"Something's wrong!"
Once she broke free, the Dragon Lady's expression turned grave. She swept her gaze around, then looked horrified.
In fact, Ao Ding had noticed the change without her warning—
He could no longer sense the Great River Water Lord's presence. Worse, the instant he leaped out of the phantom River of Time, his heart began to pound with alarm!
Looking into the distance, he saw Master Soaring gripping a mass of pitch-black energy, his aura surging around him!
Waves of ominous energy emanated from the darkness.
"The Water Lord's Authority Talisman?"
Ao Ding's eyes widened. He could not help sending out his Divine Sense to investigate!
But before his Divine Sense could draw near, a torrent of negative emotions surged toward him like mountains toppling into the sea!
Those emotions instantly stirred the evil thoughts and malice buried in the Black Dragon's heart, filling him with an urge to snatch the Talisman!
Then Chen Cuo glanced his way.
At once, Heart Fire erupted within Ao Ding!
The flames burned away his greedy thoughts and jolted him awake, leaving him afraid.
"The Talisman is in his hands, and the Great River Water Lord's presence is gone. Could he have defeated the Water Lord while we were trapped?"
Ao Ding's shock was beyond words. He even turned to the Dragon Lady beside him and asked, "How long were we trapped?"
He and the Dragon Lady had fallen into the phantom River of Time, where the years washed over them and they lost themselves in illusory scenes. As long-lived beings, neither was particularly sensitive to the passage of time. Their final struggle to break free had brought obstacle after obstacle, leaving their minds muddled. If not for a chance occurrence, they might still have been trapped. He had even less idea