68: Black Flame

As Gao De circulated his Demonic Power and slowly pushed open the heavy stone door engraved with the word "Prison," a vast, cold aura carrying an air of endless suppression rushed toward him like a volcano that had been dormant for eons!

What met his gaze was not the prison scene he had expected, but a hazy blue-black halo.

In the center of the halo, a massive dragon claw mark composed of pure energy and interwoven with blue and black emerged out of thin air. Within the center of the palm, a deep blue rune rotated like a star, emitting a majestic pressure and binding force like the vast ocean!

This claw print seemed to have been triggered by the opening of the stone door, carrying a will to Seal all spirits and suppress everything as it lunged down toward Gao De's head!

Everywhere it passed, even space itself seemed to become viscous and solidified.

Boom!

Though startled, Gao De did not panic, as he was well-prepared! Facing this sudden attack, the Purple Lightning ThunderJiao Bloodline within his newly born flood dragon body erupted with a roar!

He did not choose a head-on confrontation. Instead, he opened his massive maw and unleashed the "Spirit-Devouring Vortex"—an enhanced ability born from the combination of his innate Divine Ability "Devour" and his own Demonic Power!

A deep vortex with purple lightning jumping along its edges formed instantly in front of him, generating a terrifying suction force.

That blue-black claw print, which contained the power of the ocean, was actually forcibly pulled and twisted by this vortex, and was finally swallowed whole like a whale sucking in water!

The moment the claw print entered his belly, Gao De's entire body shook violently; he felt as if he had swallowed an incomparably heavy mountain and a violent ocean!

The majestic energy crashed wildly inside his body, trying to burst out through his skin.

He let out a muffled groan and operated the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art with all his might. His flood dragon pearl spun rapidly, and the Purple Lightning Thunder Aura raced through his meridians, forcibly suppressing and refining this external sealing power.

The booming sound echoed through the passage, causing the entire ancient ruin to tremble slightly.

Even on the water's surface outside the ruins, the area within dozens of miles suddenly jolted, and ripples spread silently out to a distance of a hundred miles.

The aftershocks of the collision between the claw print and the devouring vortex swept through the hall, seemingly triggering some kind of mechanism.

On the walls surrounding the main hall, those long-dimmed runes lit up one after another, emitting a soft yet powerful force.

The surging waters that had originally filled the hall—accumulated for who knows how many tens of thousands of years—were pushed as if by an invisible giant hand. With a splash, they rapidly receded through drainage channels that suddenly appeared in the walls, revealing a dry floor.

Dripping water fell from the ceiling and the remains on the walls, sounding exceptionally clear in the empty hall.

Gao De took a deep breath, suppressing the churning blood within his body, and stepped into this "Prison" main hall.

The scene inside the hall came into view. Unlike the dark and terrifying prison he had imagined, the layout here was more like a simple yet majestic military command tent.

The stone tables, chairs, and desks were roughly shaped, carrying a rugged military style. In a corner, a bare metal flagpole still stood; the original flag had long since turned to ash in the passage of time.

The most eye-catching thing in the entire hall was a skeleton sitting cross-legged upon the main throne.

It was not a human skeleton, but a humanoid skeleton with distinct flood dragon horns.

The bones presented a warm yet deep black jade luster throughout. Even after experiencing countless years and being reduced to a mere skeleton, it still emitted a majestic aura—towering like a mountain and once wielding great power—that inspired awe in the heart.

However, this powerful skeleton was covered in fine, spiderweb-like cracks, and many bones still bore terrible burn marks. In particular, several ribs above the empty Dantian position were completely broken, as if an inner core or dragon pearl had been forcibly gouged out by some power.

Within the skeleton's hollow eye sockets, there was no dead silence; instead, two small clusters of dark, cold black flames flickered, burning silently and exuding a sense of eeriness and misfortune.

One of its hand bones was tightly clenched, and between the finger bones, a palm-sized, ancient-looking bronze-cast dragon talisman was visible. The surface of the dragon talisman was covered in unrecognizable ancient dragon patterns, with a faint glimmer of light flowing over it.

Gao De's gaze was solemn as he cautiously separated a wisp of Divine Sense, slowly reaching out toward that black jade-like withered skeleton, attempting to probe for any residual consciousness or information.

Buzz!

Just as the Divine Sense touched the withered bones, a sudden change occurred!

Gao De only felt a sharp, intense pain from his Divine Sense! He "saw" that the moment the wisp of Divine Sense he had released touched the dark withered bones, a blurry black shadow filled with resentment and an aura of destruction lunged out like a lurking venomous snake and "bit" down hard on his Divine Sense!

That wasn't all; the black flames flickering in the skeleton's eye sockets also seemed to have found fuel, instantly winding up along the Divine Sense. That burning sensation acted directly on the Divine Soul, causing heart-piercing pain, and it was like a maggot on a bone, impossible to shake off!

Gao De was greatly alarmed and made a prompt decision, immediately severing that portion of his eroded Divine Sense!

The severed Divine Sense, along with the black fire upon it, annihilated inch by inch before him, turning into nothingness, and only then did that eerie black fire gradually extinguish.

Gao De's face turned slightly pale. Although the damage to his Divine Soul was not heavy, the eeriness and malice of that black fire and black shadow left him with lingering fears.

Unwilling to give up, he tried several more times, communicating with Divine Sense from different angles and with different intensities, but the result was the same every time.

As long as the Divine Sense drew near, it would attract the biting of the black shadow and the burning of the black fire. Within this corpse, there was no conscious awareness at all, making normal communication impossible.

“This black fire and black shadow... are not external objects, but rather seem to have perished along with him. Or rather, they are the culprits that caused his fall, a power that has remained until now...” Gao De thought with a chill as he made his guess.

This Senior flood dragon, whose strength in life was absolutely far beyond his imagination, very likely died under this eerie black fire that could burn the Divine Soul and that resentful black shadow.

They were like the most vicious curse; even after endless years following his death, he could not find peace, and they continued to erode his remains.

Gao De's gaze couldn't help but fall once more upon that black jade skeleton and the bronze-cast dragon talisman it held tightly.

This dragon talisman, being held so tightly by this Senior even before death, must be something extraordinary.

And the hundreds of Seals of various sizes and materials piled on one side of the desk also seemed to tell of the power that had once been managed here.

This place was both a dangerous location and seemingly hid a massive secret and Opportunity.

That dragon talisman might be the key.

But how could he obtain it without disturbing that terrifying black fire and black shadow?

Gao De fell into deep thought, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Looking at the skeleton blackened by the erosion of the black flames, Gao De also felt that things were a bit tricky.