Chapter 0368: Clearing the Path Ahead

The surging momentum of the people inside the valley ceased. Through the swirling grayairflow around them, they stared at the Yellow Dragon outside the valley with eyes filled with doubt.

For over 20 billion years, trapped within these valley stone forests, he had hoped many times. But as time passed and the harsh reality set in—even the few high-level array mages he could afford failed to help—he gave up, completely losing faith in ever escaping these stone forests.

But what if what the other party said was true? What if he could truly save himself?!

Bradd calmed his excitement and slowly said, “Are you also a high-level array mage?!”

A mid-tier god—first a soul master, then a high-level beast controller, and now a high-level array mage?! He looked at the other party in disbelief.

A high-level array mage? The Yellow Dragon nodded silently. More or less?!

Seeing the Yellow Dragon nod in agreement, Bradd’s eyes lit up again, hope rising in his heart once more.

Although the high-level array mages he had sought help from before couldn’t break this stone forest array either, even if it was just a sliver of hope, he had to try.

After his excitement subsided, Bradd gradually settled down.

“If you really save me, I’ll give you all the wealth I’ve accumulated in my life!” After a while, Bradd mused. This was the same condition he had offered those high-level array mages before.

The treasures of an unparalleled warrior throughout his life—though Bradd didn’t specify much, it was clear they must be an astonishing amount. Even ordinary noble families would be tempted by such wealth.

“Wealth?” The Yellow Dragon shook his head. What would he do with so many divine stones? He already had trillions upon trillions of divine stones in his divine card and still didn’t know where to spend them all.

“You don’t want it?” Bradd looked at the Yellow Dragon in surprise, then said, “I’ve lived for over a dozen eons. Just the divine stones in my divine card amount to quadrillions upon quadrillions. Are you sure you don’t want them?”

That was only the number of divine stones in his divine card—without counting the rest.

Hearing this, the Yellow Dragon was also slightly shocked by the figure.

Quadrillions might not seem much, but add another billion, and quadrillions upon quadrillions becomes astonishing. Many families in the Netherworld might not be able to come up with that much in divine stones right away.

Still, the Yellow Dragon shook his head.

“Then what do you want?” Bradd frowned.

“I still need a suitable guard,” the Yellow Dragon said slowly, looking at him.

Bradd was stunned. When he understood what the Yellow Dragon meant, his expression darkened. The grayairflow around him intensified as he said gravely, “What?! You want me to be your subordinate?!”

For hundreds of miles within the valley, Huang Long saw all the trees, plants, and rocks being lifted into the air under the terrifying pressure from the other party. Unperturbed, Huang Long simply said, “Not bad.”
This Bradd, if judged by Huang Long’s standards from the Pangu World, could barely be considered a junior attendant for his own cave dwelling.
Bradd’s power continued to grow; gray air currents formed storms that shattered every tree, plant, and rock in the valley. Above the valley, turbulent winds created a massive vortex.
A peerless warrior serving as a subordinate to a mid-tier god? This enraged Bradd even more than when the two-headed demon tiger Xil heard that Huang Long intended to subdue him.
Even though this mid-tier god possessed titles such as advanced beast master, advanced array master, and soul master!
Bradd, the king of the Nimeng Mountains, who had ruled them for over a dozen eons, had once commanded hundreds of thousands of upper-tier gods among his subordinates before being imprisoned. Now, a mid-tier god demanding he serve as his subordinate was an insult—a sheer humiliation!
If it weren’t for the possibility that the other party might truly be able to rescue him, and if not for the restrictions of the valley’s stone forest, he would have already killed him.
“Do you really want to be imprisoned in this valley’s stone forest forever? Are you content? Don’t you want to come out and see her again?” Huang Long asked. Though he didn’t know who she was that Bradd had been talking to earlier, Huang Long guessed it must be a woman very important to him.
Indeed, upon hearing Huang Long’s words, the violent gray air currents caused by the valley’s destructive divine power gradually calmed down and eventually ceased. Then, Huang Long saw that the shattered trees and rocks returned to their original state.
“During these over 20 billion years imprisoned in this valley’s stone forest, I haven’t gained nothing. I’ve grasped the most difficult aspect of the destruction rule—‘rebirth,’” Bradd said calmly, his expression still revealing a sense of pride.
The seven elemental laws and six major rules each have nine characteristics, and among these nine characteristics, some are easier to comprehend while others are difficult. Within the destruction rule, the most difficult characteristic to grasp is “rebirth”—destruction, yet also “rebirth,” completely contrary to destruction itself.
Not only in the Netherworld but also in countless divine realms, there are very few destruction-type divine-level warriors who can comprehend the characteristic of “rebirth”; they are as rare as peerless warriors.
“I believe that aside from me, in this Netherworld, or even in other supreme divine realms or primary divine realms, no one else can break the array restrictions within this valley’s stone forest,” Huang Long said.

This valley’s stone forest restriction is on par with some innate arrays if placed in the Pangu World. Huang Long never expected to encounter such an array restriction here, which is why he concluded that no one in the Netherworld, other supreme divine realms, or main divine realms could break it. It’s no wonder that Brad had failed even after summoning several advanced array masters earlier. However, Huang Long found this stone forest restriction somewhat familiar. Where had he seen it before?! Suddenly, an idea struck Huang Long—Yunhai! Back then, Li Yifeng had taken him to Yunhai, where the array restriction outside the Chaos Hall was somewhat similar to this one, though far more powerful. After hearing Huang Long’s words, Brad fell into deep thought. Though he didn’t know what basis Huang Long had for being so certain, he realized Huang Long was likely telling the truth—the fact that even several advanced array masters had failed over the past 20+ billion years was proof enough. This might be his only chance! Should he continue to be imprisoned in this valley’s stone forest or agree to become the other party’s guard after going outside?! A peerless powerhouse serving as a subordinate to a mid-tier god? Brad was furious, but thinking of her, his anger gradually subsided, leaving him hesitating with an uncertain expression. Huang Long wasn’t in a hurry; he stood there, waiting patiently for a reply. “Well, I can have you as my guard,” Brad said abruptly after a long while, his face resolute. “But the time limit is 20 billion years!” He couldn’t agree to being a subordinate to a mid-tier god forever. Since he had already been imprisoned in this valley’s stone forest for over 20 billion years, he would serve as the guard for 20 billion years. 20 billion years wasn’t much time for him. Looking back, his imprisonment in the valley’s stone forest seemed like just a few years ago. Seeing that the other party agreed, Huang Long smiled and said, “20 billion years.” In 100,000 years, he was confident he could trample Bishop under his feet. What strength would he have after 200 million years? Would he still need Brad as his guard then? Not to mention 200 million years—even after 100,000 years, when he entered the realm battlefield, whether Brad followed him or not wouldn’t matter to Huang Long at all. “No? How about 30 billion years?” Brad blurted out when he saw Huang Long smiling, thinking he was refusing. Now, it was his turn to become anxious. “No need. 20 billion years, as you said,” Huang Long replied with a shake of his head and a smile.

Since the other party had agreed, Huang Long wasn’t afraid of them going back on their word. As an unparalleled powerhouse, that seemed unlikely, but just to be safe, Huang Long still had them swear in the name of the Creator. After Braad took the oath, under Braad’s astonished gaze, a giant golden mountain appeared. Once the Immortal Pavilion was formed, Huang Long sent it charging toward the core of the formation, asking Braad to assist from within. Yet even with their combined efforts, it took half a day to break through the first core. This formation had more than one core—it was a series of interconnected formations. After breaking through the first core, Huang Long, with his expertise in formations, quickly located the second core, and the two worked together to break it as well. In this way, by coordinating from inside and outside, they destroyed one core after another. Three days later, a thunderous explosion resounded throughout the valley. Then, a grayairflow surged upward, scattering the clouds high in the sky. Soon after, a loud laugh echoed across tens of thousands of miles. “Wahahaha! I, Braad, am finally free! I can see the light of day again!” Standing high in the sky, Braad laughed heartily, unleashing his devastating divine power in all directions, his overwhelming presence shaking the surroundings. Over 20 billion years! Though 20 billion years wasn’t a long time in his lifetime, spending it alone in the valley was enough to fill him with loneliness and despair. Huang Long stood by without interfering; he understood the anguish of being imprisoned for such a long time. At this moment, what Braad needed most was to vent, to release all his emotions! After a while, Braad stopped and took deep breaths of the air around him, gazing at the clouds above with emotion. “Olive, I’m finally free! I, Braad, am finally out!” he murmured, looking into the distance. After a while, he turned and appeared before Huang Long, looking at him with mixed emotions. Huang Long, in turn, watched him calmly. “Braad pays his respects to the young master!” After a moment, Braad suddenly bowed to Huang Long. Huang Long wasn’t surprised and said, “Stand up.” He hadn’t expected such rewards from this trial—capturing a subordinate of an unparalleled powerhouse filled him with emotion as well. “Young master, where shall we go now?” Braad asked. “Kleef betrayed you. Don’t you want to clean house?” Huang Long replied, not forgetting the purpose of his mission.