Chapter 569 - 491: Third Refining of the Dao Source, Mastering Life and Death

Chapter 569: Chapter 491: Third Refining of the Dao Source, Mastering Life and Death

The Volcano Grotto Heaven.

WHOOSH.

Silently, a black shadow flickered.

Su Ye controlled the Shadow Fiend, which took the form of a huddled black shadow as it skimmed low across the Grotto Heaven.

Along the way, all he saw on the ground was the cooled lava left behind after the self-destruction of the Fire Elementals.

"Tsk, tsk..."

"What a massacre..."

Su Ye surveyed the battlefield and sighed.

With his spiritual sense, he could feel that at least several million Fire Elementals had perished here in a single moment.

’Looks like the Dream-Guardians’ defensive preparations were rushed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have resorted to this...’ Su Ye thought, making his assessment.

These Fire Elementals could be considered the petitioners of a godly kingdom.

Such a massive loss was undoubtedly a staggering blow to the Volcano Grotto Heaven.

Just then, Su Ye felt a familiar mental ripple calling to him from the void.

’The Dream-Guardians...’

Su Ye murmured to himself. He offered no resistance, allowing the Dream-Guardians to pull his consciousness upward.

’The Dream-Guardians probably want to tell me something. A request for help, maybe?’

’This is a golden opportunity to take advantage of their misfortune—to blackmail and extort them!’

Besides, even if he was wrong, this body only contained a splinter of his soul. It was no great loss if it was destroyed.

Therefore, Su Ye remained perfectly calm, not the least bit flustered.

「A moment later.」

Following the spiritual pull, Su Ye’s consciousness ascended continuously.

He arrived in a dreamscape—the very same desolate land as before.

Three stone pillars of the Dream-Guardians, forged from Obsidian and inlaid with pure white masks, appeared before him.

"Greetings, Dream-Guardians."

Su Ye bowed slightly in salutation.

In this dream world, one’s appearance was a reflection of their mind.

Thus, Su Ye’s current image was that of his true self.

"Sea-kin."

"We need your help."

The Dream-Guardians got straight to the point.

The situation was too dire, with the fire already singeing their eyebrows; there was no time for pleasantries.

"Alright."

Su Ye agreed in a heartbeat.

’Agreeing doesn’t mean I’m actually going to help.’

"However," he said, "esteemed Dream-Guardians, could you first fill me in on the current situation?"

’If the situation is too far gone, they can pretend I never agreed.’

The Dream-Guardians glanced at each other, understanding Su Ye’s unspoken words. They sighed helplessly and decided to tell the truth.

Lies were pointless. They could see that the Shadow Fiend was merely a puppet; Su Ye’s true body had never entered the Grotto Heaven at all.

"The situation is dire."

"Right now, the outsiders are attacking the core of the Grotto Heaven. We’ve used an Array to hold them off for the time being."

"As for the specifics... see for yourself."

With a flicker of the Dream-Guardians’ divine sense, spiritual light flashed, and four screens of light unfolded before Su Ye.

The images they displayed showed the cultivators, split into four groups, attacking the Array.

"Fuyunzi!"

Su Ye spotted Fuyunzi immediately.

’I never forget a grudge!’

At that moment, on one of the screens, Fuyunzi and Yuan Lan, two Nascent Soul True Monarchs, were advancing through an empty fortress city, leading several Golden Core cultivators.

This Array folded space, created a no-fly zone, and was engraved with numerous overlapping restrictions, layer after layer, like an onion.

They had to be peeled back one by one, breaking through the restrictive protections. Even powerhouses like Nascent Soul True Monarchs couldn’t just force their way through.

And at the center of the folded space, at the eye of the Array, a Tier Five being stood guard!

"Is that... a Tier Five Fire Elemental?"

This Fire Elemental was relatively small, only about ten feet tall.

But the flames wreathing its body were a dazzling, brilliant gold. Atop its head, a crown was shaped from molten Ruby and fire.

Moreover, a nimble, intelligent light flickered in its eyes. It was clear that, unlike its dim-witted kin, it possessed a level of intellect no less than that of a normal human.

’Perhaps this type of Fire Elemental could be called a Fire Element Monarch?’

Su Ye blinked, a glint in his eyes.

He wasn’t surprised by the existence of a Fire Element Monarch.

Fire Elementals were indeed low in intelligence, but with such a large population, there were bound to be one or two mutants born with higher intellect.

It was perfectly normal that with the Dream-Guardians investing some resources to nurture them, and given the long lifespan of Fire Elementals, a few Tier Five beings would emerge.

However, the Dream-Guardians probably didn’t have many such beings at their disposal.

Su Ye’s gaze swept across the screens. He saw only two Fire Element Monarchs, each guarding an eye of the Array.

As for the other two Array eyes, they were being guarded by other Tier Five beings.

It was worth mentioning that Su Ye also recognized the Guardians of these two Array eyes.

One was the ancient, dragon-headed, human-bodied deity for whom Su Ye had refined the Dao Source in the ruins not long ago, helping him recover.

He had now shed his stone exterior and was no longer in a statue-like state.

His crimson scales shimmered with a bright, smooth metallic luster. His aura’s intensity was around the Tier Five Mid Stage.

Moreover, by Su Ye’s estimation, this dragon-man deity’s power had been at the Tier Five Late Stage in his prime. Currently limited by the aftereffects of suppressing the Dao Source, his strength hadn’t fully recovered.

Even so, the power he could wield was far greater than that of an ordinary Tier Five Mid Stage being.

As for the other one, Su Ye was even more familiar with him.

"Huh?"

"Zuo Hongtu?"

Su Ye raised an eyebrow.

This Guardian was none other than the long-missing former Alliance Leader of the Flame Alliance, Zuo Hongtu.

Zuo Hongtu wore a Daoist robe, and numerous crimson markings, like war tattoos, had appeared on his face.

His aura had clearly reached Tier Five. However, he was not an Immortal Dao Nascent Soul, but a Tier Five deity!

Seeing that Su Ye seemed to recognize Zuo Hongtu, a Dream-Guardian explained, "We rescued this cultivator and discovered that he had a high affinity with a godhead, so we helped him ascend to Tier Five."