Chapter 859: Side Story 4: 96

When the truth surfaced, reality was far crueler than imagined.

Everyone had been trying their best to protect the good Xiao Lao San, but right under everyone's noses, in his weakest quasi-adult state, he was slowly falling into an unprecedented crisis.

This battle was not him fighting the primordial spirit of that ancient great demon, but a battle of fate.

Actually, by this point, everyone's minds were clear.

But they still couldn't help wanting to help Xiao Lao San struggle a bit.

Zhong Susu immediately said: "I'll go set up formations, lay down a few more formation arrays to resist the nefarious qi, to ease Chuan Chuan's pressure."

Xiaoye also said: "I'll give Chuan Chuan a bit more dragon qi to help him break through quickly."

Everyone was thinking, at this moment, what more could they do for Xiao Lao San?

On the contrary, Liu Junyan and Xiao Jiu were the calmest.

Liu Junyan said: "Stop busying yourselves, the ninth layer of the tower on Xiao Lao San's back has already formed; whether he can withstand this wave of nefarious qi attack depends on himself—if he succeeds, he lives; if not…"

Xiao Jiu buried her face in Liu Junyan's chest, unable to imagine the moment Xiao Lao San couldn't hold out.

The primordial spirit shattered completely, body and spirit destroyed.

By then, perhaps all they could do was one thing: prevent his primordial spirit from being devoured by that ancient great demon.

Everything, could only be left to heaven's will.

Everything, also could only rely on Xiao Lao San himself.

This is what Liu Junyan had told Xiao Jiu from the beginning, but Xiao Jiu always felt that Xiao Lao San was still too young, too young.

At least wait for him to undergo a few more heavenly tribulations, shed a few more skins, grow a bit sturdier, right?

Xiao Jiu thought this process would take at least four or five years.

But she never expected that the faster Xiao Lao San progressed, the sooner this day would come.

Step by step pressing forward, they… could no longer keep up with Xiao Lao San's pace.

Nefarious qi surged continuously toward the Linghai Forbidden Ground.

This scene, Xiao Jiu was not unfamiliar with.

A few months ago she had just experienced it once.

But this time, she could only be a bystander.

Time flowed by second by second, everyone was staring at the Linghai Forbidden Ground.

As the black qi gathering in the Linghai Forbidden Ground grew more and more, everyone's hearts grew more and more anxious.

However, Liu Junyan still didn't forget to instruct Hui Moqiong: "Mo Qiong, guard the perimeter; if any suspicious personnel are spotted, report to me immediately."

Hui Moqiong immediately went to do it.

Yes, even if worried and the results were unsatisfactory, they still had to stay rational and keep a close watch on that ancient great demon.

After his primordial spirit emerged from the orifice, whether it existed independently outside, or dwelled parasitically in some host, remained unknown.

They had to guard against it!

Hui Moqiong hadn't been gone long before he hurried back, his face solemn: "Seventh Lord, he has already appeared impatiently; he doesn't need a host at all, his primordial spirit can already condense into substance independently, and he's now in the northwest direction—should I take people over there first…"

"No need." Liu Junyan said: "Keep an eye on him; it's not yet your turn to act."

Xiao Jiu's fists clenched instantly.

The Liu Junyan and Xiaoye beside him were both suffused with terrifying killing intent.

The Linghai Forbidden Ground was a pitch-black expanse, as if even the seawater had been solidified by the thick nefarious qi, with not a ripple in sight.

A chorus of ghostly wails and wolf howls came from beneath the water, making people's brains ache.

As time passed, many people's hearts turned cold.

Hui Moqiong anxiously said: "How is this nefarious qi not decreasing at all? Xiao Lao San, hang in there!"

At that moment, a surge of air movement occurred on the northwest corner.

Xiao Jiu looked up and saw, above the northwest corner, a huge dragon head gradually emerging from the black qi, gazing at them with a half-smile.

Even though far away, their lines of sight met across the void, and Xiao Jiu still sensed the triumphant expression of that ancient great demon.

He already had victory in his grasp.

Yes, such a scene, he had already experienced it at least three times, and each time he reaped the final spoils without lifting a finger.

Clearly, the Linghai Forbidden Ground in its current state shows that Xiao Lao San is weaker than he imagined.

That ancient great demon's primordial spirit no longer needs to rely on a host to condense into substance; perhaps he only lacks Xiao Lao San's last trace of primordial spirit to reach the next pinnacle.

"I can't take it anymore!" Xiaoye suddenly let out a low growl, about to transform into a dragon and charge over: "On my turf, such arrogance—if I don't give him a lesson, I, the Linghai Dragon King, would be serving in vain!"

Liu Junyan grabbed him and said: "Xiao Ge, don't act rashly…"

"What is that?!"

At this critical moment, Hui Moqiong suddenly pointed at the Linghai Forbidden Ground and cried out in alarm.

Everyone looked toward the water surface.

The Linghai Forbidden Ground's previously unchanging water surface suddenly saw a whirlpool appear.

That whirlpool grew larger and larger, continuously spinning, dragging the heavy nefarious qi from all directions toward the point where it dipped inward.

The whirlpool spun faster and faster, its radiating area also growing larger.

From beneath the water came what sounded like a dragon's roar, as if an earthquake were about to happen, and the ground beneath their feet began to shake uncontrollably.

This process took only a dozen or so seconds; the center of the whirlpool that had dipped inward suddenly began to spout water columns upward like a fountain.

The water column shot higher and higher, straight toward the sky.

From afar, it looked like the marvel of a dragon drinking water.

But everyone present saw with their own eyes that it was not a dragon drinking water, but the exact opposite—a 'spouting water'.

Hui Moqiong suddenly exclaimed excitedly: "The tower, the tip of the tower on Xiao Lao San's back has popped out!"

Yes, a tower spire first broke out of the water, then kept rising…

At the same time, all the earthly evil qi that had been dragged in rushed into the tower's body.

The pitch-black seawater and thick black mist gradually shed the colors that did not belong to them, bit by bit returning to purity.

Xiao Jiu grabbed Liu Junyan's big hand, her whole body tensing up; she was so nervous her voice turned hoarse: "Liu Junyan, how do I feel that our little third can succeed? He can, right?"

Liu Junyan said nothing, merely turning his big hand to tightly wrap Xiao Jiu's hand.

Xiao Jiu knew he might be even more nervous than she was at this moment.

"The dragon head is gone."

Liu Junyan's light sentence startled everyone.

Just a moment ago, everyone's attention had been drawn to the movements within the Linghai Forbidden Ground, causing them to overlook the dragon head in the northwest corner.

Now, the sky and water colors gradually returned to normal, yet the dragon head formed from the primordial great demon's spirit was missing.

Bang!

The next moment, seawater shot up into the sky.

Wave after wave of murky sediment surged up from the seabed, the ground trembled continuously, all indicating that at this moment, deep within the Linghai Forbidden Ground, an unprecedented massive battle was taking place.

That primordial great demon could wait no longer; at this critical juncture, it took a risky sneak attack on little third…