Chapter 150: The Tragic Earth Dragon Son

Zhu Wannian's aura suddenly surged. He cast a cold, stern glare at Dilongzi, and an invisible barrier abruptly materialized outside the West Mountain Parade Ground. It was formed from Zhu Wannian's own battle intent, known as the "Nine Fire Dragon Realm." Unless Zhu Wannian himself dissolved it or perished, the barrier could not be opened.

Dilongzi's expression darkened as well. The Twelve Earth Demon Corpses emitted a series of low roars, and as his soul power swept outward, he sensed several other presences approaching, including one or two that he deeply loathed.

"Brother Zhu, who are you fighting with such intensity? Why don't you let this old man join in the fun?" Wang Xu stepped through the void, looking down condescendingly at Hu Yihu and Dilongzi, releasing his Battle Saint-tier might without reservation.

"Count me in as well. I didn't get to finish my spar with Valley Master Zhu last time, so I'll take this opportunity to seek some pointers once more. I hope Valley Master Zhu won't hold back his guidance!" Duanmu Shenxu stepped out from thin air, arcs of electric serpents crackling around his body, creating an astonishingly fearsome aura.

Dilongzi narrowed his eyes and instinctively reeled the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses back toward himself, heightening his defensive posture. Not far away, dozens of formidable battle energies erupted. Shortly after, the emissaries from the Heavenly Earth Sect, the Golden Soul Palace, and the Ice Wave Sect all arrived en masse. The moment they appeared, their collective auras locked onto Dilongzi.

An elderly man in yellow robes from the Heavenly Earth Sect opened his eyes wide with fury, his brows knitting together as he roared angrily, "Dilongzi, so this is where you were hiding, in Tianhuo! You betrayed your master, destroyed your sect, and slaughtered innocents. The Heavenly Earth Sect has already issued a sacred earth hunting decree—today is your doomsday!"

"Dilongzi, you murdered the seventh elder of our Golden Soul Palace! Today, you shall not escape!"

"Dilongzi, hand over the Mysterious Ice Mirror of our Ice Wave Sect immediately, or you will surely die today!"

The emissaries of the three major sects launched their moves simultaneously. Although their cultivation levels had not yet reached the Battle Saint realm, the majority of these dozens of individuals were Battle Emperors. With the combined force of dozens of Battle Emperors, supplemented by the mutual generation of the Five Elements and tactical formations, Dilongzi might have been able to break through the encirclement relying on the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses. However, Wang Xu of the Heavenly Saint Palace was also present, and given his habitual righteousness and utter intolerance of evil, Dilongzi's chances of escape were exceptionally slim.

Furthermore, he was currently at odds with Zhu Wannian, and the situation had clearly escalated to an open falling out. As Dilongzi pondered this, cold sweat began to bead on his forehead. What kind of terrible luck had he run into today to encounter every single nightmare scenario at once?

"Haha, what an incredible coincidence to run into so many old friends today. Why bring up all those ancient history lessons? Valley Master Zhu, Honorable Envoy Wang, Sect Master Duanmu, this old man will take his leave first. We shall meet again if fate allows." Dilongzi laughed heartily while the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses let out a simultaneous roar, spewing twelve spheres of black mist. Dilongzi's figure was swiftly enveloped by the dark fog, leaving the disciples of the three sects staring in anxious frustration.

"Heaven and Earth as a Prison." A calm voice echoed from the lips of both Wang Xu and Zhu Wannian. In that exact instant, the cloud of black mist enshrouding Dilongzi instantly froze—a manifestation of spatial power that only those who had attained the Battle Saint realm could wield.

Although Dilongzi was also a Battle Saint, evading an attack launched by two Battle Saints acting in unison was extraordinarily difficult.

"We humbly request the senior experts to lend a hand and capture this villain!" The individuals dispatched this time by the Heavenly Earth Sect, the Golden Soul Palace, and the Ice Wave Sect were all second-generation disciples. Under normal circumstances, if they encountered Dilongzi, they would flee far away; how could they ever dare to reprimand him with such righteous indignation? But today was different. With Duanmu Shenxu, Zhu Wannian, and Wang Xu present, what did they have to fear?

However, those senior experts had entirely different thoughts running through their minds. Their primary reason for coming here was the disturbance that had occurred at the West Mountain Parade Ground. Most of them were anxious to rush inside and investigate; who had the idle time to waste on Dilongzi?

Wang Xu was also deeply curious about what was happening within the West Mountain Parade Ground. Yet, as an honorable envoy of the Heavenly Saint Palace, if he failed to act when faced with such a situation, the prestige of the Heavenly Saint Palace would inevitably be compromised.

Zhu Wannian sighed inwardly, glancing toward the parade ground as a strange sensation, one he could not quite explain, welled up in his heart.

Duanmu Shenxu narrowed his eyes, wearing the expression of a spectator enjoying a good show, though his gaze frequently drifted toward the West Mountain Parade Ground. He furrowed his brows deeply at the barrier sealing the parade ground, thinking to himself, "What is this old ghost Zhu up to? Could it be he knows something about what transpired in the West Mountain Parade Ground? The Nine Fire Dragon Realm—that is truly a massive display of force!"

"Wang Xu, Zhu Wannian, do not push me too far! Drive me to desperation, and none of you will have a pleasant end!" The restrained Dilongzi let out a thunderous roar. The power that had been forcefully suppressed suddenly erupted violently. The second-generation disciples of the three sects, who were just about to charge forward, were startled into an abrupt halt—a rather comical scene indeed.

Inside the parade ground, the two forces had burned to their absolute limits. The Twelve Fire Soul Generals wore deeply solemn expressions; they could sense that the seventy-one individuals led by Black Iron were currently in an immensely wondrous state, for their battle energies were having no effect on those seventy-one people—not to mention Hu Baimei, who remained stationed outside the formation.

Hu Yihu stood up, staring with extreme astonishment at Black Iron and the others, and muttered to himself, "What kind of formation is this? Could it be a divine array?"

Hu Mo watched Black Iron and the others without blinking, sinking deep into his own thoughts.

"Infusing the power of the stars completely into their bodies, then assimilating the stars with their very flesh and souls. As long as the stars do not perish, their bodies and souls remain undying. Yet, the battle energy required to operate this formation is truly formidable," Hu Mo thought to himself. Having thoroughly grasped the intricacies of the formation, he could naturally perceive the meddling Hu Baimei had done. Her claim of contributing just a tiny bit of effort had now completely changed in nature. With the power of a peak ninth-rank Battle Emperor shielding those seventy-one people, what was there left to worry about?

He turned his head and cast a glance at the Nine Fire Dragon Realm guarding the parade ground, feeling his favorable impression of Zhu Wannian grow even stronger. If not for the obstruction of the Nine Fire Dragon Realm, the people outside the parade ground would likely have already broken through.

Wang Xu and Zhu Wannian continued to lock onto Dilongzi with their soul power. They paid little heed to Dilongzi's struggle, as their cultivation levels surpassed his by more than a single realm.

"Dilongzi, you brought this destruction upon yourself; you can blame no one but us. If you know what's good for you, submit quietly. At the very least, it will allow you to live a little longer," Wang Xu said in a low voice, a surging murderous intent radiating from his body. If this killing intent were directed at an ordinary martial practitioner, it would undoubtedly cause severe injury or death.

Zhu Wannian gloomily intensified his output of battle energy, the immense crushing pressure acting as Dilongzi's death warrant. This aligned entirely with Zhu Wannian's style of doing things: never dilatory, eliminating threats decisively.

"I spit on you! You bunch of utterly foolish cretins! Instead of wasting time killing me, you'd be better off checking out what's happening inside there. Old Ghost Zhu has a guilty conscience, which is why he used the Nine Fire Dragon Realm to seal that place off. Don't any of you find that suspicious? Surely Honorable Envoy Wang can recognize such a silencing tactic. To tell you the truth, inside there—"

"Departing Fire Annihilation!" Zhu Wannian uttered a cold command. The space that had been compressed by his formidable force suddenly birthed countless tiny flames. These flames grew at a ferocious speed, transforming in moments into a massive inferno that radiated extreme heat, as if capable of burning the very void to ashes.

Dilongzi let out a harrowing, miserable scream as the entirety of his black mist burst outward to resist the onslaught of heat. A massive vortex formed upon the ground centered around him, and from within the vortex, sounds akin to the weeping of ghosts from the netherworld erupted, making one's skin crawl.

Wang Xu frowned and glanced at Zhu Wannian. Indeed, Dilongzi's words had aroused his suspicion, and Zhu Wannian's abnormal behavior made him somewhat displeased.

"Spring Returns to Ten Thousand Woods," Duanmu Shenxu said indifferently. The moment his words fell, countless purple-black tree vines burst into frantic growth beneath Dilongzi's feet, enveloping the ball of black mist at the center. Zhu Wannian's fiery attack was unexpectedly blocked entirely by those purple-black vines.

Dilongzi's heart was in absolute turmoil. Although Duanmu Shenxu's action saved him from being roasted by the Departing Fire, those vines had completely bound his limbs. Tied up like a zongzi, what strength did he have left to flee?

Zhu Wannian frowned and let out a cold snort. The massive ball of fire suddenly exploded, transforming into five gigantic fire dragons stretching dozens of zhang in length, aggressively lunging toward the offending vines.

"Shenxu, Brother Zhu, both of you, stop this instant!" Wang Xu commanded in a deep voice. Rings of battle energy fluctuations rippled outward with him at the center; Wang Xu appeared to have truly grown angry.

Zhu Wannian's expression turned slightly austere. With a single thought, the five fire dragons gradually dissipated. Duanmu Shenxu smiled indifferently, clenching his right hand to tighten the vines around Dilongzi's body until, viewed from the outside, he resembled a gigantic purple-black egg.

"Valley Master Zhu, there's no need to look so guilty. Let's spare his life for now. The time to kill him is not right now, is it?" Duanmu Shenxu said with a cold laugh. Glancing at the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses formed from the condensed black mist, he effortlessly traced a series of runes in the void and pressed them down upon their heads. The twelve corpses shuddered violently a few times before falling completely still.

If not for the presence of so many overwhelmingly powerful experts here, how could Dilongzi have suffered such a miserable defeat today? With his cultivation and the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses, even Zhu Wannian couldn't easily deal with him. However, he wasn't foolish enough to use the Twelve Earth Demon Corpses to fight three Battle Saints at once.

"Shenxu is right. This isn't the time to kill him. The Heavenly Earth Sect has already issued the sacred earth hunting decree, so naturally, we will hand him over to them for disposition," Wang Xu said in a flat tone, nodding toward Duanmu Shenxu. The latter immediately understood, and moments later, the purple-black vines began to contract, revealing Dilongzi's haggard figure. Between his brows rested a leaf-shaped symbol that completely suppressed all of his battle energy, rendering him entirely incapable of releasing even a shred of it.

His face was filled with bitter anguish; this time, his defeat was absolute and without suspense.

The disciples of the three sects watched the restrained Dilongzi with ecstatic expressions, their hearts bursting with joy. The three sects had long since announced that any disciple participating in the capture of Dilongzi would receive exceptionally generous rewards. Catching Dilongzi right here and now was nothing short of a windfall dropping straight from the heavens.

The three Jin brothers of the Golden Soul Palace exchanged glances with the members of the Ice Wave Sect. Remembering the grudges formed over the past few days, they each let out a cold snort, yet the joy in their hearts remained undiminished.

Wang Xu gave a light cough, signaling the excited disciples of the three sects to quiet down. He then cast another look at Dilongzi and said coldly, "Dilongzi, the crimes you have committed will naturally receive a fair judgment; of that, there is no doubt. For now, tell this old man what you saw. Furthermore, Brother Zhu, please withdraw the barrier. I have a lingering premonition that the Hu family may be connected to the alien invasion from before. I hope you will not shield them; doing so will bring no benefit to the Fire God Valley."

Wang Xu's gaze was ice-cold, carrying a thread of overt threat in his words.

Zhu Wannian's face turned frosty. Just as he was about to speak, a heaven-shaking roar echoed from the West Mountain Parade Ground, causing the mountains to tremble, the earth to shake, and flames to shoot into the heavens.

Duanmu Shenxu let out a cold laugh and charged toward the West Mountain Parade Ground without a moment's delay. Meanwhile, Zhu Wannian let out a frigid huff, waving his hand to cause the Nine Fire Dragon Realm to erupt with a violent surge of energy fluctuations. Nine dragon roars soared into the sky, mirroring the flames within the parade ground in a magnificent yet terrifying display.

"This is our Tianhuo Empire. I hope all of you will conduct yourselves with dignity."