sword Sect, becoming the most formidable Grand Sword Immortal ever known.

Could humanity's ultimate warrior shatter Loong Jie's Golden Body? Could they inflict a mortal wound or even slay Loong Jie?

The question was on everyone's mind.

A sword light, breathtakingly brilliant as if composed of billions of crystals, burst forth from Lin Daoke's blade, aiming straight for the heart of the golden dragon god.

"It's similar, yet not the same!"

Yu Yuan was suddenly taken aback.

Despite the vast expanse of the starry sea between them, he could sense that within the radiant river of sword light Lin Daoke had unleashed, there existed only a singular sword's will amidst the billions of crystals!

His own Heaven-Opening Sword Array, a fusion of blood and soul, encompassed a myriad of sword's wills and swordsmanship techniques.

However, Lin Daoke's sword, with crystals formed from the essence of soul and spiritual energy, seemed to be the fragmented Solar Spirit of Lin Daoke himself, yet it encapsulated only one type of sword's will and swordsmanship.

Billions converging into one!

Clang!

A sound that vibrated the soul and heart echoed, and all those fixated on the sword found their vision and perception twisted, leaving them blind and numb to their surroundings.

Slowly, the Astral Domain fell into a hush, devoid of cries, the stir of wind, or any possibility of intervention.

Only when calm returned and people could once again discern their surroundings did they realize that Zhong Chichen and Loong Jie had vanished.

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