Song Ciwan and Aunt Zhou paused for a moment at a bend in the tunnel. From deep within the red glow, the intense conversation between a man and a woman was suddenly cut short by the booming crash of a war drum.

THUD!

THUD! THUD! THUD! The muffled, thunderous vibrations interrupted the man and woman’s conversation, and the tunnel began to shake.

From deeper around the bend came the sound of surging waves, and another, colder female voice cried out in shock and anger, "Tian Junhong! You are the esteemed Demon-slaying General, and you possess a great treasure. Yet instead of thinking to save the people, you use this opportunity to seize the Earth Vein Primordial Qi. Are you trying to destroy Su Yang City?"

It was the voice of the Chi Hua Fairy!

The man’s voice, however, replied unhurriedly, "Fairy, you come from a renowned sect. You should know that regardless of what we do today, with the Bibo Lake Flood Dragon having died here, Su Yang City is doomed."

"Since that’s the case, why shouldn’t I take this chance to draw out the Vitality? Perhaps once my Lankao Spring and Autumn Map is upgraded to a Magical Treasure, I can even escort some refugees to safety."

"If you are still unwilling to accept this, Fairy, you could also hurry up and take some of the Vitality for yourself. This official won’t... Who’s there!"

Here, the word "who" had just left his lips when a dark gray vine shot out from the depths of the red light, coiling like a dragon-snake. With a thought, Song Ciwan fought back the urge to flee instantly and allowed herself and Aunt Zhou to be ensnared by the vine.

A moment later, the vine dragged them through the winding tunnel and, with a THUMP, threw them both onto a patch of earth and rock.

Aunt Zhou cried out, "Ah! It’s so hot!"

Song Ciwan helped her up. When they both looked up, they were stunned by the scene before them.

The red glow from deep within the tunnel, it turned out, came from a pool of magma!

Before them was a vast, open space, completely different from the cramped tunnel. The cavern was over ten zhang high, and its length and width were impossible to gauge...

Directly ahead, a man in armor sat cross-legged. An unfurled scroll floated in the air before him. The scroll depicted landscapes, bamboo forests, and dozens, even hundreds, of beautiful women in various poses, leisurely playing chess.

The vine that had dragged the two of them here had extended from that very scroll. After they were thrown to the ground, the vine retracted back into the painting.

Everything in the scroll seemed vividly alive; one could even faintly hear the sound of the beauties’ laughter drifting from within it.

Across from the scroll was a massive pool of magma.

The magma in the pool churned and surged. Song Ciwan had heard the sound of waves earlier and realized now that it hadn’t been flowing water, but the rolling of the magma itself!

Deeper within, one could see glowing red rock walls. Pressed against the front of the wall was a huge, egg-shaped Marvel, bulging and arching like a crystal membrane. It rhythmically contracted and expanded, pulsing continuously.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

It was impossible to say what it was, but upon seeing it, Song Ciwan instantly understood. The sound of war drums she had heard earlier was coming from this object.

Scorching heat filled the cavern. The Chi Hua Fairy stood across from the armored man, holding a Jade Talisman. Her face was tight with faint anger, her eyes filled with icy frost.

As for the man and woman’s conversation Song Ciwan had heard earlier—the Xiao Lang and Ming Zhu from the dialogue—they were nowhere to be seen.

In the cavern, there was only the Chi Hua Fairy and the armored Demon-slaying General, Tian Junhong.

When Song Ciwan and Aunt Zhou were thrown to the ground, the Chi Hua Fairy raised her eyes slightly and glanced over.

Tian Junhong, however, sneered. "Just two mortals. Never mind. They can’t withstand the Dragon Blood and Dragon Heart anyway. It would be better for me to send them on their way and spare them this suffering."

As he spoke, he raised a finger, and within the scroll floating before him, a woman suddenly picked up a black chess piece.

The piece passed through the barrier between illusion and reality, shooting out from the painting in that instant!

The Jade Talisman in the Chi Hua Fairy’s hand flashed. A ray of red light shot out, instantly intercepting the chess piece and blasting it to dust.

A hint of anger entered Tian Junhong’s steady voice. He said irritably, "Chi Hua, do you really insist on opposing me?"

The Chi Hua Fairy said, "I ask that General Tian deploy the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map to stop the Dragon Maiden from transforming into an abomination and fulfill your duty!"

Tian Junhong sneered. "Wishful thinking. Even before transforming, the Dragon Maiden was able to flay a Flood Dragon alive. Never mind that my Lankao Spring and Autumn Map is just a replica; so what if it were the Great Scholar’s original Red Beauty Spring and Autumn Painting? Without the Great Scholar here himself, what can you and I possibly do?"

The Chi Hua Fairy said coldly, "At the very least, you shouldn’t be seizing the Earth Vein Primordial Qi during this crisis! When yang fades, yin flourishes. If the Vitality is drained completely, will there be anyone left alive in Su Yang City?"

Tian Junhong said, "With the Dragon Maiden transforming into an abomination, Su Yang City is no longer suitable for the living anyway."

The Chi Hua Fairy said angrily, "You’re just twisting logic! Inhumane!"

As they spoke, Tian Junhong repeatedly commanded the women in the scroll to launch chess pieces. He and the Chi Hua Fairy traded blows, exchanging several rounds of probing attacks in a matter of moments.

In the depths of the cavern, the pulsing of the giant egg grew more and more rapid. THUD, THUD, THUD, one beat after another.

The magma below churned, and faintly, the conversation between "Ming Zhu" and "Xiao Lang" appeared once more.

"Ming Zhu, why don’t you bear me two children!"

"Ming Zhu, come back with me now. I’ll immediately ask my sister-in-law to arrange our wedding..."

The dialogue repeated, like a mechanical recording, ethereal and seemingly drifting in from some other time and place.

Song Ciwan looked from side to side. Aunt Zhou had no reaction; she was just staring in panic at the battle between the Chi Hua Fairy and Tian Junhong, her eyes filled with anxiety.

The Chi Hua Fairy, however, tilted her head slightly, her gaze heavy.

Tian Junhong still wore an annoyed expression, but deep in his pupils, a dark light seemed to flash. ’The conversation between "Ming Zhu" and "Xiao Lang"... perhaps mortals can’t hear it!’ Song Ciwan immediately deduced.

’Is this what they were talking about, the Dragon Maiden about to transform into an abomination?’

The situation was clearly critical. A divine light flashed again in Song Ciwan’s eyes as she unleashed the Qimen Taoist Skill: Measurement System.

An ethereal measuring ruler appeared in Song Ciwan’s vision, measuring Tian Junhong!

Tian Junhong: Seventy-Two Acupoints, Innate Martial Artist.

Song Ciwan didn’t know what stage of cultivation an Innate Martial Artist with seventy-two opened acupoints corresponded to, but she could sense from his aura that Tian Junhong was much stronger than the Chi Hua Fairy.

As for herself, she was only at Late-stage Qi Transformation. The Chi Hua Fairy was likely at Mid-Stage Qi Refining. She was far weaker than even the Chi Hua Fairy, let alone Tian Junhong.

The reason Tian Junhong was being held in check by the Chi Hua Fairy, making it seem like they were evenly matched, was mainly because his true focus was on the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map.

The map was constantly absorbing the Earth Vein Primordial Qi, and the figures within it were growing more vivid at a visible rate!

’Honestly,’ Song Ciwan thought, ’judging by our relative strengths, the most logical thing for me to do right now is probably to hurry up and die.’

She was carrying three Death Replacement Puppets. As soon as she died, she could immediately teleport out of this underground world. It didn’t matter which Peach Wood Puppet she teleported to; either way, it would be an escape to safety.

’But a person living in this world must have things they will do, and things they will not do.’

’Not throwing away one’s life carelessly is a form of respect for this chaotic world. But acting when one must act is a form of respect for oneself.’

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Deep against the rock wall, the giant egg’s pulsing grew more violent. Within the translucent membrane, something seemed to be struggling to break free.

A bizarre aura spread through the scorching air. Aunt Zhou’s face grew listless, and she began to look as if she couldn’t breathe.

With a flick of her finger, Song Ciwan shot the Three-star Level Beast Creation Talisman from her Heaven and Earth Scale out from her fingertips.

At that moment, Tian Junhong was sitting cross-legged, unable to move. He was controlling the figures in the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map to fight the Chi Hua Fairy remotely, while his left hand was pressed to the ground, acting as a bridge to channel the Earth Vein Primordial Qi. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He had nowhere to run. He also never could have imagined what the "mortal" he had dismissed could possibly do to him in that instant.

The Beast Creation Talisman was a type of Ghost Gate Talisman, its main characteristic being its strange and unpredictable nature. In a flash, the seemingly light and powerless Beast Creation Talisman crossed the distance, penetrated Tian Junhong’s Qi Blood barrier, and landed squarely on the Dazhui acupoint on his upper back!

Tian Junhong only had time to spit out a single, shocked word: "You—"

With a PUFF, he transformed on the spot into a giant, grayish-white moth!