Chapter 146: The Dragon Corpse

It was a narrow escape. Endless waves of pitch-black energy roared past them, and within the surging currents, a grotesque, colossal spirit writhed like a titan, letting out blood-curdling screeches from time to time.

"Too dangerous, far too dangerous..." Gui Ren clutched his chest, gasping repeatedly. "They say that what was sealed within the Purple-Gold Alms Bowl was supposed to be the spirit of a Hellish Demon Dragon. Why does that thing in the waves look nothing like a dragon?"

Before his words could even fade, as if to prove him right, the countless black, snake-like entities within the mountainside below began to surge frantically, eventually fusing into one.

*Roar!*

The black dragon bellowed, and in an instant, the entire mountain seemed to tremble violently. Black pythons poured rapidly from the crevices in the rock, merging into the body of the dragon.

"Heavens! There really is a Hellish Demon Dragon, and it has broken free! This is unbelievable!" Gui Ren shrieked in terror.

"Oh no, what if they start fighting?"

*Roar!*

Unfortunately, Gui Ren’s jinx was all too accurate. As the aura of the Hellish Demon Dragon grew stronger, the entity within the endless black waves seemed to take a keen interest in it, tumbling rapidly toward the dragon.

*Roar!*

The Demon Dragon roared, its two massive wings blotting out the sun and sky, whipping up a tempest of wind and flying debris as it struck at the black waves. Even from such a great distance, Ye Feng and his companions could feel the terrifying aura that made them tremble.

"They're going to..." Before the jinx-prone Gui Ren could finish his sentence, Ye Feng and the others instinctively clamped their hands over his mouth, terrified that something else might go wrong.

"Shut up! You jinx, not another word from now on!" Ye Feng glared at him angrily, slowly releasing his grip as he issued a warning.

It was not long, however, before the fierce battle between the two terrifying entities made their position unsafe. Boulders weighing thousands of pounds tumbled past them, and fissures cracked open across the mountainside, filling them with unease.

"There’s no other choice. Let’s head further up the mountain!" Ye Feng urged.

"Fine, I just hope they don't follow us up!" As soon as the words left Gui Ren’s lips, he was met with the collective, hostile glares of the group.

There was nothing they could do. Charging toward the Sacred Mountain was undoubtedly dangerous, but remaining where they were meant risking certain death at any moment. Those two entities were far too powerful; they were leagues beyond anything the group could hope to contend with.

They fled for their lives, pushing their spiritual energy to the absolute limit to dodge the falling rocks. Suddenly, Ye Feng spotted a patch of green on the far side of the mountain. "There’s green ahead! Let’s head there and take cover!"

The presence of lush vegetation on this desolate mountain brought a sense of relief to Ye Feng. Compared to the rest of the mountain, which was saturated with horrific energy, the environment there seemed far more hospitable.

"Listen to me, that is no place of refuge," the jinx Gui Ren muttered. "The fact that it wasn't destroyed by the black waves proves it’s not ordinary. For all we know, there could be something even more terrifying inside than the Hellish Demon Dragon." He was met once again with the group's hateful stares.

Given the urgency of the situation, they had no choice but to find shelter there before worrying about the consequences.

It was an eerily quiet forest. The ancient trees were towering and massive, each one so thick it would take dozens of men to encircle it, and no one could say how many centuries they had been growing. The silence was bone-chilling. Despite the roaring black waves and the dragon’s bellows outside, here, one could hear the drop of a needle. It felt desolate and ominous.

Once Ye Feng and his group rushed inside, they discovered that the two terrifying monsters had detoured around the area, shifting their battlefield elsewhere rather than encroaching upon this place.

"This place is deeply sinister! Even those two super-monsters dare not come here. We should leave as soon as possible," Gui Ren said, his face pale. In this profound silence, he felt as though he could hear the sound of his own soul trembling.

"You're right. This is no place to linger. Let's move!" Ye Feng, also gripped by a bad premonition, prepared to depart.

*Whoosh...*

But suddenly, the Broken Blade, which had been stored in his ring, appeared in mid-air for no apparent reason. It radiated an intense golden light and shot off toward the depths of the dense forest.

The blade moved like lightning. Ye Feng could not simply flee on his own; without hesitation, he plunged into the forest after it.

The soundless woods were terrifyingly quiet. Aside from the rush of their own movement, there was not a single rustle or whisper of wind. A heavy, grey oppression weighed upon their hearts, making them feel an urge to scream out loud. The gloomy, ancient forest was saturated with a suffocating power; it was easy to imagine that being trapped here for too long would drive a person to madness.

"What is wrong with your blade? Let's go! I'll ask the elders in the village to forge you a better one when we get back!" After they had advanced several hundred meters, a frantic Gui Ren grabbed Ye Feng’s hand, unwilling to let him court further danger.

"No." Ye Feng’s answer was firm. He wasn't joking—this was one of the eight artifacts of the ancient Dragon Race; he couldn't just abandon it.

After traveling another mile, the Broken Blade finally came to a halt, hovering and humming before a stretch of skeletal remains that spanned several miles.

The skeleton was immense, resembling a small mountain range that stretched for miles. Ye Feng and his companions were stunned; it was a long dragon skeleton, looking exactly like the legendary Eastern Divine Dragon.

"Could this be an Eastern Divine Dragon?" Ye Feng looked solemn. The others did not know the origin of the Dragon Blade, but Ye Feng understood why it had come here.

*Hum, hum...*

The blade mourned, circling the massive dragon bones.

"Old friend, you have returned," a majestic voice suddenly rang out, shocking everyone. To their horror, they realized the voice was emanating from the miles-long skeleton itself.

"Heh, the Dragon Race has perished, and your spirit is incomplete. Go now, follow your new master, mend your battle-spirit, and restore the glory of the ancient Dragon Race!"

Suddenly, sky-piercing flames erupted, engulfing the dragon skeleton. Strangely, the surrounding ancient trees were completely unaffected. The flames seemed to possess a will of their own; even as they swept through the woods, they did not scorch a single leaf.

Then, an astonishing thing happened. The burning dragon bones radiated a dazzling light, and ribbons of milky-white energy condensed rapidly, pouring into the Broken Blade.

As the skeleton vanished, the milky-white energy was continuously refined from the remains and absorbed into the blade.

*Clang...*

A sound like an incomparable divine weapon being drawn from its sheath rang out, and a brilliant light illuminated the entire land.

At this moment, the material of the blade was beyond Ye Feng's comprehension. All the grime had been washed away, and it now seemed as though it were forged from dragon bone itself, exuding a sense of ancient, solid strength.