Follow the path of Dao from infancy Chapter 1873 Chapter 501: The Final Step
Previously on Follow the path of Dao from infancy...
Eastern Domain, Ancestral Dragon City.
Ancestral Dragon City, that grand and imposing fortress celebrated as an unbreakable bulwark in the Eastern Domain across countless millennia, had crumbled into devastation, strewn with the debris of conflict all around.
The earth here brimmed with shattered Ancestor Dragon skeletons, enormous draconic forms torn apart, their meat and remains flung far and wide. Moreover, corpses from the mighty families of the Eastern Domain lay in heaps, dragon essence and avian remains stacked into towering hills, crafting a grim and forsaken burial site.
A deep tremor shook the soil, while the emptiness echoed with shrill winds sweeping above the silent skeletal relics. Gazing skyward revealed a vast dark silhouette, bloody tempests on leathery wings, savage and bone-chilling, surging over the iced-over ancient Ancestral Dragon City toward the expansive inner reaches of the Eastern Domain.
Far off, the realm shattered apart, bizarre spectral events unfolding, eternal arts morphing into blazing cascades resembling endless streams, whipping up tempests in the nothingness.
From that remote horizon boomed the clamor of a ferocious, world-quaking clash.
"Hold the line! Hold it with your lives!!"
"Even if you must burn your Divine Souls and blood essence, you must hold on!"
"Never retreat, not even a single step!!"
Shouts from the Ancestor Dragon Clan thundered across this final barrier, a Quasi-Emperor's rage booming over the entire warzone.
Yet shortly after, the Quasi-Emperor powerhouses of the Ancient Demons responded, their tones icy and tyrannical:
"Kill, kill everything in our path!"
"Once we breach this barrier, the entire sprawling Eastern Domain falls to us!"
"They'll all turn into our sustenance, our feast! gorge on their blood for a thousand years!!"
Quasi-Emperor powerhouses on both factions faced off, with some directing from the rear and others clashing directly amid the fray, turning the void into a forbidden Exotic Realm that no intruder could enter; not even Immortal King Realm beings would venture near or interfere.
"Dragon Ancestor, we can't endure much longer!"
At the rear of the defense, a venerable Ancestor Dragon shape curled in wait, its colossal serpentine frame stretching a thousand miles despite being scaled down, the imperial physique compressed; still, the scales and form hammered from Divine Iron radiated an overwhelming dread, akin to a primordial monster gazing down upon all existence.
"Dao Origin Immortal Emperor and Sovereign Great Emperor remain locked in combat, while five additional Great Emperors stand guard beyond. Any sign of reinforcements?"
A Quasi-Emperor of the Ancestor Dragon Clan inquired with desperation.
He was also an Ancestor Dragon, now shifted to human shape, appearing minuscule before the Dragon Ancestor, his gaze brimming with desperate need.
Reinforcements… The Dragon Ancestor gazed wordlessly into the distance, his eyes resembling celestial orbs, as though piercing through the boundless dark fiendish surge to glimpse the scant imperial silhouettes lurking in its wake.
Sensing his scrutiny, those imperial silhouettes in discussion blinked, swiveling their heads toward him.
Though divided by trillions of li, it felt as if they confronted one another directly, locking eyes in defiance!
One was the Dragon Ancestor who ruled the Eastern Domain, the other the Five Emperors poised behind the fiendish wave, each bearing the burden of their own domains.
"I unlocked the Divine Blood End Realm, freeing the Ten Thousand Clans from their bonds to harness Divine Blood might; today, the Ten Thousand Clans battle for the Eastern Domain as well…"
The Dragon Ancestor uttered deliberately, "A hundred thousand years back, old comrades staked their existences for a hundred thousand years of tomorrow; now, the duty falls to me."
His enormous draconic form quivered faintly, vibrating in harmony with the cosmos, releasing a fierce and alarming presence.
This presence rushed forth in a flash, overtaking the front and the warzone, and suddenly, amid the chaotic bloodshed, the horde of Ancient Demons found themselves quelled by draconic dominance, snapping from their wild rampage, quaking with instinctive dread.
This primal restraining force, despite the Ancient Demon Clan's lineages equaling or surpassing the Dragon Clan's in potency, rarely yielding to them, now struck like facing a natural predator in blood, sending shudders through their ranks.
Beneath this brief suppression, myriad Ancient Demons across the field lowered their heads, allowing the guardians to strike swiftly, felling innumerable foes in moments!
However, the suppressive wave, swift as its expansion, got concealed by the Five Emperors from the fiendish surge's far side, who swiftly cloaked it like draping a sheer curtain over the warzone, blocking the draconic pressure.
"Old eel, you finally couldn't resist acting, huh?"
From the fiendish wave's rear, the gaze of the Five Clans' Ancient Demon Emperor chilled as he eyed the supreme dragon of the world, his look laced with scorn, lethal hunger, and a ravenous relish for a gourmet treat.
"Whoever fells the guardian of the Eastern Domain's Thousand Clans gets an extra half percent share!"
The Yama Clan Emperor declared evenly.
In his view, the Dragon Ancestor defending the Eastern Domain merited just half a percent in the spoils allocation.
"With no one else stepping up, our Evil Mirror Clan will handle this duty!"
An adjacent Ancient Demon Emperor stated measuredly.
Noting the silence from the rest, he understood their concern over the old dragon's frantic retaliation potentially harming their imperial forms, thus jeopardizing command of what lay ahead.
"Grudge Bone, come forth—we'll end the dragon side by side!"
The Evil Mirror Clan Emperor murmured gently. As leader of his kin, he brimmed with assurance in defeating the Dragon Ancestor yet stayed vigilant.
At his summons, a shadowy whirlpool swirled in the emptiness behind him, birthing a murky form that projected an imperial aura matching the Evil Mirror Clan's.
Witnessing this, the Yama Clan and companions' eyes flickered, clearly taken aback that the Evil Mirror Clan concealed yet another emperor beyond the two already sent.
"Make sure you don't pulverize the old dragon's imperial remains excessively—the flavor would ruin."
The Poison Corrosion Clan Emperor remarked with a subtle grin.
"If you're so picky about it, why don't you lead the charge."
The Evil Mirror Clan Emperor huffed disdainfully.
The Poison Corrosion Clan Emperor narrowed his eyes a touch but merely grinned and held his tongue.