Chapter 156

Those explorers saw this and didn't insist, leaving one after another.

Tang Yun watched their departing backs and thought to himself: "'Shadow' organization, I will definitely find out your background and then eradicate you completely!"

Tang Yun watched the explorers leave, then turned and continued deeper into Four Symbols Shan Gu.

The air became increasingly icy, as if it were penetrating his bones, and the surrounding trees were even more twisted and strange, like monsters baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

"This place... is very evil."

Tang Yun muttered to himself, taking a yellowed sheepskin map from his backpack.

This was something he had obtained from a reclusive expert, said to be a map of Four Symbols Shan Gu, marked with several dangerous areas and locations where treasures might exist.

Following the map's instructions, he bypassed a swamp filled with purple miasma and arrived at a valley.

In the center of the valley lay a huge black python, its body as thick as a water bucket, its scales shimmering with a metallic luster in the dim light.

The giant python seemed to be sleeping, its huge head buried under its body, emitting a low breathing sound.

Tang Yun held his breath, carefully bypassing the giant python, trying to continue forward.

Suddenly, the giant python raised its head, its scarlet snake eyes opening and staring fixedly at Tang Yun.

It flicked its tongue, emitting a hissing warning sound, its huge body slowly standing up, as if it were a small mountain.

"It seems I've disturbed it," Tang Yun gave a bitter smile, putting down his backpack and pulling out the long sword from his back.

The giant python let out a deafening roar, its huge body shooting toward Tang Yun like an arrow from a bow.

Tang Yun's figure flashed, barely dodging the giant python's attack, his long sword swinging as a sharp sword Qi slashed toward the giant python's head.

Its scales were unusually hard, and the sword Qi only left a shallow white mark on them.

The giant python was in pain and attacked Tang Yun even more violently, its huge tail sweeping across with a whistling wind.

Tang Yun didn't dare take it head-on, hurriedly dodging. Man and python engaged in a fierce battle in the valley.

Although Tang Yun was agile and his sword technique exquisite, the giant python's strength and defense far exceeded his imagination.

After a few exchanges, Tang Yun was already panting, and there were several wounds on his body.

He realized he couldn't keep fighting head-on like this and had to find another way.

Tang Yun suddenly remembered a cyan scale fragment he had picked up at the entrance of the valley, said to possess the power to restrain certain ferocious beasts within Four Symbols Shan Gu.

He hurriedly took the scale from his pocket; the scale felt cold to the touch and emitted a faint cyan light.

Just as Tang Yun was about to throw the scale at the giant python, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and some blurry images surfaced in his mind.

A man in a black robe and wearing a crown was embedding a crystal emitting a dark aura into the giant python's brow.

The giant python struggled painfully, letting out a roar that shook the heavens, but was ultimately controlled by the dark crystal.

"What... is going on?" Tang Yun was confused; he felt this scene was familiar, but couldn't remember where he had seen it.

The viewers in the live stream room also saw Tang Yun's abnormality, and the barrage instantly exploded:

"What's wrong with Cloud God? Why did he suddenly stop moving?"

"Could he be under an illusion?"

"This giant python has a problem! There must be something strange!"

Tang Yun endured the dizziness and threw the cyan scale fragment at the giant python.

The fragment seemed to be pulled by some kind of force, flying straight toward the giant python's brow and then merging into it.

However, the expected restraint did not appear.

Instead, a black crystal emerged from the giant python's brow, radiating a heart-palpitating dark aura.

"Bad!" Tang Yun shouted, and a powerful force erupted from within the giant python, sending him flying. He crashed heavily to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

It turned out that the cyan scale fragment hadn't restrained the giant python, but instead had stimulated the dark power sealed within its body!

This power was exactly what came from the mysterious man in the black robe and crown.

"It seems I have to enter its consciousness to find a way to solve the problem."

Tang Yun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and thought to himself.

He took a deep breath and forcibly split a wisp of divine sense, drilling into the giant python's brow.

The giant python's consciousness was a chaotic dark space, with a huge black crystal suspended in the center, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.

As soon as Tang Yun's divine sense entered, he felt a wave of intense pain, as if it were about to be torn apart.

He gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and approached the black crystal.

While approaching the crystal, the images Tang Yun had seen earlier surfaced in his mind again.

He finally understood that the man in the black robe and crown was none other than the legendary Dark Lord!

And that black crystal was part of the River Styx Crown!

The Dark Lord had actually sealed a part of the River Styx Crown within the giant python's body!

Tang Yun was shocked; he finally understood that the secret of Four Symbols Shan Gu was far more complex and dangerous than he had imagined...

Just then, an even clearer image suddenly appeared before Tang Yun's eyes.

He saw the Dark Lord holding the River Styx Crown, suppressing a huge Azure Dragon within the giant python's body.

The Azure Dragon let out an angry roar, but couldn't break free from the crown's restraint, ultimately being devoured by dark power...

Tang Yun's divine sense trembled violently; this Azure Dragon... wasn't it one of the Four Symbols?!

The Dark Lord had actually imprisoned the Azure Dragon here!

He suddenly realized that the so-called "Four Symbols Shan Gu" might not be a place to guard the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise at all, but a prison to imprison them!

In the dark space, the pressure radiated by the black crystal grew stronger and stronger, and Tang Yun's divine sense was like a candle in a gale, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

He had to find a way to break it as quickly as possible, otherwise he wouldn't be able to save the Azure Dragon, and his own divine sense would be trapped here to die.

"Roar!"

A deafening dragon roar exploded in his consciousness, nearly shattering Tang Yun's divine sense.

He steadied his mind and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a cyan giant dragon struggling and tossing within the black crystal, radiating an unyielding fighting spirit.

"Azure Dragon... is still alive!"

Tang Yun was overjoyed; as long as the Azure Dragon still had a glimmer of life, he still had hope.

He tried to approach the black crystal again, this time operating the spiritual power in his body to the limit.

With the protection of the spiritual power barrier, the pain in his divine sense was much reduced, and he was finally able to get close to the crystal and observe it carefully.

The viewers in the live stream room also saw this eerie black crystal through Tang Yun's perspective.

"Holy crap, what is this thing? It looks so evil!"

"Ancient runes? Can Cloud God understand them?"

"Could it be some kind of curse? Cloud God, be careful!"

Although Tang Yun didn't recognize them, he could feel that this incantation contained powerful dark power.