"It was him?" Zhang Chen’s face showed a surprised expression upon hearing the words. He personally observed the Visualization Image and realized how difficult it was to grasp the doorways. Yet, Xie Xuan was able to enter meditation at a glance—how high must his talent be?
"It’s impossible to rely on Xie Xuan now. I’m about to act on Zhang Shicheng’s body—how can this be hidden from Xie Xuan? At that time, it’s likely he will kill to seize treasures and seek the secrets on me. I cannot take this risk. I better fake my death and silently return to dig up the Empress Tomb." Zhang Chen refused the Fox Spirit’s proposal.
The Fox Spirit fell silent upon hearing this, having to admit Zhang Chen made a lot of sense. After all, while you can know a person’s face, you cannot know their heart. Although Xie Xuan is famous throughout the world, his true nature might only be known to those close to him.
Thoughts flickered in Zhang Chen’s mind as he infused the Light of the True God into the ice-carved mask on his face. The following actions were sure to be earth-shattering, and if anyone discovered his true appearance, he feared being hunted to death.
At this moment, explosions came from within the Underground Palace, and the Crystal Palace shook continuously. The voice of Xie Xuan cursing loudly came: "Wicked creature, your Walking Flood Dragon tribulation is near, and you dare waste energy with us here, are you not afraid of failing the task?"
"Hehe, do you think I’m unaware? There are tens of thousands of troops outside. If I dared to engage in the Walking Flood Dragon outside, I’d surely become fish meat on your chopping block. Do you think I’m a fool?" Zhang Shicheng’s voice was full of mockery.
"But how will you achieve Dragon Transformation without experiencing the Thunder Tribulation?" Elder Wu of Yellow Heaven Dao said, full of surprise.
"Hehe, what do you two mortals know about the secrets of Walking Flood Dragon and Dragon Transformation? Of course, this ancestor has his own intentions." Zhang Shicheng cared not and continued to relentlessly pursue the two.
At this moment, after Zhang Shicheng’s soul returned to his body, his strength reached the Tenth Tier. Blue lightning flickered around him, preventing Xie Xuan and Elder Wu of Yellow Heaven Dao from daring to confront him directly; they could only flee in disarray.
"I don’t believe it; how can he transform to Walking Flood Dragon without enduring the baptism of thunder? Let’s delay and see who exhausts whom first." Elder Wu’s voice was filled with viciousness.
As he spoke, a blue lightning bolt as thick as a thumb struck directly toward Elder Wu, who, with soil and rocks around him flowing like water, formed dozens of defenses at an instant. Still, the earthen walls were like paper against the blue thunderbolt, shattered instantly, scaring him into fleeing deeper into the Crystal Palace without hesitation.
Xie Xuan, watching the chase, had no choice but to follow closely to help relieve Elder Wu’s pressure. Zhang Shicheng was terrifyingly strong now, and any carelessness could mean disaster for both he and Elder Wu. The two couldn’t split up in this moment.
Zhang Chen stood within the Crystal Palace, listening to the explosions coming from inside, with surprise in his eyes: "Why is Zhang Shicheng not transforming into a dragon but rampaging underground instead?"
Zhang Chen said to the Fox Spirit, "Go gather intelligence and report to me at all times."
"There’s no need to gather intelligence; I already know the reason." The Fox Spirit pondered, "Could it be that he’s not transforming into an ordinary Flood Dragon but rather into one of the Dragon Nine Sons, Taotie?"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Chen asked curiously.
"Taotie possesses True Dragon Bloodline and can devour all things to evolve. As long as there are enough Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, it can continuously upgrade, pushing its bloodline infinitely close to a True Dragon, so of course, he does not need to take risks." Fox Fairy Nannan said.
"Taotie, huh? If that’s the case, waiting for him to undergo tribulation to refine his bloodline and then using Soul Hook mid-evolution would be unrealistic?" Zhang Chen mused.
"He’s undoubtedly of the infinitely evolving Gluttony Bloodline! Otherwise, how could Ninth Tier become Tenth Tier upon the Yang God’s return to his body? That’s because even without Thunder Tribulation, his body can evolve due to the Creation consumed in the Dragon Palace, reaching the Tenth Tier. And his pursuit of Xie Xuan and the cultivator of Yellow Heaven Dao probably isn’t out of hatred but rather to devour them—perhaps he hopes to break through to the Eleventh Tier. If he reaches the Eleventh Tier, even without evolving into a True Dragon at the Twelfth Tier, he’d still be unstoppable in the world—who could resist him then?"
At this, Fox Fairy Nannan flared up in alarm: "We may have all underestimated Zhang Shicheng. This rascal has received the opportunity of Creation, taking the Taotie route, thus enhancing his power to the Tenth Tier even without completing the Walking Flood Dragon. His bloodline has already mutated! We need to act now. If he reaches the Eleventh Tier, we stand no chance. Even with Xie Xuan and Elder Wu, in the face of an Eleventh Tier, we’d be dead meat."
"Now I finally understand why your True Dragon Destiny fears the opponent—because he is Taotie, one that devours all! Even the True Dragon Destiny can be consumed." Fox Fairy Nannan said.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen was startled and then felt fortunate that the Fox Spirit became his pet rather than being killed by him completely, otherwise, how would he know such secrets at critical moments?
"So do I lure him over now?" Zhang Chen asked.
"The difference between Tenth Tier and Ninth Tier is like heaven and earth. Xie Xuan and that old fellow of Yellow Heaven Dao can’t hold on much longer. If he devours the two, it will bring you more trouble." Fox Fairy Nannan said.
Hearing this, Zhang Chen felt his scalp tingle and, without a word, directly activated the True Dragon Destiny within his soul.
On the other side, Zhang Shicheng was pursuing Xie Xuan and Elder Wu, and Fox Fairy Nannan wasn’t lying—the gap between Tenth Tier and Ninth Tier was indeed like heaven and earth. Against Zhang Shicheng, Xie Xuan and Elder Wu could only flee, barely able to put up any defense, completely overrun.
However, even while running, they were extremely embarrassed and were being forced to the brink of no escape.
"Find a chance to flee to the surface and use the army to encircle and kill him!" Xie Xuan shouted to Elder Wu.
"If I could escape back to the surface, would I need your reminder? That rascal somehow applied a strange power to the entire earth’s crust, making it impossible to penetrate—there’s just no way out." Elder Wu’s voice was anxious and fiery, "I came here to eat dragon flesh to extend my life, but never thought I’d be eaten by a Flood Dragon today."
Xie Xuan ignored Elder Wu’s vulgarity and pondered how to break the situation while fleeing, "We must find a way to break the Feng Shui Grand Array here. When the Feng Shui array is broken, the Water Fortune will surely backfire, and we may still have a chance."
As they spoke, a dragon’s roar rang out, followed by a blue flame chasing from the rear passage. Where the flames passed, stones melted into lava, and lake water turned into horrific steam, rushing toward them.
The two hurriedly activated their superpowers, mobilizing rocks to form earthen walls as a defense, but against the powerful flames, it was only a futile resistance.
Just as they were utterly out of options, the dragon roar suddenly ceased, and Zhang Shicheng’s presence abruptly receded rapidly.
The two stopped, looked at each other, and were at a loss.
"We were about to be slaughtered, and why did he suddenly stop chasing?" Elder Wu murmured with lingering fear.
"Something is up! Either he couldn’t withstand the Water Fortune’s force and it started to backfire, or something went wrong with his Dragon Transformation and the Walking Flood Dragon, so he couldn’t afford to worry about us. Regardless of the situation, it seems promising." Xie Xuan muttered, then looked at Elder Wu, "Are you going or not?"
"With only three to five years left to live, if not now, when?" Elder Wu said.