The Underworld Dragon Submits

"Oh... my stomach hurts so much! Death... Death Underworld Dragon, what... what are you really up to? Why are you trying to hurt me?"

Just as Tathagata was about to seize the Death Underworld Dragon, Chen Tong's agonized voice came from inside! The pain in his voice left the two figures outside stunned, and Tathagata's golden hand withdrew.

"Y-young man, why haven't you escaped yet? Hurry and run!" the Death Underworld Dragon roared.

"Run... my ass! You damned dragon, what... what are you really up to? Why are you trying to hurt me?"

Death Underworld Dragon: "This...?"

"Haha!" Tathagata laughed with relief. "It seems this demon dragon has quite a bit of sense. Once I've captured that boy, I'll enlighten you as well."

As Tathagata spoke, a flash of golden light appeared, and he was suddenly inside the North Sea. He moved so quickly that the Death Underworld Dragon didn't even react in time.

Death Underworld Dragon: "This..."

"Old thief, you finally came in."

Chen Tong knelt on one knee, his left hand braced against the ground and his right hand clenched into a fist. His face contorted in pain as he looked at Tathagata, who had appeared above him.

"Haha... young friend, since you're injured, I naturally had to come in and check on you. There's no need to be so angry."

"Heh..." Chen Tong gave a sinister smile through his pained expression. "Do you self-righteous hypocrites all enjoy being so disgusting?"

Still smiling, Chen Tong slowly got to his feet. Then he spread his arms, and an invisible barrier sealed off his way into the Sea of Death.

"Oh!"

Tathagata glanced at the barrier around them in surprise. "You... aren't injured?"

"Ahahahaha!" Chen Tong laughed carefree. "Oh, Tathagata! Even though you're a saint, I never thought you'd misjudge a situation!"

Tathagata's expression remained calm and unruffled. "It seems I was too hasty. But even so, what can you do to me?"

"No, no, no! You're wrong. I don't want to do anything to you. I only know that I've achieved my goal. I've won."

"Tathagata! Here underwater, neither of us can do anything to the other. You have only one option now: go back to Spiritual Mountain. If you refuse to accept that, then by all means, try attacking me."

Tathagata gave the confident Chen Tong a long look. Then he let out a quiet sigh. He didn't attack; instead, he slowly vanished from sight.

Chen Tong didn't try to stop him at any point! A master could often see through everything with just a glance. Since he knew that attacking would be useless, there was no point in doing it.

"Phew..."

When Tathagata disappeared, Chen Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief. His body, which had been brimming with fighting spirit, went limp all at once! Truth be told, his divine power hadn't fully recovered. He'd only put on a show, pretending to be injured, to save the Death Underworld Dragon.

The Death Underworld Dragon stared blankly at Chen Tong as he walked over, as if it were looking at some kind of monster.

"Th-that guy... he just left?"

"What, you want to get cozy with him?" Chen Tong shot it a look.

"No! What was going on with you just now? Weren't you in so much pain you were about to die?"

"Hmph! I did that to save you."

The Death Underworld Dragon blinked its enormous blood-red eyes, as if it couldn't make sense of anything that had just happened.

"This Death Qi is really unpleasant." Chen Tong once again felt the oppressive atmosphere of the Sea of Death, and his body suddenly grew heavy. "Tell me, you really can't get out?"

"Hmph! If I could get out, how could you still be seeing me here?"

"Fine. I'll detoxify you here." Chen Tong reached out his right hand toward its enormous head, then paused as he recalled something. "There's something you should know. Even if I clear the Death Qi from your body now, as long as you don't leave, the Death Qi will keep gathering inside you. So if you want to get rid of it for good, you have to leave the Sea of Death."

"Sigh. Do you think I don't know that? But I can't get out. That's a fact. I'll take whatever relief I can get for now."

Seeing how resigned it was, Chen Tong felt a little sorry for it. He thought it over, then said, "I do have a way to get you out, but you might not agree to the condition."

"Hmm...?" The Death Underworld Dragon turned its two blood-red eyes toward Chen Tong, feeling a faint, inexplicable stirring inside.

"Let's hear it."

"Call me Master," Chen Tong said without hesitation.

The Death Underworld Dragon froze for three seconds, then snorted. "Hmph. You want me to acknowledge you as my master? Dream on."

"Hmph!" Chen Tong shot it a cold glance, clearly displeased. "You think I'm that eager to have you? The only way to get you out is for you to enter my Sea of Consciousness, and then I can take you with me! To do that, you have to acknowledge me as your master. Otherwise, you can't enter my Sea of Consciousness."

"Weigh the pros and cons and decide for yourself. But once I've helped you absorb the Death Qi this time, I probably won't come back here again."

As Chen Tong spoke, he had already closed his eyes and focused on absorbing the Death Qi from its body.

Streams of black Qi surged from the Death Underworld Dragon's enormous body and poured into Chen Tong's right hand! With every bit he absorbed, his face grew paler. It was clear how much pain he was enduring.

Even underwater, beads of cold sweat soon covered his entire head.

The Death Underworld Dragon's body was enormous, and the Death Qi it had accumulated over the years could be measured in tons! Chen Tong might have been a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, but he weighed only a little over a hundred pounds.

With such a small body, he had to bear an enormous amount of Death Qi. There was no way he could absorb it all at once.

"Looks like I really overestimated myself." After absorbing the last bit of Death Qi he could manage, Chen Tong collapsed to the ground! Sweat poured down his face as he gasped for breath.

"I can't do any more. There's too much Death Qi inside you to clear all at once. This is all I can handle for now."

Seeing Chen Tong sprawled on the ground, drained of strength, the Death Underworld Dragon understood how serious the situation was. It let out a deep sigh, shook its head, and said, "Fine. I'll acknowledge you as my master, but I have three conditions. If you agree, I'll do as you wish."

"Go ahead." Chen Tong wasn't happy about its offer; he felt like he was about to die from the pain.

"First, even if you're my master, our relationship will be one of partnership, not master and servant."

"Fine. What else?" Chen Tong neither objected nor felt like arguing.

The Death Underworld Dragon gave Chen Tong a long look. "Second, I'm free to spend my time as I please, without restrictions."

When Chen Tong showed no objection, the Death Underworld Dragon continued, "Third, you must never ask me to do anything. If you agree to these three conditions, I'll acknowledge you as my master."

"No problem!"

Chen Tong agreed without a moment's thought. After taking a few breaths, he forced his aching body to stand.

"If so, I'm willing to honor you as my master! Master!"

[BOOM!!]

A tremendous voice rang out in Chen Tong's mind. [Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing a hidden quest. You have acquired one Death Underworld Dragon.]