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--- Chapter 455 ---
"Error! Error! Error! Error!"
The monotonous, mechanical voice beeped rapidly, echoing violently throughout the halls of the Ice God's Palace.
"An anomaly has been detected."
"The Ice God's Trials cannot calculate the target's potential."
"Emergency Awakening Protocol triggered."
"Wake up, Your Excellency, Winter Dragon Empress! A being from beyond this world has finally arrived!"
Deep beneath the grand Ice God's Palace, a pair of captivating, sapphire-like slitted eyes snapped open. Initially lazy, these eyes now sharpened with curiosity upon hearing the commotion coming from the inheritance grounds she had left behind eons ago.
With a mere thought, the enormous figure of a dragon vanished from the subterranean depths, manifesting instantly in the skies above the palace.
"Oh, this is..."Han Yuan looked up in surprise, watching the Ice God, now appearing as the Winter Dragon Empress, materialize before his eyes.
At first, Han Yuan thought the Winter Dragon Empress would look like the Western-style, like most of the Dragon Clan of the Douluo Universe. But instead, the entity hovering above him was unmistakably a serpentine, Eastern divine dragon.
Hanlong Nuji's magnificent serpentine form was covered in icy-blue scales that shimmered like precious pearls. Four slender yet powerful claws were tucked perfectly beneath her snow-white underbelly, a wave-shaped tail twirled gently through the clouds, and a pair of majestic, deer-like antlers crowned her head.
Each individual scale of hers was larger than a grown man, and her sheer, colossal length seemed to cover the entire sky.
The dragon gazed down, her golden-slitted, gem-like eyes assessing Han Yuan's very existence.
Suddenly, Hanlong Nuji let out a satisfied, booming laugh. "Heh... finally! A traveler from beyond the heavens has arrived at my abode. I was growing entirely tired of waiting!"
She leaned her massive head closer. "Fellow Daoist, please grace me with your name."
"This kind of calling..." Han Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly at her choice of words.
Being addressed as 'Fellow Daoist' all but confirmed an iron-clad fact that Hanlong Nuji originated from outside the Douluo Universe, coming from a world with a significantly higher realm of cultivation.
"My name is Han Yuan. You may call me that!" He replied calmly, utterly unfazed by her gargantuan size.
But while Han Yuan remained unbothered, Ye Ziyun was paralyzed with shock. She had never expected the legendary 'Ice God' to be such an enormous entity.
She had previously thought the Icy Star Titan was the pinnacle of size at a thousand meters tall, but compared to this cosmic dragon before her, it was nothing more than an ant.
"Han? I like you already," Hanlong Nuji chuckled, the sound vibrating the air. To a dragon of her stature, anything that shared a syllable with her name was inherently superb. "Then, I shall address you as the mighty Daoist Han."
Han Yuan's mouth twitched slightly. "And what should I call you?"
"My name is Hanlong Nuji! The Undefeated Guardian Deity of the Primal Chaos Dimension's Southern Divine Region," She proclaimed proudly. "I am an ancestor of the Blue Dragon Race, the Winter Dragon Empress!"
Hearing her introduction, Han Yuan froze. The sheer weight of the terms 'Primal Chaos Dimension' and 'Southern Divine Region' detonated like a bomb in his mind.
Against the Gods.
Of all the universes he dreaded encountering, that was near the top of the list. It was precisely why Alpha had chosen to send him to a much safer world like the Dou Qi Plane first.
In comparison to the divine powerhouses of the Primal Chaos Dimension, the Divine-level entities of the Douluo Universe were an absolute joke.
If the Four True Devils or the Four Origin Gods were brought to the table, the Evil God could easily drag the Asura God across the floor like a rag doll without a fighting chance.
Furthermore, Hanlong Nuji's identity was clear now. The Blue Dragon was one of the Three Supreme Water-Attributed Divine Beasts, governing the elements alongside the Ice Phoenix and the Ice Qilin.
"Hmm? You seem to recognize my world, Daoist Han," Hanlong Nuji noted, catching the subtle shift in his expression. "Have you heard of it before?"
Han Yuan remained silent for a moment. Then, he gradually lifted his left hand, revealing a glowing, emerald-green swirl mark etched into his fair palm.
Swoooosh!
The blue dragon in the sky vanished instantly. Then, a beautiful woman clad in an incredibly thin, loose, and revealing white robe materialized right in front of Han Yuan, desperately grabbing his wrist.
"Y-You..." Hanlong Nuji's voice trembled. Her sapphire eyes stared into his, trying to pierce through his secrets. "How did you get your hands on one of the Heavenly Profound Treasures... the Sky Poison Pearl?!"
"This artifact shouldn't even exist in this universe!"
Se gasped, her composure completely shattered. "The last known owner of the Sky Poison Pearl was the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor! What is your connection to her?!"
Faced with her sudden proximity, Han Yuan remained calm, or perhaps unbothered. "Release my hand, woman," He commanded indifferently.
In that exact instant, a terrifying wave of spiritual pressure washed over Hanlong Nuji, violently shaking her soul.
Looking into Han Yuan's cold, silver eyes, she felt as though she were staring directly into a bottomless abyss.
For a split second, she thought she had fallen into an illusion.
After all, no one in this inferior, lower plane should have been capable of even touching the hem of her clothes. Yet, the inherent danger radiating from him was terrifyingly real.
It wasn't just raw spiritual pressure.
It was also an oppressive, dominant bloodline!
To Hanlong Nuji, this was absurd.
Her bloodline as a Supreme Divine Beast was supposed to be the noblest existence in this entire realm. Even the so-called Dragon God of this world couldn't have challenged her at her peak.
Overwhelmed, Hanlong Nuji hastily released his wrist and stepped back, bowing her head in apology. "I... I apologize, Daoist Han. That was very rude of me."
She tried to steady her breathing. "I was simply too shocked to see the Sky Poison Pearl here."
"I never expected a supreme treasure of my homeworld to end up in the hands of an outsider. Your destiny must be incredibly profound."
"I know." Han Yuan lowered his hand. Truthfully, the mark on his palm was merely a perfectly mirrored projection of the artifact; the 'true' Sky Poison Pearl remained safely in Alpha's possession. Fortunately, Hanlong Nuji was too panicked to notice the truth.
"An outsider... a being beyond heaven," Han Yuan repeated quietly. "What exactly does that mean to you?"
Hanlong Nuji responded, her voice sounded more respectful now. "A being beyond heaven is an individual who exists completely outside a universe's natural order."
"An anomaly. A glitch in the matrix that doesn't belong to the local laws of the universe. They can be time-travelers, transmigrators, reincarnators, or simply cosmic irregularities."
She paused, a look of melancholy crossing her beautiful face. "Around ten thousand years ago, I met another person from beyond heaven, but he wasn't the one I was looking for. But you..."
Her eyes lit up with renewed hope. "You, Daoist Han, might be the key to helping me return to the Primal Chaos Dimension and reclaim my lost glory."
"In short, you want my help to go home, right?" Han Yuan restated with a dry snort.
Hanlong Nuji put on a weary, wry smile. "That is correct. Honestly, I knew someone fated would eventually cross my path, but your eventful arrival, especially the Sky Poison Pearl, surprised me so much that I can barely contain my shock."
Han Yuan stared coldly into her sapphire eyes. "No."
"Eh?!" Hanlong Nuji's eyes widened in sheer panic.
Realizing her desperate situation, she immediately dropped her majestic demeanor, trying to act soft and coy to regain his trust. "Oh, come on, Daoist Han!"
"I was being a bit too forward just now, please don't take it to heart!"
"Not enough," Han Yuan corrected flatly, his gaze piercing through her coy facade. "If I am to ferry you back to your homeworld, you need to pay a much higher price."
Hanlong Nuji nodded frantically, eager to strike a deal. "Of course! I can pay! I can grant you the full Ice God Inheritance, divine spirit bones, and god-bestowed spirit rings!"
" I can even bestow upon you the primal bloodlines of the Ice Elf, the Icy Star Titan, and the Winter Dragon itself!"
"Still not enough," Han Yuan pressed deliberately, stepping closer to the disgraced deity.
"If you want my help, you will pay me with everything you have. Your loyalty, your power, and your entire divine legacy, not just the scraps of the Ice God."
"T-This..." Hanlong Nuji stood completely speechless, her face flushing crimson. This man didn't just want her to pay, he intended to strip her entirely bare!