Chen Ping lightly tapped his toes, his figure dodging the venom like a phantom, while his left hand formed a seal. The Heart Condensing Technique surged within him, and a faint golden beam shot from his palm, striking the demonic flood dragon’s head with precision.
“Roar!”
The demonic flood dragon let out a piercing scream, its massive body thrashing wildly in the pool, splashing water that drenched the entire cave.
Hu Mazi seized the moment, pushing the jade pendant’s glow to its limit. The white light pierced the flood dragon’s eyes like a sharp sword.
In agony, the flood dragon closed its eyes, its enormous body losing balance and crashing toward the shore.
“Now’s the time!”
A glint flashed in Chen Ping’s eyes. The Immortal-Slaying Sword turned into a streak of light, piercing the flood dragon’s vital seven-inch spot in an instant.
Black blood gushed like a fountain, and the flood dragon’s body twitched on the ground a few times before finally going still.
Only then did the two relax, collapsing to the ground, panting heavily.
“This demonic flood dragon’s strength was comparable to a third-grade Earth Immortal cultivator.”
Hu Mazi looked at the corpse with lingering fear, “We’re only at the start of the Demon Burial Abyss, and already facing such a powerful guardian beast. It’s likely to get even more dangerous ahead.”
Chen Ping stood up, walked to the flood dragon’s body, and reached out to search its head, retrieving a black inner core.
The core radiated dense demonic energy, yet the power within it was exceptionally pure.
“This inner core might be useful.”
Chen Ping stored the core, “Though the demonic energy is overbearing, if refined, it could boost our strength. Let’s rest and recover before moving forward.”
He glanced at the stone platform across the pool, where the light seemed brighter than the surroundings, likely hiding something valuable.
This flood dragon was probably the guardian of that platform.
After the flood dragon’s death, the pool in the cave gradually calmed. The once-dark green water now shimmered with a faint black hue, emitting an even stronger stench.
Chen Ping sat cross-legged by the pool, meditating and circulating the Heart Condensing Technique to absorb the surrounding demonic energy, restoring his depleted spiritual power. Meanwhile, Hu Mazi curiously approached the stone platform across the water.
The platform was covered in thick dust, with a bronze box placed on it. The box’s surface bore intricate runes, identical to those on Hu Mazi’s jade pendant but far more complex.
Just as he reached for it, Chen Ping shouted, “Don’t touch it! The box has a restriction.”
Chen Ping approached, closely examining the runes on the bronze box, his brows furrowing, “This is a sealing rune array of the Hu Clan. It seems this box is indeed connected to your people.”
“Left by my clan?” Hu Mazi was both shocked and delighted, “What could be inside?”
“Hard to say.”
Chen Ping gathered a thread of spiritual energy at his fingertip, gently touching the box’s runes, “This array looks simple but hides profound intricacies. Forcing it open might trigger a counterattack. Have you seen anything like this array before?”
Hu Mazi crouched down, placing his jade pendant beside the box. The pendant’s white light resonated with the box’s runes, beginning to slowly rotate.
“These runes… I’ve seen them in illustrations in my clan’s ancient texts. They seem to be a bloodline verification array, only unlockable by the Hu Clan’s blood.”
Following the method described in the ancient texts, he dripped blood from his fingertip onto the jade pendant. The pendant instantly erupted in dazzling light, merging into the bronze box.
The runes on the box seemed to come alive, flowing along the light’s path. With a soft “click,” the box slowly opened.
Inside, there were no gold or jewels, only a yellowed beast hide and a black token.
The hide bore several lines of ancient text written in dark red ink, while the token was engraved with the character “Hu,” its edges studded with tiny crystals that emitted faint spiritual fluctuations.
