Swallowed Star: Lord of the Wolf

"The deeper areas are much more dangerous, but the opportunities are also greater. Treasures worth hundreds of millions or even billions of merits may appear, and... it's even possible that treasures that can help me improve my comprehension will appear." Gu You's eyes were firm. Although he had gained a lot from the shallower areas, the direct benefit to his comprehension was limited. "I have a mental will comparable to the ultimate realm, which is enough to keep me clear-headed in the deeper areas. At critical moments, I can also take the Pure Heart Star Orchid to enhance the effect."

He carefully sensed that the backup clone hidden in the palace's treasure was in good condition, and then resolutely flew towards the boundary between the middle and deep layers of the dream realm.

Passing through a "world membrane" that resembled a water film and rippled with seven colors, Gu You felt as if he had penetrated a viscous liquid, and the scene before his eyes instantly changed.

He officially stepped into the depths of the dream realm.

The scenery here is completely different from that in the shallower areas. It is not a continuous, distorted land, but a series of independent, bubble-like worlds of varying sizes and shapes!

These "world bubbles" float in the boundless void, filled with chaotic dreamlike energy.

Inside the World Bubble, there might be a series of volcanoes with flowing lava rivers, or a glacial continent covered in ice and snow, or a forest made of metal, or a labyrinth made entirely of light and shadow... all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

Each world bubble is like an independent fragment of a dream or a small world where rules evolve, possessing its own unique internal environment.

The world bubbles are not physically connected, but are separated by the chaotic dreamlike energy void.

At this moment, Gu You stood on the "edge" of a world bubble—there was no solid ground here, only a layer of chaotic color, a "world membrane wall" that was constantly rippling.

Through the membrane, one can vaguely see other world bubbles floating in the void outside, their shapes indistinct.

"So this is what the deeper layers of the Dream Realm are like..." Gu You realized. No wonder it was said that the deeper layers were more dangerous and bizarre; each world bubble could be a completely unfamiliar environment with different rules and unknown dangers.

He tried to use his spiritual perception to probe the membrane wall, but his perception was greatly blocked and distorted when he touched the membrane wall, making it difficult to clearly explore the situation inside the adjacent world bubble.

And flying in this chaotic void?

That chaotic dream energy contains a powerful corrosive and chaotic will. Even a god-king would find it difficult to withstand prolonged exposure to it and would easily lose his way.

“It seems that exploring the depths means traversing between different world bubbles,” Gu You pondered. “To leave the current world bubble, one must exit through the membrane.”

He calmed his mind and began to observe the primordial world bubble in which he was located.

This is a world dominated by dark red and dark gray tones.

Three "suns," emitting a dark red glow like eyes, hung in the sky. The earth was cracked, flowing with rivers of scalding lava. The air was scorching, filled with the smell of sulfur and burning. In the distance, jagged mountains formed of black rock rose.

The dream energy here is exceptionally violent, seemingly filled with anger and destructive emotions. The spatial stability is acceptable, but the flow of time seems to be faster than outside.

Gu You traveled across the scorched earth, his spiritual perception of life extending to a range of about 100,000 miles. He was wary of any dream-realm creatures and environmental traps that might appear.

After venturing deep into the heart of this world for months, he discovered something unusual on the edge of a plain made of cooled, porous black lava.

In the center of the plain stands a colossal crystal pillar, thousands of feet tall and entirely crimson red.

At the top of the crystal pillar, a strange substance floats, constantly changing shape, sometimes like flames, sometimes like flowing gold, emitting intense and pure energy fluctuations.

"Molten Essence!" Gu You's eyes lit up.

This is a high-grade treasure for tempering the divine body and strengthening the fire or destruction elemental Dao. Even a baby's fist-sized treasure is worth millions of merits! This lump in front of us is the size of a head and is probably worth half a hundred million!
But the guardians are equally terrifying.

On the ground surrounding the crystal pillar, eighteen monstrous beasts, resembling pangolins and exuding an aura no weaker than that of the peak of the first level of the cultivation realm, lay gleaming in the light!

“Eighteen heads… a direct confrontation is too risky.” Gu You frowned. Even with his second-level strength, he would have no choice but to flee in defeat when facing eighteen first-level peak God Kings who were skilled in combined attacks.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he looked up at the sky.

Suddenly, one of the three dark red "suns" became blindingly bright, and a dark red beam of light descended from the sky, landing precisely at the other end of the plain.

The beam of light dissipated, revealing a figure.

The newcomer was dressed in a loose gray robe, with a dark red mask that only revealed his eyes, and gloves of the same color on his hands.

God King Realm, Second Stage!
Gu You felt a chill run down his spine. The other party had obviously also set their sights on the Molten Essence, and had arrived even earlier than him. Their concealment techniques were quite sophisticated, and he had not noticed them at all.

The gray-robed masked man did not move, but instead turned his gaze to where Gu You was hiding. A calm voice rang out in his mind: "Now that you have arrived, my friend, you must have realized that neither of us alone could take this Molten Essence from under the protection of those eighteen 'Crimson Crystal Earth Dragons'."

Gu You pondered for a moment, realizing that hiding was pointless now; the other party's ability to transmit sound so accurately meant they had already locked onto him.

His figure swayed, and a blue spiritual light flowed around him, revealing the profound aura of the second realm.

The two faced each other across thousands of miles, with the Crimson Crystal Plain between them.

"My name is Gu You," Gu You spoke first. "How shall I address you, my friend?"

"Just call me Bai Jin." The gray-robed masked man's voice came through the mask, carrying a scorching quality. "I have been observing from the shadows here for a long time. These eighteen Crimson Crystal Earth Dragons, individually, are only at the peak of the first realm, but they were born in this world and are connected to the earth's veins, so their energy is almost inexhaustible. They are also more adept at combined attack formations. To break through alone, one must possess strength comparable to an Emperor."

Gu You's gaze swept over the eighteen crimson crystal pangolins lying on the ground as if asleep. They appeared to be scattered, but in fact their auras were faintly connected, forming a whole with the ground beneath their feet and the crystal pillar in the distance.

"What does Fellow Daoist Bai Jin mean?" Gu You asked, having already guessed what was going on.

“Let’s join forces.” Bai Jin said decisively. “I will take the lead in the attack, break their battle formation, and burn their bodies. Fellow Daoist, you will provide support from the side, restrain and interfere, and pay special attention to their possible use of the earth’s veins for support. After the mission is accomplished, the Molten Essence will be split equally between you and me.”

As expected, it was a very straightforward suggestion.

Gu You quickly weighed the options. The opponent was clearly strong in direct attacks, while he was better at controlling his life force. If they coordinated well, their chances of winning would indeed increase significantly.

The other party offered to split the profits equally, which showed great sincerity.

“Okay,” Gu You nodded. “However, how can we ensure the distribution afterward?”

Bai Jin raised his hand, and a contract rune burning with crimson flames appeared in his palm: "This is the 'Oath of the Flaming Heart,' secured by the very essence of fire. If the oath is broken, the heart fire will consume the soul, and the spirit will be scorched. All that is required is for each of us to leave a wisp of our divine consciousness imprint." Gu You carefully examined the rune with his life essence, confirming that the power of the fiery oath contained within was pure and powerful, indeed a one-time contract method.

Immediately, a wisp of divine consciousness was separated and merged into it, and Bai Jin did the same.

The rune flashed and split into two red beams, which entered the foreheads of the two people respectively.

The oath was made.

"In that case, let's begin." The gaze behind the white ashes mask turned fervent as it turned toward the center of the plain, and the aura around him began to rise steadily!
boom--!
It was as if a volcano that had been dormant for thousands of years had suddenly erupted!
The air around Bai Jin instantly twisted and burned, transforming into a crimson-gold flame domain with a diameter exceeding ten thousand miles. Within the domain, the flames formed countless tiny flame vortexes, flame runes, and flame chains, each form containing different flame mysteries—explosion, scorching, penetration, purification, destruction…

The mere burst of energy caused the temperature of the entire crimson world to soar, the lava river flowing in the distance to boil even more violently, and the three crimson suns in the sky seemed to be drawn in, their light becoming even more dazzling.

"What terrifying mastery of the fire element!" Gu You thought to himself in shock.

Bai Jin's control over flames has reached the level of "all fires returning to their origin" and "life and death in a single thought," making him the most outstanding fire-attribute expert he has ever seen!
Roar--!
The eighteen Crimson Crystal Earth Dragons were completely awakened by the terrifying aura of flames. They roared angrily, their crimson eyes locking onto White Ash.

Without any unnecessary movements, the eighteen earth dragons simultaneously stood upright, slamming their front paws into the ground!
Om-!
The earth trembled, and endless crimson energy surged from the ground, rapidly condensing and intertwining above them, instantly forming a crimson energy fire cloud covering the entire plain! Streams of cloud descended from the fire cloud, each corresponding to an earth dragon. Their auras merged perfectly through the fire cloud, and the power of the eighteen peak first-level realms resonated and overlapped. The power unleashed by each earth dragon reached a high level within the second-level realm.

Eighteen experts at the second level of the martial arts realm!

Even more terrifying is that the fire cloud is connected to the earth's veins, providing a continuous source of energy. The towering crystal pillar also releases light and merges into the cloud layer, giving its defense and attack a certain "world-enhanced" quality.

"What a terrifying beast!" Bai Jin's expression turned solemn. He formed a hand seal in front of his chest, and the flame domain around him rapidly contracted and condensed, finally converging behind him—

"The Law of Heaven and Earth - The True Form of the Flame God!"

Boom! ! !

Flames soared into the sky, and a giant of fire, 50,000 feet tall, with three heads and eight arms, its entire body formed from crimson-gold flames and every inch of its skin flowing with lava-like patterns, stood between heaven and earth!
The giant's three heads respectively displayed anger, calmness, and majesty, and its eight arms each wielded a weapon formed from flames of different natures—a flaming greatsword, a lava whip, a blasting warhammer, and a purifying lotus platform...

The moment the Flame God's true form appeared, the fire-attribute energy of the entire world seemed to be paying homage to a king!
The light of the formation of the eighteen crimson crystal earth dragons dimmed for a moment.

"Burning the Heavens and Boiling the Seas, Eight Arms Suppressing the World!"

Bai Jin's voice emanated from the true form of the Flame God, booming like thunder.

Eight fiery arms swung simultaneously.

The flaming greatsword unleashed a crimson-gold sword beam that tore through the heavens and earth; the lava whip transformed into countless venomous fire lines; the exploding warhammer carried the will to destroy everything; and the purifying lotus platform spun, showering down a rain of flames that purified all things…

Each attack contains complementary fire magic; the eight attacks complement each other, subtly forming a grander and more terrifying fire killing array.

An extremely powerful second-stage technique, definitely a trump card!
Boom boom boom boom——! ! !
The fiery attack clashed violently with the crimson energy cloud!
The explosion turned half the sky crimson gold, and the terrifying shockwave sent lava on the edge of the plain billowing into towering waves.

The energy cloud trembled violently, its light flickering erratically, but thanks to the support of the earth's veins and the crystal pillars, it managed to withstand this fierce attack. Although the eighteen crimson crystal earth dragons' auras were somewhat disordered, they remained steady. They knew they couldn't be scattered; as long as they guarded the area around the crystal pillars, they had nothing to fear from the intruders.

"Indeed troublesome." Bai Jin snorted coldly, and the three heads of the Flame God's true form opened their mouths simultaneously—

"Original True Fire - Three Elements Breath!"

The head of rage spewed out a burst of crimson, blood-red flames, so hot that they burned through the world's membrane.

The calmest abyss spewed forth a penetrating, sea-blue flame that froze everything.

The majestic head spews forth pure gold, sun-like purifying flames, specifically designed to burn energy.

Three flames of vastly different natures, like three destructive torrents, crashed violently against the same point in the energy cloud.

Chi chi chi——! ! !
The light from that point in the fiery cloud dimmed and dissipated at a visible speed. Even though the earth dragons divided the power of their attack into eighteen equal parts, they still let out painful howls.

"Now!" Gu Youdong, who had been watching from the sidelines and waiting for an opportunity, exclaimed!

Instead of manifesting a massive Dharma Heaven and Earth, he swayed and transformed into nine indistinguishable streams of azure light, cutting into the battlefield from different directions.

Each streak of light was incredibly agile, weaving through the flames and turbulent energy currents like a fish, avoiding direct collisions.

The nine streams of light simultaneously emitted countless cyan spiritual threads, which were delicate yet incredibly strong.

The earth dragons were already under attack from the terrifying flames of the white embers when they were suddenly invaded by these spiritual threads. Their movements faltered, and their tight formation became momentarily chaotic and blocked.

With Gu You's strength, these spiritual threads could not truly kill them, but their interference at this crucial moment was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The crimson energy cloud flickered violently, and its structure began to destabilize.

"Alright!" How could Bai Jin let this opportunity slip by? The Flame God's true form unleashed its eight arms, increasing the power of the flames by another thirty percent!

"Eight Arms United as One - Emperor Yan Creates the Heavens!"

The eight fire weapons suddenly merged, transforming into a giant fire axe that was wrapped in eight-colored flames and was 100,000 feet long.

The giant axe, carrying a terrifying will to split the heavens and earth and burn everything, slashed fiercely down at the already unstable energy cloud!
This time, there are no more obstacles!

Click——! ! !
The crimson fire cloud shattered like glass, and the violent backlash instantly struck the eighteen earth dragons. They screamed in agony as cracks appeared on their massive bodies, and they scattered and flew away.

Bai Jin pressed his advantage, sweeping his giant flaming axe across the ground. The axe flashed, and the three closest earth dragons were cleaved in two at the waist, their crimson bodies turning to ash in the flames.

Gu You also seized the opportunity to make a move, merging the nine streams of light into a single, exquisitely refined cyan spiritual spear. Countless runes intertwined with life and destruction appeared on the spear. With a single thrust, the spear pierced the head of an earth dragon, unleashing a burst of spiritual power that directly annihilated its life force.

Seeing that all was lost, the remaining earth dragons burrowed underground, attempting to escape using the earth's veins. (End of Chapter)