Chapter 397: Fighting the Boss

Chapter 397: Fighting the Boss

A deadly scenery was revealed behind the double doors.

The entire cavern was surrounded by light stone. Though it seemed brittle, just scouring it with ones perception was enough to indicate it was actually extremely durable, even more so than in the tunnels so far. The cavern was roughly circular with a diameter of several miles, larger than the previous one, and it was mostly empty.

Three human-sized boxes stood on the ground in the middle of the cavern. They were made of some brown material, with various lines running over their edges and no visible way to open them. They were more like cubical rock formations than boxes. Of the three, one was larger and also exuded a much richer aura.

Beyond those, a large hole lay on the ground at the far side of the cavern. Its lip was green, almost suffocating with life energy, and from where they stood, it was impossible to look into. The extreme life energy of the hole made a stark contrast against the death dragon slumbering in the middle of the cavern, whose eyes snapped open at the same time as the doors. It stood and roared, the sound washing away the world. If space wasnt extremely stable here, and if the rock surrounding this cavern wasnt magically enhanced, just this roar could have annihilated the entire temple and a hundred miles around it.

The dragon had dark scales and scalding red eyes. Its body only stretched for three hundred feet, but the sheer power it exuded was leagues beyond the red dragon of the volcano, to the degree where they were simply incomparable. Jack was almost blinded by its aura. Drowned. Every thought of resistance fled his mind as only one remained: death.

This creature was something he could not endure.

Black Dragon, Level ??? (B-Grade)

Dragons are the darlings of the Dao. They are creatures that can stand at the top of the universe. Their bodies are large, durable, and powerful, while the Dao itself is carved on their flesh and bones. They do not need to eat to survive, as they can absorb the power of the world. Despite that, they often dominate a large area around them, relishing in the mortal pleasures.

Black Dragons are born of the Dao of Death. They possess extreme understandings since birth, and their insights will keep accumulating naturally as they grow up. Their bodies are near-immutable, they are resistant to spatial or time distortions, and their mere presence can slowly deteriorate a planet.

That last statement was heavy. A dragons mere presence could cause an entire planet to deteriorate. Who would believe something like that?

And yet, it was true. Jack felt it in his bones. The double doors had been isolating the dragons aura, but now that it struck them in the face, it brought with it the stench of death. If a mortal stood here, they would instantly dissolve into dust. Even Jack felt his powerful body shake, his dense cells working together to resist.

Most importantly, the dragons aura eclipsed all of the B-Grades present.

Spacewinds expression was dignified. Even the always calm and collected Uruselam had turned solemn. Late B-Grade, he muttered. Benefactors It is time to fight for our destiny.

Late B-Grade!

Jack drew in a cold breath. B-Grades were said to be able to crack planets, but actually, most of them couldnt do it. What was a planet? It was a ball thousands of miles in diameter, composed of innumerable ores. Compared to the hard materials near the core, the surface was nothing but clay. Meanwhile, humans were just a few feet tall.

For a human to destroy a planet, that was a monumental feat of power. Only the strongest B-Grades could achieve such a thing. None of the cultivators present had that powerbut this dragon did. That was the power of a late B-Grade.

Jack himself was an extremely mighty individual. He could shatter continents with his bare hands. Yet, his power was a far cry from the early B-Grades surrounding him. Even if his cultivation suddenly increased by five fruits and a major breakthrough to reach the early B-Grade, he still wouldnt have any confidence facing this dragon.

Between Jack and a monster at the late B-Grade, they could only be described as immeasurably far apart. He was like an ant.

Thankfully, the small corner they had huddled into protected them from most of the shockwaves, but a few still snaked through. Defending against them was an ordeal. Three Dao shields superimposed over each other, from the weakest to the strongest: a golden shield of brohood, a purple aura of the Fist, and a red-cyan domain of lightningfire.

Min Lings shield was the outermost one, so she had to bear the brunt of the shockwaves. Her entire body rocked in tune with her Dao shield. Her face paled, and she forcibly swallowed the blood she was about to puke.

Let me help! Jack growled.

Min Ling didnt respond, but holes appeared on her Dao shield. A few shockwaves slipped through, impacting Jacks shield instead. It warped and contorted, cracking like glass. His entire body shook. He barely stayed on his feet. He had already assumed his four-armed battle form, but it could not help in this casethe only thing it enhanced was his body, not his Dao.

Like this, Jack and Min Ling together could barely resist the shockwaves. Their Dao shields twisted but held. As for Brock, he was too weak to assist them directly. His golden shield was their last, desperate line of defense.

Go bros! he shouted, manifesting a large golden trumpet that he blew to encourage themlike a football fan.

At this point, the reflected shockwaves had grown so strong that even the B-Grades could not endure them. They had all come together inside a bubble of protection. That bubble originated from Uruselam, who had taken charge of their defense. It was unknown what principles operated this bubble, but when passing through it, the shockwaves were weakened, allowing the B-Grades inside to barely endure them. Otherwise, half of them would have perished already, and the rest wouldnt be able to take on the dragon.

The bubble itself was spectacular. It was a creamy white, with various runes swimming on its surface and the faint sound of hymns echoing in the surrounding space.

Maintaining the bubble was taking a massive toll on Uruselam, leaving him unable to attack. But that was fine. Spacewind was in charge of offense, leading every other B-Grade to combine their powers against the dragon. The world shook and splintered. The power released was so tremendous that even through the magically-enhanced cavern, the entire hidden realm was shaking in a massive earthquake. Ravines had opened everywhere, lakes were leaking, rivers were changing course. The entire realm had been thrown into uproar.

The black dragon was enduring both the shockwaves and the attacks of all the B-Grade cultivators. However, its body was beyond durableit could withstand this onslaught for some time. Its situation was even better than the cultivators.

Turn to ash! it roared, opening its jaws wide and releasing a torrent of black foam. As soon as it touched Uruselams defensive bubble, its surface was corroded. Uruselam paled and spat out blood. This blood flew to the destroyed part of the bubble, hastily repairing it, but a portion of the black foam had already seeped through. As it fell on a B-Grades body, the man screamedhis body deteriorated as if enduring the passage of a million years, then turned desiccated and dissolved into dust. He had died in less than a second with no ability to resist.

The rest of the B-Grades made as much distance from the body as possible. Five of them combined their powers to suppress the black foam, while the rest continued attacking the dragon.

The greatest price of this, however, was not the dead B-Grade, but Uruselams weakening. His face was pale, his raised arms were shaking, and the bubble he had conjured, while enduring, was flickering. I cannot last much longer, he said through gritted teeth.

The dragons red eyes revealed joy. It still persisted. Drawing a deep breath, it gathered its power and prepared to unleash another dark breath. If it struck the cultivators, Uruselams bubble would shatter, and they would all die horrible deaths. The battle was going terribly.

At this moment, Spacewinds gaze went cold. He did not wish to die like this. Suddenly, his hand shot to the side. A large palm of wind grabbed a Church cultivator without any warning and flung her forward, through the bubble, directly onto the black dragon!

Everyone was stunned. Even the black dragon paused for an instant, not expecting this.

Detonate your inner world! Spacewind roared quickly. Do it and I will protect your family on the outside. Otherwise, I will torture and murder them all!

There was no time to think. The dragons claw slashed down at the cultivator even as her body was assaulted by numerous shockwaves. Her defenses crumbled instantly. In this situation, she was deader than dead.

At her last moments, the cultivators heart shook. Her face formed an ugly, pitiful smile, and then her entire body imploded. Curse you, Spacewind! her last words echoed alongside a massive explosion.