Seeing the four elders begging for mercy, Xu Zimo chuckled and said, "What’s wrong, not fighting anymore?"
"We are too weak, like mayflies trying to shake a tree. We overestimated ourselves. We admit defeat," the blue-robed elder shook his head and sighed.
"Bring it out," Xu Zimo waved impatiently.
"The item is here. We can’t move it," the red-robed elder replied.
With a wave of his hands, the illusion formation covering the mountaintop was lifted.
There were no noticeable changes across the mountain peak, except at the very center where a massive boulder stood upright.
The boulder was about ten meters tall, with a thick and solid surface, half black and half white.
A powerful force could be felt within it, so strong that even Xu Zimo was slightly moved.
Unfortunately, the surface stone layer sealed off that power, preventing it from leaking out or being absorbed by others.
However, on one side of the boulder, there was a small crack.
The energy inside was slowly seeping out through the crack, and Xu Zimo could clearly sense that the power seeping out was the source of that mysterious mist.
The very force he had been absorbing.
"What is this thing?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Reporting to Lord Godly Monarch, this is the Heaven-Earth God-Stone," the blue-robed elder quickly replied.
"Heaven-Earth God-Stone? Explain," Xu Zimo said.
The elders hesitated, glancing at one another. Then the yellow-robed elder said, "We’re willing to explain its origin in full detail. May we ask if Lord will spare our race?"
"If it’s useful, I might consider it," Xu Zimo nodded.
The elders exchanged glances again. The blue-robed elder stepped forward and asked, "What does Lord wish to know?"
"Its origin," Xu Zimo answered.
"My Lord is likely familiar with the Immortal Dao Bridge. It’s said that for Godly Monarchs like yourself, this world is the peak. If one wishes to go further, they must cross the Immortal Dao Bridge to reach a broader, higher world," the blue-robed elder began.
"I know about that," Xu Zimo nodded.
"Around ten thousand years ago, between our Eternal Lands and the world beyond the Immortal Dao Bridge, a rift appeared. My Lord may have heard of this," the blue-robed elder continued.
"This rift not only allowed our people to cross to the other world, but also let beings from that world enter ours."
"The Outer Heavens?" Xu Zimo muttered and asked, "Have you seen anyone from that world?"
In his view, whether it was the Eternal Lands or the Primordial Heartlands, they were all minor worlds.
Only the supreme Outer Heavens was the true great world.
A place even Grand Emperors would seek.
"We are weak. Back then, we hadn’t even become Grand Empyreans. How could we have had the qualifications to meet such beings?" the blue-robed elder shook his head.
"But from what I know, the beings of that world are unimaginably powerful. Even Godly Monarchs are mere ants to them."
"And then?" Xu Zimo frowned and asked.
"Those beings tried to conquer the Eternal Lands. We fought for centuries, and our side was steadily losing ground. At that time, the Eternal Godly Monarch risked his life to seal the rift. Without reinforcements from the other side, we eventually pushed back and defeated the invaders."
The blue-robed elder continued, "And the item the Eternal Godly Monarch used to patch the sky and seal the rift was this Heaven-Earth God-Stone."
"Then how did it end up in your hands?" Xu Zimo asked. "Did you dare steal something from the Eternal Godly Monarch?"
"That’s naturally impossible. The Heaven-Earth God-Stone was formed from the energy of heaven and earth, containing the might of the cosmos itself. After the Eternal Godly Monarch sealed the rift, half of the stone remained. At the time, the Godly Monarch was heavily wounded and could barely escape with his life, fleeing to heal. The remaining piece of the divine stone drifted through the endless void and happened to fall into our Lizard Race’s Particle World. You could call it fate," the blue-robed elder said with a smile.
"And what does this have to do with the Strange Meridian Sutra and the Black Dragon King?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Strange Meridian Sutra?" the blue-robed elder paused, then realized and said, "You mean that cultivation method that absorbs the divine energy of heaven and earth?"
"Yes," Xu Zimo nodded.
"Back when the divine stone fell atop the snow mountain, we were not yet elders. The previous generation of elders tried every means to absorb its power. As you know, the lifelong dream of our lizard race is to transform into dragons. According to their research, if we could open the divine stone and absorb its power, our entire race might be able to transform into dragons," the blue-robed elder explained.
"But the stone was tougher than expected. No matter what we tried, brute force was useless. By then, the elders had already become Grand Empyreans, possessing long lifespans. Living for thousands more years wasn’t a problem. Yet they chose to sacrifice themselves in a blood ritual for the future of the race, hoping to break the stone’s defenses."
At this point, all four elders looked somber.
After a brief silence, the blue-robed elder continued, "The elders died, and we four became the new ones, leading our respective races. Even with their sacrifice, we underestimated the stone’s defenses. The outer layer wasn’t broken, only a small crack was formed."
"The mist in the Misty Forest came from that crack?" Xu Zimo asked.
"Yes. Though only a trickle of energy seeped out, it was enough to make us ecstatic. But when we tried to absorb it, we realized it wasn’t easy. The energy accumulated and nearly blocked our meridians," the blue-robed elder said.
"Later, through experimentation, we found that the human body is extremely mysterious. Though the meridians resisted this energy, some parts of the body could absorb it well. After long research, we created what you now call the Strange Meridian Sutra."
"What you said seems different from what I know. The Black Dragon rules this world. You couldn’t possibly be unaware of that," Xu Zimo asked.
"The previous generation of elders once found a severely wounded black dragon during a trip. They brought it back and healed it, only to discover it was pregnant. Not long after the baby black dragon was born, its mother died. At the time, we were studying how to absorb the divine stone’s energy. The mother dragon took human form and willingly offered herself as a test subject to help us," the blue-robed elder said regretfully.