Chapter 337: Candle Dragon

The sight of the wildly rampaging Exotic Beasts was an eye-opener for the Martial Artists who had followed them inside.

In the Jianghu, many rare Exotic Beasts had long since vanished. Only in the unexplored primeval forests of Desolate Heaven Ridge could a few still be found.

But here, they were everywhere. Although some of the Exotic Beasts had been altered beyond recognition by the Endless Immortal Palace, their original forms could still be discerned.

If one could slay these Exotic Beasts, the materials from their bodies alone were priceless Exotic Treasures. Some Divine Artifact Incarnations were even forged using materials from such beasts.

Chen Yuan looked at this pile of bizarre creatures and couldn’t help but feel a flicker of admiration. ‘The people of the Endless Immortal Palace were truly a talented bunch. Their ideas were wildly imaginative, but their aesthetic sense was a bit questionable. The things they created were a little too horrifying and grotesque.’

At this moment, in the half-collapsed palace, more than thirty people were joining forces to resist the siege of Exotic Beasts from the outside.

Among them were Luo the Thirteenth Lang, Lu Chuanshan, and Cui Xuanye. There was also a familiar face: Chu Hongshang.

It wasn’t surprising for Chu Hongshang to be here. After Xu Tianhong’s death, she had become the number one of the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s younger generation. Besides, her master was Shi Xueyan and she had her own connections, so the Ten Thousand Demon Sect’s resources would naturally be concentrated on her.

However, Chu Hongshang’s ranking on the Hidden Dragon Rankings was not high. She must have followed the others into the Heaven-Reaching Tower after Chen Yuan’s group had already entered, which was why Chen Yuan hadn’t seen her at the beginning.

Right now, although Cui Xuanye and the others were holding on with the help of an Array, they were already showing signs of being unable to hold out much longer.

This was an Ancient Array left behind by the Endless Immortal Palace. Fortunately, Cui Xuanye was skilled in Arrays, and the Xuanyuan Temple’s Jing Yuan Daoist, whom Qingchen wanted to save, also knew a little about them. By joining forces, the two of them had managed to partially decipher the Array and were relying on its power to hold on for a while.

But the Arrays of the Endless Immortal Palace were incredibly powerful, obscure, and profound. They could only decipher a part of it and were unable to fully utilize the Array Power here.

Therefore, under the frenzied assault of numerous Exotic Beasts, the Array was already on the verge of collapse.

Although Luo the Thirteenth Lang and his group were charging out, trying to reduce the pressure on the Array, their efforts had little effect.

“Let’s move.”

Seeing this, Qingchen no longer hesitated. An extremely deep and powerful fluctuation of energy erupted from his body.

A rich Dao Essence Power instantly surged forth. His entire body transformed into a streak of white light and shot into the horde of beasts.

A palm descended, and an immense power erupted, directly blasting an Exotic Beast to smithereens.

Behind him, an Exotic Beast resembling a giant mantis slashed at him with two huge Curved Sabers. But Qingchen didn’t even turn his head. He formed a Seal Technique, and a Profound Yellow Talisman Seal instantly condensed in mid-air. It exploded with a BOOM, blasting the Exotic Beast into a mist of blood.

Qingchen’s methods were incredibly simple. The depth of his Dao Essence was so profound that he didn’t seem like a Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artist at all. His attacks appeared leisurely, but he was completely crushing those Exotic Beasts with absolute power.

Ming Chong was even more simple and crude. The Vajra Zen Skill he cultivated made him impervious to blades and spears, Vajra Indestructible. Thus, he charged directly into the beast horde, fighting with the purest physical strength.

Some of the Exotic Beasts at least used a few abilities, but Ming Chong was just tearing them apart with his bare hands. He was so savage that, at this moment, he seemed more like an Exotic Beast than the beasts themselves.

Surprisingly, Han Chang didn’t resort to any tricks. He also led the charge into the beast horde. A Demon Sword appeared in his hand, and a torrential, immense Demonic Qi erupted as he began to slaughter the beasts without holding back.

With everyone else in action, Chen Yuan naturally didn’t stay idle.

A surging Nether Blood Fiend erupted from Blood Sea Listening Tide, smashing toward the human-headed, snake-bodied Exotic Beast with overwhelming power.

The creature shrieked and spat out a breath containing the essence of ice.

But in the next moment, the Nether Blood Fiend on Blood Sea Listening Tide suddenly switched to Li Yan Blood Fiend. The scorching power instantly eroded the icy breath away.

The human-headed, snake-bodied Exotic Beast froze for a moment. But before it could react, a crimson Sword Aura flashed. Its head hit the ground in an instant, but its serpentine body continued to twist and writhe.

Seeing that the newcomers had the upper hand, the Martial Artists in the back also attacked, and in an instant, they managed to suppress the horde of Exotic Beasts.

Chen Yuan frowned slightly, however.

‘The strength of these Exotic Beasts isn’t actually that great.’

The Exotic Beasts besieging Cui Xuanye and the others were much stronger than the human-handed giant python from before, but only for ordinary Martial Artists. For someone of Chen Yuan’s level, killing them wasn’t too difficult.

Chen Yuan wasn’t familiar with Lu Chuanshan’s combat strength and didn’t know what he had achieved after training in the Jianghai Alliance’s secret grounds.

But he was very familiar with Luo Lie’s combat strength. Against an assault from Exotic Beasts of this intensity, someone with Luo Lie’s power should have been able to break out with Lu Chuanshan and the others.

Just as Chen Yuan’s group got a little closer to Luo Lie and the others, Luo Lie pointed downward and shouted, “Stop killing them! Stop now! Watch out for what’s underground!”

Everyone present was stunned.

In such a short time, they had already dealt with dozens of Exotic Beasts and were about to break through. Why were they being told to stop?

Just then, the ground suddenly split open. A hundred-zhang-long Exotic Beast burst out from the earth, shredding the surrounding beast corpses to pieces and instantly absorbing their massive amounts of Blood Qi.

The Exotic Beast was not quite a snake, yet not quite a dragon. Its entire body was covered in a slick slime, and six beastly legs grew from its sides.

Its head, however, was a massive, pitch-black human head covered in runes, with its eyes tightly shut.

There was a protrusion on the Exotic Beast’s forehead. Looking closely, one could see it was the upper half of an old man, who was fused with the beast from the waist down.

And on the old man’s forehead, there was another protrusion, but this one was a bead that shimmered with a seven-colored light.

“Candle Dragon…”

The expressions of everyone present changed instantly. A human head on a snake’s body, whose opening eyes bring day and closing eyes bring night. Such an appearance easily reminded one of the legendary Ancient Divine Demon.

But then everyone quickly realized this couldn’t possibly be the legendary Ancient Divine Demon. If the Endless Immortal Palace could resurrect such a being, they would have long since ascended to immortality.

Ming Chong snorted coldly and charged straight for the monster that resembled a Candle Dragon.

But in the next instant, the monster sent him flying with a single whip of its tail. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

The moment the Candle Dragon monster appeared, the other Exotic Beasts all retreated. Chen Yuan immediately appeared before Luo the Thirteenth Lang and the others and asked, “What’s going on?”

Cui Xuanye gave a bitter smile. “The other Exotic Beasts aren’t that hard to deal with. They’re just failed products from when the Endless Immortal Palace tried to combine Spirit Beasts with humans.”

“Only this ‘Candle Dragon’ is a true finished product of the Endless Immortal Palace. It was always dormant underground. It was only awakened when we barged in and killed those Exotic Beasts, causing their Qi Blood to flow into the ground.”

“This thing’s codename is ‘Candle Dragon.’ It’s something created by the Sect Leader of the Endless Immortal Palace’s Beast Taming Hall. He even fused himself with the Candle Dragon. That half-human figure on the Candle Dragon’s head is the Sect Leader of the Beast Taming Hall. I reckon we have to kill him to finish this monster off for good.”

“A finished product? It’s just another failure.”

Chen Yuan shook his head. “The Candle Dragon is a being on the level of an Ancient Divine Demon. If he had truly succeeded, he would have transcended this world long ago. But in the end, the Heaven-Reaching Tower was destroyed, and he could only survive by slumbering underground. A being like this, no matter how much it looks like a Candle Dragon, is just a monster with a Candle Dragon’s appearance.”

While they spoke, the Candle Dragon not only swatted Ming Chong away but also opened its massive mouth. An overwhelming suction force pulled two weaker Martial Artists directly into its maw, where it began to chew on them loudly.

As the Blood Qi entered its body, the Candle Dragon’s aura grew stronger.

At this, everyone retreated, their faces filled with terror.

Qingchen moved, instantly appearing before Cui Xuanye.

“Brother Cui, do you still have the strength to set up an Array?”

Cui Xuanye recognized Qingchen and immediately nodded.

Qingchen tossed him four Array Plates while holding five himself. He said in a low voice, “This is my Yellow Court Temple’s Celestial Profound Nine Extremes Trapping Dragon Array. In a moment, you and I will set up the Array together to trap this Candle Dragon.”

Then, Qingchen turned his gaze to Chen Yuan and the others. “Master Ming Chong, your physical body is the strongest. Go and attract the Candle Dragon’s attention. Brother Chen and Brother Han, after I’ve successfully set up the Array, the two of you will attack the Candle Dragon head-on. The rest of you will attack from the rear to tie up its power.”

“This Candle Dragon’s power is astonishing, and every time it devours Blood Qi, it recovers some of its strength. We cannot let it continue to grow stronger. Everyone, a great enemy is before us. I ask you all to temporarily set aside your grievances and face this enemy together.”

The few of them exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

Among everyone present, only Qingchen could have said such a thing. Chen Yuan had offended many people, Ming Chong had a foul temper, and Han Chang was from the Demon Dao, notorious for his unscrupulous methods. If the three of them had been the ones to suggest joining forces, the others would certainly not have agreed.

At that moment, the Candle Dragon roared and charged. Ming Chong was the first to meet it. Buddha Light shone around him, brilliant golden light flared, and he formed a Buddha Seal, smashing it down with the might of a Vajra Descent.

But the Candle Dragon suddenly whipped its tail, and the immense force once again sent Ming Chong flying.

The instant Ming Chong was sent flying, Luo Lie and the others in the rear launched a frenzied attack on the Candle Dragon’s back.

Although their individual attacks couldn’t break through the Candle Dragon’s physical defense, they were enough to enrage it, causing it to suddenly turn around.

At this exact moment, the four Array Plates in Cui Xuanye’s hands and the five in Qingchen’s activated simultaneously. Nine pillars of Celestial Profound light blazed into the sky.

The Celestial Profound Nine Extremes Trapping Dragon Array activated instantly. The Array Power contracted abruptly, pressing down on the Candle Dragon.

At the same time, Han Chang, surprisingly, did not hold back. He formed a Seal Technique, and countless wisps of Demonic Qi gathered on his Demon Sword. He thrust it forward, and a demonic shadow flickered behind him as Demonic Qi surged to the heavens.

Ten Thousand Demons Return to Origin Sword!

Chen Yuan looked at Han Chang and frowned slightly.

‘There’s something wrong with Han Chang. He’s acting too normal.’

‘But a leopard can’t change its spots. Han Chang is definitely plotting something.’