Blood Dragon Mountain, as the name suggests, is a blood-coloured dragon mountain.
This mountain, legendary for bearing the True Dragon Lair, originally had no specific name, but after being passed down through countless cultivators, it acquired this one.
Blood Dragon Mountain is extraordinarily vast; even the tallest person would appear as insignificant as an ant before it. Standing at the foot and looking up, one cannot even see halfway up the slope.
That is because even the midpoint has long vanished into the depths of the clouds.
No one knows exactly how large Blood Dragon Mountain is, but a Foundation Establishment cultivator once flew on his sword and spent half a day circling the entire mountain.
As the bearer of the True Dragon Lair, Blood Dragon Mountain is undoubtedly the most dangerous place in the entire Dragon Ruins.
Precisely because it is constantly soaked in true dragon blood, the dragon-blood creatures born here are the most numerous, and many terrifyingly powerful ones exist among them.
Yet even so, it cannot deter treasure-hunting cultivators from their longing for immortal treasures.
In fact, among many cultivators circulates a maddening legend: the True Dragon Lair hides the secret of longevity.
Longevity is the driving force behind most cultivators’ pursuit of immortality.
This is because worldly cultivators believe that cultivation can lead to becoming an immortal, and becoming an immortal grants eternal life.
“Who in this world can truly live forever?”
“Earthly emperors, after a hundred years, are nothing but a pile of dry bones. Even great Dao sect cultivators eventually exhaust their lifespan and fail to ascend, ultimately returning to the underworld.”
“The two words ‘longevity’ have caused the deaths of countless geniuses and heroes.”
At the summit of a large mountain not far from Blood Dragon Mountain, two figures stood side by side.
Mo Fan gazed calmly at the cultivators ahead, submerged beneath endless dragon-blood creatures, and felt a surge of emotion.
Soon, agonised screams rang out, accompanied by brilliant treasure lights soaring into the sky, yet they all extinguished one by one. The cries echoing between the mountains eventually fell silent.
“Compared to power, longevity stirs greater greed. Even knowing it is likely just an illusion, no one wishes to awaken.
They are like this, and so are you and I.”
Bai Shuang, clad in white, smiled faintly. The tragic scene ahead seemed not to affect her in the slightest; her every frown and smile remained as beautiful as ever, causing even Mo Fan beside her to momentarily lose focus.
Soon, Mo Fan regained his composure and watched a cultivator amid the beast horde leap into the air. Brilliant golden light then erupted from his body, and the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator instantly spread across the entire area.
This was a powerful late-stage Golden Core cultivator who, trapped by the beast horde, had no choice but to unseal all the suppressed power within his body, hoping to escape using the strength of his golden core.
“You vile beasts, do you truly think this lord cannot deal with you?”
“This lord is the leader of the Divine Domain’s Heavenly Shepherd Divine Sect, shepherding the people of the world on heaven’s behalf. Even those lofty emperors must prostrate before this lord, let alone you uncivilised animals.”
“All of you, die!”
The Golden Core cultivator roared, his aura growing ever more intense. As he formed hand seals, streaks of light appeared before him, gradually forming a golden disc.
Even from over ten li away, Mo Fan still sensed an especially dangerous aura from that golden disc.
It was at least a high-grade magical treasure.
But at that moment, winds suddenly surged in the sky, and a blood-coloured streak emerged from the clouds, darting like a spiritual snake before piercing straight through the air.
The next instant, the blood-coloured lightning struck the Golden Core cultivator’s brow, causing his aura to freeze instantly before collapsing.
Bang!
A muffled explosion sounded, endless golden light burst forth, and the Golden Core cultivator detonated in mid-air, leaving not even bones behind.
“Hiss!”
Sensing the golden core power dissipating in the air, Mo Fan could not help but draw a sharp breath.
“This is the power of the rules, unique to this place. It appears ordinary, yet it erases anyone who violates the rules.”
Bai Shuang spoke calmly, a mocking smile on her lips as she sneered, “A mere Golden Core cultivator dares to try breaking the rules here. He was simply courting death, utterly foolish.”
Mo Fan nodded slightly, agreeing with her words.
The appearance of that blood-coloured lightning had instantly filled his heart with the aura of death, making him realise one thing: the rules here could not be shaken.
He had even imagined himself in that Golden Core cultivator’s position and concluded that it would likely still be a dead end.
If he did not unseal his suppressed power, he would be devoured by the dragon-blood creatures. Even using earth-escape divine abilities offered no guarantee of escape.
But once the seal was broken, there was no solution; death was certain.
Seeing the heavenly phenomena return to normal, Mo Fan frowned and asked, “Is your positioning accurate? Are those fellows really in this area?”
“The life jade indicates so, but it is most likely a trap aimed at us.”
Bai Shuang smiled faintly, turned to Mo Fan, and said calmly, “Though this trap seems rather crude, we appear to have no other choice.”
Mo Fan fell silent for a moment, pondered carefully, then suddenly asked, “What do you think the chances are that Lei Yu Zi Dian is here?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
A glint flashed in Bai Shuang’s eyes.
Ninety-nine percent?
Mo Fan was stunned. In his view, though this was a trap, as Bai Shuang had said, it was too crude, so the likelihood of them falling for it was surely low.
Lei Yu Zi Dian, an old monster who had lived for centuries, naturally understood this principle and would not foolishly wait here.
Thus, in Mo Fan’s mind, the chance of Lei Yu Zi Dian being here was not even ten percent.
Yet Bai Shuang claimed ninety-nine percent, leaving Mo Fan deeply puzzled.
“You do not understand Lei Yu Zi Dian, but I do.”
Bai Shuang took a deep breath and sneered, “That old thing is extremely afraid of death, which is why he entered this place seeking the method of longevity. Precisely because he fears death so much, upon hearing you had entered, he was determined to kill you.
Outside, he is constrained by the Fire Phoenix Holy King’s rules and the potential threat of the White Tiger Holy King, so he dares not act personally. But here, he can do as he pleases; is this not a rare opportunity for him?
Of course, there is another point: the old thing is an ancestral realm great demon, so he is extremely confident in his own strength.
His fear of death leads him to set a killing trap in advance, waiting for us to enter.
His confidence compels him to strike us personally.
And there is one more crucial reason.
By now, many powerful cultivators must have climbed the mountain, so this area, compared to the summit, has far fewer external factors and is naturally the best battlefield.”
Hearing this, Mo Fan nodded immediately. Analysed this way by Bai Shuang, it did make sense.
“Then do you think we should act now?” Mo Fan asked.
“We will act, but not yet.”
Bai Shuang smiled faintly, then pointed at the endless dragon-blood creatures ahead and said gravely, “You saw what happened to those cultivators earlier. Our frail bodies cannot withstand being gnawed by these dragon-blood creatures.
Since we know this is a trap, why should we jump in willingly?”
“You mean?”
Mo Fan frowned, growing increasingly confused by Bai Shuang’s intent.
“If they can set a trap, so can we. Must we leap into theirs just because they laid one?”
Bai Shuang smiled, then took out the life jade, drew a drop of true blood from her brow, and dripped it onto the jade.
After completing this, she smiled faintly and said, “Let us go. We will wait for him to come seeking us.”
Seeing this, Mo Fan finally understood completely, and his eyes immediately lit up.
