104: Chapter 104 Fierce Battle

Ever since Li Xiuyuan and Gu Xiao entered the Ancient Grotto-Heaven, the entrance had been quiet for a while.

However, at some unknown moment, a thick red mist surged within the Ancient Grotto-Heaven, spreading through the air like congealed blood.

Soon after, several ripples of spiritual energy came from the entrance, and a few figures leaped in one after another, landing on the ground.

Miss Lu, who had entered first, looked around, feeling quite incredulous at the scene inside this Ancient Grotto-Heaven.

She frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping across the dark red firmament and the scorched, cracked earth, a trace of imperceptible shock flashing in the depths of her eyes.

Lin Shu, who landed right after her, looked left and right, twitching his nose; he smelled the thick, almost tangible scent of blood, and his brow furrowed as well.

"So this is what the scene inside an Ancient Grotto-Heaven is like?" he asked in a low voice.

Miss Lu's voice was cold as she spoke: "The Dragon Lord's various Ancient Grotto-Heavens all have different scenes. According to the legends passed down, this Ancient Grotto-Heaven before us is likely the place where, after the Dragon Lord personally slew a deity, he couldn't pull the dragon lord blade out from the deity's body, so he took the entire battlefield into the Ancient Grotto-Heaven."

She paused, her gaze lowering slightly: "Besides this, there are many other types of Ancient Grotto-Heavens."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu nodded while wearing a look of sudden realization: "I see. In other words, many people have died here—no wonder the scent of blood is so heavy."

Before he could finish speaking, a deafening rumble suddenly came from the end of the red mist.

The commotion was so great that it made the ground tremble slightly.

"What's going on?"

Lin Shu squinted into the red mist, but his vision was limited; the red mist was as thick as a wall, and he couldn't see what was happening over there at all.

Miss Lu said nothing, tapping her feet lightly, her figure moving like the wind as she dashed toward the direction the sound came from.

The others hurriedly followed.

Watching her back, Lin Shu's expression shifted slightly, and a cold sneer curled his lips: "What's with the cold act, acting all aloof? If it weren't for the fact that the Society President is willing to accept the Lu family, I would have killed you, you tactless bitch, a long time ago."

He didn't hide these words, nor did he even lower his voice, because Lin Shu had said similar things several times before, and once, he had even said it directly to Miss Lu's face.

Yet, what he got in return was still indifference, not anger.

...

The group moved quickly through the red mist, their footsteps rapid and cautious.

Before long, they rushed out of the red mist, and the scene ahead suddenly presented itself before their eyes.

They saw a silver-white White Flood Dragon locked in a struggle with a dried corpse.

The dried corpse had a large hole pierced through its chest, visible from front to back, and it was holding a blood-red long blade in its hand, with a dull luster flowing along the blade.

The White Flood Dragon and the dried corpse were locked in a fierce battle, and for a moment, it was impossible to tell which side held the advantage.

The dried corpse's movements were without pattern, swinging the blade like a mad beast; every strike was wrapped in intense death energy and the smell of blood, and wherever the blade passed, the air seemed to wail.

Li Xiuyuan did not meet it head-on, his dragon body moving flexibly in the sky, dodging several fatal slashes with extreme agility.

Every time the blood-colored long blade missed, it would carve a deep trench into the mountain of bones, sending bone fragments flying.

"Quite a spectacle."

"That thing in the dried corpse's hand should be the dragon lord blade, right?"

Lin Shu crossed his arms, watching the struggle with great interest.

Miss Lu's gaze, however, was not on the battle.

She stared at the wound piercing through the dried corpse's chest, then looked at the blood-colored long blade in its hand, her pupils flickering slightly.

"A deity dead for many years, yet the physical body has not decayed; it is truly worthy of being an existence that transcends mortals."

Lin Shu's expression froze: "That dried corpse, is it the deity who died at the hands of the Dragon Lord all those years ago?"

Miss Lu still gave no response, her faint, delicate brows knitting together, her forehead creased with confusion.

Why would that White Flood Dragon be fighting this dried corpse? This dried corpse had long since died at the hands of the Dragon Lord; after such a long passage of time, why had it come back to life now?

This had completely exceeded the Guiliu Society's plans, and everything that followed would be an unpredictable variable.

"The recovery plan for the dragon lord blade must be changed; think about what you should do."

Miss Lu said.

Lin Shu's expression turned stern. According to the Guiliu Society's plan, after entering this Ancient Grotto-Heaven, they would bring out a statue containing the Dragon Lord's remnant consciousness, and the dragon lord blade, this natal object, would fly over quickly once it sensed the Dragon Lord's remnant consciousness.

As for that White Flood Dragon, there was no need to pay attention to it, as long as they could ensure the dragon lord blade was brought out.

But now, the deity's dried corpse had suddenly revived, and it was holding the dragon lord blade, locked in a fierce battle with the White Flood Dragon; if the Guiliu Society joined in, it would definitely trigger a chaotic melee.

And there was another problem: why did that deity's dried corpse suddenly come back to life?

"I have a way."

Lin Shu narrowed his eyes, a chilling sneer appearing on his face: "Back then, this deity got into a fight with human cultivators, and that was how the Dragon Lord seized the opportunity to become the final victor."

"We can also replicate what the Dragon Lord did in the past. We'll wait until this White Flood Dragon and the deity's dried corpse have exhausted themselves, then bring out the Dragon Lord statue to summon the dragon lord blade, and while we're at it, kill this lingering White Flood Dragon. Two birds with one stone!"

"This way, we won't need to go look for that fallen dragon, and we can welcome the Dragon Lord's resurrection even faster."

This was indeed a good plan: watch the fire from the other side of the river, then reap the benefits of the fisherman.

The others had no objections, but Miss Lu was not interested in these plans. She was only responsible for doing her own part; everything else had nothing to do with her. In fact, if it were up to her to decide, she wouldn't have anyone kill Fang Jingxuan and his group.

Although that would invite retaliation from the Jiantian Bureau, it was also too extreme and more likely to lead to unpredictable accidents.

"Since that's the case, you all wait here."

After Miss Lu finished speaking, she turned and walked into the red mist.

After her figure disappeared, a Guiliu Society member walked over to Lin Shu's side: "She doesn't have her mind on the Dragon Lord's resurrection at all."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu's eyes flashed with a hint of gloom: "That's only natural. The fundamental reason this bunch from the Lu family joined the Guiliu Society is not to resurrect the Dragon Lord."

"Many years ago, the Lu family was still among the first batch of Ancient Families. At that time, the Ancient Families were linked together, working for the authorities and bound by official power; in return, the authorities would provide protection, allowing the Ancient Families to continue."

"But later, an accident happened. The old master of the Lu family was wiped out by a mysterious force, and the Xia Kingdom couldn't investigate it no matter what. The Lu family simply handed over their array formations and talismans, and withdrew from the Ancient Families."

"This whole family is very afraid of death. They want to personally construct a paradise to live in and continue their lineage. The Dragon Lord's Ancient Grotto-Heaven happens to meet their needs, which is why they joined the Guiliu Society."

The member frowned: "If their hearts aren't in this, I'm afraid it will bring some trouble."

Lin Shu was dismissive: "That won't happen. Mr. Jiang said that they are only responsible for doing their own part and won't do anything out of line. Even if this woman Lu Shuang is very annoying, she still knows her place."

As for Lin Shu's gossip behind her back, though Lu Shuang heard it all, she still ignored it, instead focusing more of her thoughts on this Ancient Grotto-Heaven.

The Lord River God's Ancient Grotto-Heaven involves many profound methods. If she could crack them all and personally mold a world of her own, the Lu family could avoid all the hustle and bustle of the mortal world and live within it, greatly avoiding contact with the outside world and not getting entangled in worldly karma.

While Lu Shuang was exploring the Ancient Grotto-Heaven,

the battle on the other side had already entered a white-hot stage.

Li Xiuyuan used all his methods, but he couldn't inflict any serious injuries on the surface of the deity's dried corpse, nor could he cause any obstruction to it.

In the distance, Gu Xiao stood on the ground, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

With his level of strength, he couldn't join the battle at all. Going up there would be suicide; he didn't even have the qualifications to be cannon fodder for Li Xiuyuan.

Wearing the nuo mask, he stared fixedly at the dried corpse, his gaze moving with every swing of the dragon lord blade.

After watching for a long time, suddenly, he made an unexpected discovery.

Every time the dragon lord blade swung, a very faint golden halo would appear on the blade, flickering in and out of existence, almost blending into the surrounding red mist.

And the deity's dried corpse itself had no spiritual energy fluctuations at all, like an empty shell.

"That pale golden halo is very similar to the divine blood from before, could it be..."

"Did this deity's remnant consciousness attach itself to the dragon lord blade?!"