CHAPTER 372: CHAPTER 340: BEYOND THE DOMAIN... TRUE DRAGON_2

The light from the Immortal Peach left a brief trail in the sky before dissipating into nothingness, leaving only silence and emptiness behind.

Qi Xiu didn’t know how long they had traversed.

The enormous Immortal Peach suddenly plunged downward. It carried the white-haired old man and Qi Xiu, breaking through the surrounding turbulent currents and barging into an unknown region.

BOOM—

The sound of a massive, howling wind reached his ears. Qi Xiu lightly waved his sleeve, dispelling the gust that swept toward him, and looked around.

But the scene before him made his eyes instantly narrow.

This boundless wilderness occupied the junction of Heaven and Earth, its very existence transcending the norms of nature.

The peach trees were as numerous as the stars, densely filling the edge of his vision, each unique and vibrant with color.

Some peach trees were clad in emerald green, their branches and leaves as if carved from Jade. Others were adorned with purple leaves, shimmering with a mysterious luster. Even more strikingly, some trunks were golden, as if permanently inlaid with sunlight, shining brilliantly.

These peach trees defied conventional logic. Their shapes displayed Thousand Changes and Transformations: some coiled like dragons and snakes, others spread their branches like a Phoenix’s wings. Each bough seemed to narrate an ancient legend.

The trees were laden with Immortal Peaches, varying in size and color. Some were crystal clear, others as red as a sunset glow, and some as white as curdled cream. It was as if nature’s palette had whimsically yet precisely painted a dreamlike tapestry.

However, above this strange peach forest, the sky was a profound, inky black, like a colossal slab of ink jade set against the horizon.

Within this darkness, streams of fiery red light, like molten magma, flowed, casting an eerie luminescence over the peach forest.

A chill permeated the air, tinged with a faint, bone-deep coldness that seemed to herald some unknown danger, sending shivers down one’s spine.

"Is this... an Outer Realm?!"

Qi Xiu pulled his gaze away from the strange and mysterious scene. He suddenly became sharply aware that the void in this place did not contain normal Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. Instead, it held a spiritual qi that was an extreme contradiction—a mixture of vitality and ominousness, coldness and gentleness.

Moreover, the air here contained not a trace of breathable components for the Human Race.

Furthermore, the Geomagnetic Elemental Force here was only one-fifth of what was normal.

Comparing these characteristics, Qi Xiu became almost certain. He was now in a region severed from his original world—an Outer Realm.

Qi Xiu sealed all the pores on his body, his gaze sharpening.

Outer Realm!

This place was a nexus of danger, opportunity, and endless Treasures.

Compared to the Home Realm, the Outer Realm was home to various Outer Realm Spirit Beings. These Outer Realm worlds, with their unique environments and Spirit Beings, had nurtured countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

Correspondingly, however, the Outer Realm was also extremely dangerous. The greatest source of this danger was the Outer Realm Evil God!

Compared to the Home Realm, the number of Outer Realm Evil Gods was terrifyingly high; they wandered and roamed through the endless void.

They killed or spared lives purely on a whim.

Therefore, aside from cultivators at the Primordial Spirit Realm, very few Human Cultivators from the Home Realm dared to venture into the Outer Realm. If discovered by an Outer Realm Evil God, they would undoubtedly be captured immediately. Then, every conceivable method would be used to extract every last bit of value from them. They might even steal your very identity!

Having unexpectedly and unwittingly arrived in an Outer Realm, Qi Xiu’s gaze quickly swept the area, locating the white-haired old man hovering not far away in the sky.

His figure flashed, and Lei Mang erupted.

In an instant, he appeared before the old man. Qi Xiu spread his fingers wide, seizing him with one hand as a faint golden light shimmered behind his back.

If this peculiar old man made the slightest move, Qi Xiu would not hesitate to activate the Dragon Binding Rope and instantly suppress him.

"Immortal, spare my life! I have something to say! I have something to say!" the white-haired old man cried out as Qi Xiu seized him. He no longer resisted, instead bowing repeatedly and pleading for mercy.

"Speak."

"Luring you here, Immortal, was indeed a grave sin. But I implore you, look upon my clan which is on the verge of annihilation and save my people! If the Immortal agrees, this old one is willing to die ten thousand deaths!"

Qi Xiu frowned, looking at the white-haired old man’s pleading expression.

"Why seek me?"

"Because you are of the True Dragon Lineage," the old man explained. "Our ancestors left instructions: if our clan faced the peril of extinction, we were to journey to the Tianyuan Main Realm and seek out one of the True Dragon Lineage. Only then could our doom be averted."

"How do you know I’m of the True Dragon Lineage?"

Qi Xiu’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. It’s true, I’m half Dragon Clan in soul, possessing the True Dragon Mark, but my bloodline is purely Human Race. Even Elder Shui couldn’t discern the True Dragon Mark. How did this white-haired old man find me?

"This is a Dragon Peach Pit. It was nurtured from a drop of Dragon Saliva left behind when the Dragon King passed through my Longevity Star Realm. He found the Spirit Peaches produced by my realm to be delicious."

"I have carried this Dragon Peach Pit while wandering the Tianyuan Main Realm for over eight hundred years. Some time ago, it finally showed a faint reaction."

"I followed the reaction all the way to the Shenxiao Sect, but then lost any trace of it."

"The Spirit Rice smelled fresh and sweet. We Outer Realm Spirit Beings cannot consume food from the Tianyuan Main Realm, so I merely wished to pick some to sate my hunger."

"I truly did not mean to harm that young one’s life."

"If the Immortal wishes to avenge that young one, then as long as you promise to save my kin, this old one will end his life before you this instant!"

The white-haired old man produced a fist-sized Dragon Peach Pit. It had an overall dark golden hue, and delicate dragon patterns were faintly visible on its surface. He then slowly explained the sequence of events.

After listening to the white-haired old man’s explanation, Qi Xiu pondered for a moment. Suddenly, a thought struck him.

Could it be...

Turning over his palm, Qi Xiu took out an object.

The moment this object appeared, the Dragon Peach Pit in the white-haired old man’s hand reacted instantly. The dragon patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, writhing across the pit. Faintly, one could even hear deep, resonating dragon roars.

As I thought, the Dragon Peach Pit wasn’t sensing me. It was sensing this Ancient Dragon Scale!

Holding the Dragon Scale, Qi Xiu noticed the white-haired old man’s eyes widen almost to the point of popping out. He flicked the old man’s prominent forehead with his finger.

"If you don’t want me to kill you, tell me the way back."

"Unless you agree to save my clan, I will say nothing, even if you kill me!" the white-haired old man declared, his attitude even more resolute upon seeing the Ancient Dragon Scale in Qi Xiu’s hand.

At this moment, he seemed to have placed all his hopes on Qi Xiu.

His own life was no longer of any significance.

"So, you’re playing stubborn with me, are you?"

Qi Xiu raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. "Although I, Qi Xiu, hail from a righteous and orthodox sect, I am still familiar with a few Soul Search techniques."

"A Soul Search will be useless! The only way to return to the Tianyuan Main Realm is by using our clan’s Cross-realm Instrument Array."

"However, that array requires half of our clan members to empower it simultaneously for activation."

"Currently, less than a third of my clanspeople remain. If you do not agree to save my clan, then you shall remain in this Longevity Star Realm forever!"

Growing inexplicably bold, the white-haired old man turned his head away, closed his eyes, and refused to speak further.

"Heh, threatening me?"

A humorless smile touched Qi Xiu’s lips. His gaze turned cold, and he prepared to extract the white-haired old man’s soul.

He was determined to see if he could return to his Home Realm without this old man’s assistance.

However, just as he was about to act, the Ancient Dragon Scale in his hand suddenly trembled. Its sharp edge pierced his palm, drawing trickles of fresh blood.

"Hm?"

Feeling a sharp sting in his palm, Qi Xiu was about to look down when a torrent of vivid images suddenly flooded his vision.

In some corner of a world, a colossal peach tree stood, its branches and leaves so lush they blotted out the sun. It was like a guardian of nature, holding up a verdant sky for that world.

However, within the core of this gigantic tree trunk lay a secret unknown to all.

There, a True Dragon slumbered. Its body was emaciated and weak, its Dragon Scales dull, and its spine protruded starkly, as if mercilessly eroded by the long passage of time. Yet, despite its state, an undeniable majesty and pride still emanated from it.

And clutched tightly in this True Dragon’s Dragon Claw—withered and skeletal, yet still powerful—was a mysterious stone book.

The stone book exuded a deep, jade-green luminescence, like a profound lake reflecting the annals of history.

Its surface was covered in mottled marks, deep imprints left by the ravages of time. Yet, no matter how worn its exterior, nothing could conceal the ancient and profound aura that emanated from within.

With a concentrated gaze, Qi Xiu’s lips moved, "Is that... a True Dragon?"

...

P.S. The weather this year has been truly bizarre. A freezing rain turned the streets into an ice rink. I fell three times going to and from work, and my arms and legs are all bruised. I’m really at my wit’s end!