"Where's Xie Yu?!"
"What's going on here?!"
"Get into the pagoda —!"
Li Jinglong and Ashina Chong quickly dodged the roaring Flood Dragons in the sky. Each of them was as big as Xie Yu's head. They roared crazily, spewing flames and ice towards the ground, chasing after the two of them. There were also Flood Dragons in the sky, colliding with each other from time to time and tearing at each other. Large amounts of Flood Dragon blood with a pungent smell splashed down from the sky.
Li Jinglong did not panic in the face of danger. With a quick glance, he saw the only safe area in the area — the pagoda within the pagoda that was surrounded by thorns and towering above the clouds! Previously, the Flood Dragons were flying in all directions, and the lightning scattered in all directions. However, the Flood Dragon flames were unable to get close to the pagoda within the pagoda.
Li Jinglong rushed in front, and Ashina Chong ran behind. The moment the two of them rushed to the front of the pagoda, the Flood Dragon behind Ashina Chong had already caught up. Li Jinglong suddenly turned around, and with the sword in his left hand, his right hand condensed the light of the Heart's Lantern, and suddenly shot out a huge meteor!
The moment the meteor exploded, it rose from the ground. It was just a flash, and the moment the strong light was released, the Flood Dragons flew in all directions to avoid it. A Flood Dragon flame shot out of its direction and brushed past Ashina Chong's side. Ashina Chong rolled on the ground, and slid past Li Jinglong.
Li Jinglong immediately grabbed his arm, and quickly rushed to the stairs of the pagoda within the pagoda. The two of them rushed to the outside of the pagoda in one breath.
"Where's the entrance?!" Ashina Chong shouted.
"Open the door quickly!" Li Jinglong fiercely pounded the pagoda behind him. More Flood Dragons were provoked by Li Jinglong's move, and continuously sank down the pagoda, staring at them covetously and roaring.
"Open the door —!" Ashina Chong roared angrily.
"There's no door!" Li Jinglong shouted.
"This …" Ashina Chong recognized a faintly glowing rune on the wall below the tower. It was almost identical to the rune guarding the entrance of the Exorcism Division. "This isn't the one outside the Exorcism Division …"
"Open it yourself!" Li Jinglong waved the Wisdom Sword. White light shot out from the sword in all directions, driving away the incoming flood dragon.
When another Flood Dragon with blue light rushed down, the door behind the two finally disappeared with a "weng" sound. Li Jinglong fell back with the Ashina Chong and fell inside.
Immediately after, the door of the pagoda within the pagoda closed, and runes appeared on the door. When it closed again, it emitted a bright light and bounced the flood dragons outside. The flood dragons' encirclement was fruitless. They rose into the air again and flew to the top of the pagoda.
It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Li Jinglong held his sword, which was glowing and illuminating a small area nearby. Fortunately, they did not encounter another space that appeared in the tower. A tower was a tower. The ground at the bottom was very spacious and was paved with stone bricks. Another rune appeared in the center, as if there were other exits below the pagoda.
On the side, there were stairs leading to the top of the pagoda. The two looked up. Ashina Chong said, "This array on the ground should lead to the eighth floor of the Dragon Subduing Pagoda."
Ashina Chong looked at the rune in the center of the pagoda and said, "It's really strange. Why is the array here so similar to the one in our house?"
The array had a long history and was related to "Mount Meru in a mustard seed". Li Jinglong thought for a moment and vaguely grasped a clue. It was unknown who built the entire Dragon Subduing Pagoda. Back then, Xie Yu and the other flood dragons were imprisoned. Xie Yu lived in the pagoda for a long time, so she naturally knew this rune.
After escaping from the pagoda, Xie Yu used this teleportation technique to teach the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Nine-Tailed Fox even used it to open up a void and create a blood pool. Qiu Yongsi had a general understanding of the operation of this void rune. After defeating the Nine-Tailed Fox, he followed suit and separated the Exorcism Division.
However, Ashina Chong had not come at that time, so she naturally did not know the details.
Li Jinglong explained a little, and Ashina Chong went to the stairs to take a look.
"Understood. Should we go down or up?"
There seemed to be something glowing at the top. Li Jinglong pondered for a moment and said, "Since we're here, the time should be synchronized. Let's go to the top of the pagoda and take a look."
Ashina Chong said, "I'm afraid we've waited for too long outside."
"Take a look at the time." Li Jinglong instructed.
Before entering the pagoda, Qiu Qiu gave them a Sun, Moon, and Stars Plate. It was said to be the sun, moon, and stars, but the inside was slowly rotating according to the elastic force of the mechanism. Every twenty-four hours, the mechanism had to be rotated again to drive the inside and outside of the pagoda. This item was handmade by a craftsman. The inner circle was the sky, and the outer circle was the year. It was a magic treasure used by generations of Venerable Subduing Dragon Immortals when entering and exiting the pagoda.
However, the time inside and outside the pagoda was no longer the same, so it could only be used for simple timing. Ashina Chong took out the plate and glanced at it, saying, "It's been fifteen minutes."
Li Jinglong thought to himself that he had to hurry up, so he went up the stairs.
The second floor of the pagoda was actually a spacious room. There were many wooden horses and wooden puppets in the room, as well as baby aprons, bedding, and other things. The furnishings in the room exuded a moist air, as if the owner had left less than a month ago. Other than the baby bed, there was also a dressing table in the corner. There was a box of cosmetics and a wooden comb.
Li Jinglong glanced at it and saw that the cosmetics in the box had not yet dried. He said, "This should be where Yongsi lived when he was young. Let's go up further. "
From the third floor onwards, there was a dining room, guest rooms, and so on. It seemed that Yaoji lived here for a long time. She only left the pagoda after Yongsi had lived for a hundred days. Ashina Chong did not know what was going on, but he did not ask. The higher they went, the brighter the light became.
"You're back?"
When they stepped onto the ninth floor, a man's shadow faced the light ball and muttered, "There are less than forty days left."
The man had dragon horns on his head. His robes fluttered in the wind, just like Kun Shen's image of a spiritual body. The only difference was that his whole body was emitting light, as if he was burning himself. In front of him was a Tai Chi ball with Yin and Yang intertwined. It was rolling slowly in his mana.
They were already at the top of the pagoda, surrounded by empty space. Only nine pillars supported the top of the platform. The Tai Chi ball emitted rings of pink light, sprinkling out circle after circle. Less than fifty feet away from them, there was a group of flood dragons. They circled around the top of the pagoda, roaring and releasing thunder and lightning. They attacked the pagoda continuously, waiting for the eye of the formation that imprisoned them to collapse.
Li Jinglong walked in front of the man and bowed slightly.
"I can't see." The man said, "You're not Yongsi. Who are you?"
"Lord Ye Ming?" Li Jinglong took a deep breath and said.
The thunder and lightning around them became stronger and stronger. The Tai Chi ball trembled as it spun, as if it was attacked by the flood dragons and began to become unstable. Li Jinglong pressed his sword with one hand and slowly pulled out the Sword of Wisdom. On the Sword of Wisdom, the light of the mind lamp bloomed. In the loud noise, the flood dragons' frenzied attacks were stopped and they slowly retreated.
"Acala?" The man said, "Why is it you?"
When Li Jinglong heard this, he suddenly turned his head.
When the flood dragons retreated, the pressure on the Tai Chi ball was immediately relieved. The man released a burst of magic power, which blossomed into a gust of wind and enveloped Li Jinglong's body. Li Jinglong wanted to say something but stopped. The man said, "I understand."
Li Jinglong said, "You are …"
"Ye Ming." The man replied, "The void above and below is called Yu. Since ancient times, it has been called Zhou. You can also call me Zhou Long. I originally thought that the one who returned was Yongsi, but I didn't expect that it was the descendant of Acala … Thank you for specially coming here to make up for this mistake I made. "
"Where's Xie Yu?" Li Jinglong said.
"He ran away again." Ye Ming replied, "When you entered the pagoda, he used the unclosed passage of the formation to come back again. He already predicted that there would be a second group of people coming in."
Li Jinglong, "…"
If he lost another round, Li Jinglong strongly wanted to slap himself twice. He had really underestimated his opponent too much.
"Tell me what happened." Li Jinglong said, "Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't know where to start."
"This is a very long story." Ye Ming said calmly, "Even the last bit of my dragon soul will dissipate. There's no harm in telling you …"
On the second floor, the wind and snow stopped, and the world became incomparably quiet.
Qiu Yongsi and Hongjun leaned against the stone where the phoenix feather was placed and dozed off. Suddenly, Hongjun woke up, and Qiu Yongsi also woke up.
"Did you have a dream?" Qiu Yongsi asked.
Hongjun shook his head.
Qiu Yongsi said, "You often have nightmares for a period of time."
"How do you know?"
"I heard it in the middle of the night. Lu Xu took a look at you. Are you feeling better?"
Hongjun made a sound of acknowledgment. In fact, after being together with Li Jinglong, he had not had a dream for a long time. The Mind's Lamp suppressed the power of nightmares in his body, making him feel incomparably safe. Right now, he could already feel that in a very distant place, Li Jinglong had released the power of the Mind's Lamp.
He came in to save him.
"Actually, I'm hungry …" Hongjun said.
"I'll find you something to eat later." Qiu Yongsi said, "I've never been here before."
"What are we going to do now?"
"Find the dragon on this floor and ask it to send us up." Qiu Yongsi explained, "Other than the bottom of the tower, every floor has at least one Dragon King watching over the flood dragons and maintaining the enchantment here."
Hongjun remembered that Qiu Yongsi had mentioned that other than the flood dragons, there were also dragons that violated the heavenly rules and were locked up in the tower. He could not help but ask, "What did they do wrong?"
"Murder." Qiu Yongsi tidied up his armor and said, "Let's go, hurry up."
Hongjun yawned and got up to follow behind Qiu Yongsi. He asked again, "What about Ye Ming?"
"Him? He didn't commit any crime. " Qiu Yongsi said, "He just kept his promise and agreed to lock up the flood dragons to prevent them from causing trouble in China."
Hongjun asked again, "Who built this tower?"
"I don't know." Qiu Yongsi said, "In my memory, I've only seen Ye Ming a few times. When I was young, I didn't know anything. When I grew up, every time I came in, I would ask questions. I rarely asked questions."
Hongjun asked again, "So we just have to send the ashes up, right?"
Qiu Yongsi explained, "While its soul is still there, we let its ashes merge with the dragon soul and turn back time … Fortunately, we didn't fall into the last floor."
"What's the last floor?" Hongjun asked curiously.
"The abyss." Qiu Yongsi said, "There's no light and no time there. In fact, the flood dragons should go to the bottom. Once they fall in, they can't get out."
The two passed through the forest and saw a huge cemetery. The wind and snow suddenly blew again. The wind and snow blew against their faces. In the fierce wind, it sounded like a dragon's roar.
"Who's disturbing my sleep —!"
"Didn't you wake up a long time ago?" Hongjun looked up and said, "I heard you shouting a long time ago."
Qiu Yongsi hurriedly said, "Shh, shh …"
"Descendant of the bird tribe, don't talk nonsense. Get out of the tower —!"
Then, an icy dragon's breath rushed toward them. Qiu Yongsi hurriedly said, "Dragon King! Don't be angry! "
Seeing the wind and snow rushing toward them, Hongjun immediately activated the Five-colored Holy Light. As if sensing the threat, the phoenix feather emitted a fiery red light and released a circle of fire around Hongjun to protect him. Qiu Yongsi didn't have time to beg for mercy. The Mountain River Brush in his hand spun and pulled. Instantly, Hongjun, Qiu Yongsi, and the dragon's roar in the wind and snow were all pulled into an ink painting.
It was the second time that Hongjun was pulled into the Deer King Portrait in Dunhuang. The feeling was very strange. Originally, the wind and snow surrounded them from the left and right, but now it came from the top and the bottom, which was much simpler. Immediately, the Five-colored Holy Light collided with the wind and snow. Qiu Yongsi waved his brush again and shouted, "Open!"
The painting immediately dispersed, and the two returned to the modern world. They saw a huge blue Dragon King in the cemetery. It roared toward the sky and shook the whole world.
"It … It …" Hongjun saw two black flames in the dragon's eyes!
Qiu Yongsi was shocked. He shouted, "Dragon King!"
The Dragon King turned around and charged toward them again. Hongjun used the Five-colored Holy Light to raise a wall of snow that was almost ten feet tall to block the dragon's breath. The wall of snow instantly turned into ice. Qiu Yongsi looked around, and Hongjun shouted, "It's possessed! Think of a way! "
Qiu Yongsi said, "Look at its reverse scale!"
Hongjun turned his head and saw that the reverse scale under the Dragon King's neck was covered with black gas, as if a parasitic monster had grown out of it. Qiu Yongsi shouted, "Can you fly?"
The Dragon King charged toward them. Hongjun and Qiu Yongsi ran to the sides to escape. The cemetery was turned upside down. Hongjun shouted, "I can't fly!"
"I'll send you up!" Qiu Yongsi shouted.
Hongjun shouted, "Be careful!"
The dragon head crashed toward Qiu Yongsi. Hongjun shouted anxiously, but Qiu Yongsi didn't dodge. He waved his brush, and the two returned to the painting. Immediately, Qiu Yongsi shouted, "Up!" Then, he spread out his arms and spun in the air, bringing with him the messy splash-ink landscape painting. Hong Jun suddenly felt his entire body being turned around, and he quickly fell towards the edge of the painting!
"Open!"
With another shout, the painting disappeared. Hongjun felt himself leaving the painting again. When the world was turned around, he had already fallen into the air. Now, his falling momentum didn't decrease. He flew to the highest point and began to shoot toward the ground! Qiu Yongsi tangled with the Dragon King and flew into the air.
Hongjun combined his flying daggers and turned them into a Mo Sword. Borrowing the force of his fall, he shot it across the Dragon King's neck.
"Good chance!" Qiu Yongsi shouted.
The Dragon King turned its head and spat out icy flames toward Qiu Yongsi. Qiu Yongsi used himself as bait and ignored his own safety. At the last moment, Hongjun circled around its neck and slashed at its heart!
That slash carried with it a powerful force. In an instant, the monster that was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws was cut down. The Dragon King's icy dragon breath stopped abruptly. Its eyes lost the light and it fell to the side.
The black monster broke away from the Dragon King's body and rushed toward Hongjun. Qiu Yongsi stepped on the Dragon King's head and rushed toward Hongjun. He grabbed him in midair and turned him around. With a wave of his brush, he shouted, "Collect!"
The painting swung open with a "weng". The moment the monster rushed over, it was solidly circled by Qiu Yongsi and slammed into the painting.
"Wahhhh —" Qiu Yongsi and Hongjun both fell rapidly. "Bang, bang!" They crashed into the snowy ground.
Hongjun spat out a mouthful of snow and coughed uncontrollably. Qiu Yongsi struggled to get up and ran toward the Dragon King, who was lying on the ground.
"Dragon King!" Qiu Yongsi ran to the dragon's side. Hongjun followed and looked at the dragon curiously. This was the first time Hongjun had seen a real, living dragon. He had often heard from Chong Ming that the Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan were once irreconcilable enemies. Many years ago, the Dragon and the Phoenix had even engaged in a world-shaking battle.
But from what Hongjun saw, the dragon didn't seem to be as strong as the Phoenix Chong Ming … … He fell after spitting out a few dragon breaths. And two hundred years ago, Chong Ming was seriously injured by Xie Yu. Logically speaking, Xie Yu was only a Flood Dragon, and this Dragon King's fighting strength should obviously be higher than Xie Yu's. What was going on?