Chapter 718: Fight in the True Dragon Cave
Xiao Chen collected his wandering thoughts. Then, a scarlet light flickered as he recalled the scarlet throne back into his forehead. Finally, he took out a blue strip of cloth and tied it around his forehead.
He withdrew all his king’s aura, and as his blood circulated, the ancient sovereign’s aura quietly disappeared. The atmosphere around him turned ordinary once again, no different from that of others.
Riding an Azure Dragon image, Xiao Chen descended quickly and arrived shortly at the True Dragon Cave’s entrance. He did not hesitate to fly in.
Earlier, he had seen the interior of the True Dragon Cave on the Savage Battlefield map. As he traversed the caverns, he did not stop at any of the forks or get confused by the complicated layout.
Along the way, Xiao Chen met some cultivators who did not dare to go too far inside and could only try their luck in the outer area.
He moved like the wind, brus.h.i.+ng past these people. By the time they turned their heads and looked, he was already out of sight. This swift pa.s.sage astonished the crowd.
“Another ferocious person is here. Looks like this True Dragon Cave will not be peaceful.”
“Indeed, the seven giants are all gathered here. Even some loose cultivators ranked highly on the Evil Cultivator Ranking have joined the excitement as well.”
“That is not all. I heard that there are some loose cultivators of the Fiend Race here to s.n.a.t.c.h the treasures belonging to our human race.”
The sect disciples in the outer area were mostly early-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarchs. Because they feared the danger, they only dared to wander through the cave’s periphery.
These people could only hope for good luck to befall them. Perhaps they might be able to obtain some treasures unique to a True Dragon Cave.
These people all had envious gazes for those who dared to barge into the inner area of the True Dragon Cave. Everyone knew that one could only obtain real treasures by venturing into the depths of the True Dragon Cave.
Only small scuffles took place in the outer area. Even if one was extremely lucky, they would not have much gain in comparison.
“Senior Brother, should we go and try our luck? Who knows, we might be able to gain some advantages,” a young sect disciple could not help but suggest to his senior brother when he saw another person entering the inner area.
The slightly older senior brother smiled and replied, “You can go by yourself. I do not want to die yet. Without being at least a late-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarch, going will definitely mean death.
“Who knows, there might be a mutated Demonic Beast in the inner area. Or perhaps even if you obtained treasures, you will lose your life when you run into other cultivators and they try to s.n.a.t.c.h them from you.”
When the young sect disciple heard this, the fervor in his eyes slowly cooled. Indeed, no matter how good a treasure was, it would be useless if one was not alive to enjoy it.
Xiao Chen traveled quickly, not letting his feet remain on the ground for long. Finally, he arrived at the hot lava that previously stopped the seven giants and the others.
Those people had long since disappeared. They should have already crossed this stretch of lava and ventured deeper into the cave. Perhaps they might have even arrived at the remains of the True Dragon.
However, some people with ferocious gazes and overwhelming baleful auras remained. It was clear with one glance that these were loose cultivators. They stayed here, frowning slightly as they looked at the boundless lava before them.
“Hehe! Finally, another reckless person arrived. Old friends, I will be going first.”
The moment Xiao Chen stopped, a gray-robed old man’s eyes lit up, like he had found the prey he had been looking for, when his gaze swept over him.
The gray-robed old man smiled sinisterly and soared into the air, charging at Xiao Chen. “Brat, don’t blame me for being merciless. Just obediently become my stepping stone.”
The remaining old men all revealed expressions of regret. They blamed themselves for being too slow and letting someone else s.n.a.t.c.h the initiative.
He looks to be a late-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarch, slightly weaker than Ximen Bao.
With one glance, Xiao Chen discerned this person’s cultivation. He could not help but laugh coldly to himself. With just this little bit of strength, he dares to attack me? Truly reckless.
The gray-robed old man’s figure flashed and arrived before Xiao Chen in the blink of an eye. When he noticed that Xiao Chen was only a Medial Grade Martial Monarch, he did not show any concern at all.
Quintessence surged in the gray-robed old man’s palm, and he shaped his fingers into a claw. A strong wind blew as he stretched his arm out towards Xiao Chen’s head, intent on killing him with one claw strike.
The gray-robed old man’s fingers flickered with a cold light; they looked extremely hard. He was apparently somewhat accomplished in Claw Techniques.
Just by using his physical body, the gray-robed old man could easily repulse the weapons of other cultivators.
Given the speed of this attack and the interference of his baleful aura, five finger holes would immediately appear on the head of an ordinary Medial Grade Martial Monarch, who would die on the spot.
Unfortunately, the gray-robed old man met Xiao Chen. Even if a half-Sage were here and treated Xiao Chen as an ordinary Medial Grade Martial Monarch, the half-Sage would end up suffering.
This loose cultivator was only a late-stage Superior Grade Martial Monarch. Furthermore, his horrifying baleful aura was useless against Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen’s expression remained calm. As that claw was about to touch his head, the blood surging in his arteries quickly activated the ancient sovereign’s aura.
Xiao Chen’s clothes fluttered despite the absence of any wind. A distant, heavy, solemn, dignified, and strong aura suddenly surged out of him like a mountain.
The gray-robed old man experienced the vast sovereign’s aura in Xiao Chen’s body at such close range.
The air solidified, and it felt like a mountain slammed down on the gray-robed old man’s shoulders. His motion could not help but pause.
Xiao Chen’s eyes filled with murderous intent. Taking advantage of the moment his opponent froze, he attacked at lightning speed. His right hand clenched into a fist, and a strong wind blew. Then, his punch struck the gray-robed old man in the head.
“Bang!”
A horrifying one thousand tons of force exploded in the air like a crack of thunder. Blood spurted into the air as the old man’s head disintegrated, leaving him a headless corpse.
The gray-robed old man’s sharp claws slumped down without any force in them. They would never have the opportunity to hit Xiao Chen.
A look of disgust flashed in Xiao Chen’s eyes. Then he raised his leg and kicked the headless corpse into the red lava surging with heatwaves.
The spectating loose cultivators all exchanged looks. Their mouths gaped, and their eyes filled with disbelief.
The surroundings turned dead quiet. From the moment the gray-robed old man stood up to the moment he died, only a few breaths had pa.s.sed.
One moment ago, the complacent gray-robed old man surged with an intense baleful aura. In the next, he was dead. He did not even have time to turn around, dying so quickly.
The other loose cultivators paled slightly. Earlier, they had felt for an instant an aura that was in no way inferior to that of Martial Sages erupt out from Xiao Chen.
However, when they looked at Xiao Chen now, they saw that his Quintessence might be pure and vast, but he was definitely a peak late-stage Medial Grade Martial Monarch. There was nothing to indicate otherwise.
What just happened seemed very strange. Now, when all the loose cultivators gazed at the white-robed bladesman, their eyes filled with horror.
The cultivations of these loose cultivators were not very different from that gray-robed old man’s. If Xiao Chen wanted to kill them, they would be dead. They would find it hard to stay alive.
Xiao Chen gave these loose cultivators a brief glance before walking forward. The loose cultivators standing before the boiling lava looked like they were avoiding a death G.o.d as they all quickly scrambled to the rear in fear of offending Xiao Chen.
As the gray-robed old man’s headless corpse slowly sank into the lava, it gave off a chilling sound.
The strange snakes made of many round flaming stones headed for the gray-robed old man’s body. As they swam excitedly, their bodies slithered around and gave off resplendent sparks.
The sparks shot out into the air and scorched it, producing sizzling sounds that made those who heard it s.h.i.+vered despite the heat. If they fell in, the lava would definitely burn them until only their bones were left.
“Ka ca! Ka ca!”
Several flaming rock snakes fought over the gray-robed old man’s bones, giving off crunching sounds.
The flaming rock snakes that managed to get some of the loose cultivator’s bones seemed extremely excited. Their bodies slithered about wildly, splas.h.i.+ng lava everywhere.
One of the loose cultivators awoke from the shock that Xiao Chen gave him. Reacting quickly, he flew up, crossed to the other side of the lava, and disappeared into the darkness.
The flaming rock snakes, which were still chewing on the bones of the gray-robed old man, did not care about the loose cultivator that flew over them. They simply delighted themselves with the delicious bones they had.
The other loose cultivators recovered their senses only at this moment. When they looked in the direction that the other cultivator had taken, they all felt very depressed. By now, the flaming rock snakes would already have finished with the gray-robed old man’s bones.
If these loose cultivators were to charge over now, the strange snakes would attack them immediately. At which point, surviving would be difficult.
Just from the way these strange snakes moved freely in the churning lava, it was evident that they were formidable. If they attacked as a group, it would be hard to escape death.
When Xiao Chen saw this, he finally understood why the gray-robed old man attacked upon seeing him. It turned out that the old man wanted to use him as bait to open up a path for himself.
Xiao Chen now turned his head and considered the group of loose cultivators. Then he sank into deep thought, debating whether to use these loose cultivators to pave his way.
Loose cultivators committed all sorts of atrocities, acted outside the law. They killed people to cultivated their baleful aura. Furthermore, they would kill people at their whims without caring who their victims were. Their minds had already warped long ago. These people were worthy of capital punishment.
Back then, when Shui Lingling and Murong Lingfeng saw Gu Mu and the middle-aged man, they had not hesitated to kill them, even though they did not have to.
The moment Xiao Chen appeared here, these loose cultivators immediately thought of using him to open the way. This mindset showed how insidious their thoughts were.
When the loose cultivators saw Xiao Chen’s gaze and his faint killing Qi, they all felt alarmed and unconsciously took a few steps back.
“It hurts! It hurts so much!”
Right at this moment, in the deepest part of the endless lava where it was dark, a miserable shriek suddenly rang out.
Xiao Chen turned his head to look and saw a faint human-shaped flame burning in the darkness. It was the loose cultivator who had gotten past the strange snakes earlier.
“Bang!”
The lava below shot out a clump of golden flames, attacking that loose cultivator again. At this point, he stopped screaming, burned to ashes in the air.
“This Old Liu is too unlucky. He finally managed to make it past the strange snakes, but he ended up getting burned by the Dragon Flames.”
“Dragon Flames, the fire of True Dragons. Although it is diluted in the lava, one will still die for sure if they come in contact with it.”
“This lava is really hard to cross. If only we had come earlier and gone with the seven giants. That would have been much safer.”
“Well, it only serves him right. Why the rush? Now he even lost his life here.”
When the loose cultivators at the back saw this scene, they all discussed it in low voices, not evincing any grief on their faces. On the contrary, they even rejoiced in Old Liu’s misfortune.
Xiao Chen heard what the loose cultivators behind him said, and gave up on the notion of using them as stepping stones. He merely stared at the churning lava in silence.
Ao Jiao, how strong are those snakes? What are my chances of charging across?
Ao Jiao, who was in the Immortal Spirit Ring, thought for a while before replying, These are Fire Flame Snakes. Their bodies are made up of Fire Flame Rocks, not flesh. It will be hard for ordinary Quintessence to permeate into their bodies.