Chapter 110: Breath
Blood dripped from Chen Changsheng’s wrist onto the iron chains, producing a sizzling sound as it began to travel along the carved lines, corroding deeper into the chains. The blood that remained on the surface of the chains evaporated upon contact with the air, igniting into ghostly blue flames that radiated boundless light and heat in all directions.
This was the formidable power of phoenix blood.
The lines carved into the iron chains and stone walls emitted a bright light as the formation slowly activated. An indescribable aura, like spring leaves and autumn fruits, appeared in the space.
That aura seemed to carry the fragmentary power of time itself.
At that moment, the little black dragon reached the ground. Her black hair wildly danced, her beautiful face filled with murderous intent. Within her similarly wild black robes, ice shards could faintly be seen scattering like diamonds!
This signified that she had elevated her aura to its peak.
At this moment, she stood within the sacred domain. Not to mention Chen Changsheng, even a powerful divine general like Xue Xingchuan would not necessarily be her match in single combat.
At this time, Chen Changsheng’s spirit and attention were entirely focused on the thin iron chains, as if he had forgotten everything else around him, even the fatal allure of his own blood… But earlier, when the little black dragon mentioned first blood, vows, and women, his left hand had trembled, indicating that he was actually still lucid. How could he forget the curse of fate that Heaven had placed upon him? How could he forget Senior Brother Yuren’s admonitions to him back in the night temple all those years ago?
Of course, he had already prepared a plan in advance to deal with the potentially frenzied little black dragon.
Two extremely muffled sounds rang out from the stone wall, as if someone had beaten a war drum deep within the rock, or as if two claps of thunder had come from a distant night sky!
In the scene on the stone wall, the hands of the two legendary figures holding the iron chains suddenly erupted with intensely powerful white light, eventually forming two nearly solidified white orbs, about the size of eggs. These two white spheres rapidly traveled along the iron chains, instantly reaching the pair of snow-white ankles.
No one could be faster than these two white orbs. Even the swiftest, Xu Yourong and Nanke, if they were here, could not evade them. Even the little black dragon, who had infinitely strengthened herself after re-entering the sacred domain and could soar over the South Sea and lodge in the Western Continent, could not be faster.
The speed of these two white orbs was like lightning.
Because they were lightning.
Crack! Crack!
Two extremely clear sounds exploded in the quiet underground space.
The little black dragon halted in midair behind Chen Changsheng. Amidst her wildly dancing black hair and robes, bright, incandescent electric light flashed everywhere. The murderous intent on her beautiful face vanished without a trace.
The two thin iron chains on her ankles trembled at high speed, producing a clinking sound, like slender willow branches in a fierce gale, on the verge of snapping at any moment.
Accompanied by a soft cry of anger and pain, she crashed heavily to the ground.
She tried to stand but couldn’t. Her petite form, covered by black robes, continued to tremble slightly, appearing both eerie and possessing an indescribable allure.
No one knew how long passed before the thunderous force that had entered her body through the iron chains gradually dissipated. The electric light and snow shards disappeared simultaneously.
She struggled to sit up, her small face exceptionally pale. A lingering tremor remained in her vertical pupils. The look she gave Chen Changsheng was no longer the frenzied greed of before, but was filled with hatred.
Chen Changsheng turned to look at her, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile.
His face was also very pale at this moment, likely because activating the formation to break the restrictions had caused him to lose too much blood and expend too much of his spirit. He knew very well that doing this would accelerate the eruption of his injuries. In other words, he would die sooner than calculated. But he had still done it without hesitation, because this was something he had promised her long ago.
Before dying, he wanted to finish all these things, so that he could leave with ease.
“What’s going on with your blood? It smells even better than when you sat in meditation and self-destructed back then… I couldn’t control my own thoughts just now.” The little black dragon asked, still shaken.
Chen Changsheng pointed at the two iron chains tied around her ankles, making it clear that he knew the formation left by Wang Zhice long ago would impose powerful restrictions on certain aspects of her.
“Since you knew, why didn’t you tell me in advance so I could be prepared too?”
The little black dragon glared at him hatefully. “You’re such a bad person.”
By this time, the wound on Chen Changsheng’s wrist had healed. The holy light barrier that Xu Yourong had placed on him began to take effect again. The blood on the iron chains had already seeped deep into them or been converted into energy by the formation, so there was no longer any worry about it arousing the little black dragon’s ferocity or attracting other powerful beings.
Chen Changsheng walked up to her and stuffed dozens of pills he had once asked the priests of the Li Palace to refine into her mouth, then gently stroked her back to help her digest the medicinal power.
The little black dragon squinted slightly, seeming to enjoy being stroked like this.
A moment later, she came to her senses. Remembering what Mo Yu had once said to Xu Yourong, she realized she was a young girl, and that holding her like this was indeed inappropriate. She quickly let go.
The little black dragon opened her eyes wide and glared at him, very displeased.
“Of course, I wasn’t completely certain either.” Chen Changsheng paused, then continued to explain her earlier doubt. “Back then, when I took the risk of sitting in meditation and ignited the Starlight Snowfield within me, if you hadn’t saved me, I would have died long ago. Since this life was given to me by you, it’s only right that I return it to you. If I am destined to be eaten by someone, you are probably the only one I could accept.”
Whether it was because of these words or the final word “accept,” the little black dragon became happy, very joyful. Then, thinking of something, a blush crept onto her cheeks.
She lowered her head, refusing to look at him, and whispered, “Pervert.”
Chen Changsheng was stunned. He didn’t understand why she was cursing him or why she was angry. After thinking for a moment, he took out a box and placed it in front of her, saying, “This is for you.”
The little black dragon raised her head and looked at the box, her clear eyes full of curiosity.
“What is it?”
She opened the box, and her beautiful little face was illuminated by a bright light.
The box was filled with rare gold, silver, and jewels.
There were gifts from White Emperor City, gifts from the Li Palace, tributes from the Bureau of Ecclesiastical Affairs, playthings given to him by Tang Thirty-Six, treasures from the Zhou Mausoleum—all kinds of precious items.
This was one-third of his entire wealth.
Of course, this was all that remained after he had divided his property with Xu Yourong last winter.
He had left one-third for Luoluo, one-third for his senior brother, and the remaining one-third for the little black dragon. He considered these the three most important people to him.
Looking at the treasures in the box, the little black dragon’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.
“Do you like it?” Chen Changsheng looked at her, a little nervous, full of hope.
She lowered her head and softly hummed in affirmation.
What dragon didn’t love gold, silver, and jewels? Especially since she had been imprisoned underground for centuries, enduring it all only because of the promises of gold and treasures from the big shots in the Imperial Palace.
And this was something he had specifically left for her.
She raised her head and looked seriously at Chen Changsheng. “You know what? I left my home in the South Sea and came to the human world many years ago, but it was only after I met you that I had some happy days. So I’m really grateful to you.”
Chen Changsheng thought about her experiences, thought about his own life, and naturally felt a sense of shared suffering.
“My happiest days were when I turned into a wandering spirit and followed you out of the capital, all the way to Hanqiu City. I saw many sights and ate a lot of delicious food.”
“The scenery in the Zhou Garden was also nice.”
“I don’t like the Zhou Garden.”
“Why?”
“Because my father died inside.”
Chen Changsheng was silent.
The little black dragon looked at him with a cold smile. “And inside the Zhou Garden, you were all lovey-dovey with that woman, completely forgetting about me. What was there for me to be happy about?”
Chen Changsheng felt helpless. “I didn’t know she was Xu Yourong at the time, and… in my heart, you are a respected senior.”
The little black dragon ignored him and said hatefully, “Anyway, you’re just a fickle and heartless bastard.”
Chen Changsheng wondered where this accusation of fickleness came from. Then he remembered what the little black dragon had said before she tried to eat him. He thought that if that were the case, using such a unilateral vow to constrain someone else’s behavior was truly unreasonable, or rather, childish.
He was not old, but he had always been steady and calm, so naturally, he wouldn’t engage in a childish argument with her.
But seeing him remain silent, she became even more furious. She opened her mouth and blew a breath of air onto his face.
She was a Black Frost Dragon, so the air she blew was dragon breath.
According to logic, when dragon breath landed on him, Chen Changsheng should have been instantly frozen into an ice block, just like the previous times. That was what she had intended, planning to give him a good thrashing. However, she forgot that in the past, she had always met Chen Changsheng in her true Black Frost Dragon form. Now, she had transformed into a human girl. Setting aside her other abilities and realms, at the very least, she could no longer exhale dragon breath.
Her dragon breath at this moment was just a puff of air. This breath was like orchid, faintly fragrant, with no power at all. It simply blew onto Chen Changsheng’s face.
Strangely enough, after the little black dragon had perfectly tempered his body with her dragon blood, ordinary weapons couldn’t harm him. Her breath clearly had no power, yet his face turned red.
The little black dragon was stunned. Then, somewhat foolishly, she blew another breath of air onto his face.
Chen Changsheng’s face grew redder and redder, especially the roots of his ears, which were as red as his destiny star.
The little black dragon blinked in confusion. It took her a moment to realize what she was doing. A surge of infinite shyness flooded her heart, and her small face instantly became brilliantly red.
She felt her face was burning hot, and even her body began to heat up.
She forgot that she was a Black Frost Dragon, capable of freezing even a volcano solid with just a thought.
Volcanoes could be frozen, frost and snow could be melted. She felt her body growing hot and soft, unable to support itself. She slowly leaned forward and rested against Chen Changsheng’s chest.
Her breath was like the wind carrying snow lotuses through a glacier, gently weaving past his ear.
Chen Changsheng’s body felt as if it were frozen, not daring to make any move. Suddenly, he felt a slight dampness.
It was her tongue, like a lilac bud, licking his earlobe.
“It smells so good.” She leaned against his shoulder and whispered softly, “If you really have to die, let me eat you. Die in my stomach.”
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(Back in the underground space, when Zhi Zhi used her dragon breath to discipline him, I’ve been thinking about the scene in this chapter ever since. I swore I had to write it, couldn’t forget it. Now that it’s written, I feel it’s so frivolous, and I love it… Also: This month’s book review event has already started. Everyone can go to the review section to participate. Comments are open until 8 PM tomorrow night. The prizes are as generous as ever, but the merchandise hasn’t arrived yet, so the winning classmates might need to wait a while.)