The spiritual energy was vast and surging, churning violently and almost condensing into physical form, incredibly thick and viscous.
The spiritual pressure it created pressed down on the body like a towering mountain, making it difficult to take even a single step.
Si He walked forward step by step from the cave entrance against the vast spiritual pressure. Her muscles were weak and aching, and lifting her feet for each step required extreme effort. Sweat poured down like heavy rain, drenching her body. The pores across her skin opened up, greedily breathing in the energy as a rosy flush spread over her, and a misty moisture pooled in her eyes, making her look pitifully fragile. Her breathing became like that of a ten-thousand-year-old turtle—long, deep, and slow, its rhythm soaking into her very soul.
It was not by choice that she breathed like a ten-thousand-year-old turtle; the spiritual energy was simply so incredibly dense that every inhalation and exhalation required immense effort.
Her face was flushed crimson as if she were drunk, yet she pushed herself forward with all her might.
With every step closer, the spiritual pressure multiplied tenfold, then a hundredfold.
For those last few steps, she gritted her teeth and relied purely on willpower to lift her heavy, sluggish legs, agonizingly closing the distance against a spiritual pressure that had grown as vast as the mountains and seas.
Each step took an incredibly long time.
By the time she reached the ledge, her entire body was so weak and sore that she couldn't summon a shred of strength. Had she lost her balance even slightly, she would have collapsed directly to her knees.
Sweat poured down as if a bucket had been dumped over her head. The sun-bronzed skin she had acquired during their escape was washed clean by the perspiration, rinsing away the color to reveal a baby-like, delicate paleness. It was as if she had never experienced the hardships of flight, a fair complexion so flawless that even heavenly maidens would look upon it with envy.
Si He gasped heavily, her chest heaving dramatically with each labored breath.
This long, heavy breathing made her suspect that if she stayed here too long, she might actually suffocate to death.
Yet the pressure she faced went far beyond this.
She hadn't noticed it when she was further away, but now that she was close, she could feel that the Dragon God exuded a vast dragon might. It felt as if this supreme existence was silently gazing down at her as if she were a mere ant, looking down upon her weak, fluttering soul. The fear originating from the depths of her soul made her heart tremble.
On top of that, there was the pressure of the roasting heat. The magma's temperature was incredibly high, bubbling and boiling as its blazing red glow filled the entire cave walls and volcanic crater.
Had her strength not yet fully degraded, combined with the immense spiritual energy she had absorbed while walking in, she would likely have been thoroughly cooked by now.
Even so, the searing heat still danced across her skin, baking and burning her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
However, although her physical body was in extreme discomfort, her heart surged with excitement.
This vast spiritual pressure and terrifying dragon might far surpassed the deity of her former tribe, and even exceeded the many tribal deities she had ever seen. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime sight, representing an ancient, true god that could completely overturn the power balance of the Great Wilderness and dominate the eight wildernesses.
With the protection of such a deity, her tribe would surely soar to greatness, no longer fearing any disasters or hardships.
They could even enslave or slaughter evil gods.
Excitement flushed Si He's small face, and a brilliant light flickered in her eyes. But she did not forget her identity and duty. Quickly concealing the brightness in her gaze, she fell to her knees and kowtowed.
“O Dragon God above, we mortals have trespassed into your divine dwelling and disturbed your rest. It is a grave sin, and my heart is filled with terror and trepidation. But our tribe drifts through the Great Wilderness, suffering endless disasters, despair, and grief, having lived a bitter life for far too long. Today, we behold your glorious divine light, shining brilliantly across the eight wildernesses. Our souls are shaken beyond recovery. In our deep yearning, we have come specifically to pray to you. We do not beg for boundless divine grace; we only implore your mercy, O Dragon God. Please allow my tribe to offer you worship for generations, following and serving at your side.”
Si He respectfully spoke her peace, keeping her head pressed firmly against the ground for a long time, not daring to move a muscle.
One breath, two breaths... Dozens of breaths passed, yet the Dragon God did not respond.
Panic suddenly gripped Si He's heart, fearing she had done something wrong. Thus, she remained kneeling on the ground for a long time.
After kneeling for who knew how many breaths, her knees had grown incredibly painful.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, she quietly raised her head to steal a glance. She saw that the Dragon God had not moved in the slightest. His breathing remained deep and slow, but his heart beat like rolling thunder.
“Could it be...?”
An absurd idea bloomed in her mind. Gripping the rock wall, she peered down.
The rock wall was unbearably hot, and the scorching red light radiating from the boiling, bubbling magma was blindingly intense.
A wave of blistering heat hit her square in the face.
Drawing on the appearance of the Red Dragon as a reference, Si He searched for the Dragon God's eyes beneath the massive forehead that blocked the cave entrance.
Sure enough, she spotted a colossal dragon eye adorned with long eyelashes.
However, it was closed. He was clearly resting.
“Is he truly asleep?”
Si He's heart skipped a beat. She called out, “Lord Dragon God!” several more times, but received no response.
It was over; the Dragon God was in a deep slumber...
Si He grew anxious.
The Dragon God was an incredibly powerful shield. Why did he have to be asleep?
Tribal deities would all enter deep slumbers. Some lasted for three to five years, while others spanned tens of thousands of years. No one knew when they would awaken.
If a slumber lasted too long, the tribe that followed them might die out completely without the deity ever knowing.
This was a deeply sorrowful yet helpless reality for tribes.
Now that her tribe was decimated, they had finally encountered a powerful, forgotten deity, only to find him asleep.
How could this be...?
Recalling the strange actions of the Red Dragon and the other dragons earlier, she suddenly understood.
No wonder they had tested and frightened them at first; they wanted to assess their character. Later, when the Red Dragon led her into the cave, it was clearly in the hope that she could awaken their Dragon God.
“No wonder...” Si He murmured.
The Red Dragon and the dragon pack had likely sensed a shift in the world's tides recently and wanted to seek the Dragon God's protection and guidance.
In the end, they shared the exact same goal.
“But with the Dragon God asleep...” Si He couldn't help but feel dismayed.
Even if the Dragon God remained asleep, simply coming here to absorb spiritual energy would be enough to make their tribe flourish and grow strong. However, serving directly under a sleeping Dragon God meant dealing with his subordinate deities and familiars first. The Red Dragon had led her here hoping she could awaken the Dragon God. If she failed, they might at best be expelled from this place, and at worst, be slaughtered to prevent the secret location of the Dragon God's slumber from being leaked.
Although the Red Dragon seemed reasonably friendly to them, that was only because it needed their help. If she failed, it was highly likely to turn against them.
If that happened, her tribe would likely meet its end this very day.
Even in some wild fantasy where the Red Dragon didn't kill or expel them, if another tribe discovered a deity of this scale without any tribal followers...
Si He clenched her hands, her gaze flickering with uncertainty.
“No, I must awaken him!”
She bit her lip and looked up, staring directly at the massive, white forehead blocking the entire ledge.
“Lord Dragon God, this believer begs your forgiveness.”
She sat down quietly. Following her family's ancestral method, she closed her eyes and began to absorb spiritual energy. For now, her only option was to recover her strength, then attempt to wake the Dragon God by beating him...
Aside from this, there was no other way.
As for plugging his nostrils to cut off his breathing, that was completely out of the question.
The Dragon God's mouth and snout were submerged in the magma; she couldn't even reach them.
Moreover, that would be a death-seeking move. Even if she succeeded, she would likely be instantly annihilated by the Dragon God.
It would be better to disrupt his slumber through raw force. There was absolutely no way this would injure him anyway; a deity's body was incredibly robust, impervious to swords and axes.
She had heard of some tribes who, in times of life-or-death crisis, would unleash their ultimate moves simply to jar their deities awake.
To incredibly powerful deities, such ultimate moves were nothing more than light scratches.
It was just that once the scratching became annoying enough, they would awaken.
In those situations, the believers would inevitably receive a sound beating, but even that was far better than direct annihilation...
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