Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 246 - 171: The Struggle Between Humans and Monsters

Chapter 246: Chapter 171: The Struggle Between Humans and Monsters

In the Ninth Grotto Heaven, nestled between mountain ravines, a giant maw opened up to reveal a world of its own, spanning tens of thousands of miles within.

Outside the Grotto Heaven, the pride of Monster Clans gathered: a variety of elites from different clans, along with protectors and monster soldiers, totaling over a hundred monsters in all.

They sharpened their teeth and claws, with carcasses piling up beneath the hanging mouth.

Just as animals have the habit of dragging food into their nests, the Monster Clan was no exception. The only difference between them and wild beasts was their greater appetite.

Ao Heng had transformed into his dragon form and lay prone at the entrance of the Grotto Heaven. His wounds had healed after taking Divine Medicine, but a scar, where flesh and shattered scales were interwoven, was still faintly visible on his abdomen.

Even the Divine Medicine that could mend bones and flesh could not erase this scar.

His dragon body twisted slightly, and a bit of white fur was exposed within. The present Saint Son of the White Tiger Clan was caught in Ao Heng’s aura, being forcefully merged with it.

Dragons, by nature lascivious, held the power of reproduction, capable of mating with any being to give birth to offspring.

This ability was seen as an auspicious sign in ancient times, revered by all clans, who would pray for the True Dragon to bestow Dragon Sons upon them. Even humans, who valued propriety, righteousness, integrity, and honor, regarded dragons as harbingers of good fortune.

For any race, reproduction is the most sacred act.

The Dragon Clan indeed used reproduction in a divine and enchanting manner, able to reverse Yin and Yang without any external aid, causing wondrous stones to birth progeny through the merging of auras.

Saint Daughter Feng Yue, who had known the White Tiger Saint Son from childhood and was on reasonably good terms with him, slightly closed her eyes. She feared that by voicing any objections, she would be the next one dragged into the ordeal.

Moreover, this was a situation the White Tiger Saint Son had brought upon himself, as he had repeatedly provoked Ao Heng by killing his brother several times.

Feng Yue had spent time cultivating in the Human Race’s Earth Realm to understand the humans—a race that was utterly distinct from all others and considered enemies by the Monster Clan.

The Monster Clan was chaotic and unruly, a point the Human Race wasn’t wrong about.

But most monsters were comparable to the common folk or wild men among humans at best. The actual populace consisted of clans with specific bloodlines; scholars and cultivators were offshoots of the royal family, and rulers were the royal family itself.

The royal family’s education for their offspring was no less comprehensive than that of the Major Sect disciples. The Angri Grotto Heaven also took a more holistic approach, requiring direct descendants to travel and see the world.

In both human and monster societies, it’s a dog-eat-dog world, but humans are generally milder in nature; at least no one would dare to forcefully mate with another in public. If it ever occurred, it would surely result in mass retaliation.

This isn’t to say that monsters are completely heartless; it’s just that most of them have a narrow concept of territory, and their emotions – love, hate, joy, and sorrow – are confined to small spaces. They can empathize with family, subordinates, and friends, but remain indifferent to everything else.

The White Tiger Saint Son, being forced into an aura merging, would only stoke their curiosity about whether a child could be born from the act.

Suddenly, furred monsters bristled, and hairless ones shook, as a chill shot from the depths of their hearts to their heads.

"Do you think my White Tiger Clan is without its champions to insult our young?"

A voice came from all directions, and within the minds of the monsters, eyes—one green, one purple—materialized.

The monsters instinctively thought to retreat but seemed rooted to the spot.

A gust of wind stirred, and a tiger’s silhouette appeared in the center, which then transformed into a man clad in black.

He was dressed in a dark gold robe, his silver-white hair neatly tied at the back of his head. With a tall nose and large eyes, his stern eyebrows framed the intimidating brilliance within his purple and green eyes, stunning the surrounding monsters.

"Release him, lest I be forced to intervene."

Ao Heng’s gaze sharpened, and the previously casual aura around him tightened as he said, "You’ve finally come out, Baidi Hua. I’ve long heard that a Saint Heir like you is born once in a hundred thousand years in the White Tiger Clan. Seeing you today proves the reputation is well-deserved."

Meanwhile, the monsters began to stir. The name Baidi Xun was vaguely familiar to them, once a legend known only within the White Tiger Clan. They had a prodigy fifty thousand years ago who nearly dominated the young generation of the entire world.

At that time, the concept of the Human Race versus Monster Clan had not emerged, and the clans were preying on one another.

It wasn’t until thirty thousand years ago, when the Three Religions stood strong, leading the Human Race away from the Jianmu into the vast, barren lands to cultivate and gradually rise to power, that the division between humans and monsters took form.

Five thousand years ago, when the monsters besieged the Human Race, they did not see the humans as weak but took advantage of a brief period of vulnerability.

In human historical terms, leaving the Jianmu thirty thousand years ago is referred to as the ancient times, and ten thousand years ago as the middle ages.

Each era has its paramount genius, and every clan has its time of prosperity. Those races that have survived to this day were once grand.

And Baidi Xun was the highest talent of the White Tiger Clan, an unparalleled genius from the primordial era, standing above all current races as the world’s first.

Even the arrogant Ao Heng dared not underestimate him. He was proud, not foolish.

He was always polite to peers of similar realms. The rough talk that fell so easily from his lips was never an insult but simply the truth.

’His aura seems a bit weak; it looks like he hasn’t fully recovered yet.’

The solemnity in Ao Heng’s eyes gradually faded as he began to discern the other’s foundation.

A sixty-six pathway foundation posed no threat for the moment, but there was no guarantee he wouldn’t risk a desperate attempt to return to his peak.

Baidi Xun said, "You’re not bad yourself, but I don’t believe I’ve heard of you?"

"I was born ten thousand years after you, but it only took five hundred years of cultivation for me to ascend to be the foremost of my millennium. Then I was sealed away in time and arrived in this era."

Ao Heng still coiled around the White Tiger Saint Son, even exposing the tiger’s head, now smeared with sticky saliva, seemingly as a provocation but actually as a test.

"How many years have you been cultivating?"

"Three hundred years, unmatched in this world. Perhaps some of your ancestors met their end at my hands."

Between their spoken words, an invisible clash of swords could be felt, chilling the bones of the onlookers.

Only the two of them understood; their confrontation was as much about mutual respect as rivalry. Both sought transcendence and eternal life, forsaking friends and family, parents and kin, plunging into the river of time, journeying for tens of thousands of years to arrive in this era.