Chapter 1244 - Dragon Clan's Inheritance

The news that he didn't need to build an interstellar teleportation array to return to the True Martial Continent sounded good to Liu Wuxie.

"Don't celebrate too soon," Elder Long warned, dousing the hope with a bucket of cold realism. "Whether it works or not depends on you. First, you must reach the Void Realm, and you don't have much time."

Even without a teleportation array, Liu Wuxie shouldered the burden; reaching the Void Realm within ten years was like trying to climb to the heavens.

Liu Wuxie sank into thought. Ten years to reach the Void Realm would be difficult, but not impossible.

The True Martial Continent could only last another decade, and Astral Domain storms would strike increasingly often, extinguishing countless lives. He could not wait the whole ten years; by then, humanity would probably be extinct on the True Martial Continent.

Even if he managed to return it, it would be a ruin. In truth, he probably only had eight or nine years before the continent began to collapse, and time was slipping away.

"Whatever the cost, I will accomplish this," Liu Wuxie said, his gaze hardening. Nothing would stop him — not mountains of blades, not seas of fire.

Elder Long sensed an unbreakable will in him, something even an immortal could not crush.

"Come with me," Elder Long said, moved by the resolve. "I'm not fully certain of a solution; I must speak with the sect master first."

He led Liu Wuxie deeper into the palace. He had hesitated to bring the young man here, but the hesitation vanished once he learned about the True Martial Continent.

Puzzled, Liu Wuxie followed. They passed through a vast hall when a burst of draconic aura surged forth, nearly throwing him off his feet.

"This is..." he breathed, shock widening his eyes. Could this be a dragon palace?

Before him rose a colossal dragon skeleton, so vast it dwarfed any dragon remains he had ever seen. Though the dragon had died ages ago, its bones still released a suffocating pressure that warped the air around them.

An incense table stood before the skeleton. Elder Long stepped forward, lit several sticks, and placed them in the burner in rites to honor an ancestor. The implication was clear: this dragon skeleton belonged to Elder Long's lineage.

When he finished, Elder Long knelt and kowtowed three times.

"Wuxie, kneel as well," he said.

Liu Wuxie hesitated for only a heartbeat, then knelt. The dead deserved respect; before this ancestor, he would bow.

"Ancestor, Long Shan has decided to pass the dragon clan's inheritance to Liu Wuxie," Elder Long declared, revealing his actual name. "He holds the token, he has refined our clan's bones, and he bears our bloodline. I beg your permission."

Liu Wuxie's heart lurched. He knew what it meant to receive the dragon clan's inheritance; with it came their burdens. For a moment, he even wanted to refuse.

A ripple stirred within the skeleton; an invisible shockwave fanned outward.

"Thank you, Ancestor!" Long Shan cried, dropping to his knees again, astonishment lighting his face. He had not expected a response after so many silent visits.

Though the dragon died countless years ago, its will endured. The phenomenon was not impossible, as Liu Wuxie once witnessed a phoenix's will during the entrance assessment.

An invisible will weaved time and space, condensing into a golden mote that burrowed between Liu Wuxie's brows.

In the next instant, his aura surged, not a cultivation breakthrough, but an ascension in draconic law. He had practiced the Nine Heavenly Dragon Forms; to wield them truly, he needed the dragon clan's laws.

As the golden specks sank into him, the laws formed entirely within his body and multiplied his strength many times over.

"Liu Wuxie, thank the ancestor, quick!" Elder Long exclaimed, stunned. He had come here many times without response; yet the moment Liu Wuxie arrived, the ancestor answered.

Liu Wuxie, equally astonished, felt the priceless shift. Though he refined the dragon bones, blood, and pearl, he seized them by force rather than by grant; the clan never acknowledged him. Now, with the ancestor's recognition, the dragon laws flowed freely through him, marking the difference between what he stole and what others bestowed.

From that moment, he no longer needed to worry. The dragon blood within him roared awake, and for a heartbeat, he felt the urge to transform into a dragon.

"Thank you for the gift of the divine dragon's will. I will be eternally grateful!" he said, bowing with genuine sincerity.

Elder Long's shock ebbed, and relief softened his features; the weight he had carried seemed to lift.

"Liu Wuxie, since you have received my ancestor's inheritance, there are matters you should know," Elder Long said, his voice now that of a senior addressing a junior rather than cold and distant.

"Please speak. I'm listening," Liu Wuxie replied. They found a clean place to sit; there was no hurry, and no one would disturb them here, perfect for seclusion.

Still, the Dragon Origin Herb gnawed at his thoughts. He had asked before, but even Elder Long could not decide; they would have to wait for the sect master.

Even if he obtained the herb now, he could not return to the True Martial Continent without the sect master's help, anyway.

"You know only scraps of the ancient war," Elder Long said. "Do you know why it erupted, and why experts from other astral domains came to watch?"

Liu Wuxie had not witnessed it himself, as he was scarcely a thousand years old, but ancient beings had lived through it.

Liu Wuxie shook his head. He had read over one hundred thousand books, yet none spoke of the war; it was as if the sects sealed the truth and forbade their disciples to mention it.

"Because of an Immortal Path," Elder Long said after a steadying breath.

"An Immortal Path?!" Liu Wuxie shot to his feet, his face paling with seriousness.

"That's right, an Immortal Path," Elder Long answered, rising as agitation overtook him.

Silence fell. Liu Wuxie absorbed the revelation while Elder Long waited, giving him space to breathe.

"Do you mean the time three hundred thousand years ago when the Immortal Gate opened?" Liu Wuxie asked finally, drawing a deep breath to calm his pulse.

A significant event had shaken the Fleeting Cloud Celestial Realm three hundred thousand years ago, fracturing the crystalline wall and opening the Immortal Gate.

"How do you know that?" Elder Long asked, surprised. He had no idea where Liu Wuxie had learned that fact.

"I know only fragments," Liu Wuxie said. "Please continue."

Though that tale lay deep in the past, it would probably not align perfectly with the ancient war in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain. The battle three hundred thousand years ago had been earth-shaking, but Liu Wuxie was not born then; he only heard of it from his master, whom he buried on the Grand Supreme Palace Mountain Range. The man survived that war but never spoke of it.

In the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain, few spoke of the ancient war; the Immortal Path seemed too outlandish.

"The Immortal Gate projected onto our Heavenly Dragon Sect," Elder Long continued. "Powerhouses swarmed to seize ascension. Inevitably, war broke out, and we tried to stop it as the fighting began to engulf us."

It was only natural; the Immortal Path could not accept everyone. Limited places inevitably triggered slaughter.

"With the Heavenly Dragon Sect's strength, stopping the war should not have been so difficult," Liu Wuxie said, frowning. The sect had immortals, and who would dare run rampant here? Elder Long's ancestor had died in that war, and the facts seemed contradictory.

"Do you know how the Heavenly Dragon Sect was founded?" Elder Long asked, changing the subject.

"Ling Qiong Tian and Long Xiao founded it," Liu Wuxie answered, repeating what Elder Ding had told him.

"Those two ancestors founded the Heavenly Dragon Sect," Elder Long said. "But when they withdrew, their descendants fought openly and secretly for power. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, darkness shrouded the sect."

Liu Wuxie did not interrupt; he watched Elder Long closely, hungry for more about the Ling Qiong Clan.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"When the ancient war erupted, the dragon clan spent everything to save the sect," Elder Long said. "But too many experts descended, and our rivals struck while we bled. The dragon clan paid dearly; the war gutted our vitality."

Competition in the Indigo Bamboo Astral Domain was merciless; the Heavenly Dragon Sect's rivals seized their chance.

"You're saying the Ling Qiong Clan did nothing to help the dragon clan resist?" Liu Wuxie asked. If so, the clan watched the dragons die to seize authority, an unforgivable betrayal.

"Help?" Elder Long's lip curled, murderous intent radiating off him. "Not only did they refuse to help, but they also used the chaos to send their elites onto the Immortal Path, paving their way into the Celestial Realm."