( THE DRAGON'S NEXUS, THE FOURTH HEAVEN)
While Xueyao remained unconscious in the ruins of the barrier, the destruction has not gone unnoticed. Lightning cracked endlessly, its echoes clashing against a golden–white throne that blazed in the radiance of the sun. Before it, two Red Dragon Immortals quarreled heatedly, their voices rising with every disrupted solution. Their bickering irritated the sleeping female White Dragon, who reclined upon the heavenly throne. She leaned lightly against the steadfast shoulder of the male White Dragon at her side, her crimson lips moving in silent meditations. Long, pure white hair veiled half her pale face and body, while her bare feet curled gracefully upon the throne. One delicate hand remained entwined with his powerful grip, as she sat on the throne forged for power and dominance.
These were the two dragon kings of the Fourth Heaven, in charge of thousands of red dragons and hundreds of thousands of blue dragons. The two dragons maintained peace in all the four heavens, setting rules and strengthening the order of things and destroying all evil. Their pale white skins not only reflected their beauty but it told a tragic story of what they went through to reach the highest form of ascension in all of the fourth heaven and the immortal realm as a whole. They appeared like young adult immortals but they have been existing close to ninety thousand years. Their long–lasting reign on the throne was unfathomable, demanding both fear and respect at the sound of their names.
When she moved on his shoulders, his hands tightened on hers to remind her that he was still here and he would never leave. Their hair was strikingly similar, and their darkened long fingernails and toenails contrasted with their pale beauty as they had been leaning on each other for a very long time.
Tall, golden pillars stretching up to meet the galaxy stood between the frozen ice walls that made up the great and beautiful hall of the Dragon's nexus. The giant feminine statues made out of pure white gold of heaven posed before the great throne, their right hands stretched out to meet, while the other arm thrown back as they kneeled, facing each other on their left leg and on the marbled floors, paving the entrance of the long, bright white steps rippling with energy on the surface coming from the throne.
Their powers in comparison to the immortal black dragon might have seemed very weak but in the eyes of the Red and Blue dragons…they could be gods.
''I am telling you that the only way to find who the tribulation guardian in the prophecy is to send every Red dragon right now to the Undying Realm. To see if they are capable to break through the insidious miasma energy barrier. We do not have much time left! The Second Heaven's foundations are this close to cracking completely before every immortal living there dies. It will only take a few more years before the same calamity meets the Fourth Heaven!''
''Are you truly so dense?!'' The Red dragon on the right hand side countered. ''Don't you know how great and terrible the insidious miasma energy barrier is, to be randomly risking our lives to break through it, just so we could wake the rumored immortal black dragon asleep in there for more than one hundred thousand years?!''
The Red dragon on the left scoffed and shook his head. They literally had no idea what he had observed yesterday when he went to inspect the weakening foundations of the Second Heaven doomed to collapse in months and every immortal living there would perish.
''None of us had even confirmed if there is indeed a great and all–powerful immortal black dragon who formed the world many centuries ago and went into seclusion in the Undying Realm. This could still be all stories, speculations. The prophecy of a Tribulation guardian breaking through the barriers of the Undying Realm to wake the sleeping black dragon and guide him through tribulations to recover all lost Great Karmic Energy in order to save our crumbling realm? My fellow dragons, we shouldn't be like those idiotic Blue Dragons out there who believe so much in a fairytale.''
Every Red dragon gathered in the hall all shifted uncomfortably at his words.
''We are all very intelligent immortal dragons here and we should be more logical than putting all our hopes on a fairytale at the risk of our survival.''
The Red dragon at the left continued to glare hard at the arrogant Red dragon arguing from the right hand side.
''If the Great White dragons approve, I can share another alternative to saving this realm.''
The silence after his words was interrupted by the moans of thunder sounding from the throne. His deep blue eyes remained fixed on his precious other half, lost in meditation, caring little for their pointless arguments.
He wondered if she was feeling cold again so he could use his powers and warm her up or was experiencing any discomfort he was more than ready to ease for her sake.
''Qing Yue…'' her name rolled out like silk from his tongue as he called her name like the gentle ruffling of a bird's feathers, bringing her more under his loving embrace as he gazed down at her form worriedly.
Her indistinct murmurings switched to more coherent words. Four words with not enough meaning for him to understand what she was trying to pass across to him.
'' Blood…pain…girl…barrier….''
She kept repeating nonstop, her eyes moving rapidly beneath her closed eyelids.
''Blood…pain…girl…barrier….''
''.....the black dragon.''
The male white dragon was about to ask her the meanings of her words when a Red dragon soldier burst through the doors of the hall and rushed down the aisle leading to the holy throne.
''Report!!!''
The urgency of the red dragon captured the attention of the male white dragon and the other Red dragons present in the hall.
The Red dragon soldier paused at the mouth of the aisle, fell on his knees and said with labored breath. '' Mo Yuan and ten thousand demon soldiers are currently disturbing the peace of the borders of the Fourth Heaven and ready to launch an attack!''