Chapter 1109: Crystal City |
"It's me. I heard Brother Xu was severely injured and came specially to see him. I will kindly ask you to lead the way," Tang San said solemnly.
The two dragon clan powerhouses exchanged a glance, and the one on the left said, "Apologies, Your Majesty. Due to the special circumstances recently, we must verify your identity. You see… The ones who attempted to assassinate the City Lord actually approached him under the disguise of our own people…."
"I understand." Tang San nodded, and behind him, golden light flashed as a massive golden portal emerged in midair.
"ROOOARRR!!!" A resounding dragon's roar rang out as a hideous, giant head popped out of the formation, making the two dragons hastily back off. A moment later, a correspondingly colossal body followed. It was the Scourge Dragon, Nihil.
Nihil's already immense body had recently grown even larger due to Tang San's use of life energy to stabilize and strengthen him. Normally, he could no longer cultivate; any attempt to touch the Emperor realm would invoke a Divine Extinguishing Tribulation of the same type, and maybe even the same caliber, as Tang San's. He could not possibly survive something like that. After all, if he were to become an Emperor through the Law of Annihilation, he would have the potential to wreak catastrophic damage to the entire plane. Thus, the planar suppression he endured was even more severe than Tang San's.
But Tang San had to continuously inject life energy into him anyway, to prevent his consciousness from being devoured by destructive instincts, and the birth of a new force of life and annihilation needed a vessel. So Tang San had taken another approach: pumping him with life energy without triggering a qualitative leap in his cultivation, and simply strengthening his physical form to bear the load. A convenient side effect was that Nihil's mind had also become much clearer, and his overall condition much more stable.
Nihil gently nodded toward Tang San, then lowered his massive head to let Tang San stand on it. His dragon eyes, usually glowing with savage light, now seemed calm—although, due to him being terrifying in general, he still appeared fierce.
"Is this enough proof?" Tang San asked the two dragons.
They quickly nodded. One said, "Many apologies, Your Majesty. I hope you understand the kind of situation we're in. We will guide you to Crystal City immediately. Welcome back, Grand Commander." The last words were respectfully addressed to Nihil, accompanied by a deep bow.
With the two dragons leading the way, Tang San rode on Nihil's back into Crystal City.
This city was enormous. When the residents saw the giant Scourge Dragon flying into the city, cries of astonishment broke out. Even in this dragon stronghold, a dragon of such massive size was rare.
Nihil harbored no fondness for the dragons, having been suppressed and enslaved for years. When the escort brought Tang San to the city lord's mansion, he returned to his pocket dimension.
The dragon elders had already gathered outside the mansion to greet him. They included Fire Dragon King Tang Mohuang, the Ice Dragon King, and other competitors from the Battle for the Throne.
Seeing Tang San, some of them looked visibly awkward.
An elderly man with braided golden-white hair stepped forward and bowed politely. "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Liu Weichao, Grand Elder of the dragon race."
Tang San replied courteously, "Greetings, Grand Elder. I've only just come out of seclusion. Upon hearing what happened, I came as soon as I could. How is Brother Xu doing?"
The Grand Elder replied bitterly, "Not well. The enemy's methods were extremely unusual and have proven very difficult to handle."
Tang San said, "May I see him? Perhaps I can help."
"We were actually hoping you would," the Grand Elder said sincerely. The blue-gold tree clan leader, master of life energy, was arguably the greatest healing expert on the entire continent. If anyone could save Xu An'yu, it was him—he had even healed the Scourge Dragon.
"Please, this way."
Escorted by dragon elders, Tang San entered the Crystal City Lord's Estate.
The buildings here were almost entirely made of crystal and gemstones. It was the most beautiful architecture Tang San had seen outside of his divine realm. Bathed in sunlight, the palace was a world of color. Each structure emitted different hues, depending on the type of crystal used.
But this was no time for sightseeing. Surrounded by dragons, Tang San entered a grand palace where he immediately sensed several powerful presences, all peak Great Demon Kings.
As the number one clan on the continent, the dragons' heritage needed no explanation.
Xu An'yu had told Tang San during their journey to Skytree City that this Grand Elder, Liu Weichao, was extraordinarily powerful and… the only person alive to have failed an Emperor-level tribulation.
In other words, Liu Weichao had once reached the threshold of Emperorhood and triggered a tribulation. But since the planar quota was full at the time, he faced an absolutely calamitous tribulation and failed.
Normally, failure meant death. But he had survived, albeit with serious injuries, which indicated his incredible strength. He was essentially a half-step Emperor. However, the tribulation had damaged his foundations, and he would never have another chance to attain Emperorhood.
He was also Xu An'yu's master. Crystalline herself had entrusted a young Xu An'yu to his care.
The bedroom door opened. Two old dragons sat cross-legged at either side of the room, and they stood up as the Grand Elder entered with Tang San. They were Xu An'yu's guards.
Tang San's gaze immediately fell on the bed, where Xu An'yu lay, his aura extremely unstable. He truly was on the brink of death; his breath was almost indiscernible.
Tang San asked Liu Weichao softly, "May I examine him?"
The Grand Elder gestured invitingly, his eyes dim.
Tang San stepped to the bedside. Xu An'yu's human form was pale, with a golden tint that indicated an unusual, incomplete transformation, and visibly thinner. He was riddled with wounds, and despite his potent regeneration, none seemed to be healing in the slightest.
Tang San frowned, lifting Xu An'yu's wrist. And the moment he made contact, his eyes widened in shock.
What the hell….
The foreign energy plaguing Xu An'yu was deeply familiar to Tang San. No wonder the wounds wouldn't heal. So this was the reason.
That power was so potent that upon contact with Tang San, it immediately tried to invade his body.
"What a bold move," Tang San muttered as he retracted his hand and calmly neutralized the invasive force.
Liu Weichao's eyes lit up. "We've tried everything. Rare herbs, medicinal pills, treasures of our race, everything. Nothing worked. All we can do is keep him alive. We can't remove that force. You felt it, didn't you?"
Tang San nodded.
Liu Weichao asked anxiously, "Do you have a way?"
Tang San fell silent for a moment before replying, "I can try. I won't guarantee success, but it's possible."
The Grand Elder gave a bitter yet hopeful smile. "The fact that you're willing is more than we could hope for. Please, do your best."
Tang San said, "Grand Elder, I'll attempt to heal him, but I have a condition: I need to be alone. No one can be present. I'll seal the room with my divine consciousness, and no one may probe inside. If you agree, I'll begin."