Chapter 121 Exterminating the Candle Dragon
The further you go in, the more obvious the artificial traces become.
The road branched out, and the passageways led in all directions, like a maze.
"Which way?" Ye Xunqin asked, clutching his injured arm with a furrowed brow.
His subordinates and the people of Black Stone Village also looked at Lou Jin and Arno.
Arno closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then pointed to one of the passages: "This way."
Lou Jin nodded; he could vaguely sense the fluctuations coming from that direction.
They chose a passage to go deeper, and along the way, some simple stone chambers began to appear.
Inside, there were all sorts of strange poisonous herbs, ores, and bottles and jars, and several people were imprisoned, who looked like captured mountain people or soldiers based on their clothing.
"Beasts!" Shi Long's eyes widened in fury at the sight of his kin being treated this way, and he was about to rush in to save them.
"Don't be impulsive!" Lou Jin stopped him. "Saving them now will only alert the enemy. Only when we find the culprit and completely destroy this place can they be truly saved."
Shi Long gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but he managed to suppress his anger.
As you continue forward, the passage begins to slope downwards, and the temperature drops further.
The faint sound of flowing water could be heard ahead, along with a low, eerie sound, as if countless people were chanting some kind of incantation.
"We're almost at the core area," Arno whispered, her face pale, clearly feeling extremely uncomfortable with the evil aura here.
After turning a corner, the scene before them stunned everyone.
This is a huge underground cave, and in the center of the cave is a pool of blood that exudes a strong stench of blood!
Around the blood pool stood several grotesque stone statues, their eyes inlaid with gems that emitted a ghostly light.
Dozens of people dressed in black robes and wearing eerie masks were kneeling around the blood pool, chanting a chilling incantation in a low voice.
Above the blood pool, a figure was suspended.
The man was also dressed in a black robe, but a strange snake was embroidered on the robe with gold thread.
He wore a plain white mask without any patterns, revealing only a pair of deep, abyss-like eyes that flickered with dark flames.
He held a white bone scepter in his hand, with a skull constantly oozing black mist embedded at the top of the scepter.
The suffocating energy that filled the entire cave was emanating from him.
“Zhulong.” Arno’s voice was filled with deep-seated hatred and a hint of fear.
Seemingly sensing the intruder, the chanting around the blood pool abruptly stopped.
All the men in black robes turned their heads at the same time, their cold gazes beneath their masks fixed on the uninvited guests at the cave entrance.
The "Candle Dragon" hovering above the blood pool slowly turned around, its mask facing Lou Jin and the others. Its abyss-like eyes swept over them, finally settling on Lou Jin and Arno.
A voice, seemingly from the deepest hell, echoed in the cave, carrying a mocking tone.
“I have been waiting for a long time, Your Highness King Jin, and... my dear niece Arno.”
"Niece?" Lou Jin looked sharply at Arno beside him.
Arno's body trembled slightly as she raised her hand and slowly lifted the veil from her face, revealing a beautiful face filled with resolute hatred.
She stared intently at the "Candle Dragon" above the blood pool, her voice trembling with rage: "It really was you... Elder Wumeng, no, I should call you Candle Dragon now, it was you who harmed my brother!"
The elder known as "Zhulong" of Wumeng let out a low laugh: "Arno, you're still so naive. Your brother is weak and incompetent, hindering the rise of Nanzhao. He should abdicate. As for you... wouldn't it be better to obediently become a pawn in the peace treaty? Why come here to die?"
He turned his gaze to Lou Jin, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes: "King Jin, you truly live up to your reputation, managing to make your way to the core of this Poison Dragon Pool. Unfortunately, this will be your burial ground."
"Using the blood and soul of a Prince of Dasheng to sacrifice to the sacred serpent will surely allow me to achieve great divine power. At that time, the entire Nanzhao Kingdom, and even the southwest, will grovel at my feet!"
"Wishful thinking! Your schemes end here!"
"Is that so?" Elder Wumeng scoffed, his bone scepter pausing slightly.
Countless strange runes instantly lit up on the rock walls surrounding the cave, forming a huge cage that trapped Lou Jin and the others in the center.
At the same time, the blood pool surged, and the dozens of black-robed men rose up like ghosts, drew their weapons, and their eyes flashed with fanatical killing intent.
Even more chillingly, several corpse puppets with an aura even stronger than the previous iron corpses slowly crawled out of the blood pool. They were covered in blood-red patterns and had dark red flames dancing in their eyes.
"Kill them! Use their blood to nourish the sacred pool!" Elder Wumeng commanded.
A great battle broke out instantly.
The black-robed cultists and blood-red corpse puppets surged in like a tide.
The group stood back to back, forming a battle formation, and fought back fiercely.
Lou Jin's palm strike was like a dragon, blasting away the approaching black-robed cultists, but he was greatly depleted of his internal energy, and his face gradually turned pale.
Ye Xunyang's sword flashed like lightning, his inner strength flowing into the blade. He specialized in attacking the joints of the corpse puppets and the vital points of the cultists. He worked seamlessly with Lou Jin, often quickly defeating his enemies.
Although Ye Xunqin was injured, he was experienced in combat and his swordsmanship was ruthless, protecting the flanks.
Shi Long and his men, fearless and driven by brute force and hatred, fought the enemy to the death.
Arno didn't stand idly by either; she occasionally sprinkled out various colored powders, which played a crucial supporting role.
However, the enemy was too numerous and fearless.
People kept falling, and the battle zone was shrinking step by step.
"This can't go on!" Ye Xunyang said to Lou Jin, panting as he parried the claws of a corpse puppet.
"We must find a way to interrupt that Elder Wumeng!"
Lou Jin was well aware of this, but Elder Wumeng was suspended above the blood pool, protected by an array, making ranged attacks ineffective, and getting close was as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Just then, a resolute glint flashed in Arno's eyes. She bit her fingertip and smeared the blood on a line on her forehead, while simultaneously forming hand seals and chanting incantations.
"With my blood, I summon the spirits of my ancestors! Destroy evil!"
A beam of white light shot out from the lines on her forehead, heading straight for the runic cage at the top of the cave.
Under the white light, the runes fluctuated violently, and their light quickly dimmed!
Elder Wumeng showed surprise for the first time, "You actually inherited the Holy Maiden's bloodline secret technique?"
Just as the runic cage trembled and Elder Wumeng's mind was stunned by Arno's secret technique, a glint flashed in Lou Jin's eyes, and he shouted in a low voice, "Xunyang! Xunqin! Help me!"
Ye Xunyang and Ye Xunqin instantly understood!
Without hesitation, the two mustered their remaining internal energy, shifted their positions, and arrived on Lou Jin's left and right sides respectively. They then struck Lou Jin's feet with both palms!
"rise!"
Two streams of pure, masculine internal energy merged into a powerful lifting force, propelling Lou Jin's body upwards!
Using this force, Lou Jin shot into the sky like an arrow, heading straight for Elder Wumeng above the blood pool.
While he was in the air, his inner strength circulated wildly, pouring into the longsword in his hand. The sword emitted a clear and melodious dragon's roar and shone with a dazzling golden light!
"A dragon pierces the sun!"
This sword strike, imbued with Lou Jin's full inner strength and combined with the supporting power of Ye Xunyang and his brother, was like a thunderclap from the heavens, tearing apart the dense evil energy in the cave and piercing straight into Elder Wumeng's heart.
Elder Wumeng had just recovered from the shock of Arno's secret technique when he saw the earth-shattering sword strike already upon him. It was too late to dodge or use any evil magic.
For the first time, genuine fear showed in his eyes, and he could only hastily hold the broken bone scepter across his chest in an attempt to defend himself.
"Snap!"
The white bone scepter shattered completely upon impact, but the sword light continued its momentum, instantly piercing through Elder Wumeng's chest!
Elder Wumeng let out an extremely shrill scream, and the eerie black aura surrounding him dissipated rapidly, like ice and snow exposed to sunlight.
He looked down in disbelief at the sword tip protruding from his chest, his eyes beneath the pure white mask filled with resentment, before finally fading into deathly silence.
"Good will never prevail over evil..."
Lou Jin drew his longsword and watched as Elder Wu Meng's corpse fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto the edge of the churning blood pool, splashing up a cloud of foul blood.
At the same time, without Elder Wumeng as their core, the black-robed cultists and corpse puppets below were thrown into chaos as if their backbone had been removed, and their actions became sluggish and disordered.
The rest of the group were greatly encouraged and seized the opportunity to launch a fierce counterattack.
At this moment, the scales of victory and defeat have tipped completely!
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