Only after Ye Liuyun confirmed it was safe did he release the Dragon Girl, Lei Ming, and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon. Together they hurried toward the Dragon Clan tomb, absorbing the surrounding demonic qi as they went.

The valley where the Demon Flood Dragons lived sat amid mountain ranges laced with demonic-crystal veins. Ye Liuyun left them untouched for now, planning to mine the crystals on the way out. For the moment the lingering demonic qi still kept the surrounding beasts at bay; the Demon Flood Dragons’ aura hadn’t yet faded, so other ferocious creatures didn’t dare approach.

They crossed the valley and exited on the far side. Beyond the valley lay the Dragon Clan tomb, where the demonic qi was noticeably thinner. The dragon aura radiating from the tomb itself pushed the demonic qi back.

“Such thick dragon aura!” the Dragon Girl couldn’t help exclaiming.

“With this much dragon aura, could there be a living Draconis inside?” Lei Ming blurted.

Ye Liuyun focused his senses; the aura here did resemble that of the Dragon Clan’s domain. He had once entered the Dragon Clan’s burial ground, and the feeling was definitely different from living dragons.

Lei Ming’s offhand remark had given him pause.

“It’s possible. Stay alert, all of you.”

He warned them and continued forward. A concealing array blocked any view of the tomb’s interior, and even his golden pupils couldn’t penetrate it.

Yet the formation was ancient; his eyes had already spotted several cracked fissures, and dragon aura was seeping out through them.

Ye Liuyun activated his golden pupils, searching for weak points to blast open with white light. But the Dragon Girl stepped up and tentatively reached toward the barrier—her hand slipped right through.

The moment her arm crossed, the formation tore open around it, creating a gap wide enough for all of them.

Everyone jumped. The Dragon Girl yanked her hand back, and the barrier snapped shut.

“Did you see inside?” Ye Liuyun asked his second clone.

The clone had been right behind her and caught a glimpse.

“It’s the Dragon Clan burial ground, but another formation still hides the center. No living dragons in sight.”

Ye Liuyun had Lei Ming try; the moment Lei Ming reached out, the array flung him back.

“Only a Draconis can pass,” Ye Liuyun concluded.

“We’ll know once we’re inside.”

He had everyone ready. The Dragon Girl extended her hand again, reopening the barrier. The moment it parted, puppets and clones rushed in to secure the area, followed by Lei Ming, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, Ye Liuyun himself, and finally the Dragon Girl.

As soon as she stepped through, the formation sealed behind her.

Inside, Ye Liuyun and the others opened their golden pupils and divine senses, surveying the scene.

Everywhere they looked, the ground held Draconis corpses—roughly five hundred in all. Each body lay beneath a burial mound. A few mounds at the edges were empty, apparently broken into from below by beasts that had stolen the dragon remains.

Each corpse was remarkably intact, and within every dragon core rested a dragon soul.

Clearly these dragons had died naturally, sealing their souls into their dragon pearls before death.

If all those dragon souls attacked at once, they’d be doomed.

Ye Liuyun tensed, warning everyone to keep silent, suppress their auras, and be ready to be pulled into his spatial world at any moment.

At the center of the cemetery stood another formation, its contents unknown. Yet the burial mounds around it were also empty.

“This is the aura of the Dragon Clan tomb alright—but there’s definitely a living dragon here,” Lei Ming said after sniffing carefully.

The Dragon Maiden fixed her eyes on the formation at the center of the graveyard, her black pupils flickering. After a long look she finally told everyone, “I can see twenty-seven living true dragons inside.”

“Ah?” Lei Ming couldn’t help crying out in shock.

Ye Liuyun shot her a glare; only then did she clap a hand over her mouth.

“You can see through that formation?” Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected the Dragon Maiden to possess such sight.

“I can’t see their real bodies; the array blocks them,” the Dragon Maiden explained. “My black pupils read energy. Inside are dragon-shaped energies—so I believe they’re living true dragons.”

“Could they be dragons formed purely from spiritual qi?” Ye Liuyun found living dragons hard to believe. If real dragons were here, the Devil Flood Dragons and the other feral beast would surely know. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The Dragon Maiden shook her head, still uncertain. “Different parts of their bodies have different energy densities and qualities. Such fine distinctions are hard to mimic with mere spiritual qi.

“Their cores are all around the seventh or eighth level of the Unity Realm. Only the largest dragon is stronger—probably just past Unity, not by much, maybe early Void Profound. But its life force is extremely weak.”

Hearing this, Ye Liuyun inclined toward trusting her observation. Yet if a Void Profound true dragon fought them and roused the surrounding dragon souls, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

He examined the inner formation with his golden pupils and found it almost identical to the outer one, only better preserved and less damaged.

Suddenly the Dragon Maiden added, “The strongest dragon has taken human form. It’s walking toward us.”

At that moment an old man appeared within the formation, waved at them once, then immediately ducked back inside—as if terrified of something.

Everyone gasped; this confirmed living dragons were truly inside.

“Is it him? The dragon in human shape?” Ye Liuyun asked the Dragon Maiden.

“Yes,” she affirmed.

“It is indeed Void Profound, but not very strong—early Void Profound at best. Its vitality is low, and its soul is definitely draconic,” Ye Liuyun told the others.

“He seems afraid of something!” Lei Ming warned.

Ye Liuyun nodded, sweeping his gaze over the surrounding burial mounds.

“He’s afraid of the dragon souls here. Let’s go—waiting serves no purpose; we must speak with them first. Suppress your auras and make no sound!”

He gave the warning, eyes lingering on Lei Ming until she nodded. Only then did he lead the group forward.

Fortunately, each of them carried dragon aura within, enough to resist the dragon might. They met no danger along the way and reached the formation without incident.