Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest.
Once a vast land, full of lush trees and abundant soul beasts, the largest forest on the continent now has only a small portion remaining, no longer as rich and flourishing as it once was.
Outside the forest, there is a metal dam over 300 meters high, and above the forest, at an altitude of over a thousand meters, there is an almost transparent energy shield.
The combination of the energy shield and the metal dam forms a massive cage, trapping Star Dou Forest inside.
Various soul-guided weapons are deployed along the dam, and heavily armed soldiers, all emitting soul power waves, are stationed outside.
"Do you see that?" someone shouted, pointing at the sky.
Nearby, people's hearts tightened. They immediately looked up to see a red light spot quickly enlarging in the sky.
The red dot grew larger and larger, resembling a fireball.
As the fireball descended, the temperature on the ground quickly rose. By the time it was still a few thousand meters above the ground, the temperature had already surpassed 50°C.
"Shoot it down!" a commander shouted loudly, sensing the threat from the fireball.
If the fireball kept approaching, the temperature on the ground could very well reach several hundred degrees, causing massive casualties.
At his command, some of the soul-guided weapons on the dam aimed at the sky, and dozens of shells shot up into the air.
In addition, ten black mechas took off, slowly at first, but their speed sharply increased as they reached several hundred meters off the ground, heading toward the fireball.
The shells traced graceful arcs through the air. Despite being powerful enough to kill even a Soul Saint, they exploded before they could even get close to the fireball.
The temperature around the fireball a kilometer away had already exceeded 5000°C, and the shells could not withstand such intense heat and exploded immediately.
The ten black mechas emitted black energy, protecting the pilots inside from the heat.
"Aaaah!" the mecha closest to the fireball emitted a tragic scream, and then the entire black mecha started to melt.
Yes, it melted. The specially made black mechas could not withstand the extreme heat of the fireball, and the metal turned into liquid.
The other mecha pilots were horrified, hurriedly manipulating their mechas to retreat from the fireball.
But it was too late. The fireball's descent was too fast, and they had no chance to escape.
The fireball passed just a few hundred meters from them, continuing its fall, while they perished, unable to endure the heat, and their mechas melted.
"Quick! Use your soul power to protect your bodies!" cries of panic rang out from the dam.
Simultaneously, the harsh sound of alarms echoed. The energy shield above the dam flashed brightly, and its defense level automatically increased to a combat-ready state.
"Ahhhhh!" the soul masters stationed outside the dam screamed in agony as the heat became unbearable. Many rolled on the ground, their bodies turning red as if their blood was being evaporated by the intense temperature.
They should consider themselves fortunate that the fireball landed in the central area of the dam rather than the edge.
Otherwise, at that temperature, they would have been doomed to die a painful death.
"Boom!" The fireball collided with the energy shield. The shield, which could withstand beast attacks, shattered like tofu, and the fireball easily broke through the shield and entered the "cage."
The moment the fireball entered, a powerful energy fluctuation erupted within Star Dou Forest.
This energy fluctuation was so intense that it exceeded the range of soul power, causing the surrounding space to distort violently.
The energy faced the fireball, seemingly trying to absorb its heat to prevent it from igniting the entire Star Dou Forest.
In the central area of the forest, a giant silver dragon, over a hundred meters long, shot a beam of light from its forehead, meeting the fireball.
The energy it released to withstand the heat also came from the silver dragon. However, it couldn't hold on for long, as its body began to tremble from the strain.
Around it were other massive soul beasts, all looking up at the descending fireball with fear. Their instincts told them that this fireball was the harbinger of death, and if it landed, they would all perish.
"Master, don't worry about us! Run, you must survive!" a giant black dragon urgently called out.
"Di Tian is right! Master, leave now!" other soul beasts also called out anxiously.
But the silver dragon ignored them and continued to endure. The fireball's energy was far too strong, and its power was insufficient in comparison.
"Hm?" A voice of confusion came from the fireball, and then its energy started to weaken, and the temperature rapidly dropped.
The fireball, originally over ten meters in diameter and radiating intense flames, began to shrink in size.
The silver dragon relaxed as the pressure disappeared, looking at the fireball with confusion. Why did its energy suddenly weaken?
It understood that the weakening of the fireball's energy wasn't due to its own actions but because the fireball itself had reduced its energy.
After thinking for a moment, the silver dragon decided to withdraw its energy, letting the fireball fall naturally.
Without the silver dragon's resistance, the fireball continued its descent on its original path.
"Boom!" The entire Star Dou Forest shook violently. Dirt flew up, and flames illuminated the surroundings.
Outside the dam, the stationed soul masters were in chaos, many of them suffering burns from the heat, writhing on the ground in pain.
Now that the temperature had dropped, the situation improved slightly, and the remaining soul masters began to assist the injured and call for help.
The alarm sounded, and mechas flew out from the dam, stationed in the air above the forest, surrounding the shattered energy shield where the fireball had struck.
Over a hundred purple and black mechas, along with a red one, took position around the broken shield, keeping a few hundred meters of distance, afraid of sudden attacks from inside and also wary of the fireball's heat.
Originally, they could see the situation below through the energy shield, but now a layer of black fog had covered the area, and it was impossible to see with the naked eye.
In the forest, the massive soul beasts gathered around the fireball, curiously and warily watching it, too afraid to approach.
Even the strongest of them, the silver dragon, did not dare to get too close and observed the fireball from a distance.
After the fireball hit the ground, it created a deep pit about ten meters wide, with blackened soil and flames along the edges.
Rather than a fireball, this seemed more like an egg.
It was spherical, about half a meter in diameter, fiery red, and covered in lifelike phoenix patterns, as though a phoenix was about to take flight from it at any moment.
The pressure naturally emitted by the egg made the soul beasts' blood boil, and they were drained of strength, instinctively wanting to kneel before it.
Soul beasts under a hundred thousand years old had already collapsed to the ground, trembling, unable to bear the overwhelming pressure.
A ten-thousand-year-old Golden-winged Diao could no longer withstand it and fell from the sky, its eyes filled with fear.
Other soul beasts struggled to resist, but the pressure was too great, and they couldn't hold out much longer.
Even the most powerful silver dragon felt the suppression of bloodlines. The phoenix egg's lineage was so high that even it couldn't compare.
A look of intense horror flashed through the silver dragon's purple eyes. What kind of species was this? It was so strong!
"Even if it is a phoenix egg, the bloodline shouldn't be able to suppress me," the silver dragon said, confused.
It had clearly underestimated the origins of this phoenix egg. In fact, the pressure causing the soul beasts to kneel was already severely reduced.
If the egg were to release its true pressure, they would be instantly killed, and even the silver dragon wouldn't survive.
Of course, it couldn't release its true pressure now.
"I need the Gold of Living Beings. In return, I can promise you one thing," a weak voice came from the phoenix egg.
The voice was pleasant, not ancient, and sounded like a young man in his twenties. It was calm and indifferent, with no emotion in the tone.
Upon hearing the voice, the soul beasts were startled. The egg could speak!
The silver dragon was also shocked. Even with its experience, it had never encountered such a thing, and for a moment, it didn't know how to react.
It quickly calmed down, and its instincts told it that the phoenix egg was speaking to it.
"Who are you?" the silver dragon tried to communicate with the phoenix egg.
The black dragon, the emerald swan, the dark-golden terror claw bear, and other powerful beasts nearby all stayed silent, not daring to interrupt.
"Yunze."
"I actually want to know about your origins," the silver dragon said.
"My origins may be difficult for you to understand, so I won't tell you for now. Let's first address the question I asked earlier."
Yunze's calm voice came again from the phoenix egg.
The egg's occupant explained that in the Chaos Dragon Abyss, several Immortal Emperors had surrounded and attacked it, leading to fatal injuries. The immortal laws had even affected its innate talent, forcing it to break its cultivation to undergo Nirvana and rebuild its body.
In the process, it lost consciousness and didn't know how long it had drifted in the cosmic starry sky.
It seemed to have fallen into a small world, which was recently attacked by a strong force, causing the world to shatter. The level of energy from that attack couldn't break the egg's shell but sent it flying.
After who knows how long, it finally landed here.
With its current Nirvana speed, it would take at least another thousand years to break free from the shell.
But since this place contained the Life Gold of beings, it didn't need to wait that long.
Although the quality of the Life Gold here was poor, it would still help, shortening its Nirvana process.
The silver dragon thought for a moment and asked, "If I give you the Life Gold, what can you do for me?"
"As long as your request does not exceed the value of the Life Gold and does not go against my principles, I can fulfill it for you."
"How much Life Gold do you need?" the silver dragon asked.
"All of it," Yunze replied.
The silver dragon's expression darkened, and the other soul beasts, like Di Tian, also looked displeased.
(End of Chapter)