Shen Tian stepped forward, his boots pressing against the cracked earth of the Forbidden Lands.
The air was thick with ancient resentment, as if the land itself remembered a war that had shattered the heavens.
Lightning crackled across the darkened skies.
The temple of the Primordial Dragon stood in the distance, its silhouette barely visible through the swirling black mist.
Yet, despite the oppressive atmosphere—
He felt excitement.
"This is exactly the kind of challenge I needed."
BOOM!
As soon as he stepped past the boundary, the ground trembled.
Suddenly—
A skeletal beast rose from the earth.
Its body was colossal, easily spanning over a hundred meters. Its skull was elongated, with fangs that gleamed like obsidian.
Its empty eye sockets locked onto Shen Tian.
A Dragon Corpse Guardian.
A remnant of the ancient war, cursed to defend the temple until the end of time.
Shen Tian cracked his knuckles.
"You think you can stop me?"
ROOOAAARR!
The Dragon Corpse Guardian lunged, its claws tearing through the air.
Shen Tian vanished, reappearing above its head.
With a single palm strike, he sent an immense shockwave crashing down.
BOOM!
The skeletal beast shattered, its remains scattering into the wind.
Shen Tian landed gracefully.
"That was just a warm-up."
He took another step forward.
The ground collapsed beneath him.
Before he could react, he was falling—
Deeper.
Deeper.
Into the darkness.
---
The Abyss of Forgotten Souls
Shen Tian's body landed on solid ground.
He immediately sensed it—
A presence.
No, multiple presences.
The air was cold, the kind of cold that seeped into one's very soul.
He turned.
Countless figures stood before him.
They were human-shaped, but their bodies were transparent, flickering like dying flames.
Ghosts.
Not just any ghosts.
The souls of fallen cultivators.
Trapped here for eternity.
A deep voice echoed through the abyss—
"Mortal… why have you come?"
Shen Tian's eyes narrowed.
A figure stepped forward.
Unlike the others, this one had form.
It was a man dressed in tattered white robes, his hair long and unkempt.
But his aura…
It was immense.
"…Who are you?" Shen Tian asked.
The man's gaze pierced through him.
"I am the last Dragon Sovereign."
Shen Tian's heart pounded.
The Dragon Sovereign—a being who had once stood on the peak of all existence.
And now… he was nothing but a remnant.
"I have been waiting for someone like you," the Dragon Sovereign said, his voice filled with longing.
"Someone who seeks to surpass the limits of reality."
He stretched out his hand.
"Will you accept my legacy?"
Shen Tian smirked.
"If it helps me reach the peak—"
He took a step forward.
"Then I'll accept everything."
The Dragon Sovereign smiled.
And with that—
The abyss shattered into light.
End of Chapter 9