A short while later, Huang Xiaolong finally reached the source of the powerful energy fluctuations he sensed earlier. The two battling parties were just like Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi predicted, the group of six people and the demonic beasts of Hailstone Forest.
Amongst the six people, the tall thin young man from the Azure Dragon Institute, which Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi pointed out as the strongest, was persistently flicking strange shining symbols toward the void in front of him. Colorful lights rippled ceaselessly in the void, he was seemingly in the midst of breaking the protective formation, while the other five people were dealing with eight demonic beasts.
These eight demonic beasts were no doubt a headache to deal with, as the weakest of them was a mid-Tenth Order God Realm.
Even so, both sides were equally matched.
âThe formation protecting the treasure is about to break. Once it breaks, sneak in quickly!â Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi was unable to hide the delight in his voice.
Huang Xiaolong nodded, concealing himself as he waited for the right time.
The battle before him continued.
Roughly an hour later, a thunderous roar resounded from the horizon. Clearly, the vigorous battle had alerted other powerful demonic beasts.
âSenior Brother Lu Cong!â One of the Azure Dragon Institute men couldnât resist urging toward the tall thin man who was breaking the formation. âWe wonât be able to hold them back much longer!â
They could barely manage to fight eight demonic beasts, however, if another one came to join the fray, they had no choice but to retreat.
Although a treasure was extremely tempting, it was on the prerequisite that they were alive to enjoy it.
Lu Congâs face turned gloomy. The formation breaking had been progressing smoothly, but he didnât expect the burst of energy fluctuations close to the end to attract even more of the surrounding demonic beasts.
However, he only needed another half an hour to break the formation. Half an hourâs time, he wasnât about to give up when success was so close that he could almost taste it at the tip of his tongue.
Determination glimmered in his eyes. In the next second, his entire body shone with a blinding light as he opened his mouth and read out a string of unintelligible gray symbols.
Those gray symbols turned into streaks of golden light, which flew at rapid speed, crashing into the surface of the protective formation.
While this took place, the roar coming from the distant horizon grew increasingly near. Moments later, two gargantuan sized demonic beasts appeared in everyoneâs line of sight.
These two gargantuan newcomers were two great apes, apparently a pair of male and female, both exuding overwhelming momentum from their bodies.
Even Huang Xiaolong, who was hiding in the deep void inside the Godly Mt. Xumi, felt the tremendous pressure surging from the two great apes.
âOh boy, itâs actually two peak late-Tenth Order God Realm Immemorial Raging Heart Great Apes.â Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi smacked his lips in schadenfreude.
The six peopleâs expressions turned grim in an instant. All six of them saw through these two great apesâ origin and frightening power.
Lu Cong shot a quick glance in the direction of the treasureâs protective formation, and a ruthless glint flickered in his eyes. His face flushed a bright red as he released a booming roar. An acoustic shockwave pierced through heaven and earth as if there was nothing left but this roar.
Before Huang Xiaolongâs flabbergasted eyes, countless symbols crashed into the defense formation like angered tidal waves.
Rumble~~!
Finally, a blinding light exploded in the perimeter of the treasureâs protective formation and a black spacial hole appeared in their line of sight.
The treasure locationâs protective formation was finally broken!
Decisiveness flashed in Huang Xiaolongâs eyes. Seizing this moment, he quickly had the Godly Mt. Xumi turn into a dust-sized particle that floated into the black hole in an instant.
âEnter!â Almost at the same time, Lu Cong hollered and was the first one to disappear into the black spacial hole. Joy flashed across the other five peoplesâ faces. Forcing back the surrounding demonic beasts, each of them swiftly flickered into the spacial hole.
When all five passed through, Lu Cong was waiting on the other side. His fingers forming signs and flicking out symbols into the black space hole, making it disappear.
On the other side of the Hailstone Forest, demonic beasts roared with endless fury.
The six wiped away the cold sweat on their foreheads, breathing out in huge relief.
âAny slower and weâd all be dead meat after those two Immemorial Raging Heart Great Apes arrived!â The Azure Dragon Instituteâs Ling Qingming forced a chuckle.
The Black Warrior Instituteâs Nie Yu scanned the Hailstone Treasure space. Spotting the grand palace structures atop of a peak, he broke into jubilant laughter, âThis is the fabled Hailstone Treasure? Now, all of it belongs to us!â
The rest joined in the laughter, filled with a exuberant joy.
âOnce we find the Highgod divine dragonsâ beast cores and refine them into Extreme Dragon Golden Pellets, our strengths will definitely soar. In the Highgod Advancement Tournament two hundred years later, the top ten will be monopolized by us!â
âGo!â
The six people flew at rapid speed toward the grand palace structures on the peak, leaving their jubilant laughter echoing in the air.
While the six of them were flying toward building on the mountain peak, Huang Xiaolong descended on another side of the mountain.
âStill thinking about the technique that the Azure Dragon Instituteâs thin young man used earlier?â Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi asked.
Huang Xiaolong nodded. Earlier, the soundwave attack move that young man used at the end to break the protective formation was extremely powerful. He was pondering about this.
âIt is the Ten Thousand Words Dharani[1], the ultimate technique of an ancient sect called Ten Thousand Words Scholarly Gate. According to rumors, if one learned all ten thousand characters, its power could shake heaven and earth. There probably wouldnât be any rival in the four galaxies, however, if Iâm not mistaken, that Azure Dragon young man has only mastered three thousand characters at most.â
Huang Xiaolong was taken aback. This Ten Thousand Words Dharani technique was so tyrannical? Learning all ten thousand characters would enable one to swagger in all four galaxies with no rival?
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi added, âMany ancient sectsâ cultivation techniques were lost in the river of time, I didnât expect to see this Ten Thousand Words Dharani appear again. Little Huang brat, if youâre really going to participate in the coming Highgod Advancement Tournament, this young man would be your number one rival.â
Huang Xiaolongâs expression grew serious and somber, but he nodded, agreeing with Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyiâs comment.
Whether it was that powerful young man or the other five people, all of them were tough opponents in the tournament.
âIn fact, this Hailstone Treasure is a dwelling left behind by an ancient sect.â Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi explained, âIt was called the Hailstone Holy Sect. More than a hundred thousand years ago, its name resounded throughout the four galaxies, to the extent where all four institute principals were wary of it. Its sect founder was an ice element divine dragon, and under him were all formidable ice element demonic beasts. Of course, there were also many humans that practiced ice element techniques.â
This information astounded Huang Xiaolong, it never crossed his mind that the Hailstone Treasure would be a ruin of an ancient sect, one that even the four top institutes were wary of. Just from this statement alone, he could imagine how powerful the Hailstone Holy Sect was back in the day.
âItâs just that the sect provoked too many parties, the four galaxiesâ super forces joined hands and sieged the sect, ending in its destruction.â Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyi sighed, pausing for a moment before continuing, âHighgod divine dragon beast core, sacred grade divine pellets, all of these should be inside the Hailstone Holy Sectâs treasure vault, we must now hurry and locate the treasure vault before the others.â
Huang Xiaolongâs eyes took a quick glance at his surroundings. Undulating mountain ranges weaved out for thousands of li and the countless palaces scattered like mushrooms after rain evoked a wry smile on his face, how was he supposed to search for the treasure vault in this situation?
Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyiâs voice sounded, âIt may be difficult for the six of them to locate the treasure vault, but it is an easy matter for you because you possess the True Dragon Physique. On top of that, you cultivate in the Treasure Dragon Protective Shield Art. Try to sense the dragon qi. The place with the highest concentration of dragon qi should be the location of the treasure vault.â
Huang Xiaolongâs eyes brightened, immediately understanding the meaning of Dragon Emperor Ao Taiyiâs words. A Highgod Realm divine dragonâs beast core definitely contained abundant pure dragon qi, others might not be able to sense it, but Huang Xiaolongâs True Dragon Physique could.
Immediately, Huang Xiaolong activated the Treasure Dragon Protective Shield Art, allowing the formation inside his body to appear.
âItâs inside one of the buildings on the mountain up ahead!â A while later, Huang Xiaolongâs eyes lit up.
1. Dharani: the word dhÄraá¹Ä« derives from a Sanskrit word, meaning "to hold or maintain". DhÄraá¹Ä« is suggested to be saturated with meaning â every syllable is symbolic on multiple levels