Chapter 395: That's It?

With Lin Bei leading the way, the group's progress became swift and seamless. The Jimeng Dragon Cavalry members were not many to begin with and most of the members had now been dispatched to tackle the demons that were causing trouble. And so, they did not encounter any Jimeng clan members along their route.

"There are many cells here, but only about ten are occupied," Lin Bei said, his tone casual yet confident. "I've taken care of delivering food to every single one during the day. Without me, you'd be wandering around for ages."

"You will be remembered for this great merit," said Chu Liang.

As they continued, the group arrived at a cell that stood out from the rest.

The cells here were small and fortified with intricate enchanted formations, far beyond the complexity of the outer walls. Even seventh-realm experts would struggle to break them. Of course, unless they were on the same level as Di Nufeng.

But if Di Nufeng were involved, there was no knowing who might end up being locked in here.

The cell was devoid of doors or windows, featuring only a small, fortified hole at the bottom for passing in food. The thick walls were evident through this narrow tunnel, which allowed food to be slid in but offered no visibility from either side.

As Chu Liang prepared to break through the wall, Lin Bei couldn't help but remark, "This is not going to be an easy task..."

"..."

"Wow, it actually works?"

A moment later, he couldn't help but exclaim.

The experts of the Blazing Fire Gang all nodded repeatedly.

Yes! Exactly, very surprising, right?

We were just as surprised earlier, no shame in it.

The little golden butterfly quickly gnawed a face-sized hole in the thick wall as if it was swimming. It was even faster than before.

Chu Liang guessed there were two reasons: first, it had just woken up earlier; second, the more complex formations here meant more spiritual energy. For the little golden butterfly, more spiritual energy meant tastier food.

As for the hardness...

It was all crunchy anyway.

After making a larger hole, Lin Bei leaned in to look and saw a young man chained at the limbs. He asked, "Is the Blazing Fire Gang's chief in there?"

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"No," the person inside replied.

"Sorry, wrong cell," Lin Bei said, turning to leave.

Why are you being polite now?

Chu Liang remarked inwardly.

"Hey, hey, hey?" the person inside quickly called out, "Don't go."

Chu Liang glanced through the hole and suddenly exclaimed, "Ji Lingfeng?"

"Ah!" The young man inside also exclaimed, "You're that Mount Shu disciple who rides a Hou?"

His once fine clothes were now tattered, and his previously clean and handsome face was now quite haggard, but his eyes were a mystical blue.

He was Ji Lingfeng, the eighth young master of the Ji family, whom Chu Liang had met before.

When Chu Liang went to the Ji family to deliver a message, he first met the ninth young lady Ji Lingyu, then the eighth young master Ji Lingfeng hitching a ride on the Hou, which was quite an extraordinary experience.

Later, Ji Lingyu followed Tang Shi and joined his Ghost-Face Chamber, saying she wouldn't go home until her eighth brother returned.

So her eighth brother was here?

If Ji Lingyu insisted on competing with him on who returned home later, it would be a prolonged and arduous battle...

Since Ji Lingyu was an acquaintance, Chu Liang had the little golden butterfly continue gnawing and also chewed off the chains on Ji Lingfeng. During this time, he asked Ji Lingfeng how he ended up here.

"

Haaaa

," Ji Lingfeng sighed. "It's a series of unfortunate family affairs. That day, I left home for a fun trip outside. Initially, I planned to travel overseas to avoid being found. But who knew I'd witness a battle in the West Sea! Someone was ambushing Chief Xu Bashan of the Whale Gang! I tried to escape but was discovered. They wanted to kill me but when they notice that I was a member of the Ji Family, they decided to hold me hostage instead."

So that was what had happened. He was unlucky to have been caught in the incident where the Heaven-Devouring Python devoured Xu Bashan. The mastermind behind that incident has never been identified, and naturally, they wouldn't let a witness escape.

"Did you see the identity of the perpetrator?" Chu Liang asked curiously.

"That person..." Ji Lingfeng hesitated before answering, "Should be my eldest brother."

"Ah?" Everyone was shocked again.

Lin Bei asked in surprise, "You've already sworn brotherhood with the City Lord?"

"No." Ji Lingfeng denied as he wondered how such an assumption could even be formed.

He then explained, "He is a member of the Ji Family, and he is the eldest male of our generation, named Ji Lingjue. Although we are of the same generation, he is over a hundred years older than me, so I have only heard about him from the elders."

"Wow," Lin Bei exclaimed.

In such large families, it was normal for people of the same generation to have significant age differences, but such a large gap was rare and only occurred in cultivation families.

It was likely because there had been a man at the age of a few hundred years old and still going hard at it despite the old age.

"His father is my eldest uncle from the main house, but his mother was a dragon lady from the Jimeng tribe. That was likely just a fleeting relationship and his appearance was just an accident and he was then abandoned," Ji Lingfeng said as he scratched his head. "With that monstrous talent, he grew up on his own. He had likely suffered a lot. When he achieved a high level of cultivation, he went back to the house of Ji to be recognized as a member of the Ji Family. My eldest uncle went to see him, but then..."

"When a maid went in to deliver tea, she saw his father lying in a pool of blood and sitting there with a grin."

Good grief.

This is basically the saying: The son laughs when the father leaves the world.

"No one expected things to turn out this way. He fought his way out of the Ji Family and then disappeared without a trace. My family has been hunting him all over the world for many years."

Lin Bei blinked and said: "He must have killed his mother too because I heard from the chief steward that the lord of the city became their new master by killing the former dragon lady of the Jimeng tribe..."

Everyone fell silent.

He was indeed a ruthless person.

...

While this conversation was happening, the little golden butterfly started chewing through all the chains, absorbing all the spiritual energy within, leaving only a ground full of golden threads.

Ji Lingfeng regained his freedom.

"Let's go to the next one," someone said and everyone hastily moved.

According to Lin Bei, there were not many prisons with people here, and they should be able to open them all within an hour.

Chu Liang's mind raced.

If there were seventh-level beings like Xu Bashan and the South Sea Inferno Dragon here... they wouldn't need to find a method to enter or exit the hidden realm.

Even if these beings at the seventh realm of cultivation couldn't defeat the city lord that had sacrificed both his parents to the heavens, they wouldn't be beings that the Heaven-Devouring Python could trap. These beings could easily open up a pathway out.

As long as they were saved, there would be an eighty percent chance of escaping this place!

Then, the little golden butterfly arrived at another prison and started chewing.

There seemed to be a tall and mighty middle-aged man behind the wall. His jaws looked as if they were carved by a saber and his eyebrows were as straight as a sword and his nose was tall like a mountain. He exuded an aura of authority even when he wasn't showing any anger.

Although his limbs were locked with rune chains and there were twelve faintly glowing silver scales on his body constantly torturing him, he still sat upright in the center, meditating with his eyes closed.

When he heard the noise by the wall, he slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Who's out there? Are you here to save me?"

"Chief, is that you?" came a sound from outside.

"It's me," the man replied.

Muffled cheers sounded outside.

Once a round hole was chewed open, the vice-chief immediately peered inside. But upon seeing who was there, she was very disappointed. 'You are not our chief! Who are you?' she demanded.

"I am the chief of the Four Seas Whale Gang," the person in the cell said in a voice like thunder.

"It's a mistake. This is not our chief." The members of the Blazing Fire Gang turned back in disappointment, "Time is tight. Why don't we head to the next one and rescue our chief first?"

Chu Liang quickly advised, "Since we're here, let's save him too."

Good grief. This one is much more useful than your chief. Even if you guys aren't coming along, we have to take him with us.

What are you thinking?

But before a hole that was big enough for a person to pass through was opened, someone with a strange accent shouted, "Who's there?"

As they turned over, they realized that a member of the Jimeng Clan had discovered them!

This member of the Jimeng Clan immediately wanted to call for help, but Lin Bei quickly jumped forward and shouted, "Everything is fine! We're just making a hole in the wall! It's okay!"

"Huh? Making a hole?" The member of the Jimeng Clan paused for a moment, appearing to be on a mental overload. Then, he realized something and said, "Isn't that breaking someone out of prison?"

However, in that moment of hesitation, a few burly guys had surrounded the Jimeng clansman.

The Jimeng clansman guarding the prison was at the fifth realm of cultivation, while the experts in the Blazing Fire Gang, even the weakest one, was at the fifth realm. Obviously, dealing with this Jimeng clansman was a piece of cake! As the group hurdled forward, they unleashed the force of thunder!

As the vice-chief swung her large axe, the Jimeng clansman lifted his weapon to block. But it was useless. That one move sent him flying several zhang high!

Boom boom—

As a few more explosions sounded and a few more strikes, the Jimeng clansman was knocked down. Yet, the explosions caused by the fifth-realm expert caught the attention of some in the distance.

"

Roar—

"

A dragon chant sounded from afar.

The translation of the chant immediately appeared in Chu Liang's mind and he called out, "He's calling for backup!"

"Even though I don't understand the language of dragons, I too know that it's calling for backup," Lin Bei said. "I don't think there are many Jimeng clansmen here so I think we can handle it!"

Bang bang bang bang—

With that dragon chant, a series of heavy and rapid hoofbeats sounded.

It was a squad of eight Jimeng Dragon Calvarymen with sharp sabers in their hands!

This squad was incredibly powerful, with even three Jimeng clansmen among them who had reached the sixth realm of cultivation. As they rode forward, everyone immediately rose and rushed towards them, grabbing their weapons and unleashing their divine abilities.

As the Jimeng clansmen fought, blood-red smoke of qi emanated from their bodies, making them resemble celestial soldiers. It was clear they were performing the Divine Dragons' Great Blood-Burning Technique!

Immediately, Chu Liang used the same move. He activated his foundational qi and his body unleashed a surge of dragon aura, which instantly weakened the flames of qi unleashed by the Jimeng clansmen, who were also draconic descendants.

It was common for draconic descendants to battle in this manner. The competition was all about the purity of dragon blood. Even if one had a higher cultivation, they could be restrained by someone with purer blood.

It was thanks to the dragon blood within Chu Liang that he was able to suppress the Jimeng Dragon Cavalry, giving everyone a significant advantage!

At that moment, the Jimeng Clan member who had been knocked down staggered to his feet and let out a loud dragon roar, "Roar—"

"He said to hold on for a while—he's going to release that dragon!" Chu Liang exclaimed. He then immediately asked, "What dragon?"

"It should be that South Sea Inferno Dragon. The city lord has imprisoned it and is performing some sort of modification on it," Lin Bei answered.

"Huh? Then stop him quickly!" Chu Liang shouted.

But it was already too late.

In the blink of an eye, the Jimeng clansman sprinted to a large prison in the distance. As the silver scale on his forehead lit up, the talisman on the prison began to flash with a red light.

That prison was indeed different. While the Jimeng clansman couldn't open the other prisons, he could open this one. This suggested that the creature locked inside was likely an ally, but it had to be locked up because...it's fierce?

"Roar—"

A dragon chant echoed through the entire Python Belly City and reverberated across the hidden realm, like the sound of a legendary sword being unsheathed.

Chu Liang listened closely to the chant, sensing two somewhat familiar auras within it. Thanks to his own dragon breath, he was particularly attuned to such things.

Part of it came from the South Sea Inferno Dragon, and the other part... from the Dragon Soul of Baxia from that day!

Chu Liang was stunned as he realized that the dragon soul released from Baxia's tomb had been merged with the South Sea Inferno Dragon.

In that moment, he understood why the city lord was so determined to capture the South Sea Inferno Dragon.

"This person refined the Dragon Soul of Baxia, captured the South Sea Inferno Dragon, and then fused the two together. Isn't this..." Chu Liang muttered, trailing off in disbelief.

"A Xia Sea Dragon?" Lin Bei interjected.

"Of all the words you could choose from those two names, you had to pick these?" the crowd shouted in unison.

"Isn't it a massively vicious beast..." Chu Liang continued, his voice trailing off.

Such a heaven-defying method!

The South Sea Inferno Dragon possessed Divine Dragon Fire and immense spiritual energy, while Baxia, a child of the Dragon, was unmatched in power and strength.

By combining the body of the South Sea Inferno Dragon with the Dragon Soul of Baxia, an unparalleled vicious beast with terrifying flames and invincible strength would be created!

Eh?

As Chu Liang was contemplating this, he was reminded of someone..

Esteemed teacher?

he thought.

Boom boom boom—

As the giant prison was opened, a flash of red light was followed by a massive explosion that engulfed the entire prison building and the Jimeng clansman who opened it in flames!

It was the endless Divine Dragon Fire! The blood of those caught in it nearly evaporated on the spot!

The divine fire was vast, incinerating all life in its path.

At that moment, Chu Liang briefly grasped a fragment of the essence of the Dao of Incinerating Heaven, but he had no time to reflect on this now.

A towering figure that lit up the night sky rose from the sea of flames. The Divine Dragon Fire enveloping its crimson-gold scales was so intense that the original form of the South Sea Inferno Dragon was barely visible.

All they could see were its eyes, filled with bloodlust—brimming with slaughter and madness!

"What kind of monster did he create?"

Anyone who witnessed this scene and heard the dragon chant was in deep shock. Even if they didn't understand dragon language, they could feel the anger and madness in the chant.

It wanted to kill all the living beings it saw!

The observers trembled in their limbs and souls. They only wanted to escape!

At this moment, Chu Liang finally understood the feelings of those who had once stood against Di Nufeng.

It was despair.

It was suffocating fear and despair!

"There's no escape!" Xu Bashan, still in the cell, roared, "Wait until I get out, and I will deal with it!"

His shout brought everyone back to their senses.

Indeed. Where could they escape to?

Python Belly City was vast enough to house hundreds of thousands of humans, but for this unparalleled vicious beast, it was just a small manor.

It could kill everyone here in an instant!

The only one who could possibly deal with it was Xu Bashan, a cultivator at the seventh realm. As the chief of the Whale Gang, weak cultivation was definitely not a trait associated with him!

Staying by his side was the safest option.

Fortunately, while the entire world seemed to burn like an alchemical oven, and all living beings were in danger, the little golden butterfly was still carrying out Chu Liang's orders.

It just kept gnawing.

Even when the whole world feared the Inferno Dragon, the little butterfly wasn't afraid. It just kept gnawing.

Gnawing continuously.

"

Roar!

" The Inferno Dragon, now dangerously close, launched itself forward.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of fire waves echoed, and in that instant, everyone stopped breathing...

Finally, at this critical moment, the chains binding Xu Bashan's limbs were released!

"

HAH—

"

A sudden shout erupted from behind. It was like the rumble of rolling thunder!

A Daoist figure, resembling the Thunder God himself, swept past everyone with great momentum. The mere rumbling left in his wake caused their eardrums to tremble.

Is this the power of an expert at the seventh realm?

Everyone was shocked to their core.

They watched as the thunderous figure collided head-on with the diving Inferno Dragon!

Swish—

But just before the impact, the twelve silver dragon scales on Xu Bashan's body suddenly flashed.

"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

" He let out a painful cry as his connection to the Dao was instantly severed.

These twelve dragon scales turned out to be an incredibly powerful seal!

Bang—

The frenzied Inferno Dragon, bound by no code of martial virtue, crashed directly into Xu Bashan, sending him flying.

Boom boom boom—

Splatters of Divine Dragon Fire exploded on the gliding Xu Bashan, embedding him almost into the ground. Amidst the blaze of fire and smoke, he was clearly unconscious.

Ah?

In that instant, everyone experienced a roller coaster of emotions—from the despair and fear of being targeted by the Inferno Dragon, to the sudden hope when Xu Bashan broke free, and then back to despair as he was swiftly knocked down...

It was unbelievable that such extreme ups and downs could occur in the blink of an eye.

For a moment, everyone was stunned, not knowing what to do. Countless emotions converged in their hearts, ultimately culminating in one thought.

Is that it?