Chapter 1199, The Renowned Name of the Valley of Life

Translator: Silavin

After a period of adjustment, everyone had more or less grown accustomed to the terrifying pressure emanating from the Bronze Dragon King.

Though standing near her still produced a certain level of discomfort, the fact that they had confirmed she was an ally meant that instinctive sense of dread had dissipated considerably. It was rather like a mouse suddenly finding a cat in its vicinity, the mouse could not help but feel a bone-deep terror out of pure instinct. Yet after spending some time together, once the mouse understood the cat bore it no ill will, that primal dread would fade quite a bit.

In the Dragon Domain, the Valley of Life naturally had a high reputation.

The Valley of Life’s fame within the Dragon Domain had nothing to do with how fearsome the Life Dragon King was, or how mighty the Rootless Dragons dwelling within it were.

The Valley of Life’s reputation had been built entirely upon accumulated goodwill.

For a long time, under the leadership of the Life Dragon King, the Valley of Life had done no shortage of good deeds. When a Giant Dragon fell gravely ill and came seeking salvation, the Life Dragon King would generally bestow a Life Fruit upon them, using it to sustain the visitor’s life. Or when a Clan of Giant Dragons suffered unwarranted calamity, lost their home, and came to the Valley of Life seeking shelter, more often than not they would be taken in.

Thus, the Giant Dragons living within the Valley of Life were not solely the Rootless Dragons. Many had originally lost their homes, Young Dragons who, by their own strength alone, could not possibly survive within the Dragon Domain. Over time, the Valley of Life’s reputation gradually spread far and wide throughout the Dragon Domain, and regardless of how powerful a Dragon King might be, every single one held the Valley of Life in deepest regards.

After all, who could say how many Giant Dragons across the entire Dragon Domain had emerged from the Valley of Life, or how many had deep ties to it? Even those who had never received the Valley of Life’s benevolence would still protect it, and would not permit other Giant Dragons to act against it.

Likewise, Giant Dragons who had come from the Valley of Life would generally be regarded differently by their fellows throughout the Dragon Domain. Hailing from the Valley of Life invariably suggested they shared the Life Dragon King’s kind and nurturing disposition. They loved peace and cared nothing for strife. Towards every manner of injustice, they were fierce and uncompromising.

And thus, the Valley of Life had become something very much like a gilded signboard. Any Giant Dragon whose origins lay within it would inspire, in the hearts of other Giant Dragons, a natural and instinctive sense of trustworthiness.

It was precisely for this reason that the Bronze Dragon King placed such boundless trust in Lu Fan and his companions. To put it plainly, had Lu Fan not arrived in the company of the Flame Dragon and the Two-Headed Dragon, he would have found it much harder to earn the Bronze Dragon King’s confidence so effortlessly.

All things considered, the Bronze Dragon King did trust Lu Fan and his companions quite a lot. She even humbly asked what exactly could be done to slay the Desolate Ancient God and restore peace to the Dragon Domain.

This question fell to Ouyang Bai Ge to answer.

The group gathered and sat together in a circle.

Ouyang Bai Ge began to speak slowly, sharing with everyone all she knew.

“The Desolate Ancient God’s Ancient God Power works like this, it can devour all things and turn them to its own use. The more abundant the energy, the more it can absorb, converting it into the fuel that raises its own degree of awakening.”

“By now, it has already devoured the entire Valley of Life. The energy at its disposal has become something truly terrifying. Defeating it in a direct confrontation is not impossible, but it will be extremely difficult. The difficulty is roughly equivalent to going to open war against the Valley of Life directly, or perhaps, somewhat harder than even that. After all, at this point in time, the Desolate Ancient God Power must already surpass the combined strength of every Giant Dragon it has devoured.”

“So, what lies within it is not only the power of every Giant Dragon from the Valley of Life, but also the staggering Life Essence of that entire Map, as well as the power it had accumulated through years of its own efforts. My initial estimate is that the Desolate Ancient God’s current strength is roughly equivalent to the combined power of all the Giant Dragons from three Valley of Lifes.”

“The combined power of all Giant Dragons from three Valley of Lifes, how troublesome…” The Bronze Dragon King nodded gravely, clearly in full agreement.

“But, it is not entirely hopeless. Over the years, the Valley of Life has aided no small number of Giant Dragons. Quite a few of them have since established their own Clans, and have risen to grow in considerable numbers. Right now, their strength is far from negligible. During this period, I have already sent my men to seek out allies. Though those who can arrive in the short term are not many, given enough time, more and more companions will join the battlefield to stand against the Desolate Ancient God.”

She paused for a moment. The Bronze Dragon King chuckled, and said, “Naturally, there is one more point. The Valley of Life may be formidable, but its strength has never truly been about strength. If it is merely the combined strength of three Valley of Lifes’ worth of Giant Dragons, I believe we can still manage.”

As she spoke, she glanced over at the Flame Dragon and the Two-Headed Dragon standing to the side, checking whether they would take offence at her words.

The Flame Dragon was entirely unbothered by this. He nodded and said plainly, “Yeah. Combat has never been what we of the Valley of Life excel at. But, if this Desolate Ancient God is capable of devouring energy and converting it to its own use, its current strength may exceed the mere combined strength of three Valley of Lifes’ worth of Giant Dragons. After all, our Valley of Life possesses an abundance of Life Essence. That alone far surpasses the Combat Power of my companions. So, the primary source of the Desolate Ancient God’s growth in strength is not my Brothers and Sisters it has devoured, but the Map of the Valley of Life itself. It is possible that the Desolate Ancient God is far more fearsome than we think.”

Ouyang Bai Ge considered this for a moment, then nodded. “What you say is not wrong. I visited Lu Fan’s Shadow Isle before, and even from a distance I could sense the Life Dragon King’s Life Essence dwelling there. She had only been there for some time and even that was impressively vast. A place where she has lived for several hundred thousand years, I truly cannot imagine just how concentrated the Life Essence within it would be. If all of that Life Essence has been devoured by the Desolate Ancient God, its strength should be even more fearsome than I had estimated. After all, that Life Essence would be the finest nourishment imaginable for it.”

At this point, Lu Fan spoke up. “But I do not think we need to be quite so pessimistic. Look at it from another angle, if the Desolate Ancient God were truly powerful beyond all reckoning, it would not still be contained within the Valley of Life right now, unable to emerge and devour other parts of the Dragon Domain. From how I see it, it is definitely powerful, powerful enough that the Bronze Dragon King alone cannot contend with it. But even now, it is still far from enough. It could not pose a threat to the Dragon Domain as a whole right now.”