Chapter 463: Broken, Something Might Go Wrong

Alchemists can't be anything but mad; they're just toughing it out!

—An ancient alchemy master whose name has long vanished into the river of history.

Human alchemy—if you can learn even thirty seconds from a book, you're already a godlike being.

—Same as above.

What's the point of studying this subject? It takes six years, has zero job prospects, you spend your whole life dealing with corpses. Damn, what a bottomless pit of a major I was assigned! I'd rather start over!

—Same as above.

I have a friend—I'm really asking on his behalf— I used a bit of potion last night, just a little, and now several of my… parts are alive, singing "Cottoneyejoe" in a perfect British accent with Pete's voice nonstop. What do I do!?

—No one knows who said this; anyway, they claim they're not the same as above.

Since ancient times, alchemists proficient in human alchemy have essentially been synonymous with lunatics; they're either on the road to madness or already insane.

At this point someone might ask, hasn't Ji Ming also studied human alchemy? Why haven't I seen him do anything lunatic?

…Good heavens, where would a normal person think that? You're the typical human alchemy student! Quickly transfer to the ICU and increase the dosage!

So, no one knows why that group of alchemists did this, nor how they actually accomplished it.

In short, after they modified the corpses of those dragons, turning all of them into powerful bizarre beings, their bodies inexplicably underwent subtle changes.

The resurrected male dragons, now as demon spirit dragons, seeing their bodies vastly different from before, also develop a self‑perception distortion.

Even during the tense, fierce years of war, they relied on their "bodies" not yet decaying, experiencing a completely different life.

At this point someone might ask again, what about the female dragons!

What happened to the female dragons?

Could it be that they…

…See, I told you to increase the dosage; the female dragons definitely didn't change!

Alright, alright, stop talking, let's take the medicine first.

While Ji Ming was being tightly controlled by the terrifying truth of the Demon Dragon Clan, the two lifeless demon dragon leaders also lowered their altitude while circling.

However, the Second Leader clearly held his breath; before touching the ground, he transformed into an ugly humanoid zombie, teleported forward, and tangled with the Red Demon Dragon beside Ji Ming.

Both of them are clearly sharp‑tongued and spiteful, enjoying bullying others; when two powers meet, they've probably been at odds all the time, so during the scuffle each is harsher than the other, with a hint of resentment.

You hurl, "Useless weak Red Dragon, how dare you snatch prey from me!"

She retorts, "If you can't catch it, it's mine! Old thing, just wait to kneel before me later!"

Then you grab a handful, and she bites… damn, she really bites, even the corpse goes into her mouth? What a ruthless person!

Although they never dared to properly show their true power, they turned into rolling earthworms in less than three rounds, making quite a spectacle.

Compared with that pair of lunatics, perhaps because they were kind metal dragons in life, or simply because they rank a bit higher, the Bronze Demon Dragon, as Grand Leader, was considerably calmer.

Even though it still couldn't help but inch toward Ji Ming, at least its severely rotted face could maintain the most basic expression, preventing the pitiful lower jaw from falling off.

When she reached Ji Ming, she first, standing over two meters tall in her humanoid form, lowered her head and observed for a while, then said in a slightly dull, vague manner.

"Are you the human brought by Sanmei? Your appearance is truly cute."

Ji Ming was already flustered by her stare, but he still bowed upon hearing it.

"Indeed, I am the Holy Light Chosen one you snatched from the Xiguang Duke, Grand Leader; it's truly an honor to meet you."

His probing succeeded, as the Grand Leader furrowed his brows after a brief moment of doubt.

"That man, he's formidable; even Ermei and I couldn't capture him, and he still escaped."

In other words, at least the old man didn't die.

Or rather, alas, everyone else died…

Perhaps noticing Ji Ming's changed expression, the Grand Leader muttered and raised a hand to signal.

"Don't feel down! This situation is actually a good thing for you…"

"You made the right choice early; the one below the mountain can't stop us, and now you're here, you can endure less hardship!"

Although the unlucky big‑gold‑headed one's words were honestly sound advice, Ji Ming couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

After all, setting aside the fact that the Hui Guang Kingdom, a century‑old great power and the Sun‑Moon's dominant, could never have only this superficial combat strength.

If the Demon Dragon Clan were truly that formidable, they wouldn't have been battered into ruin and forced to feud behind the scenes with the dragon race for years, only daring to surface today.

But now isn't the time for Ji Ming to act, so he lazily refrains from exposing the truth, merely shaking his head inevitably.

"Perhaps."

And the obviously not‑very‑bright Grand Leader, after saying that, didn't even care about the man's reaction and turned alone toward the temple.

Strictly speaking, the so‑called temple is actually a complex of buildings; besides the side halls likely used for lodging and activities, at the very center lies a rather wide staircase.

Logically, that staircase should lead to a mountaintop platform, a divine altar, or some important place, but unexpectedly, it does not.

On the contrary, it leads only to an unremarkable, seamless purple cliff.

…Alright, now Ji Ming believes these demon dragons are reclusive beings that have been outside the Sun‑Moon civilization for tens of thousands of years.

After all, this classic trope is so overused that not only Earthlings but even Sun‑Moon people have deconstructed it beyond all possibility in the past few millennia.

But the foolish dragons didn't realize how stupid this was; the Grand Leader pretended to be profound as he ascended the steps, silently reaching the cliff.

Her legs, thicker than Ji Ming's waist, planted firmly; she extended a fan‑like massive hand, knocked, and whispered.

"Your Majesty, the humans on the mountain have been completely cleared."

The purple cliff, as Ji Ming expected, emitted a dazzling glow, instantly becoming crystal‑clear.

A powerful, oppressive aura, like a ten‑thousand‑year glacier and a thousand‑year desiccated tomb, spread from the summit.

This is why the demon spirit dragons can hide so well in the wild, concealed within this royal hunting ground.

Besides the fact that Meteor God Peak is truly seldom visited, they also employed comprehensive aura masking and active concealment.

Ji Ming, with his vivid imagination, used this aura to, based on the general situation of the demon dragons, pre‑model the Demon Lord in his mind.

Hmm.

Surely it's the typical xianxia novel female‑lead trope: tall and slender, icy‑cold, martial prowess beyond compare, ruthless methods, but actually not very smart—easily taken down.

And in the next second, a somewhat clear utterance came through—indeed, a woman's voice.

"You sure you've cleaned up everything? That… uh… down the stairs?"

"Hmm, the sound is pretty much the same… huh?"

Suddenly, a huge dragon head, its eyes likewise emitting a piercing purple light, protruded from the rock wall, and in the faint air‑vibration sound it gazed at Ji Ming.

This should be the highest‑level hostile creature Ji Ming has ever seen, after all Silvia and the others are his own people, and the Misty Forest etc. Thus we will have Cultivation: Zhen Shen are not manifesting in their true forms.

So at the moment he was targeted, a feeling as if his heart were being clenched overwhelmed Ji Ming's whole body—that was his body's instinct warning him of impending danger.

But Ji Ming had more than just that surface trick, so after savoring this rare sensation a bit more, he simply exhaled slowly.

"Whoa, it actually feels kinda good—so this is what adventure feels like?"

【No, it's just because you're a pervert.】

And while complaining, Ji Ming also noticed something somewhat strange.

Although the hue is similar, this dragon demon lord's appearance is neither as smooth‑lined as a silver dragon nor naturally icy‑cold like a white dragon; despite being filled with deathly aura, its scales still have a special‑effect‑like bright white.

Could it be a heaven‑defying mighty elemental dragon?

Not likely, according to records, elemental dragons haven't produced a peak expert above level ninety in fifty thousand years, let alone have their corpses fall into the hands of the Dark Flame Empire.

So how did my knowledge miss this—what kind of dragon is this?

But before he could think it through, the demon lord's sharp gaze pierced the chaos, instantly locked onto that silhouette, and her figure shot out like a phantom.

Its speed was such that Ji Ming only felt a flash before his eyes, a deep black shadow swooped across his vision, and a "person" suddenly stood before him.

As the sole supreme leader of the Evil Spirit Dragon clan, even after tens of thousands of years, Demon Lord Patricia still retains a remarkably intact body.

But the fact that her level has dropped below ninety shows that this doesn't mean she can escape time's judgment, maintaining her premortal beauty in a weird form.

In fact, compared to her underlings, the demon lord merely lacks any rot on her body; that gaunt, flesh‑less face still looks like a ghoul from Fallout.

But this doesn't stop her violet eyes from flashing intense light, excitedly circling Ji Ming, examining him from head to toe, like some beastfolk picking elf slaves from goblin merchants.

Ji Ming: "Uh‑uh, not quite what I imagined."

Then he saw the demon lord point at him, anxiously looking around at the surrounding demon dragons.

"This one! Who brought him?"

With the demon lord's arrival, even the second and third in command naturally dare not act rashly, having long stood respectfully to the side, playing the good‑child.

But upon hearing this, they still couldn't help but rush to speak, all in unison.

"It's me!"

Well now, after a brief pause, they launched into an endless argument.

"Your Majesty, don't believe her! I'm the one who brought him back!"

"Your Majesty, she's lying—I discovered him first; she just beat me to it!"

"Your Majesty…"

Amid the chaos, not knowing if Ji Ming was mistaken or what, he actually saw a hint of helplessness in the demon lord's eyes.

But actually, if it weren't that the demon dragon clan truly has no usable dragons left, the demon lord probably wouldn't have put this foolish pair in a leadership position.

So, having no choice, she didn't get angry; she just waved to stop them, turned back, and fixed her gaze on Ji Ming.

Forget it, actually no need to ask—I already know where you're from.

Ji Ming was just about to be startled that this demon lord might be a half‑immortal from another world, and even able to calculate?

Then he saw her rush forward like a wild boar, taking a deep breath as if sniffing out truffles.

Sniff~

"It's fate!"

She raised her voice again.

"It's fate! It brought you here to see me!"

Ji Ming: …qwq

Moreover, the demon lord, who had been somewhat restrained and even had a hint of major‑villain aura, completely let loose after saying that.

One moment she's circling Ji Ming, the next she's talking nonstop like a machine gun.

Born in chaos over ten thousand ages, I thought there was nothing left in this world that could interest me—until today I saw you and realized I was wrong, terribly wrong.

Saying that, she reached to touch Ji Ming's halo, but he quickly dodged.

"Uh, don't be afraid! We may be weird, but as dragonkind we also reason, and you're so handsome you outshine all my treasures—I'd certainly not want to hurt you."

Then she tried to grab Ji Ming's little hand, but he sidestepped to avoid it.

"Oh, this isn't my fault—I just really haven't had a chance to closely appreciate a living being for ages, especially a male, sniff sniff…"

Taking advantage of Ji Ming still being in his dodging‑swaying state, she took another sniff and snapped her eyes open.

"Wait, this scent…"

"Aren't you a noble of the Radiant Light? Why are you still…?"

Ji Ming: "……"

Just this bunch of lunatics.

They've managed to survive to this day.

Huh?

It's truly all thanks to a major version update of Yangyue World that gave them a long peaceful period!

Clearly, each looks more storied than the last.

Just from that dull, withered face, it seems that opening one's mouth could utter some ancient secret in a rotting voice.

Any random accessory or snippet of memory on them can spark tens of thousands of words of grudges and passions, love and hate hastily sketched.

What's the result?

They're just a bunch of people with unhealthy minds and unhealthy bodies.

At the sight of a somewhat handsome man, they go berserk from top to bottom, unable to even tell their own level—total idiots!

He let out a long sigh; Ji Ming dodged the ever-closer demon lord once more, shouting to stop her actions.

"Enough! Do you demon dragons do nothing but this kind of thing all day long?!"