Chapter 402: Chapter 334: Slaying the Inheritor, the Bronze Lamp (2)

"!!!"

Xu Qing and the others’ pupils contracted.

"What?!"

"!!!"

The slender, jade-like hand, as white as snow, gave Xu Qing a familiar feeling. A flash of insight struck him, and he remembered.

He had seen it before—truly seen it. When the Great Zhou Martial Country was destroyed, in its final moments, a slender, jade-like hand had descended from the sky and taken away the "Sacrifice: Zhou Di."

The auras of the two hands were practically identical.

There wasn’t the slightest difference.

This time, the slender, jade-like hand was coming for Xu Qing and his group. It had crossed an unknown expanse of time and space, manifesting as a hand, fair as jade, reaching straight for them.

CRACK! CRACK!

The surrounding space-time collapsed and shattered. Nothing could withstand it; this was beyond any Realm or category they could comprehend.

It was too terrifying, too powerful.

"Form the array!"

In this moment of crisis, Xu Qing’s pupils contracted. With a furious shout, he waved his left hand, and the Main Dragon Order flew out, hovering above his head.

BZZZT! BZZZT!

A golden light flared.

ROAR!

The cry of a dragon echoed.

The Emperor Dragon Qi manifested.

"Form the array!!"

"!!!"

"..."

The moment after Xu Qing produced the Main Dragon Order, Shang Ying and the others reacted instantly. They pulled the Vice Dragon Orders from their robes and activated them all.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!

A golden light shone, incomparably brilliant.

The Vice Dragon Orders circled Xu Qing’s Main Dragon Order, and in an instant, they had deployed the Great Tang Emperor Dragon Qi Array, enveloping Xu Qing and the others and protecting them within.

RUMBLE!!!

The next moment, Xu Qing and the others watched as the entire array manifested a Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon. It was incredibly brilliant, its draconic might vast and unrivaled, capable of suppressing all laws in the world.

ROAR!!!

The Nine-Clawed True Dragon roared and charged unhesitatingly toward the slender, jade-like hand. The two forces collided in the Void, creating a tremendously violent explosion.

CRACK! CRACK!

The surrounding Void crumbled, shattering like a mirror. The Mighty Power of the Central Tang Dynasty’s Emperor Dragon Qi was infinite and immensely powerful, successfully blocking the slender, jade-like hand.

BANG! BANG! BANG!!!

Countless explosions rang out. Protected by the array, Xu Qing and his group were unharmed, but the terrifying fluctuations made their hearts pound with fear, and horrified expressions appeared on their faces.

DONG! DONG! DONG!!!

The next moment, Xu Qing and the others heard the sound of war drums. On the distant horizon, rays of rosy light seemed to surge forth, piercing through layers of darkness.

Just as they expected, a dim Bronze Lamp appeared. It traversed the Void and materialized high above. Upon closer inspection, one could see a bronze-colored flame burning slowly within the dim Bronze Lamp. The rays of rosy light they had just seen were emanating from this flame.

But within the flame of the Bronze Lamp, one could seemingly see countless worlds and innumerable living beings, being incinerated by the fire day and night.

It was as if all these things were the fuel required to keep the lamp burning.

BZZZT!

The Bronze Lamp ignored the battle between the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon and the slender, jade-like hand. Instead, it swiftly crossed the battlefield and appeared directly above Xu Qing and his group.

Then, as if carried by a gentle breeze, wisps of flame detached from the main fire and floated down toward Xu Qing and the others like fireflies.

"!!!"

Instantly, Xu Qing and the others’ pupils shrank in absolute terror. They felt a horrifying sense of crisis descend upon them. If even a tiny speck of that flame touched them, they would be reduced to ash.

Most importantly, the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon was using most of its Power to fight and suppress the slender, jade-like hand, leaving it with insufficient strength to block the Bronze Lamp.

"Master, help me!"

Without any hesitation, Xu Qing waved his right hand and took out the Life-saving Talisman Chen Wangu had given him. The sword-shaped Talisman appeared and was immediately activated by Xu Qing.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!!

In that instant, everyone’s ears filled with the sound of countless swords ringing. At this moment, Xu Qing saw the true ’Sword Dao.’ It was as if he was seeing the very end of the Sword Dao, witnessing all its mysteries...

Finally, everything coalesced into a small, azure sword. This little sword flickered slightly, like a tiny azure fish.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!!!

Countless streams of Sword Qi burst forth, extinguishing the innumerable wisps of flame.

CLANG!

CRACK!

The next moment, the small azure sword locked onto the Bronze Lamp. With a SWOOSH, it struck the lamp, sending it flying. The body of the lamp was nearly cleaved in two by the blow.

Vaguely, Xu Qing seemed to hear the Bronze Lamp let out a soul-shaking shriek. In just an instant, it vanished, escaping into the Void.

It had fled the scene.

SPLURT!!!

Blood splattered.

Finally, the small azure sword locked onto the slender, jade-like hand and slashed out, severing it completely. Blood splattered, but after dispersing into the Void, it mysteriously vanished.

ROAR!!!

The Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon roared and charged forward, completely tearing the severed hand to shreds until it dissipated into a bloody mist.

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT!

Finally, the Nine-Clawed Golden Dragon dissipated, reverting back into the Main Dragon Order and the Vice Dragon Orders. The Main Dragon Order returned to Xu Qing’s hand, while the Vice Dragon Orders returned to Shang Ying and the others.

BZZZT!

Just then, the small azure sword transformed into a figure. Xu Qing looked up and saw that it was none other than a projection of consciousness his master, Chen Wangu, had left behind.

"Xu Qing."

Chen Wangu’s projection spoke, "You did well this time, forcing out the enemy’s mastermind. Although I, your master, cannot be entirely certain yet, I have a few leads after that battle."

"This Sword Talisman I gave you is now spent; it could only be used once. But no matter. This sliver of my consciousness will remain in your body. If you encounter a truly life-threatening crisis, this consciousness won’t be able to attack again, but it can pull you out of danger."

"That said, you must still remain vigilant at all times. Most importantly, you need to find a way to resolve the Supreme Dynasty’s ’Ancient Text Incident’ and uncover the mastermind behind it."

"That is your mission."

"Yes, Master."

Xu Qing bowed, his tone one of utmost respect.

"Mm."

BZZZT!

As soon as he finished speaking, the consciousness projection transformed into a streak of azure light and merged into Xu Qing’s body, disappearing from sight. Xu Qing tried to sense it carefully, but he still couldn’t perceive where that sliver of consciousness was located within him.

"Phew..."

However, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. ’At least now I have my master’s protection,’ he thought. ’Even if I run into a powerful enemy, I no longer have to worry about my life.’

It wasn’t like before, when he had no protection and could only rely on himself.

"Let’s go."

SWISH! SWISH!

Xu Qing and the others all rushed out of the fragmented Underworld. As they did, the ruined Underworld completely shattered. Its countless fragments overlapped and condensed until the entire broken domain transformed into a tattered black book, which then appeared in the Void.

BZZZT! BZZZT!

The tattered black book seemed to emit a faint, dark glow, as if it contained a mysterious power that tempted living beings to open it.

"This..."

Shang Ying and the others exchanged a look.

"An Ancient Text?"

Murphy Rain and the others said.

"Yes."

SWISH!

Xu Qing waved his right hand, and a pull from his Power of Transcendence drew the tattered black Ancient Text into his grasp. He then took out a special purple box and placed the book inside.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath, glanced at Shang Ying and the others, and said in a low voice, "The Ancient Texts possess an unimaginable bewitching power. If you read one, you will fall under its influence and begin to practice the mysterious inheritance contained within."

"There are three main difficulties when it comes to the Ancient Text Incident."