Chapter 148 Unsealing Ao Li

Wrath hovered in the air, rushing straight toward the golden pillars. As the sword blade touched them, the pillars cracked.

All eighteen golden pillars were shattered by Wrath. Ye Sansi laughed and said, "These golden pillars were merely meant to suppress demons and could not withstand a single blow from Wrath. This Taoist priest indeed has some skill, but he was simply relying on this divine artifact. Senior, please stretch your limbs."

With the golden pillars shattered and the formation broken, the black dragon placed its claws firmly on the ground, slowly exerting force to lift its body, and let out a roar that shook the heavens, causing the surrounding trees to sway and tremble violently.

The three of them smiled happily, and Ye Sansi shouted, "Senior, please try casting a spell."

Hearing this, the black dragon looked up into the sky, its eyes radiating a blue light that shot upward into a beam. This beam pierced the firmament, illuminating the sky even more brightly and scattering the clouds in all directions.

For three years, the ordinary people had lived in guilt and self-reproach. Although the black dragon did not mind, these mortals possessed a conscience; they knew who had saved their lives and understood that kindness must be repaid. The liberation of this black dragon was a momentous blessing.

The black dragon soared and circled joyfully for a moment, then slowly descended, transforming into human form and landing before Ye Sansi and his companions. It bowed deeply, and Ye Sansi quickly helped it up, saying, "Senior, such a formal bow is far too much for us juniors to accept."

The black dragon soared into the air once more, circling overhead. The sorrow and grievance of being trapped for three years had finally dissipated, and it roared with joy—a scene that brought great delight to Ye Sansi and the others.

The resounding echoes traveled far and wide. All the mortals who knew of the demon rushed out of their houses; some caught sight of the black dragon, while others merely heard its call, yet all cheered to celebrate the dragon's rebirth.

After the three of them introduced themselves, the black dragon returned the bow and said, "Brother Ye, Brother Li, Miss Liu—I shall address you thus from now on. My name is Ao Li, and I hail from the East Sea, though I was cast out; but let us not speak of that, let us not speak of it."

Liu Lingshuang smiled and said, "You brought it up yourself, why not finish the story? Dragons are such magnificent beasts, and when I was little, I loved listening to their legends."

The black dragon's human form was that of a youth with exceptionally handsome features, a tall stature, and dressed in black robes embroidered with dragon patterns. In the mortal world, he would undoubtedly have been regarded as a brilliant young talent of a noble family.

The black dragon smiled and said, "My friends, judging by the lifespan of my dragon clan, I am about your age, yet judging by your appearance, you seem much older than me. You saved my life, and I am deeply grateful. May I ask your esteemed names so I may address you properly?"

Ao Li waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Oh, absolutely not! We are brothers, and whoever becomes king makes no difference. Though I can no longer return home, the mortal world is truly fascinating! Some mortals are genuinely interesting, and they treat me far better than I was ever treated in the dragon palace."

Li Taiyi chimed in, "Indeed, indeed! I simply love days as happy and carefree as this. Who needs all that power and influence?"

The black dragon scratched his head and laughed, "I am a demon beast. Although I am much stronger than my peers, my bloodline is impure, so I could never become king. When the new king ascended, he could not tolerate my presence, fearing I might pose a threat to him, and thus he plotted against me and had me banished."

Ye Sansi said angrily, "Outrageous! Shall we storm the East Sea and seize that throne?"

He then continued, "We originally intended to head for Jianzhou City, but along the way, we sensed your fierce demonic aura and came down to investigate. After asking questions in a village and learning of your benevolent deeds, we came to rescue you..."

Hearing this, Ao Li lowered his head and spoke softly, "These people are exceedingly kind-hearted. For three years, they never spoke a word to outsiders about my being trapped here, and they remembered me fondly. They treated me better than my own family did. As I leave with you today, I must leave something behind for them..."

Hearing Taiyi's perspective, Ao Li nodded repeatedly and asked with a smile, "Where are you all headed? Might I accompany you?"

"Of course you may," Ye Sansi replied, figuring that having a helper would make things much easier.

Ye Sansi cast a spell to hold back the falling rain, and Liu Lingshuang smiled, saying, "So Ao Li intended to bring rain for these common folk after all. How thoughtful."

Ye Sansi came to his senses and smiled, "Shuang'er, this is no ordinary rain. It is infused with a bit of spiritual power. Falling upon the crops, it will surely help them grow even better. Consider it Ao Li's blessing and absolution for these people."

With that, Ao Li leaped into the air, ascending dozens of zhang into the clouds, where he transformed back into his beast form—a black dragon diving into the clouds.

Ye Sansi and the others watched from below, somewhat puzzled by Ao Li's actions. But after a short while, the sky darkened, thunder and lightning flashed within the clouds, and a heavy rain began to pour.

Ye Sansi said, "Whenever you are ready. We shall lead the way in front, and you can follow. How does that sound?"

Ao Li nodded in agreement, and Ye Sansi and the others took to the air on their flying swords. Ao Li muttered to himself, "Ah, truly marvelous! Mortals actually master such arts of flight. Fascinating, truly fascinating." With that, he soared up to follow them.

The mortals all around, seeing the previously clear skies suddenly open into heavy rain, cheered loudly, knowing that the black dragon bore them no ill will and that this was a blessing from their benefactor.

The rain fell for half an hour before the dark clouds dispersed, restoring the clear blue sky. The air became exceptionally pure and fresh. Ao Li resumed his human form and returned to the side of the three companions, saying, "The matter is settled. When shall we depart?"

It was evident that Ye Sansi was suffering increasingly. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he curled up, clutching his chest. Wrath, sensing its master's distress, immediately slowed its pace and drifted downward, attempting to carry him to a safe place.

The others followed closely behind, their hearts aching for him and worrying over his condition.

Ye Sansi furrowed his brow, and Liu Lingshuang, noticing this, asked casually, "Sansi, what is wrong? Do you feel something amiss?"

"It is nothing. My chest feels a bit tight, an indescribable sort of discomfort."

Sansi scratched his head and laughed foolishly, "Giving you all cause for worry. I am quite fine now, just a sudden wave of discomfort. It feels somewhat similar to the sensation I had when I encountered Big Brother's heavenly tribulation the other day, yet somewhat different—I cannot quite put my finger on it..."

"Heavenly tribulation?" Ao Li thought for a moment before realization struck him, and he cried out, "Oh no! It is my eldest brother. He has come to take my life! We must flee quickly; the formations they cast are no less formidable than a heavenly tribulation!!"

Unexpectedly, Ye Sansi failed to steady himself and fell from Wrath. Ao Li rushed toward Sansi at lightning speed, catching him securely and bringing him safely down to the ground. This was a desolate wilderness, entirely devoid of people...

Ye Sansi opened his eyes, stood up, and bowed to Ao Li in gratitude. Lingshuang and Taiyi also landed and rushed to Sansi's side to check on his condition.

Gripping Wrath in his hand, Ye Sansi gave a cold laugh and said, "Those shrimp soldiers and crab generals made me suffer for quite a while; I certainly cannot spare them. Brother Ao Li, though our acquaintance has been brief, I deeply admire your righteousness and kindness. Today, I shall fight alongside you, but I have only one question..."

"What question?"

The words had barely faded when black clouds gathered across the sky, fierce winds began to howl, and lightning crackled amid the gathering clouds. The group felt an oppressive force weighing down upon them; where they might have previously exerted their full strength, they could now only muster fifty percent.

Ao Li panicked, regretting his actions as he stammered, "It must be that the rain I brought down alerted them, and they have tracked us down! This calamity is inescapable. You must flee quickly, pay no heed to me, go!"

Looking up above the dark clouds, numerous soldiers and generals stood arrayed—all of them sea-dwelling demon beasts. Their leader appeared to be a dragon, its human form displaying a single horn on its head. It stared fiercely down at Ao Li, brimming with killing intent, its cultivation evidently profound...

Ao Li was terrified, his eyes darting about evasively. Seeing this, Ye Sansi immediately pointed his sword at the soldiers and generals, his spirit unyielding as he shouted, "What kind of demonic scum are you, daring to provoke your granduncle? Your days are numbered, and your cultivation is so shallow, yet you seek your own deaths?"

"If you encounter your own flesh and blood, can you kill them?"

Ao Li pondered deeply before replying, "I treated them as brothers. I sought no trouble and merely stole a meager existence here in the mortal world. Why must they hound me to the death and deny me life? If I no longer acknowledge them, and you happen to encounter them, you may kill them—I shall have nothing to say."

"Insolent! Speaking wildly! Just you wait as this king annihilates you to uphold the Heavenly Dao!"

Ao Li quickly stepped in front of the others, spreading his arms as he pleaded, "Eldest Brother, you came for me. Take my life if you wish, but these mortals are innocent and we only met today. Please spare them!"

The lead dragon roared angrily, "A mere mortal dares to be so bold! And you, East Sea soldiers and generals—I am the Dragon King, yet you speak thus? Do you not fear heavenly retribution?"

Ye Sansi laughed coldly, "Heavenly retribution? Your granduncle has breached the Jade Heaven and pointed his sword at the Heavenly Emperor himself. Why should I care about a mere Dragon King?"

The others voiced their assent, and the Dragon King disdainfully gestured toward them, prompting the soldiers and generals to charge forward en masse.

Ye Sansi muttered to himself, "Today I shall teach these shrimp soldiers and crab generals what 'dog eyes looking down on people' truly means. It is just the time to test the power of this artifact."

Seeing Ao Li behave so submissively, Liu Lingshuang quickly stopped him and said, "Don't! Sansi's morale had finally risen, and your words just brought it crashing right back down to the bottom. We agreed to fight alongside you, so how could we break our promise and run away on our own? Rest assured, Sansi has his own ways of dealing with them."

Ao Li lowered his head in silence. Ye Sansi patted Ao Li's shoulder and smiled, "I see their cultivation is not high, what is there to fear? Later, you handle the soldiers and generals, and I will fight your eldest brother. Taiyi, protect Shuang'er."

Ye Sansi brandished his sword while the Dragon King wielded a halberd. They exchanged blow after blow, their strengths remarkably evenly matched—something the Dragon King had never anticipated.

As the soldiers and generals swooped down toward Taiyi and the others, Ao Li saw this, cast aside his cowardice, and surged forward to meet them in battle, taking down a soldier or general with every strike of his palm.

With that, Ye Sansi flicked his wrist, gathering several streaks of red light that condensed into a saber. Throwing it with all his might, the saber expanded to a size of ten zhang, sweeping across the sky to obliterate several demons, shattering the surrounding cloud-vapors and sending the falling soldiers crashing to the earth.

Seeing that Ye Sansi was no easy opponent, the Dragon King lunged forward in person. Ye Sansi mounted Canghua, sword in hand, and soared into the air.

Ordinarily, Ye Sansi could have released Wrath to catch him, but the Dragon King had no intention of giving him a moment to breathe. The tip of the halberd pressed closely against Ye Sansi's neck; if he let go of Wrath, he would be at the mercy of his opponent, making that tactic unviable.

In aerial combat, Ye Sansi was indeed far less practiced than the Dragon King. Although their raw power was comparable, he fell short in technique. The Dragon King seized the opportunity to thrust his halberd directly at Canghua, successfully knocking the mount away. Deprived of support, Ye Sansi plummeted straight down.

Seeing Ao Li rally, Taiyi also drew his sword to join the defense, while Lingshuang pulled out her Spirit-Control Firelock—though she only had one...

In the span of a single breath, Ye Sansi devised a countermeasure. Twisting his wrist, he produced a Tang family hidden weapon, hoping to buy himself a window to escape.

To his dismay, the Dragon King was sharp-witted and perceived Ye Sansi's intent. The moment the hidden weapon materialized, the king thrust his halberd forward, deflecting the projectile aside.

Before he could think of another plan, time had run out, and Ye Sansi crashed heavily onto the ground...