Chapter 58: Azure Dragon Demon King

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

As a Nascent Soul Cultivator, the Great Elder arrived above the Azure Dragon Pool in mere moments, extending his Divine Sense downward toward the water below.

But upon clearly seeing the scene beneath him, his face immediately darkened. With a flick of his sleeve toward the Azure Dragon Pool below, four shadowy figures were flung ashore under cover of night. He then transformed into a streak of phantom light himself, landing on the bank. He glowered at Tang Bi and the others with a grim expression.

Cough cough cough!

“Damn it, that hurts like hell!”

“Ouch!”

After being thrown out, Tang Bi and the others cried out in pain and finally regained consciousness. However, upon seeing the person before them, they were scared witless, hastily dropping to their knees.

“Greetings, Great Elder!”

Bearing their pain, none dared utter another groan, kneeling meekly.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just then, the sound of rushing air came from the sky again. The remaining Elders had caught up one after another, landing beside the Great Elder.

“What?”

Seeing nearly all the Elders of the clan gathered before them, Tang Hu and his companions turned deathly pale, not daring to lift their heads.

“Speak. Why aren’t you properly at home in the middle of the night? Why did you come here?” the Great Elder demanded, his face flushed with anger.

None of Tang Hu’s group dared utter a word, keeping their heads low.

“Hmm?”

The Great Elder frowned slightly.

“Well… um… that is…”

Finding no one else willing to speak, Tang Hu finally blurted out with a shaky, stammering voice.

“Hmm?”

The other Elders furrowed their brows even more deeply.

“That… that is… we came here with Brother Biao to seek treasure!”

Suddenly, Tang Hu remembered Tang Jinbiao and blurted it out in a rush.

“Hmm? That brat?”

Hearing this, the Great Elder’s frown deepened considerably.

“What? Elder Brother, does that boy know something?” the Second Elder, who had arrived and was standing beside the Great Elder, asked, his expression shifting slightly with uncertainty.

“Impossible! The secret of this Azure Dragon Pool is known only to us few old fellows and that couple! Nobody else knows! Back then, precisely to prevent this secret from being exposed, we refrained from setting any Restriction here!” another Elder immediately refuted.

“Hmm, unless that couple has loose lips, that boy definitely wouldn’t know anything. It must be their careless talk!”

Another Elder immediately denied the possibility.

“Enough, I understand. We’ll discuss this later!”

The Great Elder waved his hand dismissively before turning to Tang Bi and the others, asking, “Where is Tang Jinbiao now?”

“Brother Biao… Brother Biao… He was standing in the center of the water. After he shouted ‘Who else?!’, blinding light and a heaven-shaking Dragon’s Roar erupted from the pool. The shockwave knocked us unconscious. When we woke up… we saw you, Great Elder…”

Tang Hu knelt on the ground, trembling and not daring to raise his head as he spoke.

“So the Restriction was indeed triggered!”

After hearing Tang Hu’s words, the Great Elder murmured to himself in a low voice.

“What do we do now, Eldest Brother?” the Second Elder inquired.

The Great Elder snorted in reply, “Hmph! What can we do? Erase these brats’ memories later. If anything unexpected happens by tomorrow dawn, killing them won’t help matters anyway!”

Thud!

Hearing this, Tang Hu and the others trembled violently, too terrified to even beg for mercy. Angering the Elders now meant instant death, and their parents wouldn’t dare protest.

“Hmph! Ignorant, shallow children! Could you Mortals ever fathom even a shred of the Great Deity’s intentions?”

While the other Elders wore gloomy expressions, only the Third Elder laughed inwardly. Clearly, only he recognized Tang Jinbiao’s uniqueness, and he felt a flicker of anticipation.

Swish Swish Swish!

Just then, Tang Zhantian and his wife arrived. Tang Zhantian’s Cultivation Level was only Core Formation, so his flight speed couldn’t match the Elders’, hence the delay.

“Biao’er!”

Upon arrival, Wang Wanyu’s gaze instantly snapped to the center of the Azure Dragon Pool as she called out softly.

“Hmph!”

Seeing Tang Zhantian and his wife, the Second Elder’s face darkened as he gave a cold snort. Clearly, he suspected them of telling Tang Jinbiao the pool’s secret.

“Hmm? Second Elder, why such an expression towards us? Have we offended you somehow?” Tang Zhantian questioned, noticing the Elder’s displeasure.

“Hmph, nothing to offend me. But you’d better pray fortune smiles on your son. You know full well what lies below. If something goes wrong, there’s nothing we can do! Remember, not everyone is that man. If your son releases that thing…” the Second Elder said grimly, “…it won’t just mean disaster for the Tang Family. The entire Divine Wind Continent will be plunged into a storm of blood!”

“What?! You mean my Biao’er has entered down there?” Tang Zhantian’s face instantly paled as he asked.

“Hmph! Believe it or not, ask these youngsters yourself! They came together!” The Second Elder gestured towards Tang Bi and the others with a snort.

“Uncle Tang, the Second Elder speaks truthfully!” Tang Hu seized the opportunity swiftly, confirming it.

“W-what?!”

Tang Zhantian’s face twitched spasmodically, his lips trembled, and his whole body shook, as if he’d become a different person in an instant.

“Brother Tian, don’t panic, don’t panic! Biao’er is definitely all right!”

At that moment, Wang Wanyu also stood on the ground, gently patting Tang Zhantian’s back as she comforted him.

“Mmm, I’m not panicking, I’m not panicking. Biao’er is blessed by the heavens, surely nothing will happen. Moreover, when Nier went down back then, he must have left some safeguards inside.”

Tang Zhantian took a deep breath, also murmuring self-reassurance.

“Third Brother, prepare the Message Talisman! If anything unexpected happens, immediately send word to the Divine Wind Academy. I shall go down first to take a look!”

After several changes in expression, Great Elder finally made his decision. His entire body then transformed into a beam of escape light, shooting towards the center of the lake and vanishing directly into its waters.

“First Brother!”

The others hadn’t had time to call out to Great Elder before he disappeared.

“Hmph! If anything happens to First Brother, just see how you explain it!”

“Hmph!”

Second Elder and Third Elder shot Tang Zhantian and his wife a very unfriendly look.

“Hmph! I, Tang Zhantian, would very much like to see what you two can actually do to us husband and wife! If you don’t fear punishment from Nier someday, then by all means, let’s see how you dare to touch us! Conversely, if anything happens to our Biao’er, then I want to see how you explain it! Clearly this is such a dangerous place, yet no barriers or warnings whatsoever were set up! You allowed mere children to come here, even letting them swim in! As Head of the Tang Family, I want to question exactly who gave you permission to disregard the safety of the Tang Family so lightly? Who granted you such authority?”

Threatened by the two, Tang Zhantian didn’t yield in the slightest. Instead, his expression hardened further as he launched his own interrogation.

“This…?”

Second Elder and Third Elder were momentarily left speechless.

“Alright now, alright now, Family Head, things haven’t escalated to that point yet. We should just hope for the best and pray nothing bad happens. Otherwise, if that thing truly gets released, none will escape blame!”

Seeing the situation tense, several other Elders immediately intervened to mediate.

“Hmph!”

Tang Zhantian snorted. He then turned his face away, transforming his expression into one of apparent mildness as he spoke to Wang Wanyu: “Wanyu, let’s go sit over there.”

“Mmm, alright, Brother Tian.”

A forced smile appeared on Wang Wanyu’s pale face as she replied.

One couldn’t tell what kind of injury Wang Wanyu had suffered, but she was incredibly frail.

For a moment, the whole group fell silent, no one speaking another word.

…

While Tang Zhantian and the others waited quietly by the shore, in an unknown location, a massive voice roared incessantly.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Hahaha… hahaha… Humans!”

“Stupid Mortals! Why aren’t you rousing this Azure Dragon Demon King? Wake me now!”

“Ha! Stupid humans!”

It seemed to be a cavernous space about ten zhang square, its walls and floor covered in countless iron chains. These chains all emanated from a small square table, followed divergent paths through the cave, but converged upon and bound a single mass of undefined, pitch-black shadow.

Within that shadowy mass, the source of the arrogant roars seemed to lie.

The roars echoed continuously through the air.

“Ah, noisy, so damn noisy! Screw this, can’t even sleep in peace! I Bought a Watch Last Year!” (Internet slang homophone for a curse)

After what felt like quarter of an hour, Tang Jinbiao finally seemed unable to bear the noise and irritably stirred awake. However, perhaps due to a lifetime spent as a rogue, his habit of cursing upon opening his mouth remained unchanged.

Boom!

But the very moment Tang Jinbiao swore, darkness suddenly descended. He felt an immense entity lunging towards him.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

As the shape bore down upon him, the violent rattling of heavy chains accompanied its movement.

“Ah!”

Feeling the colossal presence surging towards him, Tang Jinbiao’s mouth opened wide in a piercing scream.

…

A full quarter of an hour later, Tang Jinbiao’s screaming finally subsided.

“Huh? Nothing happened?”

Tang Jinbiao slowly regained his senses, looking down at his hands and feet. Finding his entire body intact, with no limbs missing, he let out a faint sigh of relief.

“Hah! Stupid humans! Feeble Mortals! Why do you not kneel before me, your Azure Dragon Demon King?”

Just as Tang Jinbiao began to relax slightly, an ancient, rasping voice came from high above him.

“Huh?”

“Ah!”

Hearing the voice, Tang Jinbiao frowned. He instinctively lifted his head, looking forward. Yet the moment his eyes confirmed what loomed before him, another scream erupted from his throat…