Chapter 395: That's It?
With Lin Bei leading the way, the group's progress became swift and seamless. The Jimeng Dragon Cavalry members were not many to begin with and most of the members had now been dispatched to tackle the demons that were causing trouble. And so, they did not encounter any Jimeng clan members along their route.
"There are many cells here, but only about ten are occupied," Lin Bei said, his tone casual yet confident. "I've taken care of delivering food to every single one during the day. Without me, you'd be wandering around for ages."
"You will be remembered for this great merit," said Chu Liang.
As they continued, the group arrived at a cell that stood out from the rest.
The cells here were small and fortified with intricate enchanted formations, far beyond the complexity of the outer walls. Even seventh-realm experts would struggle to break them. Of course, unless they were on the same level as Di Nufeng.
But if Di Nufeng were involved, there was no knowing who might end up being locked in here.
The cell was devoid of doors or windows, featuring only a small, fortified hole at the bottom for passing in food. The thick walls were evident through this narrow tunnel, which allowed food to be slid in but offered no visibility from either side.
As Chu Liang prepared to break through the wall, Lin Bei couldn't help but remark, "This is not going to be an easy task..."
"..."
"Wow, it actually works?"
A moment later, he couldn't help but exclaim.
The experts of the Blazing Fire Gang all nodded repeatedly. Yes! Exactly, very surprising, right?
We were just as surprised earlier, no shame in it.
The little golden butterfly quickly gnawed a face-sized hole in the thick wall as if it was swimming. It was even faster than before.
Chu Liang guessed there were two reasons: first, it had just woken up earlier; second, the more complex formations here meant more spiritual energy. For the little golden butterfly, more spiritual energy meant tastier food.
As for the hardness...
It was all crunchy anyway.
After making a larger hole, Lin Bei leaned in to look and saw a young man chained at the limbs. He asked, "Is the Blazing Fire Gang's chief in there?"
"No," the person inside replied.
"Sorry, wrong cell," Lin Bei said, turning to leave.
Why are you being polite now? Chu Liang remarked inwardly.
"Hey, hey, hey?" the person inside quickly called out, "Don't go."
Chu Liang glanced through the hole and suddenly exclaimed, "Ji Lingfeng?"
"Ah!" The young man inside also exclaimed, "You're that Mount Shu disciple who rides a Hou?"
His once fine clothes were now tattered, and his previously clean and handsome face was now quite haggard, but his eyes were a mystical blue.
He was Ji Lingfeng, the eighth young master of the Ji family, whom Chu Liang had met before.
When Chu Liang went to the Ji family to deliver a message, he first met the ninth young lady Ji Lingyu, then the eighth young master Ji Lingfeng hitching a ride on the Hou, which was quite an extraordinary experience.
Later, Ji Lingyu followed Tang Shi and joined his Ghost-Face Chamber, saying she wouldn't go home until her eighth brother returned.
So her eighth brother was here?
If Ji Lingyu insisted on competing with him on who returned home later, it would be a prolonged and arduous battle...
Since Ji Lingyu was an acquaintance, Chu Liang had the little golden butterfly continue gnawing and also chewed off the chains on Ji Lingfeng. During this time, he asked Ji Lingfeng how he ended up here.
"Haaaa," Ji Lingfeng sighed. "It's a series of unfortunate family affairs. That day, I left home for a fun trip outside. Initially, I planned to travel overseas to avoid being found. But who knew I'd witness a battle in the West Sea! Someone was ambushing Chief Xu Bashan of the Whale Gang! I tried to escape but was discovered. They wanted to kill me but when they notice that I was a member of the Ji Family, they decided to hold me hostage instead."
So that was what had happened. He was unlucky to have been caught in the incident where the Heaven-Devouring Python devoured Xu Bashan. The mastermind behind that incident has never been identified, and naturally, they wouldn't let a witness escape.
"Did you see the identity of the perpetrator?" Chu Liang asked curiously.
"That person..." Ji Lingfeng hesitated before answering, "Should be my eldest brother."
"Ah?" Everyone was shocked again.
Lin Bei asked in surprise, "You've already sworn brotherhood with the City Lord?"
"No." Ji Lingfeng denied as he wondered how such an assumption could even be formed.
He then explained, "He is a member of the Ji Family, and he is the eldest male of our generation, named Ji Lingjue. Although we are of the same generation, he is over a hundred years older than me, so I have only heard about him from the elders."
"Wow," Lin Bei exclaimed.
In such large families, it was normal for people of the same generation to have significant age differences, but such a large gap was rare and only occurred in cultivation families.
It was likely because there had been a man at the age of a few hundred years old and still going hard at it despite the old age.
"His father is my eldest uncle from the main house, but his mother was a dragon lady from the Jimeng tribe. That was likely just a fleeting relationship and his appearance was just an accident and he was then abandoned," Ji Lingfeng said as he scratched his head. "With that monstrous talent, he grew up on his own. He had likely suffered a lot. When he achieved a high level of cultivation, he went back to the house of Ji to be recognized as a member of the Ji Family. My eldest uncle went to see him, but then..."
"When a maid went in to deliver tea, she saw his father lying in a pool of blood and sitting there with a grin."
Good grief.
This is basically the saying: The son laughs when the father leaves the world.
"No one expected things to turn out this way. He fought his way out of the Ji Family and then disappeared without a trace. My family has been hunting him all over the world for many years."
Lin Bei blinked and said: "He must have killed his mother too because I heard from the chief steward that the lord of the city became their new master by killing the former dragon lady of the Jimeng tribe..."
Everyone fell silent.
He was indeed a ruthless person.
...
While this conversation was happening, the little golden butterfly started chewing through all the chains, absorbing all the spiritual energy within, leaving only a ground full of golden threads.
Ji Lingfeng regained his freedom.
"Let's go to the next one," someone said and everyone hastily moved.
Such a heaven-defying method!
The South Sea Inferno Dragon possessed Divine Dragon Fire and immense spiritual energy, while Baxia, a child of the Dragon, was unmatched in power and strength.
By combining the body of the South Sea Inferno Dragon with the Dragon Soul of Baxia, an unparalleled vicious beast with terrifying flames and invincible strength would be created!
Eh?
As Chu Liang was contemplating this, he was reminded of someone..
Esteemed teacher? he thought.
Boom boom boom—
As the giant prison was opened, a flash of red light was followed by a massive explosion that engulfed the entire prison building and the Jimeng clansman who opened it in flames!
It was the endless Divine Dragon Fire! The blood of those caught in it nearly evaporated on the spot!
The divine fire was vast, incinerating all life in its path.
At that moment, Chu Liang briefly grasped a fragment of the essence of the Dao of Incinerating Heaven, but he had no time to reflect on this now.
A towering figure that lit up the night sky rose from the sea of flames. The Divine Dragon Fire enveloping its crimson-gold scales was so intense that the original form of the South Sea Inferno Dragon was barely visible.
All they could see were its eyes, filled with bloodlust—brimming with slaughter and madness!
"What kind of monster did he create?"
Anyone who witnessed this scene and heard the dragon chant was in deep shock. Even if they didn't understand dragon language, they could feel the anger and madness in the chant.
It wanted to kill all the living beings it saw!
The observers trembled in their limbs and souls. They only wanted to escape!
At this moment, Chu Liang finally understood the feelings of those who had once stood against Di Nufeng.
It was despair.
It was suffocating fear and despair!
"There's no escape!" Xu Bashan, still in the cell, roared, "Wait until I get out, and I will deal with it!"
His shout brought everyone back to their senses.
Indeed. Where could they escape to?
Python Belly City was vast enough to house hundreds of thousands of humans, but for this unparalleled vicious beast, it was just a small manor.
It could kill everyone here in an instant!
The only one who could possibly deal with it was Xu Bashan, a cultivator at the seventh realm. As the chief of the Whale Gang, weak cultivation was definitely not a trait associated with him!
Staying by his side was the safest option.
Fortunately, while the entire world seemed to burn like an alchemical oven, and all living beings were in danger, the little golden butterfly was still carrying out Chu Liang's orders.
It just kept gnawing.
Even when the whole world feared the Inferno Dragon, the little butterfly wasn't afraid. It just kept gnawing.
Gnawing continuously.
"Roar!" The Inferno Dragon, now dangerously close, launched itself forward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of fire waves echoed, and in that instant, everyone stopped breathing...
Finally, at this critical moment, the chains binding Xu Bashan's limbs were released!
"HAH—"
A sudden shout erupted from behind. It was like the rumble of rolling thunder!
A Daoist figure, resembling the Thunder God himself, swept past everyone with great momentum. The mere rumbling left in his wake caused their eardrums to tremble.
Is this the power of an expert at the seventh realm?
Everyone was shocked to their core.
They watched as the thunderous figure collided head-on with the diving Inferno Dragon!
Swish—
But just before the impact, the twelve silver dragon scales on Xu Bashan's body suddenly flashed.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." He let out a painful cry as his connection to the Dao was instantly severed.
These twelve dragon scales turned out to be an incredibly powerful seal!
Bang—
The frenzied Inferno Dragon, bound by no code of martial virtue, crashed directly into Xu Bashan, sending him flying.
Boom boom boom—
Splatters of Divine Dragon Fire exploded on the gliding Xu Bashan, embedding him almost into the ground. Amidst the blaze of fire and smoke, he was clearly unconscious.
Ah?
In that instant, everyone experienced a roller coaster of emotions—from the despair and fear of being targeted by the Inferno Dragon, to the sudden hope when Xu Bashan broke free, and then back to despair as he was swiftly knocked down...
It was unbelievable that such extreme ups and downs could occur in the blink of an eye.
For a moment, everyone was stunned, not knowing what to do. Countless emotions converged in their hearts, ultimately culminating in one thought.
Is that it?