Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible
Chapter 79: The Parallels

Chapter 79: The Parallels

Shi Xian smiled, a derisive expression covering his face.

"Indeed, even now, I want to live. So, do tell, little snake, what do you want that I might give?"

Thus the covenant was struck between the snake and the man, signed with their souls, breaking the primordial ban.

"Break the circle of laws that hold me here, and I shall provide you with a way to live, do not fear. Do it fast. Look, they come! Our deal is fair, the best outcome!"

Shi Xian pulled out a sword from the ground, it swished in the air, making grating sounds as it cut through the iron tomb, carving a law, and breaking the circle of laws that never had a flaw.

The snake hissed from freedom’s taste, savoring the air it emerged in haste. Not just a snake, but a dragon from tales, eyes like the sun, gigantic gleaming scales.

In awe, Shi Xian gasped, but he had none else to give his trust. So he stood his ground as he had kept his word, casting away the Sealing Sword.

Bound by the law, the dragon smiled. When it breathed hellfire, corpses piled, the horde of nightmares had nowhere to hide.

"Wise choice," the dragon said. The familiar voice made Shi Xian sigh.

"Keep your word, and don’t let me die."

The Dragon nodded and its claws swiped down, tearing the ground, sending cracks running all around.

"Lie here in this tomb I’ve made, using laws that shall never fade, feeding on you in a cycle of qi, it is a fair trade," the dragon said.

"How long shall my slumber last?" Shi Xian asked, his heart beating fast, still fearing it would betray his trust.

"Genesis of Dao will leave this tomb torn. So you’ll be freed when your dao is born."

Thus, the first human was entombed above the ashes of a thousand dragons, and the final usher was greeted by the ashes of a million humans outside.

Alas, freedom is hard to preserve, and few ever find the life they crave. The nightmares laying waste to the land screamed to their kin. Their leader, the cursed colluder, chased after the dragon to strip off its skin.

The dragon was wise, it bowed its head, choosing slavery over the threat of death, and offered to help the colluder seal this land, where laws that shined once shall be laid as a wreath.

That day, the dragon carved laws that filled him with fear. A circle of laws from legends was born, wrought out of the dragon’s scales, carved with the dragon’s own nails and horn.

The colluder wished to kill the dragon once it was done. But the dragon was wise and expected such, a prisoner for life, it had trusted none. His unrivaled spear struck empty air, the body of the dragon was no longer there. Illusions broke and the dragon spoke.

"Fool, a dragon cannot be ensnared once it has tasted shackles’ despair. Freedom has been my lifelong dream, I shall savor it while you rot here and scream."

The circle of laws tasted a dragon’s blood, blooming into the myriad seal that struck the land like a cleansing flood.

The cursed colluder shook from fear, as unbreakable laws surrounded him, some distant, some near. The holy land of laws was now literally so, as a gargantuan death pit where life could not go.

But the colluder was a man who dared to dream. He split his own soul at the precipice of death, bringing upon a curse that made the dragon scream.

Caught in that death trap, the dragon fell down, its soul breaking apart and creating something foul. One part of its soul still escaped the spell, as a horrifying breath fell in its wake, ringing like a death knell.

The fragmented soul knew it had to return. The fallen part had to be recovered or burned. Because the dragon understood what it had left in there—a disaster that brought absolute destruction and despair.

....

The Golden Token’s effect seemed to come to an abrupt end when Han Xuhan reached this part of the fascinating story. The mosaic refused to fade and reveal the next line.

"What the hell did I just read? Is this world fragment the location of the destroyed Holy Land of Laws? What does this story have to do with my current predicament?"

Seeing no further changes taking place on the Golden Book of Main Storyline, Han Xuhan dismissed the system panels and sat down in front of the wall to think.

While he couldn’t immediately see a way out of this place, what he had learned was invaluable from a bigger perspective.

The gray fog, the illusions keeping the gateway to this world fragment hidden, the demonic cultivators using ordinary people to explore deeper, and the mysterious appearance of this world—all of these could be connected to the story as long as he made some logical leaps and let his imagination run wild.

The story itself contained too many elements that he didn’t understand. He would need to gather a lot more information about this ancient Holy Land of Laws to make sense of the whole thing.

Nevertheless, one conclusion was certain. This place was definitely not the simple inheritance ground that everyone seemed to think. The elements at play here were far more unstable!

"There must be a reason why the system revealed this story to me in exchange for the Golden Token. Could this place be directly linked to something in the story?"

Wondering to himself, Han Xuhan stared at the walls surrounding them. The dull glow under the thick crystalline surface highlighted the texts...

Texts?

Han Xuhan recalled what Qian Yun had said about these texts, how Mu Ran, the protagonist, had arrived in this stadium, presumably deciphered the texts, and copied something from the walls that had caused him to disappear.

Han Xuhan recalled the carvings Mu Ran had left on the floor, and the circle that neatly surrounded the carvings.

Circles, texts, imprisonment, and a key to freedom; circle of laws, seals, entombment, and the dragon’s escape...

An intense brightness was born in Han Xuhan’s eyes as he drew the parallels and reached a pivotal clue from that story.