Chương 149: War God — Chapter 149 - Yan Zhaoxue: Don't Call Me Senior! Call Me… Zhaoxue!

Yan Zhaoxue felt her entire consciousness growing hazy and heavy. The Dragon Mark Divine Spine within her body seemed to be pulled by an immense force. Even the primal energy inside her was being consumed at an uncontrollable, rapid pace. Her awareness gradually blurred. The only thing she still remembered was the figure gripping her arm. So alike! Too alike! So similar to that scene back in Hidden Dragon Abyss. That blurred face slowly overlapped with the senior in her memory.

From all around came squirming sounds that made her skin crawl. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw nothing. She could only sense something like strange beasts writhing in the surroundings. At that moment, the space trembled. As if they were no longer in Coiling Dragon Mountain. She opened her eyes abruptly, like a drowning person suddenly reaching shore, unable to stop herself from gasping for fresh air. Then as she breathed in, she smelled a rotting stench. And the dense, suffocating Malevolent Qi!

Her vision gradually cleared. A figure stood with its back to her, ahead. She couldn't help but stand up and look around. And drew a sharp breath. The sky was dim, the surroundings murky and lightless. Ahead, a colossal spiral-shaped black structure stood in the void, emanating an eerie aura. Looking closely, this structure was formed entirely of pure bone. Even more, upon focused inspection, the arc of the bones resembled a coiling giant dragon.

Even though this structure was now completely decayed and broken, the layers upon layers suspended in the void gave off an indescribable pressure. The place where she stood was at the very bottom layer of this skeletal structure. Looking around again, one after another, corpses identical to that skeletal structure stood in every direction, in various postures. Drawing on her formidable knowledge base, Yan Zhaoxue could faintly make out what kind of strange beasts these corpses roughly were.

"Shadow Scale Bone Dragon..."

"Blood Pupil Pterowyrm..."

"Thousand-Legged Bone Serpent..."

"Carcass Demon Dragon..." Countless varieties of dragon-type strange beasts made Yan Zhaoxue's scalp tingle. Some she had seen before. Including no small number of A-rank, even S-rank dragon-type strange beasts. Even though they were now all corpses, their former strength long gone, they still emitted a not-insignificant presence, as if they were not completely dead and could awaken at any moment.

"What kind of strange beast is this... half-dragon, half-human..." Yan Zhaoxue looked toward the bottom of the structure, at the bizarre beasts that surrounded it in rings and layers, prostrating as if in pilgrimage. They were tall, with dragon heads and human bodies, covered all over in pitch-black dragon scales, muscles bulging high, hands pressed together above their heads in worship.

"Those are Malevolent Dragon Servants." Beside her, a familiar voice came.

"The blood of a Z-rank beast can alter the genetic form of life. Similar to a beast cancer, it can instantly turn a martial warrior into its appendage, a subordinate life form. Completely under its control."

"The moment these martial warriors are infected, they completely vanish from this world. What remains is only an empty shell." Wang Xian quietly watched the scene before him. This was the Northern Tibet relic that caused boundless calamity in the previous life: Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb. No one knew exactly where it was located. Now, he had finally arrived. Unlike in the previous life, he had now studied much in university and roughly understood how this Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb came to be, how it was produced.

"A Z-rank beast?" Yan Zhaoxue was stunned, saying in disbelief, "This relic has a Z-rank beast?" Wouldn't that mean certain death?

"Rest assured, it's been dead for a very long time." Wang Xian shook his head and turned to Yan Zhaoxue.

"Senior, how much of your strength has recovered?" Hearing how he addressed her, Yan Zhaoxue fell silent, only sensing briefly before shaking her head.

"I don't know. Just now my talent throbbed inexplicably, and my primal energy drained by more than half in an instant... I'm afraid I can't recover much for now."

"What exactly is this place?" Wang Xian did not answer. At that moment, not far away, a voice came, murmuring.

"It's over, it's over!"

"This place, this place is actually the legendary Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb relic!" Yan Zhaoxue looked over and saw Chi Jiuyou standing in the distance, staring at the pyramid-like bone structure, utterly lost in spirit.

"How did you come down too?" Yan Zhaoxue asked, surprised. Chi Jiuyou came back to his senses as if waking from a daze, then looked at the two of them with a bitter smile.

"I saw you fall into the cliff, and Junior Wang jumped down after you. How could I care about anything else? I had the teacher take the other students and leave first, and came down myself to check the situation."

"We are the leaders. Besides the teacher, we're the strongest." Yan Zhaoxue nodded slightly and asked, "You said what this place is?"

"Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb." Chi Jiuyou sighed.

"Do you still remember the deeds of Senior Yang Tianchan?"

"I do, but what does that have to do with this?"

"Back then, after Yang Tianchan killed the Z-rank beast 'Cloud Demon Dragon,' though the Cloud Demon Dragon's flesh died, its bones remained indestructible. It fell in Northern Tibet. To suppress and destroy the bones, Senior Yang had his already shattered Martial God Divine Weapon break into fragments, using them to separately suppress parts of the Cloud Demon Dragon's bones in the void."

"I have heard of that..." Yan Zhaoxue's expression changed.

"Could this be that place?"

"Exactly!" Chi Jiuyou's face was ashen with despair.

"Although the Martial God's Divine Weapon shattered, it possessed Senior Yang's talent power, forming a unique separate dimension. Not only making it extremely hard for outsiders to detect, but also nearly impossible for anyone to probe at will, to prevent the Cloud Demon Dragon's bones from escaping."

"So later generations basically could never find this relic suppressing part of the Cloud Demon Dragon's bones."

"At the same time, the shattered fragments of the Martial God Divine Weapon also could never be found."

"Look, this colossal bone structure must be formed from the Cloud Demon Dragon's skeleton!"

"To think this separate dimension was hidden inside Coiling Dragon Mountain all along..." Yan Zhaoxue took a deep breath, gazing at the enormous structure ahead, and said after a moment of silence, "Let's look around and see if there's any way out." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"It's useless!" Chi Jiuyou grew agitated.

"I've studied this relic. This is a spatial relic formed from the remnants of the Martial God Divine Weapon. Look, the Malevolent Qi of the bones inside is a self-contained system."

"Back then, Senior Yang intended to seal part of the Cloud Demon Dragon's bones. He must have anticipated that people would enter, but to prevent evildoers from harboring wicked intentions, he surely designed it with spatial power. It's a completely one-way entry with no exit!"

"This Cloud Demon Dragon, as a Z-rank beast, its aura makes the entire relic impervious to any power probing."

"Even though over the ages these bones have gradually weathered and their power has diminished greatly, the spatial force is formed by the divine weapon remnants. Even if we found the divine weapon remnants, we might not be able to break the space here."

"Not to mention we can't find the divine weapon remnants at all."

"Then how did we get in?" Yan Zhaoxue asked, puzzled. Chi Jiuyou's lips moved, and he said in a low voice, "Most likely because of a strange beast called the 'Nine Netherworld Burrowing Worm'!"

"A rare spatial variant?" Yan Zhaoxue was stunned.

"This kind of strange beast is extremely rare and very hard to detect, hiding within space. Coiling Dragon Mountain would have them?"

"Not Coiling Dragon Mountain, but Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb!" Chi Jiuyou's expression was heavy.

"Most likely this kind of strange beast originated from this relic, then burrowed out, appearing in Coiling Dragon Mountain, secretly devouring space, which triggered the ground fissure on Dragon Head Cliff. At the same time, it gnawed tiny cracks into this relic, allowing us to enter this place."

"But now, those spatial cracks have surely been completely repaired by the bone Malevolent Qi here. The Nine Netherworld Burrowing Worms have already left. Unless we wait for the next batch of burrowing worms to hatch and be born... and gnaw out new cracks, we will only be devoured by the Malevolent Qi here until we die..." At these words, Yan Zhaoxue immediately fell silent. Chi Jiuyou's reasoning was well-founded, and even much of the information she knew bits of herself.

Then it was almost 100% certain that what he said was true. Suddenly, Wang Xian spoke up.

"Then aren't we doomed?" Yan Zhaoxue's eyes dimmed slightly, and she did not speak.

"Barring the unexpected, we might really die here." Chi Jiuyou's face was ashen, staring at the gray, dead, silent space, his eyes filled with despair. Yan Zhaoxue looked at Wang Xian and said softly, "Perhaps... perhaps there might be another way, who knows..."

"Right." Wang Xian looked at Chi Jiuyou, as if fully convinced, his face full of hope.

"Senior Chi knows so much, surely he must know there's another way, right?"

"Let me think..." Chi Jiuyou crouched in place, pacing back and forth. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something and walked into the bottom layer of the bone structure. He examined it carefully for a long time. Then with a face full of pleasant surprise, he said, "Look, quickly! There's actually a coffin at the very bottom!"

"The surface of the coffin is also made of dragon bone material. This must be the core heart bone part of the Cloud Demon Dragon!"

"Sealed here means... it's possible the Thousand-Spine Dragon Bone is inside!"

"If we can obtain the Thousand-Spine Dragon Bone inside, with that item, it might be possible to use the power of the divine weapon remnants to tear open the space here!" Yan Zhaoxue was taken aback and walked a bit closer with Wang Xian. It was indeed as Chi Jiuyou said.

"And look here!" Chi Jiuyou pointed to a peculiar spear hole on the outside of the coffin.

"This must be the hole left when Senior Yang struck and killed the Cloud Demon Dragon back then! If we can find another fragment of the Thousand-Spine Dragon Bone, perhaps it can be used as a 'key' inserted into this hole, resonating with the divine weapon remnants inside, thereby opening the coffin!"

"But after so many years..." Yan Zhaoxue frowned.

"Those other divine weapon remnants, without power preservation, would have long since been corroded and broken beyond recognition in all kinds of Malevolent Qi environments, right? How could we find them?"

"Besides, we're still inside right now... how would we go outside to search?"

"No, no, no..." Chi Jiuyou said.

"Senior Yang Tianchan's Martial God Divine Weapon was extraordinary. The spear blade was forged from extraterritorial divine iron, capable of slicing space, incorruptible for a thousand years. The spear shaft was made from a section of S-rank Beast spine. In a Malevolent Qi environment, not only would it not corrode, it would maintain its original form."

"What is suppressing this place must be that section of the spear blade."

"As for the shattered spear shaft, I heard that during the great battle back then, a dragon-type strange beast swallowed a small shattered piece of the spear shaft and fled. Rumors say it fled to the Tiannan region, and later was tormented to death by that shattered spear shaft, forming a unique relic."

"What was the relic called?"

"I think it was called Hidden Dragon Abyss?" Hearing this, Yan Zhaoxue seemed to think of something, her eyes suddenly widening. Could it be...

"Aiya!" At that moment, Wang Xian said with a face full of delight.

"Senior Chi, could the shattered spear shaft piece you're talking about be this?" Wang Xian took out the dragon-shaped stone key from his chest. Chi Jiuyou glanced at it and was instantly overjoyed.

"That's it, that's it!"

"Junior Wang, how do you have this?"

"Incredible, incredible!"

"Truly, heaven does not abandon us!" Chi Jiuyou was wild with joy, as if crazed, looking at Wang Xian with extreme shock. Yan Zhaoxue also stared blankly at the dragon-shaped stone key in Wang Xian's hand. She bit her lip tightly and couldn't help turning her head away, unable to watch this scene. This item. She of course remembered it. It was what she and the senior had found in the nest of Hidden Dragon Abyss. Something only the two of them knew about.

Later, she had told the senior to take this item and exchange it for military merit. Yet now, seeing this item, even if she was unwilling to admit it, there was no denying that the junior before her eyes... was actually... No... But why hadn't the senior exchanged it for military merit? Could it be that the senior had foresight, knowing this item was the 'key' to this Dragon Cataclysm Bone Tomb? Or was it because this item was a shared memory between the two of them back then...

unwilling to casually trade it away... For a moment, her heart was in chaos. She didn't know. Nor did she want to think about it right now.

"Junior, quick, go try it!" Chi Jiuyou looked at Wang Xian with a face full of anticipation.

"Sure." Wang Xian squinted at him but did not move. Chi Jiuyou, seeing this, hurriedly moved away from the coffin, saying, "I know you're wary of your senior. No need to fear, I'll just step farther away."

"Hurry up and try!"

"If you're afraid, letting your senior do it is fine too."

"No need to trouble Senior for that. There's also no need to walk so far, I was just thinking about something." Wang Xian walked smilingly to the coffin and slowly inserted the dragon-shaped stone key into the spear hole. But it only went in a quarter of the way. Suddenly, the coffin faintly trembled. Seeing this, Chi Jiuyou smiled confidently.

"See, just as I said! It's definitely effective!"

"Junior, hurry up!" Wang Xian, however, stopped moving at that moment. Instead, he turned to look at Yan Zhaoxue and suddenly spoke.

"Senior, what do you think is more important: one person's life, or the lives of thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?" Yan Zhaoxue was taken aback and said thoughtfully, "That would certainly be the latter..."

"What if the one person sacrificed is yourself?" Wang Xian asked. Yan Zhaoxue hesitated for 2 seconds, then resolutely said, "That would still be worth it!"

"What does Senior think?" Wang Xian asked.

"As martial warriors of our generation, we should protect our country and defend our people. If sacrificing myself alone could exchange for the lives of millions, that would naturally be worth it." Chi Jiuyou's expression was righteous.

"But why is Junior asking this?" Wang Xian gazed at the dim sky and spoke.

"In that case, why not ask Senior to be buried here together with us?"

"?" Chi Jiuyou was stunned.

"What do you mean?" Wang Xian pointed at the coffin and said, "Using the stone key to open the coffin: whether we can even obtain the divine weapon's remnant blade inside is one thing... the key remnant of the Cloud Demon Dragon will certainly revive."

"Look at the corpses all around..." Wang Xian then pointed around.

"So many dragon beast corpses, their auras not yet completely dissipated, clearly suppressed here."

"If the Cloud Demon Dragon's key remnant revives, even if only a single head revives, these thousands upon thousands of corpses will surely awaken along with it. Even if we could use the divine weapon's remnant blade to break open space and leave this place at that time, then these corpse beasts would certainly follow and emerge."

"Even if we could report the news to the Northern Tibet military headquarters in advance and barely manage to stop it somewhat, the students of Coiling Dragon Mountain, the other martial warriors, and even the neighboring Yunhe City would inevitably be affected."

"The Cloud Demon Dragon is a Z-rank demon beast. Look at these Malevolent Dragon Servants: just a slight exposure to its aura and they become infected. Even if now only a single head remains, with at most B-rank strength, bringing along so many dragon-head corpses, devouring as it goes, recovering as it goes..."

"How many people would die in the process? All the martial warriors of Coiling Dragon Mountain would be enough for it to recover quite a bit." Wang Xian looked at the two of them and said leisurely, "How could I disregard the lives of the many students and martial warriors on Coiling Dragon Mountain, take out this item, and cause an immense catastrophe?" As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Zhaoxue's expression changed dramatically. Indeed. She hadn't even considered this layer!

"Then what does Junior mean?" Chi Jiuyou's eyes narrowed, his entire aura subtly shifting. Wang Xian pulled out the stone key in one motion. Slowly drew his demon blade, then placed the stone key into the large maw at the center of the demon blade. And shattered it with a single strike!

"Of course, destroy this item!" Wang Xian looked at Chi Jiuyou and declared loudly, "I invite Senior to die here together with us, how about it?" The moment the stone key was devoured and pulverized by the demon blade, the coffin suddenly erupted with violent movement. As if the remnant consciousness inside was furious at this. Meaning it could never escape again, had no chance of survival!

In an instant, the dragon-head corpses all around began to tremble faintly, as if receiving a command, showing signs of gradually reviving. From the coffin, a dense, suffocating Malevolent Qi gushed out. The entire relic shook with the coffin's rage! At this moment, Chi Jiuyou's expression could no longer hold, staring at the youth before him in disbelief. As if looking at a madman! All his calculations had become a joke.

This was precisely: where the spear buried the demon dragon, only then is a pure heart revealed!

"Hahaha!" Chi Jiuyou burst into loud laughter. He had originally planned, the instant the coffin opened, to end everything with 100% certainty. But he had never imagined that this youth would choose to do this?

"Admirable, admirable!" Chi Jiuyou laughed until tears streamed down his face.

"Junior, I, Chi Jiuyou, have never admired anyone in my life. This time, I truly admire you."

"But unfortunately, your senior still has many things to do... dying here... I cannot accept it!" Chi Jiuyou pulled out a peculiar stone crystal from his chest and gently pressed it, tears flowing from his eyes as if bidding farewell.

"Sorry, I cannot die here with you..."

"What a pity, what a lament..." As his words fell, Chi Jiuyou gently pressed the stone crystal, his entire figure distorting, instantly vanishing from the space.

"Tsk... as expected of the one called 'Treacherous Hero of Troubled Times'... a peerless figure. Even at a moment like this, he hadn't let down his guard in the slightest."

"No wonder in later generations Dragon Nation expended so much effort, even deploying a Martial God, and only managed to cripple him, yet still couldn't slay this fiend on the alien battlefield... if not for that catastrophe..." Seeing this, Wang Xian thought to himself. Ran away so fast. And he even had a contingency prepared. Yan Zhaoxue beside him remained silent, only feeling that Chi Jiuyou was somewhat off, but merely found this behavior somewhat contemptible. Yet everyone had their own choices.

Fearing death and clinging to life: such is human nature, not wrong in itself. Wang Xian looked at Yan Zhaoxue and smiled.

"Senior, I'll have to trouble you to die here together with me..." Yan Zhaoxue shook her head, instead smiling, though she pouted.

"It is quite troubling." In her words, there was no fear of death.

"But..." Yan Zhaoxue suddenly said, "If you don't call me Senior, then I won't feel troubled."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Senior, call me Zhaoxue..." She lowered her head slightly, her cheeks faintly red. As if wanting, before death, to fiercely drink in that tenderness she had long secretly yearned for...

"......" Wang Xian. ➤ Next: Of Course, We'll Let Every Single One of Them Die Here in Peace!