Lin Xia cursed under his breath, frantically channeling soul power into his legs while smashing both fists downward!
"Thunder Punch! Fire Punch!"
Boom! Bang!
Lightning and flames intertwined as they slammed into the quicksand vortex below, attempting to blast open a buffer zone.
The shockwave from the explosion did slow his descent slightly, but it also caused his blood and qi to churn violently.
In that brief moment, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something—
Deep within the rapidly collapsing, dust-filled vortex, a streak of crimson-gold light was forcefully surging upward!
It was Larvitar!
It was desperately digging upward from the entrance of the ruin that was about to be completely buried!
Clearly, it had also sensed the violent collapse above and Lin Xia's danger!
One falling, one rising.
Master and partner were about to meet at the razor's edge between life and death within the collapsing abyss of quicksand!
But at the very moment Lin Xia sensed through their martial soul contract that Larvitar had broken out of the ruin's entrance and was rushing upward.
The suction of the quicksand vortex beneath his feet suddenly became incomparably more violent!
The strange energy interference also surged to its peak, almost completely stripping him of his control over the sand!
"Not good!"
A warning bell rang wildly in Lin Xia's mind. He unleashed his soul power with everything he had, trying to stabilize himself, but the suction felt like it came from the deepest abyss, carrying an irresistible, absolute force!
Rumble—!!!
The glass-like hardened ground beneath him completely shattered and collapsed!
Like a kite with its string cut, Lin Xia was pulled downward at terrifying speed into the bottomless darkness.
At the very instant Larvitar's crimson-gold light was about to brush the edge of his clothes!
"Larvi—!"
He barely managed to shout half a word before his vision was completely swallowed by tumbling sand and endless darkness.
He didn't even have time to see the horror in Larvitar's eyes.
All he felt was a massive spatial tearing force
And then his consciousness plunged into chaos.
How long had passed?
Perhaps a moment. Perhaps an eternity.
A bone-chilling cold, along with a thick, nauseating stench—mixed with rust and decay—slithered into Lin Xia's nose like an icy serpent, forcibly dragging him out of unconsciousness.
"Cough… cough, cough…"
The cold air entering his lungs carried the heavy scent of death, making him cough violently.
Struggling, Lin Xia pushed himself up onto his elbows. His entire body ached as if his bones had been shattered, and even the circulation of his soul power felt sluggish and obstructed.
As he forced his heavy eyelids open.
The scene before him made him instantly hold his breath.
His pupils shrank sharply, and his entire body froze in place.
The sky was not the azure of the desert, nor a starry night sky.
Instead, it was a solidified, oppressive, and terrifying dark crimson expanse!
Like a boundless sea of dried blood suspended upside down above the heavens, radiating an aura of oppression, despair, ancient majesty, and dread.
There were no sun, moon, or stars.
Only this blood-red firmament casting a dim, eerie light, staining the world below in a bleak crimson hue.
The ground was not sand.
As far as the eye could see, there were piles upon piles of bones.
Enormous bones beyond imagination!
They came in all shapes and forms, some stretched like mountain ranges, hundreds of meters long, their jagged vertebrae forming rolling hills.
Some towered like great peaks, their broken ribs resembling colossal pillars piercing the blood-red sky.
Some were nothing but massive skulls, their hollow eye sockets as deep as abyssal voids, as if an unyielding will still burned within them.
Others were shattered and scattered, forming fields of enormous bone fragments that gleamed like jade or metal.
These bones were not pale white.
They bore deep shades of dark gold, ancient gray-blue, icy silver, and even black-red streaked as if molten lava had once flowed across them.
Every single bone, regardless of size—radiated a terrifying aura that made one's soul tremble!
It was a pressure… pure to the extreme!
Even though they had long lost their lives, even after enduring the erosion of countless years, the majesty and power engraved deep within their bones, originating from the very source of their bloodlines, still surged like tangible tides.
Wave after wave, they washed over this space, and battered Lin Xia's fragile perception.
The air was thick like coagulated blood.
The dense, omnipresent blood-energy was like billions of invisible steel needles, pricking his skin and pressing down on his heart.
Every breath felt like swallowing burning iron sand, bringing searing pain and a heavy sensation that sank deep into his bones.
Even though this aura was merely naturally diffused and not directed at him, the overwhelming suppression stemming from a difference in life level still made him feel suffocated and insignificant.
Like an ant that had wandered into the graveyard of gods!
"Larvitar!"
Lin Xia suddenly snapped back to his senses. Enduring the discomfort, he anxiously looked around and called out hoarsely.
Very soon, not far away, beside a pile of relatively smaller, dark silver bone fragments—he saw that small figure covered in dim lava-like armor.
Larvitar had also just awakened from unconsciousness. It was rubbing its little head with its claw after hitting a bone, letting out a dazed "Larvi" sound.
"Larvitar! Are you alright?"
Staggering forward, Lin Xia scooped it into his arms and carefully checked it.
Aside from being covered in bone dust and dark red debris, and appearing somewhat weakened, the little one didn't seem seriously injured.
The Phoenix Divine Mark on its body, though dim, was still steadily flickering, resisting the terrifying blood-energy erosion from the surroundings.
This allowed Lin Xia to let out a small sigh of relief.
The deep bond of their martial soul contract had protected them during the spatial transfer.
"Larvi…"
Larvitar nuzzled against Lin Xia's hand, its crimson eyes curiously observing this completely unfamiliar world, one filled with death and overwhelming majesty.
Instinctively, it felt a tremor from deep within its bloodline.
The aura here made it feel both an inexplicable heaviness and pressure, yet also a faint, indescribable sense of closeness and longing.
Especially the dense blood-energy permeating the air, though violent, it carried something that stirred a certain power within its body, making it restless.
Lin Xia set Larvitar down and began cautiously observing this world of piled bones, filled with utmost vigilance and reverence.
He tried to identify what kinds of creatures these remains had once belonged to, but soon realized that most of their forms far exceeded his understanding.
The known soul beast records of the Douluo Continent seemed utterly insignificant here.
Those skeletons spanning hundreds of meters, radiating terrifying auras, left him with no doubt.
In life, these beings must have been capable of tearing space apart and boiling seas dry with ease!
Were they the legendary… gods?
Or even something beyond?
"Where… is this place? A land where gods have fallen? Or…"
A horrifying thought suddenly forced its way into Lin Xia's mind.
Combined with the endless sea of bones, the congealed blood-red sky, and the indescribable ancient pressure.
The answer seemed ready to emerge—
Dragon Graveyard!
The legendary resting place of the dragon race, a forbidden land where countless ancient dragon remains and essences were buried!
Only this explanation could account for the scene before him, one that surpassed all mortal understanding!
Just as Lin Xia's mind trembled and he struggled to process this shocking truth.
Something changed abruptly!