The attack happened too suddenly. Furthermore, Xiao Chen was somewhat careless, and this dragon claw simply moved too quickly.

“Pu ci!” The dragon claw managed to grab Xiao Chen. Its three talons closed in on him like an eagle catching a chick. They were like three mountains pressing down on him; the feeling was hard to bear. His bones gave off cracking sounds—even breathing was difficult.

Xiao Chen’s first thought was to use his Primordial Energy to break free. However, he hesitated when he remembered the many eyes on him.

It was this hesitation that brought him mortal danger.

The ground gaped open amid the loud rumbling. A gigantic bone dragon flew out from the ground. The tail of the dragon, which was like a reverse hook, quickly stabbed towards Xiao Chen.

The reaction of Yi Ling and the others was to retreat quickly and not to save Xiao Chen.

This was very normal. When facing a sudden danger, they had to figure out the situation first before making their moves. Only then could they guarantee their own safety.

This was also why these Martial Emperors wanted to recruit half-step Martial Emperors—to use them as cannon fodder.

Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes and happened to see Old Hong reveal a cold smile while looking at him in disdain.

I will definitely settle this account with you.

Xiao Chen cursed in his heart. The most important thing to do now was dealing with this approaching dragon tail. If it pierced through his chest, even if he did not die, he would still be crippled.

He roared ferociously and did his best to struggle free. At a critical moment, he managed to wrest his right arm free. Then, without thinking any further, he threw a palm strike.

The dragon tail was like a spear, immediately piercing through Xiao Chen’s palm. Blood spurted out, and he cried out in pain.

However, he managed to block this deadly strike. The dragon tail quickly pulled out, preparing for a second strike.

With one arm wrested free, Xiao Chen could move about more easily. He used his palm as a saber and smashed it heavily on the dragon claw.

“Ka ca!”

When Xiao Chen chopped down with the palm saber, he did not use his saber soul. Even so, the dragon bone unexpectedly did not break. Fortunately, this saber strike succeeded in loosening the dragon’s grip significantly.

After struggling hard, he took advantage of this opportunity to escape. As a result, the dragon tail attack struck nothing but air.

When Xiao Chen landed on the ground, he slapped the ground with his left hand. Then, he used Thunder Dragon Steps to move in a huge arc, flying to the back of the group.

Old Hong thought, He is still not dead after this. This fellow is really fortunate.

“Luckily, it is only a lone three-clawed bone dragon. It is not too dangerous.”

“Old Hong, take care of this. There is no need to continue wasting time here.”

Yi Ling and the red-haired Martial Emperor studied the surroundings and quickly came to this conclusion. Then, Old Hong’s figure flashed as he drew a sword and charged over, starting a huge battle with the bone dragon.

It was clear that Old Hong did not use his true strength, only about forty percent. Even so, he still held the upper hand.

As Old Hong swung his sword, he revealed a sword soul that was seventy percent comprehended. With each swing of the sword, cracks appeared on the body of the bone dragon.

After a hundred moves, the bone dragon turned into a multitude of shards falling to the ground as a result of the sword Qi. However, Old Hong was not injured at all.

Xiao Chen watched carefully, not missing a single detail.

He wondered if he could defeat this three-clawed bone dragon using only forty percent of his strength and without his Cycle Banner. He concluded that it was absolutely impossible.

Furthermore, this Old Hong was not injured at all. Although he did not have a very good character, his strength as a First Heaven Martial Emperor was not an overstatement at all.

“You, continue scouting ahead. You did well earlier,” Old Hong said coldly after withdrawing his sword and looking at the bloodied Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen felt angry. This old fellow will really not rest until he causes my death.

Yi Ling objected, “Change him for someone else. He is injured. Let him rest for a while.”

Old Hong nodded and then looked around. The six half-step Martial Emperors all turned nervous. Xiao Chen’s earlier life-and-death experience and the Martial Emperors just coldly watching scared them all.

These Martial Emperors did not treat the half-step Martial Emperors as companions, either. Without being sure of the risk, even if the bone dragon killed the half-step Martial Emperors, the Martial Emperors would not lend a hand to help.

If it had not been Xiao Chen but one of them earlier, they definitely would not have been able to escape that danger easily.

“In that case, you go. Weren’t you trying to show off earlier? I’ll give you a chance to perform now,” Old Hong said with a cold smile as he looked at Wang Yuzhu.

The other half-step Martial Emperors celebrated in their hearts. Fortunately, they did not get too close to Xiao Chen. Otherwise, they would be the unfortunate ones.

Xiao Chen, this old man is really atrocious. He is just a First Heaven Martial Emperor. In the Martial Emperors’ circle, he is a bottom feeder, yet he is so narrow-minded. This is simply too disgusting, Ao Jiao said in outrage from the Immortal Spirit Ring.

Don’t be impatient. Right now, I still need to rely on them to bring me to the depths of the Distant Sea Dragon Grave. I feel that this place definitely has a connection to me. This is not the right time to make a move. Later, when I’ve figured him out, I will find an opportunity to make him pay, Xiao Chen said as he bandaged the wound on his hand.

How’s your injury?

It is somewhat problematic. That bone dragon’s body contained dense Death Qi. I can’t recover quickly. However, there is no need to worry; I just need to spend some time. Help me memorize the path Yi Ling takes. When we return, we will not need to rely on them.

Right, don’t worry. I’ll remember every single step that he takes.

Speaking of which, this was really strange. Even the group of Martial Emperors found that fog tricky to deal with. However, Yi Ling did not seem to be affected at all.

For the next part of the journey, Wang Yuzhu scouted ahead, and Yi Ling gave directions from the back.

At first, things were rather peaceful. However, after the group entered deep into the fog, it became much more dangerous. Occasionally, many unpredictable dangers appeared.

The three-clawed bone dragons started to appear in groups. Before long, Wang Yuzhu got injured, and they swapped him out with another half-step Martial Emperor.

The five other half-step Martial Emperors, who were originally celebrating Wang Yuzhu’s plight, all ended up taking turns to scout; no one could avoid it. There were several extremely dangerous moments when they nearly lost their lives.

After walking for four hours, the group finally escaped the fog. A desolate land of volcanoes and lava appeared in front of them.

The six half-step Martial Emperors were all wounded in the journey. However, the Martial Emperors were all spirited and uninjured with nary a speck of dust on them.

The value of cannon fodder clearly showed itself without a doubt.

Without these half-step Martial Emperors to risk themselves to scout the way, even with the strength of these Martial Emperors, they would still end up fatigued while traveling through the fog, unable to maintain their peak state.

Ye Chen, this operation seems somewhat strange. I am aware of some of the things that go on in the Distant Sea Dragon Grave. The area of the fog cannot even really be considered the periphery. There should not be so much danger. This is too irregular. Wang Yuzhu sent a voice projection to Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen felt worried. Could it be because of him? From the moment the group entered the fog, the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit, which had turned into a Yuanying, had been agitated, wanting to roar out loud.

However, he kept the Azure Dragon Martial Spirit suppressed all the while. Could they be related?

We entered a venture of dubious merit. Now, we can’t even run if we want to. If you have any trump cards, you’d best leave early, Wang Yuzhu continued, his tone filled with helplessness.

Xiao Chen replied in secret, Thanks. However, in his heart, he felt it was not time to leave yet.

On the other side, the red-haired Martial Emperor looked at what lay ahead, which was rife with black clouds and lava. Then, he asked Yi Ling, “This is the place?”

An ancient dragon-shaped key appeared in Yi Ling’s hand. This key was so red that it seemed like it had been forged from fire. It looked very peculiar.

Yi Ling held the key and scanned the place. Then, he nodded and said, “It is definitely here. However, this is a plain of fire. It is not going to be easy to cross.”

“The sky is turning dark. Let’s rest tonight. Those half-step Martial Emperors also need some time to treat their injuries.” A look of joy flashed in the red-haired Martial Emperor’s eyes as he made arrangements for the other Martial Emperors.

Soon, the Martial Emperors started to work together to draw a formation. Then, a simple campsite appeared.

After that, Old Hong made arrangements for the half-step Martial Emperors as well as instructed them on some of the key points of the formation. When it came to Xiao Chen’s turn, he said, “Go outside of the formation. Tonight, you will stand guard and alert us of anything. Remember, go farther away. That way, if anything unexpected happens, you will be able to inform us in advance.”

Xiao Chen’s expression changed under the mask. This plain of fire was extremely strange. He did not know what kind of danger there would be at night. Furthermore, the foggy area was behind them. He did not know whether any ferocious beasts would come out of it or not.

“What’s wrong? You want to disobey orders?” Old Hong asked coldly.

A murderous intent flashed in Xiao Chen’s heart. However, he did not say anything, directly standing up and walking out of the formation.

This was a formation that Martial Emperors laid personally. Even though it was rushed and looked simple, its defense was not weak at all.

After Xiao Chen walked out of the defensive formation, eight nodes around the formation immediately lit up. Then, they connected to each other and formed a light ring encasing the entire campsite.

Upon careful observation, he discovered that the formation seemed vaguely connected with space, involving the many mysteries of the state of space.

“Old Hong, this is not really right. There are too many unknown dangers in this place. Sending a Consummation quasi-Emperor out of this Mysterious Underworld Formation, isn’t this too overboard?” Yi Ling said with a frown as he watched Xiao Chen leave.

Old Hong smiled and replied, “Young Master Yi, it is precisely because there are too many dangers around. That’s why we need a person to stand guard at night. The night is long. We can’t be the ones to stand guard ourselves. Furthermore, this fellow seems to be good at Movement Techniques. Getting him to stand guard at night is the best choice.”

The other Martial Emperors felt indifferent. It was just a Consummation quasi-Emperor that was not related to them at all. Xiao Chen’s life or death mattered not to them.

When Yi Ling saw the situation, he did not say anything. Indeed, a Consummation quasi-Emperor did not matter to them.

However, he kept feeling that this mysterious masked youth possessed an aura that seemed familiar to him, only he could not recall where he saw it before.

Old Hong revealed a cold murderous intent in his eyes as he thought, Just an insignificant Consummation quasi-Emperor and you dare to fight with me. I can play you to death at any time.

---

Outside the formation, Xiao Chen kept walking straight on for more than twenty-five kilometers before stopping.

The boiling, hot lava under his feet occasionally spewed out flames. Volcanoes of various heights were visible in the distance. These volcanoes did not seem to stop erupting. Lava shot up into the sky constantly from their mouths.

This never-ending activity resulted in the sky remaining overcast as various loud explosions resounded in the sky like thunder.

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