Return of the Mythic Bloodline

The tunnel opened into a massive cave, or more accurately, a gigantic room with a circular domed ceiling. The side walls were curved and, like the rest of the room, were formed from a dark material that Maximilian had never seen before.

Strange grooves and intricate patterns covered every surface, arranged in unknown and complex formations.

Along the curved walls, multiple capsule-like chambers were formed at regular intervals, each one as large as Maximilian even in his draconic form. Only one of the chambers was open, before which the Ape stood.

At the centre of the room, a gigantic spear hovered in the air. It carried a thin line along its surface that pulsated with dim blue energy.

Maximilian bent down and touched the metallic floor. "What kind of material is this place made of?" he murmured, confused. "I have never seen such a dark material in either of the two realms."

He followed the Ape and reached the opened chamber. At the top of the chamber’s inner surface, a drawing was carved. It was a circular symbol depicting a black dragon and a fire phoenix, with the head of one meeting the tail of the other.

Just a single look at the image resonated with something deep within Maximilian. His heart began beating faster than ever, the vertical pupils of his golden eyes shrinking as a burst of distorted images played in his mind, memories that did not belong to him.

"GRRRR!!!" He growled in pain, his massive form dropping to the floor.

What he first saw was a couple. The man had long black hair, darker than night, while the woman’s hair was amber, burning even brighter than the sun.

It was a prosperous tribe of dragons and phoenixes. Everyone was happy. The image distorted as the next memory played.

A memory of a strange visitor entering the tribe. The couple welcomed the visitor with open arms.

After staying in the tribe for decades, the visitor became one of them. The tribe gave the visitor everything. Their unique techniques, artifacts, and even their priceless drop of their blood.

The tribe grew even more prosperous after the visitor had arrived. Until... everything fell apart.

Like a stone thrown at fragile glass.

The tribe was invaded by villains. They were despicable and merciless, sparing none.

"The warriors fallen, the elders fallen , fallen the women, the children fallen," A deep anguished voice echoed in Maximilian’s mind.

For some reason, the invaders knew everything about the tribe. Their skills, martial power, and even... their bloodline.

It did not take long for the surviving tribe members to connect the dots. There was only one person who could have betrayed them.

The first visitor.

The next image that Maximilian saw was of the visitor tied to a pole, with the tribe members cursing and throwing stones at him. He was continuously beaten for a month before being burned alive.

Even then...the despicable the visitor was, he never accepted his crimes until the end. Before dying, he shared the blueprint of an artifact that he had been working on for his whole life.

It was a Heavenly-grade artifact, allowing its wielder to leave their star. Perhaps it was the guilt that had taken over the visitor for betraying the tribe, or perhaps something else, that made him give them a way to escape.

To flee from the endless pursuit of the invaders, the couple built the artifact and left the planet with its remaining members. However, having left in a hurry, they had no map of the endless cosmos, no direction, and no destination.

The next memory was that of the artifact crashing onto a gigantic star rich with Soulforce. Although it was not even half the size of their home star and did not possess as much Soulforce, they were still relieved to finally reach somewhere they could stay.

"Hah... hah... blerghh...."

Maximilian vomited blood due to the injuries he suffered simply by gazing at the symbol. It took him several minutes just to catch his breath again.

"S-so it was true," he murmured, flabbergasted. "We are really not native to this planet."

He had only taken his father’s words with a grain of salt, since he himself wasn’t sure. The theory was based merely on assumptions because of the dragons’ and phoenixes’ unique powers to break the World Laws, as well as their inability to break through to the next realm even after possessing the talent to do so.

The Ape poked him with its finger, making sure that the dragon wasn’t already dead.

"I’m alive," Maximilian scoffed.

He returned to his human form to conserve his energy.

His gaze turned to the chamber again.

Below the dragon-phoenix symbol, golden runes were drawn in multiple rows of vertical lines.

If anyone other than a dragon were to look at these symbols, they would instantly die on the spot from the sheer intent they carried. Even Maximilian felt a mild headache as he read them. It was dragon tongue, after all. And since he wasn’t an adult dragon yet, he naturally couldn’t read them without suffering the aftereffects.

"All-Devouring Art," Maximilian read the top symbol.

The further he read about the art, the more his lips parted in bewilderment.

"Th-this is the complete All-Devouring Art. The art that I learned is just the first half of it."

The All-Devouring Art was a cultivation technique unique to the Dragon of Death. This technique allowed the dragon to devour anything and everything and convert it into their own Soulforce, increasing their realm without any need for insights.

However, it came with its own fatal flaw. Devouring living beings stripped them of their chance to reincarnate, which was considered a huge taboo by the heavens. Such a practice resulted in immense negative karma. Naturally, the more negative karma one gained, the more difficult it became for them to reach higher realms, as they lost the favour of the heavens.

"So the technique must not be used on living beings," Maximilian murmured, rubbing his chin. "However, the monsters in the Riftland aren’t even living beings. They are merely projections of death produced by concentrated Death Energy. If I were to devour them, my realm would increase endlessly, and I wouldn’t suffer any backlash either. Th-this place and this art are a heaven-sent opportunity for me."

The revelation alone sent shivers through Maximilian’s entire being. He quickly sat in a lotus position and began deciphering the art from the chamber.

---

One month later...

He slowly opened his golden eyes, the patterns within them shifting violently before becoming still.

"I have completely mastered the technique," he exclaimed, rising to his feet. "Even though it can help me increase my stage within one realm, I still need numerous other materials to break through to the next realm."

He released a long, defeated sigh.

"The technique didn’t even mention the materials I need to reach the Celestial Realm. Even if it did, it isn’t necessary that they are present in Vyoman."

His gaze shifted to the Ape, who was sitting cross-legged beside him in meditation.

"The Ape must have found this place by chance and learned a bit about this technique," Maximilian said with an amused smile. "Just looking at the technique should have killed it, but perhaps because it is a mindless being of death, the mental strain caused by the profoundness of the runes didn’t affect it. It even gained sentience after looking at the dragon-phoenix symbol."

Maximilian could not even imagine the cultivation realm of the person who must have engraved these runes here. What he was sure of was that it was higher than that of his father, who was currently at the Peak Stage of the Divine Ascendant Realm.

While the Ape was in deep meditation, Maximilian decided to look around the room.

"Is this the artifact that brought the dragons and phoenixes to Vyoman?" he murmured before immediately shaking his head. "No, this is just part of the artifact. From the memories of the symbol, the artifact was as large as the entire Valcyrion City. This part must have broken off from the main artifact and ended up here."

Even though Maximilian knew that this room had been here for several thousand years, it was strangely clean. The material it was formed from didn’t have a single scratch on it. Even the corrosive Death Energy could not affect it. As for the absence of dust, it must have been caused by the Ape.

"Did it see the image of the Black Dragon in the symbol and assume it was me?" Maximilian wondered.

As he looked around, the first thing that drew his focus was the central hovering sphere. A soft seat was embedded into its front. The seat was large enough for even two Maximilians to comfortably fit there, even in his draconic form.

He had to literally fly just to reach the seat.

As soon as he sat down, something strange happened.

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