2 years had gone by in the blink of an eye.
In a mountain deep inside the northeast of the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range', an early rank 5 magic beast that resembled an earth bear with iron armor around its head and chest, was lying motionless in front of a blue-robed man's feet.
An army of skeletons and undead knights had completely surrounded the young man, but they seemed to have turned their swords towards the iron bear that had collapsed on the ground instead.
With a smile on his face, Shun Long looked past the skeletons and the undead knights around him, as his gaze landed at the forest behind him.
Liu Mei who was standing on the branch of a huge tree, wasn't wearing her white veil on her face as she flashed a dazzling smile at Shun Long before she floated towards him.
Shun Long looked at Liu Mei who soon landed in front of him, before he said with a smile on his face
''Mei'er, your control over the undead knights during a fight has improved a lot in the last few days.''
Liu Mei smiled even brighter after hearing Shun Long's praise, before she nodded her head without saying anything, but a sweet feeling had appeared in her heart.
In the last few years, the thing that she had practiced the most, was her sword skills as well as her control of her skeletal warriors and her undead knights during a fight.
Originally, due to her weak spirit sense, Liu Mei couldn't handle controlling more than 2 undead knights at the same time, but now, she could easily control 10 of them, as well as a certain number of her skeletons at the same time.
During the past 2 years, Liu Mei had also consumed tens of thousands of top-grade 'Spirit enhancing pills', and had killed hundreds of criminals in the 'City of Sin' as well as absorbed their qi, bringing both her cultivation as well as her spirit sense at the peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm!
The undead knights around Shun Long were also at the peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm as well, while the 200 skeletons were at the middle of rank 9 instead.
A terrifying army of 200 middle rank 9 Spirit realm skeletons, even if they weren't as strong as normal middle rank 9 Spirit realm cultivators, could definitely stall for time, even when fighting against an early rank 5 magic beast!
As for Liu Mei's comprehension of the Dao, it had long since reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul stage.
The only thing that Liu Mei needed, was a spark of inspiration in order to begin her breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.
After all, the Nascent Soul stage was also called the Nirvana stage, while the Spirit realm was the realm of preparation before entering this stage.
It was simply impossible to breakthrough and become a Nascent Soul stage expert without a sudden sense of inspiration.
Little Black had long since told Shun Long, that Shun Long needed his soul to become one with his body in order to breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage!
As for Shun Long, during the past 2 years, he had consumed countless middle-grade spirit stones in order to reach the peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm as well.
The spirit stones that he had consumed, were far more than what he had originally estimated.
If it wasn't because of his pill shop in the 'City of Sin', Shun Long would have to think of another way to gather spirit stones during these 2 years in order to reach the late-stages and subsequently, the peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm!
Unlike Liu Mei, he had also taken even more time to bring his spirit sense to the absolute peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm by consuming countless 'Spirit enhancing pills' as well.
This was even harder than advancing his own cultivation!
Just the time he had spent in secluded cultivation to advance his spirit sense to the peak of rank 9 of the Spirit realm and bring it on par with his own cultivation level, had taken Shun Long more than 4 years inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time'.
During this time, Shun Long's 'Monarch's Eternal body' had also advanced to the peak of the fourth stage.
With both his qi and his body cultivation, at the peak of rank 9 in the Spirit realm and the peak of the fourth stage respectively, Shun Long was certain that there was no other Spirit realm cultivator in the entire 'Night star continent' who would be able to last more than 3 exchanges against him.
However, raising his spirit sense wasn't actually the most time-consuming part.
Instead, it was the fact that Shun Long had spent almost 10 years inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time' comprehending the Dao of Time!
It was only a day ago that he had managed to finish his comprehension of the Dao and came out from the 'Stone of Time' to test his strength.
More than 2 years had passed as Shun Long and Liu Mei were hunting magic beasts in the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range' or traveled back to the 'City of Sin' to operate the pill shop.
According to Shun Long's estimations, the test for the Holy sect only had 2 or 3 months until it actually started.
As Shun Long placed the corpse of the early rank 5 magic beast inside the 'Stone of Time', a sudden rumbling could be heard from the distance, as Shun Long and Liu Mei both felt the ground beneath their feet that had started to shake.
Shun Long's and Liu Mei's expressions instantly changed as this obviously wasn't a normal earthquake.
The terrifying rumbling did not only shake the entire 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range', but instead, it actually affected the entire 'Night star continent'!
A gigantic beam of light shot to the sky, that every single person in the entire continent could see no matter where they were.
Shun Long's expression suddenly changed when he saw the direction that the enormous beam of light was coming from.
It wasn't just coming from the center of the 'Night star continent'... but more specifically, from the 'Dragon Lord's villa' itself!
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It didn't take long for Liu Mei to realize this issue either, as she turned her head to look at Shun Long.
Shun Long had a serious look in his eyes as he stared at the gigantic pills of light in the distance, before Little Black's voice suddenly sounded in his mind
''Master! Someone is trying to take the dragonstone from that place!''
Shun Long's eyes narrowed when he heard Little Black's words that didn't have a single hint of uncertainty inside them, before he started to think of the possible scenarios to resolve this situation.
He knew that Little Black had a mental connection with the dragonstone inside the 'Dragon Lord's' villa' after sensing its aura once, so there was no way that he would be mistaken about this. If there was something that had caused the dragonstone inside the villa to react, Little Black would definitely end up sensing it and be aware that someone was trying to take the dragonstone!
At the same time, during the past 2 years, Shun Long had heard rumors in the 'City of Sin', that the hall master of the 'Demon Emperor palace', Duan Zhu, had headed deep inside the 'Dragon Lord's villa' by himself around the same time that he and Liu Mei had left the Heaven's Dome city!
As a peak rank 9 Dao King who was probably as strong, if not stronger than the 5 most powerful Dao Kings of the 'Night star continent', Duan Zhu had a high chance of reaching the depths of the villa, if one factored in that he was also a hall master of the 'Demon Emperor palace' and most likely had no lack of treasures with him!
This made Shun Long feel that this powerful rank 9 Dao King realm expert, was the most likely suspect to have caused this pillar of light to erupt from the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!
Of course, despite Duan Zhu's identity as a high-ranking hall master of the 'Demon Emperor palace', Shun Long couldn't allow the dragonstone to fall in his hands.
He already knew that this stone was extremely important to Little Black.
Additionally, during the past 2 years, Little Black had also reached the middle of rank 6, while Little Silver was just a step away from advancing to that level as well.
In a direct fight, Little Black may not necessarily lose to Duan Zhu.
Even if Little Black was actually weaker than the peak rank 9 Dao King in the end, Shun Long was also confident that Duan Zhu wouldn't be able to keep him tied down if he wanted to leave.
Although Shun Long wasn't willing to let the black dragon's existence become known, he couldn't afford to lose something like the dragonstone either.
After a serious moment of deliberation, he turned his head to look at Liu Mei, and after taking a deep breath he then said in a serious tone
''Mei'er, let's go to the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!''
Shun Long didn't ask Liu Mei whether she wanted to go with him or not. In the last 2 years, he had already understood the way that he and Liu Mei both treated each other.
Since Shun Long knew that venturing into the 'Dragon Lord's villa' was dangerous and it could potentially lead him into risking his life, Liu Mei would most likely choose to go with him instead of waiting outside.
Besides, Shun Long had more than enough 'Dragon Lord's medallions' for him and Liu Mei to both enter inside.
Even without the 'Dragon Lord's medallion' that he had gotten from Cui Guoliang, Shun Long still had the medallions from the 2 Dao Kings of the 'Mercenaries' Association' who had ambushed him and Liu Mei in order to rob Little Silver away.
At the same time, Shun Long also remembered the red-haired female Elder of the Blood Moon sect who wanted to make Shun Long into a pill slave.
''Zhong Biya would definitely have a 'Dragon Lord's medallion' with her as well!''
Of course, Shun Long didn't have any tender feelings for the red-haired Elder who had 'saved' him by messing with Xue Zhilan's plans back then.
Instead, he simply wondered if she was still alive and hidden somewhere after her ambush outside of the Heaven's Dome city.
If it wasn't because the bald old man, Xue Zhilan had simply refused to let Zhong Biya take Shun Long as a pill slave, incurring her wrath in the process, and making her do her use all of her strength to spoil the old man's plans, Shun Long would have to face 3 Dao Kings during that time.
With Little Black's strength back then, Shun Long wasn't certain that they would be able to kill every single one of them!
Liu Mei nodded her head once she saw Shun Long's serious look, before she waved her hand, making the army of skeletons and undead knights around her and Shun Long disappear.
At the same time, Shun Long first covered himself with a black robe that completely concealed his face and body, before he gave an identical robe to Liu Mei.
Then, without any hesitation, he first summoned Little Silver from the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', before both he and Liu Mei sat on its back.
The black panther that hadn't left the 'Stone of Time' for the past few months, let out a deafening roar, almost as it wanted to intimidate the magic beasts around it with its presence, before it spread its bright silver wings and shot towards the south of the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range', heading towards the entrance.
Shun Long twitched his lips when he heard Little Silver's excited roar that reverberated in the mountains around them, but since they were already leaving the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range', he wasn't afraid of a late-stage Dao King finding their location and catching up to them.
Although Little Silver had yet to breakthrough to the middle of rank 6 like Little Black, its strength had already advanced by a lot during the past 2 years after consuming countless stalks of 'Dragonblood grass'.
Although it couldn't beat a middle-stage Dao King, let alone a late-stage one, its speed had definitely reached the threshold of the average late-stage Dao King.
The black panther flew towards the entrance of the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range' like a bolt of silver lightning, completely ignoring the terrified magic beasts around it in the process.
In just a few minutes, Shun Long and Liu Mei had already left the 'Ten thousand beasts' mountain range, as they flew towards the 'Dragon Lord's villa'.
At the same time, in the Heaven's Dome city, every single Dao King from the peak powers of the city had shot to their feet as they noticed the gigantic beam of light piercing through the clouds, before they hurriedly flew towards the 'Dragon Lord's villa' as well!
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Every single Dao King in the 'Night star continent' had been alarmed by the abnormal matter of the 'Dragon Lord's villa', and the peak powers of the Heaven's Dome city were no exception!
Inside the palace of the royal family of the Shengtian dynasty at the northern part of the city, the golden-robed old king, Sheng Jun, had already gathered a group of 16 Dao Kings that followed behind him, before he headed towards the 'Dragon Lord's villa'.
Sheng Jun had a solemn expression on his face as he remembered, that more than 2 years ago the hall master of the 'Demon Emperor palace', Duan Zhu had also entered the villa by himself.
Even though Sheng Jun was one of the 3 strongest Dao Kings in the entire continent, he had never managed to elicit such a reaction from the 'Dragon Lord's villa', neither by himself, nor with his Shentian dynasty's help!
''Could it be that he has obtained the treasures inside?''
As this thought flashed through Sheng Jun's mind, he couldn't help raising his speed, as he lead the group of Dao Kings behind him towards the Netherspirit forest.
The other peak powers of the city were no exceptions, as Zhao Lan lead 9 gold grade alchemists from the 'Alchemists Guild', towards the Netherspirit forest's location as well.
The same situation took place in the 'Golden Exchange firm', as well as the 'Mercenaries' Association's' headquarters!
Only the members of the Dark elf race at the eastern part of the city seemed completely unperturbed by the 'Dragon Lord's villa's' matter, as they continued their lives normally.
At the depths of the Dark elf race's palace, a young man with dark skin, dark green hair and pointy ears first knocked on a small wooden door before he cautiously entered the room where the 2 peak rank 9 Dao Kings, Yi Huian and Yi Xiaosi were leisurely chatting with each other, with bewitching smiles on their faces that could encapture any man's attention.
Looking at the 2 beautiful red-haired women in front of him, the young man audibly gulped his saliva, before he hurriedly bowed and turned his body to face Yi Xiaosi as he said in a flustered voice
''Your majesty! Something important is happening in the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!
The Shengtian dynasty's old king and the other peak powers have all been roused and are leaving the city, heading towards the Netherspirit forest! Should we follow them?''
Although the young man looked to be barely above 20 years old, he was actually an early stage Dao King of the dark elves, and was the one responsible to inform Yi Xiaosi over the important matters that happened in the city.
Yi Xiaosi turned her head towards the flustered 'young man', before an alluring smile had formed itself on her lips, as she shook her head and said calmly
''No need!''
The young man was shocked by this simple response, and after staying still for a moment to ruminate over Yi Xiaosi's words, his eyes suddenly lit up before he asked in a voice full of fear and excitement
''Your majesty, does that mean that Lord Duan has already obtained the treasures inside the villa?''
Based on what this man knew, only if Duan Zhu had already obtained the treasures inside the 'Dragon Lord's villa' would Yi Xiaosi and Yi Huian dare to be so relaxed without worrying about Duan Zhu needing any help from them.
Nodding her head, Yi Xiaosi looked at the young man before she said in a calm tone that was filled with absolute confidence
''Even if he hasn't obtained everything yet, Lord Duan should be very close in getting the rest of the treasures inside that place. Even if Sheng Jun and the rest go in now, I doubt that they will be able to find even scraps left behind by Lord Duan!''
The young man was stunned for a moment, and he even forgot to bow as he turned his eyes towards the gigantic beam of light in the distance with zeal filling his eyes.
''Indeed, only Lord Duan could do what Sheng Jun and the other Dao Kings have failed to do for thousands of years!''
As this thought flashed through the yyoung man's mind, he hurriedly bowed as he looked at the smiling Yi Xiaosi and the expressionless Yi Huian, before he left the room with a look of pride on his face.
Indeed, since Duan Zhu had most likely already obtained the treasures in the 'Dragon Lord's villa', the situation in the Heaven's Dome city was going to completely change.
...
At the same time, Dao Kings from every place of the entire 'Night star continent', were heading towards the 'Dragon Lord's villa' in huge numbers.
With the black panther's speed, it took less than a day for Shun Long and Liu Mei to arrive just a few tens miles away from the 'Dragon Lord's villa'.
Even from a distance however, Shun Long could easily notice that the situation around the villa had already started to turn chaotic.
It seemed that the gigantic beam of light had attracted even more people than what Shun Long had originally expected.
Whether it was Dao Kings who were flying by themselves, or those who were riding on top of powerful magic beasts, they were all heading directly towards the villa.
On the way, Shun Long had already noticed more than 4 groups of Dao Kings who were flying on the backs of powerful rank 6 magic beasts, and they had also turned their gazes to look at Little Silver as well.
However, with the pressing situation of the gigantic beam of light that was coming from the depths of the villa, as well as the fact that Shun Long had completely retracted his aura and could very likely be a late-stage Dao King as well, none of these groups chose to probe him for his identity or strength.
After all, although uncommon, it was very possible for a Dao King to bring their descendants to this place, which was why these experts ignored Liu Mei's cultivation that was still at the Spirit realm before they continued flying forward.
A few moments later, the gigantic building that was bigger than a city itself appeared in Shun Long's and Liu Mei's eyes.
The massive crowd that was previously camping in tents outside the villa had grown even more than before, while even some early-stage Dao Kings, as well as peak Nascent Soul stage experts, were hidden in their midst!
At the same time, Shun Long noticed a group of 4 early and middle-stage Dao Kings heading towards the villa's gigantic gates, each of them holding a small bronze medallion in their hands.
As soon as the Dao Kings approached close to the gigantic gates of the 'Dragon Lord's villa', the golden barrier that was covering the villa reacted to the 'Dragon Lord's medallions' in their hands, as a golden glow of light covered their bodies, before the gates opened ever so slightly.
The gigantic gates didn't fully open, but the 'small opening' was still enough even for 6 people to walk side by side and enter inside.
The moment that the 4 Dao Kings entered inside, the gates of the villa closed, before the barrier of light around the villa returned to its previous calmness.
After waiting for a few minutes so that he wouldn't have to directly meet with the people who had just entered, Shun Long took a deep breath, before he had Little Silver walk forward towards the villa's entrance.
The early rank 6 'Silver-winged panther king' attracted the attention of some nearby Dao Kings, as well as the rest of the people in the crowd, as it was obvious that it was heading towards the gates.
Looks filled with doubt as well as envy had appeared in the Spirit realm and the Nascent Soul stage experts' faces, once they felt Liu Mei's aura at the peak of the Spirit realm who was sitting on the black panther's back.
Without paying any attention to the people around him however, Shun Long had Little Silver continue forward, until it stopped in front of the golden barrier a few meters away from the villa's gigantic gates.
It would be a lie to say that Shun Long didn't feel some fear in his heart as he approached closer and closer to the gigantic city-like building in front of him.
After all, this was a place that only Dao Kings and and peak Nascent Soul stage experts were allowed to enter.
Shun Long didn't know what dangers they would meet with inside, but aside from the fear and wariness, a feeling of excitement had also filled his heart as he looked forward to finding the secrets of this place that even held Cui Guoliang and his wife as prisoners.
Waving his hand, he took out 3 small bronze medallions from the 'Stone of Time', and gave one of them to Liu Mei before he placed the other one on Little Silver's back.
The golden barrier that covered the 'Dragon Lord's villa' started to ripple the moment that it sensed the 3 bronze medallions, before it covered Shun Long's, Liu Mei's and Little Silver's body with a bright golden glow.
At the same time, the gigantic gates slowly opened a little, allowing Little Silver to enter inside.
The moment that the black panther stepped through the gigantic gates, the gates closed again with a thud, as Shun Long finally entered inside the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!
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The moment that Little Silver passed through the gates, a blinding light blocked Shun Long's vision, and only receded after a few moments, revealing a completely new scene in Shun Long's eyes.
''A labyrinth?''
Shun Long was stunned when he saw the baffling scene in front of him.
Large greenish stone walls were raised from the ground, reaching all the way to the ceiling of the endless room, as they formed an enormous labyrinth.
''According to Cui Guoliang's map, his and his wife's location is actually close to the northeast of the 'Dragon Lord's villa', right after I pass through some kind of desert, but there is nothing mentioned about a labyrinth! Could it be that every time the gates of the 'Dragon Lord's villa' open, every group is sent to a different location, or is it that everyone must first pass through this labyrinth before they can continue further inside?''
Different possibilities flashed through Shun Long's mind as he tried to understand the situation in front of his eyes.
At the same time, Little Black's voice sounded in his mind, as the black dragon said seriously
''Master, my soul sense is unable to scan the area around us! There is some kind of power that completely restricts soul scanning.''
Although Shun Long knew that this was likely to happen after entering the 'Dragon Lord's villa', since the same situation occurred when Shun Long and Liu Mei had first arrived outside of the villa 2 years ago, he was still shocked once Little Black verified this.
After all, putting Little Black's strength aside, Shun Long was certain that even Duan Zhu and the other peak rank 9 Dao Kings from the 'Night star continent', were probably inferior to soul strength if they were compared to the terrifying black dragon.
After advancing to the middle of rank 6, Little Black's soul sense was certainly on par, if not stronger than the strongest Dao Kings!
And yet, even with his current strength, Little Black was unable to have his soul sense extend past Shun Long's body.
''In that case, those Dao Kings are most likely in the same situation once they enter inside the villa.''
Liu Mei looked at the pondering look in Shun Long's face, before she asked curiously
''Long-ge, is this place somewhat different from what you expected?''
Since Cui Guoliang had only mentioned the 'Dragon Lord's villa' to Shun Long, and Liu Mei hadn't been curious enough about this place in the past to ask Shun Long for details, she didn't know whether this labyrinth that they found themselves in was something abnormal or not.
Based on Shun Long's reaction however, it was obvious that it was out of the ordinary.
After hearing Liu Mei's question, Shun Long nodded his head affirmingly, before he took out the beast skin that he had received from Cui Guoliang and spread it on Little Silver's back who was still observing their surroundings.
Although the map didn't depict the 'Dragon Lord's villa' with great detail, it was still easy for anyone who saw it, to identify whether a place was a desert, a forest or a lake.
Seeing that there were no labyrinths or anything similar to it on the map, Shun Long thought seriously for a few moments, before he said in a low voice
''No matter what, we still need to get out of this place first.
Besides, there are many places on the map that are completely blank, so it's possible that Cui Guoliang created this map based on his own experiences.''
Liu Mei nodded her head in confirmation. She already knew that the map in Shun Long's hands was the map that he had obtained from the Dao King who had created the 'Vermilion realm', and she also knew that that man was trapped somewhere inside the 'Dragon Lord's villa' along with his wife.
If it was a map that he had personally created, then of course Cui Guoliang wouldn't have traveled through the entire villa by himself.
After all, from the outside, the villa seemed to be at least as big as the Heaven's Dome city itself, but based on the map in Shun Long's hands, it could very likely be even bigger.
Even peak rank 9 Dao Kings may not have searched through the entire villa, let alone Cui Guoliang whom Shun Long suspected to be either an early, or a middle-stage Dao King.
Additionally, if Shun Long's first guess was correct and the 'Dragon Lord's villa's' entrance point changed every time the gates opened, then this also explained why this labyrinth wasn't marked on the map.
As he reached one of the 2 possible conclusions in his mind, Shun Long first returned the beast skin map inside the 'Stone of Time', before he had Little Silver start walking forward. In any case, the most important thing at hand, was to get out of this labyrinth.
Besides, Shun Long didn't know if there were any dangers lurking in this place. Staying still at the same place instead of looking for an exit could very likely bring even more troubles.
The gigantic greenish walls around Shun Long and Liu Mei had completely covered their surroundings, as they rose all the way to the ceiling of the seemingly endless room.
Even when Little Silver soared in the air, Shun Long was be unable to get a 'bird's view' of the labyrinth and find an exit as everything was completely submerged by the gigantic greenish walls, so he could only choose to blindly continue forward.
Time passed like this, and the only sound in the air around Shun Long and Liu Mei, was the sound of the black panther's silver wings flapping.
Shun Long and Liu Mei found themselves in a dead-end more than once, forcing Shun Long to turn around and try different paths.
6 hours later, after many wrong attempts that lead into dead-ends, Shun Long and Liu Mei finally saw a light in the distance ahead of them, while the labyrinth's path started to head upwards at the same time.
Before Little Silver could reach the source of the light however, the entire labyrinth started to shake, before Shun Long saw 2 stone golems more than 5m(16.4ft) tall each rising from the ground as they blocked Little Silver's path!
Each of the golems auras was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, while in their hands they held a sword and a shield formed from stone.
Shun Long however didn't seem to be willing to slow down after feeling the golems auras, and instead, he simply patted Little Silver's back with a smile on his face, urging it to go forward.
Little Silver let out a powerful roar the moment that it saw the 2 golems blocking its path, before its silver-colored wings lit up with a bright silver light!
The golem on the left raised its sword and slashed forward, while the golem on the right raised the shield in its left hand, in an attempt to block the panther's charge.
The moment that Little Silver's wings met with the 2 stone golems attacks, the 2 weapons surprisingly split in half, before Little Silver's bright silver wings landed on the 2 golems' bodies.
The black panther's wings were like sharp swords that pierced through the golems' stone bodies, disintegrating them in an instant.
Under Shun Long's and Liu Mei's eyes, the 5m(16.4ft) tall golems crumbled into countless pieces that fell on the ground, before Little Silver flew forward like a streak of silver lightning, as it reached the source of the light.