Beastmaster of the Ages

The Primodragon Cave was located not too far south of the Myriaddragon Mountains. In fact, it was close to the Voidsky Flame Pillar. It was under a bottomless abyss, a place no outsiders could enter. Tianming followed the seven dragon imperials to the isolated spot. There was no one within a hundred thousand miles, only barren hills, rocks, and deep streams. Yellow sand melded with the fiery mist from the nova source so every grain of sand was calcined to a sharp, red speck. With the violent storm, hundreds of millions of grains of sand became lethal weapons. The place resembled a natural battlefield.

Facing the sandstorm, they crossed the mountains and ravines, opened a path with the dragonsprings, then passed through top defense formations set up by their ancestors to reach their destination. The scale of the defenses around the Primodragon Cave was comparable to that of the Myriaddragon Mountains. Although both were controlled by the dragonsprings, the characteristics of the two formations were different.

In the Myriaddragon Mountains, the dragonsprings controlled different formations and had different functions. For example, the Sworddragon Ocean Purgatory was controlled by the azure dragonspring. On the other hand, it took the combination of ten dragonsprings to disable all of the formations around the Primodragon Cave so the legions could enter. Even if one possessed nine dragonsprings, they could only take a certain number of people with them by forming a protective circle with the dragonsprings.

There was something even more unique about it—even if the celestial orderians used the dragonsprings to open a path, they would still be heavily attacked by the formations, unless they could gather all ten dragonsprings. Thus, entering the Primodragon Cave wasn’t easy. The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect’s ancestors had specially introduced such requirements to guard against the celestial orderians. Otherwise, the sun emperor would have already invaded the cave with the Veildragon Palace’s dragonsprings.

…

The shield formed by the four dragonsprings protected them from the fiery sand that collided with the surrounding surfaces.

“We’re here!”

A deep pit appeared in front of them. When they looked down, it almost felt as if their souls would be sucked inside and swallowed. It was the entrance of Primodragon Cave.

“Our ancestors are said to have found the dragon of origin after jumping into the Primodragon Cave.”

Tianming was filled with reverence upon arriving at this solemn place.

“Just jump.” The Saintdragon Emperor went first, followed by the other dragon imperials and Tianming. The feeling of falling into a bottomless pit was similar to the one in the Flameyellow Continent that led to the Abyssal Battlefield. The drop seemed to last forever as their speed increased. At their fastest, they suddenly rose instead, decelerating until they came to a complete stop. Then, a cave entrance appeared above their heads.

“Isn’t it magical?”

The sun was spherical, not flat with two sides like the Flameyellow Continent. How could this be? Did they pass through the core of the sun and reach the north pole, the celestial orderians’ territory? It was impossible because the fusion formation was underneath the ground.

The fusion formation sealed the nova source. It would have taken them much longer to travel through the sun, and during the process, they would be surrounded by nova source. There was only one passage through the sun—the fusion formation passage within the Sky Palace in the south. The celestial orderians in the north possessed one as well. In theory, the passage would link the north and the south. However, the Sky Palace and celestial orderians must have sealed the entrances on their sides to prevent the other party from going across.

We might not have traveled through the sun, but there was the feeling of falling and then rising, which shows how strange the Primodragon Cave is. No wonder it’s called the place of eternal rest. The curiosity in Tianming’s heart soon disappeared. As soon as he jumped out, he was greeted by the sight of an ancient, solemn world. The archaic atmosphere made his hair stand on end.

“This….” Tianming’s eyes widened as he took in the grand scene before him with a look of incredulity. The seven dragon imperials had expected his reaction. All of those who visited the Primodragon Cave for the first time would be shocked by its magnificence. Majestic? Moving? Epic? Tianming couldn’t find words to describe it all. He knew that the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had considered the Primodragon Cave the mausoleum of the dragon imperials for millions of years, but he never expected it would be like this.

In front of them was a towering yellow mountain that was larger than the Great Saintragon Peak outside. It resembled a tower; the higher one went, the more important they were. The Saintdragon Emperor and the others called it the Primodragon Mountain. Ancient tombstones hundreds of meters tall were erected on the mountain. Millions of years of history, countless generations of inheritance, and a hundred thousand dragon imperials who had made great contributions toward the future generations of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect were forever buried there.

The burial sites of these dragon imperials stretched from the foot of the mountain to the peak. However, the word ‘burial’ wasn’t appropriate because the dragon imperials weren’t buried in the ground. There were only tombstones, no superfluous underground mausoleums. Tianming had been shocked at first glance because the former dragon imperials stood beneath their tombstones, like a hundred thousand living people looking down at them, which brought a sharp intake of breath from Tianming. He wasn’t afraid, but surprised that the dead hadn’t been buried.

Some ancestors were from millions of years ago, yet they stood in front of their tombstones. What a frightening scene indeed. There were various dragons coiled around each tombstone; every dragon imperial had an average of four or five dragon lifebound beasts. Thus, there were more than four hundred thousand of them on Primodragon Mountain, each huge and majestic. Their eyes were open, expressions lively. Some were coiled up, others were high up in the air. They were all different, but the one thing they had in common was unparalleled power!

Was this a mausoleum? If he had entered the Primodragon Cave without knowing it was a mausoleum, Tianming would have thought that the dragon imperials and their lifebound beasts were alive. His scalp tingled; it was like he was staring face to face with each and every one of them. The higher he looked, the older the corpses were. These ancient corpses appeared different from the people of today. They were hunchbacked with bigger arms and were almost apelike.

“These are people from millions of years ago!” Tianming blankly looked around.

What was so magical about Primodragon Cave that it could preserve these corpses to this day? From a distance away, Tianming could feel the majesty of the dragon bloodline. They looked as if they had just departed.

In the Flameyellow Continent, Great Emperor Xuanyuan had preserved his physical body for two hundred thousand years through the orderian cauldron, but he had long since lost his strength and his flesh had decayed. His situation was completely different from the former dragon imperials.

“Aunt Ying, why haven’t they been laid to rest? Even if their bodies can be preserved, why place them upright?” Tianming asked.

“I’m not sure either. The practice was handed down from our ancestors. We’re afraid to make an exception, even to this day,” Long Wanying softly said.

Die standing? Did it symbolize some sort of spirit? While Tianming pondered, the Saintdragon Emperor took them up the mountain. Eyes wide, he stared at the former dragon imperials and their lifebound beasts. With the tombstones as the center, the former dragon imperials and their lifebound beasts seemed to have merged into one, frozen for all eternity.

“Aunt Ying, why do I sense vitality from their astral physique? It feels like they’ve just passed away? There’s still astralforce within their albi.” Tianming was astonished. He knew what a new corpse looked like. The clothes and weapons of these dragon imperials had disintegrated, yet their flesh was preserved forever. Their blood was still warm! How could it be possible?