Wan Zedong turned to look at the piece of white iron in Cui Guoliang's hands with a complicated look in her eyes, but in the end, she simply nodded her head in response.
Liu Mei turned to look at Shun Long with curiosity in her eyes, but she saw the look of puzzlement in his face as well, obviously having no idea what the white iron in Cui Guoliang's hands actually was.
Seeing that neither Shun Long nor the white-veiled young woman next to him were speaking, Cui Guoliang understood that he had yet to explain things properly, and with a smile on his face, the golden-haired Dao King waved his hand, as an old, tattered yellow beast skin appeared in his hands.
With a sigh that seemed to have been trying to expel all of the negative emotions that were bubbled up inside him, Cui Guoliang sat cross-legged in the air, before he looked at Shun Long and asked in a serious tone
''Little brother Shun, do you know what this white iron in my hands really is?''
Shun Long simply shook his head as he looked at the white iron in Cui Guoliang's hands. He was curious as to what was this item that had caused the entrapment of 2 Dao Kings for thousands of years.
Shaking his head, Cui Guoliang first turned to look at his wife who was also sitting next to him, before he said with a smile on his face
''This is actually a rank 6 'white sea ore'.''
Knowing that Shun Long and the young woman next to him were most likely going to be unaware of the origins of this item, Cui Guoliang then continued
''This is an extremely rare ore that can be used by rank 3 gold grade formation masters to create peak rank 3 gold grade weapons and armor, or it can be infused to strengthen gold grade formations!
If a pinnacle rank 3 gold grade formation is infused with this ore, then it will certainly reach the absolute peak of rank 3 gold grade!
No, such a formation may even exceed the gold grade!
Of course, this also requires the formation master's level to have reached the required level as well!''
There was a fervent look in Cui Guoliang's green eyes as he said the last sentence.
After taking a deep breath, he then added with an excited tone in his voice
''Nevertheless, this is a priceless treasure that cannot be purchased, no matter how many spirit stones a powerful force from the 'Night star continent' is willing to offer!''
Shun Long and Liu Mei were both shocked when they heard Cui Guoliang's words.
The thing in Cui Guoliang's hands was indeed a treasure.
After all, Shun Long already knew, that even the strongest experts of the continent were most likely at the peak of rank 9 of the Dao King realm, with no one managing to reach the level of a Dao Emperor!
At the same time, even with his superficial understanding of formations, Shun Long easily understood that, if there really was a formation that could potentially exceed even the pinnacle of rank 3 gold grade, then no matter how many powerful Dao Kings gathered to fight against it, it would be practically impossible for them to forcefully break through such a formation using brute force!
Seeing that Shun Long could instantly recognize the value of the ore in his hands, Cui Guoliang nodded his head before he turned his eyes to the tattered, yellow-colored beast skin, and said with a look of pain in his eyes
''Back then, I found this treasure map along with a jade slip with stored information inside it, as well as a small piece of 'white sea ore' next to it, in the cave of a deceased expert.
The person who had left these items, probably knew that he was going to die, since he had also recorded a mental message inside the jade slip, saying that if one followed the map carved out in the beast skin they would be able to find an even bigger piece of 'white sea ore'.''
Turning his head to look at his wife, Cui Guoliang continued with a self-deprecating smile
''Of course, the moment that I realized that the 'white sea ore' was near the core region of the 'Dragon Lord's villa', I couldn't help but rethink this matter. After all, even middle-stage Dao Kings have a high chance of dying in this place!
I who was just an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator had no hope of surviving in this place!''
As he finished his words, Cui Guoliang looked around him warily, before he placed the 'white sea ore' back inside his spatial ring, as he then continued
''However, no matter what, the 'white sea ore' wasn't a treasure that I could let go!
I cultivated for thousands of years, and after becoming a Dao King and reached the peak of the early stages, I explained everything to Zedong before we came to this place together.
Unfortunately, the map didn't mention that the 'white sea ore' was hidden in a place filled with powerful formations.''
Noticing that Cui Guoliang had fallen silent after he finished this sentence, almost as if he was still trying to realize that he had finally escaped from this endless nightmare, Wan Zedong nodded her head as she then added
''Thankfully, Guoliang had already taken precautions and created the secret realm in the Desolate East in order to find someone to help us!
Although I had always thought that such an action was worthless, in the end, I can only thank you since you were the reason why we could escape!''
Seeing Wan Zedong sincerely bow in thanks, Shun Long cupped his hands in response, accepting the Dao King's act of gratitude.
Straightening her black robes that were embroidered with silver patterns, Wan Zedong then took out a 'Dragon Lord's medallion' from her spatial ring, and with a smile on her face, she looked at Shun Long and the white-veiled, silent Liu Mei who was standing next to him, before she said
''Unfortunately, being trapped in that formation meant that we were unable to activate our 'Dragon Lord's medallions' and get teleported directly at the villa's entrance as well!''
Cui Guoliang seemed to have just woken up when he heard Wan Zedong's words, as he took out his 'Dragon Lord's medallion' from his spatial ring as well, before he looked at Shun Long with an apologetic look on his face, as he then added
''Right, little brother Shun! I forgot to mention this.
If you want to instantly escape from the 'Dragon Lord's villa', all you have to do, is to directly inject your qi inside your 'Dragon Lord's medallion', and you will be teleported to the villa's entrance!
However, you have to be careful!
If you are trapped in a formation similar to ours, then the 'Dragon Lord's medallion' cannot be activated.
If you don't find another way to escape, you will certainly die!''
Shun Long had never heard of this before, as he took out his 'Dragon Lord's medallion and examined it carefully.
He wasn't able to sense any direct connection with it, without injecting his qi inside it.
Even after examining it with his spirit sense, there was still nothing out of the ordinary with the bronze medallion in his hands.
Excited to leave this place and return back to the 'Night star continent', Cui Guoliang took a deep breath to suppress his anxious emotions, as he looked at Shun Long and the young woman next to him and asked
''Little brother Shun, should we return together then? The road forward is extremely dangerous. Even with an early rank 6 magic beast, you won't manage to reach the depths of the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!''
Understanding that Cui Guoliang was only warning him out of goodwill for the dangers that lied deeper inside, Shun Long cupped his hands at the golden-haired Dao King in front of him, before he reached out to hold Liu Mei's hand and said in a tone that had obvious hints of gratitude inside it
''Senior, we have certain matters to investigate, so we won't be able to return back just yet!''
Cui Guoliang nodded his head, not willing to pressure the matter.
After sweeping his gaze past Liu Mei, he turned his eyes to look at Shun Long and handed him a token with the words 'Cui' on it, before he said with a smile on his face
''Very well! Make sure to be careful. This is the token of my Cui clan! If you visit the 'Golden Shield city' make sure to drop by the Cui clan! Me and Zedong will definitely hold a banquet to welcome you and your wife when the time comes.''
Although Cui Guoliang hadn't recognized Liu Mei, based on how close she was with Shun Long and the fact that they were traveling together in the most dangerous place of the 'Night star continent', the experienced Dao King only needed a moment to understand that the white-veiled woman's relationship with Shun Long was anything but ordinary.
As soon as he finished his words, the peak rank 3 Dao King and his wife, injected their qi in the 'Dragon Lord's medallions' in their hands at the same time.
A golden light descended from the barrier above their heads that covered the entire 'Dragon Lord's villa', before it completely enveloped the 2 Dao Kings.
Under Shun Long's and Liu Mei's eyes, Cui Guoliang and Wan Zedong's bodies slowly turned into motes of light, and just a few moments later, they finally disappeared.
363
Looking at Cui Guoliang's and Wan Zedong's body that disappeared into motes of light, Liu Mei turned her eyes to look at Shun Long before she asked in a gentle voice
''Long-ge, what should we do now?''
Liu Mei knew that Shun Long had been keeping the matter of Cui Guoliang at the back of his mind during the last 3 years.
After all, no matter what, as a person who had given aid to Shun Long 3 years ago, unless Cui Guoliang was intentionally trying to bring trouble to him by having him explore this region of the 'Dragon Lord's villa', Shun Long wouldn't simply let the Dao King and his wife die.
Shun Long looked at Liu Mei with a smile on his face, while a sense of relief filled his heart after finally helping Cui Guoliang escape from this place.
After patting the black panther's head, he then said in a voice that was filled with gratitude
''Little Silver, you did a good job! You can rest now.''
Waving his right hand, he then had Little Silver return inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time'.
Although it seemed that the black panther hadn't faced any major problems so far in their journey in the 'Dragon Lord's villa', Shun Long knew that this wasn't the case.
Little Silver had initially suffered some minor injuries, from the tens of peak rank 5 magic beast that lived in the mountains right before the desert that attacked Shun Long's group.
Additionally, although the heat of the desert was completely inconsequential to a powerful early rank 6 magic beast like the 'Silver-winged panther king', the terrifying sandstorms at the end of the desert weren't that easy to pass through.
Although Little Silver didn't suffer any injuries from them, it wasn't an easy journey either.
Even Dao Kings would face a certain degree of trouble and would have to expend plenty of their qi to successfully pass through the desert.
In the end, after passing through the sandstorms, the black panther still hadn't gotten any time to rest.
After all, it still had to destroy the whirlpools that entrapped Cui Guoliang and his wife, while each whirlpool needed at least 2 or 3 full-powered shockwaves in order to completely disperse.
Although Little Silver didn't whimper to complain that it had been tired and had expended too much of its strength, Shun Long could feel that after the last day's journey, it really needed the rest.
The moment that Little Silver's body disappeared from Shun Long's eyes, the body of a 10m(33ft) tall dragon, with blue eyes and a pair of majestic black wings appeared in front of him and Liu Mei.
Feeling Little Black's excited emotions after leaving the 'Stone of Time' for a while, Shun Long patted the black dragon's head, before he covered himself with the black robes that he wore earlier, and looking at Liu Mei with a smile on his face, he said
''Mei'er, let's go to the core region of the villa!''
Since Cui Guoliang's matter had already been dealt with, Shun Long wasn't willing to waste any more time.
He also didn't know if Duan Zhu would manage to obtain the dragonstone in the meanwhile, which made him even more urgent to explore the depths of the villa itself.
Looking at Shun Long, Liu Mei nodded her head, as she simply replied
''Mm!''
After covering herself completely with the black robes, she felt Shun Long's arm wrapping itself around her waist, before she quickly appeared on the black dragon's back.
Although Liu Mei had seen Little Black appear in front of her for more than once, she was still filled with shock every time that her eyes landed on the majestic black dragon.
With Liu Mei sitting behind him, Shun Long turned his eyes to look at Little Black and said with a smile
''Little Black, let's go. I am also curious to find out what really lies inside the depths of this 'villa'.''
As soon as he heard Shun Long's words, the black dragon flapped his wings, as he flew right above the sea and headed towards the core region of the 'Dragon Lord's villa'.
Although Little Black wasn't flying at full speed, his speed was many times faster than Little Silver's.
In just a few hours, Shun Long could already see the gigantic pillar of light in the distance ahead, slowly becoming bigger and bigger in his eyes.
At the same time, the sea that was supposed to be lethal for early and middle stage Dao Kings, didn't seem to pose the slightest danger to Shun Long and Liu Mei!
Little Black's aura had completely terrified every early and middle rank 6 magic beast that lied at the depths of the sea as they saw the black dragon that flew above their heads.
As for any peak rank 6 magic beasts, Shun Long was unaware if there were any of them hidden inside the sea and lying in wait.
Almost as if sensing Shun Long's emotions, Little Black's voice suddenly sounded in his head as Little Black said confidently
''Master, there is nothing to worry about! Even if we meet with peak rank 6 magic beasts, I can still rip them to pieces!
Unless we meet with any abnormal magic beasts that have extremely powerful defensive or offensive abilities, or those with rare bloodlines, no other beast should be able to pose any danger to us!''
Shun Long knew that what Little Black had said was the truth, as he took a deep breath and said with a serious look in his eyes
''In any case, it's not like we can ignore the Dragonstone and let it be taken by someone else.''
Little Black nodded his head with a serious look in his eyes.
Indeed, even if he had to fight against the hall master of the 'Demon Emperor palace', he still couldn't allow the dragonstone to be taken away!
Half a day later, the endless sea seemed to have finally come to an end, and right in front of Shun Long's and Liu Mei's eyes, an enormous, luxurious building appeared at the seashore, right where the endless sea ended.
Shun Long could easily make out, that the gigantic beam of light that was visible throughout the entire continent was actually coming from the depths of this building in front of him.
This was the core region of the 'Dragon Lord's villa'!
At the same time that Little Black was about to enter through the half-opened doors of the building in front of him however, Shun Long noticed a group of powerful Dao Kings slowly coming out from the building's entrance.
Raising their heads, the 5 Dao Kings' gazes all fell on the gigantic black dragon who was flying towards them at the same time!