Chapter 460: Chapter 26: Sky Cemetery, Legend of Heroes
What a treasure of the Ancient Hero, what a talent for Concealment the Dragon Slayer Family possessed.
When the Hero Blood Pearl was set into the missing left eye of the Ancient Hero Statue, everyone suddenly realized that was the key to unlocking the Heroic Graveyard. No wonder they almost dug up the entire Five Saints Town three feet deep and still found no clues.
What would appear, countless images whirled through Yue Jinghua’s mind.
Suddenly cracking ground, or perhaps a vortex emerging in the pool of water?
When the Blood Pearl was set into the statue, the ancient hero statue, weathered and eroded by wind and frost until it was bleak and desolate, was like a rusty screw lubricated with oil.
"Creak creak," under the watchful eyes of all, the stone statue began to move.
The Ancient Hero Statue came to life.
Whoosh, everyone took a step back.
No one would forget that the Dragon Slayer Hero once slew the Ancient Evil Jiao with a single blow.
The hero had passed away, but his great name remained illustrious.
The Ancient Hero Statue, the same size as the Ancient Hero Mo Kang, came to life.
As if a mummy that had slept for a thousand years was suddenly awoken, its movements stiff and sluggish, a frightening green light emitted from its eyes.
Suddenly, the Ancient Hero raised his right hand high, and the stone cloak behind him seemed to lift in the wind as well, a Sword, a Sword that came out of nowhere, appeared in his hand.
He then roared loudly, and the Xuan Qi Sword stirred up gusts of Dark Energy wind as it slipped from his grasp, thrusting abruptly towards the sky.
The startled Dark Energy wind forced the onlooking crowd to stagger several steps backward, some with insufficient Cultivation even falling to the ground.
Even Luo Rui and others from the Mercenary Branch took a collective step back.
Looking over at the Divine Court, several Core Judgement Officers chanted an Array Formula, and a golden Protective Spiritual Shield blocked the Dark Energy.
Within the Protective Spiritual Shield, Zong Shaoqing’s eyes were as deep as ancient wells, appearing completely unruffled.
The corner of his eye unintentionally glanced towards the Imperial Military Department, only to see Jin Nuo, the leader, also calm and collected, retrieving a Shield from the soldier behind him.
He took a deep breath and braced with a single arm.
"Clang--"
The half-human-tall Shield was thrust into the ground, shattering the stone beneath, and indeed, the renowned might of the Imperial Dragon Rider blocked the force of the Sword’s Dark Energy.
A reliable backing indeed proved to be dependable.
Quickly, Yue Jinghua, sheltering behind Jin Nuo, blinked at Zong Shaoqing, who twitched his mouth, but it was hard to tell whether he was pleased or angry.
Blown into disarray by the Dark Energy wind, the crowd regained their senses and looked up at the sky.
They saw that the originally clear azure autumn sky had changed the moment the Ancient Hero Statue’s Sword struck the air.
Countless clouds either rolled like waves or thickened like curtains, pouring in from all directions.
Like the looming onslaught of a tempest, or like the oppressive approach of a massive army.
The sun was blocked, and the surroundings turned dark and gloomy as if the Central Area became isolated from the world.
The clouds brought an unusual pressure, making everyone feel a heavy weight on their chest as if the sky itself was about to collapse.
Soon after, the clouds gradually dispersed, and at the center of the clouds, a giant flood dragon was conspicuously suspended.
The azure eaves and glazed tiles served as scales, with the six-clawed dragon stepping on floating clouds; its mouth wide open as the gate, stretching for dozens of miles.
"My God, that’s a Jiao Long, the Dragon Palace, the Ancient Heroic Tomb is actually a dragon-shaped palace built in the sky," the mercenaries gasped in shock as they caught a clear view of the giant flood dragon in the sky.
No one had imagined that the long-sealed Ancient Heroic Tomb wasn’t built underground, nor was it hidden somewhere in Five Saints Town.
It had stood majestically suspended in the air for a thousand years.
The true Dragon Palace, located tens of thousands of meters above the ground in the sky.
No one knows how the Dragon Slayer Warriors of the past managed to construct such a miraculous palace in the sky, nor does anyone understand how it could remain hidden in the sky unnoticed.
Was it an array, or an ancient secret technique? Everything was as elusive as the clouds in the sky.
Perhaps, only the Dragon Slayer Heroes from years ago would know the answer.
"This is the Ancient Heroic Tomb, the Dragon Palace in the sky. Now that the Dragon Palace has emerged, those brave enough to seek the Ancient Hero Treasure can try, but remember, the Dragon Palace ruins are like a dream, and once the Divine Dragon ascends to heaven, this world will no longer have an Ancient Heroic Tomb," Lady Qingyan’s eyes were moist with excitement and she looked up at the miracle in the sky with immense reverence.
The appearance of the Sky Dragon Palace left people speechless, and also presented a formidable challenge to all Dark Practitioners.
"How on earth do we get up there?" After the shock subsided, the mercenaries were dumbfounded, almost all asking the same question.
How to get there, it was five hundred meters high in the sky.
Among the mercenaries present, only a few were Tianxuan Dark Practitioners who understood the Sky Ascending Technique; most could not fly.
So, some thought of using Sky Riding Xuan Beasts, and for a moment, the Ancient Hero Statue Square bustled as people rushed about, some sprinting to the Xuan Beast Store, hoping to secure a Sky Riding Xuan Beast first.
Yue Jinghua did not move; Sky Riding Xuan Beasts were scarce on the Mystical Beast Continent, and even on the Xuan Beast Ridge, rich with Xuan Beasts, a Sky Riding Xuan Beast was extremely valuable.
Luo Rui and others also held still, as the Dragon Palace spiraling in the sky appeared too mystical, and for experienced old mercenaries, they would never act rashly.
At the Divine Court side, without Zong Shaoqing’s directive, a dark throng of people simply occupied a section of the square without moving.
Soon, a lucky mercenary arrived with a purchased Flying Camel.
Seeing the two hesitating powers, the mercenary secretly reveled in his heart, knowing the sooner he entered the Ancient Heroic Tomb, the greater the chance of finding the treasure.
He spurred with his legs, and the brown Flying Camel with wings like those of a Peng Bird soared into the high sky.
The onlookers gazed upward, watching the medium-sized Flying Camel quickly turn into a black speck in the air.
It seemed to have flown towards the Heroic Graveyard in the sky.
But before it could fly far, the Flying Camel hit an invisible wall, letting out a tragic cry. Its flapping wings trembled, and in a moment of instability, it fell from the sky.
From the height of over five hundred meters, both the Flying Camel and the mercenary on its back smashed into the ground without a chance to struggle, immediately turned into a mush of flesh.
On the ground, a scarlet swath spread.
The stream of blood seemed to proclaim to the world that those coveting the treasure would meet with a gruesome death.
After witnessing the death of the mercenary, those who planned to buy Sky Riders and enter the Ancient Heroic Tomb felt their hearts and gallbladders split with fear, daring not to take any further action on their own.
For a time, no one in the Ancient Hero Statue Square dared to move an inch.
Someone noticed something amiss; at the moment when the Dragon Palace appeared, all the flying birds and Xuan Beasts within hundreds of miles vanished.
The Dragon Palace Graveyard constructed in the sky was clearly guarded by an incredible power.