All of a sudden, her pupils contracted slightly, and a hint of confusion appeared on her face as if she'd seen something that was both shocking and perplexing to her.
Tang Wulin brandished his Golden Dragon Spear, and said in a grim voice, "I had no intention of hunting for soul beasts here, and we don't know how we ended up in here; we were already unconscious by the time we arrived in this forest. Not long after we woke up, the Crimson Fire Monkey King attacked us, and that was why we killed it."
The purple-haired woman's brows furrowed tightly, and she didn't continue to speak, but the pressure erupting from her body had clearly lessened.
Right at this moment, Gu Yue poked her head out from behind Tang Wulin and appraised the purple-haired woman with a curious look on her face.
Their eyes met, and the woman immediately shuddered as an astonished look appeared on her face. She almost instinctively blurted out something, but she caught herself after taking in Gu Yue's expression.
"What are your names?" the woman asked.
Tang Wulin replied, "My name is Tang Wulin, and this is my girlfriend, Gu Yue. We bear no ill will, and I can offer you something of value if you'd let us leave."
The woman appraised him with a contemplative look on her face, and her killing intent was clearly fading away, making it appear as if she'd truly been tempted by Tang Wulin's offer.
"What can you possibly have to offer me?" she asked as she mulled over the situation. It was extremely easy for her to kill Tang Wulin, but she had just identified who he was. Even more importantly, she had also caught sight of Gu Yue standing behind him, so the situation was rather complex.
Tang Wulin faltered slightly upon hearing this. Indeed, what could he possibly offer that could be of interest to a Great Beast like her? He had many types of uncommon metals and spirit items that were quite precious to him, but they most likely weren't all that noteworthy in the eyes of a Great Beast that had lived in the Star Dou Forest for hundreds of thousands of years.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and he asked, "Are you a dragon?"
The purple-haired woman raised an eyebrow, and replied, "That's right, I'm a Demonic Infernal Dragon."
In reality, the woman standing before Tang Wulin was a Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch that had been ranked at ninth among the 10 Great Beasts since as far back as 10,000 years ago. She was ranked alongside the number one Great Beast, Gold-eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian, as the two great dragon monarchs.
Her powers were far inferior to that of Beast God Di Tian, but she wasn't inferior to him in the slightest when it came to the purity of her bloodline and her aptitude for growth. She was one of the rare purebred true dragons that remained among the current dragon clan, and that was why she'd been able to transcend her heavenly tribulation and become a Great Beast.
Demonic Infernal Dragon?
Tang Wulin drew a sharp breath as he instantly deduced who this woman was.
100,000-year-old soul beasts were extremely rare already, and Great Beasts were naturally even rarer. This Demonic Infernal Dragon had to be one of the legendary 10 Great Beasts!
With that in mind, he didn't dare to delay any further in fear that she would change her mind. It was very important for him to survive, especially with Gu Yue here with him.
He raised a hand and removed the bracelet on his wrist as he said, "I once stumbled upon the tomb of the dragon clan on another continent, and I obtained this necklace from there; perhaps it'll be useful to you."
The bracelet he had removed was none other than the one with the rainbow gemstone that he'd obtained at the dragon tomb. There was an extremely faint rainbow light emanating from the gem, and if one were to focus their attention on it, they'd discover that it was indeed emanating a dragon-type aura.
The Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch raised an eyebrow before sweeping an arm toward Tang Wulin. A burst of gentle suction force appeared, drawing the bracelet directly toward her.
The bracelet covered a distance of 50 meters in the blink of an eye before landing in her grasp. However, in the instant that her hand came into contact with it, an unexpected turn of events suddenly unfolded.
The ordinary-looking rainbow gem suddenly began to glow brightly, and a burst of scintillating rainbow light erupted into the heavens.
The inky-black world instantly took on a dazzling rainbow color, and it was as if countless giant dragons were letting loose thunderous roars in unison.
"Argh!" The Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch let loose a howl of agony, and the bracelet immediately slipped out of her hand. Specks of rainbow light gradually began to converge up above, forming a massive rainbow projection. The projection was of the form of a dragon, and it was radiating an aura of peerless authority.
Even the powerful Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch was instantly forced to the ground, and she was completely immobilized as she trembled uncontrollably, seemingly contending with some kind of overwhelming pressure.
Tang Wulin was completely bemused by this turn of events as he couldn't feel anything on his end. Everything was normal to him, except the pressure that was being exerted on him by the Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch had completely disappeared.
He was feeling very comfortable as he basked under the rainbow light, and even Gu Yue had emerged from behind him to stand by his side. A dazed expression appeared on her face, and she seemed to be in deep thought about something.
The rainbow gem expanded in mid-air, and in the next instant, it returned to Tang Wulin's wrist as a streak of rainbow light.
Tang Wulin could sense a burst of respectful intent coming from it, and it seemed to have some kind of special connection to him.
Right at this moment, the sharp tip of the teardrop-shaped gem suddenly stabbed downward, piercing through the veins in his wrist. A stream of blood immediately flowed out and fused as one with the rainbow gem.
All of a sudden, an enormous burst of will surged into his mind, and he let loose a muffled groan before he completely blacked out.
"Father!" Gu Yue's alarmed voice was the last thing he heard.
In the distance, the Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch trembled for several minutes straight, and the tremors running through her body only gradually subsided as the rainbow light vanished.
She sat on the ground and gasped for air as she looked on at Tang Wulin with bewilderment and astonishment in her eyes. At this moment, Tang Wulin had already collapsed to the ground, but his entire body was enshrouded under a layer of rainbow light.
What was that? The blessings of the Dragon God? She clearly sensed the aura of the Dragon God, but that most definitely wasn't the real Dragon God. Instead, it was a portion of the Dragon God's will. As a purebred true dragon, she revered the Dragon God, as did all purebred true dragons. The Dragon God was their faith, and after they reached a certain level in their cultivation, they'd be able to borrow the power of the Dragon God.
However, the will of the Dragon God just then seemed to have been borrowed by the power of faith. After all, all dragons knew that the Dragon God no longer existed, but faith in the Dragon God hadn't disappeared. However, this faith was at least over 100 times stronger than the faith in the Demonic Infernal Dragon's Heart!
Only when the dragon clan was in its absolute heyday would it have been possible for such a strong will of the Dragon God to descend. How was this possible? How could this type of will appear on a human? Even their lord wasn't capable of this!
Despite her astonishment, she couldn't help but cast her gaze toward Gu Yue.
At this moment, Gu Yue was in a complete panic, desperately calling out for the unconscious Tang Wulin.
"Father? What the hell?" The Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch was completely flabbergasted by what she was seeing.
She clambered to her feet and quickly made her way over to Gu Yue and Tang Wulin, but she didn't dare to get too close due to the rainbow light being released by Tang Wulin's body.
"M, my Lord..." she called out in a gentle voice.
Gu Yue reflexively raised her head, and her eyes were filled with tears. "You're a bad person! Why did you hurt my father? I hate you..."
"Wha..." The Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch was even more dumbstruck now. She couldn't believe what was unfolding before her eyes.
Was this still the same almighty being whom she revered as her lord?
No, there had to be something wrong here!
With that in mind, she didn't dare to delay any further. She instantly rose up into the air before vanishing into the distance as a streak of purple light. This was no longer something she could take care of on her own.
The sky brightened once again, and sunlight shone down onto the earth. The vitality of the forest returned, and normalcy resumed as rich life force energy surged through the air again.
Tang Wulin's body was still basked in the rainbow light, and he was in a very complete state of unconsciousness. However, there were no changes taking place in his body; it was as if he'd merely fallen asleep.
Not long after that, one figure after another silently approached. There were four of them in total, and one of them was none other than the Demonic Infernal Dragon Monarch that had just left not long ago. Aside from her, one woman and two men had also arrived on the scene.
The woman was also extremely beautiful, and her long green dress perfectly complemented the rich life force energy emanating from her body. Just the sight of her would evoke within one a sense of intimacy.
Among the two men, one was a handsome young man giving off a sinister aura, while the other was a middle-aged man who had an extremely heavy disposition.