Chapter 1318: Lord Yan Long

Ning Chen stood before the crowd, extended a hand, and a massive white formation appeared, directly blocking the incoming magma attack.

"Who dares disturb my slumber?" an ancient voice echoed from beneath the ground.

Immediately, the entire layer shook violently as a colossal creature emerged from the magma.

Ning Chen looked over; the thing before him resembled a dragon.

"What is this? Is it... a dragon?" Miss Hongxiu looked at the demon before her, somewhat puzzled.

Logically, dragons should not appear here; dragons are rare nowadays, with only two remaining in existence. If the creature before them were a dragon, it should not be here.

"We do not intend to disturb the elder's peaceful sleep; we merely need to pass through here to reach our destination. Please forgive us, elder."

Suddenly, Geng Zhong stepped forward, looked at the other with deep respect, and greeted him.

"You may go; just be quieter next time." The dragon seemed easy to talk to and turned to leave.

Suddenly, its gaze swept over the little snow demon, and it froze in place.

"Hmm? You? Are you not the snow demon from the layer below?"

The dragon's voice carried immense impact and aggression; the little snow demon shivered all over and immediately shrank behind Ning Chen.

Seeming to realize it had frightened the other, the red dragon softened its tone: "You need not fear; I bear no ill will. I simply wish to know how you broke free from your shackles."

Hearing this, the little snow demon poked its head out: "You... you have one too? A shackles you cannot escape?"

Suddenly, the red dragon vanished from its spot, and a man with red hair and red robes stood upon the magma, walking toward them.

The man looked very handsome, with a strikingly heroic face.

"I have been here for over one hundred thousand years, yet I never knew how to break free from these shackles. If you are unwilling to speak, so be it; you may go."

The man stopped not far from the crowd and lay down upon the magma. Though his words conveyed indifference, a hint of loss was faintly visible on his face.

"Could it be... you are Lord Yan Long?!" Suddenly, Miss Hongxiu looked at the man before her in astonishment.

"Ah, many have not addressed me thus in a long time. My name is Yan Lu; the world calls me Lord Yan Long."

At this, Miss Hongxiu became somewhat unsettled; she took several steps toward Yan Lu, stopping only at the edge of the magma.

"You... you are truly here."

Ning Chen raised an eyebrow slightly; what situation was this now?

"Mr. Ning, this is Lord Yan Long, a dragon that existed since the formation of heaven and earth. Later, when chaos erupted in the Heavenly Realm, two of the five dragons perished, and Lord Yan Long vanished. Afterwards, everyone said Lord Yan Long was sealed within the Tower of Demon Locking, but I never expected this to be true."

Ning Chen said nothing; these circumstances were indeed quite complex.

However, this time they were not here to rescue those locked within the Tower of Demon Locking.

Ning Chen glanced in this direction, then turned to head toward the teleportation array.

"Um, Ning Chen, can... can you save my lord Yan Lu?"

Miss Hongxiu was unusually nervous; she had always greatly admired Lord Yan Long. Though he was arrogant and unyielding, he was extremely kind. Whether demons, spirits, immortals, or humans, all who had once received his care remembered him without exception.

Miss Hongxiu herself had once received Lord Yan Long's care. In fact, Lord Yan Long had saved her life back then. Unfortunately, she was too young at the time to remember the other's appearance; she only recalled that the other wore all red. This was why Miss Hongxiu always wore red clothing.

Ning Chen glanced at Yan Lu; he said neither yes nor no.

Yan Lu rose, flew to Ning Chen's side, and suppressed all his flames.

"Can you find a way to lift my imprisonment?" Yan Lu looked at Ning Chen, expectation in his eyes.

"I can, but why should I help you? What can you offer me?" Ning Chen said calmly.

Yan Lu paused, then thought for a moment: "If you can save me, I will sign a life-and-death contract with you. From now on, you shall be my master. Rest assured, this life-and-death contract will have no negative effect on you; it simply means if you live, I live; if you die, I die."

Ning Chen did not expect Yan Lu to go so far. Although he was unclear about the specifics of the so-called life-and-death contract in this world, the expressions of everyone around him were filled with shock.

"In that case, do I have any reason to refuse?"

Having spoken, Ning Chen extended his hand; the Mirror of Mount Kunlun manifested and shone directly upon Lord Yan Long.

Only then did the crowd realize that Lord Yan Long was surrounded by shackles, appearing layer by layer, covering his entire body.

These shackles were linked throughout the entire layer, looking quite terrifying.

"This... this is?!" Miss Hongxiu was utterly shocked, finding it hard to believe that a great dragon of the opening of heaven and earth could end up like this, treated in such a manner.

Ning Chen said nothing and directly released his ability, pouring it into the Mirror of Mount Kunlun.

The entire Mirror of Mount Kunlun suddenly expanded, moving directly before Yan Lu. Inside the mirror, Yan Lu instantly reverted to his dragon form, and his true body was covered in various scars.

Ning Chen's eyes sharpened; he then flew directly above the Mirror of Mount Kunlun, looking down upon everything before him.

Afterwards, Ning Chen formed hand seals, and a massive formation appeared beneath Yan Lu's feet.

The iron chains seemed to sense something; all the chains began to shake and tighten.

Yan Lu suddenly felt a powerful sealing force; this pressure was almost enough to fuse the chains into his flesh and blood.

Yan Lu gritted his teeth, emitting not a sound; this was the dignity of his dragon nature.

Ten million years ago, he had endured in exactly the same way.

Suddenly, a clear stream flowed into his body. Yan Lu could clearly feel the pain in his body gradually diminishing; the clear stream within him transformed into a surge of energy, resisting the outside force.

"Crack!"

Yan Lu's eyes widened; the shackles of ten million years had broken.

Thereupon, Yan Lu instantly transformed into his true form and soared into the air; all the surrounding flames boiled, as if celebrating Yan Lu's successful breakthrough.

Ning Chen returned to the ground; at the same time, the Mirror of Mount Kunlun returned to his side.

Breaking this seal this time consumed a tremendous amount of Ning Chen's spiritual power and energy.

Xiao Han approached Ning Chen's side, placed a hand on his shoulder, and his healing ability swept away Ning Chen's exhaustion.

Ning Chen nodded to Xiao Han: "Thank you."

Yan Lu walked over, feeling completely at ease; he had not felt such freedom for far too long.

"Ning Chen, I am very grateful. Let us now sign the life-and-death contract."

Saying this, Yan Lu bit his finger and began drawing talismans in the air.

Did Ning Chen was somewhat surprised; he had not expected Yan Lu to truly intend to sign a life-and-death contract with him.