"Does he want to die!?"The group was left speechless, staring in shock at Tian Fan's behavior. Even the ancient dragon, who had closed its eyes in despair, opened them at this moment, looking in disbelief at the human who had gone mad below.Tian Fan stepped forward, his face full of anger and sorrow. The tragic image of the golden dragon, its unwilling eyes deeply etched into his heart, brought forth a series of gruesome visions in his soul. Especially the last one, where he felt as though someone was cutting his heart with a knife.Just then, the retreating dark hand paused and split again, forming a second hand made of dark energy. It reached down to grab Tian Fan."Seventh Brother!" Dragon Yu Yun cried out, rushing forward, but was pulled back by Long Teng Ao Tian."Don't go! It's dangerous!" Long Ao Tian shouted, not making a move to help. The old national master was still healing and couldn't reach them in time.The dark mist wrapped around Tian Fan, emitting a chilling cold that began to corrode his body. However, deep within Tian Fan's soul, a faint white light appeared, gently covering his body to prevent the black mist from consuming him."D*mn it, I've been cursed!"The biting cold finally snapped him out of his madness. His head felt heavier as he recalled the events. Even with his calm nature, he couldn't help but curse, before losing consciousness.The dark mist enveloping both the golden dragon and Tian Fan sank deep into the forest, vanishing from sight. The old national master stood still for a moment, sighed softly, and turned to leave the magical forest."Seventh Brother, is he really dead? Why did he run out like that?" Dragon Yu Yun mumbled sadly, watching the direction where the black mist had vanished."Hmph! Of course, he's dead! Do you really think that kind of trash could survive?" The eldest prince sneered. Even the second prince laughed mockingly, clearly agreeing with Long Ba Tian."Let's go, back to the city."Long Ao Tian, seeing the old national master had already left, looked dejected and led the group back. His disappointment wasn't from Tian Fan's "death"—his lack of help made it clear that Tian Fan's life or death meant nothing to him. He was disappointed because this trip with the old national master had yielded no results.Dragon Yue Ying glanced at the distant horizon, where Tian Fan had disappeared, sighed softly, and led the saddened Dragon Yu Yun away, a stark contrast to her usual playful self.The destructive aura that had hung in the air vanished as if nothing had happened. All that remained were the uneven pits in the ground and scattered broken dragon scales stained with the golden dragon's blood, silently telling the tale of the great battle that had unfolded.Time passed. Tian Fan slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes, sitting up. His eyes widened in shock, and then he lay back down.This time, he wasn't sure how long he had been unconscious, but when he regained consciousness again, he hesitated to open his eyes."This... this can't be real! It must be an illusion... yes, it has to be!"Tian Fan kept his eyes shut, repeating the thought in his mind. Finally, he gathered the courage and opened his eyes, only to find that his eyes bulged, almost popping out. But this time, he didn't faint again."D*mn it, what the hell is this?!"He jumped to his feet, only to be greeted by an overwhelming sight—a mountain of corpses. For miles around, the ground was covered in nothing but dry bones. How many people must have died to create such a scene? A massive bone mountain formed from countless corpses stood before him, and Tian Fan was utterly shocked—this was even more terrifying than the dark hand he had seen earlier.He looked up at the peak of the bone mountain. Amid the numerous dried bones, something stood there, surrounded by dense white mist, similar to the mist that hovered over the magical forest. However, the concentration of mist here was far greater than anywhere in the forest, and it seemed to be the source of the strange mist that had always shrouded this forest."Shhh..."Suddenly, a sound came from his left, startling him. His nerves were already on edge, and hearing such a noise in this eerie place was enough to make anyone jump.Tian Fan turned his head to see a large, bloodied figure struggling to move. It was the golden dragon, the same one that had awakened earlier. Both it and Tian Fan had been captured by the dark hand and thrown into this place.Even though Tian Fan had felt the dragon's overwhelming power when it emerged, in this place full of dead bones, he felt a strange sense of familiarity."You... are you okay?"As long as he wasn't facing the cold faces of the Long Teng Dynasty, Tian Fan could finally be himself. He cautiously approached the golden dragon, looking up at its massive head, and asked with concern. After all, they were both victims in this bizarre situation.The golden dragon seemed to hear his words, blinking its eyes before opening them wide. It stared for a moment, then suddenly seemed to realize who this human was—he was the one who had been with the elder who helped it. For some reason, this human had run out in a frenzy and was captured too."Are you okay?"Tian Fan asked again, but immediately felt foolish. It wasn't human; how could it answer him? To his surprise, the dragon responded, startling him.
"You're... you're able to speak?" Tian Fan asked foolishly, looking completely surprised.The golden dragon on the ground paused for a moment, as if she hadn't expected Tian Fan to ask such a question. She spoke again, her voice weak but still melodious, "After reaching the level of the divine dragon, I can transform into human form, of course I can speak."Then she seemed to realize that Tian Fan's expression wasn't quite right and asked, "Is something wrong?"Tian Fan helplessly gave a wry smile and said, "Take a look behind you..."The golden dragon, seeing the smile on Tian Fan's face, managed to slowly turn her head with his help. When she saw the scene in front of her, she was so stunned that she couldn't speak."This... what is this..." she muttered. Even with her current divine dragon status, she couldn't make sense of the sight before her."I don't know either. When I woke up, I saw this scene," Tian Fan replied. "By the way, what happened to that black magic hand? When I woke up, it was gone. I haven't cultivated before, so I can't sense its presence. Can you feel if it's still around?"Seeing the shocked expression on the golden dragon's face, Tian Fan knew she was overwhelmed by the scene. He didn't ask her how she was feeling but instead inquired about the magic hand.Right now, his biggest concern was that the magic hand might suddenly reappear and strike them again. At that moment, there would be nowhere for him to cry. He had seen with his own eyes how the golden dragon was struck and reduced to her current state. He didn't believe that his fragile body could compare to the divine dragon's physique."The aura is completely gone, it's as if it never existed. Strange, where did it go?" The golden dragon replied, then suddenly seemed to remember something. She turned to Tian Fan and asked, "You just said something... you said you've never cultivated?"When she heard Tian Fan mention that he had never cultivated, the golden dragon was immediately surprised. At the moment Tian Fan had run out in a frenzy, she had clearly felt a sacred aura surrounding him. Although the aura was faint, it was definitely there. How could someone who had never cultivated possess such an aura?"I haven't, no. Is there a problem?" Tian Fan responded casually, sensing the dragon's confusion."Impossible... impossible..." she muttered to herself, then turned to Tian Fan and said, "Can I feel your blood?""My blood? What do you need it for?" Tian Fan asked cautiously."Don't worry, I won't harm you. Besides, I'm powerless right now," the golden dragon weakly assured him."Well, okay then." After thinking it over, Tian Fan figured there was no harm—he was just an ordinary human, and she was a divine dragon. What could she possibly want with his blood? He nodded, then gently bit his left middle finger. Immediately, a drop of bright red blood appeared, trickling down his finger."Yes, that's the aura!" The golden dragon exclaimed, as she once again sensed the faint sacred aura within his blood."Boom..."At that very moment, as the blood flowed from Tian Fan's finger, the entire bone mountain suddenly began to stir. The earth beneath them trembled, and countless bones erupted with a blinding, divine light.