After deciding to give the wood spirit to Mu Wanwan, Aunt Hua briefly examined the wood spirit being nurtured within her body. She then glanced at Mu Wanwan, who had already settled down and resumed refining pills, planning to tell her about it once she finished the current batch.
Meanwhile, Jiu Qing and Ao Qin, one fox and one dragon, were still trading insults.
Or rather, Jiu Qing was insulting Ao Qin.
She looked like such a beautiful young nine-tailed fox that Mu Wanwan had once assumed she was a somewhat soft-hearted fox who would tolerate a scumbag for five whole years.
Who would have thought that, after completely casting the scumbag aside, she could curse a dragon without repeating herself even once?
Ao Qin normally prided himself on being refined and elegant, but at that moment, he could not out argue her. His face turned ashen as he sneered twice.
“Ao Xue’s soul lamp has not gone out. He isn’t dead, is he?”
Jiu Qing’s expression remained calm.
“Whether he is dead or alive has nothing to do with you anymore.”
“It truly has nothing to do with me now.”
Ao Qin stroked his chin and smiled before waving towards those behind him—
Dragon roars filled with fury and excitement rang out one after another.
Under Ao Qin’s command, hundreds of Dragon Clan guards transformed into their dragon forms, almost turning the entire sky black.
“I’ll give you one final chance. Leave through the entrance to the inheritance grounds.”
Ao Qin’s voice rang out clearly. Behind him, hundreds of enormous eyes appeared and disappeared amid the darkness.
“Members of the Special Lifeform Alliance, as long as you leave Mu Wanwan behind and depart immediately, the Dragon Clan can restore its former relationship with you.”
Until the final moment, he was unwilling to completely offend the Special Lifeform Alliance.
However, he also could not swallow his anger if he did nothing to Mu Wanwan and simply watched her continue living freely.
Since that dragon had already entered the inheritance grounds, his wife could die in his place.
“Hahaha.”
Hai Jiu, who had remained silently watching until now, could no longer hold back her laughter.
The arrogant little princess of the Mermaid Clan looked at Ao Qin and Wu Yao beside him, her voice dripping with mockery.
“That is far too funny.”
She glanced at Mu Wanwan, who remained seated calmly on the raised platform refining pills. A faint trace of jealousy appeared deep within her eyes.
“You might have had some chance if you’d told them to take that woman and leave.”
“Mermaid Clan, as I recall, your people are a subordinate tribe of the Dragon Clan.”
Ao Qin looked down at her from above.
Hai Xize coughed twice and smiled weakly.
“You can ask the Witch Clan about that.”
If not for the Witch Clan, how could he have ended up in his current state?
Wu Yao waved his hand with an innocent expression.
“You can’t blame me.”
The veins on Ao Qin’s forehead bulged, and his anger intensified.
He looked at Mu Wanwan, sitting upright on the raised platform before the entrance to the inheritance grounds. Her plain robes fluttered gently, while a soft green light occasionally flickered within her palms.
Then he saw Moteng silently mouth the words, “Keep dreaming.”
Fury surged from Ao Qin’s chest.
At that moment, the future and all his carefully laid plans seemed far less important than his rage.
“Why are you wasting your breath?”
Wu Yao placed one hand on Ao Qin’s shoulder.
“Things have already reached this point. Are you still worrying about whom you might offend?”
He found Ao Qin rather pathetic.
Ao Qin calculated everything and devised meticulous plans, yet he always tried to avoid offending anyone. One moment of carelessness had left him with nothing in the end.
“Even if you spare her today, once that useless dragon dies, do you really think she will let you go?”
Wu Yao licked his lips. His blood-red eyes turned towards Ao Qin as he revealed his true objective.
“Why not go all the way and use the nearly one thousand people here as a blood sacrifice?”
So many talented and powerful cultivators would produce an effect comparable to sacrificing one hundred thousand ordinary mortals.
What excellent material for a blood sacrifice.
Ao Qin stared at him for a moment before suddenly grinning.
“We’ll divide them according to the proportions we agreed upon before.”
Wu Yao and Ao Qin flew farther away.
Uncle Chen grew worried. Seeing Moteng rapidly produce many new vines, he immediately directed everyone to guard the weaker sections of the barrier.
They had only just formed their defensive positions when violent impacts struck the barrier.
The sky turned completely dark.
Thunder exploded overhead, accompanied by torrential rain and flashes of lightning. Countless attacks crashed against the barrier, and more than half of Moteng’s branches and vines shattered in mere moments—
This time was different from the previous attack at the Special Lifeform Alliance.
It was no longer just the Fifth Elder of the Azure Dragon Clan and a few dozen mediocre dragons.
This time, nearly half of the Dragon Clan’s forces had arrived.
The Golden, White and Azure Dragon Clans formed the main force. Purple and Black Dragons had always been rare, so very few had joined the attack.
Even so, there were still nearly four or five hundred Dragon Clan warriors above the third rank.
Even their simplest breaths, when hundreds were gathered together, struck with the force of a hurricane.
Jiu Qing looked worriedly at Moteng, whose expression had turned ghastly and whose body had almost completely transformed into that of a tree-man.
Gritting her teeth, her violet eyes began to glow.
“Open the barrier!”
“No!”
Moteng shook his head.
“I can still hold on for a while.”
His vitality was extremely powerful. He could withstand more.
“Uncle Teng.”
Chi Yan touched his arm.
“Open the barrier. If you truly exhaust yourself, I’m afraid the rest of us will be slaughtered in less than half a day.”
“We can still fight while sheltered by you and the barrier,” Hai Ren said as he approached. “We should delay them for as long as possible.”
“If enough people are injured, we can use teleportation scrolls. Master gave me three scrolls capable of transporting one thousand people each. They can move everyone directly to where Leng An’s younger brother is.”
Jiu Qing could not stop herself from swearing.
“Damn it. Even single-person teleportation scrolls are absurdly expensive, yet you have three that can transport a thousand people each. Fuck.”
It was not that she wanted to curse.
It was simply that wealthy special lifeforms were infuriating.
Before she had been injured, back when she was still the little princess of the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, she had barely been able to afford three single-person teleportation scrolls.
Yet Hai Ren had immediately produced three scrolls capable of moving one thousand people each.
Although the distance was not particularly great, she was still envious of such overwhelming financial power—even if he was an ally.
Hai Jiu could not help saying, “Hai Ren, when did you get so many valuable things? Why didn’t you take them out before?”
Had he done so, the Mermaid Clan would not have been placed in such a passive position when they had previously faced the demonic creatures.
Hai Ren smiled bitterly.
His master had only given them to him before he departed. How could he possibly have afforded them himself?
**Bang!**
Another wave of powerful attacks landed.
Many demons who had not yet developed spiritual consciousness were knocked down by the shock wave. They cried out in alarm.
The sky was black, and they could see nothing.
The shock wave also interrupted Mu Wanwan’s pill-refining.
Many clumps of Snow Condensation Liquid inside the furnace nearly spilled out.
Mengmeng let out a small cry, its black eyes staring forwards.
Most of the vines covering the top of the barrier had fallen away, allowing it to see countless evil dragons.
They were hundreds of times more vicious than the evil dragons in Chirp’s previous dreams.
Each one bared its fangs, its scales ugly, roaring as though it wanted to devour them all.
They resembled the Azure Dragon that had once devoured Mengmeng’s sparrow companions within the forbidden grounds.
“Chirp—!”
It stood beside Mu Wanwan, all its feathers standing on end.
Its cry was no longer soft and milky or filled with childish coquettishness.
Instead, it sounded like a half-grown phoenix defending its territory.
“Pfft.”
Through her spiritual consciousness, Mu Wanwan looked at the enormous white ball of fluff standing against the wind, its soft feathers swaying.
She did not sense Mengmeng’s imposing aura in the slightest.
Without giving it any respect, she grabbed the rapidly expanding chubby bird and pulled it behind her.
“Chirp!”
Mengmeng wanted to protect Wanwan!
“All right. Protect me if they manage to break in.”
Mu Wanwan stroked the ball of fluff.
Through her spiritual consciousness, she looked at the dark sky. Behind her stretched an endless abyss whose end could not be seen.
She lowered her head and looked at the little dragon horn hanging around her neck.
It was still emitting a faint glow, though it was not as bright as it had been two days earlier.
The worry within her heart was almost tangible.
Mu Wanwan kept feeling that the tiny horn was about to shatter.
Her arms and legs felt weak.
Forcing back the burning sensation in her eyes, she took out the seeds of the glowing marine plants that she and Mr. Dragon had bought together at the underwater market.
There were also several other types of seeds.
Using her spiritual energy, Mu Wanwan made the seeds float around her.
With a slight exertion of force, the seeds rapidly split open and grew into mature plants.
Specks of light appeared—
The plants were quickly extracted and combined with the clumps of Snow Condensation Liquid that had nearly been ruined.
They condensed into a luminous liquid.
In Mu Wanwan’s hands, it suddenly erupted with an intense radiance.
In an instant, the darkness was swept away.
The light also concealed Mu Wanwan’s ten fingers, which had nearly become completely transparent.
Feng’s bamboo hat was slightly lifted by the wind.
The dark azure light gathered within his palm dispersed. His eyes lowered slightly, and the corner of his lips curved upwards.
She had become much stronger than before.
If Lan’er knew, she would surely be happy.
The luminous liquid illuminated the battlefield.
Its light fell upon the exhausted fighters, carrying with it a comfortable warmth.
Even the oppressive shadows caused by the curse seemed to recede slightly, and the spiritual energy within their dantians showed signs of recovering.
That light became the signal for battle.
Excited roars rose from the crowd.
Ao Qin stared at Mu Wanwan, who had fallen to one knee because her body could no longer endure the strain. His eyes were filled with shock.
Beside him, Wu Yao excitedly licked his lips.
“I want her.”
Her talent and soul were extraordinarily powerful.
If he could obtain her, she might be able to replace Hundun and help him break through.
No longer remaining on the sidelines, he whistled.
The Witch Clan members who had remained silent until then released their blood slaves and puppets.
Together with an overwhelming sea of insects, they launched a unified assault upon the barrier.
“Quickly! Open several sections of the barrier!”
Uncle Chen shouted at Moteng.
Moteng did not continue forcing himself to endure.
Most of the vines originally covering the outer surface of the barrier contracted and instead spread across its inner side.
Bathed in the warm light, the gathered fighters seemed to glimpse hope.
Most of them bore blood feuds against the Witch Clan.
Now, faced with the enemies who had once tormented and humiliated them, their eyes turned red.
Without hesitation, they followed the powerful cultivators leading the charge and freely unleashed their anger.
All kinds of techniques and spiritual energies collided along the edges of the barrier.
Carrying hatred that had sunk into their bones as deeply as the curse itself, they fought fiercely against the Dragon and Witch Clans.
Chi Yan swept back her long hair.
In the next instant, her eyes transformed into flowing orange flames.
Scorching magma poured from her palms and exploded through an opening in the barrier, striking the cloud insects and dragons.
A sharp, burnt aroma spread through the air.
“Tch.”
A smile curved across her lips.
“I certainly don’t want to eat some dragon-meat dish.”
Hai Ren chuckled and moved towards another opening on the opposite side of the barrier—
A ferocious fourth-rank Azure Dragon happened to be there.
Its enormous mouth opened as it charged towards him, releasing a foul wind.
“There’s no need to be so impatient.”
As Hai Ren spoke, a strange blue light flashed through his eyes.
The upper half of his body floated in the air. He stretched his palm towards the dragon’s head and murmured,
“Sleep.”
Before Hai Ren, who looked as tiny as an ant in comparison, the enormous Azure Dragon slowly closed its eyes.
The battle descended into chaos.
However, because of the barrier, the formations and Moteng’s protection, their side—despite consisting mostly of weaker fighters—somehow managed to fight the Dragon and Witch Clans to a standstill.
“This feels wonderful.”
Bathed in the light, Jiu Qing could not resist revealing her seven fluffy tails.
Hearing her, Hai Jiu bit her lip in dissatisfaction. Disdain curled within her long eyelashes.
“That light was only created using spiritual plants from our clan. What is so impressive about it?”
Jiu Qing rolled her eyes at her.
“If it isn’t impressive, why couldn’t you create it?”
Hai Jiu glared at her angrily.
She was about to say that her beauty was impressive when she met Jiu Qing’s provocative, devastatingly seductive face.
Jiu Qing’s appearance was every bit as exquisite and beautiful as her own.
Hai Jiu instantly lost her momentum.
“It still isn’t anything special.”
The mermaid princess continued muttering complaints, completely unaware that she was standing beside a weak point in the barrier.
In an instant, danger arrived.
Several enormous blood insects, controlled by a peak fourth-rank witch, directly shattered the barrier.
They wrapped themselves around Hai Jiu’s arms and waist, their sharp mouthparts about to pierce her skin.
“Ahhh!”
She screamed in terror and transformed into her mermaid form.
Her long, beautiful fish tail struck the ground as she released water-ball attacks indiscriminately in every direction.
“Stop screaming.”
Jiu Qing was struck directly.
Her tails became drenched with water, and two sharp fangs appeared beside her lips.
She released several purple patterns of light, slicing the blood insects into pieces.
She then gathered the remains together and threw them through the opening in the barrier.
“Wuwuwu…”
Hai Jiu was terrified.
Although Jiu Qing rolled her eyes at her several times, Hai Jiu remained too frightened to care about embarrassment and clung tightly to Jiu Qing’s leg.
Hai Xize weakly repelled another wave of enemies.
Seeing that his younger sister was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Feng and Uncle Chen were also guarding separate openings.
Under the effects of Mu Wanwan’s luminous liquid, their exhaustion remained minimal.
The battle remained deadlocked for a long time.
Aunt Hua was positioned closest to Mu Wanwan and the others. She was the first person to notice Mengmeng crying out for help.
Its helpless chirps, filled with fear, were almost impossible to hear amid the noise and confusion of the battlefield.
Each cry was immediately swallowed by the surrounding chaos.
After repelling several dragons, a flower bloomed beneath Aunt Hua’s feet.
It carried her rapidly towards Mu Wanwan.
“Chirp…”
Mengmeng cried softly.
It had not cried in a very long time, but now its enormous eyes were filled with rolling tears.
Its voice had become so hoarse that it was nearly disappearing.
Its Wanwan was becoming transparent.
It did not know what to do.
It wanted to leave and seek help, but it had promised that dragon it would protect Wanwan.
Besides, what if it left and Wanwan disappeared?
It looked so pitiful that Aunt Hua could not bear to continue watching.
Her gaze fell upon Mu Wanwan’s arm and lower leg, which had become almost completely transparent, and then upon the luminous liquid connected to her hands, continuously draining away her spiritual energy.
Aunt Hua could not stop herself from cursing.
“Reckless!”
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