A scorching aura permeated the sky above the Ancient Sacred Mountain Range, as the World's energy formed a tide, surging with Gu Yuan's breath.
The forests below had already begun to burn, the wildfire rapidly spreading in all directions.
A terrifying pressure filled the World, as the colossal Ancient Dragon spanning the horizon confronted the figure resembling the master of the World.
Gu Yuan sensed the aura of a Heavenly Flame from Amon's Dou Technique, somewhat similar to Xiao Xuan's Heavenly Flame back then…
No, it was closer to that little fellow Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame. Did he also cultivate a similar cultivation method that could fuse Otherworldly Flames? Gu Yuan secretly wondered in his heart.
Amon remained silent, a violent aura flickering in his enormous dragon eyes.
"Your Excellency is from the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, correct? I heard that your Ancient Dragon Clan, as well as the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan, suddenly disappeared recently… Is this related to your visit to my clan?" Gu Yuan asked.
Amon still did not speak, seemingly disdaining this tiny human.
Being ignored repeatedly, Gu Yuan's expression also darkened: "If we cannot communicate with words, then I can only resort to force. Your Excellency, please excuse my offense."
He pointed a finger, and a gigantic finger abruptly appeared in the air, pointing towards the giant dragon's head.
"Nirvana Heaven Finger!"
Compared to other Dou Techniques, finger-based Dou Techniques were relatively swifter and faster to activate, making them difficult to guard against.
The energy finger almost instantly landed on the dragon's head, shattering its scales and creating a massive wound, from which golden-red blood poured down like a waterfall.
Though described as massive, that was in human terms; on the ten-thousand-zhang giant dragon, the wound was merely a small to medium-sized crater.
Gu Yuan's expression changed slightly; the defensive power of the opponent's dragon scales was even higher than he had anticipated.
Amon raised his dragon head high, and a giant fireball, even larger than the previous move, almost as big as his entire head, slowly condensed.
Like a grenade launcher firing, the giant fireball flew out at an extremely high speed, and the massive dragon body was pushed backward by the recoil.
The fireball's attack direction was not Gu Yuan, but the plains surrounding the Ancient Sacred Mountain Range, where countless Ancient Clan members lived!
"Damn it!" Gu Yuan cursed, and with a flash, he appeared before the fireball.
He pushed his right hand forward, and as Dou Qi surged, a giant palm quickly formed.
"Ancient Emperor Palm!"
When the two collided, an indescribable heat and light emerged, and the entire Ancient Realm trembled under the explosion.
Mountains turned into ravines, and the earth unleashed an all-encompassing shockwave, as a mushroom cloud slowly rose. Large chunks of rock were blown into the sky, turning into meteorites, falling like rain.
Black Nirvana King, the Three Immortals of the Ancient Clan, and other Ancient Clan powerhouses who came upon hearing the commotion, all took action to withstand the aftermath of their confrontation, protecting the ordinary clan members from harm.
Amon opened a spatial passage again, attempting to leave.
Gu Yuan's blood and qi surged from blocking that last attack. His gaze flickered, but he did not try to stop him again.
Perhaps they could kill this Taixu Ancient Dragon by gathering the strength of their entire clan, but their Ancient Clan would also have to pay an unimaginable price.
Therefore, after a brief deliberation, Gu Yuan chose to let the other party leave.
Black Nirvana King and the others were not surprised by Gu Yuan's decision. They stood a little further away, vigilantly watching the massive dragon body slowly disappear into the void.
It was not until a minute after he had completely vanished that they breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing their taut nerves.
After Amon left, the Ancient Clan immediately held an emergency meeting to discuss the mysterious giant dragon from earlier.
"I never thought there could be such a giant creature in this World. It truly broadened my horizons." Gu Yuan tidied his clothes and hat, reined in his aura, and returned to his original appearance as an ordinary middle-aged man.
"But how did this thing emerge from the Heavenly Tomb?" an Elder of the Ancient Clan asked, puzzled.
"Have any clan members who went to the Heavenly Tomb for cultivation seen any clues related to it before?"
Black Nirvana King suddenly spoke: "Do you still remember the anomaly in the Ancient Sacred Mountain Range four years ago? This fellow might have entered at that time."
"Four years ago? But even if one could forcibly tear open the Heavenly Tomb's space, they wouldn't be able to stay that long after entering, they would be automatically repelled by the Heavenly Tomb. Even the Clan Leader cannot resist this repulsion…" Gu Dao asked, perplexed.
"Let's ask Xiao Xuan. Perhaps he can tell us the answer." Gu Yuan suddenly said.
"Xiao Xuan… Will he be willing to see us?" Black Nirvana King frowned slightly.
Xiao Xuan's attitude towards the Ancient Clan was also relatively cold. He rejected people who were too strong from entering, which caused the Ancient Clan's plan to further develop the Heavenly Tomb and use it to strengthen their power to be shelved for a time.
Due to the special environment of the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Xuan was not much weaker inside than he was in life, and it seemed he could also borrow the power of the Heavenly Tomb to some extent, so even Gu Yuan found it difficult to force his way in.
"Let's try. There's no harm in trying, anyway." Gu Yuan said with a smile.
They arrived above the Ancient Sacred Mountain Range once more.
With a wave of Gu Yuan's large hand, the energy of the World immediately surged, and accompanied by a tidal sound, a pitch-black crack appeared in the air.
After a slight hesitation, Gu Yuan tried to enter. He could feel a huge force repelling him, but it had not yet reached an irresistible degree.
This indicated that it was merely the Heavenly Tomb's own mechanism repelling him, and Xiao Xuan had not taken action.
He was about to accelerate forward when he suddenly felt a dull ache in his chest, and he staggered back several steps, falling out of the Heavenly Tomb.
"Sigh…" Gu Yuan sighed, revealing a bitter smile… Xiao Xuan still doesn't want to see me?
In fact, it was not Xiao Xuan who repelled him, but the newly born Soul of the Heavenly Tomb. However, Gu Yuan was unaware of the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb's existence, and thus always attributed this repulsion to Xiao Xuan.
Xiao Xuan did not mind seeing Gu Yuan at this time. He was also particularly puzzled as to why that powerful Taixu Ancient Dragon would appear here, suspecting that something had changed in the outside World.
After realizing he could not enter, Gu Yuan summoned a Half-Saint from his clan, Gu Tongxuan.
This was the strongest person they had experimentally determined the Heavenly Tomb could allow to enter. Moreover, previous Half-Saints who entered had received a veiled warning, with many restrictions inside, such as not being able to arbitrarily kill energy bodies.
"Be careful yourself. When you see Xiao Xuan, answer whatever he asks, without any concealment." Gu Yuan instructed.
"Yes, Clan Leader." Gu Tongxuan bowed and then entered the Heavenly Tomb.
He traveled quickly, heading straight for the entrance to the second layer. Along the way, he constantly had a feeling of being watched, and it felt very out of place, as if something was missing.
After passing through the first and second layers and seeing the energy bodies in the third layer, he finally realized the source of this incongruity.
The first and second layers were missing the numerous energy bodies, as if they had been completely devoured by something!
Upon reaching the third layer, Gu Tongxuan became more cautious. In the third layer of the Heavenly Tomb, there were many Dou Saint-level energy bodies, and even he would be in mortal danger if he encountered them.
As he cautiously advanced, a magnetic voice suddenly sounded in his ear:
"Come directly."
He immediately understood who the owner of this voice was and said respectfully, "Yes."
He flew straight into the deeper parts of the Heavenly Tomb. Along the way, some Dou Saint-level energy bodies saw him, their eyes glowing with bloodthirsty red light, but none of them launched an attack.
Dou Saint energy bodies already possessed rationality; they dared not attack Xiao Xuan's guest.