"Lord Xiao, come quickly and help..."
Although the giant serpent was engaged in fierce combat, it remained highly attentive to its surroundings. Upon seeing the spatial rift, it immediately guessed Xiao Wenbing's location. Sure enough, it was Xiao Wenbing and Zhang Yaqi who emerged from it.
Xiao Wenbing nodded slightly, about to use his skills to separate the two enormous monsters. Unexpectedly, upon seeing two more enemies, the white dragon trembled and retreated a hundred feet.
The giant serpent laughed heartily. If it were to fight with all its might, it wouldn't actually fear the great white dragon. However, its divine sense detected several equally powerful auras nearby. This was no small matter; one was already difficult to deal with, and if several more came, this giant serpent feared it would truly perish here.
So it immediately used the divine sword left behind by Xiao Wenbing. Of course, the purpose of using the divine weapon was not to kill the enemy, but to send a message to Xiao Wenbing and ask him to come quickly to save its life.
With the power of the five thousand divine swords in Xiao Wenbing's hands, even if there were ten or more of these monsters, it would probably be a piece of cake.
However, to its surprise, Xiao Wenbing ignored its call and slowly took out a souvenir from the Heavenly Void Ring.
Indeed, this treasure, which enjoyed a stellar reputation in the cultivation world, is now nothing more than a souvenir in Xiao Wenbing's hands.
The white dragon's gaze fell on Xiao Wenbing's hand, and it was slightly taken aback. Then, its huge body began to wriggle, shrinking a little with each movement. In a short while, it had transformed into human form.
The giant snake snorted softly. Not to be outdone, it emitted a burst of golden light from its body. Before long, the golden light dissipated, and it transformed back into human form.
"May I ask, sir, where did this Dragon King's reverse scale come from?"
Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly; his estimation was indeed correct, and this great white dragon did indeed come from the cultivation world.
"This treasure was obtained by me from the Dragon Palace; it was a gift from the current Dragon King."
The dragon sighed deeply and said, "As I thought, you must be from the cultivation world, right?"
"Indeed, may I ask for your guidance, senior..."
"I am Longming. I have been in the Underworld for a million years."
"A million years?" Xiao Wenbing was taken aback and asked, "Senior, it only took a million years to ascend to immortality?"
"That's right." Long Ming nodded. He then asked, "How is the Dragon Palace?"
“Good, of course it’s good. As one of the three most famous holy lands in the world, no one in the world would dare to disobey the Dragon King’s order.” Xiao Wenbing said without hesitation, but he was a little uneasy in his heart. He had never been to the Dragon Palace, so who knew if it was any good or not.
"That's good." Long Ming was very satisfied. He had stayed here for a million years. When he happened to see someone who had ascended from the cultivation world, his words were filled with a touch of wistfulness.
"Senior, after you ascended, did you come directly to the Underworld?"
"Yes, our Dragon and Phoenix clans are different from others. Once we ascend, we go directly to the second level of the Underworld," Long Ming explained, clearly noticing his confusion.
Xiao Wenbing nodded in sudden realization. He finally understood why he hadn't seen a single dragon or phoenix since his ascension. It turned out that all these senior experts had gone to the underworld.
"Great Serpent, how did you get into a conflict with Senior Longming?" Zhang Yaqi asked softly.
The giant snake immediately looked wronged and complained, "How was I supposed to know? I was just teleported here by a guiding spell, and before I could even sit down properly, this little guy rushed up to eat me, so we started fighting."
Long Ming looked embarrassed and said, "This fellow Daoist appeared out of the strange way. Even I didn't notice how he appeared, so I came here to find out. We only exchanged two moves because of a disagreement."
Given the pride of the dragon race, they would normally disdain explaining themselves to others. However, the Dragon King's Reverse Scale in Xiao Wenbing's hand is a token of the Dragon Palace, which can only be obtained by the most distinguished guest of the Dragon Palace from the Dragon King.
If Xiao Wenbing hadn't coincidentally saved the lives of Long Shi and Feng Hua, the top experts of the Dragon and Phoenix clans, in the cultivation world, he wouldn't have been able to receive this treasure as a gift.
Therefore, after seeing this item, Long Ming's attitude towards him changed drastically, and he began to treat him as a true friend.
Since it was a misunderstanding, Long Ming and the giant snake quickly cleared up the misunderstanding under Xiao Wenbing's mediation.
Long Shi's cultivation path is clearly different from others. Although he does not have divine power, the strength of his dragon power is in no way inferior to that of divine power.
Moreover, the dragon and phoenix's cultivation is extraordinary. They have cultivated to their current level in just a million years, which is no less than that of the great serpent deity who has cultivated for millions of years and endured the final tribulation of refining the spirit.
This special physique immediately aroused the great snake's envy, and it said, "Brother Dragon, I thought that only that stinky bird in the world had such a physique. I didn't expect that your dragon clan also has it."
The great serpent is a deity who has lived for millions of years, and its cultivation is no less than that of the dragon, so it is appropriate to call him "brother".
Long Ming was taken aback and asked, "Brother Snake, is the stinky bird you're talking about a phoenix?"
"Phoenix? What is that?" the giant snake asked in surprise.
Xiao Wenbing shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "Senior Longming, the serpent was referring to the golden roc."
Long Ming was taken aback, and his gaze toward the giant snake immediately became more friendly: "That's right, Brother Snake is right. That golden roc is indeed the worst bird in the world."
Xiao Wenbing and Zhang Yaqi chuckled inwardly. Since they lived in the Underworld together, some minor frictions were probably inevitable. Judging from Long Ming's tone, he must have suffered quite a bit at the hands of the golden roc.
"Senior Dragon, are all the ascended dragon and phoenix clans in the Underworld?"
"certainly."
"So, is it possible for dragons and phoenixes to ascend to heaven within the next hundred years?"
"This..." Long Ming hesitated for a moment, then said, "This is the third level of the Underworld, and newly ascended dragons and phoenixes are mostly in the second level. As for me, I haven't been up there for at least ten thousand years, so..."
Xiao Wenbing turned his gaze away in disappointment. He had wanted to ask Long Shi if he had come to the Underworld, but now it seemed that the hope of finding him was extremely slim.
"Lord Xiao, you're looking for someone? That's easy, we can just go to the second floor and take a look," the giant snake said nonchalantly.
Long Ming shook his head and said, "No. The Underworld is fraught with danger. Even I dare not wander around recklessly. You all should be careful."
Are there many monsters here?
“Indeed. There are many sea monsters here, some of which are exceptionally gifted and highly skilled, beyond our reach.”
Zhang Yaqi smiled slightly, reached into her Qiankun Ring, and took out a small seashell, asking, "Senior, do you recognize this?"
Long Ming first shook his head, but he stopped halfway through the shaking, and then his eyes widened to be bigger than copper bells.
"Senior, senior..."
Long Ming suddenly awoke with a start and asked urgently, "This, this is... the favor of the Sea God?"
Xiao Wenbing gave a thumbs up and said, "Senior has excellent eyesight."
Long Ming looked at the giant seashell with a complicated expression, then suddenly bowed deeply to it. Although dragons are an extremely special race, they are still half sea creatures. Therefore, upon seeing the giant seashell, he became very polite.
"The Sea God has appeared in the world, alas... Could it be that the final battle is about to begin?" Long Mingdi's eyes held a mixture of sorrow and joy, an indescribable emotion.
Xiao Wenbing's heart stirred slightly, and he asked, "Senior, what is the final battle you mentioned...?"
"Hehe, Xiao... Divine Lord, do you know why our Dragon and Phoenix clans could only come to this Netherworld after ascending to immortality?"
Xiao Wenbing said solemnly, "I was just about to ask you for your guidance, senior."
“This underworld is vast and boundless, filled with countless sea monsters and divine beasts…” Long Ming finished speaking, then raised his head and fell silent.
The giant snake waited for a while but received no further response, so it pressed on, "And then?"
"And then... I'm not really sure either."
The giant snake rolled its eyes dramatically, and even Xiao Wenbing couldn't help but glare at it. It had been speaking so mysteriously just moments before, but after piquing everyone's curiosity, it suddenly became completely incomprehensible. Wasn't this just blatant bluffing?
Perhaps sensing the dissatisfaction of the crowd, Long Ming laughed and said, "Don't blame me, it's just that our dragon clan's ancestor once said that if the sea god's favor appears, then this final battle won't be far off."
"The final battle?" Zhang Yaqi frowned slightly and asked, "May I ask, senior, who exactly is the opponent in this final battle?"
"I don't know," Long Ming said without hesitation.
The giant snake suddenly slapped its forehead and said, "I know."
The two humans and the dragon looked at it at the same time, and it said in a serious tone: "After much thought, I believe that among all the places under heaven, with the strength of the Underworld, there is only one place that can be its opponent."
Long Ming quickly asked, "Where?" Judging from his anxious look, this question had clearly been bothering him for a long time.
"The realm of gods."
Xiao Wenbing and his companion exchanged glances, and had to admit that what the giant snake said made a lot of sense.
Within the realm of gods, there are thirteen immense forces and some wandering hermits whose combined strength is absolutely no less than that of any single force.
Perhaps only the power of the gods can rival this boundless underworld.
"Great Serpent, have Keris and the others mentioned similar rumors in our divine realm?"
The giant snake was taken aback. After thinking for a long time, it chuckled and said, "Hehe... Lord Xiao, I'm not familiar with the God Realm, so I don't know much about it."
I glared at it, annoyed, knowing that it was lying through its teeth.
Since arriving in the realm of gods, the vast majority of deities have devoted themselves to absorbing divine power in order to consolidate their divine domain as quickly as possible.
However, the deities like the Great Serpent, who had a special relationship with Xiao Wenbing, were different. With Xiao Wenbing's help, their cultivation levels far surpassed those of Tongji, and each of them possessed a considerable number of spirit star fragments in their divine realm. Furthermore, after becoming gods, the production of primordial crystals increased even further.
Fair distribution is unlikely, but a small group of close friends will benefit greatly.
The Great Serpent's divine realm was already fully consolidated; all it lacked was a suitable divine artifact. Therefore, among the gods in Xiao Wenbing's group, it was the most active and also the most well-informed.
If even it hasn't heard of similar news, then it's probably true that it doesn't exist.
Zhang Yaqi glanced thoughtfully at Long Ming and asked, "Senior, who is the ancestor you mentioned...?"
"That was our Dragon Clan's first patriarch, who is now cultivating on the fifth level of the Underworld. As my cultivation has deepened day by day, I was fortunate enough to be summoned by him once when I first came to the third level of the Underworld."
"The first clan leader, how old is he this year?" Xiao Wenbing asked with a smile.
Long Ming thought for a moment and said, "It seems that he has been here since the day the Underworld came into existence."
Xiao Wenbing was slightly startled. If that were the case, wouldn't this old man be on par with the first generation of gods?
"boom……"
Suddenly, a strong undercurrent surged up from the water's depths in the distance, accompanied by a deafening roar.
Although sound travels much slower in water than in the air, this violent oscillation produced extremely powerful sound waves.
Xiao Wenbing and Zhang Yaqi exchanged a solemn glance. With their current cultivation levels, they naturally wouldn't take this little shock to heart.
If this force were to occur on Earth, it would be on the scale of landslides, tsunamis, and tectonic shifts, causing unpredictable damage. But here, in this boundless underworld, even a force ten times greater would only cause a minor disturbance.
The underworld is vast, unimaginably vast. It is absolutely incomparable to any single planet.
It's a mystery how those ancient, first-generation gods expanded this space to such an extent. But considering the boundless expanse of the divine realm, adding a Netherworld isn't surprising.
The aftershocks of the vibration reached this place. Long Mingdi's expression changed, and he shouted, "Oh no, those guys are coming out again!"
Having said that, he moved swiftly, disappearing a hundred miles away in the water.
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, and he and Zhang Yaqi exchanged bewildered glances. What was this all about? But judging from Long Ming's hurried appearance, they were certain that the guys he was talking about were definitely not easy to deal with.
"Wenbing, did you sense this aura?"
Xiao Wenbing closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. After a while, his expression gradually became serious: "It's the Dark God."
“Indeed, this aura is extremely similar to that of the Dark God who appeared in the cultivation world before. If there is any difference, it is that this aura is a hundred times more powerful.”
Xiao Wenbing nodded slightly. There was no need to ask; the Dark God was definitely behind the earthquake at its epicenter.
"Let's go take a look."