The Chaos Dragon Prince

These Cloudsea geniuses practically exuded their faint domain as they travel. Each of them was intensely aware of the surroundings, attentive to even the slightest noise.

Even if a Peak Stage Divine Star Dao Beast happens to come across, this group of geniuses wouldn't bat an eye. They all were grossly confident, but it was to be expected.

Naturally, as geniuses from the Holy Land, their cultivations stood far above the average.

This group, in particular, was freakishly strong. Five of them were Middle Divine Star, only two were at peak Early Stage while the young man leading the group was a Late Stage Divine Star genius!

Late Stage Divine Star may just be one other minor boundary stage difference, but the power difference is unreal. Even upper-tier Middle Stage Divine Stars cultivator wouldn't think of facing a middle-tier Late Stage Divine star cultivator.

This Late Stage Divine Star genius comprehended Laws and Divine Qi to a massively superior level. Even with just his natural presence, it caused everyone else to feel a faint sense of suppression.

It was no wonder why the other eight disciples obediently stayed right behind this genius.

As the geniuses slowly traversed the forestry area, some felt a bit vexed at the lack of any noteworthy Dao Beast for miles.

One of the disciples sighed out, "For an area shrouded in such secrecy, I thought this place would've been more...exciting? There barely was anyone else when coming here."

"To be fair, even if we were to see another group, they would most likely ignore us, considering our background." Another disciple shrugged while speaking.

Of course, as prideful geniuses, they all greatly desire to test their limits to further their cultivation. Especially when venturing for treasures, these times would be the prime opportunity to further their cultivation.

As the disciples' conversations continue, only one other seemingly ordinary disciple and the leader didn't speak up. Their attentions stayed intent as they surveyed every inch of their surroundings.

When the group walked a few dozen meters forward, the Late Stage genius suddenly stopped. His hands raised, silencing his other disciples.

A strange sensation slowly crept up on the Late Stage genius's soul. Although, before doing anything, he surveyed his surroundings like a hawk, eventually focusing on one single spot hundreds of meters away.

Seeing him searching, one of the other disciples asked, "Senior brother, Jia? Are we already close? From what others say, we should be close, right?"

Not prompting replying, Jia kept his eyes focused front. A few moments later, he suddenly spoke up, "Yep. This is the spot! Initially, I thought the appearance would be a little exaggerated but nope. It's just as plain looking as I expected it to be. It's almost deceptive to any regular Divine Sense."

"So those Zhou really were right! You know, I'm a bit shocked this place wasn't leaked more to the public." One of the other disciples spoke out loud.

A contemplative expression crossed Jia's face. He opened his mouth to talk, pause for a moment, and then said, "Well, from rumors, this place is supposed to be dangerous. And those Zhou wanted to build good relations with us for a long while. Either way, we should be relatively safe. The chances of our item breaking are very low. Let's go."

As Jia gave the order, he and the others quickly flew close to the Lake of Stars.

When the group reached a few meters close, they stopped, closely observing the Lake of Stars.

Everything appeared completely normal. None of them sensed any danger or felt their souls alert them to near-death danger.

However, no matter how prideful these great disciples were, none of them foolishly rushed into the Lake of Stars. They cautiously approached as Jia took out a crystal skin compass.

Just when Jia began to pour soul energy into the compass, one of the disciples pointed to the Lake of Stars, a weird expression crossing his face. He cautiously said, "Hey...are you all seeing what I'm seeing? Just why are there bubbles popping along the surface? I can't sense anyone else in there. Plus, these bubbles just come up a bit strangely, as if they are in a pattern?"

When everyone turned their attention, their eyes narrowed as they also caught on to strange bubbles popping up on the lake's surface.

Jia continually swept over his Divine Sense but still couldn't perceive anything. Though this didn't mean his guard dropped. Energy silently circulated out of his Inner World as he tensed his body for action.

He spoke with slight caution in his tone. "It could be something or just a false alarm. In any case, just stay al-"

Before Jia could finish speaking, the seemingly ordinary-looking disciple who was quiet for the whole trip suddenly flickered to the front of the pack.

His speed was near instantaneous, practically teleporting in front of Jia. The other disciples blinked in surprise, while a sense of dread overcame Jia.

Jia attempted to speak, "Elder Lee wha-"

'Bang!'

Interrupting all actions, the surface of the Lake of Stars exploded upwards into a massive water pillar. A lone figure tore out from the water pillar and landed right on the other side of the Lake of Stars.

Throughout this entire duration, not a single trace of Divine Aura leaked or an overwhelming presence descended upon the area.

Jia and the other six disciples still couldn't feel any danger. Yet, none of them felt relaxed at all.

Whereas the seemingly ordinary disciples in front maintained maximum vigilance. His Divine Aura started to undergo a rapid shift. From merely Middle Divine Star to Laws far surpassing the Divine Star realm to a terrifying degree!

This wolf in sheep's clothing had his Inner World completely circulated and was ready to act out against the lone figure across from them.

"Ah? Um...ugh! Ju-just what is that creature?" One of the disciples nearly hurled in disgust. His revulsion was shared amongst the group as they got a good look at this long figure when the pillar of water collapsed back into the Lake of Stars.

A horrid creature was revealed to everyone. The creature's skin was completely charred, its eyes hollowed out and the clothes on its grotesque skinny body were mere rags.

The hollowed creature stared straight ahead, eerily standing still as if it was some kind of stature. Still, no Divine Aura exuded out, and no presence engulfed the atmosphere.

And yet, Jia couldn't stop his hand from clenching. Beads of sweat continually pooled down his sweat. Despite not sensing immediate danger, Jia felt as if this was the most stressful moment in his life!

Jia referred to the young man in front of him with absolute respect. "Elder Lee? Is this a threat? Should we leave?"

Elder Lee furrowed his brows. Without responding at first, his Divine Aura fully released!

A powerful Law presence enraptured the atmosphere. The air started to stall, slight distortion in space occurred, and even the ground gained minor cracks.

Jia and the other disciples nearly dropped to their knees under this Divine Aura. Such higher Law principles suppressed their entire beings. The power within it could absolutely crush their entire beings into nothing but particles of light. Its pressure caused their soul's core to wildly fluctuate.

This wasn't just the presence of any Divine Ruler, but one who has cultivated within the realm for thousands of years!

This Elder Lee was a Middle Stage Divine Ruler! His level of energy control and striking power was at least hundreds if not thousands of times greater than any average Early Stage expert.

The principles he comprehended within his Laws were several steps closer to reaching a Great Dao.

For this kind of extreme power, it seemed a bit extreme for a lone figure that didn't even exude the slightest trace of cultivation.

However, just because it came from the Lake of Stars was more than enough for Elder Lee to treat it with extreme caution.

Elder Lee waited for any kind of movement or killing intent. But this hollowed creation seemed content with posing as stature.

Carefully treading forward, Elder Lee said, "Perhaps it is some kind of treasure or failed trap? Let's see..."

At this point, the hollowed creature seemed like a none-threat. Jia's group started to relax just slightly.

But when Elder Lee took only one step forward, everything changed.

The hollowed creature's body suddenly twitched. With the slightest movement of its body, the creature disappeared and reappeared right over Elder Lee's group!

At the same time, a monumental Divine Aura smashed upon everyone. The creature who didn't exude a trace of cultivation earlier was now wildly discharging the presence of Laws nearing the level of a Divine Ruler!

Jia and the other disciples could barely breathe. It felt as if their lungs were on the verge of exploding. But above all, despite not being able to comprehend the Laws of Divine Ruler, they felt it was faintly more powerful than a full-fledged Middle Stage Divine Ruler!

Elder Lee felt as is an iron weight gripped his soul. Every joint in his body screamed to get the disciples out of here right now.

Energy exploded out of Elder Lee's body. Flickers of flame appeared around him as Fire Law essence circulated out of his Inner World.

In this split moment, Elder Lee felt it was immensely hard to breathe and move, even leaving him in utter shock and confusion.

For some reason, despite erupting with his full power, the hallowed creature's Law presence only unfathomably increased. It was as if the longer it adapted to the outside world, the more of its Law it can summon out.

This kind of Law presence smashed upon everyone like a sledgehammer. The atmosphere became utterly unbearable to handle.

'I don't get it...this Divine Aura only nears half-step Divine Ruler. So why-why is it so thickly dense?!' This Divine Aura could even make him, a Middle Stage Divine Ruler, feel crushing suffocation in his chest.

A grand Divine Ruler of a high-tier Holy Land was actually experiencing a suffering crisis of looming death!