"When will you be promoted to Divine Craftsman?" He leaned in closer, his tone carrying a hint of longing. "How about when you become a Divine Craftsman, you custom-make a set of four-word battle armor for each of us?"
"When that time comes, we'll rebuild the Body Sect. Let alone the Tang Sect, even if the old geezers from the War God Hall, Shrek, and the Spirit Conduction Tower all come, they'll have to weigh their options. Who would dare point fingers at us then?"
Mu Ye nodded repeatedly as he listened from the side; he knew how terrifying Arthur's recovery power was.
Slapping his thigh, he agreed, "Exactly, exactly! With four-word battle armor paired with our Body Sect's methods to Cultivate, the day the Body Sect regains its former glory is just around the corner!"
What a quick change of face.
Arthur was speechless. Were they already starting to rely on him at such a young age?
Looking at the way the old and the young men's eyes were shining before him, he felt both annoyed and amused.
This speed of changing faces was faster than turning pages. One second they were worrying about the Tang Sect's suspicion and the balance of power, and the next second they were plotting to leech some four-word battle armor.
"That might still take some time," Arthur said helplessly. "Becoming a Divine Craftsman isn't that easy."
"Hmm..." Hu Jie rubbed his chin. "Anyway, I'll have to go back sooner or later."
"Whatever you need from the Star Luo Continent, as long as the Tang Sect has it, it's yours for the taking!"
Arthur perked up. "Then I really do have something I want."
He spat out two words: "Dragon Valley."
"Dragon Valley? You know quite a lot. It actually is about that time again," Hu Jie said with regret. "But the entry Rank cannot exceed Spirit King."
"Little Arthur, I can see that you're almost a Spirit Emperor."
Hu Jie's voice carried a hint of helplessness. "You can't get in."
"It shouldn't be much of a problem." Arthur's words startled Hu Jie. "Martial Uncle-Grandfather, can you take me to the outskirts to have a look first?"
Just looking first wouldn't hurt.
Mu Ye and Hu Jie exchanged a glance.
"Let's go."
...At night, the three of them arrived at the summit of a high mountain.
The vegetation here was starting to thin out; the altitude was at least over two thousand meters.
"This is that Dragon Valley thing?" Mu Ye looked around. "Where is it?"
"Dragon Valley isn't an actual valley," Hu Jie explained. "It's a Small World. This place is considered the entrance to that Small World."
As he spoke, he activated some kind of soul tool device that the Tang Sect had set up here.
The night wind swept past with the chill of the mountain peak, making the trio's robes flutter loudly.
Hu Jie raised his hand, his chubby finger pointing toward a patch of Void Realm on the northern side of the peak. The air there was faintly distorted, shimmering with a dim golden light that was out of place with the surrounding night.
"Do you see that distorted light and shadow?" Hu Jie's voice dropped a few notches, carrying a trace of awe. "That is the projection of the Dragon Valley Small World."
"But it's not time yet, so we can't get in."
"Even at the right time, those whose cultivation exceeds the Spirit King Rank cannot enter."
Hu Jie looked at Arthur. "Well? Can you see anything?"
Arthur didn't answer immediately. He just slowly stepped forward, walking toward that patch of distorted Void Realm shimmering with golden light.
Within the chill carried by the night wind, a trace of ancient and majestic dragon pressure faintly seeped through.
The Auspicious Beast, Xia Xi, ran out and perched on Arthur's head, making a confused sound: "Awoo?"
Pale golden threads quietly extended from Arthur's fingertips, gently touching that layer of light and shadow barrier.
In the next moment.
He could clearly feel that beneath the barrier, countless minute energy patterns were slowly flowing. Those patterns intertwined into a net, acting both as an ancient Seal and a natural filtering mechanism.
He pondered for a moment.
"Xia Xi, shine on it!"
Instantly, Xia Xi's third eye opened.
It was a vertical pupil, with a faint seven-colored halo swirling deep within. The moment the light fell, the entire distorted Void Realm seemed to have been put in slow motion.
The energy patterns that were originally hard to discern with the naked eye had nowhere to hide under the seven-colored light. They were like golden meridians, slowly moving and intertwining on the barrier.
Then, Arthur raised his hand and grasped the air.
The Holy Lance was held in his hand.
The tip of the spear tapped lightly, precisely piercing the pattern illuminated by Xia Xi's seven-colored light.
The Holy Lance trembled slightly, and the voice of a spirit came from it.
[Analyzing... Anchoring...]
Xia Xi's seven-colored vertical pupil glowed slightly as she let out a crisp "Awoo," as if helping Arthur stabilize the pace of the analysis.
Under Hu Jie's terrified gaze.
The Void Realm began to open slowly, revealing the internal space of the Dragon Valley.
The Void Realm was like a curtain sliced open by a sharp blade, slowly stretching to both sides. As the golden light flowed, the true appearance of the Dragon Valley Small World suddenly unfolded before the three of them.
Closest was the ground shimmering with a warm luster, covered in ancient dragon patterns that flowed with a faint halo under the reflection of the golden light.
In the distance, the mountains were majestic, not composed of ordinary rocks, but built from massive dragon bones. Wisps of milky-white Dragon Qi seeped from the gaps between the bones, gathering into lingering mists that permeated the entire world.
The air was thick with a dragon pressure so dense it couldn't be dispersed. Yet it wasn't violent; instead, it carried a solemnity and majesty accumulated over hundreds of millions of years, making one feel an instinctive sense of awe.
There was too much to take in at a single glance.
"This... this is the Dragon Valley..." Hu Jie murmured to himself, the terror on his face long since replaced by shock.
He actually didn't know what the inside of the Dragon Valley looked like. Having lived for most of his life and seen countless Secret Realms and dangerous places, he had never seen such a sight.
"The legendary burial ground of the Dragon Clan truly lives up to its reputation!"
Just as Arthur was about to move to enter.
The opened entrance suddenly shook.
Xia Xi seemed to sense something and cried out, "Eeya!"
The power of the vertical pupil was withdrawn, and then she suddenly hid inside Arthur's Sea of Consciousness.
[Unknown power... Anchoring failed...]
The golden light at the entrance flickered violently, and the previously stretched Void Realm quickly closed... A night wind blew past. The three of them looked at each other.
"What... happened?"
Mu Ye scratched his head, his tone full of bewilderment and unwillingness.
The brief glimpse of the magnificent scenery of the Dragon Valley was still swirling in his mind. In an instant, the entrance had closed as before, leaving only the Void Realm shimmering with a faint golden light, as if everything just now had been an illusion.
"I don't know?" Arthur was also dazed.
What happened?
Everything was fine, and then it suddenly became like this.
Hu Jie frowned deeply and raised his hand to touch the direction where the Void Realm had just cracked open. "Maybe it's a matter of timing. How about coming back at the right time?"
"That's all we can do." Arthur frowned. Inside his Sea of Consciousness, Xia Xi was shivering, hiding under Rui Feng's wings.
To make an Auspicious Beast this afraid—even Gu Yue couldn't do that.
It couldn't have been the Dragon God making a move just now, could it?
That shouldn't be the case... "Damn it."
He was clearly about to succeed, and so many Opportunities were right before his eyes, yet he couldn't take them.
At this moment, Arthur felt like ants were crawling all over him.
"You're forcing my hand. Worst case, I'll go find Gu Yue."
Arthur felt terrible right now. He gritted his teeth; if there was truly no other way, he would just rely on her help.
The Silver Dragon King must have a way to get in.
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