Chapter 404: A Cry for Help

Below innate divine beasts, the lifeforms with the highest level of existence are clans like the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragons.

It’s easy to imagine that the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragons’ level of existence is absolutely at the peak of the Cosmos!

"It’s not just the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon clan. In the Cosmos, there are also the Time Winged Dragon and Void Spirit Dragon clans... The level of existence for these draconic beast clans is also extremely high. As long as they mature normally, they all reach the World Realm."

Li Yang remained silent. They had just been discussing the Ancestral Dragon, and now Soul Ink had suddenly brought up the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon clan and others. ’There must be a connection between them.’

He continued to listen.

After mentioning a few more draconic beast clans, Soul Ink finally said, "According to the information I have, the Sky-Fierce Flood Dragon clan, the Void Spirit Dragon clan, and the others should all be related to the Ancestral Dragon. You could say they all carry a trace of its bloodline."

"The Ancestral Dragon’s bloodline?"

Upon hearing this, a look of shock filled Li Yang’s eyes.

’Their levels of existence are all so high, yet they’re all descendants of the same creature?’

’Just how powerful must the Ancestral Dragon be?’

"The Dragon Scale Insects are actually formed from the condensed aura of the Ancestral Dragon."

Soul Ink revealed another astonishing secret.

"Legend says that when the Ancestral Dragon stays in one place, it leaves its aura behind. After it departs, that aura continuously condenses, forming a Dragon Scale Insect."

"What?"

Li Yang was even more stunned to hear this.

’The aura left behind by the Ancestral Dragon condenses into Dragon Scale Insects? Is that their origin?’

At that moment, Li Yang was utterly stunned!

After all, a single Dragon Scale Insect could increase the overall strength of a Cultivator at the Peak of World Realm fivefold! Refining a few more would undoubtedly allow them to fight Deities with ease!

And if some Deities refined enough Dragon Scale Insects, they could absolutely battle those in higher realms with ease!

Dragon Scale Insects were unquestionably top-tier treasures for enhancing one’s strength!

And yet, they were merely formed from the Ancestral Dragon’s condensed aura.

What was an aura? It was just exhaled breath, like the carbon dioxide humans breathe out.

’Mere breath can cause the strength of World Realm experts and even Deities to increase so drastically? Just how powerful is such a being?’ Li Yang couldn’t begin to imagine.

Soul Ink continued, "The appearance of so many Dragon Scale Insects in the Solar System indicates that the Ancestral Dragon must have stayed here for a very long time. And that scale... it’s similar to a Dragon Scale Insect, and even a Sacred Artifact can’t damage it. It was most likely left behind by the Ancestral Dragon."

"The Ancestral Dragon is incredibly powerful; even a Dominator is no match for it. Since a scale was shed, it must have gone through a battle within the Solar System."

Soul Ink said, "For now, this is all I can deduce."

"Even a Dominator is no match for the Ancestral Dragon?"

Hearing Soul Ink’s words, Li Yang finally understood the true power of the Ancestral Dragon. It was an existence that stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Cosmos, perhaps even strong enough to rival the mightiest expert of the Human Race!

Looking at the scale before him, a thought suddenly crossed Li Yang’s mind.

’The Sacred Artifact, the Profound Annihilation Spear, can’t damage this scale. But what about the mysterious little sword in my mind? Could it?’ he wondered.

The mysterious little sword was so imposing that the Profound Annihilation Spear didn’t even dare to approach it, forcing the Sacred Artifact to reside in his arm, unwilling to enter his mind and compete for territory.

Li Yang had no idea how powerful the sword truly was, but he knew it definitely surpassed the Profound Annihilation Spear.

After a moment’s thought, however, Li Yang dismissed the idea.

He would obviously never tell anyone about the mysterious little sword. Based on his own speculation, it might even be a Supreme Saint Artifact!

And the mighty Human Race, with its terrifying experts who surpassed the Dominator level, possessed only a single Supreme Saint Artifact: the Majestic Star River.

There was no way Li Yang would ever expose it.

Gazing at the scale, Li Yang took a deep breath. Now that he understood its origin, he found it hard to calm his racing heart.

’Here, in the Solar System, the Ancestral Dragon—a being beyond even Dominators—fought a battle against some other pinnacle existence of the Cosmos? It was injured and shed a few scales?’

He could only imagine how intense that battle must have been.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Li Yang suddenly said, "Soul Ink, why don’t we go investigate the Solar System thoroughly? Isn’t your soul incredibly powerful?"

’Soul Ink was likely a Dominator-level expert in his past life. Even in his current state of being neither truly alive nor truly dead, his detection abilities should still be intact.’

Previously, no matter how well those assassins from the Alien Races concealed themselves, they could never escape Li Yang’s detection.

"Kid, do you have any idea what you’re saying? You want my soul to help you search the Milky Way Galaxy?"

Hearing Li Yang’s request, Soul Ink rolled his eyes.

What kind of being was he? He had absolutely no interest in the Solar System.

He had only shown a flicker of interest in the Ancestral Dragon’s scale.

But that was all. He couldn’t care less about things like Dragon Scale Insects or Ancestral Dragon scales.

He wouldn’t be interested even if they found ten thousand Dragon Scale Insects.

"Alright." Seeing Soul Ink’s refusal, Li Yang had no choice but to set the idea aside for now.

Without Soul Ink’s help, it was impossible for him to conduct the search on his own.

The Solar System might be small compared to the entire Cosmos, but it wasn’t a small place by any means. A thorough search would require probing deep into the core of every single planet.

With his current power, it would take him several hundred years at a minimum to search it all himself.

He obviously couldn’t afford to waste that kind of time.

’The unique nature of the Solar System must be related to the Ancestral Dragon. If it stayed here long enough, there must be more Dragon Scale Insects to be found.’

Li Yang resolved silently, ’I’ll buy more mechanical lifeforms to speed up the search! I’ll aim to survey the entire Solar System within twenty years!’

Having made his decision, Li Yang immediately began making the purchases.

...

A month passed in the blink of an eye since Li Yang’s return to Earth. All the mechanical lifeforms had arrived, and the speed at which the Solar System was being explored increased dramatically.

’Now I just have to wait patiently. I hope we find more Dragon Scale Insects.’

Li Yang was full of anticipation. Having already obtained so many Dragon Scale Insects, his avatars had all begun refining the treasures to increase their power.

Just one day after this large-scale exploration of the Solar System began, an acquaintance on Earth came looking for Li Yang. It was Shao Jie from the Celestial Origin Palace.

Come to think of it, Shao Jie was the very first Cultivator Li Yang had met back when he was just starting his cultivation journey. Shao Jie had even invited him to join the Celestial Origin Palace at the time.

"Shao Jie, what can I do for you?" Li Yang asked with a smile upon seeing him.

Although he had given Shao Jie his contact information long ago, Shao Jie had never once reached out since Li Yang entered the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall. This was the first time.

Shao Jie’s face was etched with anxiety. As soon as he saw Li Yang, he rushed forward and said, "Li Yang, Palace Master Shen Xuan... he’s in trouble! He was captured by a Tri-System Deities faction within the Yangyuan Empire and thrown into a prison. We don’t know if he’s dead or alive."

"What?" Li Yang’s expression changed the moment he heard Shao Jie’s words.

’Shen Xuan was captured? And we don’t know if he’s dead or alive?’