met free Chapter 9: Exploring the Forbidden Land
Chapter 9: Exploring the Forbidden Land
In less than a month, Tang Wutong had mastered the control of the Goddess of Light Butterfly and the Clear Sky Hammer. Although she was still far from being able to actually fight in battle, she had already mastered the control of her martial soul and the circulation of her basic divine power. With her lively and mischievous nature, once she figured out the tricks of the trade, she would have no patience to stay obediently in the temple.
As dawn broke, the morning light just beginning to spill over the glazed tiles of the divine temple, casting soft, dappled light. Tang Wutong, like a swift breeze, dashed into the Temple of Destruction. She ran effortlessly to the inner chamber, grabbed Zi Lingtian who was still nestled on the soft couch, and pulled him up. Her face flushed red with barely suppressed excitement, she shook his arm, shouting, "Wake up! Wake up! Today we're going to explore the Forbidden Land of the Gods!"
Zi Lingtian was fast asleep when she pulled him to the side, and he immediately wanted to shake his head and refuse. Just from the name, he knew that place was absolutely forbidden, a place no six-year-old child should set foot in. But when he looked up, he met Tang Wutong's bright, pinkish-blue eyes, filled with shattered morning stars, brimming with anticipation and joy, dazzlingly bright. The refusal that was on the tip of his tongue was swallowed back, and in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and give in completely.
He secretly made up his mind: he would just take a walk around the outer perimeter and never go deeper into the area. With him protecting him, he figured nothing would go wrong.
And so, the two little ones, no more than six years old, like two birds sneaking out of their cage, took advantage of the faint morning light, carefully avoiding the guards in the core area of the divine realm, their little hands tightly clasped together, and walked all the way towards that mysterious and forbidden land on the edge of the divine realm.
The Forbidden Land of the Gods is a taboo subject that no one in the divine realm dares to mention lightly. It sits on the very edge of the divine realm, a step beyond which lies endless void and chaos, sealed off by layers upon layers of ancient divine arrays. Legend has it that this place suppresses powerful divine beasts from ancient times that refused to submit to the order of the divine realm; and most feared of all is the Golden Dragon King, sealed away millions of years ago by the five first-generation divine kings.
The divine positions have long since changed hands; the old gods have abdicated, and the new gods have taken power. The old Asura God passed his divine position to Tang San, the first god of good and evil. He also chose Ji Dong and Lie Yan as his deputies, while he himself reincarnated into the mortal realm to experience the joys and sorrows of life.
In Zi Lingtian's memory, the origin of the Golden Dragon King was clearly remembered—it was a supreme being born after the Dragon God split apart, possessing both earth-shattering divine power and an innate, violent instinct. Even when the five great God Kings joined forces, they couldn't truly kill it; they could only seal it in the deepest part of the Forbidden Land of Gods with their supreme divine power. This led to the story of Tang San later slaying the Golden Dragon King with the Sword of Judgment of the Three Realms.
But he knew all too well that Tang San's grand plan for ten thousand years had only just begun. Originally, according to the original story, Tang Wutong was supposed to be a pawn he used to bind Huo Yuhao, but he himself had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. In terms of talent and potential, he far surpassed Huo Yuhao, and his future was destined to be that of a supreme god-king. Naturally, Tang San would not stop Tang Wutong from getting close to him.
Although he said he wouldn't stop her, this deep-thinking sea god must have secretly prepared a backup plan, such as the hidden restriction protecting his daughter, which Zi Lingtian knew very well.
At this moment, he and Tang Wutong were just children driven by curiosity. Their understanding of the Forbidden Land of Gods was limited to the fact that "many powerful divine beasts were imprisoned inside." They had no idea that deep within this land slept a terrifying existence capable of overturning the entire divine realm.
The outer perimeter of the Forbidden Land of Gods wasn't actually that secure—or rather, the core function of these ancient divine arrays was to prevent what was inside from escaping, not to stop people from entering. Tang San probably never imagined that two six-year-old children would be so bold as to dare trespass into this forbidden area of the divine realm.
With his innate keen perception of the laws, Zi Lingtian found a tiny energy gap in the many layers of the divine array. A soft emerald light quietly appeared in his palm. The power of the Ancient Tree of Life allowed him to clearly perceive the pattern of energy flow within the divine array. He then condensed a wisp of purple-gold divine power. The power of the Scepter of Destruction helped him precisely tear open a temporary passage that could only accommodate two people without triggering any alarms.
"Zi Lingtian, you're amazing!" Tang Wutong followed closely behind him, her little hands gripping his sleeve tightly. As they passed through the passage, she excitedly whispered her cheers, her pink-blue eyes filled with admiration. "You're much better than all the powerful priests around my dad!"
Zi Lingtian didn't respond, but gently squeezed her hand in return to signal her to be quiet, his attention already firmly captured by the scene before him.
This place was completely different from what he had imagined. There were no gloomy and terrifying cages, no shrill and ear-piercing wails, only an utterly silent void. Beneath his feet were grayish-white chaotic rocks gleaming with a cold, chilling light, and above him was a distorted and ever-changing dark starry sky. The air was filled with an ancient and heavy aura, as if every inch of space bore the weight of millions of years, making his chest feel slightly stuffy.
In the distance, one could vaguely see enormous figures slumbering—these were ancient divine beasts sealed away. Some were as majestic as mountains, their thick scales gleaming with an eerie light; others were as dazzling as stars, their wings flashing with light as they spread their wings. But they were all deep in slumber, showing no reaction whatsoever to the intrusion of these two uninvited guests.
"It's so quiet." Tang Wutong unconsciously lowered her voice, her small hand tightly gripping Zi Lingtian's palm, her tone carrying a hint of disappointment, "I thought it would be lively here, with lots of divine beasts playing together."
"They've all been sealed away." Zi Lingtian looked around, squeezed her hand, and explained softly, his tone full of protective composure. "They've fallen into a long slumber, and may not wake up for tens of thousands of years."
Tang Wutong pouted her pink lips in disappointment, but her curious eyes remained undiminished. She was a child who loved to explore, and the more mysterious and quiet a place was, the more it enticed her to want to find out. She grabbed Zi Lingtian's hand and walked briskly forward, determined to continue deeper into the area.
The two walked side by side for about fifteen minutes along the winding path paved with chaotic rocks, and the surrounding scenery gradually changed.
A faint golden halo slowly spread across the grayish-white rocks, and the air grew heavier and more oppressive, as if some enormous creature was sleeping in front of them. Even breathing could feel the invisible pressure coming at you.
Zi Lingtian suddenly stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowing slightly.
He clearly felt an unprecedented sense of oppression surging from the golden light source. It didn't feel like facing a living thing, but rather like facing a supervolcano about to erupt, its surface calm and still, but containing a terrifying power capable of destroying the world, ready to break free and engulf everything at any moment.
Tang Wutong also sensed the oppressive aura. Her small body trembled slightly, and her little hands unconsciously gripped the hem of Zi Lingtian's clothes, her knuckles turning slightly white. But her stubbornness prevented her from taking a single step back; she still tilted her little face up, looking in the direction from which the oppressive aura came.
"Zi Lingtian, what... what is that?" She pointed ahead, her voice slightly tense, yet she still refused to back down.
Zi Lingtian looked in the direction she was pointing, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
In the void ahead, a cocoon of golden light, hundreds of feet tall, floated, resembling a majestic golden mountain standing in the void. The surface of the cocoon was covered with densely packed ancient golden runes, each radiating a heart-palpitating power, as if containing the primordial power of the beginning of heaven and earth.
Deep within the cocoon of light, one could vaguely see a massive, coiled figure—a dragon, a colossal dragon covered in shimmering golden scales. Even though it was just quietly coiled up, even though it was heavily sealed, one could clearly feel the terrifying power within it that was enough to shake the entire divine realm.
It is the Golden Dragon King, the Golden Dragon King who inherited the invincible body of the Dragon God.
Zi Lingtian's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, and even his breath caught in his throat for a moment.
With his current strength, he is not even an ant in front of the Golden Dragon King.
He knew perfectly well that the Golden Dragon King was sealed in the Forbidden Land of Gods, but he never expected to see it so soon and so closely. What surprised him even more was that the Golden Dragon King appeared in such a form—a huge golden cocoon radiating intense life energy, like a source of destruction about to hatch.
This is the Golden Dragon King's cocoon. After being besieged by the five great divine kings, the Golden Dragon King, in order to protect himself, transformed into a cocoon and went into hibernation. He should have been absorbing the divine energy of the divine realm to slowly heal his injuries. According to the original story, he should have waited until the temporal turbulence descended before breaking free of his seal, by which time his strength would have already recovered to the level of a divine king.
The coincidence of the spatial-temporal turbulence and the signs of breaking the seal made Zi Lingtian wonder: Could it be that Tang San secretly tampered with the seal and deliberately loosened it, causing the Golden Dragon King to show signs of breaking the seal ahead of time?
This question cannot be verified at present and can only be explored in the future.