As Ding Ning listened to the indigo serpent’s howls, he glanced at the condensed black blood in the air. A faint ‘oh’ escaped his lips before he said, “So it is dragon bats.” Then he continued to walk down.

Young women were always the most curious. Nangong Caishu was so, Hu Jingjing was so, Jing Liuli was no exception either.

Seeing Ding Ning act like nothing had happened, Hu Jingjing could not help but ask, “What are dragon bats?”

“An extremely powerful kind of bloodsucking bat. Because they are so strong, they were thought from long ago to have the bloodline of a true dragon.”

Knowing that this kind of explanation could not be understood, Ding Ning added. “Many things were called dragons in the past because they possessed great physical power and exceptional healing ability. These dragon bats are only two feet long, but they are terrifyingly strong even if they cannot use the primal energies of the universe. At least, they would not be weaker than that wind serpent. If they are truly fighting, the other beasts usually are not a match for it. The Yan Dynasty has a divine weapon called Black Fiend made from celestial ore and the blood glue of this kind of beast.”

“The Yan Emperor’s imperial weapon?” Li Xixing took a deep breath and could not help but feel a chill.

“The Yan Emperor’s lifebond weapon?” Hu Jingjing felt this was unreal. She could not help but look at Ding Ning. “You really are not afraid at all?”

Ding Ning glanced at her and asked, “Are you afraid now?”

Hu Jingjing stilled and found that she really was not very afraid right now. Ding Ning could not help but laugh.

“But …” Hu Jingjing felt that something was wrong and thought for a moment. She looked at Ding Ning. “I am not afraid now because you are very calm and your emotions affect mine.”

“These beasts, no matter how strong, can only equal a realm seven cultivators. The mountain nwas sealed for so many years, so no matter what is inside, they will surpass the power of these beasts. Since we know the outcome of those beasts going down, what is there to be afraid of?”

Hearing Ding’s explanation, Hu Jingjing said after a moment of silence, “These beasts added together are much stronger than us added together. They cannot deal, so how can we?”

“All sword manuals focus on the sword essence. If you cannot understand the meaning you want to express when you swing your sword, the world cannot understand your sword move, and so the energies will not be fully mobilized by you.”

Ding Ning patiently said something that appeared irrelevant and then said, “Some sword moves have weaknesses from the start. For example, the situation this Tianliang person created using Li Xixing to force me here. It looks as though it has the advantage of time and place, but there are flaws from the start. His plan let me know he is from Tianliang, and that he forced me here to help him clear out some of the obstacles. To him, only my comprehension is unrivalled in the world. So he knows there is something inside, and what we are facing is something that is related to comprehension, and we will not be killed immediately.”

Li Xixing listened carefully. He understood that Ding Ning was saying that the situation had weaknesses from the start and there was a chance of victory, but he still frowned. “Then what about the insects on the mountain path? If not for the spirit rain, I fear we would have died there, and you would not have been able to deal with it.”

“There are many possibilities.” Ding Ning said, “Maybe that place is not the only way into the Mountain of Ancestors. But if you really died there, we would be able to sense the danger. Maybe that person knows how to deal with chaos insects, and guarantees that we can pass.”

Li Xixing nodded, he agreed with Ding Ning’s views.

“These powerful beasts were attracted by the spirit rain and they could enter from above. Previously, they did not dare to enter, but now they do. This means that the interior has changed due to the disappearance of the Fountain of Eternal Youth and at least, they see a chance of success.”

Ding Ning said, “The things inside may be a great temptation to them.”

Hearing Ding Ning’s words, Shen Xuan’s eyes narrowed again. These powerful beasts rivalling realm seven cultivators were rarer in number than realm seven cultivators in the world. In terms of sensing disaster, fortune, and energy, these beasts had special senses.

What was causing these beasts to risk their lives to go down?

How astounding were the things that even realm seven cultivators would risk their lives for?

**

Bam!

The white winged snake with the destroyed tail charged out of the palace like a white rainbow and then fell to the ground with a roar like a giant meteor. When the smoke dissipated, Wu Lianzi and the shaman appeared in front of the palace.

There were more legends regarding the ancestral lands on the plains. Many Tianliang people became gods and spirits in the stories. So when Wu Lianzi saw this palace, the shock he received was greater than Li Xixing and the others. Standing at the only entrance to the palace, and seeing the stairs and profound lines of light, he trembled constantly.

The shaman’s expression was unspeakably complicated, containing all kinds of indescribable emotions. His eyes were especially aged and desolate, like the light of the setting sun on the desert. His gaze fell onto the stairs behind the entrance. He seemed to want to start moving but at this time, he suddenly stopped and said, “You are too lucky.”

“Great Shaman?” Wu Lianzi paused. He turned to look at the man and did not understand the meaning in the words.

The shaman turned around. In the dust behind them, from the seemingly empty space, a shadow that was undetectable but gave off a powerful and strong aura appeared.

Wu Lianzi was extremely shocked and paled. He was certain the other was not a cultivator from Wuzhi or Donghu. among the Wuzhi and Donghu cultivators, there did not seem to be anyone who could possess such a presence. This powerful presence caused him to think of that enormous sword, and this man’s identity.

“Zhan Moke, I do not understand what you mean.” This man was naturally the sect leader of Spirit Void Sword Sect, Gu Huai. He looked dryly at the shaman as though he could read the shaman’s thoughts.

“I did so many things and paid great costs to enter here. You could enter here as you wish. That is the greatest fortune,” The shaman said coolly and turned to walk away without looking at Gu Huai.

“Great Shaman?”

Seeing Gu Huai smile and remain silent, Wu Lianzi sensed something and started to feel cold.

“Do you still not understand?” Gu Huai passed by his side and said disdainfully, “If you do not want to die immediately, then follow.”

Wu Lianzi pressed his lips together tightly. His body had previously trembled out of excitement and awe, but now trembled out of fury.

He could not imagine the great shaman, unusually respected by all of Wuzhi, had made a secret agreement with these Qin people.

The spiraling stairs gradually reached an end. The greenness of the long grasses gradually disappeared and a deep red formed like they were entering a maple forest in fall. Yet the red color intensified so when it reached the end, it became a strange purple color.

When the strange purple color became real, what first entered their sight with a rebellious presence was a tall tree. The bottom of the palace was not as deep as they had imagined. It was also smaller than at the top. It was like an ordinary valley or rather the bottom of a huge well, hundreds of feet wide. The flat ground had no other plants except a jade-like purple tree several dozen feet tall.

That indigo serpent was hanging off the branches of this tree, lifeless, its body pierced by many branches.

Translator Ramblings: I like the explanation everything strong gets called a dragon or has dragon in the name rather than there being an ancestral dragon race that mated with everything and so their descendants have the ‘dragon bloodline’.