C577 Nagas Totem Pillar

On either side, iridescent lights streaked by like fleeting rainbows.

Yu Yuan felt as though he was plunging through a tunnel of time and space, on the verge of stepping into an entirely different realm.

Tan Yuan was leading the way, her form flickering uncertainly—now distant, now unexpectedly close.

Space itself seemed alive with infinite shifts, disorienting one's sense of direction with its odd, almost surreal quality.

In this place, Yu Yuan's senses were as if veiled, leaving him unable to perceive anything at all.

Walking alongside him was Yan Qiling, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth, as if he found the world they traversed brimming with intrigue. "A shattered spatial corridor—I wonder where it once led," he mused with a chuckle.

"A shattered spatial corridor!" Yu Yuan exclaimed, startled.

The connections these corridors forged were enigmatic, potentially linking to secret realms or the wonders within the Boundless Land.

They might even lead to the Outland Star River!

Take, for instance, the Soul Transformation Pool in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, marked by the four ancient characters "High Perception Must Wound." It anchored a passage to the Outland Star River.

Could there be something similar deep within the Desolate Swamp? Was it a natural formation or deliberately carved out?

As these thoughts took hold, a sense of foreboding weighed heavily on Yu Yuan's heart, signaling that something extraordinary was afoot.

Bringing up the rear, Zhao Jie and the sister duo from the Bright Sect gazed around with evident delight.

"Mr. Yan truly lives up to the reputation that warranted our Master's personal invitation," Tan Yuan remarked from the lead, glancing back with a smile. "In this fractured and fragmentary place, we rely on Mr. Yan's expertise to maintain order. We lack the mastery of spatial forces and need someone of Mr. Yan's caliber."

"As long as the price is right, anything is negotiable," Yan Qiling declared with an air of confidence.

"Mr. Yan, is your bond with Yu Yuan genuinely that strong?" Tan Yuan shifted the conversation, candidly acknowledging Yu Yuan's real background before continuing, "To my knowledge, your presence has been noted in Jade Peak and the Darkmoon City beyond. Your particular attention to Yu Yuan has left us quite puzzled."

Yu Yuan, now in possession of the Evil Cauldron and esteemed by the Great Sword Immortal Van Heqing, was further elevated by Yu Zhu's presence, making him a figure of considerable interest.

Yu Yuan wasn't particularly noteworthy before. Why did Yan Qiling go to such lengths to protect him?

"Is the investigation that thorough?" Yan Qiling huffed. "It seems the Babel Chamber of Commerce has been infiltrated by your people in high places. Since you're so well-informed, you must also be aware that without Yu Yuan's leniency in the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, I would never have escaped the Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation's bind."

Tan Yuan gave a slight nod. "I'm aware."

"Do you understand the depth of my gratitude?" Yan Qiling pressed.

"Gratitude? I see. I had assumed someone of Mr. Yan's stature wouldn't concern themselves with such matters." With those words, Tan Yuan stepped forward and vanished.

Yu Yuan, overhearing their exchange, felt no fear, yet he was acutely aware of the perilous nature of his journey.

One false move could cost him his life.

Even with Yan Qiling at his side, there was no guarantee of his safety.

The Evil Cauldron and the concealed sword soul within it, present in the Desolate Swamp, offered no assurance of his well-being in the uncharted territories that lay ahead.

This was the first time since his reincarnation that he faced such a dire predicament, utterly devoid of confidence. After all, this place was teeming with formidable beings capable of snuffing out his life in the blink of an eye.

"I'll do everything in my power."

Together, Yan Qiling and Yu Yuan made their way to where Tan Yuan had disappeared, only to be greeted by an expanse of impenetrable white mist.

"Follow me."

Yan Qiling, sensing what lay ahead, firmly grasped Yu Yuan's shoulder and together they leapt into the misty abyss.

Time and space seemed to warp and twist around them.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, they plunged into a desolate world of gray skies and parched, cracked earth, silent and forlorn.

Bare trees towered above, their leafless branches sharp as spears, glinting with an icy chill, ready to pierce stone or flesh with ease.

A towering gray-white stone pillar, from which these massive branches protruded, held captive Loong Tianxiao, a being with the head of a dragon and the body of a human.

The imprisonment was both gruesome and bizarre.

Loong Tianxiao's head loomed above a stone pillar, his massive dragon form coiled around the ashen column like a vine drooping downwards. Sharp branches, spear-like in their rigidity, appeared to sprout from within the pillar itself, plunging deep into the sinuous dragon flesh.

Loong Tianxiao was impaled upon the gray stone pillar, skewered by countless thorny spires.

Yu Yuan had previously encountered an extraordinarily elongated and slender jade dragon in the dense forest, provoked by Lee Yuchan's violent outburst. Now, that same dragon entwined itself around Loong Tianxiao's body.

At first glance, they resembled two entangled serpents, one robust, the other slim.

The robust one was Loong Tianxiao's dragon body; the slim one, the gravely wounded and venom-afflicted jade dragon.

Curiously, beneath the shattered scales of the jade dragon, which clung to Loong Tianxiao's form as if possessed, wounds oozed with blood and venom, yet they were subtly healing.

In contrast, Loong Tianxiao's once mighty body was decaying in places.

A faint purple glow emanated from within the slender body of the jade dragon.

It seemed as though the jade dragon's lethal poison had been transferred to Loong Tianxiao via the gray stone pillar by some arcane method.

Atop the pillar, Loong Tianxiao's eyes were wide with despair and agony, yet they held no focus or vitality, as if blind to the world.

"Huff! Huff!"

Loong Tianxiao's gaping maw heaved with raspy breaths, like a window battered by the wind.

The jade dragon's head rested against his neck, greedily drawing blood and dragon soul from his veins.

"This is not your concern," Yan Qiling said softly, patting Yu Yuan's shoulder to bring him back to reality.

Yu Yuan shifted his gaze from Loong Tianxiao's face, inhaling deeply before saying, "He's going to die—a painful and thorough death."

"That pillar is known as the Dragon Mark Pillar, a relic of the Nagas," Yan Qiling explained in hushed tones. "The Nagas are counted among the ancient demonic races; dragons are demons, after all. The Dragon Mark Pillar is their totem, imbued with many unfathomable wonders. The jade dragon has used it to siphon the venom into Loong Tianxiao, harvesting his blood and dragon soul to fortify itself. The cruelty of its methods is unsparing."

After a brief pause, Yan Qiling spoke again, "You can't change anything, nor can you stop it. Remember, you already set him free once; you owe Loong Tianxiao nothing. His inability to protect himself and his unfortunate demise—it wasn't your doing."

With that, he firmly pulled Yu Yuan to continue walking forward.

Trailing behind them, Zhao Jie of the Bright Sect, accompanied by Chung Miao and Chung Mann, stepped into the scene. The sisters were visibly shaken by the sight and let out a soft gasp.

Zhao Jie, famed as the Charm Spirit and known for her beauty that once stirred the continent, remained unmoved and advised, "Don't get involved in the affairs of others."

Her words served as a warning to Chung Miao to steer clear of any thoughts about Loong Tianxiao, now bereft of his flesh and blood.

"Where is Chen Qingyan?"

Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, his gaze fixed on Tan Yuan, who stood ahead on the barren land, awaiting him.

His bond with Loong Tianxiao was not profound, yet witnessing this hybrid of dragon and human blood fall to such a tragic state was unsettling, though not enough to cloud his judgment.

Chen Qingyan, on the other hand, had come to his aid several times in the Jade Peak and Chilly Wind Valley. Moreover, Chen Qingyan's mentor was a dear acquaintance from his past life.

His encounters with Chen Qingyan were limited to the Jade Peak, but the ties from his past life made the experiences of this one all the more significant. Chen Qingyan's welfare mattered to him in a way that Loong Tianxiao's did not.

"That headstrong girl, shielded by her noble birth and a protective master, has been reckless in the Great Swamp," Tan Yuan remarked, her tone cool. "Had it not been for her connection to the Chen family of the Luan Bird Empire, and if no one had intervened on her behalf, her end would have been no better than Loong Tianxiao's."

Tan Yuan's implication was clear: their leniency was not out of respect for the Sword Sect or Chen Qingyan's master—it was Chen Liangquan's influence that mattered.

In the Desolate Swamp, the esteem of the otherworldly Chen Liangquan held more sway than that of the Sword Sect.

"I'm relieved to hear you're alright."

Yu Yuan quietly exhaled in relief, then turned back to steal another glance at Loong Tianxiao. With a silent, heavy sigh, he muttered an apology for his helplessness and proceeded to walk on with Tan Yuan.

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