"A dragon girl?!"
Jiang Liu had seen what a true dragon looked like after it transformed, and it resembled this girl, with two bright red dragon horns on its forehead, shaped like coral. However, the dragon horns on the heads of the Huai River and other river dragon kings were majestic and imposing, while the dragon horns on this girl's head were delicate and graceful.
"So you are the sect leader of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, the Heavenly Dragon Dao Master?"
"It is indeed I, the Heavenly Dragon Dao Master," the Heavenly Dragon Dao Master smiled slightly, mysterious and ethereal. "My surname is Ao, and my given name is Luan. Are you, young master, the abbot of the Hidden Dragon Temple in the East Sea, thousands of miles away?"
Jiang Liu was surprised that the person he was looking for had actually come to him. He laughed and said, "Hmm! I didn't expect my reputation to have spread to this far north..."
"Master, you possess great supernatural powers, why be modest! Three months ago, a great upheaval occurred at Xuantian Pavilion, after which Emperor Yang Pan of the Great Qian Dynasty returned defeated. Master's strength is truly unfathomable. Let me guess, what brings you here..." This dragon girl, Ao Luan, with "blood coral" on her head, spoke with great courtesy. Moreover, she seemed to have learned about Jiang Liu through some channel.
“But we need information about the Dragon’s Graveyard! Our Heavenly Dragon Sect doesn’t have anything worth the Abbot’s personal attention, except for the Dragon’s Graveyard, which is of some value!” Dragon Girl Ao Luan smiled and looked at him intently.
Jiang Liu looked at the dragon girl and didn't hide anything, saying directly, "My destination is the Dragon's Tomb. I've heard that only the descendants of the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Hundred Schools of Thought know the location of the Dragon's Tomb. Would you be willing to lead the way, young lady?"
"That's certainly possible! Young Master, would you like to go now?"
Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, knowing when to advance and retreat, and understanding gains and losses, this dragon girl is unusually muddle-headed.
The past mistakes of Xuantian Pavilion were still fresh in her mind. She did not want to become the second Dark Emperor Daoist, so she had no choice but to submit and bend her knee.
"Since that's the case, then go! You need someone to protect you as you undergo the sixth tribulation of lightning. I promise you, when you return, I will lend you a hand to help you overcome the sixth tribulation!"
"Then thank you very much, Abbot! The Dragon's Graveyard is located in the Void Turbulence. It is said that at the end of the Void Turbulence lies the mysterious and unpredictable Outer Heaven. The Middle Thousand Worlds created by the ancient Holy Emperor are located there, as are the places where the ancient philosophers preached their teachings." The Dragon Girl said, "As for the Primordial Dragon's Graveyard, I have already determined its location, but entering it is extremely difficult, as it is sealed off by a great formation."
“I have my own way of getting in; please lead the way, young lady,” Jiang Liu said.
The dragon girl smiled and said, "If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to reach the entrance to the Dragon Graveyard in about a day. However... if things don't go smoothly, we might get lost in the void turbulence!"
"Let your soul follow me! The void turbulence is too dangerous. In return for this kindness, I will spare you from danger!"
The Dragon Girl shook her head and said, "Thoughts and spirits are useful, but they are not omnipotent. Only my true body can sense the location of the Dragon Graveyard."
As she spoke, the Dragon Girl took out an extremely long magnetic needle, which shone brightly. On the needle was a disc with many directions on it.
After taking out the disc and the long needle, the Dragon Girl dripped a drop of her blood onto the magnetic needle, which immediately vibrated violently and began to spin on the disc.
After a series of whirring sounds, the compass needle finally pointed in a direction.
"Master, this is the Absolute Compass. The magnetic needle can point out the approximate location of the Dragon's Graveyard. Let's join forces to break through the void and escape into the void turbulence!"
Jiang Liu held out his palm and said, "It's not that complicated. Just make sure you have a good grasp of the direction, and leave the rest to me!"
As he spoke, his palm, like a knife, slashed at the void, and instantly, a hand strike tore through the void.
Dragon Girl Ao Luan was slightly startled when she saw Jiang Liu cleave the void with a single hand strike. If this strike could so easily split the void, it could naturally cleave anyone's body in two with ease.
"My physical body is stronger than that of ordinary cultivators, comparable to that of immortals, but even I can't withstand this strike!" the Dragon Girl thought to herself. Then, the two of them flashed and entered the chaotic void.
This turbulent void, like the vast world itself, is infinitely large and utterly without end. One moment it's a swarm of ever-changing meteorites, the next a mountain of light and a sea of mist formed from condensed starlight, then a massive black hole tunnel emanating a powerful gravitational pull—its nature unknown. Then there's a colossal ocean suspended in space, and vast stretches of land, tens or even hundreds of miles in circumference. However, it's completely barren, devoid of plants and animals.
Vital energy permeated her entire body to counteract the damage from the void turbulence. Meanwhile, a blood-red, coral-like armor appeared on the Dragon Maiden Ao Luan's body, adorned with vibrant rose-shaped petals. It was also enveloped in a thin layer of clear light, unaffected by the vacuum.
Following the direction indicated by the compass needle, they flew there. They didn't know how many tens of thousands of miles they flew; in the void, there was no sense of time, no sunrise or sunset, no morning bells or evening drums, everything was based on feeling.
After about a day, the Dragon Girl Ao Luan suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "Master, we're almost there!"
Jiang Liu followed her gaze and saw that the magnetic needle in her hand suddenly stopped moving, and at the same time, a faint glow appeared on the pointer.
Then the two of them looked ahead at the same time, and suddenly, in the chaotic sea of stars in the distance, seemingly hundreds of miles away, appeared clusters of extremely thick, scale-like clouds. In the center of the clouds, a pitch-black tunnel, a hundred miles in circumference, like a whirlpool in the sea, was constantly rotating.
"This is the entrance to the Ancient Dragon's Graveyard!"
Chapter 226 The Great Array of Yanfu
The Dragon's Graveyard is the final resting place of the ancient dragon race.
Recalling his experiences along the way, Jiang Liu exclaimed, "Without your guidance, finding this place amidst the chaotic void would have been like finding a needle in a haystack! I never imagined it was hidden so deeply."
Dragon Girl Ao Luan looked at the dark tunnel and said in a deep voice, "Finding the entrance is difficult, but entering is even more difficult. This vortex is exceptionally powerful, containing destructive power. Even the thoughts of a fifth-level tribulation expert would be crushed to dust, making it impossible to enter."
"Is this the Yama Array set up by the ancient dragon race?" Jiang Liu asked. He had some memory of this array. It was a great array set up by the ancient dragon race. If a person with great supernatural powers in the dragon race were to activate it, even the creator would not be able to enter. Otherwise, how could the dragon race's burial ground be protected?
Dragon Girl Ao Luan was somewhat surprised, not expecting Jiang Liu to actually know the name of this great formation. She had her own ulterior motives for leading Jiang Liu here. Firstly, Ao Luan knew Jiang Liu's strength; she knew about the changes at Xuan Tian Pavilion and didn't want to follow in the footsteps of Dark Emperor Daoist. It was better to take the initiative and build a relationship. Secondly, she had come here many times, but had always been blocked by this formation from entering the Dragon's Graveyard. Bringing Jiang Liu here was also a way to use him to enter.
Moreover, the true value of the Dragon's Graveyard lies not in the ancient dragon souls, dragon bones, dragon scales, or many spiritual herbs within, but in this grand array.
The Yama Fu Grand Array contains nine ancient magical treasures as its core, far more precious than the dragon corpses within the Dragon Tomb. This secret, of course, was not revealed by the Dragon Maiden Ao Luan.
Her eyes flickered for a moment, and she said, "It is indeed called the Yanfu Grand Formation. It is an ancient killing formation that once blocked the Panhuang army. The three marshals of Panhuang perished in this formation. The power of this formation is astonishing. I cannot enter it!"
"I can't get in!" Ao Luan admitted that she didn't have the strength to enter, and then looked at Jiang Liu with her phoenix eyes.
"Let's take a closer look!"
The two continued forward. As they approached the fish-scale-shaped cloud, Jiang Liu sensed the vortex-like black hole at its center. It seemed to contain a gigantic millstone, ready to crush their divine senses into dust. Fortunately, Jiang Liu's divine sense was strong enough that he withdrew it after a short while. The space inside was filled with layers of killing intent, seemingly an infinitely vast space.
"As expected of an ancient killing formation, it seems we have no choice but to force our way through."
"Force their way through?" The Dragon Girl asked, puzzled. Then she said, "An ancestor of our Heavenly Dragon Sect once forced his way through this formation, but he never came out."
“It’s alright…” As he spoke, Jiang Liu stretched out his palm, and the space above it trembled, revealing countless cracks. Then, a metal sphere shattered the space and appeared on his palm.
The Dragon Girl stared at the small metal sphere, her mouth agape in shock, and exclaimed, "This...this is the Dark Star of the Xuan Tian Pavilion, a magical treasure of the ancient Yang God 'Xuan'!"
“Now it’s mine, and it won’t be called Dark Star, it’ll be called Death Star!” Jiang Liu held up the “Death Star” and then said, “Go.”
The metal sphere flew towards the vortex black hole, remaining motionless amidst the turbulent currents, and the killing array millstone could do nothing to it!
"Follow them!" he said, and then followed. With the "Death Star" clearing the way, they were not afraid of the killing intent of the great formation at all.
...
Shortly after Jiang Liu entered the great formation, an old man dressed in a tall crown and strange clothes, resembling the style of ancient philosophers, appeared outside the formation.
This old man exuded an aura of majesty as vast as the ocean, standing in the void, completely unaffected by the vacuum.
He looked at the great formation, stroked his long beard with his fingers, and said in a low voice, "I didn't expect to encounter such a great opportunity before even reaching the Great Thousand Immortal Realm. Those two people just now should be from the Great Thousand World. I can capture them and learn about the situation in the Great Thousand Immortal Realm... Hmm! There must be treasures in the place protected by this great formation. I'll take them all."
As he spoke, he stepped into the vortex black hole, where the killing intent could not touch him in the slightest.
With such strength, one must have reached at least the peak of the Human Immortal realm.
...
As soon as Jiang Liu and Ao Luan stepped into the grand formation and passed through the vortex black hole, they were immediately plunged into darkness. Unlike the "Dark Mysterious Realm" of the Xuan Tian Pavilion, this pitch-black air contained immense danger. First was the pressure, as if a mountain was pressing down, much greater than the water pressure three thousand feet deep in the ocean, as thick as walking through a swamp.
"Shadow Thunder!"
As soon as Jiang Liu finished speaking, a thick, black sphere floated in from the pitch-black sea of clouds.
He reached out and grabbed the sphere, countless black arcs of electricity appearing in his palm. However, Jiang Liu's lightning magic was formidable and couldn't harm his body.
With a sweep of his divine sense, Jiang Liu frowned slightly and said, "This Yanfu Grand Formation is indeed incredibly profound. This is practically the site of a sixth-level lightning tribulation. Ao Luan, be careful! Break it for me..."
In an instant, Jiang Liu threw the "Death Star" into the dark clouds. Instantly, endless lightning flashed in the darkness, lasting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before slowly dissipating.
"What terrifying lightning! Even my Rose Bloodscale Armor can't withstand such an attack! Luckily, I didn't rush in rashly, or I would have died as soon as I entered!"
Ao Luan spoke in a deep voice, and then a blood-red sword appeared in his hand, its hilt carved with roses. As he swung the blood sword, thousands of points of blood-red light burst forth, shattering the fading darkness.
At the center of the lightning, the "Death Star" was surrounded by dark lightning, but it was all absorbed in the end. What could these lightning bolts do to a giant iron ball with a diameter of 100 meters?
Jiang Liu waved his hand, and the "Death Star" was retracted. At this time, there was no danger in this area, but black lightning occasionally flashed on the "Death Star".
"Thunder Refinement Treasure, this Death Star will now have another thunder attack. If I remove this great formation and melt it into my Death Star, its power will increase by at least a lot!"
"Watch out, it's happening again! It's Azure Emperor Wood Thunder!" Ao Luan's expression darkened, then he squinted and looked around, saying, "The Five Elements Thunder, we're surrounded!"
Jiang Liu looked around and saw hundreds of green, shimmering points of light suddenly fly out from the dark clouds, rushing towards them like mosquitoes drawn to blood.
These green phosphorescent lights were the "Azure Emperor Yi Wood Thunder." When the metal ball was thrown again, these phosphorescent lights trembled violently and exploded upon contact with the Death Star! The power was earth-shattering, and ears rang.
This wood-attribute lightning will explode upon contact!
Other elemental lightning bolts surged in like a tide. Faced with such a terrifying scene, Ao Luan couldn't help but take a step back; this was beyond human power to stop.
Jiang Liu's eyes narrowed, and lightning dragons swirled within his pupils. Then, five lightning dragons emerged one after another.
Five thunder dragons, corresponding to the five elements, flew towards the five elements thunderclouds according to the principle of mutual restraint among the five elements.
Although the Thunder Dragon couldn't break through these lightning attacks, it could still hold them off for a while. After breaking through the Azure Emperor's Wood Lightning, the "Death Star" absorbed the remaining thunderclouds one by one.
After absorbing all the energy, the originally jet-black metal sphere became exceptionally dazzling, with lightning constantly flashing across it. Jiang Liu's Five Elements Thunder Dragon coiled around the "Death Star," devouring the lightning to strengthen itself.
Dragon Girl Ao Luan secretly exhaled, then looked at the "Death Star" in Jiang Liu's hand, seemingly lost in thought!
Jiang Liu, holding the metal ball, turned to look to the side and frowned, saying, "Someone has come in... and they're very strong!"
"Someone has come in? Are you sure? Apart from my Heavenly Dragon Sect, only the descendants of the ancient philosophers know the exact location of the Dragon's Graveyard. Could it be them?" Ao Luan said.
Jiang Liu withdrew his gaze, remained silent for a long time, and said, "If it were them, that would be fine, nothing to fear! But it's not them. I vaguely sensed the fist intent, a fist intent that can penetrate the void. Such strength must have reached the peak of the Human Immortal realm, touching the 'substance of fist intent.' Only then could the fist intent penetrate the barrier of the great formation and be sensed by me... But I'm not afraid. If they were truly a person of great supernatural power, they wouldn't reveal their fist intent when facing the attack of the great formation, unless they did it on purpose..."
As he spoke, Jiang Liu stretched out his finger and began to draw a nine-square grid in front of him, starting to deduce the location of the array's core.
"That place attacks fire-attribute attacks; the Nine Palaces are associated with the Li Palace, Li represents fire, and Zhen represents thunder..."
"The essence of fist intent?"
Seeing Jiang Liu focused on deducing the array's core, Ao Luan gritted her teeth. Her fist intent was substantial, possessing strength surpassing even the peak of the Human Immortal realm; to kill her, a single punch would suffice. All her thoughts ultimately coalesced into a long sigh, and she said, "So be it! Now, I can only expend my mental energy to activate this 'Absolute Compass,' hoping to sense the location of the array's core!"
"Very well then. I, Jiang Liu, guarantee your safe return!" Hearing her words, Jiang Liu snapped out of his deductions. Determining the location of this great formation and the position of its core required a great deal of energy and spiritual sense. With a formidable enemy nearby, Jiang Liu dared not be careless.
As she spoke, the Dragon Girl unleashed three thousand thoughts, which landed on the plate and exploded simultaneously, transforming into flames that soared into the plate. The Dragon Girl was now a fifth-level lightning tribulation expert; burning three thousand thoughts at once was tantamount to self-harm. This was why she had hesitated to use it until now, when she was forced to.
Instantly, the compass flew out and floated in the void, its magnetic needle spinning violently. Then, illusory images appeared in the void, seemingly models of the entire grand formation. Nine points of light on the model flickered continuously.
"Just as I expected, the great formation is indeed in the shape of the Nine Palaces. Those nine beams of light should be the positions of the formation's core!" Jiang Liu nodded and then calculated.
Dragon Girl Ao Luan burned three thousand thoughts, her face turning deathly gray, her strength greatly reduced. She weakly said, "These nine beams of light are the array's core artifacts! As long as we collect them, the great array will collapse on its own!"
Just then, the light source at the location of the detached palace suddenly became shadowed, as if it had been invaded.
"Oh no! He's taken the array's core artifact from the Li Palace location!" For the first time, the Dragon Girl's eyes showed utter terror.
"It's alright! In the end, they'll only be there to benefit us!" Jiang Liu smiled calmly, showing no sign of panic.
Chapter 227 Nine Palaces Alligator Dragon
The Jambudvipa Grand Array should be called the Nine Palaces Grand Array. The entire array is square, forming a nine-palace diagram.