C1927 The Two Fallen Dragons

After Yu Yuan's blood shadow departed...

The edges of the Desolate Realm's Starry Border began to echo with earth-shattering roars. A mountain encircled by stars was howling through the cold, silent cosmic river.

The mountain, stars, and beasts were all converging on this location.

Each star housed a Beast God who reigned supreme in its domain.

Had Yu Yuan not withdrawn, he would have witnessed the assembly of over a hundred Beast Gods around that mountain alone.

The Desolate Realm was saturated with Beast Gods, akin to a vast array of exalted thrones at full capacity.

Without the death of elder Beast Gods, no space was left for new ones to emerge.

Their only option for creating more Beast Gods was to venture into other worlds.

It seemed there was a limit to the number of Beast Gods, supreme beings, Starry Behemoths, and Tenth Level bloodlines a world could sustain.

The Desolate Realm had reached its threshold.

...

"They refer to that world as the Desolate Realm."

A strand of blood energy infused the Taiyi Jade Ball and seeped into Yu Yuan's palm. He passed the orb to Tianqi, his face etched with deep contemplation.

The source blood was not unique.

The being revered as King by the Beast Gods held a status in the Desolate Realm akin to that of the ancient Titans and spinosaurus, and now, Beilstein—a ruler of worlds.

With such an entity present, the unity of the Desolate Realm was incomparable to that of the Abyss.

For in the Abyss, no supreme beings had yet emerged, and the Evil Gods only temporarily obeyed the Supreme Intellect, lacking complete loyalty and consensus.

"Did you see it?"

Andrea appeared slightly distracted. The Divine King, eager for the two realms to connect, snapped her fingers, and the doors of the granite palace swung open.

Her eyes, ablaze with demonic fire, peered into the void of the far north. "Something seems amiss."

"I'm heading in."

Yu Yuan gave a slight nod, steadying his unsettled spirit, before addressing Tianqi: "I don't need to depend on this artifact. Once my Yang God arrives, I should be able to move freely into and out of the Desolate Realm."

"You... really... crossed over?"

Tianqi reverted to using formal language.

Andrea had previously stated unequivocally that not even the Great Demon God Beilstein could breach the barrier between the two realms. The only one who had ventured to that world was the Demon Phoenix.

Now, there was another.

In the once dim palace, the demonic fire within the depths of Andrea's eyes flickered, casting a dazzling array of sparks. She smiled and remarked, "Just as I thought."

Yu Yuan was puzzled by her comment. "What do you mean, 'just as I thought'?"

"The former you did not possess such an ability. The Great Demon God was correct; those who gain the power of the Origin Blood should indeed be able to traverse the two realms," Andrea clarified.

Before Yu Yuan could inquire further, she pressed on, "How many Beast Gods are there?"

"Currently, there are three. A black goat, a fire lion, and a white python."

Yu Yuan openly shared the Beast Gods he had encountered, maintaining a calm demeanor. "To me, the combat prowess of these three Beast Gods seems on par with Lvliu. They appear slightly less formidable than the White Divine Tiger and the Old Ape from the Great Swamp."

His earlier disdain was not without reason.

Now, if he were to encounter the newly ascended Demon God Lvliu outside of this realm, escape would likely be impossible.

The black goat, fire lion, and white python, bold enough to come here now, would find themselves at his mercy, destined to be vanquished within any region of the Perish Starfield.

"Ah, the black goat. We once caught a glimpse of it through an anomaly in the barrier at a particular moment. It's supposed to oversee this area, and it's also one of the rare masters of soul power. It keeps watch over many of the happenings in our world."

"The fire lion, I believe, has shown itself within the Demon Phoenix's domain. The white python? That Beast God is unfamiliar to us."

Andrea, who has long stood watch over the Perish Starfield, was well-acquainted with the Beast Gods from the Desolate Realm.

She had a clear understanding of those she should know.

"Too few," she mused, her voice tinged with hesitation as if to avoid alarming anyone. "The first time we encountered the Desolate Realm, dozens of Beast Gods arrived."

"According to the Great Demon God's estimations, their numbers would have only grown over the years."

Yu Yiyi inhaled sharply and exclaimed, "That many?"

In the entire world, there were only a handful of supreme beings. How many could there be when you add up the Starry Behemoths, Great Demon Gods, and Tenth Level warriors of all races, both visible and hidden?

"The three Beast Gods you saw are merely the first wave. They aren't even the strongest," Andrea said, her attention fixed on Yu Yuan, concern evident in her gaze. She seemed worried that Yu Yuan underestimated the dangers of the Desolate Realm. "Don't let your guard down. If they truly come in force, it will surpass anything you've imagined."

Yu Yuan gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Is there a king among them?" Jee Ningshuang, also present in the palace, arched an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "A king among the Beast Gods? How powerful is this individual?"

"He's likely comparable to the Titan spinosaurus. And in the Desolate Realm, there exists... source blood," Yu Yuan speculated after a brief pause.

Jee Ningshuang remained silent.

"That must be it."

Andrea's face lit up with realization, not seeming surprised, as if she had already entertained such a guess.

"Lord Tianqi!"

"Lady Andrea!"

At the edge of the palace grounds, the young members of the Divine Soul Sect, led by Hwa Xin and Jiang Miaojie, landed and paid their respects.

Numerous young men and women gazed at Yu Yuan with admiration, clearly eager to approach and pay homage.

Andrea looked slightly annoyed and was about to reprimand them, urging them not to cause a disturbance, when Tianqi suddenly announced, "There's activity at the Galaxy Crossing. It looks like someone is on their way here!"

"The Galaxy Crossing?"

Yu Yuan's eyes narrowed as he naturally turned his gaze toward the central land, sensing the spatial fluctuations.

As he looked on in surprise, Zhong Chichen, now in human form, flew out from the central land alongside Loong Jie, heading toward Tianqi's domain.

The grand doors of the hall swung open, and he, along with Andrea, Tianqi, and Jee Ningshuang, stepped out in succession.

Zhong Chichen, adorned in vibrant attire, streaked across the sky like a rainbow. Upon seeing Yu Yuan, his previously listless spirit seemed to revive somewhat.

"They've been demoted."

Andrea, previously discontented, fell silent after dropping this piece of information.

Zhong Chichen, after strenuously securing two Dragon God seats, appeared to have relinquished them. At this moment, he and Loong Jie had reverted to being Ninth Level Dragons.

"I almost didn't make it to see you all alive."

Zhong Chichen's flamboyant attire, marred with holes and bloodstains, betrayed a recent fierce battle. Given his penchant for vanity, his disheveled appearance indicated he hadn't had time to tidy up.

"Fortunately, I'm versed in the mysteries of space and knew you had arrived in the Perish Starfield. Otherwise, I might have been finished off by that Old Ape." Once in the hall, he plopped down wearily.

Without waiting for Yu Yuan to inquire further, he revealed, "Like them, we've lost our core essence."

"The two of you?" Yu Yuan asked, confused.

"After you left, I wielded the Time Book to rewind time and overheard your conversation."

Unapologetic about his eavesdropping, Zhong Chichen stated matter-of-factly, "I decided then that I wanted all the dragons who had departed the vastness to convene with the High Rank Dragons of the Gray Domain and Tia Main Planet."

"And then..." He continued through clenched teeth.

He recounted to Yu Yuan how their inner core essence had suddenly rebelled, inflicting excruciating punishment that made them wish for death, enduring agony without respite.

They fought desperately to transport the crafted Dragon Island to the Gray Domain.

Bearing their suffering, they clung to a sliver of hope.

But when the pain became unbearable, they chose as Andrea and Jee Ningshuang had done before them—they severed their core essence.

Shortly after their loss, the brutal Old Ape emerged, relentlessly pursuing him and Loong Jie.

One was a master of temporal and spatial enigmas, while the other, despite a diminished bloodline, possessed a dragon form and bones hardened by repeated refinement through the Extreme Golden Body, making his physique as resilient as rock.

Ultimately, they eluded the Desolate God's hunt. Zhong Chichen had also obtained the coordinates for the Galaxy Crossing within the Perish Starfield, which allowed him to make his way there.

"Now, without our core essence, we're free from its constraints."

Zhong Chichen voiced his stance.

…