Chapter 226: The Grudge of the Collective Dragons

The water gradually flowed down, forming a water zone recognized by the Dragon Son Pulaow.

Everyone present—from Da Bao and Guo Ming to all the temporary summons—gained a 100% boost to all attributes simultaneously.

Wu Zhen, upon seeing this, showed a hint of satisfaction on his face.

He had gone to such great lengths; if the enhancement were only minor, he would consider Chu Danqing nothing but a braggart.

After blocking the water inlet, Wu Zhen finally spoke: “Is there anything else to prepare?”

“If not, I will separate my soul from the body.”

At this point, it was clearly time to fight.

Chu Danqing nodded, left Guo Ming and Yue Lan’s martial shadow behind, and turned to flee with Da Bao toward the safe zone.

Simultaneously, he began pulling out blood-drawing equipment to drain his life value, thereby increasing the attack power percentage bonus of the Blood Sacrifice Blade.

As for the Son of Heaven and the Ghost Mother, he kept them to guard his person.

He had no intention of summoning Xiong Zhigang to assist; facing such a powerful individual in the complex underground palace environment, cavalry was unsuitable.

If he did come, he would be more of a hindrance than a help.

Seeing this, Wu Zhen forcibly tore his soul from the corpse.

The corpse’s eyes, once glowing a sickly green, gradually dimmed, replaced by a fierce glare.

Guo Ming acted immediately, and Chu Danqing simultaneously activated the Dragon Vein power already cooled in the Nine Cauldrons Map.

A clatter of battle sounds erupted; Chu Danqing hid himself completely, unable to see the fight, yet he witnessed the entire process through the battle log.

“Why aren’t you going out to help?” Wu Zhen’s soul drifted over, curiously asking.

Chu Danqing glanced at him; his soul was semi-transparent, looking as if a single breeze would scatter it.

In truth, that was exactly the case—Wu Zhen was already at his last breath.

If Chu Danqing hadn’t come, perhaps in a few more years, his soul would have vanished entirely.

But with his methods, before dying he could have taken his own corpse and the Dragon Sin beneath the Dragon Flaying Altar with him.

How could such an ancient monster place all his hopes on outsiders?

He certainly wouldn’t trust a stranger on first meeting; though currently weak, the man surely held hidden cards.

“I can’t help at all—I’m not good at fighting,” Chu Danqing replied honestly. “What about you? Why don’t you go help?”

“I’m not good at fighting either,” Wu Zhen answered. “The duty of a shaman is to communicate with Heaven, Earth, and the spirits.”

Chu Danqing didn’t believe it for a second—how then to explain the Dragon bones on the Dragon Flaying Altar?

“Alright, let’s just hide better, so we don’t get caught in the crossfire,” Chu Danqing said—right as Yue Lan’s martial shadow flew past his head.

It smashed into a Dragon bone with a crack, then shattered into foam and illusion.

Clearly dead—its life value dropped to zero instantly.

“One down. Should I send your chest piece instead?” Wu Zhen raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, Wu Zhen hadn’t come to chat—he’d realized Yue Lan’s martial shadow was no match, and the Son of Heaven would be better suited to fight the undead corpse.

Chu Danqing knew this perfectly well, but his reason for not sending the Son of Heaven was simple.

It was to guard against Wu Zhen.

The Son of Heaven had a suppressing effect on evil entities—and that applied equally to Wu Zhen’s soul.

Moreover, even if the Son of Heaven went, he’d only be auxiliary; the main force remained Guo Ming, offering little real help.

Better to keep him close for defense.

“It’s fine—he’s an athlete. He can revive,” Chu Danqing said, then summoned Yue Lan’s martial shadow again.

Yue Lan’s martial shadow, dragging his totem pole, charged back into battle.

Wu Zhen’s expression didn’t change; he shifted topics and began chatting casually with Chu Danqing, subtly probing about the outside world.

“You’re nearly dead—why care about the outside world?” Chu Danqing said bluntly. “Planning to save it for your next life?”

“I’m bored. Talking to you won’t hurt,” Wu Zhen replied.

“Rather than talk about the outside, let’s talk about the Yin Soldiers,” Chu Danqing said at once. “Before I came, I encountered Yin Soldiers passing through. What’s your take on that?”

Wu Zhen’s face changed instantly. “Impossible!”

“Oh? So you do know something,” Chu Danqing said, surprised by this unexpected windfall.

He hadn’t expected much—just hoped to glean some intelligence.

“I’ll be straight with you,” Wu Zhen’s face darkened. “The purpose of this underground palace was never to house the Dragon Flaying Altar—it was simply vacant, so they repurposed it.”

“Beneath this palace lies a Yin-Ming portal.”

“The living may enter the Yin Realm through it; Yin Soldiers may enter the Yang Realm through it.”

“If Yin Soldiers truly passed through here, it means the Yin-Ming portal has malfunctioned.”

Here, Wu Zhen spoke with deep implication: “Then you must be careful.”

“Me? Careful?” Chu Danqing didn’t understand.

“Do you think, given my current state, I still have the strength to refine your Jade Seal?” Wu Zhen continued. “I’d have to draw on the power of this palace.”

“But this palace has stood for centuries—and now it’s on the verge of collapse.”

“Without me to maintain it, the moment the refinement succeeds, the palace will crumble.”

“If the Yin-Ming portal hasn’t failed, then all is well,” Wu Zhen didn’t say what would happen if it had.

But Chu Danqing had experienced the horror of Yin Soldiers passing through.

“How do we fix it?” Chu Danqing asked. “If I just leave, what happens?”

Wu Zhen was stunned by the question—he’d expected Chu Danqing to ask how to escape.

“Simple,” Wu Zhen didn’t hide it this time—he provided a solution. “First, divert the Huanglong River’s water to flood backward, then—”

“So before the refinement is complete, we must keep expanding the passage,” Chu Danqing said, looking at the blocked passage, where water still dripped, though in small amounts.

The entire process was simply flooding it, then letting the collapsing palace bury it.

Closing it forcibly by physical means.

Why Wu Zhen’s era hadn’t chosen this method but instead used the palace to suppress it—no one knew.

Perhaps they hadn’t wanted to—but couldn’t.

Perhaps they still can’t now—but this is the only option.

Wu Zhen was now only a feeble soul, and even if all of Chu Danqing’s group were thrown in, it wouldn’t be enough.

They had no choice but to use this imperfect solution.

He also gave Chu Danqing an escape route—just flee as soon as the passage is widened; if you run fast enough, there’s still a chance.

“Alright, I understand,” Chu Danqing wasn’t worried.

The worst case was he’d widen the waterway but fail to escape, forced to waste his remaining trial time and return.

That was the benefit of completing the trial—the escape route always existed.

Otherwise, how would Chu Danqing dare ask?

“Understand what?” Guo Ming’s voice came over—his expression hadn’t changed, but that meant the battle was over.

【Mission Complete. You have received: Paradise Points ×20000, Attribute Points +5】

“This underground palace—” Chu Danqing began to explain, but Wu Zhen spoke first.

“The Dragon Sin hasn’t been killed yet.” As soon as he spoke, deep cracks appeared across the center of the Dragon Flaying Altar.

From the cracks roared a piercing, shrill wind, howling like a dragon’s cry.

Chu Danqing peeked out and saw the crude Dragon Flaying Altar’s cracks spreading rapidly, visibly bulging upward.

It seemed something was relentlessly striking the altar, trying to break free.

Yet the crude altar remained stubbornly intact, not shattering immediately.

After all, this was where Wu Zhen had dismembered dragons; the Dragon Sin had been weakened—so it couldn’t escape yet.

“How long until it emerges?” Chu Danqing asked. “Can we ambush it before it comes out?”

Remember, the 20% boost to all attributes from the Dragon Vein power lasted only twenty minutes.

“Of course,” Wu Zhen hadn’t finished speaking when thick black mist surged from the central crack.

The black mist coalesced and merged into a massive, tangled mass resembling tree roots.

Within the mass, countless dragon heads, claws, and tails emerged.

They looked grotesquely mismatched—as if forcibly fused together, some even wildly disordered.

“You won’t have time to ambush,” Wu Zhen finally said.

【Hidden Mission: Kill the Group of Dragon Sin Before Returning】

【Trial Difficulty: S-Rank (Nightmare)】

【Trial Reward: Paradise Points ×20000, Attribute Points +5】

【Trial Failure: Paradise Points -40000, Random Attribute -2】

The mission refreshed; Chu Danqing accepted it immediately, and Guo Ming charged forward at once.

Chu Danqing moved to a new hiding spot and asked: “By the way, could the Corpse Jiao’s transformation be related to this Dragon Sin?”

“Of course. Corpse Jiao is a corpse, not a Jiao.”

“Ordinary Jiao transform toward the sea, but Corpse Jiao become Corpse Dragons,” Wu Zhen hadn’t finished when a violent black mist instantly engulfed the Dragon bone Chu Danqing was hiding behind.

Chu Danqing grabbed Wu Zhen and ran.

This attack wasn’t aimed at him—it was aimed at Wu Zhen, who had only a soul left.

Every component of the Dragon Sin was a dragon Wu Zhen had flayed; that hatred had endured.

Fortunately, this attack was accidental—Guo Ming’s sword array sealed it instantly, preventing further harm to Chu Danqing and Wu Zhen.

"And what about below?" Chu Danqing found another safe spot before asking again.

"It was simply drawn here by the abomination beneath the Flaying Platform." Wu Zhen, still shaken by the scare, had no stomach for further idle chat with Chu Danqing.

His gaze never left the battle, ready to act the moment Guo Ming faltered.

Once the dragon abomination died and he fulfilled his deal with Chu Danqing, he could rest in peace.

This was nothing like how leisurely Guo Ming had been when dealing with his own undead corpse before.

Chu Danqing saw his tone and expression and knew further questioning would yield nothing useful.

(End of Chapter)