Chapter 241: As the wheel of karma turns, so does the heavenly law dictate: what one sows, one shall reap.

"You punk! Spit it out!"

Amidst the dense forest, Chu Liang carried the little butterfly upside down, shaking it forcefully as he attempted to retrieve the bead that it had just swallowed.

Seeing what he was doing, Luo Yao frowned and said, "It’s just a little butterfly. Why are you doing this to it?"

"Amitabha." Monk Pushan shook his head in disapproval. "Even towards small creatures by the roadside, one should show compassion. Mistreating a spirit pet is not a virtuous act."

"It might have swallowed a Dragon Orb..." Chu Liang said. "The Blue Dragon’s Dragon Orb."

While they were in front of him at this moment, it was too difficult to hide this. Hence, Chu Liang just straightforwardly told them.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"I'll help you pry open its mouth, you push hard!" Monk Pushan rolled up his sleeves and joined the fight.

"

Eh?

" When Luo Yao heard that, she took out her saber and asked, "Why don’t we just cut it open?"

"That’s a great idea," Monk Pushan immediately agreed with a nod.

Set kindness and compassion aside for now, and focus solely on the Dragon Orb.

After all, they knew what this Dragon Orb represented. By getting this Blue Dragon’s Dragon Orb in this hidden realm, they would become the ruler of this hidden realm.

This was a hidden realm of a True Dragon during ancient times.

The already small eyes of Little Golden Butterfly widened like green peas, filled with innocence.

Why should I spit out the orb I swallowed with my own ability?

"I'm just a hungry little butterfly. I haven't provoked any of you!

Sob

Sob

Sob

"

Chu Liang had to admit that this little thing was indeed extraordinary. It now looked completely defenseless, allowing him to do anything to it in his hands as he pleased.

The stone box on the Coiling-Dragon Pillar was so tough that even the Eminent Ones would likely be unable to forcefully dismantle it. Yet, somehow, it managed to extract the Dragon Orb from the stone box!

Even now, he wondered if Little Golden Butterfly could gnaw through any defense in the world as long as there was food inside.

Is this the belief of a foodie?

However, the Dragon Orb was not an ordinary object; this should be the first time Little Golden Butterfly ate something it couldn't digest. Even in its earliest form as a little maggot, it could instantly produce golden silk from whatever it ate.

"Good girl, let's spit it out. This is not easy to digest, we can't eat it." Chu Liang started coaxing and deceiving, "If you spit it out, I'll give you even tastier food when we get back."

After toiling away for half a day, the three of them finally managed to pat a fist-sized black-golden orb out of Little Golden Butterfly's mouth.

As soon as the orb was spat out, it immediately transformed into a golden light and whooshed into Chu Liang's chest!

Boom!

Suddenly, Chu Liang felt an immensely majestic and noble sensation enveloping his tiny body.

Thunderous roars echoed in his ears. It was the dragon chant of the ancient Blue Dragon!

After a while, he finally broke free from the trembling, awe-inspiring power. Inside his Sea of Qi, there existed an undulating black-golden star next to the sun-like ultimate-tier Golden Core.

Luo Yao and Monk Pushan naturally desired the Dragon Orb as well, but it had chosen Chu Liang outright, depriving them of any opportunity to compete for it.

It was likely due to the aura of True Dragon on his body.

They could only watch with envy.

"How did it go?" Monk Pushan asked, "Now that you have the Dragon Orb, can we reopen the hidden realm and leave?"

"Leave?" Chu Liang blinked, then suddenly smiled. "No rush."

...

"Who did this?"

On the way out of the Dragon-Bone Palace, Master Mu's chest felt tight and heavy with pent-up frustration, as if every breath he took was weighed down by a burden of anger.

"Could it be those disciples from the White-Bone Hall?" Enchantress Liu speculated.

"That's unlikely," Master Mu said as he shook his head slowly. "While they may be acting a little strange, they can't possibly be this powerful... Otherwise, it won't be them fleeing everywhere. It would be us."

"True...

Eh?

" Enchantress Liu was about to nod in agreement when she suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

As she flew out from the Dragon-Bone Palace, Enchantress Liu caught sight of a young man in black robes waiting outside. His figure matched that of the most cunning of the three disciples from the White-Bone Hall.

In that moment, the figure lifted his hood, unveiling a youthful face that was both clear and remarkably attractive.

There was a harmless and gentle smile on his face.

"Why the sudden desire for death?" Enchantress Liu looked at him strangely, momentarily puzzled by his intentions.

Although she had wanted to kill this guy for a long time, she felt hesitant as he stood before her.

"I have something to show you," Chu Liang said in a warm tone.

"What? Trying to offer a treasure in exchange for your own life?" Enchantress Liu sneered. "You'll have to show it to us first so we can determine its worth."

"Are you sure you want me to simply reveal it like this?" Chu Liang blinked as he spoke.

"Or perhaps you'd prefer us to search for it after you're dead," Enchantress Liu said coldly.

"Alright, alright then," Chu Liang shook his head helplessly. As he raised his hand, he retrieved a dudou, holding it up and spreading it to reveal a black lotus on the dudou. "Evaluate its worth now."

Upon seeing it, Enchantress Liu froze momentarily, then flames immediately ignited in her eyes!

No one would recognize this dudou better than her.

This was her clothing.

Apart from her, only a few dozen people might have had their hands on this clothing! However, she had already killed most of these individuals, except for the Southern-Route Guider... who died in a foreign land even before she could kill him.

As Enchantress Liu thought of how Chu Liang had opened the Blue Dragon’s Hidden Realm, she immediately guessed that this disciple of the White-Bone Hall had acquired the items of the Southern-Route Guider after he died.

Until this moment, she hadn't even considered the possibility that Chu Liang was the one who killed the Southern-Route Guider.

Seeing him flaunting her dudou, Enchantress Liu's rage surged uncontrollably. In a flash, she transformed into a streak of crimson light, charging towards him!

Chu Liang turned and fled.

In this very instant, the two monsters[1] chased after Chu Liang into the dense forest of the valley and were soon catching up to Chu Liang. However, Master Mu abruptly stopped Enchantress Liu, exclaiming, "Something's not right!"

Indeed, something was amiss.

The air was thick with a palpable sense of danger.

Enchantress Liu came back to her senses. As she looked around, she saw a massive head with half a wing sticking out at the end of the valley. Its scales were shattered, with traces of blood visible.

It was the Winged Draconic Beast that they had fought earlier.

Immediately, the second dragon head also emerged.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth... countless lurking draconic demonic beasts, descendants of dragons, revealed their fangs.

The valley was filled with a myriad of creatures, their forms clustered together like a dense forest.

The valley became surrounded from all sides by the creatures, forming an unbroken ring of encirclement

Chu Liang turned around, smiling at them with bright, shining eyes.

After obtaining the Dragon Orb, he gained control over this hidden realm. He issued commands to all the draconic demonic beasts, ordering them to come forth and slay the two monsters.

However, both diabolical cultivators were at the sixth realm and wielded sinister techniques from the diabolical sects. They were so cunning that even if all the draconic descendants encircled and pursued them, it wouldn't guarantee their capture and victory.

And so, Chu Liang commanded the draconic demonic beasts to set up an ambush while he personally led the enemy into the trap.

At this moment, Enchantress Liu and Master Mu found themselves encircled by numerous descendants of dragons, feeling the suffocating presence of death looming closer.

Master Mu's expression changed drastically. "So it was indeed you who retrieved the Dragon Orb. How did you do it?"

Chu Liang couldn't be bothered to speak another word to him as he simply waved his hand.

"

Roar—

"

The thunderous chants of the dragons blended into a single roar as a horde of scaled figures surged forward like a sea. The two monsters, with no desire to engage in combat, focused solely on fleeing in desperation.

But how could they possibly escape?

With a resounding cry, Enchantress Liu rallied, "To secure victory, we must first seize the king. Charge forward with me!"

Upon seeing the current situation, Master Mu knew as well that they had to capture the young man possessing the Dragon Orb. Otherwise, they would be subjected to relentless pursuit by the draconic demonic beasts.

As he quickly set up a formation diagram beneath his feet, he charged toward Chu Liang, prepared to fight to the death!

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, he closed in on Chu Liang. Twelve drawings of Shatterstrike Formation materialized in the air as he sought to crush Chu Liang to death then and there!

However, Chu Liang suddenly vanished in a flash.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

His body suddenly shifted several zhang backward, and not just once, but several times in succession, instantly widening the distance between him and Master Mu.

It was the Dimension Compression!

Master Mu's eyes were overtaken by a sudden wave of despair.

The most powerful feature of this immortal art was its absence of trajectory, warning, or indication, coupled with its ability to teleport vast distances in an instant.

However, this was certainly not an immortal art that a disciple of the White-Bone Hall should master, let alone master with such proficiency. Moreover, even if he was skilled, the question remained: why was he able to utilize this immortal art three times in succession?

Did he not need time to replenish his foundational qi?

Now that Master Mu had missed the target, death loomed imminent. The draconic demonic beasts surrounding him seized the opportunity, pouncing upon him relentlessly. Even as he was ultimately crushed and torn apart by the countless draconic demonic beasts, he never figured out the answers to his own questions.

Enchantress Liu, who was in the lead, swiftly retreated as a cloud of blood erupted into the air.

Puff!

It was the Great Diabolical Shield of Blood!

This was a unique life-saving divine technique of the Scarlet-Robe Hall. By harming one’s own body and causing severe injuries in exchange for an instant escape over a thousand li!

And that was how she escaped.

But even if she managed to escape then, she couldn’t escape the Blue Dragon’s Hidden Realm.

She now faced the same dilemma that Chu Liang, Luo Yao, and Pushan had faced.

Seeing the countless draconic descendants gathered in front, Chu Liang waved his hand and commanded them to disperse. Then, he asked Luo Yao and Pushan to guard him while he adjusted his breathing and qi circulation.

He held the Dragon Orb in his hand, symbolizing his inheritance of the authority of the Blue Dragon.

However, this authority belonged to a True Dragon at the eighth realm. At this point, it was still too much for him to bear. Just one single use of this authority would exhaust a tremendous amount of his strength.

When he issued the command to all the draconic demonic beasts, it depleted almost all of his foundational qi. If the draconic demonic beasts were to perceive his weakness, some of the stronger ones might entertain the idea of killing him and seizing his authority.

This was the most basic authority. With a higher cultivation level, he could even place the entire hidden realm into the Dragon Orb and take it away, or casually alter the landscape of this world.

He was like a god.

But if he wanted to reach that level, every thought would require a tremendous exhaustion of cultivation energy.

Soon, he replenished his cultivation energy and opened his eyes.

The two who safeguarded him were also quite astonished. Chu Liang's ability to replenish his cultivation energy in such a short time was truly remarkable; he could go from having empty qi to being filled to maximum in just a moment. Anyone engaging in combat with him would likely struggle to avoid defeat unless they could swiftly secure victory.

Could this be the advantage of having an ultimate-tier Golden Core?

Without hesitation, Chu Liang immediately used his divine intent the moment he regained his cultivation energy. He channeled his foundational qi into the Dragon Orb, granting him the ability to perceive everything within the Blue Dragon’s Hidden Realm.

Enchantress Liu hid in a cave in the valley, regulating her breathing and facilitating her healing. She was shocked and terrified as she realized that things had evolved beyond her expectations.

How did that disciple of the White-Bone Hall get his hands on the items of the Southern-Route Guider and how did he get the Dragon Orb...

How did he, an insignificant lackey, end up with such a great fate?

This was beyond her comprehension.

While she still had countless questions, she heard footsteps coming from outside.

Oh no!

She dashed out and saw the black-cloaked young man as she had expected.

He has taken control over the Dragon Orb. While she remained in the Blue Dragon’s Hidden Realm, she would never be able to hide!

Enchantress Liu gnashed her teeth as she questioned, "Why can’t you just let me go?"

Chu Liang's gaze was indifferent. "When you were killing so many people, you probably didn't consider letting them off easy, did you?"

As the wheel of karma turns, so does the heavenly law dictate: what one sows, one shall reap.

As these sinister cultivators ruthlessly took the lives of innocents, they should have expected that such consequences would eventually befall them as well.

Enchantress Liu was taken aback, feeling somewhat strange to hear such words from a disciple of the diabolical sect. She forced a smile, trying to maintain composure, and said, "I understand. With your cultivation energy, it must have been exhausting to activate the Dragon Orb. The recent summoning of the draconic descendants must have consumed a significant amount of energy. It won't be easy for you to kill me now. Now that you have authority over this hidden realm, you will surely earn a place in our diabolical sect in the future. As long as you spare me, I will serve you faithfully, willingly becoming your servant... Isn't that a beautiful arrangement?"

Chu Liang merely smiled and said, "I don’t need the Dragon Orb to kill you."

1. Referring to Enchantress Liu and Master Mu ☜