Chapter 394

"I'll block it!" King Qi bravely stepped forward, mobilizing his full strength golden light shield.

After the tremendous boom, the golden light flickered a few times and was instantly destroyed; King Qi spat out a mouthful of blood and heavily fell to the ground.

"King Qi!" Lu Yuan and Gu Qingwan hurried over to check.

"I'm fine as long as I can protect you all," King Qi forced his eyes open, already on his last breath.

"Damn it, take my Myriad Sword Slash!"

Seeing his friend severely wounded, Lu Yuan's expression twisted; he thrust both palms forward, the swirling sword qi sweeping everywhere like a tornado, striking at the black dragon's vital point!

"How could this be!" The black dragon roared to the heavens, trying to block this torrent of myriad sword lights.

"Now is the time—opportunity must not be lost!"

Lu Yuan shouted loudly, taking advantage of the black dragon's defense against the sword qi, he suddenly pulled out a secret manual from his bosom and chanted the sealing incantation!

Only a tremendous roar was heard in the air; countless blood-red chains suddenly appeared on the black dragon's body, tightly binding its limbs and wings.

"No!!!" The black dragon let out a deathly wail, its body gradually shattering and dissipating into specks of blood mist.

Everyone then breathed a sigh of relief; King Qi also regained some color as the black dragon dispersed.

"Great, we've obtained the second key!" Su Liyan exclaimed joyfully.

"But there's still the last one; this time it will probably be more difficult." Lu Yuan frowned tightly.

According to the map provided by the villagers, everyone arrived at the deathly swamp where the final key was hidden.

Everyone arrived at the deathly swamp; here it was gloomy and terrifying, with a putrid smell permeating the surroundings.

"Be careful, I feel this place is filled with a mist formation." Lu Yuan reminded.

As soon as he finished speaking, white mist indeed rose before them, obscuring vision to the point of not seeing one's own hand.

"I'll handle it." Su Liyan shook her long whip, chilling air spreading, dispersing the mist.

"With Sister Su here, we can relax more." Gu Qingwan smiled.

Everyone seized the opportunity to advance quickly, fearing the mist would return.

"There's movement ahead!" Lu Yuan vigilantly stared forward.

In the swamp, over a dozen mud-colored long snakes emerged, hissing threateningly.

"I'll take care of it." Gu Qingwan turned, her five-colored phoenix feathers flaring, flames driving away the snakes.

"Sister Gu is also formidable!" King Qi praised incessantly.

"Thanks, but the dangers of this swamp go far beyond this." Gu Qingwan's expression turned solemn.

Lu Yuan nodded, continuing to lead the way forward.

The deeper they went into the swamp, the denser the demonic mist became, with dark currents surging around, giving an ominous feeling.

"Careful! There's an ambush ahead!" Lu Yuan exclaimed in alarm.

Suddenly, seven or eight tentacles shot out from the swamp water, aiming straight at everyone's vital points.

"I'll block it, everyone retreat quickly!" King Qi bravely stepped forward, activating his Diamond Body Shield.

"Wind Demon Hand!" Su Liyan waved her whip, whipping up a gale that tore the tentacles apart.

"We must pass through here quickly!"

Everyone fought desperately, finally carving out a bloody path. But they were all spent.

"Please use my phoenix true fire to heal your wounds." Gu Qingwan suggested.

Warm flames enveloped everyone, instantly making them feel full of strength.

"We have already reached the swamp's center; I sense the final key lies ahead." Lu Yuan said.

After passing through layer upon layer of mist, they arrived at a vast wetland; in its center stood a stone pedestal, upon which lay a black obsidian longsword.

"That must be the final key!" King Qi exclaimed excitedly.

"Be careful, this definitely won't be that simple." Su Liyan's expression turned stern.

At that moment, the swamp water beneath the stone pedestal suddenly surged and boiled, and a huge crocodile head slowly rose from it.

"So the final guardian is a Chaos Crocodile!" Lu Yuan shouted.

This Chaos Crocodile was enormous, its body covered in dense black scales, eyes blood-red, exuding a chilling killing intent.

"Ants! Dare you covet my treasure?"

The Chaos Crocodile let out an earth-shaking roar, a foul wind from its mouth blowing straight at them.

It violently swung its massive tail, the column of water it kicked up heading straight for everyone.

"Golden Shield!" King Qi hastily summoned a light shield to block.

Phoenix feathers flared, Gu Qingwan also created a fire wall to cut off the water column.

"Take this!" The Chaos Crocodile slammed both claws, stirring up huge waves.

"Ice Splendor Open!"

"Star River Slash!"

Su Liyan and Lu Yuan joined forces; their icy true qi transformed into sword qi, colliding with the crocodile's claws and bursting forth with dazzling radiance.

The two managed to block the strike, but were also shaken back several steps by the wave's impact. The Chaos Crocodile's strength far exceeded imagination.

"Hahaha, do you think you can take my treasure with just you?" it laughed arrogantly. "Go die!"

Before its words even faded, the Chaos Crocodile's foul breath intensified, five-colored light flashing, obviously gathering power for its ultimate move.

"Oh no, we can't possibly block this attack!" Su Liyan's face turned pale.

"Everyone, follow my command—give it your all in counterattack!" Lu Yuan's eyes were firm.

Only see the Chaos Crocodile fully open its blood‑filled maw; five‑colored chaotic light converged at a point, then erupted outward in a sudden blast.

"Now! Establish the boundary seal!"

Lu Yuan shouted loudly; King Qi and the others quickly laid out a spell formation. The five‑colored light struck the seal, emitting a thunderous boom.

King Qi and the others gritted their teeth to sustain the barrier, reaching a stalemate for a moment.

"I'll slay the evil dragon!"

At the critical moment, a shout rang out; a figure descended from the sky, wielding a huge sword and chopping at the chaos crocodile's neck!

"Impossible!" the chaos crocodile let out a miserable scream, its entire head and neck separating from its body, spraying blood.

"Great, we succeeded!" Su Liyan rejoiced.

That figure landed—it was the recently recovered King Qi!

"Thanks to King Qi's timely arrival, we were able to slay the crocodile." Lu Yuan reflected for a long time.

King Qi scratched his head sheepishly and said: "I was just lucky; if I'd arrived a step later, it would have been disastrous."

Gu Qingwan walked to the stone platform and solemnly took down the obsidian longsword: "We finally obtained the last key!"

"Good! With it we can open the blood-colored barrier and seal the spatial rift!" Lu Yuan's eyes were firm.

Everyone raised the three keys, exchanging delighted glances. This arduous exploration finally came to an end.

They will set off with the keys to save this world!

After the death-defying battle in the Death Marsh, Lu Yuan and the others finally defeated the Marsh Lord and obtained the last key to open the barrier.

But this battle also drained everyone's true essence greatly, urgently needing rest.

"Let's first return to the Cultivation Realm to recuperate for a few days, then enter the rift after we recover."

Lu Yuan looked at the three keys radiating light in his hand and said.

"This time was truly perilous, but fortunately we all made it through safely." Su Liyan patted the still-panting King Qi.

After returning to the Cultivation Realm, under the careful care of Su Liyan and Gu Qingwan, Lu Yuan and the others gradually recovered their strength.

"Everyone ready? This time we will permanently seal the rift."

Gathering at the rift cliff, Lu Yuan looked at everyone and said.

"Don't worry, with us here we will never let those monsters break out again!" King Qi's heroic spirit soared.

Lu Yuan nodded, aimed the keys at the blood-colored barrier, and activated their power.

Only to see the keys emit dazzling light, cracks appeared on the blood-colored barrier, but it quickly returned to its original state. (End of chapter)