304: Chapter 304 Preparing to Return

"Is there no way to suppress that magma?"

Chen Fan asked after a moment of contemplation.

"No need to suppress it."

The heart of the demon dragon responded in a low voice: "That building was built specifically to suppress me and the magma. The magma cannot get out."

"Why suppress you?" Chen Fan asked, somewhat puzzled.

The heart of the demon dragon was silent for a moment, then muttered: "That thing was originally just a tiny tentacle. After discovering that the energy I produced could help it evolve, it began trying every possible way to encroach upon my energy."

"Wait a minute."

Chen Fan's eyes widened. "The crystal core you're talking about, wouldn't it be a huge blue crystal?"

"Yes, have you seen it?"

The heart of the demon dragon was somewhat surprised. Its crystal core had been lost for many years and was most likely in the hands of the Sea God; it hadn't expected Chen Fan to have actually seen it.

Chen Fan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the database, flipping through the dense recordings.

"Found it."

After a long while, Chen Fan pointed to a video that had been forgotten for a long time.

"Is this the thing?"

The heart of the demon dragon glanced at the video and exclaimed: "The crystal core!"

Immediately, it sensed something was wrong. "Wait, why is this tentacle so small?"

"Small?"

Chen Fan looked at it in surprise. "It's already one hundred thousand meters in diameter, and you call that small?"

"Yes, by the time it stole my crystal core, it had already reached the stage of starting to mutate."

In an instant, Chen Fan thought of the creature in the sky in the Night Instance that looked like mist and smoke.

He found another video. "Is it like this?"

With just one look, the heart of the demon dragon said gravely: "Yes. I didn't expect it to have mutated to this extent. If we don't stop it, disaster will descend."

"That's not right. The world where the crystal core is located is different from the world where the Mutated Tentacle is."

Chen Fan scratched his head and explained the structure of the two different worlds—the main storyline and the Night Instance—in minute detail.

Subsequently, the heart of the demon dragon fell silent.

Inside the City of the Demon Dragon, cries of alarm continued.

The Central Building was overflowing with flames, nearly swallowing the entire structure.

However, the outer walls of the building seemed to be coated with a layer of special energy; whenever the magma was about to break through, it was intercepted by this energy.

Only a small amount of magma leaked out through the gaps in the doors and windows.

The energy membrane of the Central Building greatly protected the city.

But inside the building, it had completely turned into a living hell.

Except for a very small number of people who escaped before the building was sealed, most were buried in the sea of fire along with the "cargo" inside.

Residents in all directions of the city were shocked by this scene and watched from afar.

In the slums of the city, inside a dilapidated old building, a woman ran out in a panic.

After seeing the commotion at the Central Building, she trembled all over, her hands tightly covering her mouth.

"Son... my son."

A Xin, lying on the deck of the aircraft carrier, seemed to hear her and gave a start.

His eyes slowly opened, and he spoke instinctively: "Mom, I have to go save Mom."

Chen Fan regained his senses and shook his head. "Don't worry, the city will be fine. Once the tower's energy disappears, I will take you in."

A Xin forced himself to endure the pain and stood up. After looking at the situation in the city, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, my lord."

After another while, the heart of the demon dragon finally spoke:

"It's a bit strange. What is attached to the crystal core is indeed the juvenile form of the Tentacle Monster, and the one that spans the sky, although larger than I remember, should also be it."

"Could it be that some force has split the world line into two?"

"You mean..."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes.

Although the City of the Demon Dragon has a special geographical location, situated in a bottomless trench, it is still highly likely to be within the Night Instance.

In other words, the Night Instance and the City of the Demon Dragon are in the same world.

"Could it be that the world we are currently in is the very world where you and the Tentacle Monster existed?"

"But your crystal core was sent to another world?"

Thinking of this, Chen Fan's breath hitched; he thought of a terrifying scenario.

"If... the Tentacle Monster crossed space-time and sent the magic dragon crystal core to its juvenile self, what would happen?"

The heart of the demon dragon instantly gave a thump; it too was shocked by Chen Fan's bold guess.

"If that's really the case, then we're in big trouble."

Its voice was mixed with intense unease: "This will accelerate its mutation. It might even cause rapid mutation during its juvenile stage, which could push its current self to become even stronger."

"By then, it might truly become a god."

"No, we must stop it!"

The heart of the demon dragon even roared the last sentence.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Fan said gravely: "How do we stop it?"

"First go to the juvenile-stage world you mentioned, eliminate the juvenile tentacle, and retrieve the energy core. That way, we can ruin its plan. Then come back and clean it up!"

"Hmm."

Chen Fan nodded gravely. "Let's resolve the matters here first."

Watching the tower on the roof gradually dim, Chen Fan looked at A Xin.

"All the energy in the city has disappeared, and the only currency left is gold coins. How many gold coins do you need to take over this city?"

Upon hearing this, A Xin's lips trembled. "My lord, are you leaving?"

"Answer me." Chen Fan looked at him quietly.

A Xin took a deep breath, his eyes flickering constantly. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said a number:

"Fifty million. Fifty million is enough for me to organize a team and occupy the city."

Chen Fan nodded. "I will give you one hundred million gold coins and ten thousand soldiers. I'll leave this place to you."

After sensing for a moment, he added: "Your mother is very safe, and that Xiao Mio is also still alive."

A Xin's eyes flickered, and then he gritted his teeth hard: "Rest assured, my lord, I will help you control the entire city."

"Go."

Chen Fan nodded. Ten ghost ships, carrying ten thousand soldiers and one hundred million gold coins, followed A Xin's warship.

Watching them leave, Chen Fan spoke again: "Can the tower on the Central Building be taken away?"

The heart of the demon dragon replied: "It cannot be taken away. It is the condensed energy of the Mutated Tentacle, and it will likely disappear soon."

As soon as it finished speaking, the tower on the roof gradually dissipated.

"What a pity."

Chen Fan shook his head, took one last look at the City of the Demon Dragon, and then waved his hand:

"Let's go."

He withdrew his domain from the city and fully extended it to the sea area ahead.

Since the other pirate ships could get out, it meant there was a passage to the outside world ahead.

As long as he followed the direction they were sailing, he would be able to find the way out.

Sure enough.

After flashing continuously for more than half an hour, Chen Fan saw a group of returning pirate ships.

"Discovered that the energy disappeared, so they came back?"

Chen Fan chuckled and shook his head.

Without alerting them, he flashed directly towards their rear.