217: Chapter 217 What a fine guest, Changhen!

The coral corridor outside the Pavilion Listening to the Waves was now filled with a thick, bloody Evil Qi.

The originally clear seawater had become turbid and foul. Several corpses of mermaid maids with Foundation Establishment cultivation lay strewn across the jade steps, their fish tails brutally torn apart, staining a large area of the sea red with blood.

This was the handiwork of the mad dog under Ninth Prince Ao Lie's command—Ling Yunzhi.

"Third Highness, they were just a few lowly servants. I used them to have a little snack and replenish my Qi and blood. Is it really worth getting so worked up over?"

Ling Yunzhi floated in mid-air, the 'Ten Thousand Soul Rakshasa' dharma idol behind him, standing hundreds of feet tall, nearly bursting through the Crystal Palace's Restrictions.

The dharma idol's three heads cackled simultaneously as its six arms brandished bone chains condensed from aggrieved souls, smashing down like a violent storm.

Ao Yi's face was ashen. The folding fan in his hand transformed into a massive water shield, desperately holding back the overwhelming onslaught.

It wasn't that he couldn't defeat Ling Yunzhi.

But he didn't dare to strike back.

The iron law of the Dragon Palace stated that on the eve of the True Dragon Tomb's opening, direct descendants of the imperial family were strictly forbidden from internal fighting. Violators would be stripped of their eligibility to enter the tomb.

Ao Lie had calculated exactly this, letting his mad dog Ling Yunzhi out to bite, intending to wear down Ao Yi's Origin before they even entered the tomb.

"Ling Yunzhi! This is the Dragon Palace, not your Southern Border Demon Den!"

Ao Yi shouted sharply, Dragon Qi surging around him as he shattered the bone chains that were trying to entwine him.

"So what if it's the Dragon Palace?"

Not far away, Ninth Prince Ao Lie, clad in dark gold heavy armor, sat arrogantly atop the back of a flood dragon, toying with a fresh, still-beating mermaid heart in his hand.

A cruel smile hung on the corner of his mouth, and his gaze was like that of someone watching a monkey trapped in a cage.

"Third Brother, your heart is still too soft. Those who achieve great things do not sweat the small stuff. If the lives of a few servants can make Fellow Daoist Ling happy, then that is their blessing."

Ao Lie casually crushed the heart, blood splattering across his face, yet he unconcernedly stuck out his tongue and licked it.

"Fellow Daoist Ling, since Third Brother wants to give you some pointers, play with him properly. Remember, don't kill him; he's Father's precious darling."

Hearing this, the murderous light in Ling Yunzhi's eyes grew even more intense.

"My thoughts exactly!"

He formed a hand seal.

Boom!

The body of the Ten Thousand Soul dharma idol suddenly expanded by thirty percent. Its previously illusory face became crystal clear, even revealing the bloody tears flowing down its distorted human visage.

The Evil Qi surged like a tide, causing Ao Yi's water shield to creak and groan as cracks spread across it.

Just as Ao Yi was about to give way.

A voice as warm as jade abruptly cut in.

"Oh my, we're all brothers here. Why ruin the harmony over such a small matter?"

Sixth Prince Ao Ming, waving his signature peach blossom fan, walked out from the corner of the corridor with a beaming smile.

His steps were light, as if he didn't even see the sky full of bloody Evil Qi, as he walked straight into the center of the conflict.

Behind him, Lin Xiren, using the alias 'Pen Name', was hiding behind a pillar with a look of terror, peeking out like a pedantic scholar who had never seen the world.

"Old Sixth?"

Ao Yi frowned slightly, alarm bells ringing in his heart.

This smiling tiger never did anything without a profit motive; his appearance now certainly boded no good.

"Third Brother, take a word of advice from your younger brother: take a step back and the horizon will broaden."

Ao Ming approached with a smile, seemingly to break up the fight, but his right hand naturally reached toward Ao Yi's shoulder.

The moment his fingertips touched Ao Yi's robes.

A 'Bone-Piercing Yin Thunder Needle', as thin as a cow's hair and deep blue all over, silently shot toward Ao Yi's shoulder blade, concealed by his sleeve.

It was utterly insidious.

If this needle hit home, at least thirty percent of Ao Yi's magic power would be sealed, and the piercing pain would make it impossible for him to use his Divine Sense for a short time.

Ao Yi was focusing all his strength on resisting Ling Yunzhi's dharma idol; how could he have expected this stab in the back?

By the time he sensed the chilling cold, it was already too late.

"You..."

Ao Yi's pupils shrank. He wanted to dodge, but he was pinned down by the Evil Qi in front of him.

A wolf in front, a tiger behind.

This was a certain death trap.

Ao Lie was laughing wildly, Ling Yunzhi was grinning savagely, and Ao Ming was smiling.

Hiding behind the pillar, Lin Xiren's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement as he gently closed his folding fan, seemingly waiting for the show to begin.

Just as the Yin Thunder Needle was about to pierce through Ao Yi's protective spiritual light.

Woo~

An extremely soft, thin flute sound penetrated the layers of seawater and drilled into the eardrums of everyone present.

The sound wasn't loud.

But it was like a cold silk thread, instantly wrapping around everyone's Divine Soul.

It didn't enter through the ears but exploded directly in the depths of their Sea of Consciousness.

From the direction of the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

Gu Changsheng sat cross-legged on a black rock, the [eternal regret] bone flute in his hand glowing with purple light as all nine holes sounded in unison.

He didn't open his eyes, simply sinking his entire mind into the music.

[Soul-Guiding Melody].

Heart-Bewildering.

The moment the flute sound rang out.

Time and space outside the Pavilion Listening to the Waves seemed to freeze for an instant.

The Ten Thousand Soul dharma idol, which had been exuding terrifying power and was about to shatter Ao Yi's water shield with a palm strike, suddenly stiffened.

On its three massive heads, the eyes that were originally filled with tyranny and slaughter suddenly became dazed.

It was like a puppet whose strings had been suddenly cut.

Then, the confusion turned into struggle, and the struggle turned into... madness.

"Roar—!"

The dharma idol let out an incredibly shrill roar. The sound no longer contained anger toward the enemy, but resentment toward its master.

It suddenly spun around.

Those six giant bone hands, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, swung with the sound of whistling wind, viciously striking Ling Yunzhi, who was standing behind it controlling the hand seals.

This turn of events came too fast, too strangely.

So fast that Ling Yunzhi had no time to react.

He only felt his vision go dark before an overwhelming force slammed into his chest.

Crack!

A crisp explosion that made one's teeth ache.

Ling Yunzhi was sent flying like a swatted fly, directly slapped away by his own dharma idol.

The blood-colored dharma robe on his body instantly disintegrated, and his protective Evil Qi shattered like paper.

Pfft!

He spat out blood wildly in mid-air, his chest bone caving in as he crashed heavily into a nearby coral thicket, stirring up a cloud of dust.

"Ah!!"

Ling Yunzhi let out a scream like a slaughtered pig. He discovered with horror that the Divine Soul connection between him and the dharma idol had been forcibly severed by that eerie flute sound.

Moreover, the flute sound was even following that severed Divine Soul connection, frantically drilling into his Sea of Consciousness, attempting to hook out his Three Ethereal Souls and Seven Corporeal Spirits.

"Who?! Who is playing tricks?!"

Ling Yunzhi crawled out from the pile of rubble with disheveled hair, his face covered in blood, looking like a vengeful ghost as he stared around in terror.

The entire area was deathly silent.

Ao Ming's hand, which had been reaching for Ao Yi's shoulder, froze in mid-air.

Under the vibration of the flute sound, that insidious Bone-Piercing Yin Thunder Needle actually lost its aim, flying past Ao Yi's collar and embedding itself into a jade pillar, sizzling with black smoke.

The smile on Ao Lie's face froze.

He whipped his head around, his vertical pupils locking onto the Hidden Dragon Abyss several miles away.

There, a layer of hazy gray Restriction shrouded the area, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Only that thread-like flute sound continued to play, unhurried and steady.

It was desolate and mournful, yet it carried a bone-chilling killing intent.

"eternal regret..."

Ao Lie squeezed these words through his teeth, his face so dark it could drip ink.

He could feel that the Divine Soul power contained in the flute sound actually made the dragon soul within him tremble slightly.

This was a warning.

And a show of force.

If he dared to move again, the next thing to lose control might not just be a dharma idol, but the flood dragon beneath him, or even... himself.

"Good! What a Guest Elder eternal regret!"

Ao Lie laughed out of extreme anger, the flood dragon's reins in his hand crushed to powder.

He took a deep look at the pale-faced Ao Yi, then looked toward the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

"This debt, this Prince has noted it down."

"In the True Dragon Tomb, we will settle this properly!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Ao Lie swept up the half-dead Ling Yunzhi and rode the flood dragon into the sky, disappearing into the deep sea in the blink of an eye.

A certain death trap had been effortlessly resolved by a single flute melody.

The fake smile on Ao Ming's face was becoming hard to maintain.

He nonchalantly withdrew his hand and cupped his fists toward Ao Yi, his tone carrying a bit more genuine wariness.

"Third Brother is truly blessed to be able to invite such an expert."

"I still have matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you further."

With that, he took 'Pen Name', who was still playing dumb, and left dejectedly.

Only at the moment he turned around did Lin Xiren look back at the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

The folding fan in his hand swayed gently, hiding the meaningful curve at the corner of his mouth.

"Tugging the soul and drawing the spirit... even a dharma idol can be turned..."

"Brother Gu, oh Brother Gu, you're hiding even deeper than I imagined."

He murmured to himself in his heart, a flash of excitement in his eyes.

This game of chess was getting more and more interesting.

...

At the bottom of the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

Gu Changsheng slowly lowered the bone flute, the faint blue halo swirling around his fingertips gradually dissipating.

He didn't show the slightest joy for having repelled a powerful enemy; instead, he frowned slightly and raised a hand to wipe away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"It was still a bit forced."

That melody just now seemed easy, but it had actually consumed nearly thirty percent of his Divine Sense power.

That was, after all, a Purple Mansion level dharma idol. If not for Ling Yunzhi's unstable Foundation and the fact that the [Soul-Guiding Melody] had a natural restraint against such ghostly things, achieving such a blow would have been far from easy.

"However, the goal of deterrence has been achieved."

Gu Changsheng pulled a Medicinal Pill from his robe and swallowed it, feeling the medicinal power dissolve and nourish his somewhat parched Sea of Consciousness.

After this battle, whether it was Ao Lie or that insidious Old Sixth, they would have to weigh their options before acting, wondering if they could withstand this pervasive Divine Soul backlash.

Just then.

Ang—!

A desolate, ancient dragon roar, as if it had crossed ten thousand years, exploded without warning from the deepest part of the Crystal Palace.

The entire East Sea region boiled over in an instant.

Billions of tons of seawater surged wildly, and countless low-level sea beasts prostrated themselves on the ground, worshiping in the same direction.

Gu Changsheng rose abruptly, his figure flickering as he appeared above the Hidden Dragon Abyss.

At the location of the East Sea's eye, a giant vortex over a thousand miles in diameter was slowly opening.

The center of the vortex was as black as ink, yet dotted with starlight, like a gateway to another world.

A thick, primeval aura gushed out from that gateway.

The True Dragon Tomb.

It had opened.