“If one day I were to die, this treasure would enter Bluefire’s safekeeping,” Beirut said. The deep underwater tunnel had already slowly grown brighter, to the point of being eye-piercingly brilliant.
Suddenly…
“Bang!”
The four walls of the cave and the floor all suddenly trembled, and then completely transformed into dust which flowed down.
“The grand sealing formation?” Linley now completely understood. Beirut had used this grand formation to completely seal off a meter-thick layer of rock at the bottom of this underwater cave. Given Beirut’s abilities in setting up this grand formation, if outsiders wished to break it, they would have to at least be as strong as him.
But setting up this formation was definitely no simple task.
“Lord Beirut, why did you come to break this grand sealing formation today?” Linley said, not understanding.
“It no longer has any purpose, so I might as well break it.” Beirut smiled, then waved his hand. A gust of wind swept downwards, blowing all of the sand to one side and revealing a black box that was just the size of a palm. Beirut’s eyes lit up, and he stretched his hand out to grab the black box.
Bluefire, seeing this, laughed as well.
“Grandpa, what is inside?” Bebe said, puzzled.
“Guess?” Beirut chortled.
“Can it be that it was because of this treasure, that the Chief Sovereign of Light wishes to kill you, Grandpa? Is this treasure the Sovereign spark? Or is it a treasure that is on the level of an Overgod talisman?” Bebe guessed.
“Haha, you are quite clever. Alright, it is time for us to go to the Necropolis of the Gods.” Beirut chortled.
Linley followed behind Beirut, flying once more out from that deep tunnel and towards the interdimensional portal. The portal was located atop an enormous, pitch-black stone that was in the center of a deep ocean valley. The strange spatial ripples could be seen and sensed clearly by Linley’s group from far away.
“In you go.” Beirut willed it, and the interdimensional portal opened.
The four immediately flew in.
They flew through and to the other side of the portal, where they arrived at a different plane.
“The Necropolis of the Gods.” Linley had come here before. He could sense the restrictive power of this plane, and he couldn’t help but look towards Beirut in confusion. “Lord Beirut, this plane should be on a much higher level than a material plane; how can it be so tightly connected with the Yulan Plane?” Linley had entered this place as a mere Saint.
Even one of the five Prime Saints of the Yulan continent, such as Fain, disciple of the War God, had been limited to a divine sense of just ten or so meters.
“This is a plane that was created by a Sovereign.” Bluefire laughed calmly. “This is a so called ‘divine plane’. Naturally, its restrictive power will be far greater than a material plane’s.”
“However, compared to the Infernal Realm, the restrictive power is much smaller,” Linley evaluated.
The nearby Beirut laughed, “Linley, upon becoming a Sovereign, one can create a plane. According to legend, however, the Infernal Realm, Netherworld, Celestial Realm, and Life Realm were created separately and individually by the four Overgods. Of course their restrictive power is great. As for the Seven Divine Planes, they were jointly created by the seven Sovereigns of each element. The Divine Light Plane, for example, was created by the Chief Sovereign of Light and the other six Sovereigns of Light working in concert. It is more stable and powerful than this plane of mine as well. After all, this is a plane that I, a Lesser Sovereign, made by myself.”
“Indeed.” Linley already had a vague suspicion that perhaps it was Beirut who had created this plane.
“Create a divine plane? Wow, that’s incredible,” Bebe called out in surprised joy. “But Grandpa, Sovereigns should be able to enter this divine plane, right? Aren’t you afraid that the Chief Sovereign of Light will come?”
“Don’t worry. This divine plane is connected to the Yulan Plane. If another Sovereign wishes to enter this plane of mine, as soon as they touch the borders of it, I, as the creator of the plane, will know. If the Chief Sovereign of Light comes, I will instantly enter the Yulan Plane.” Beirut smiled.
Linley secretly sighed in praise. “Beirut truly is cautious.”
“The Necropolis of the Gods is up ahead,” Beirut pointed into the distance.
The waters of the deep sea surged forward. Linley could clearly see that up ahead, there was an enormous, sharp-tipped necropolis that was nearly twenty thousand meters tall and which had a circumference of ten thousand meters. At the front of the necropolis was still that enormous carving of a wingless dragon, an enormous dragon that lay coiled. Its aura was truly astonishing.
The other three sides had carvings of the other three divine beasts.
Last time, Linley hadn’t understood, but this time, Linley completely understood. Linley hurriedly asked frantically, “Lord Beirut, of the four carving, this enormous dragon carving is absolutely identical to the Azure Dragon Phantom that appears when I execute my innate divine ability. As for the other three divine beast carvings, they are identical to the other three divine beast sculptures I saw within the Skyrite Mountains of the Infernal Realm. Is there something special about this place?”
“Yes. These four carvings are of the four divine beasts,” Beirut said with a sigh.
“Follow me.” Beirut immediately flew towards the top of the Necropolis of the Gods.
Linley immediately followed. This Necropolis of the Gods had, in total, eighteen floors. Logically speaking, one should have to enter from the first floor, then constantly advance. But this time, Beirut actually led Linley and the others directly to the very tip of the Necropolis of the Gods, and at the top of the wall, a tunnel appeared out of nowhere.
Beirut and Bluefire stepped forward. Although Linley and Bebe felt puzzled, they still followed from behind.
This was a vast, empty space that they had moved into. The entire floor was formed from large pieces of bluestone that were ten meters long. This giant bluestone floor seemed to stretch off into infinity.
The ground was azure.
The sky was azure. Azure with no hint of other colors; it was so clear and bright.
Beirut, Linley, and the others appeared on the bluestone floor.
“This is…?” Linley stared around, puzzled. Logically speaking, each floor of the Necropolis of the Gods should have guardians, but this floor actually had no one in it at all.
“This is the top of the Necropolis of the Gods. The eighteenth floor.” Beirut smiled.
Bebe said in surprise, “Grandpa, why is it that there is no one here at the legendary eighteenth floor? Isn’t it supposed to be the most terrifyingly dangerous?”
“Who said that the eighteen floor is dangerous?” Beirut laughed.
“Doesn’t it get more and more dangerous, the higher up you go?” Bebe mumbled, not understanding. “Hey, Boss, where are you going?” Bebe realized that Linley was actually moving forward.
Beirut, seeing the situation, laughed. “Let’s go. Linley has already discovered it.”
Linley had indeed discovered it. In the past, the very first time he had come to the Necropolis of the Gods, he sensed that something within the upper reaches of the Necropolis of the Gods was calling to him. But, at that time, he didn’t have the power to advance farther up. Now, Linley discovered that it was this eighteenth floor that called to him, that drew him.
“Lord Beirut, this, this bluestone floor… beneath it…” Linley turned to look at Beirut.
“Wait a moment.” Beirut laughed while walking over, his gaze landing on the bluestone floor.
“Creaaaaak.” Countless bluestone floor tiles began to move about in an orderly fashion. Beneath the bluestone floor, an enormous object began to slowly rise. The bluestone tiles that had simply served as a floor, in the blink of an eye, actually formed into a giant platform, atop which lay an e
normous Azure Dragon corpse that was more than ten thousand meters long. That close, familiar aura was calling to Linley.
“The ancestor… the Azure Dragon?” Stunned, Linley stared with wide eyes. He was immediately able to recognize it.
Beirut walked over, then sighed, “Right. There are, in total, three Necropolis of the Gods. The other two are only used to store the corpses of ordinary Deities, while this one is the great one. This Necropolis of the Gods, on its eighteenth floor, has the corpse of the Azure Dragon within it. As for the eighteenth floors of the other three sides in this Necropolis, they store the corpses of the Vermillion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise.”
51
TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO – THE TRUTH
“The corpses of the Four Divine Beasts?” Bebe couldn’t refrain from calling out in shock.
Linley stared at the enormous Azure Dragon corpse in front of him. The draconic scales of the Azure Dragon were still so slick, so seemingly sharp. Even after ten thousand years had passed, the Azure Dragon’s aura was still so awe-inspiring. Linley turned to look at Beirut. Puzzled, he said, “Lord Beirut, for you and Bluefire to be able to become Sovereigns… was because of the Sovereign sparks of the four ancestors?”
Azure Dragon. Vermillion Bird. Black Tortoise. White Tiger. They were Lesser Sovereigns of the water, fire, earth, and wind elements.
Although they were only Lesser Sovereigns, the innate abilities of the Four Divine Beasts were simply too powerful, and when their four innate divine abilities were combined into one terrifying supreme technique, they were even able to fight against a Chief Sovereign.
“Yes.” Beirut sighed, then nodded. “After all, there are only so many Sovereign sparks in the world. It truly was a tremendous stroke of luck for me to be able to acquire four at once.”
“Grandpa, how did you acquire the Sovereign sparks? When you acquired them, you were only a Highgod,” Bebe said hurriedly.
“Also. How did you acquire the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts?” Linley was completely puzzled as well.
Beirut gave Bluefire a glance, and then Beirut laughed as he looked towards Linley and Bebe, then said with a sigh, “After so many years, there is no longer a need to hide this from you. Regarding the corpses of the Four Divine Beasts… I must first tell you about the battle ten thousand years ago. The battle between the Four Divine Beasts and the Chief Sovereign of Light!”
“The four ancestors truly were killed by the Chief Sovereign of Light?” Linley frowned.
“Right. It was the Chief Sovereign of Light who killed them.” Beirut nodded.
“That year, I was in my private room, training. Linley… that’s the private room beneath your Dragonblood Castle.” Beirut laughed, and Linley nodded slightly. He had guessed long ago that it must have been used by a powerful expert for training, and indeed; it had been Beirut!
“While training, I looked through the translucent membrane of the room and saw that far away, in the middle of the chaotic space, a terrifying battle was going on. It was the Four Divine Beasts, who were fighting energetically against the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta,” Beirut said solemnly, and Linley listened attentively.
Beirut seemed to become immersed within his memories. “I was completely stupefied, back then. The Four Divine Beasts on one side, the Chief Sovereign of Light on the other. They were all too powerful. During this battle, the Four Divine Beasts were the weaker side, while the Chief Sovereign of Light held the advantage. The Four Divine Beasts had all completely transformed into their original, divine beast bodies. In addition, the four mighty divine beasts worked together to exert their innate divine abilities!”
Linley and Bebe listened breathlessly.
“It was very terrifying, and also very strange. The innate divine abilities of the Four Divine Beasts were actually able to fuse together perfectly, and they seemed to cause the world itself to change. A blurry, spherical light orb shot directly into the body of the Chief Sovereign of Light. At that time, I was certain that the fused innate divine ability of the Four Divine Beasts should be a soul-focused attack,” Beirut said.
Linley’s heart clenched.
“Augusta’s body just trembled, but right afterwards, he actually drew out an enormous sword of light and wildly pursued after and attacked the Four Divine Beasts. Most likely due to the failure of their supreme attack, the Four Divine Beasts simply couldn’t believe it… leading to them losing their will to fight. In addition, they were only Lesser Sovereigns. In terms of speed, they were vastly inferior to the Chief Sovereign of Light.” Beirut let out a sigh. “In an instant, the Black Tortoise, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger were all killed one after the other. Although the Azure Dragon was powerful, he wasn’t able to hold on either. But right at that moment… I was moved to action.”
Linley and Bebe were stunned.
“This was because the enormous corpses of those three divine beasts, the Black Tortoise, the Vermillion Bird, and the White Tiger were simply floating in chaotic space, being carried away by the streams of chaotic energy. They weren’t too far away from me.” Beirut’s eyes were shining. “Such an opportunity was not to be missed. I would give it my best shot! I used the tail of my ‘Godeater Rat’ body to stretch into chaotic space. My body was refined by divine spark essences, and so was as strong as Sovereign artifacts. My tail swung over at high speed, then with a loop, curled around the legs of the corpses of those three enormous divine beast corpses. Right at that moment, the Azure Dragon was killed by Augusta as well, and my tail also gave the Azure Dragon a powerful tug, pulling the four of them all into the Yulan Plane.”
Linley and Bebe were completely stunned.
Wealth that was acquired through great danger. Linley could imagine the resolve that Beirut had felt back then! He had risked his life to move at high speed to do this!
“I was frightened as well. Those were Sovereigns! Success meant I would also become a Sovereign! This was a rare chance. I risked everything!” Beirut began to grow very excited when discussing that scene. “I was also very lucky. Most likely, Augusta never imagined that someone would dare ‘steal from the mouth of the tiger’ like that. In addition, his focus was on the Azure Dragon. When he chased after and killed the Azure Dragon, he used a soul attack that sent the Azure Dragon flying. Before dying, the Azure Dragon was charging towards the Yulan Plane’s direction to begin with. I just so happened to be able to take advantage and collect the corpses of all four of the divine beasts!”
Linley was completely unable to breathe.
He could imagine that astonishing, dangerous scene!
However, Beirut had a good chance of success; it must be understood that generally speaking, the tails of magical beasts all moved at astonishing fast speeds. As the ‘Godeater Rat’, a divine beast, the tail of Beirut’s original body, especially when he was going all out… a wrap, and a tug! That was definitely something that could occur within the blink of an eye.
If Augusta reacted just a bit too slowly, he probably wouldn’t be able to catch Beirut.
“So my ancestor, the Azure Dragon, truly was killed by a soul attack.” Linley now understood why the Coiling Dragon ring had been damaged. If the Azure Dragon had been damaged and killed by Augusta’s material attacks, the Coiling Dragon ring should have been perfect and undamaged.
“Haha…”
Beirut began to laugh loudly. “Augusta was completely stupefied. He didn’t even react at first… but then, he finally went berserk with fury! After all, he had risked his own life as well to kill the Four Divine Beasts, but I took everything away instead. I, a Highgod, had stolen things from him, the Chief Sovereign of Light. I would have been shocked if he didn’t go berserk!”
Linley could completely imagine that scene.
Most likely, even the Chief Sovereign of Light hadn’t been completely confident in his ability to deal with the combined forces of the four ancestors. Only, he was lucky enough to be successful in blocking the combined, full force b
low of the four ancestors, and so was then able to kill the four ancestors one by one.
“Four Sovereign sparks. That represented four Sovereigns!” Beirut laughed coldly. “There was no way Augusta would be able to enter a material plane, and so, all he could do was to send his planar projection clone into the Yulan Plane, wanting to kill me.”
Linley secretly nodded.
A foreign Sovereign was unable to enter a material plane.
As for the four ancestors, they were already dead. Their corpses and Sovereign sparks were mere items and no longer living things; naturally, they could enter a material plane.
“Planar projection clone? That’s fairly powerful as well, comparable to a Seven Star Fiend and even close to some Asuras.” Beirut snickered. “Unfortunately, even before I was a Sovereign, my power was far beyond that of an ordinary Lord Prefect’s. By relying on my godspark weapon, I smashed apart that planar projection clone!”
Linley laughed.
Given Beirut’s power and his insights in the profound mysteries of the Laws, it would indeed be quite easy for him to defeat a planar projection clone.
“Since using force had failed, the Chief Sovereign of Light formed yet another planar projection clone. He threatened me and told me what the consequences would be if I didn’t hand over the Sovereign sparks. But I couldn’t be bothered to listen; I immediately fused with the wind-type Sovereign spark on the spot!” Beirut said with a smile. “That Chief Sovereign of Light even invited Paragons to come act against me, but unfortunately, before the Paragons arrived, I had already become a Sovereign! Fusing a Sovereign spark happens in but an instant.”
“It is that fast?” Linley called out in surprise.
“Fusing divine sparks takes a very long time.” Bebe was surprised as well.
Beirut said with a laugh, “Why does it take so long to fuse with a divine spark? Because you are learning and gaining insights into the various profound mysteries. Naturally, this takes time. But Sovereign sparks contain no insights and no profound mysteries. Thus, they can be fused within a second.”
Lord of the Mists: Book 8 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 42
