75: Chapter 74 The Trapped Zhukun

Zi Yan was confused: "Is there something there?"

Beneath the Fallen Heart Flame lay a land of magma.

Zi Yan's focus had been entirely on the Fallen Heart Flame just now, so she hadn't paid attention to sensing what was beneath the magma.

Now, with Ling Yuan's reminder, she also spread her Soul Power downward, sensing carefully.

"They're some lizard-like monsters!"

Zi Yan also detected some lizard-like but humanoid monsters beneath the magma.

Their bodies were fiery red, and they looked quite ugly.

"I didn't expect these Lizardmen to be living beneath Jia Nan Academy, and their strength isn't weak!"

Just from her investigation, several of them had reached the Dou Zong level.

One had to remember that this was the Northwest Continent, not the Central Plains.

For a tribe of this strength, if they wanted to do something to Jia Nan Academy, it would be far too easy.

Since Zi Yan had discovered them, Ling Yuan followed her lead.

"If such a powerful tribe is allowed to exist, they might pose a threat to the academy. Let's wipe them out while we're at it."

"Alright!"

With that, the two of them dove into the magma.

The magma was very deep, seemingly bottomless.

Even with Ling Yuan's powerful Soul and extremely wide range of detection, he could not touch the very bottom of the magma.

Although he couldn't detect it, Ling Yuan knew exactly what was down there.

The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode. If he didn't have the ability to lift the Seal, Ling Yuan really wouldn't dare to come here.

He was afraid of being trapped here like Zhu Kun, serving as a watchdog.

Not long after they began their descent, several massive Fire Lizardmen lunged from the depths of the magma, launching an attack on the two of them.

Ling Yuan and Zi Yan began a coordinated slaughter of the Lizardmen beneath the magma.

Every time a lizardman was slain, a fiery red bead would burst from its body, floating in the magma.

The beads from weaker Lizardmen were smaller and had a weaker aura;

The beads from stronger ones were larger, and their fire-attribute aura was more intense.

Ling Yuan pinched one of the Dou Zong-level fire beads to examine it.

The bead was fiery red all over and scalding to the touch; the fire-attribute energy contained within was extremely dense and incredibly violent.

If an ordinary person tried to refine it directly, they would surely be blown apart by this violent energy. Only someone with a Heavenly Flame or a special Body Refining Cultivation Technique could suppress the violent energy inside.

"These beads should be similar to Monster Cores, containing pure fire-attribute energy. Let's collect them all; we'll see if they can be refined into Medicinal Pills or used to assist in Cultivation when we get back."

The two of them rapidly hunted the Fire Lizardmen from the shallow depths to the deep, diving all the way down. The Lizardmen they encountered grew stronger, progressing from Dou Wang and Dou Zong to the eventual appearance of Dou Zun-level entities, but they were still no match for the pair.

During the journey, Ling Yuan also found the place where Venerable Skyfire was located.

No Lizardmen approached this place; there was only a set of withered bones and a small cluster of flame.

"I didn't expect there to be a seedling of the Fallen Heart Flame here as well!" Zi Yan was somewhat surprised.

Ling Yuan: "Mhm. It hasn't developed intelligence yet, so it's quite suitable to leave at Jia Nan for nurturing. In the future, not only will it not harm the students, it can even protect the academy."

He didn't care about Jia Nan Academy; he just wanted to take the large Fallen Heart Flame.

Take the large one, leave a small one.

Both sides would be happy.

The small Fallen Heart Flame was drawn over by Ling Yuan.

At this moment, Venerable Skyfire also appeared.

Venerable Skyfire's strength was too weak; he couldn't handle Ling Yuan and Zi Yan.

He could only watch helplessly as the small Fallen Heart Flame fell into someone else's hands.

Venerable Skyfire was different from Yao Chen. Yao Chen was a top-tier Alchemist and possessed extremely high value.

Venerable Skyfire, however, was just an ordinary Dou Zun; at most, his control over fire was relatively strong.

This bit of skill was worthless in front of Ling Yuan.

He had neither strength nor talent.

He was too useless; Ling Yuan wouldn't waste time or effort helping him resurrect.

So Ling Yuan and Zi Yan left that place, leaving him there to fend for himself.

They continued their descent.

It had to be said that this fire lizard tribe was indeed strong.

The strongest one had actually reached the Half-Saint level.

After Zi Yan easily killed it, Ling Yuan put away the fire bead, which was the size of two fists.

Ling Yuan circulated his Soul Power, probing toward the deepest part of the magma.

This time, he finally sensed a terrifying aura coming from below.

That aura was incredibly majestic and domineering, far exceeding all the experts he had ever seen, and much, much stronger than his father, Ling Mie, who had already broken through to Seven-Star Dou Sheng.

It was Zhu Kun!

...

At the very bottom of the magma, there was no churning lava, only a flat expanse of rock. In the center of the ground stood a massive stone gate carved with ancient patterns—it was the entrance to the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode.

Beside the stone gate, a massive Void Ancient Dragon was curled up on the ground sleeping. Its body was enormous, and it emitted a faint aura of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng.

That's right, this dragon was Zhu Kun.

Long ago, Zhu Kun had accidentally discovered this Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave Abode. To find an Opportunity, he had entered alone, only to be tricked by the Seal outside the cave abode.

He wasn't locked inside the cave abode; rather, he was bound outside of it.

The powerful Dou Di Seal held him firmly trapped, preventing him from leaving this area. He was like a watchdog on a leash, and that Dou Di Seal was the "leash" that tied him down.

This Seal was left by the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor and belonged to the level of Dou Di power. Even though Zhu Kun had reached the Late Stage of Nine-Star Dou Sheng, he couldn't break free at all. Even the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan's innate ability to ignore Restrictions was completely useless here.

Over the years, Zhu Kun had also tried to send distress signals to the outside world, but no matter how hard he tried, the signals could not penetrate the Seal to get out.

He had also thought about making a big commotion to attract people from outside, but the Seal not only bound his body, it also suppressed his power.

As a Nine-Star Dou Sheng Late Stage powerhouse, being trapped in this tiny space was truly too frustrating.

On normal days, Zhu Kun really had nothing to do.

Cultivating was useless; his strength had already hit the ceiling.

He could only rely on sleeping to pass the time.

But today, Zhu Kun's originally calm mind suddenly became alert.

He clearly sensed two people approaching the direction of the cave abode.

Furthermore, he also caught a scent that was both familiar and strange—a scent that made his heart tremble.

"This aura... it's my child!"

Zhu Kun snapped his dragon eyes open, his gaze filled with excitement, and his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Back then, when he found this cave abode, he feared Zi Yan would encounter danger if she followed him, so he left the young Zi Yan outside the cave abode and entered alone.

This resulted in him being trapped while Zi Yan was outside.

Having not seen his child for so many years, Zhu Kun naturally missed her.

After the initial excitement, Zhu Kun regained his senses.

"I can't let my child get close and be locked up here like me!"

Having been locked up here for so long, Zhu Kun knew that getting close to this place would result in being trapped.

He couldn't let his daughter suffer such pain as well.

At this thought, Zhu Kun no longer hesitated. With a flash of his figure, he rapidly charged toward the direction where the two auras were coming from.

His current emotions were incredibly complex; he wanted to stop his child from approaching so she wouldn't be trapped, yet he also desperately wanted to see the child he had missed for so many years.

...

On Ling Yuan's side, Zi Yan also sensed the powerful aura below.

Zi Yan's expression instantly became solemn. She hurriedly grabbed Ling Yuan's hand and said urgently:

"Ling Yuan, let's leave here quickly. The person below is very strong, even more powerful than us. If we continue, there will be danger!"

But just as her words fell, she felt a powerful aura instantly close in. The speed was astonishingly fast; in almost an instant, it appeared before them.

A giant dragon rapidly arrived at a position two hundred zhang away from the two of them.

Zi Yan stared at the dragon, stunned: "A Void Ancient Dragon?"

The powerful aura she had just felt was being emitted from this Void Ancient Dragon.

Once Zhu Kun reached that position, he could no longer move forward.

Thus, the purple-gold giant dragon transformed into a human form.

It was a middle-aged man wearing purple-gold robes, his brow exuding majesty.

But when his gaze landed on Zi Yan, the majesty in his eyes was replaced by tenderness and excitement.

"Child... my child!"