Chapter 68: Creating Chaos
Chapter 68: Creating Chaos
Under my control, the energy sphere flew above the Dragon God Empire’s main camp. I pressed it downward, then removed the outer layer of dark energy and instead wrapped it with those fire elements. A small red fireball immediately appeared in the sky. I suddenly drew it back— the fireball accelerated toward me, blazing brightly in midair. This was because I completely released the fire elements I had injected into the energy sphere. This series of manipulations was extremely difficult, but since the energy sphere was very small, I could still sustain it.
I altered my voice and shouted, “Everyone, be careful! Look at the sky—they’re attacking us!” I focused and flicked my wrist, throwing the fireball to the other side. At once, several spells shot up from our crowd to meet it. I laughed coldly to myself. The fire element had already vanished. Driven by me, a cloud of purple smoke rapidly blanketed downward.
I shouted again, “Everyone, be careful—that’s poison smoke!”
Panzong’s Dantoxin was no ordinary poison gas. From that side of the crowd came countless screams. Large swaths of people collapsed. The crowd instantly fell into chaos, and the already packed mass scattered and fled in all directions.
“Damn it, you’re too despicable! It’s fine if you won’t let us get the treasure, but you even use poison gas to ambush us!”
Seizing the moment, I drew Mo Ming and shouted, “Charge, brothers! Going forward is death, retreating is death too. If that’s the case, we might as well gamble! Maybe we can even grab some treasure and bring it home!”
With that, I leapt up and charged out first. In two bounds I reached the heavily armored infantry. Mo Ming flashed repeatedly, killing two men at once. Spurred on by me, that greedy mob behind surged forward like seawater. Countless spells of every element flew from the crowd toward the Dragon God Empire’s formation, and a vast roar of killing erupted.
I did not want to draw the Dragon Knights’ attention, so I did not use Mad God Battle Energy or dark magic. I relied only on brute strength to hack and kill. After cutting down a few more, I gradually reined in my forward momentum. Many people rushed past me. The Dragon God Empire’s side instantly fell into disorder. Their commander, in the confusion, began directing troops to respond.
At first, they could still restrain themselves, only blocking without killing. But that “rabble” had no such intention. After quite a few comrades died, the Dragon God Empire’s troops began to counterattack, and casualties on both sides started rising sharply.
This couldn’t be blamed on me. Even without my incitement, they might have ended up like this anyway. I pushed the responsibility away in my heart.
I slipped out of the crowd without a sound. Looking at the scene before me, the Dragon God Empire was in trouble. I gave a cold smile. The chaos in front of me filled me with satisfaction. I withdrew to the tunnel entrance from before, checked that nothing was moving around, then quietly drilled inside.
When I emerged from the other side, all troops in the Dragon God Empire camp had already been mobilized. Although they were at a numerical disadvantage, they were elite troops. Their effective coordination and strict formations were not something that mob could withstand. They had already suppressed the other side. Among the treasure-hunters, aside from a few large mercenary groups that could still organize effective attacks, the rest—fighting individually—were steadily retreating.
I sighed. This was a huge disappointment. I had thought that with their numerical advantage they could accomplish something, but I hadn’t expected this outcome. It seemed I would have to help them again.
I took out the remaining Dantoxin still wrapped in dark energy and, without hesitation, threw it. This time there were no fire elements. A cloud of purple smoke suddenly appeared above the Dragon God Empire’s troops in the night. Large swaths of Dragon God’s soldiers began dropping. The crowd that had been losing immediately launched a counterattack.
In the heat of battle, no one had the mind to think about why the same poison gas had appeared in both camps at different times. Watching the “rabble” gradually gain the upper hand, I smiled smugly. I hadn’t expected this poison gas to be so useful. With no Dragon Generals involved, Dragon God’s troops were basically at the mercy of slaughter.
I no longer cared how many died on either side. I transformed again and flew back to the peak. The moment I returned, I saw more than ten Dragon Knights flying toward the crowd. Clearly, they had received a signal for help.
Jin came over and asked, “Fourth Brother, how is it down there?”
I chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. The Dragon God Empire will be in chaos for a while. Let’s go—toward the Five-Colored Radiance. Right now, since the Dragon Knights guarding the outer perimeter went forward to support them, it should be our best time to sneak in.”
Yin asked, “How do we get there?”
I smiled mysteriously. “Of course we fly.”
Panzong froze. “If we fly with wind magic, it’ll be too slow. If we run into Dragon Knights, we’ll have no way to fight back.”
I glanced at him. “Of course not like that. You wrap your bodies with wind elements. I’ll provide the driving force.”
Panzong and Jin and Yin knew time was tight. They began gathering wind elements from the air. Green magic power appeared around them. To better use his abilities, Panzong reverted to nine snake heads, though he still kept a human-shaped body.
I grabbed their belts one by one. My four wings spread. I wrapped the outer perimeter in dense black fog and took off, charging at full speed toward the Five-Colored Radiance.
Even though four wings were formidable, carrying two people at high speed still consumed enormous stamina. The rate at which I absorbed dark magic had long fallen behind the rate of expenditure. Fine beads of sweat appeared on my pale face.
My heart jolted. This wouldn’t do. If I burned too much, how would I slip past Li Feng later?
Thinking that, I gradually slowed and dove downward, landing on a nearer hill beside the peak where the Five-Colored Radiance had appeared.
Panzong asked, “Fourth Brother, what’s wrong? Why stop?”
I wiped the sweat on my forehead and said, “Big Brother—how are you two still so heavy even with wind magic? You’re exhausting me to death.” A wave of fatigue swept over me.
Jin said, puzzled, “That shouldn’t be. With your four-wing transformation, how could you not carry two people? That’s not normal.”
Hearing that, my heart jumped again. At that moment, the death aura that had only recently been subdued returned once more.
I laughed bitterly to myself. Not early, not late—why now?
It was over. Looks like there was no chance to enter that cave.
Struggling, I sat on the ground and said to them, “Hurry and protect me. The death aura is flaring up again.”
Panzong was shocked. “Didn’t you say last time you could suppress it?”
I forced a bitter smile. “I can suppress it, but only after it flares up. There’s no time. This flare-up is severe—hurry and protect me. Don’t let anyone disturb me.”
This time, the death aura erupted from my chest, charging violently toward my heart meridians. I sat cross-legged, first withdrawing the four-wing Fallen Angel transformation, then quickly activating Mad God Battle Energy. A layer of yellow light radiated from my body.
The reason I needed them to protect me was mainly because I feared the glow of Mad God Battle Energy would draw Dragon Knights.
This flare-up was even fiercer than the previous two. Last time, with the help of the Heart-Protecting Mirror’s energy, I drove it out quickly and grew careless. This time, right at the start, it nearly broke into my heart meridians. With great difficulty, I stabilized the situation, protected my heart meridians, and then began encircling and exterminating the death energy.
The death energy no longer feared my Mad God Battle Energy like before. It fought desperately, surging left and right. Waves of a strange, decadent sensation made me feel extremely uncomfortable.
Right then, a sudden change happened.
The Mad God Battle Energy inside me began to surge restlessly for no reason, unusually vast and violent. Without the Heart-Protecting Mirror, it actually turned gold again.
Panzong and Jin and Yin, protecting me, saw the battle energy around my body abruptly change color and burst into intense golden light. They were shocked and immediately chanted earth-element spells, raising several earthen walls around us to block the light from leaking outward.
Just like last time when the Heart-Protecting Mirror was present, the moment my Mad God Battle Energy fully turned gold, the death energy melted away like ice and snow.
Joy surged in my heart. Could it be that because the Heart-Protecting Mirror had once stayed within my body, it caused a beneficial change in my battle energy?
I drove my Mad God Battle Energy with all my strength, rapidly wiping out the death energy. In the end, I still didn’t completely exterminate it, but this crisis had passed.
When I opened my eyes, the first things I saw were Panzong and Jin and Yin’s concerned gazes. I realized dazzling golden light was still radiating from my body. I knew that if this continued, Dragon Knights would definitely notice. I hurriedly tried to urge the Mad God Battle Energy in my body to calm down.
But I suddenly discovered that Mad God Battle Energy no longer obeyed my control. It circulated at twice its usual speed. The golden light radiating from my body grew stronger and stronger. From afar, it would look like a small golden sun had appeared atop this hill.
Panic exploded in my mind. I tried to activate dark magic, only to find it completely suppressed by Mad God Battle Energy at my brow center, refusing to respond to my commands. Even my body could no longer move.
Now, I could only use willpower to resist Mad God Battle Energy’s accelerating circulation. Jin and Yin and Panzong were shoved three or four meters away, unable to get close. This sudden situation left them stunned as well.
There was only one explanation for being unable to control the energy in my body: qi deviation—going berserk.
Could I really be this unlucky?
The swelling pain in my meridians made me howl uncontrollably. The rolling sound wave tore through the air. In that instant, the golden radiance around my body formed a pillar of golden light that shot straight into the sky.
It was over. As long as Li Feng and the others weren’t idiots, they would definitely notice us.
I roared, “Big Brother, Second Brother, Second Sister—hurry and go! I can’t control the energy in my body!”
Hearing my shout, Panzong and Jin and Yin exchanged a look. Determination flashed on all their faces. They still stayed at my side and simultaneously began chanting their transformation spells.
Jin said, “Sun, warm friend who grants the earth heat—please bestow upon me your endless power.”
Yin said, “Moon, bright friend who brings light to the night—please wash my body and mind with your endless radiance.”
The two wolf heads chanted together, “Awaken—the sleeping Wolf God bloodline.”
Jin and Yin let out a long wolf howl toward the sky. Their bodies and fur rapidly grew. In an instant, they transformed into their strongest attack state—four limbs on the ground, an enormous wolf body flashing gold and silver.
All nine of Panzong’s snake heads formed the same mouth shape and chanted together, “Water, fire, earth, wind—the purest energies existing in nature, ignite the hope in my heart. Awaken—the sleeping Serpent King bloodline.”
He rolled onto the ground and revealed his true form. His body and heads rapidly expanded to dozens of times their original size.
When Panzong had been digging, I hadn’t noticed his changes. This close-up transformation let me see clearly how much he had improved after reaching the Ultimate Land realm. Each of the nine snake heads was larger than before, and his whole body emitted a faint glow. With a casual movement, the surrounding air churned.
Advancing one realm truly raised Panzong’s strength by quite a lot. Although he still couldn’t compare to Father, he wasn’t far off anymore.
Two powerful auras guarded me at my side. I understood—they would not abandon me.
Just then, from the peak where the Five-Colored Radiance appeared, three clear dragon roars rang out. Three figures—one green, one white, one yellow—shot into the sky and flew toward us like lightning.
In that moment, for the first time, I regretted insisting on hunting treasure. Under Li Feng, Tian Gang, and Song Ren’s attacks, the three of us could not possibly survive. If I died, that was nothing, but I would drag down older brothers who cared for me deeply. Two streams of remorseful tears slid down my cheeks.
Just as I despaired, the Five-Colored Radiance in the sky changed. What had been rising straight upward suddenly twisted into a parabola and shot toward the golden light radiating from me.
I didn’t know what was happening, but I understood one thing: maybe this was the last chance.
Whether the Five-Colored Radiance was good or bad, it was better than falling into the Dragon Generals’ hands.
So I suddenly roared and threw my will completely into the circulating Mad God Battle Energy. Without my suppressing or guiding it, the already fast-circulating Mad God Battle Energy abruptly doubled in speed again. A mist of blood burst from my whole body. The golden light blazing from my body surged, drawing the Five-Colored Radiance to accelerate toward me.
Li Feng also realized something was wrong. He urged the dragon elder Qing Lin to accelerate sharply, shaking off Tian Gang and Song Ren, and charged over.
Perhaps heaven refused to end me. Just as Li Feng riding Qing Lin came within ten meters of the hill, the Five-Colored Radiance finally touched the golden light from my body. The golden light I emitted immediately turned five-colored as well, and the Mad God Battle Energy circulating within me suddenly stopped.
The transition from high-speed rotation to stillness was too abrupt. Even though my meridians were tough, they could not withstand that kind of torment. I immediately spat out three mouthfuls of blood in succession and collapsed weakly to the ground.
In the instant my protective golden light turned five-colored, the radiance suddenly expanded, enveloping Jin and Yin and Panzong as well. Li Feng seemed to sense danger. With a shout, he threw the Dragon Spear in his hand. It became a streak of green light in midair, turning into a beam that shot straight toward my chest.
He understood clearly: I was the source drawing the Five-Colored Radiance.
At this distance, if that green light struck me, I could not survive. Even at my best, transformed into a Blood-Red Angel, I still could not block Li Feng’s full-force strike.
But something strange happened.
After the green Dragon Spear penetrated three chi into the five-colored radiance, it abruptly stopped. A harsh friction sound rang out in the air. No matter how Li Feng forced it from behind, the spear could not advance even one more inch.
Transformed, Jin and Yin and Panzong stood quietly within the radiance. Seeing the struggling expressions on their faces, I knew this mysterious energy had constrained their movements.
The five-colored radiance flared suddenly, expanding from less than ten meters in diameter to nearly a hundred meters in diameter in an instant. Li Feng’s thrown spear, Li Feng, the dragon elder Qing Lin, and the approaching Tian Gang and Song Ren—along with their mounts—were all blasted away by this powerful force.
I stared at the scene in disbelief. Warmth filled my body. I had no strength at all, yet I also felt no pain. The five-colored radiance suddenly contracted back to its original diameter. I saw that my body, along with Jin and Yin and Panzong, began to float away from the ground, rising along the path of the Five-Colored Radiance.
The speed was not fast. We could clearly sense how eerie it was.
Li Feng and the others were blasted away but were not injured. The three Dragon Generals’ faces were iron-blue. They urged their mounts and charged again, attacking the Five-Colored Radiance with all their might.
Li Feng’s green radiance was as thick as one zhang. He raised his Dragon Spear high, chanting something. Tian Gang and Song Ren also raised their spears and chanted. Their battle energy was weaker than Li Feng’s, but still half a zhang thick. The three of their battle energies condensed like solid entities. The three giant dragons under them continuously spat huge magic blasts. The dragon elder Qing Lin even summoned a great tornado to strike at our position.
Watching wave after wave of attacks coming in, Jin and Yin and Panzong and I all showed fear. Just those three dragons alone would already be difficult for us to handle.
Yet that five-colored radiance, which had looked like mist, now became an incomparably solid and resilient barrier. No matter how they attacked, nothing could penetrate within three chi of it.
At last, their chanting completed. The three of them leapt off their mounts at the same time. Three Dragon Spears, carrying green, yellow, and white light, met together in midair to form a triangular cone. The three battle energies intertwined instantly. A three-colored compressed battle-energy sphere about one meter in diameter formed in the air.
With a roar, Li Feng struck out with his left palm. The sphere, wrapped in three-colored energy, traced a beautiful arc through the air and slammed toward us.
Borrowing the rebound force, the three men returned to their mounts, watching to see whether the combined power of the three could injure us.
My heart tightened. The air around that compressed sphere distorted as it passed—its power was terrifying. Could the Five-Colored Radiance block it? If it couldn’t, the result would be only death.
The sphere rapidly approached and struck the Five-Colored Radiance around us. The Five-Colored Radiance flashed violently. The sphere exploded. Inside the Five-Colored Radiance, we felt a fierce shudder. The light blinded us briefly.
As the glare faded, I saw the Five-Colored Radiance had become much paler than before. In the distance, Li Feng and the other two were hurled back more than a hundred meters by the recoil force. Because Li Feng had been the center of the attack, he took the greatest recoil. Parts of his green armor were already damaged, and a thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
He was injured.
If even Li Feng could be injured, it showed how violent that recoil had been.
What I didn’t know was that Li Feng was injured because he had taken all the recoil force alone to protect Tian Gang, Song Ren, and the three giant dragons. That was why he suffered a heavy blow.
Judging by his state, he likely no longer had the strength to launch another attack of the same intensity.
The Five-Colored Radiance continued carrying our bodies forward along its original trajectory. When we reached the top of the parabola, our bodies began to accelerate downward. Under the control of this force, we could only entrust our fate to heaven.
But today, I had just used Panzong’s poison gas to kill so many people. Would the gods in heaven favor me?
Probably not.
Li Feng and the other two watched us helplessly as we continued toward the target, but they did not attack again.
Now, even if I died, I would not regret it. Seeing Li Feng and the others in such a miserable state filled me with a hard-to-describe thrill. Even though I hadn’t defeated him myself, forcing the Wind-Extinguishing War God Li Feng—who had dominated the continent for over a hundred years—into bulging veins and injury could still be considered my success.
I prayed silently: as long as Jin and Yin and Panzong could return safely to the Beastmen Kingdom, I was willing to lose everything.
At last, the Five-Colored Radiance carried Jin and Yin and Panzong and me into the cave that Li Feng had struggled for two months to enter and failed.
My vision went dark. A wave of exhaustion washed over my body. Then I knew nothing.
Sitting on Qing Lin’s back, Li Feng breathed lightly. Though heavily wounded, his back stayed straight, and he still radiated domineering aura. The anger burning in his eyes seemed able to scorch the entire White Smoke Mountain range. Tian Gang and Song Ren sensed the killing intent around him and stood silently at his sides.
The Five-Colored Radiance in the sky had already vanished after that one human and two beasts entered the cave.
“Tian Gang.”
“Uncle Li Feng, your orders.”
Li Feng removed the helmet that had no mask and threw it to him. “Take this. Go back to headquarters and find your father. Tell him to immediately bring everyone here. You saw what happened just now. What entered the cave was a human, along with two strange beasts. If they obtain what’s inside, Dragon God will be thrown into chaos. So we must eliminate them at any cost.”
Li Feng’s voice carried not the slightest emotion. But Tian Gang and Song Ren, who knew him well, understood that he was at the peak of fury.
Li Feng had gone nearly seventy years without being injured. Yet today—seventy years later—he tasted pain again. No wonder he was so furious.
Even though Tian Gang knew this was not the time to provoke Li Feng, he still couldn’t help asking, “Uncle Li Feng, you mean…”
Li Feng stared at him coldly and spat out three words: “Star Dragon Rain.”
Tian Gang and Song Ren were so shocked their mouths hung open. Ever since this move—Star Dragon Rain—was invented by Tian Gang’s father, the light-element Great Archmage, the Light Guardian God Tian Yun, it had never been used. But its power was something every member of the Saint Dragon Knights Corps understood.
Song Ren moved closer and said, “Uncle Li Feng, you must think this through.”
Li Feng only glared at him and ignored him. He turned to Tian Gang and said, “I’ll have Elder Qing Lin take you back. You must deliver the message within three days. No matter what that force is, no matter what exists in that cave, I will destroy it.”
His fist clenched so hard it crackled. His eyes were filled with intense battle intent.
Tian Gang saw there was no room to change Li Feng’s mind, so he could only nod. In his mind, the decision-making authority for the Saint Dragon Knights Corps ultimately lay with his father Tian Yun. His father surely wouldn’t be this rash.
Just like that, Tian Gang rode the green giant dragon elder Qing Lin and left.
Li Feng mounted what had originally been Tian Gang’s mount and said to Song Ren, “Go. Let’s take a look at those rioters. Do they want to rebel? If it weren’t for them, that one human and two beasts might not have made it here.”
Li Feng’s words were filled with chilling killing intent.
Song Ren hurriedly tried to dissuade him. “Uncle Li Feng, there’s no need. With those Dragon Knights, it’s enough to intimidate them. We’re members of the Saint Dragon Knights Corps—we can’t casually kill Dragon God Empire citizens.”
Li Feng froze, hesitation flashing in his eyes.
Song Ren continued, “Forget it, Uncle Li Feng. Let’s wait until Uncle Tian arrives and talk then.”
Li Feng snorted. “Those greedy bastards are getting off cheap. Let’s go—guard the cave entrance.”
My consciousness gradually returned. When I opened my eyes, the light around me was dim. I could only vaguely see a few things. I moved my body and found nothing uncomfortable. The two energies within me circulated normally, still moving along their usual paths. Mad God Battle Energy seemed a little different from before, but I couldn’t figure it out for the moment.
The strongest feeling I had now was that my whole body was filled with power.
Before I fainted, my clothes had been shredded by the violent golden energy after Mad God Battle Energy went berserk, so now my whole body was practically bare.
As time passed, I gradually adapted to the darkness and could roughly see what was around me. I found that this was a very large stone chamber. I called it a stone chamber because the surrounding walls were smooth and flat.
Aside from me, I didn’t find anything here. Maybe it was because of the darkness. I could only see the walls as shadows.
I fumbled as I searched and found a passage on the left wall. I didn’t know where it led.
Right—what about Panzong and Jin and Yin?
Thinking of my two older brothers, anxiety surged. I hurriedly searched everywhere. After searching for a long time, I had almost checked every corner of the stone chamber and still didn’t find them.
Since they weren’t in this chamber, it seemed I could only go through that passage.
Whether fortune or disaster, it couldn’t be avoided.
Gritting my teeth, I stepped into the passage.
Choosing to enter the passage was impulsive, but I wasn’t reckless. I extended my right hand and chanted softly, “Great fire element, gather in my hand, converge into a sphere—Fireball.”
I used a relatively low-level fire spell. Since I wasn’t like Zi Yan, who could use light-element magic for illumination, I could only use fire.
Unexpectedly, this Fireball spell—something I had two hundred percent confidence in—failed.
I waited a full time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and not even a trace of fire element appeared.
No way. Could my spiritual power not even summon a fireball?
I tried a water spell. It also had no effect.
What was going on?
Ever since I learned low-level magic at Tianshou Academy, it had worked every time. How could it suddenly fail?
Suppressing the unease in my heart, I chanted, “Great Dark God, with my soul as the offering and my life as the bridge, bestow upon me your endless divine power. Form a solid bulwark and protect your servant—Dark Barrier.”
As the incantation rang out, dense black fog spread outward from my center. In an instant, a three-meter radius in front of me was enveloped. I hadn’t used this spell in a long time. It was the level-two dark defensive spell I could use back when I cultivated the Heavenly Demon Art to the second layer. Judging by this, its power was much stronger than before.
I controlled the dark bulwark around me at will, with no discomfort. It seemed my spiritual power hadn’t weakened. Then why couldn’t I use those easier spells?
I dispersed the Dark Barrier and discovered that the dark magic within my body had decreased somewhat. Normally, after I used a spell, I would automatically gather the surrounding dark elements. But this time, after using this level-two dark spell, the dark magic inside me had inexplicably diminished.
In that instant, I understood why I couldn’t use other magic.
When it came to magic, aside from dark magic, the other four elements were all based on dark magic as a foundation—using powerful spiritual force to summon external elements and realize the spell. The only reason I could not use the standard four-element magic now was that there were no magic elements of any kind within this cave.
Thinking that, I relaxed.
Even though there were no magic elements here, the abundant dark magic in my body was enough to support several high-level dark spells, and the disappearance of magic elements did not affect my Mad God Battle Energy.
The greatest difference between battle energy and magic was that one was from inside to outside, while the other was from outside to inside. Battle energy came from one’s own cultivation. Magic relied on controlling external elements with spiritual power. So as long as my body didn’t have an abnormality, battle energy could be used anywhere.
With a clang, I drew Mo Ming from my back.
In this unknown place, caution was the only method.
Right now, I didn’t want any treasure or divine artifact. I only wanted to find Panzong and Jin and Yin safely and leave this place alive.
Only now did I understand how important friendship was to me.
How childish my earlier impulsiveness had been. If I died, I would drag down my sworn brothers. I would make Zi Yan and Zi Xue grieve. I would leave Mother in despair. I would also ruin Mo Yue.
In this instant, I suddenly understood: my life no longer belonged to me alone.
I swore silently that no matter what happened in the future, I would put my own life first and never be impulsive again.
That was probably what it meant to learn a lesson the hard way.