Beastmaster of the Ages

Long Wanying understood Tianming's doubts. "The preservation of these bodies is the miracle of the Primodragon Cave. In Orderia, there are many people who want to be buried here after death. After all, everyone hopes their body will still be warm after millions of years," she explained

Tianming was bereft of speech. "I know too little about the mysteries of the cosmos." If it weren't for respecting these seniors, Tianming would have approached the bodies to study them closer.

Right then, Long Wanying gave him a chance to do so as they followed a path to the top of the mountain. Long Wanying turned to the Saintdragon Emperor. "Please give me a moment.…"

"We'll go with you." The Saintdragon Emperor nodded.

Tianming noticed the red in Long Wanying's eyes and the sadness in her expression. It seemed she wanted to see someone first. If his guess was right, she was going to see the former Whitedragon Emperor, Long Junxuan, her late husband. His was the last body to enter the Primodragon Cave so his position was lower. Following their gazes, Tianming found a tombstone that was fairly new. In fact, many tombstones on the top of the mountain were almost crumbling, but the bodies were still fresh.

Not long after, they arrived in front of a white jade tombstone, beneath which stood a man dressed in white. He looked young and had a sunny, gentle demeanor and eyes as bright as stars. If he were still alive, he would be the backbone of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, one that would surpass the Saintdragon Emperor and suppress the Torchdragon Emperor. After all, the Saintdragon Emperor was already old. All of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had grieved over Long Junxuan's death. Back then, they had been caught off guard when the sun emperor placed a false charge on Long Junxuan and murdered him. In just one move, the future of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had been snuffed out.

Long Wanying hadn't been here for a long time. At this moment, when the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was in danger, she approached this familiar man, tears streaming down her cheeks. It had only been several decades since his death so his was the most well-preserved corpse. He seemed alive, with blood coursing through his veins. His starry eyes gazed at the woman in front of him with love and affection.

Tianming could feel his majestic power, which rivaled the Saintdragon Emperor. After a person died, their divine will would dissipate. Without it, astralforce would disperse as well. He didn't even have a divine will, yet astral discs existed in each of his albi. How was it possible? Tianming swept his gaze across the entire cave. From start to end, there was only shock in his eyes.

Long Wanying stretched out her trembling hands, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Long Junxuan's cheek. Although her eyes were red, she was smiling like she was recalling the first time they met. Then, muttering to herself, she placed her ear on his chest. There was no doubt that his heart was no longer beating, but she was content to lean on his chest. Perhaps in her heart, he was merely sleeping, just like their younger days when she would count the newly-emerged hairs on his chin after he had fallen asleep, exhausted from cultivating. How could she have imagined then that they would be separated by life and death? Biting her lips, she cried and laughed. The happier she was, the more painful reality was. The sun emperor and celestial orderians had caused this torment.

"Wanying," said the Saintdragon Emperor.

"I'm okay." Releasing her grip, Long Wanying wiped away the tears and forced a smile. "I'll just think of it as reliving the sweet memories of the past. It doesn't matter. Perhaps it'll soon be time for me to stand by his side forever. Then the effort I devoted toward becoming the Whitedragon Empress wouldn't be in vain."

"We must defend the Primodragon Cave, otherwise…." The Saintragon Emperor sounded hoarse.

Looking up, the hundred thousand ancestors of the Dragon Emperor, solemn and majestic, opened their eyes wide, examining their younger generation. Once the Primodragon Cave was captured, everything here would be gone.

"Without the origin, there's no future. Millions of years of inheritance would be destroyed."

Their clan, culture, and inheritance would be extinguished. As long as they were unwilling to yield, they knew that this would be a fight to win or die. Annihilation—what a terrifying word it was.

"Let's keep going," the Saintdragon Emperor said.

Everyone's throats burned, but none of them spoke. Instead, they followed the Saintdragon Emperor up the mountain, one step at a time. Along the way, Tianming turned and looked at each dragon imperial. They were all staring into the distance; perhaps the Myriaddragon Mountains were in that direction and they were watching over their descendants. The significance of a hundred thousand former dragon imperials from ancient times to the present was extremely profound.

"We're almost there," the Saintdragon Emperor said.

Tianming couldn't help but wonder what they were doing climbing to the peak. They were already high up on the mountain.

"Look." Long Wanying patted his arm lightly.

Following her gaze, Tianming looked up. Only then did he discover an upside-down lake above the peak of the Primodragon Mountain. The lake was about a kilometer across with water so clear that it was almost completely transparent, so Tianming didn't notice it at first. The lake was exceptionally calm, with not a ripple in sight. Although it was upside-down, not a drop of water fell, which was yet another oddity.

They continued to climb up. There were no tombstones around. Upon reaching the top of the mountain, the only thing in sight was the mirror-like lake.

"What is this?"

"The plane of origin," Long Wanying replied.

"Is this where the dragon of origin was born?" Tianming asked.

"Yes. It's also a sacred place for us." Pulling Tianming to her side, Long Wanying and the dragon imperials knelt under the lake and began chanting in a low voice. Although Tianming couldn't decipher what they were chanting, they seemed extremely pious. Hence, he stopped asking questions. About half an hour later, the chanting stopped and rays of light appeared on the plane of origin, enveloping what seemed to be the figure of a person. It was blurry, so he couldn't tell who it was.

"Who is it?" Tianming asked Long Wanying in a whisper.

"I don't know. It might be the Ninedragon Emperor," Long Wanying replied.

"Might be?" Tianming added.

"The Ninedragon Emperor's death remains a mystery. There's many theories. You didn't find his body in the Imperial Ninedragon Tomb, did you? He should've been buried in the Primodragon Cave, but his body isn't here so according to rumors from our ancestors, he entered the plane of origin to follow the dragon of origin's trail," Long Wanying explained.

The Ninedragon Emperor had existed hundreds of thousands of years ago. If he entered the plane of origin, it would have happened a long time ago.

"What happens if you enter the plane of origin? There must be many who have entered," Tianming speculated. He was eager to plunge inside and take a look. After all, the plane of origin had a history of millions of years.

"Since ancient times, all those who entered, including the Ninedragon Emperor who allegedly did so, have never reemerged. They're considered to have perished," Long Wanying said.

"So this leads to a world from which you can't return?"