Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 925 The door cannot be opened from that side
An hour later, at the Great Snow Mountain, a place of pilgrimage.

The howling wind and snow swept across the sky, and on the altar piled with thick ice and snow, there were figures who looked no different from ordinary people kneeling there, worshipping the huge ancient dragon statue that was more than forty meters high in front of the altar.

Human dragon.

As the most fervent believer in the ancient dragon faith, the human-dragon does not look much different from a human in its normal state. In fact, many times, unless you deliberately attack the human-dragon, the human-dragon, who is engrossed in prayer, will not pay any attention to passersby.

Of course, there are always exceptions, and the same applies to the dragon people who worship the ancient dragon.

Although it mostly doesn't react much to external stimuli, there's one exception—

Wang Huo.

As the culprit for relegating the ancient dragon faith to such a remote place, only the Kingfire is something that humans and dragons simply cannot tolerate.

Therefore, the stronger the aura of the King's Fire, the more likely it is to cause the dragons to go berserk. For example, precious items blessed by the King's Fire, or fire that constantly emits the aura of the King's Fire, or even... certain ashes that have gained the King's Fire's recognition and attention!
pat!

"It's really... It's tough that these guys always come back here to pray no matter what happens."

A meaningful murmur rang out along with the harsh sound of footsteps on the snow. From the cave behind the altar, a figure emerged unhurriedly and looked up at the scene before him.

Upon closer inspection, one would recognize her as none other than Xin Lailai, who had been chased and ran for her life by the horde of people just an hour earlier.

Its purpose in appearing here is naturally to punch the dragon and kick the snow mountain, retaliating against all the humiliation it suffered before... Well, that's obviously impossible.

They had already witnessed the power of the dragon-human hybrids before. Before mastering the Dragon Thunder Prayer, it would take at least three of them combined to fight against more than 30 of these creatures head-on.

Therefore, if we want to deal with these things, we must find another way.

As for the specific methods...

"Roar!!!" "Run!!!"

The answer is to get out of these dragons first.

"Roar—!!" "Roar roar roar roar roar—!!"

In an instant, all sorts of roars and howls rang out from the altar. Almost the instant Xin Lailai appeared, the entire dragon and human figures on the altar came to life as if a stone had been thrown into a pond, and all looked in the direction where Xin Lailai was.

Upon seeing this, Xin Lailai turned around without hesitation and started running away decisively.

Rumble——! !

The next second, a violent tremor came from the tunnel. More than 30 dragons rushed out of the altar and roared as they chased into the tunnel under Xin Lailai's guidance, causing the entire ground to tremble violently.

Large amounts of rubble flew out from under the trampling of the dragons. The once intact mountain wall was shattered by the roars and outbursts of the dragon heads, but it was quickly restored under the intervention of the fire that guarded the entire area.

Thirty meters... twenty meters... ten meters...

As the dragon continued its pursuit, the distance between the two began to close.

Flames, ice, black currents... all sorts of breaths and prayers brushed past Xin Lailai, some even colliding directly with her.

Xin Lailai, who was at the forefront, did not change her expression when faced with this scene. She simply calculated the distance in her mind while provoking the dragon of people behind her to rush through one corner after another.

At last……

"Leftover! Move!"

"Um!!!"

After rounding another bend, Xin Lailai suddenly roared in her mind, then lay down with a strong, resounding response. The next second—

Crystal Art - Devouring Annihilation.

boom! ! !
A torrent of black and white energy, a combination of demonic and angelic power, surged forth, enough to deplete their current mana in a single strike. It slammed into the nearest dragon-human hybrid, annihilating it into nothingness before it even had a chance to react.

"Roar—!!" "Roar roar roar—!!"

The other dragons, however, acted as if they hadn't seen anything at all, and continued to rush forward recklessly, as if they would drag the other down with them even if it meant their own deaths.

This is the human-dragon.

There is no such thing as fear or retreat, nor any hesitation or indecision. Once they have identified their target, they will do anything to tear the other party apart. This is one of the important reasons why they cannot fight head-on when surrounded.

Under normal circumstances, if they dared to recklessly deplete their mana in front of such an enemy, they would only face an extremely miserable end.

but now--

Boom——! !

A muffled rumble resounded, and amidst the surging black and white torrent, a massive stone gate, seemingly out of place with its surroundings, appeared before everyone's eyes under the illumination of the devouring energy. As Xin Lailai rushed in, it slammed shut with a loud bang.

Faced with this action, the other dragons did not show any sign of backing down. Instead, they roared and charged forward one after another, swinging the ferocious dragon heads that grew from their necks and slamming them against the stone gate in front of them with all their might amidst various breaths and collision sounds.

Boom boom boom boom boom…!!

In an instant, a barrage of bombardments, as dense as a storm, erupted from the cave. More than thirty dragon-like figures attacked the stone door in front of them like madmen, causing the entire tunnel to shake violently.

However, when the chaotic energy fluctuations and attack effects dissipated, the rock gate in front of them still stood there intact, showing no signs of damage whatsoever.

Some of the dragons seemed to notice something amiss after the attack and began to grope around on the door. They even found something that looked like a door switch, but they couldn't open the stone door in front of them no matter what they did, as if it had never been designed to be openable from this side.

Meanwhile, Xin Lailai, who was behind the stone gate and observing the situation outside through a small hole in the gate, saw this scene and immediately revealed an unusually unkind smile.

Done! ! !

It was worth the half hour they spent building a gate using materials found on the spot, and the remaining time they spent building a dozen or so improvised "door-locking prayers". The result was exactly as they had imagined, no... it should be said that the effect was even better than expected!
Wang Huo reinforcement.

Back in Frankish Fortress, they had already experienced that in the Ash World, wherever the power of the King's Fire... that is, the fire seed, exists, the surrounding area will enter a state of near indestructibility.

This is why whenever they encounter a door that cannot be opened from this side, they have no choice but to pick the lock or take a detour.

While pondering how to deal with the dragon-human hybrid, Xin Lailai suddenly remembered that the area previously damaged by the dragon-human hybrid had begun to self-repair.

It was this point that led to the current operational plan, which Zero-Yuko called 'Block the Door - Lai'. Zero-Yuko would use his spiritual advantage to quickly travel to the middle level of the tunnel, where there was little protection from the power of the King Fire. From there, he would dismantle enough materials and transport them to the top using his backpack space. Then, he would build a door on the top that could only be opened from the inside.

Then, using the prayers they had learned, they guided the fire-prevention forces of the surrounding area to spread to the gate, transforming it from an ordinary gate into one reinforced with the power of the King's Fire, ensuring that it would be absolutely indestructible as long as the power of the King's Fire on it was not completely consumed.

In this way, they essentially possessed an indestructible 'protective shield,' allowing them enough breathing time to escape the pursuit of the dragon army.

With this, combined with the effect of the Deepest Prayer, as long as they can draw the dragon's aggro, the rest—

The only option left is to trap the dragon in a jar.

boom--! !

Before the gate, as the dragon-humans launched their furious attack, two rays, one formed by demonic power and the other by angelic power, suddenly shot out from the two sides of the stone gate, colliding, devouring, and exploding in front of one of the dragon-humans.

[The "Human Dragon" has been defeated, Soul Points increased by 150000 (100000 + 50000)]

The golden-red text message swept past the edge of her vision. Behind the door, Xin Lailai, who had just completed a perfect attack through a pre-prepared trapdoor window, watched this scene and couldn't help but reveal a knowing smile.

very good!

It was worth it for them to suffer so many times from the doors in Frankish Fortress and Isilul that couldn't be opened from this side. Now, it's time for their enemies to taste the pain of being separated by a single door, yet feeling as if they were worlds apart.

"I always feel like Lai Lai's smile is kind of lewd."

"Nonsense, this is clearly a smile symbolizing the strategy of the 'Root of Wisdom' tactics."

Inside the gate, Xin Lailai retorted righteously, then looked at the dragons outside who could only rage helplessly, and her smile became even brighter.

……

ten minutes later.

[The "Human Dragon" has been defeated, Soul Points increased by 150000 (100000 + 50000)]

"Done!"

A slightly smug hum echoed from the cave, followed by a muffled sound of a door opening.

Before the gate, now bearing some uneven marks, Xin Lailai, having easily killed the last dragon-human hybrid, wiped her hands, looked at the white ash left by the dragon-human hybrid's corpse, cast a profound divine prayer on herself, and strode towards the tunnel exit, arriving at the empty altar outside the cave.

If we go up from here, we should reach the real summit of the snow-capped mountain, right?

After briefly surveying the altar and confirming there was nothing to loot, Xin Lailai's gaze fell directly on the path beneath the giant ancient dragon statue, her eyes flickering slightly.

The nameless author of "Gu Long's King".

According to Rudolphus, the most mysterious and ancient of the previous Lords of Cinder is located at the end of this Ancient Dragon Path.

If his speculation is correct, then the opponent, who is clearly a god but has become the King of the Ancient Dragons, may very well possess some truth about the Ash World and the Royal Fire.

"If we just walk past here, we should be able to see that nameless king directly, right?"

"Well, but before that..."

Within the soul space, Ling Yuzi muttered to himself, his gaze lingering with curiosity as he looked towards the snow-capped mountaintop shrouded in wind and snow. Xin Lailai nodded slightly, her gaze sharpening as she looked up at the colossal ancient dragon statue overlooking them, and calmly said:
"It seems we still have to get past this last hurdle."

As soon as the words were spoken, the raging blizzard suddenly quieted down, and large amounts of gray mist began to rise from the distance. At the same time, the wings of the huge ancient dragon statue in front of the altar suddenly trembled.

Buzz, rumble—! !

As the muffled hum subsided, the enormous statue, which should have been lifeless, slowly raised its head. Amidst the sound of the falling snow, it slowly opened its pair of ancient and timeless golden vertical pupils and looked down at Xinlailai on the altar.

"For thousands of generations, you... are the second person after him to realize it ahead of time."

The next second, a vast spiritual force descended, transforming into a majestic and ancient narration that boomed out of Xin Lailai's mind.

“I am the immortal dragon Guramit, the oldest and first dragon you speak of, and the final and last dragon you seek. You powerful fire-bearer, you are worthy to... call forth your name.”

Boom——! !

As soon as the words fell, crimson dragon lightning crashed down from the void, transforming into a massive lightning prison that sealed off the entire altar. At the same time, the originally white sky turned into a low and oppressive black cloud, which, together with the giant ancient dragon that opened its eyes, dragged the entire altar into shadow.

"The Immortal Dragon" Guramit.

The oldest dragon recorded in legends, who led the ancient dragon race in a battle against the first Lord of Cinder, tearing the world apart, and who remained immortal even in death.

Even though the Onion Knight didn't cause the dragons to go berserk, he still claimed that he felt some kind of great danger when he left the altar. Now it seems that the threat he felt at that time probably didn't come from those dragons at all, but from the ancient dragon in front of him!
Om-! !

A tremendous pressure descended, transforming into a terrifying sense of oppression that seemed to sink the very air. Faced with this suffocating pressure, Xin Lailai calmly removed the greatsword hanging on her back, looked up directly at the ancient dragon's ancient, vertical pupils that seemed to see through everything, and spoke:

"Black Sword".

"Black... sword."

The deep, resonant voice, as if it had endured countless ages, fell once more. Then, the ancient dragon before them suddenly spread its enormous wings, each spanning over a hundred meters, and rose from the ground amidst the deafening roar of the storm, reaching a height of over three hundred meters above the altar.

“Very well, you who bear the name of the Black Sword, according to the oath I made with him, now that you have found your way here, let me see if you are truly qualified to continue.”

"In the words of the first king of you who are afflicted by fire, only those who hold power may face the king directly!"

There was no unnecessary talk, not even a single superfluous explanation.

Just as a belligerent who has been thirsty for years has finally found a worthy opponent, a few words were enough to explain what they needed to reach the top of the snow-capped mountain.

[You have awakened the "Immortal Dragon" Glamite, an unkillable unit!]

[Because you slayed all the dragons, the Immortal Dragon "Glamit" is very satisfied with your power!!]

[The Trial of Immortality has begun! Prove your strength!!!]

……

(End of this chapter)