The Old Dragon Emperor was the Dragon Clan’s strongest, a figure whose renown reverberated through ancient times, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Heavenly Emperor, Buddha Ancestor, and the Demon Lord. He once led the Dragon Clan to its pinnacle.
Who would have thought that during his exile, the Old Dragon Emperor would meet his end? The Dragon Clan, plagued by internal strife, gradually declined, to the point where even the descendants of the Dragon Emperor fled to the Immortal Realm.
“No wonder the Dragon Emperor never came to save me. I thought the Dragon Emperor had forgotten about this subordinate of his.”
The tone of the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon carried a tinge of desolation, as if lost in remembrance of the past.
“Back in the day, there were at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, human brats like you who perished under my Divine Fire.”
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon’s gaze turned back to Lu Changsheng, genuinely tempted to slap this man to death.
“…”
Lu Changsheng was speechless. He had just released the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon, yet the dragon was already thinking of killing him.
Su Yun said anxiously, “Today, the Human Race and Dragon Clan have long reconciled. In those days, both sides suffered heavy losses fighting over survival space. I implore Senior Eight Desolation Fire Dragon to set aside old grudges and help our Su Clan rescue our ancestors. The Su Clan will surely reward you handsomely.”
“Hmph, do you think I care about your Su Clan’s reward? I only want to finish my terms quickly and leave this damned place.” The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon snorted coldly, “That woman, the Primordial Goddess, exiled me here. When I return to the Immortal Realm, I’ll make sure to settle the score with her.”
The gathered human ancestors exchanged glances, and Elder Ancestor of the Lin Clan remarked, “The Primordial Goddess has not appeared in the mortal world for a long time. It’s highly likely she’s already fallen.”
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon, intent on returning to the Immortal Realm to exact revenge on the Primordial Goddess, found out that its nemesis was already dead.
For a moment, the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon was bewildered: “In that case, her exiling me to this place may have inadvertently spared me from a calamity…”
From Lu Changsheng and the others, the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon learned that after the first ancient war between the Human Race and the Demon Race concluded, humans fell into infighting, leading to the second ancient war. The Dragon Clan was also dragged into the conflict to some extent, and it was during this period that the Old Dragon Emperor, Demon Lord, Primordial Goddess, Mount Taihua Goddess, Taiyin Goddess, and other great existences all perished.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon initially harbored resentment toward the Primordial Goddess. But upon reflection, if she hadn’t exiled it to this ancient star deep in the Void, it might not have survived.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon’s perception of the Primordial Goddess grew complicated.
“Let’s move out as soon as possible.”
With the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon’s assistance, Lu Changsheng was confident they could deal with the aboriginals holding the Su Clan elders captive this time.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon appeared lost in thought, following Lu Changsheng’s group toward the center of the ancient star while seemingly pondering over something.
“Eight Desolation Fire Dragon, do you happen to know what connection this ancient star has to the distant Qing Emperor?”
With quite a distance still to cover before reaching the great formation imprisoning the Su Clan elders, Lu Changsheng decided to seek answers from the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon regarding the mysteries of this place.
Since the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon had been trapped on this ancient star for many years, it must have interacted with the aboriginals here and should know something about their origins.
Why were the aboriginals of this ancient star so unusually strong?
This enigma weighed heavily on the minds of the gathered ancestors.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon, a being that had survived from ancient times and possessed vast knowledge, slowly began to answer, “These aboriginals are, in fact, the people of Qing Emperor’s tribe.”
“What?!”
Lu Changsheng and the gathered ancestors were stunned.
No one expected the aboriginals of this ancient star to be descendants of Qing Emperor’s tribe!
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon had no reason to lie about this, making its claim highly credible.
“No wonder these aboriginals are all so physically powerful. If they descend from the Qing Emperor’s tribe and carry his bloodline, it would explain their extraordinary prowess.”
“But why would Qing Emperor’s tribal people be here? And why would they hunt us down? Given Qing Emperor’s character, his people shouldn’t harbor animosity toward fellow human cultivators.”
The ancestors grew increasingly bewildered.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon continued, “To be precise, they’re sinners of Qing Emperor’s tribe, exiled to this place by Qing Emperor himself. I, however, was sent here later by the Primordial Goddess.”
“Hiss…”
Lu Changsheng’s party became even more astonished.
These aboriginals were not ordinary tribespeople but were Qing Emperor’s outcast sinners.
“I see.”
Lu Changsheng finally understood why some immortal-realm aboriginals bore tattoos on their faces. Those marks were likely imprinted upon their exile, signifying their status as sinners.
“But why were these people exiled by Qing Emperor?”
“Initially, I too was puzzled. Later, I recalled an incident. During ancient times, Qing Emperor’s tribe once experienced an internal rebellion. Qing Emperor suppressed the rebellion and exiled the rebels into the Void. As for the reasons behind the rebellion or where they were banished, I do not know.”
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon, resembling an ancient encyclopedia, revealed information unknown to the rest.
“Many mysteries remain unsolved… But the full story likely lies with those immortal-realm aboriginals bearing tattoos on their faces. The other aboriginals may merely be their descendants.”
Lu Changsheng understood that even the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon might not know the dynamics of human tribes any better.
Back in the day, Qing Emperor had been a formidable rival to the Dragon Clan, capable of dueling the Old Dragon Emperor. By comparison, the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon wasn’t worth mentioning.
Thus, it was only natural that the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon knew little of what had occurred within Qing Emperor’s tribe.
The Elder Ancestor of the Lin Clan hypothesized, “The stone tablet Qing Emperor erected, the exiled sinners… Could it be that Qing Emperor tasked these sinners with guarding this ancient star as a means to atone for their sins?”
“Hmm?”
The group’s eyes lit up.
The Lin Clan Elder Ancestor’s hypothesis was not without merit.
Qing Emperor suppressed the internal rebellion within his tribe, but instead of eradicating the rebels entirely, he went to great lengths to exile them to this ancient star — surely, this served a purpose.
For now, the Lin Clan Elder Ancestor’s speculation seemed the most plausible.
Su Yun and Su Xiaoqi exclaimed in frustration, “So, it was our Su Clan that unintentionally trespassed here, which provoked the aboriginals’ attacks?”
Lu Changsheng could only laugh wryly, “It seems your Su Clan brought this trouble upon yourselves.”
“Hmph, as for dealing with Qing Emperor’s people, I won’t hold back.”
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon exhibited no reverence for one of the ancient human emperors and intended to kill them without hesitation.
“Try to avoid unnecessary slaughter.”
Lu Changsheng speculated that the aboriginals’ attacks were likely in adherence to Qing Emperor’s decrees, targeting intruders on this ancient star.
If the ancient Su Clan ancestors hadn’t trespassed here, today’s disaster might never have unfolded.
The Eight Desolation Fire Dragon ignored Lu Changsheng.
In the distance, the Ancient Helian Family and Ancient Huangfu Family had finally shaken off the aboriginals chasing them.
The Helian Family’s Third Ancestor wore a solemn expression. “The tattoos on these aboriginals’ faces resemble the marks of sinners from ancient human tribes. Could these aboriginals be descendants of exiled ancient human elites?”
Helian Tuo suddenly realized, “No wonder these aboriginals are so fierce that even we cannot contend with them. It turns out they are descendants of ancient human elites and their offspring… Do you know which tribe these aboriginals hail from?”
“I can’t be certain. But one thing is for sure. These aboriginals are most likely the descendants of some ancient human emperor’s tribe; otherwise, they wouldn’t be pursuing us so relentlessly. Wait… I sense a familiar presence — it’s Su Yun and those brats with Lu Changsheng.”
The Third Ancestor’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected to encounter Lu Changsheng again.
The two families couldn’t defeat the aboriginals, but tackling Lu Changsheng’s group was a different story.
Their purpose wasn’t to defeat the aboriginals, but to seize the Su Clan’s treasures and thwart Lu Changsheng’s attempt to rescue the Su Clan elders.
Now, fate had granted them another opportunity.
“This time, they won’t escape.”
“No time to waste. Let’s strike.”
The Ancient Helian Family and Ancient Huangfu Family vanished from their spots.
“Not good, it’s the Ancient Helian Family and Ancient Huangfu Family!”
Su Yun immediately sensed their arrival.
Having just escaped the aboriginals, they now faced off against the two families.
However, Su Yun reassured herself. With the Eight Desolation Fire Dragon present, they had no reason to fear the two families.
“This time, you won’t get away.”
The two families surrounded Lu Changsheng’s group, arrogance written on their faces.