[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-72":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After the Immortals Disappeared",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2283956,4468,"Chapter 72: The Black Dragon's Foundation of Life","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-72",72,"\u003Cp>I fear this brat is the only one who would step forward to snatch that precious blade. I truly misjudged him, having viewed him as a fop all along this journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu’s gaze wandered through the ruins; in such a vast area, how was he to find someone? He Lingchuan should have just left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan was running through the ruins, having just passed an abandoned government office. There was a very tall corner tower here that had not been completely destroyed by the fires of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still clutching that blade with the dragon-mouth-swallowing-ring in his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, not long ago he had snuck down from the side of the city wall, bypassed the battlefield, and returned to the government quarters, his goal being to scavenge this blade from Zhong Sheng’s bedside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When people of that era forged weapons, the blade rings and sword hilts often used the Yazi, the image of a jackal-bodied dragon-headed beast. Only two or three out of ten would be carved into other various monsters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hilt ring of the blade at Zhong Sheng’s bedside was a right-angled dragon head. He Lingchuan had been here twice but hadn't paid it any mind, his attention focused entirely on other furnishings, especially the blue-flower comb on the vanity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Black Dragon originated from the destruction of the government quarters, so it clearly had a special connection to the Zhong residence. Looking again at the Black Dragon’s large head, those straight, unbranched sharp horns were not just similar to the dragon head carved on the blade ring—they were exactly the same! He Lingchuan couldn't help but admire his own powerful memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he walked into the post-war government quarters and saw this blade hanging safely on the ruined wall, not even stained with a speck of grime, it confirmed his theory even further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This blade was anomalous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should have existed in the government quarters during peacetime, because Zhong Sheng lived here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should not have existed in the government quarters after the war, because Zhong Sheng had long since moved into the large mansion; the blade's appearance here was exceptionally out of place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, it was as smooth as new and had not been affected by the fires of war, showing that in the true history, it was not hanging on this wall when the fire broke out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although He Lingchuan could not hear the \"Black Dragon's foundation of life\" that Nian Songyu mentioned to Sun Fu, he keenly sensed that this blade held special value for the Black Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the blade in hand, he would have one more layer of protection when facing the Black Dragon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He drew his new trophy and took a look; it was as bright as autumn water, and the moment it left the scabbard, a biting chill struck, lowering the surrounding temperature by at least two degrees. The blade's curvature was perfect, its weight balanced, and most importantly, the feel was excellent; held in his hand, it felt like an extension of his forearm, with not a hint of the awkwardness of a new weapon, but rather like reuniting with an old friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a casual swing, the pillar next to him, thicker than his head, was severed without a sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a pity, though, that there was a crack in the blade, extending from the spine to the edge, hidden two-thirds of the way down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan also caught the scent of an extremely heavy, fierce bloodthirst, even though the blade and scabbard were both clean, not stained by a single drop of fresh blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One could only wonder how many people's hot neck-blood it had once drunk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The youth flicked the blade edge; could this thing be brought out of the illusion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought for a moment, then shamelessly strapped it to his waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he had to hurry back. He looked at the demon birds gathering in increasing numbers above; these things seemed to have discovered his tracks, and he wondered if they would swoop down to snatch it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, He Lingchuan immediately knew they were only a secondary problem, because the primary trouble had already crawled out from a dark alley, blocking his path:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan stopped in shock and gave a hollow laugh: \"Great National Master Sun, what a coincidence?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What to do, where to run—his mind raced non-stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The look in Sun Fu’s eyes was strange, both ecstatic and spiteful. He reached out toward He Lingchuan: \"The blade?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon discovering the precious blade had been stolen, he had begun a frantic search mode. With the blade in the hands of the one surnamed He, it was impossible for him to hide in the ruins and play at disappearing like last time, or else searching for the blade would have lost its meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He would definitely return to the South City Gate with this important bargaining chip; all Sun Fu had to do was intercept him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The government quarters and the administrative office were both by the lake; there were actually few paths He Lingchuan could take, and he had finally been intercepted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan pressed his hand against the waist blade, just happening to cover the blade ring, his face showing astonishment: \"What blade? What are you talking about, National Master?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu gave a cold chuckle and, without wasting words, casually threw out a set of silk-binding ropes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This treasure usually wrapped around his hand disguised as a red cord, but after being thrown, it grew in the wind, automatically pursued the enemy, and finally covered the enemy like a fishing net—even an elephant couldn't break free—provided the master could hold onto it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, hooks could be attached to the mesh, adding damage and preventing escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan had only run a few steps when he saw the large net descend from the sky, scooping him up. Sun Fu pulled hard, and the hooks on the mesh splayed out; if He Lingchuan hadn't raised his hands to protect his face in time, his eyes likely would have been gouged out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, the skin exposed was scratched with bloody welts, and some barbs tore directly into his flesh, making him wince in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu flipped his palm, and three streaks of true fire spread along the main line of the silk-binding ropes; with a \"whoosh,\" it was like pouring oil on a fire, and the entire net was engulfed in raging flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flames even carried a hint of pale white within the gold-red, the temperature abnormally high; in the blink of an eye, burning white bones to ash would be a trivial matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu’s scheme for this trip to the Panlong Desert had been fully revealed, and he no longer needed to keep He Lingchuan as a sacrifice, so infinite killing intent surged forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who would have thought that He Lingchuan would let out a loud \"Awoo,\" only because he was hurt by the hooks, yet he remained perfectly fine within the raging flames.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, a blue halo of light erupted from his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu knew at a glance that this brat possessed a magic treasure that resisted fire, which triggered automatically upon encountering high temperatures. But his true fire was powerful and could melt ordinary fire-repelling treasures directly; He Lingchuan didn't even have a single hair singed, showing the treasure was extraordinary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the midst of the chaos, He Lingchuan lowered his head and discovered the glowing treasure was actually that divine bone necklace! It had finally come in handy; otherwise, he would have been burned to a charred corpse within dozens of breaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu drew his sword himself, intending to step forward and slay him with one strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, the view before him darkened as a massive demon bird descended from the sky, its two claws striking directly at his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This thing was not easy to deal with; its sharp claws could disembowel a person if one wasn't careful, and its seemingly loose, wrinkled skin was actually exceptionally hard—even after scratching with a small knife for a long time, one couldn't open a single cut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu had no choice but to fall back into defense, though he didn't forget to fire two volleys of hidden darts at He Lingchuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Lingchuan let out a loud cry, not noticing that a few black insects had slid off the darts—they had suckers on their heads and looked like maggots—and were burrowing into He Lingchuan’s wounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This type of thing was a trophy Sun Fu had collected after killing a sorcerer while following the army to quell a rebellion in the south. The \"Flying Head Gu\" technique used by that sorcerer was said to be invisible and intangible, capable of taking a life from a hundred paces away; in reality, it utilized these Gu insects to burrow into a person's body, bite through the heart and brain, and absorb the essence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Fu disdained the methods of using Gu, but he was very interested in the efficacy of the Gu insects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These Gu insects would curl into a ball after drinking their fill of human or demon blood and digest it for two months. This was also a process of removing the dross and selecting the essence; after repeating this three or four times, the Gu insect could no longer absorb more blood, and it itself became a great tonic that could be swallowed, especially for recovering blood and qi at an extremely fast speed, almost completely surpassing any medicine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1596,"2026-06-20T02:23:30.219Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","4dd895e7968db7b2c6cc85a1903cd8791f08ac05bc9f0c342007dddbe0685615","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-73","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-71",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]