Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone

Yanjing. Yu Xian and Xiao Cheng met in an antique teahouse. The two sat opposite each other. Once the server brought their tea, Xiao Cheng held his cup and asked, "Are you really leaving?" "Yeah. I have to go to the Abyss. Beyond Star Rank, there are still the Li, System, Hegemon, and Cosmos Ranks. The weakest combat power of each successive rank is at least a hundred times greater than the peak of the one before it. If a Li-rank powerhouse ever crosses over through the Abyss, I don't want to wait until disaster strikes to regret not pushing myself," Yu Xian said, looking at Xiao Cheng with a resolute gaze. Recalling the scene of Yu Xian's life-and-death battle against Edward a year ago, Xiao Cheng nodded. "Then which forbidden zone do you plan to use to enter the Abyss?" Many of the country's forbidden zones held down Abyss rifts. These rifts led to different regions of the Abyss, and the environments within varied drastically. Some forbidden zones had scorching temperatures, others were freezing cold, and some were filled entirely with grotesque flesh and blood, as though stepping inside the intestines of some colossal creature. Naturally, the danger levels of these forbidden zones varied as well, and most Transcendents chose to enter the Abyss through relatively safe rifts. "I plan to enter the Abyss through the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone," Yu Xian replied. Xiao Cheng frowned. "Even we haven't figured out the conditions in the Abyss beyond the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone. It's far too dangerous. How about picking another one?" "I've already submitted the refining method for Star Divine Artifacts to headquarters. You must have read it by now, Minister. The Dragon Shield can no longer keep up with my level. I need to go to the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone to gather enough dragon materials so I can refine it into a Star Divine Artifact. That's why I have to go there," Yu Xian told Xiao Cheng. The Dragon Shield was said to have been forged around a Godhead obtained from the Abyss as its core, but in reality, that thing was just the magic core of a magical beast. Back then, the country had no concept of Star Rank at all, calculating defensive power entirely based on the 'insect, ant, bee, sparrow, snake, eagle, wolf, tiger, dragon, god' system. As a result, they had arrived at the mistaken conclusion that the Dragon Shield would always remain five ranks higher than Yu Xian himself. Who could have guessed that combat power would explode exponentially at Star Rank? The consequence was that the Dragon Shield had fallen hopelessly behind the pace of Yu Xian's growth. If Yu Xian had relied on the Dragon Shield to block Edward's attacks during their battle, it certainly would have been obliterated in a single strike. To a Dragon-rank Transcendent, the reverse scale of a Shield Dragon was virtually indestructible. But to a Star-rank powerhouse, its hardness was genuinely unimpressive, far from qualifying as a refining material for a Star Divine Artifact. Thus, Yu Xian had to find superior materials to give the Dragon Shield a massive overhaul and upgrade, allowing it to keep up with him rather than become obsolete. Entering the Abyss via the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone would take him to an Abyss node populated by vast numbers of dragonkin creatures. Because dragons invariably represented immense power, this Abyss node was the most hazardous of all those controlled domestically. Exploration of it remained very limited to this day, as no one dared venture too deep inside. Yet if he wanted to upgrade the Dragon Shield, the dragonkin creatures in this Abyss node were indeed the most suitable source of materials. Xiao Cheng nodded helplessly. "All right. I'll keep your official post open. Whenever you wish, you're always welcome back." "Mm. I'll always be part of Qilin. Remember to pass my regards to the Minister," Yu Xian said with a smile. Xiao Cheng smiled faintly. "Will do. Safe travels." Reluctant as he was to see him go, he knew Yu Xian was right. As Earth's peak combat power, Yu Xian could not afford to stand still. His venturing into the Abyss held greater significance than anyone else's, and he was far more likely to bring back advanced knowledge. …… Central Huaxia. Deep within a canyon enclosed by mountains, a solitary peak rose sheer from the earth. Semicircular reinforced concrete pillboxes were embedded across the cliff faces. Weathered by time, these fortifications were draped in twisting, withered vines, yet they could not conceal their grim, militaristic aura. At the base of the peak, a thirty-meter-high wall enclosed the entire mountain. The surface was riddled with a honeycomb of embrasures, narrower on the outside and wider on the inside. Countless soldiers stood guard, and an array of missiles remained locked onto the entrance around the clock. Rumor had it that nuclear warheads were stockpiled in the innermost depths of the fortification, ready to be detonated at a critical juncture to obliterate everything if an unmanageable monster ever broke through. This was the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone. The Abyss rift lay directly beneath this peak. Only a single winding passage led three hundred meters underground through the mountain's interior, passing through layer after layer of defenses before reaching the Abyss. Yu Xian stepped out of a spatial bubble. General Zhao Yi, who was stationed to guard the Dragon Blood Forbidden Zone, immediately stepped forward to shake his hand. After exchanging pleasantries, Zhao Yi personally led Yu Xian into the tunnel through the mountain. After passing through checkpoint after checkpoint, Yu Xian and Zhao Yi arrived three hundred meters underground, where a massive superalloy gate sealed the way. "Behind this gate is the Abyss rift. Ever since we acquired the manufacturing techniques for Star Divine Artifacts, things have been much easier for me," Zhao Yi remarked to Yu Xian as they reached the gate. Although the gate itself was not a Star Divine Artifact, it incorporated aspects of their manufacturing techniques. A year ago, Zhao Yi had needed to stand guard beside the Abyss rift constantly, slaying monsters as each one breached the perimeter. But with this specialized alloy gate, his burden had lessened considerably. Now, he only needed to open the gate at regular intervals to purge whatever abyssal creatures had crossed into their world. At that moment, the gate slowly opened under Zhao Yi's authorization. A swarm of small abyssal creatures resembling compsognathuses instantly surged out, but before they could scatter, their bodies began detonating one after another. Zhao Yi's ability was 'Reference Frame of Micro and Macro,' said to possess the highest lethal power among Dragon-ranks. Those small abyssal creatures had just been battered to death by dust particles in the air. "All right, you can go in now. May your martial fortune flourish, and may you remain ever-victorious!" After wiping out the charging abyssal creatures, Zhao Yi gave Yu Xian a deep, solemn look. Yu Xian nodded and smiled. "Thank you for the kind words, General. I wish you continued growth in strength and lasting good fortune." The two exchanged a smile, and then Yu Xian turned and walked toward the alloy gate. In the past, Yu Xian had imagined an Abyss rift to be an actual massive fissure casting a red glow, giving the impression that stepping inside would drop a person straight into molten magma. In reality, the Abyss rift was more like an invisible distortion point. As Yu Xian stepped beyond the alloy gate, an abyssal creature resembling a plesiosaur materialized out of thin air. Yu Xian caught it by the neck and squeezed lightly; the creature's eyes instantly rolled back, and its long tongue lolled out. He glanced at the little creature, chuckled, and carried it with him into the distortion point. "May you return safe and sound." Outside the gate, Zhao Yi watched Yu Xian vanish into the Abyss rift, murmuring to himself after a long silence. Then he stepped forward, sealed the alloy gate, and turned to leave.