Chapter 658 - 263: Power of the Progenitor, World Quest
Chapter 658: Chapter 263: Power of the Progenitor, World Quest
Liliana’s voice carried a trace of reminiscence and longing.
Lin Ye was moved.
’Akasha...’
He had heard this name before in the training camp, during his classes on the Celestial Abyss and other races.
In the Blue Star Realm, it had a more easily understood name—
The Celestial Abyss Fifth World!
"What happened then?"
"Later..."
"The Sacred Sanctuary was in a state of constant war. In a battle where he was ordered to crusade against a rival Dragon King under the White Dragon Emperor, our ancestor suffered a mortal wound, his divine soul nearly obliterated."
"Just as he was about to perish, he was saved by chance by a supreme deity wandering the cosmos."
"According to legend, that deity had seven eyes. It acted entirely on a whim, uninhibited and chaotic."
"It might destroy an entire star system and slaughter billions of lives on a sudden impulse, or it might casually save a completely unrelated stranger with a passing thought."
"Our ancestor was that lucky one."
"However, while saving our ancestor, the deity also casually tore off a fragment of the Sacred Sanctuary Akasha, forming the world we now inhabit."
A deep sense of powerlessness laced Liliana’s voice.
"Although our ancestor survived, he lost the path back to his homeland forever."
"According to him, he would have rather died in battle during that war."
"Than live out the rest of his days in a strange world he could never return to."
"In the long years that followed, he tried countless times, even attempting to ascend to the Divine Realm to break through this world’s spatial barrier, but he failed every time."
"In the end, he exhausted his lifespan and passed away, filled with resentment and longing."
"After his death, his body became everything in this world."
"His vital blood became an endless sea of blood, his skeleton formed the sprawling mountain ranges, and his flesh transformed into this Holy Tree Yggdrasil, protecting us, his descendants."
"We once built a prosperous civilization upon the branches of the World Tree, and our population at one point exceeded ten billion."
"But... this world is too small, and its resources are ultimately finite."
"As Yggdrasil’s power gradually withered, we endured countless cycles of war, schism, and internal strife... When the dust finally settled, our people were reduced to the mere few hundred thousand who remain today."
At this, Liliana’s tone filled with sorrow.
Lin Ye remained silent, but a ripple of emotion stirred within him.
’A powerful Dragon King, trapped to die in a small world, ultimately becoming sustenance for his descendants.’
’The story was truly bleak.’
After descending for an unknown amount of time, a faint glimmer of light finally pierced the darkness before them.
When they passed through the final barrier, a vast, boundless underground space suddenly appeared before them.
This was the very bottom of Yggdrasil—the core of this world.
The space was unimaginably huge, its dome so high it seemed unreachable, but there were no signs of life anywhere.
As far as the eye could see, there was only a dead-silent ocean of corrupted water, reeking of decay.
Decay and desolation.
However, in the center of this sea of corruption stood an immense black altar.
A blindingly pure white orb of light floated silently above the altar.
Above the orb, a phantom of a colossal dragon, ethereal and dreamlike, coiled in the air, its form seeming to stretch from the earth to the heavens.
The phantom was so immense that the mere sight of it made one’s soul tremble.
It seemed to be formed from the purest will. Though it had no physical form, its closed draconic eyes seemed to scrutinize every member of the Dragon Race who entered this place from across the endless void of time.
Including Lin Ye.
Liliana and Regner stopped in unison, their bloodlines trembling. They were completely unable to take another step forward.
Liliana gazed at the magnificent phantom, her voice filled with reverence.
"This... is the last remnant of the soul and will of our ancestor, Igexis."
"Perhaps it’s his lingering obsession, or perhaps he used some kind of Secret Technique before he died."
"Although his self-awareness has long since dissipated, this undying will has always protected us, sustaining the last vestiges of life in this world."
She paused, her gaze shifting to the orb of light that radiated immense energy.
"That orb of light contains nearly half of our ancestor’s lifelong power."
"Before his death, he made a great vow: if any of his descendants could lead his soul and us, his children, back to the Sacred Sanctuary Akasha..."
"...then this power would belong to that person."
"Unfortunately..."
Liliana gave a bitter smile. "Endless time has passed, and we descendants have been too incompetent. In the end, we were unable to fulfill his dying wish."
"About five hundred years ago, the resources were completely depleted, and Yggdrasil began to wither as well."
"By the generation when the Caesar Clan took power, the ancestor’s bloodline within them had become so diluted it was negligible, and our entire race’s lifespan was coming to an end."
"But, whether it was our ancestor’s pity or his reluctance to part with his last remaining bloodline... the Caesar Clan discovered they could draw a minuscule amount of energy from this orb."
"However, that bit of energy couldn’t make us stronger. It could only allow us to prolong our lives like parasites, barely clinging to existence."
After listening, Lin Ye felt a strange pang of sorrow.
He could sense the profound, albeit tragic, intentions of the king of this draconic tomb.
’What a pity. The world is ever-changing, and nothing is constant.’
’A hero in his twilight years, his final wish unfulfilled.’
Lin Ye hesitated no longer. He took a step forward and walked alone toward the black altar.
One step, two steps...
The moment his foot touched the first step of the altar—
BOOM—!!!
An immense and boundless, terrifying pressure—seemingly capable of crushing the eternal heavens—swept toward him like a celestial river pouring down from above!
It was the majesty of a Dragon King, a will that transcended the mortal realm!
Lin Ye let out a muffled grunt, feeling as if every bone in his body was groaning.
’Even though he’s already dead...’
’His strength in life must have been at least at the peak of the Martial Saint Level.’
’He might have even been a Half-Step Martial God.’
Resisting the pressure, Lin Ye walked step by step, resolutely, toward the top of the altar.
And at that very moment, a cold system notification echoed in his mind!
[Ding! Detected that the host has entered the special sacred ground, the Progenitor Dragon’s Tomb. Triggering a unique side world quest!]
[World Quest: Homecoming!]
[Quest Objective: Lead the remnant soul of Igexis and all his blood descendants back to the Celestial Abyss Fifth World, Akasha, and secure a new place for them to live.]
[Quest Rewards: Progenitor’s Power, all P4 stage skills automatically upgraded to Transcendent Skills, 10,000,000 EXP, Skill Points x30!]
’A world quest?’
This was the first time Lin Ye had ever received a quest of this level.
Unlike the previous quests that were forcibly triggered with no option to refuse,
this [Homecoming] quest actually had two rare options appear after it: [Accept] and [Decline].