DRIP-DRIP—

From above, cold and damp droplets of water fell into the puddle below, ripples spreading outward, resonating with a hollow, jarring echo.

Walking slowly within the Dragon Prison, Qi Xiu was constantly reminded by the faint, ubiquitous chill around him that this was a land of death, a land of peril, a land of no escape!

As he slightly twitched his nose, sniffing the scents in the air, Qi Xiu's eyes were clear, shining with a hint of brightness. His skills in alchemy and cooking both enhanced his sense of smell, though he seldom used it in normal times. But now, in this silently oppressive Dragon Prison, other methods were impractical to use for fear of alerting the enemy, so these little techniques, instead, came in handy.

With the previously completed map in his mind, Qi Xiu walked while constantly watching for the traces of white figures scattered around him. The Dragon Prison, haunted by Sin Dragon Remnants, was like a mountain of knives with razor-sharp edges. He needed to be cautious at all times and vigilant at every corner. Only then could he ascend safely and descend calmly.

Every ten meters, Qi Xiu raised his hand to lightly touch the wall beside him, leaving behind a Talisman Seal that glimmered with a golden light before sinking into obscurity.

Half the journey to go...

Staring at the fork in the path ahead, which split to the left and right, Qi Xiu pondered briefly before stepping towards the left path. He was moving closer to the area in the upper right corner of the map. Qi Xiu quickened his pace, knowing that the longer he stayed in this danger, the greater the chance of encountering Sin Dragon Remnants. He turned and rounded a corner.

Just as he was near the safe zone and his tension slightly relaxed, Qi Xiu's pupils contracted, and his brisk footsteps halted abruptly. The connection with the white figures in his mind was frantically disappearing. Almost in an instant, the white figures he had placed around as sentries had all vanished.

DRIP-DRIP—

Once again, the accumulated water fell, splashing near Qi Xiu's feet.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a golden Suppressing Talisman was quickly affixed to his forehead, while Qi Xiu took another in his mouth. His hands formed hand seals, guarding his own aura. With a light step, he initiated astral projection, entering the space between reality and illusion. In the blink of an eye, he concealed his aura to the utmost limit!

WHOOSH—

In the instant Qi Xiu completed all this, a terrifying figure that defied the rules of the Dragon Prison appeared before him, twisting and flying through the void.

It was a headless dragon, its body rotten, its dragon scales falling off, its claws stripped of nails, emanating an overpowering stench, elongated and strange. Its neck, still dripping with blood, lifted slightly. A mass of dense black resentment slowly congealed into a ferocious and terrifying, bulging-eyed head of a Sin Dragon, staring fixedly at Qi Xiu's position.

As Qi Xiu faced the Sin Dragon Remnant in silence, though his expression was serious, there was not the slightest fear or panic in his demeanor.

Has it discovered me?

The Sin Dragon Remnant remained in front of him for a long time without departing, yet made no other move. Its bulging, frenzied dragon eyes, filled with countless bloodshot veins, trembled slightly.

Qi Xiu's palm secretly clutched five Yama Divine Talismans as his gaze surveyed the Sin Dragon Remnant before him.

This Sin Dragon Remnant must have sensed my aura. But because I've used the Suppressing Talisman to secure my own aura from leaking out, and I've initiated astral projection, it cannot pinpoint my location. Yet, the indistinct connection makes it aware that I am here. Therefore, it's reluctant to leave.

I can't possibly waste time with this Sin Dragon Remnant. Qi Xiu's gaze shifted contemplatively as he thought of a way to extricate himself.

Got it!

A flash of inspiration struck Qi Xiu's mind, and with a slight lift of two fingers on his left hand, an immense and mysterious power descended in an instant!

Several minutes passed in what felt like an instant.

The Sin Dragon Remnant stood like a statue, motionless, fixated on the emptiness in front of it. Though it was just a tattered remnant, the formidable aura it once had still endowed it with an ineffable and powerful instinct. It could sense that in the void before it, something was there!

Its gaze firmly fixed on the space ahead, the blood dripping from its neck accumulated into a sizable pool on the ground. And just as silence and stillness once again enveloped the surroundings,

DING-A-LING—

A crisp and melodious bell sound suddenly rang out.

In the next instant, over a hundred trails of black smoke surged forth, transforming into figures that resembled Qi Xiu, each astride a stiff, wooden paper horse, moving with jerky hooves but as if riding on the wind, speedily.

Paper Ghosts! Paper Horses!

Originally, Qi Xiu intended to use the same trick, setting the Paper Ghosts into his own likeness to distract the Sin Dragon Remnant, while he took the opportunity to escape. But while summoning the Paper Ghosts, perhaps due to the frequency of his summons, another entity from this Outside the Domain land also appeared within the Shangqing Bell's range of capture.

Paper Horses!

[One of the 800 minor ghosts of the Underworld, with a body like white paper and hooves like the wind, it can traverse mountains and leap over ridges as if on flat ground. Riding on it allows one to slip into the shadow paths.]

Paper Horses were exceedingly fast, allowing them to gallop on the shadow paths, invisible and intangible. Combined with Paper Ghosts, they could better attract the Sin Dragon Remnant's attention. And so, Qi Xiu summoned a hundred Paper Horses with the Shangqing Bell, having the Paper Ghosts ride them to attract and interfere with the Sin Dragon Remnant's attention.

Over a hundred Paper Horse-Paper Ghost pairs bearing Qi Xiu's aura appeared at once, scattering and fleeing in every direction. The Sin Dragon Remnant threw back its head and let out a shrill, piercing howl, instantaneously rolling its body and chasing after them.

Now is the time!

Seeing the Sin Dragon Remnant drawn away, Qi Xiu tore off his disguise in one swift motion, leaping forward as a blurred shadow, lightning flared from his mouth and nostrils. He had indeed activated the Five Thunders Entrapment!

Although the Paper Ghosts can lead away the Sin Dragon Remnant, the appearance of such an extensive, abnormal aura will inevitably attract the attention of all Sin Dragon Remnants within the Dragon Prison. He had to reach the safe zone as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he was very likely to be blocked by the Sin Dragon Remnants that followed, cutting off any chance of survival!

SIZZLE—

The afterimage, carrying sparks of electric light, sprinted along. With a speed difficult for the naked eye to follow, he rapidly closed in on that safe zone.

BOOM!

A sudden, deafening loud noise erupted! The wall beside him suddenly exploded, bricks bursting apart, and a wave of air flew violently!

The Sin Dragon Remnant that burst out opened its gaping maw, and its dragon claws shot towards Qi Xiu! The intensely resentful and malicious aura turned into a black mist, enveloping him completely. An ancient and vast power, far exceeding the Blood-Stained Realm, infiltrated Qi Xiu's body almost instantly. A bone-chilling cold left him stiff all over, making even blinking his eyes an extremely difficult task.

A fine line between life and death!

Just as the dragon maw, formed by the resentful spirits, fiercely snapped down, intending to swallow Qi Xiu into that blood-drenched, decaying, and filthy dragon belly, a sudden burst of golden light shone from behind Qi Xiu!

"DARE YOU!"

A thunderous roar erupted, shaking the entire Dragon Prison! Like the rising sun, a golden dragon shadow—domineering and overlooking all beings—emerged out of the void.

It was none other than the Dragon Binding Rope that had acknowledged Qi Xiu as its master. Sensing the menacing resentment from the Sin Dragon Remnant, this True Dragon Treasure manifested itself spontaneously, its might stirring, poised to directly strike down the rebellious and audacious Sin Dragon Remnant that dared to attack a prison guard.

"ARGH!"

Bathed in the golden light emitted by the Dragon Binding Rope, the Sin Dragon Remnant screamed miserably. It writhed and convulsed on the ground like a salted eel, black smoke billowing from its body and large gouts of foul blood gushing from the wound on its neck.

Just as the Dragon Binding Rope was about to unleash its divine might and erase the Sin Dragon Remnant, below the golden light, Qi Xiu, with veins bulging on his forehead and his eyes bloodshot, strenuously formed a hand seal, uttering a low shout, "Retract!"

WHOOSH—

At the moment the hand seal was formed, the Dragon Binding Rope, which was about to act, turned into a streak of golden light and returned to Qi Xiu's back, restraining its divine power.

After glancing at the Sin Dragon Remnant that was still writhing and wailing on the ground, Qi Xiu turned and left. As he ran, he took several Elixirs from the Golden Cry Jade Beads and stuffed them into his mouth. Feeling the Elixirs dissolve in his stomach, Qi Xiu's pale and bluish complexion finally looked a bit better.

This True Dragon Treasure is indeed powerful… but the consumption is also far too great.

Feeling the still-warm Dragon Binding Rope on his back, Qi Xiu licked his dry and cracked lips. As a pivotal treasure of the Dragon Prison guard! The Dragon Binding Rope was indeed unparalleled in power; the Sin Dragon Remnant that he dared not confront head-on was as vulnerable as a lamb awaiting slaughter before it. However, this Magical Treasure was ultimately meant for the prison guards of the Dao Body Realm, even those of the Primordial Spirit Realm. The consumption was immense!

Even though his soul had stepped into the True Spirit realm, he could still feel it clearly.

If the Dragon Binding Rope had really shown its might and eliminated that Sin Dragon Remnant, his Divine Soul Force would have been drained by ninety-nine percent in an instant. With his soul so severely weakened, it would trigger a series of grave consequences: delayed reactions, drastic changes in temperament, listlessness, and even an inability to control his physical body as he wished. Within this Dragon Prison, there is more than just this one Sin Dragon Remnant. If I had truly allowed the Dragon Binding Rope to eradicate that Sin Dragon Remnant, I would inevitably have died at the hands of other Sin Dragon Remnants due to my weakened soul. That's why I forced myself to use the hand seal to retract the Dragon Binding Rope.

But even the mere appearance of the Dragon Binding Rope for those few seconds had already siphoned away thirty percent of his Divine Soul Force.

Having temporarily escaped danger, Qi Xiu paused briefly to orient himself. But just as he was about to continue on his way, a thick fog suddenly appeared all around, rolling and surging, so dense that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. Along with the arrival of the fog, heavy and agitated footsteps, laden with oppressive terror, drew closer and closer.

The side effect of using the Paper Ghosts to escape had manifested; a large number of Sin Dragon Remnants had noticed the significant disturbance and had directly besieged and encircled the area.

Stopping in his tracks and gazing at the continuously advancing fog, Qi Xiu furrowed his brows, his arms hanging by his sides.

It seems… I have to take a gamble?

As if sensing the murderous intent in Qi Xiu's heart, the Dragon Binding Rope, which had just calmed down on his back, started to stir with streaks of golden light again, restlessly eager to awaken. But just as Qi Xiu hesitated, the wall beside his feet suddenly gave way to a large hole. A cyan-green branch, with several young sprouts still on it, reached out from within. In a very humanlike manner, it gestured towards Qi Xiu, beckoning him.

"Hmm? There's actually a living being here?" Qi Xiu's eyes showed astonishment. He was amazed that in such a desolate place, there could be a living creature.

Seeing Qi Xiu remain frozen in place, the small branch seemed anxious. It stretched further forward and tugged at his trouser cuff to pull him in.

Looking at the branch pulling at his trouser cuff, then at the thick and ferocious fog approaching from behind, Qi Xiu's eyes flickered. His body turned into a stream of water, flowing into the hole the small branch had made.

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