Chapter 277: The Roar That Shook the Heavens, the Clone of a Great Existence

Roar!

Roooar, roar, roar!

A scream rang out in the air, then abruptly stopped.

A terrifying gust of wind struck like blades from all directions, the Bone Armor creaking and groaning, nearly shattering.

The Skeletons and the Lich General were all blown away by the gust, crashing to the ground, unable to move again.

Qiao Zhixin was also blown away along with the Skeletons; she fell to the ground, her fate unknown.

Now, the only one still standing was Jiang Chen.

Yet all of this was merely because of a single roar from the "Ancient Earth Dragon."

The "Ancient Earth Dragon" instantly appeared before Jiang Chen, its massive dragon eyes fixed on him.

A chill rose from Jiang Chen's spine, straight into his mind, making him feel as if every hair on his body stood on end.

In the "Ancient Earth Dragon's" eyes, he saw emotion, and even intelligence.

This "Ancient Earth Dragon" was completely different from the ones he had seen before.

Jiang Chen was baffled by what was happening, as the turn of events exceeded his understanding.

"You've gone too far!" A voice like thunder rang out, making Jiang Chen's ears ache.

Astonishingly, this BOSS actually spoke.

The situation seemed somewhat out of control; the "Ancient Earth Dragon's" dragon eyes flickered with a dangerous light.

"As they say, three strikes and you're out. How many more times do you want to kill me?"

The "Ancient Earth Dragon" spoke, its tone carrying a threat not to be underestimated.

Jiang Chen raised his head, his mind racing.

Considering the cause and effect, a flash of insight struck him, and he latched onto the three words "Weakening Type."

"Are you the true 'Ancient Earth Dragon'?" Jiang Chen asked.

The "Ancient Earth Dragon" snorted, "What do you think?"

Two massive streams of breath shot from its dragon nostrils,

the Bone Armor creaked again, then exploded with a bang.

Jiang Chen did not replenish the Bone Armor, because under such breath, even replenishing it would be useless.

He realized that this Instance had no way out; all escape items were ineffective.

This being could shatter the Bone Armor with just a single breath; killing him would be effortless.

There was no point in replenishing it.

Instinct told him that this "Ancient Earth Dragon" before him was even more terrifying than the "Ancient Luan Bird" in the Core Area.

The "Ancient Giant Dragon" lowered its head and leaned in; Jiang Chen could see his own reflection in its eyes.

Jiang Chen's mind continued to race at high speed, "Respected existence, it seems you have broken the rules."

At that moment, Jiang Chen guessed that the "Ancient Earth Dragon" in the Instance was merely a Clone.

That was why it was called the Weakening Type.

This was the same principle as the True Self and Clone of the Shenlong Tower.

And now, the True Self had arrived!

However, Jiang Chen had already calmed down, which was why he had the nerve to say this.

"What did you say!" The "Ancient Giant Dragon" let out a roar, waves of air rolling, a terrifying aura surging skyward, as if it would shatter the entire Instance.

Outside, the Instance Entrance suddenly burst forth with brilliant light, illuminating the earth.

Everyone was startled, not knowing what had happened.

How could the Instance Entrance be glowing? What was going on inside the Instance?

No one knew.

The three sides were at a standoff; none could go in to see.

"I hope Colonel Jiang is alright." Ding Genghong thought silently to himself.

Huo Yuyao was also worried, but her concern was for Qiao Zhixin.

Inside the Instance, Jiang Chen struggled to steady himself, "I said you

broke the rules. For the level of the 'Earth Core' Instance, an existence like you should not appear."

Jiang Chen was now eighty percent certain that the Instance BOSS was the Clone of the existence before him.

The "Ancient Giant Dragon" suddenly let out a thunderous laugh, and the Instance shook violently again.

Jiang Chen waited patiently and calmly; he could already tell that this terrifying existence before him had no intention of killing him.

The "Ancient Giant Dragon" laughed for a while, then suddenly lowered its head, opened its massive mouth, and roared, "Believe it or not, one breath of dragonfire from me could burn you to ashes."

Jiang Chen shook his head, "You won't kill me."

"Oh?" This time, it was its turn to be stunned.

Jiang Chen continued, "If you wanted to kill me, you could have done it when we first met."

"You didn't need to control my Undead Legion, and you deliberately knocked out my teammate."

"I guess you just came to warn me."

As he said this, Jiang Chen appeared calm, without a trace of fear.

After all, the worst outcome was death; there was nothing to be afraid of.

The "Ancient Giant Dragon" laughed again, "Not bad, you're quite good."

Jiang Chen knew he had guessed correctly and continued to ask, "Is there anything else, then?"

The "Ancient Giant Dragon" shook its massive head, "Nothing else. I just came to see what kind of person could make my True Self's Clone suffer so badly."

Sure enough, you guessed right again.

It really is its clone.

Jiang Chen said, "I don't know..."

The Ancient Giant Dragon's voice deepened, cutting Jiang Chen off, "Alright, the True Self doesn't intend to eat you; you guessed it long ago, so there's no need to pretend now."

"The True Self comes over, wanting to make a deal with you."

Jiang Chen immediately replied with a hint of respect, "Senior

please speak."

The Ancient Giant Dragon said, "No hurry; you don't yet have the qualification to complete this deal. When you can reach the true center of Upper Space, the True Self will be waiting there."

Jiang Chen instantly showed surprise, "You are..."

The Ancient Giant Dragon did not answer him, "The True Self waits for you at the center."

As the words fell, the Ancient Giant Dragon turned into myriad specks of starlight and vanished.

It was exactly the same as the starlight Jiang Chen saw in the Core Area after the monster's death.

A vortex appeared before him that could exit the Instance.

Jiang Chen let out a long sigh, glad the other party truly didn't intend to kill him.

Otherwise he certainly wouldn't have survived.

Jiang Chen even thought the puppet talisman given by Hong Jishi would be useless.

At most it would just make the opponent waste a bit more effort.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be the one stationed at the center of the Core Area in Upper Space."

"I didn't expect it to actually possess intelligence; it's not an ordinary BOSS."

Jiang Chen recalled the Ancient Luan Bird.

The Ancient Luan Bird seemed to have intelligence as well; he had once seen a similar expression in its eyes.

But the Ancient Luan Bird's intelligence was simple, like that of a child of a few years.

In comparison, the Ancient Earth Dragon's intelligence just now was no different from that of an adult.

"Could it be that after countless years without being slain, living so long, it gave rise to intelligence?"

"Or is it because of those lights in the Core Area..."

"The center of the Core Area, I'll get there sooner or later."

"The vengeance for that single arrow will certainly be repaid."

The Ancient Luan Bird chased him to the point where there was no gate to the heavens, no road to the earth, leaving him in a terribly awkward state.

Jiang Chen could never possibly forget.

In Jiang

Chen was pondering, the Lich General and the Skeletons gradually recovered.

They were not injured at all; they were merely controlled.

From this alone, it is enough to show how superior the Ancient Earth Dragon's methods are, far surpassing Jiang Chen's phenomena.

With a soft hum, Qiao Zhixin slowly awoke.

She touched her head, "What just happened?"

Jiang Chen shook his head, "It's fine; the Instance mutated, and the BOSS disappeared."

Speaking nonsense with his eyes open, Jiang Chen's face didn't flush, his heart didn't race; instead he wore an air of matter‑of‑factness, as if this were perfectly normal.

Ah?

Qiao Zhixin could not believe it.

Instance mutations are extremely rare; they were only heard of before, never expected to be encountered personally.

In his memory, he had just seen the Ancient Earth Dragon, then was roared at, and he fainted.

He didn't expect it to be like this.

Some Instance mutations become very strong afterward.

It's normal for the BOSS to jump up a dozen levels instantly.

Even with Jiang Chen's strength, it could still be dangerous.

After all, the matter of the Ancient Luan Bird is still vivid.

She asked anxiously, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Qiao Zhixin pounded her towering chest, "It's good you're fine, it's good you're fine."

Jiang Chen said, "The Instance is over; we should deal with those guys outside."

Qiao Zhixin let out a sigh, "It won't appear again, will it?"

It's already gone; how could it appear again?

This is that great one's clone; even if it stands here now, Jiang Chen could not refrain from killing it, yet he will not kill it again.

Jiang Chen equipped himself and Qiao Zhixin with Bone Armor, and also took out Earth Gems, activating them.

Now he still holds five Earth Gems in his hand, one reserved for Wu Lingdong, and four

that he can allocate as he wishes.

Thus, naturally, he is not stingy.

The Earth Gems emitted a soil‑colored glow that enveloped Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen smoothly obtained a 50% reduction in physical damage, but did not acquire the corresponding physical skill.

Jiang Chen had already prepared for this in his heart, and felt no disappointment.

Besides, he's a Magic Class Profession; physical skills are of no use to him.

Are you suggesting he should go up there to slash monsters? Isn't Soul Burn strong enough? Isn't Bone Fang appealing?

"I'm a bit curious—if your Group Collection Technique were applied to Abyss Demons and the Dragon Race, what would it yield," Jiang Chen said softly.

Qiao Zhixin shook their head, "I don't know; I've never tried it."

"Later, if there's a chance, you can give it a try."

"Sure, sure!"

Jiang Chen was half joking, but Qiao Zhixin answered very seriously.