"H-He’s dead?"

"Jiang Chen actually killed Zhao Qiankun? We’re done for, this is a catastrophe..."

Yulan Tianpeng and Si Xiaosheng’s eyes were wide with utter horror.

The eyes of the Tier Two Medium Demon Beast, the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon, flickered, and its massive body trembled uncontrollably. ’This human is too terrifying. I can’t stay here any longer. I have to escape, now!’

A glint flashed in the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon’s eyes. With a violent shudder, the boulders pinning it down shattered into pieces.

It soared into the air, vanishing into the black clouds as it tried to flee.

An icy look flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. He snorted coldly. "You think you can escape?"

BOOM—

Ripples spread through the very air as Jiang Chen shot into the sky, his body enveloped in a brilliant golden glow. Like a streak of Flowing Light, he tore through the air, quickly surpassing the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon and flying parallel to it.

"Holy shit, how are you so fast?"

The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon glanced to the side with its huge eyes, only to see Jiang Chen, bathed in the golden light of True Essence, turn his head and give it a slight smile. The sight scared the Demon Flood Dragon witless. It whipped its massive tail at Jiang Chen, but with a casual wave of his hand and a loud BANG, Jiang Chen caught the tail firmly in his palm.

"Get down!"

With a cold shout, Jiang Chen swung his arm.

The hundred-meter-long body of the Flood Dragon was flung like a whip, sent crashing violently toward the ground.

BOOM—

The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon slammed into the earth, tumbling and clearing a huge swath of vegetation and forest, leveling everything within a several-hundred-meter radius.

Dust and debris filled the air. Then, the world fell silent.

SWOOSH!

Jiang Chen plummeted from the sky, wrapped in golden light like a falling star. He slammed his feet together into the middle of the Flood Dragon’s body. The Flood Dragon let out a miserable shriek, its head and tail arching high into the air as it coughed up a mouthful of its blood, which rained down in a crimson shower.

Jiang Chen walked up the Flood Dragon’s body and stood on its head, saying flatly, "I’ll give you two choices now. Submit to me, or die!"

"ROAR! How could I possibly submit to you—" The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon roared in fury.

But then...

PFFT!

With a single slash of his sword, its spiral Dragon Horn was sliced clean off. Its essence energy dissipated, leaving the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon incredibly weak and screaming in agony.

Jiang Chen said nonchalantly, "Any more nonsense, and I’ll rip out your Dragon Sinew."

As he spoke, the Profound Ice Sword had already pried off a Dragon Scale and cut into the dragon’s flesh, its tip resting against the Dragon Sinew. The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon trembled all over, its eyes filled with terror. It nodded its enormous head repeatedly. "I submit! I submit! I’m willing to submit to you! Master, spare my life, Master!"

"Offer up your Demon Soul," Jiang Chen said flatly.

"Yes..."

The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon shuddered and separated a wisp of its Demon Soul.

Jiang Chen licked his lips. ’If I devour this Demon Soul, it could enhance my Divine Thought Power.’ But then he had another thought. ’This Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon is an expert on the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm. If I want to find the secret stashes and Treasure Vaults within it, I’ll still need him.’ He could only suppress the urge to swallow the Demon Soul.

He forced a drop of Essence Blood from his fingertip and merged it with the Demon Soul. Now, he could decide its life or death with a single thought.

"Master..."

The Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon looked at Jiang Chen uneasily.

It had no idea that it had just had a brush with the Death God.

Jiang Chen nodded and said, "Take me back."

"Yes!"

With a fawning expression, the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon carried Jiang Chen and flew back.

Watching the black-robed youth standing on the head of the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon, Si Xiaosheng and Yulan Tianpeng looked at each other, unable to hide the shock and horror in their hearts.

"Brother Jiang, you’ve caused a huge disaster!" Si Xiaosheng said with a wry smile as soon as Jiang Chen jumped off the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon’s head.

Jiang Chen paused. "What makes you say that?"

"Sigh..."

Si Xiaosheng opened his mouth, then simply shook his head helplessly.

Yulan Tianpeng shrugged and said helplessly, "Let’s not even talk about how Zhao Qiankun was the apple of Zhao Qinghuo’s eye. With him dead, Zhao Qinghuo will definitely go berserk. I’m afraid by the time we leave the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm, he’ll have already brought the entire Qinghuo Gang here. And then there’s Zhao Qiankun’s sworn brother, Luo Qing. He’s a Core Disciple at the Peak of the True Martial Realm, and the Luo Family is one of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families of the Imperial Capital. If Luo Qing finds out you killed Zhao Qiankun, he definitely won’t let you off!"

"With our two families helping you, Zhao Qinghuo won’t be able to stir up too much trouble, but that Luo Qing..." Si Xiaosheng trailed off.

A Core Disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect, and a member of one of the Ten Great Aristocratic Families of the Imperial Capital.

Either of those titles was enough to make Si Xiaosheng feel despair.

But Jiang Chen just waved his hand and smiled. "Don’t worry about it. I’ve already killed the man, so regrets are useless. As for Zhao Qinghuo and Luo Qing... if they leave me alone, fine. But if they dare to cause trouble for me, I don’t mind sending them to reunite with Zhao Qiankun’s family!"

’A Core Disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect is a big deal?’

’Even the great Lan Haichen is on my kill list.’

Of course...

Jiang Chen didn’t say this out loud to the two of them. He looked at the Dragon-Horned Demon Flood Dragon and said, "Tianpeng, Little Saint, I’ve subdued the Flood Dragon Demon now. I have some other things to take care of, so I won’t be traveling with you. In a bit, I’ll have the Flood Dragon Demon take you to find Little White and Afa. Then you can go with the Flood Dragon Demon to find those secret stashes and treasures!"

"What about Zhao Qinghuo and his men..." Si Xiaosheng said.

Jiang Chen smiled. "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it." He looked at the Flood Dragon Demon. "Flood Dragon Demon, take good care of them!"

"Don’t worry, Master!"

The Flood Dragon Demon said respectfully.

Jiang Chen nodded. After watching the Flood Dragon Demon carry the two of them into the sky, he finally took out the Secret Map of the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle. After confirming his direction, he leaped into the air and flew quickly toward the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

* * *

「Yulan Mansion.」

The Qinghuo Gang had a headquarters in Yulan Mansion’s East City, a sprawling complex of buildings large enough to house over ten thousand people.

In the main hall of the headquarters...

Zhao Qinghuo, dressed in a purple and black python-patterned robe and sporting a thick beard, was respectfully toasting a young man in ornate clothing. "Young Master Luo, this is a hundred-year-old vintage I’ve been saving. Please, have a taste!"

"Thank you, Gang Leader Zhao."

The ornate-robed Young Master Luo replied flatly, merely raising his cup slightly before setting it aside. "Gang Leader Zhao, there’s no need to be so polite. My Young Master and your Young Master are sworn brothers. As for you succeeding Yulan Shouqing as the Mansion Master of Yulan Mansion, my Young Master has already sent people to handle it. I believe there will be results soon!"

"Excellent! Hahaha!" Zhao Qinghuo laughed heartily.

Just then...

A frantic voice suddenly came from outside the door. A Qinghuo Gang expert stumbled in, shouting, "Gang Leader, something’s wrong! Something terrible has happened...!"

"You bastard! Can’t you see I’m hosting an honored guest? Whatever it is, it can wait!" Zhao Qinghuo’s expression darkened, and he growled.

The oppressive might of a True Martial Realm Sixth Stage expert slammed down, causing the Martial Arts Sixth Stage Martial Artist to tremble, his face as white as a sheet. He collapsed to the floor. "Gang Leader... it’s the Young Master... something’s happened to the Young Master..."

"Hm?"

Zhao Qinghuo froze.

The young man in ornate clothes also raised an eyebrow. "What exactly happened?"

"The... the... the Young Master... he..."

"What happened to the Young Master?! Spit it out!" Zhao Qinghuo grabbed the expert and lifted him up, roaring like an enraged lion.

The Martial Artist’s voice trembled. "I... I just discovered that the Young Master’s Soul Jade Scroll has... shattered... The... the Young Master... he’s dead!"

After saying this, he collapsed to the ground like a deflated ball.

"What?"

Zhao Qinghuo staggered back three steps with a CLATTER, knocking over a table of food. "How could this be? How could Kun’er die? How? ROAR... How could Kun’er possibly be dead?"

"Gang Leader Zhao, this is not the time for grief," the young man in ornate clothes said as he walked over. "The most urgent matter is to find out how the Young Master died and avenge him!"

"Right, right! Revenge! I want revenge!"

Zhao Qinghuo nodded fiercely, his eyes erupting with a cold, venomous light that seemed to want to devour someone whole. He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "No matter who it is, whoever dared to kill my Kun’er, I will make you wish you were dead! You will be buried with my Kun’er!"