Seeing this, the ancestors decided to take action. Just then, the space above Lu Xiaoran and Roman cracked open. A void filled with purple light appeared, and from it emerged a lady of breathtaking beauty with striking red hair. She asked, "Where is Vik?"
With that, Louriel joined the fight alongside Vik's disciples. The Lin family members were shocked to see her, while Vik's disciples wore smug smiles. Now confident, Lu Xiaoran said, "Lin family ancestors, you are not the only ones with a background; we have some help too."
The Lin family ancestors did not respond as they were deep in thought. However, Louriel turned to Lu Xiaoran and asked, "Child, didn't you hear? I'm asking you where your master Vik is."
Hearing this, Lu Xiaoran politely bowed to Louriel and said, "Miss Louriel, Master Vik is currently in the Azure Mountains trying to find a way to defeat or reseal that dragon."
Louriel looked toward the Azure Mountains. Through the thunderclouds and heavy fog, which had condense into a dark mist, she saw a faint outline of a serpentine tail. Using her powers, she realized that the dragon was growing. He was now larger than the entire Azure Mountains. This massive beast could destroy the city with just a few swings of his tail, even without using any power, and he continued to grow stronger.
More importantly, Louriel sensed a faint but dense energy flowing inside that dragon. This energy was not spiritual; it was much denser. If spiritual energy was like air, this new energy was like flowing water. Sensing that energy, Louriel said, "Immortal energy in this small plane; things are getting interesting."
With that, she raised her hand, and a skeleton mage appeared from her shadow, kneeling before her. She did not look at him but kept her focus on the Azure Mountains as she said, "Winston, keep these two safe while I'm away. You can use the 8th Legion; it will temporarily be under your command."
With that, a purple portal opened in front of her, and she vanished into it, leaving only Winston and Vik's disciple behind. Winston stood up, transforming back into his human form. Looking back like a professional old butler, he addressed Vik's disciple, saying, "Mister Lu Xiaoran and Roman, please wait a minute while I deal with these pests."
He then ordered the giant skeletons to appear from the ground. More and more of them emerged, standing 10 to 20 meters tall. Some held shields larger than their bodies; others wielded swords, bows, axes, etc. It formed a classic medieval army, with some skeletons even wearing knight armor.
With a flick of his hand, Winston commanded his army of skeletons to attack. All the skeletons exhibited an aura of the Void Refining Realm, but they only had raw strength. The Lin family members, true experts of the Void Refining Realm, used various spells and techniques to attack the skeletons. However, given the sheer number of skeletons, the Void Refining Realm experts began to retreat. Unfortunately, some of the Nascent Soul and Soul Stage experts were not so lucky, becoming targets for skeletons wielding swords, clubs, and bows.
Seeing this, the ancestors quickly intervened, unwilling to let their remaining family members die. One of the ancestors used a fire technique to summon a tsunami of molten lava toward the skeleton army. The shield-bearing skeletons tried to block it, but it had little effect, resulting in many skeletons being destroyed. Yet, another wave of skeletons rose from the ground, quickly replenishing their ranks. Thus began a battle of quality versus quantity, with the Lin family facing off against Winston and his army of skeletons.
Meanwhile, above the Azure Mountain range, a purple portal opened, and Louriel emerged. She looked down and saw that the dragon, Gullnor, had grown so large that he coiled around the mountains and hills of the Azure Mountain range. Upon sensing her arrival, Gullnor reacted; a large dragon head emerged from the dark miasma covering the mountains, accompanied by an immense pressure. However, Louriel remained suspended in the air as if standing on solid ground.
Gullnor stared at her, narrowing his eyes, seemingly acknowledging her presence. Then, he spoke, saying, "Human, you are strong. Why don't you join my side, become my servant, and rule this world under my banner?"
Louriel did not react but calmly replied, "I'm not interested in becoming anyone's slave. I have just one question for you: how did you arrive in this world so early? From what I can see, this world did not allow the existence of immortals back then, and even now, the introduction of immortal energy is just beginning. So how did you come to be here?"
Gullnor did not answer, looking at her with contempt. However, Louriel noticed the heavenly bead adorning his head like a crown and understood everything. She said, "I didn't expect you to have a treasure capable of harnessing the power of heavenly Dao fragments. You must have quite a background."
In response, Gullnor snorted and said, "Yes, I am the great Dragon Gullnor, the future emperor of dragons and the pride of the Four-Clawed Dragon Clan."
Louriel replied, "I'm not interested in your background. What intrigues me is how a Chosen One like you was defeated and sealed in that place."
Gullnor narrowed his eyes and said, "How do you know about the Chosen One? That is a heavenly taboo and a secret."
Louriel stated, "I am also a Chosen One like you—an original one, not like that artificial Lin Chen created by your allies. As for my question, the secret of the Chosen One is no longer that. Many anomalies have occurred while you've been asleep, and I can assure you that you are in great danger. As a fellow Chosen One, I advise you to leave this world; there are many anomalies here."
Gullnor snorted again, saying, "I would have liked to fight you if you were not a Chosen One. But remember this, little girl: you may be stronger than me, but as a Chosen One, you cannot attack me. Besides, no one in this world can match my strength. Even if they could, they could not defeat me. With the heavenly Dao of this world asleep, I am invincible."
With that, Gullnor laughed, looking up at the sky. If Vik were present, he would say that Gullnor was raising death flags by saying all this. Just then, as if hearing Vik's voice of contempt, a small sound broke through. It was not the roar of another dragon or a heavenly thunder, but the chirping of a bird.
This small sound sent chills down Gullnor's spine, as if a primal fear had awakened inside him.