In the distant sky, the enormous Red Dragon stretched its massive wings, like a dragon-shaped volcano, spouting an endless flow of molten lava from its mouth, casting vast shadows that crisscrossed the entire desolate sandy land under the moonlight.
Around the periphery of the entire camp, raging Dragonfire of destruction had already begun to rise everywhere; as soon as those Bone Undead touched a trace of fire, the dark energy throughout their bodies would erupt into an even more intense blaze.
Countless wailing souls escaped from the bones, uttering their last cry in this world, and then were burned to nothingness by the all-consuming Dragonfire.
In the sky, the giant dragon sprayed the fire of destruction, and on the ground, its Vassals wielded the blades of death, freeing these souls that should have long since been silent.
The Dragonfire, which covered the heavens and the earth, and spread through the surrounding void, burned fiercely, making the Magicians and the giant dragon's Vassal army, who were guarding the small, short city, feel as if they were in a giant furnace.
The surrounding air also became thin, and the previously depleted magic power could no longer be sensed.
The Magicians and Gnoll Spellcaster in the city could only activate their own magic power, raising a magical barrier shield above the entire short city to isolate the high temperature emanating from the fiery hell all around.
The Undead, originally surrounding the innermost layer of the camp, were temporarily spared because the Red Dragon chose to start from the outer circle to maximize the damage, and they were now launching a fierce assault, relying on their numerical advantage, which was several times that of the giant dragon's army.
They hoped to defeat these large cans, wrapped entirely in iron armor, and hide within this city where the flames had not yet descended.
The tyrannical Dragonfire and extremely terrifying high temperatures, sweeping in from all sides and behind, which could easily destroy souls that ordinary power could not touch, brought these Undead a fatal sense of threat and urgency—emotional fluctuations they had not felt in countless years of their long-sunk existence.
But this rare experience made these already numb souls go mad; the eerie green ghost fire flickering in their hollow eye sockets pulsed violently, and they actually let out sharp roars from their skeletal bodies.
Countless Undead, led by a dozen exceptionally powerful Bone Undead, continued to charge, engulfing the giant dragon's army.
Boom! A giant with a long bone horn growing on its skull smashed down its massive blade, raising a whistling wind.
"You seek death!"
The Gnoll leader, Yug, roared, his blood-red eyes burning with flames similar to the Red Dragon's, showing no weakness; the blood-red mane on his neck stood up like needles, and his gnarled left arm, wrapped in thick iron armor, was thrust out like a shield.
Clang!
The two clashed, scattering sparks, but the next moment, the long spear clutched in the Gnoll's right hand pierced through the Bone Giant's skull, and the Gnoll's power, transmitted through the spear, shattered the Bone Giant's head along with the two eerie green ghost fires into dust.
Whoosh! Just then, a huge gust of wind came from the side of Yug, the Gnoll; a powerful undead with three pairs of bone wings extended its sharp claws, reaching for Yug's head.
Eerie white ghost fire burned on the sharp claws; this strike was enough to pierce through iron armor and tear five bloody holes in the Gnoll's head.
But a more arrogant gale descended from the distant sky at this moment, a terrifying shadow obscured this still chaotic battlefield, and a pair of thick, long, huge, sharp Dragon Claws, shimmering with a faint cold light, descended from the sky, instantly tearing apart this Bone Undead, which was powerful enough to contend with the Gnoll leader.
The three pairs of enormous bone wings were ripped into splinters, falling into the dust, and that particularly vigorous cluster of soul was also crushed into several pieces by the Red Dragon's descending horn-claw.
The air current from the Red Dragon's descent even blew many surrounding Bone Undead directly away.
With Kalon's participation, this final battlefield quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter.
The strongest dozen or so Undead were individually singled out and killed by Kalon, leaving only one, a snake-like bone creature, trapped under Kalon's foot, unable to struggle.
The remaining bones could not turn and escape into the endless, still burning sea of fire around them, so they could only fall one by one under the encirclement of the Magicians and the giant dragon's army.
This battle did not last long; the overall situation was decided in just half an hour, with the remaining time used for mopping up.
The giant dragon's army warriors collected the shattered bones, piled them together, and then burned them to ashes with a single fire.
Kalon, however, wanted to interrogate the Undead under his foot, but even with the soul strength of this Undead, which was already tougher than some High-level Mages, its wisdom and everything else had been worn away over endless time.
Only some instinctive reactions remained; Kalon could only crush it into powder with a kick, then spit out Dragonfire and burn it to ashes.
However, Kalon made an unexpected discovery: these strange Undead, unlike many humanoid Bone Undead, seemed to have their souls rooted within their own bones and flesh.
Even after death, they would not, like other creatures in the world, have their souls leave their bodies and go to the final resting place of souls, the Legendary river Styx, which flows with the souls of countless deceased.
"Interesting, the world is full of wonders," Kalon's Dragon Claws emitted a faint white light, confining a scattered cluster of soul fragments within them for careful observation.
"These Undead are different from most Undead; perhaps they are not indigenous creatures born in this Plane," Squinty-eyed Mage Hsiusir also walked up and spoke.
However, the Magician's face now carried a hint of respect that he himself hadn't even noticed.
The Dragonfire had slowly extinguished after burning away the Bone Undead, but the formerly desolate sandy land had now become a shimmering ground radiating high temperatures.
The sand and soil had been melted by the Red Dragon's flames, and now the entire land was like a shallow lake, with transparent, flowing liquid everywhere, resembling a giant mirror under the moonlight.
Such a scene, even Saint-level powerhouses skilled in destructive magic and offensive power, would find difficult to create; ordinary people always have their limits, but the power contained within this Red Dragon seemed to have no limit.
"Very likely. It seems that before us, this Plane had more than one group of visitors, and unwelcome ones at that," Kalon nodded, his massive body squatting.
The Magician at his feet now truly needed to jump to reach the Red Dragon's knee.
"Although these vast numbers of undead were burned away by your Dragonfire, they left behind some valuable things," the Squinty-eyed mage spread his palm, a transparent crystal the size of a sesame seed resting in the Magician's long, pale hand.
"Is this a Soul Crystal?" Kalon lowered his broad head, staring at the sesame-sized transparent crystal in the Magician's palm. This kind of Soul Crystal is only born in extremely special places, from tough and pure souls.
Soul Crystals have the same purpose as Magic Crystals, which are condensed from pure magic power, but Soul Crystals are more often used for the soul and spirit.
However, although Soul Crystals are pure enough, they cannot be directly absorbed. The soul is one of the most miraculous creations in the world; every creature's soul is unique.
Even demons, which evolve from abyssal worms, have their external changes and future evolved races determined by their unique soul characteristics.
If Soul Crystals are absorbed indiscriminately, although they can directly strengthen the power of the soul, they will also be affected by these souls.
Despite this, Soul Crystals are still a rare treasure. Many creatures whose souls are not strong enough, in order to enhance their soul strength, will also create various methods of using Soul Crystals to minimize the impact on themselves.
After all, a powerful soul means the threshold to Legend; a strong soul and mental will do not necessarily lead to becoming Legendary, but an insufficiently strong soul and mental will definitely prevent one from becoming Legendary.
This is the common understanding of all creatures striving for Legendary.
Of course, for creatures who want to transform into Lichs, these Soul Crystals are the best holy relics, top-grade supplements.
After transforming into a Lich, most of one's strength depends on the creature's original soul strength. If Kalon were to sell these Soul Crystals to those true dragons who find it difficult to pass the Ancient Dragon stage and wish to transform into Draco Lichs, a Soul Crystal of this size could fetch at least twenty thousand gold coins.
Twenty thousand gold coins in the eyes of a giant dragon.
Moreover, Soul Crystals are a hard currency in the Abyss and Hell, more welcome than ordinary souls. Kalon could even use Soul Crystals to hire those chaotic devils and demons to work for him, if he collected enough Soul Crystals.
"Yes, Soul Crystals, Kalon. You can have your Vassals collect these things on the battlefield. These things are quite precious even in the hands of those Legendary beings, or rather, only in the hands of those Legendary beings can they unleash their greatest value."
Squinty-eyed Mage Hsiusir shared some of the knowledge he knew.
"Legendary beings build their own cognitive system of the world, and then, based on their understanding, touch the laws of the real world; a powerful soul is an indispensable foundation."
"And once one can successfully build and perfect their cognitive system, injecting the laws they have comprehended and mastered, a unique domain will form. Some powerful domains can even rival the divine kingdoms of weaker deities."
Magician Hiusier's small eyes revealed a hint of envy; the nascent domain the Red Dragoncurrently possessed had already given this giant dragon a ticket to step through that threshold.
Many Legendary powerhouses explore the endless Stellar Plane, studying the mysteries of the rules of various worlds and perfecting their cognitive systems, all for the sake of condensing a domain and becoming a terrestrial god with their own divine kingdom domain.
Unfortunately, even with the lifespan and strength of a Legendary powerhouse, very few throughout their entire lives are able to take this step.
Just like many great beings who attempt to ascend to godhood, only a very small number of fortunate ones succeed.
Two similar yet different paths, the difficulty is almost equivalent, with the former being even harder.
"I once read in a magic tome that in ancient times, there was a powerful Mage who could use the soul power burned from magic crystals to help him study the mysteries of the world's laws, but unfortunately, that method was not recorded in the tome."
The Squinty-eyed mage's eyes revealed a look of regret and pity; if he knew this method, perhaps Hsiusir could also use the soul crystals in his hand to help him approach the door of the Legendary in the future.
Kalon, however, had nothing to regret; his sub-brain cluster was prepared for this purpose, and the goal had been determined in the initial enhancement, so it was not a shot in the dark.
However, he recalled that the power of faith needed by the gods of faith also seemed to have an extremely important connection with the soul. Those seemingly powerful and omnipotent gods of faith, once they could not get enough nourishment from the power of faith, would also fall into slumber above the Stellar Plane.
"Perhaps these soul crystals are more precious than I imagined," Kalon mused. In his impression, such things were also a very expensive currency in the Abyss and Hell.
They could even make those chaotic evil Devils and Demons obey the command of a Paladin, as long as the Paladin could pay enough soul crystals.
The Red Dragon immediately ordered all his dependents to spread out and search for these soul crystals in the battlefield, which had gradually cooled down and solidified into a crystalline surface.
The moon set, and the sun rose in the east.
The land had now changed its appearance, looking somewhat dazzling in the morning sun.
Kalon and his party continued towards their destination. His spatial magic bag already contained forty-two soul crystals, the result of his giant dragon dependents' hard work for half the night.
Kalon did not pretend to be generous by sharing a portion of the soul crystals with the Mage; he and his dependents had done most of the work in this battle, so the spoils of war rightfully belonged to him.
Not confiscating the soul crystal in the Squinty-eyed mage's hand was already considered Kalon's extraordinary generosity, especially for a giant dragon.
Along the way, the giant dragon dependents pulverized all the bones they saw, but when it was time to rest at night, many skeletal undead would still appear from afar, continuously harassing everyone, as if obstructing their progress.
However, having experienced the first night, everyone now only traveled for most of the day, then set up camp to rest. Every night when camping, Kalon would use his power to condense sand into a city, and then have the Mages defend from behind the low walls.
He, meanwhile, would slaughter the invading skeletal undead with his dependent warriors.
As they continued their journey like this, after several battles, the seemingly endless skeletal undead also became fewer and fewer, and the nightly tide of skeletal undead attacks visibly thinned out.
The Mages were very happy, finally nearing their exploration target. The dependent warriors were also very happy; their nature was to revel in slaughter and combat, and being well-behaved in the giant dragon's territory had made their bones rust.
Kalon was also very happy looking at the increasing number of soul crystals in his magic spatial bag; only the skeletal undead and the mastermind behind them were suffering losses.
On the tenth day of stepping into the Deserted Land, the Mages finally saw their target. Kalon also looked ahead with a slightly solemn expression; even at noon, with the sun high, that area was still shrouded in a faint black mist.
The black mist was layered, and the center was like a deep night. Even Kalon's gaze could only barely penetrate the obstruction of the black mist, seeing a faint, indistinct scene.
A colossal golden spear was impaling a corpse into the ground. The golden spear emanated a vast, ocean-like life energy and an extremely contradictory, destructive power that made the Red Dragon feel a sense of dread. These two powers coexisted on the spear, contradictory yet harmonious.
Kalon's expression was somewhat solemn, his massive body blocking the Mages who wanted to cast a probing spell. "Be careful, don't act rashly. This place is a bit dangerous."
One Mage quickly dispersed the magic power gathered on his staff. Throughout the battles on this journey, these Mages had come to trust the Red Dragon's abilities immensely. If even the Red Dragon felt danger, it certainly wasn't a simple place.
"Caution is a good habit, clever true dragon," a faint figure formed within the black mist, like a transparent soul body, separating the obstruction of the black mist and revealing a path leading to the golden spear.
It was then that the others saw the scene inside and couldn't help but gasp.
The thick golden spear was about the size of an adult's thigh. Its long shaft was plunged into the massive corpse on the ground, with more than ten meters of the shaft still exposed.
And the corpse on the ground was even more enormous, like a giant dragon lying down, with six wings, six arms, and three heads. Each head looked different and did not possess the characteristics of ordinary creatures, as if it were a form created by the amalgamation of primal bestiality and divinity at the dawn of creation.
Even though it had been dead for countless ages, this corpse still exuded terrifying pressure and aura, which, along with the aura from the colossal golden spear, rushed towards everyone, making them breathless.
The aura from this corpse was what Kalon had sensed as the mastermind behind the scenes, but now it seemed this was no small mouse, but a giant elephant.
"Legend!" Magician Hiusier exclaimed in shock. These two inadvertently emanating majesties exerted a greater mental pressure on everyone than a giant dragon's Dragonfear, even though they were still a considerable distance away.
Hsiusir had also sensed this kind of pressure from his teacher, High-level Mage Lapers, but it was not as oppressive and penetrating as the corpse before him.
"Indeed, you Mages, who are annoying to other creatures, are always well-informed and possess much knowledge," the transparent soul body said faintly.
"Who are you? An Elf?" Kalon's gaze was solemn; he was already prepared to retreat.
At this moment, the flames around his body condensed into a thin layer of Flame Domain. This was his domain forming, and the pressure rushing towards him had no effect; the mental pressure was completely blocked by the domain.
The transparent soul looked very much like a male Elf, with pointed ears and a physique characteristic of Elves, but its appearance within the eerie black mist made Kalon uncertain.
"An Elf? That's just my avatar," the male Elf's soul chuckled, then pointed at the colossal golden spear and said, "That is my true body!"
"You are the soul born from this spear?" Kalon frowned. He had never heard of a weapon capable of birthing its own soul. Perhaps some powerful magic alchemy weapons could possess some simple sentience, but they were never complete, vibrant souls.
Perhaps only those divine artifacts held in the hands of deities could birth perfect souls. But although the golden spear before him had a powerful aura, it was far from being a divine artifact.
The male Elf shook his head, his calm tone suddenly fluctuating. "That spear was made from the heart of the World Tree, and I am the soul unexpectedly born from the World Tree."
"Those Mages cut down the World Tree for research, and its heart was refined by them into a magical construct capable of transforming between life and destruction."