Chapter 542: A Total Slaughter

Chapter 542: Chapter 542: A Total Slaughter

’I can’t give up,’ he kept telling himself. ’I absolutely can’t give up.’

But in this situation, could he really afford not to give up?

Long Ao had exhausted the last of his strength, and the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber in his hand had vanished. This meant he had chosen to give up.

A part of him screamed in protest, refusing to give up, but things had come to this. He was willing, but powerless.

With no physical strength left and even the last wisp of his Soul Power exhausted, he cast a helpless glance around him. Finally, Long Ao succumbed to unconsciousness.

The Beast Tide surrounded him, endless and vast.

The Spirit Beasts all roared in a frenzy, lunging at Long Ao, eager to devour him on the spot.

Under normal circumstances, Long Ao was as good as dead.

But at that very moment, just as Long Ao was about to be devoured by the Spirit Beasts, a Dragon’s Roar suddenly resounded from within his body. In its wake, a colossal Long Ying appeared, suspended in the air of the Dark Space.

The primeval Dragon’s Roar shook Heaven and Earth.

If Long Ao had been conscious, he would have been struck speechless with shock. For at that moment, the Ancient Divine Dragon, which had long since vanished, had suddenly reappeared.

The colossal Long Ying soared and danced, scattering terrifying Dragon Breath in every direction.

At this moment, the Ancient Divine Dragon was clearly pushing its limits, looking as if it might collapse at any second.

But to protect Long Ao, the Ancient Divine Dragon forced itself to act, even at the risk of its Divine Spirit perishing.

The Ancient Divine Dragon’s intentions were simple. Over many years, the Dragon Seal Space had sought out countless masters, yet none had managed to reach the final step. Ultimately, fearing discovery by the Celestial Dao, the Ancient Divine Dragon had taken the Dragon Seal Space and hidden it within the ancestral hall of the Red Fire Town Long Family.

In the end, it was almost by chance that the Ancient Divine Dragon chose Long Ao.

First, Long Ao’s Desolate Constitution had impressed the Ancient Divine Dragon. As the greatest Sacred Body of all time, with the aid of the Dragon Seal Space, the Desolate Sacred Body would no longer be a so-called Wasted Body, but a true Sacred Body.

Second, Long Ao’s unyielding character was the other major reason it had been moved. After all, for a Martial Artist, perseverance is even more important than talent.

Someone like Long Ao was one in a million. The Ancient Divine Dragon knew full well that if anything happened to him, finding another successor like Long Ao would be nearly impossible. Furthermore, the Ancient Divine Dragon itself was running out of time and could fall at any moment.

The Ancient Divine Dragon was one of the most powerful Divine Beasts in all of Heaven and Earth during the Ancient Times, as well as the great ancestor of the Dragon Race. Its power was self-evident; its majesty alone was more than any ordinary Divine Beast could hope to withstand.

If even Divine Beasts could not, then how could ordinary Spirit Beasts possibly resist?

And sure enough, the moment the primeval Dragon’s Roar sounded and the Ancient Divine Dragon appeared, the surrounding Spirit Beasts were visibly terrified. They fell to their knees one by one, their posture the very picture of reverence.

SKREEE, SKREEE, SKREEE....

Just then, a series of piercing shrieks echoed through the Dark Space. Upon hearing the grating sound, the once-reverent Spirit Beasts went into a frenzy and resumed their attack.

The Ancient Divine Dragon’s expression seemed to change as well, and its majestic voice rang out.

"Ten Thousand Beasts Order. Ten Thousand Beasts Sect."

In its prime, the Ancient Divine Dragon would not have given this Beast Tide a second thought. But the situation was different now. The great dragon had reached its end. If it forced itself to act, it would face a fate of being unable to enter Reincarnation.

’However,’ the Ancient Divine Dragon knew, ’even if I do nothing, the outcome will be the same.’

’Since my days are numbered anyway, I might as well make a gamble—a gamble that Long Ao can eventually reach the Martial Arts Peak, avenge me and Long Tian, and slay the Celestial Dao.’

The terrifying, primeval Dragon’s Roar thundered once more. At that moment, two beams of light shot out from the Ancient Divine Dragon’s body—one into Long Ao, the other into Long Qiang, who was inside the Dragon Seal Space.

Neither Long Ao nor Long Qiang felt a thing. Such was the absolute disparity in their power; before the Ancient Divine Dragon, they were simply far too weak.

While the primeval Dragon’s Roar continued to resound, the Ancient Divine Dragon finally struck. As one of the most powerful Divine Beasts in Heaven and Earth, one had to admit that even in its current state, its strength was still terrifying, especially when unleashing its ultimate power.

Terrifying Dragon Breath condensed into massive spheres that continuously bombarded the surrounding Spirit Beasts. RUMBLE, RUMBLE! The entire Dark Space began to tremble. Before the Spirit Beasts could react, countless numbers of them were consumed by the light, their bodies utterly annihilated.

This was the power of the Ancient Divine Dragon.

The Beast Tide was immense; the endless Spirit Beasts were simply too numerous. There were several million at a minimum, but in reality, their numbers surely exceeded ten million. Even with the Ancient Divine Dragon’s terrifying power, eliminating over ten million Spirit Beasts in a short period was an impossible feat.

For the Ancient Divine Dragon of the Ancient Times, eliminating tens of millions of Spirit Beasts would have been a matter of minutes, but things were different now.

The Ancient Divine Dragon was clearly pushing itself to the limit. A continuous stream of energy flowed from its body, endlessly condensing into orbs of light that it hurled fiercely in all directions. RUMBLE! RUMBLE! The booming sounds were incessant.

The Ancient Divine Dragon knew of Long Ao’s desire to refine a Corpse Slave Army, so as it slaughtered the Spirit Beasts, it also gathered all their souls and corpses into the Dragon Seal Space.

The number of Spirit Beasts in the Beast Tide dwindled rapidly. They were no longer an endless, densely packed swarm. Moments ago, there had been over ten million; now, fewer than four million remained. This meant that in just a few dozen minutes, the Ancient Divine Dragon had annihilated nearly six million Spirit Beasts.

The Ancient Divine Dragon’s form nearly plummeted from the sky, but it managed to endure.

The Ancient Divine Dragon continued to unleash its Dragon Breath. Countless orbs of light burst forth, and the Spirit Beasts in the Beast Tide fell one after another. Soon, of the initial ten million, only two million remained.

To slaughter eight million Spirit Beasts in half an hour—a feat perhaps only the Ancient Divine Dragon could achieve. Could any other Divine Beast manage it?

For the final strike, the Ancient Divine Dragon let out a terrifying, primeval Dragon’s Roar. An incomparable surge of Dragon Breath erupted from its body, forming eight orbs of light that exploded in eight directions. This final, ultimate attack annihilated the remaining two million Spirit Beasts, leaving none alive.

And so, the entire Beast Tide, numbering over ten million Spirit Beasts, was utterly massacred. Moreover, the souls and corpses of all ten million-plus beasts had been sent into the Dragon Seal Space. Once the refinement was successful, they would become a terrifying Corpse Slave Army of over ten million strong. The very thought was staggering.

Just as it finished slaughtering the Beast Tide and was about to return to the Dragon Seal Space to recuperate, the Ancient Divine Dragon’s expression changed drastically. It looked up at the Nine Heavens, which were now an oppressive sheet of black. In a voice thick with solemnity, it said, "Celestial Dao."

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