No flying

The moment the restriction opened, the scene erupted.

The human cultivators' eyes went red.

A few impatient ones, terrified someone else would snatch the treasures first, howled as they rode their swords inside. Their figures vanished into the dark entrance, their auras disappearing instantly, as though a gaping maw had swallowed them.

Those behind them felt their hearts pound at the sight.

"Something's wrong..."

A more seasoned cultivator frowned and speculated, "Those scales weren't just keys. They might have triggered other formations too. This opportunity probably won't be so easy to claim..."

His words brought quite a few people back to their senses.

Everyone knew the old flood dragon meant them no good. This was plainly an invitation into a trap, but with heaven-pouring riches right before their eyes, who could resist reaching out?

After a brief hesitation, more people gritted their teeth and charged inside anyway.

Fortune lay amid danger-the bold ate themselves to bursting, while the timid starved!

Things were much simpler on the Demon Race's side, without so many twists and turns.

Black Mountain roared, "Brothers, charge!" His enormous bear body barreled inside at the head of the pack.

Red Wind turned back and growled at Si Chen, "Stay close, brother!" Then he too shot inside as a crimson blur.

The other demons howled and poured toward the entrance all at once, throwing the scene into chaos.

Si Chen, however, was in no hurry to move.

His gaze fell on the unconscious, one-armed cultivator on the ground.

The man had insulted his parents moments ago, yet now lay discarded like a filthy rag.

The older cultivator who had shoved him earlier had already retreated into the crowd, his eyes evasive. Clearly, he wanted nothing more to do with this burden.

The people around him also steered clear. No one spared the unlucky man another glance.

Si Chen raised his hand. Dazzling lightning gathered in his palm again, and another Thunderbolt Spear formed in an instant.

Squelch!

Under everyone's horrified gaze, the lightning spear became a bolt that pierced straight through the unconscious cultivator's skull.

The man died without so much as a grunt.

That strike gave everyone nearby who had yet to enter a tremendous fright.

"He... how does he still dare attack?!"

"The man was already crippled, and he still wouldn't let him go... he's simply... vicious!"

"Si Chen, the evil cultivator from Ancient Gaze City... those rumors from two years ago... they really weren't smoke without fire!"

No one had expected him to deliver the killing blow without hesitation when his opponent was already badly wounded, unconscious, and no longer a threat.

Cries of alarm and muttered curses rose all around. Everyone looked at Si Chen with fear and wariness.

This youth looked so young, yet struck with such ruthless decisiveness. He was like a cold-blooded fiend!

"You little beast, die!"

Seeing that all the demons had entered and Si Chen was alone, how could Lü Ci let this perfect opportunity slip away? His Nascent Soul Realm pressure erupted at full force! With a furious roar, he attacked with his sword again!

Si Chen did not meet the attack head-on. His figure flickered as he activated Thunderbolt Flash, turning into a zigzagging streak of lightning. In an instant, he appeared at the entrance dozens of yards away.

He likewise regarded Lü Ci, and even the entire Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, as enemies he had to kill, weeds to be torn out by the roots.

He looked calmly back at Lü Ci. "I'll wait for you inside."

With that, he stepped into the deep, dark entrance, Red Bean perched on his shoulder.

The moment Si Chen crossed that dimly glowing threshold, he felt the ground vanish beneath his feet. His surroundings spun wildly, and he plunged uncontrollably downward.

He instinctively tried to ride the wind and steady himself, only to discover that invisible chains seemed to bind him. His spiritual power flowed sluggishly, and he could not fly at all.

There was something strange about this place. It suppressed flight.

Before he could think further, several short cries of alarm reached his ears.

He glanced down and saw quite a few human cultivators who had entered before him not far below. Like him, they were now dumplings tumbling into a pot, flailing their limbs with terror written across their faces.

Below them lay an enormous, dark-green lake seething with eerie bubbles!

Its thick waters churned constantly, giving off a strange stench of decay. Even breathing in a trace left people dizzy.

Some unlucky souls had already fallen into the lake.

"Aah-!"

Screams so agonized they scarcely sounded human rang out at once.

The instant those cultivators touched the dark-green water, they were like ice meeting magma. Their protective spiritual light collapsed before it could last even a single breath, and their flesh melted and peeled away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, only a few stark white skeletons remained, bobbing among the bubbles. They had not even had a chance to struggle.

The water in this lake was terrifyingly corrosive!

"Help! Help me!"

"What the hell is this place?!"

"Senior brother, give me a hand!"

Chaos filled the air. Some cried and screamed, some tried to grab those beside them, and others frantically reached into their robes for magic treasures.

Si Chen frowned slightly.

He was just about to see whether he could forcefully activate Thunderbolt Flash when the jade bracelet his mother had given him also glimmered faintly on his wrist.

Just then, Red Bean, who had been sitting quietly on his shoulder, suddenly let out a clear, ringing cry.

"Chirp-!"

The little bird sprang from his shoulder. A soft yet steady glow spread over its crimson feathers, and its body rapidly grew within the light.

In the blink of an eye, it became a great crimson bird with a wingspan of more than ten feet!

Though still not particularly enormous, it looked magnificent. Radiance flowed over its scarlet feathers like burning flames.

It circled lightly, its broad wings stirring the heavy air below, and caught the falling Si Chen securely on its back.

Red Bean proudly raised its head and let out an even louder, clearer cry, as though showing off its abilities.

Somewhat surprised, Si Chen stroked the warm, smooth feathers along its neck.

"Well done," he praised.

It seemed this little creature was far more than merely "a little intelligent." The power sleeping within its body appeared to be slowly awakening.

Carrying Si Chen, Red Bean flew over the deadly lake below and glided toward what looked like a distant shore, faintly visible ahead.

The carnage below continued.

Several rogue cultivators with weaker cultivation screamed as they plunged into the lake and instantly became skeletons.

More powerful cultivators, or those with special means, each displayed their own abilities.

For a time, light from all manner of magic treasures and spells flashed one after another.

One particularly ruthless man, seeing no way to escape, actually grabbed a companion beside him and shoved him beneath his feet, then used him to spring upward.

The unfortunate man he betrayed sank before he could even scream.

Farther away, the demons seemed much calmer, even harmonious.

Through sheer brute strength, Black Mountain kicked hard against the air with his enormous body, producing an explosive burst that forcibly altered his landing point. Like a meteor, he crashed onto the distant shore, throwing up clouds of dust.

"Damn it! That old flood dragon was one sneaky bastard!"

He shook off the mud spattered on him as he cursed crudely.

Red Wind displayed elegance and agility instead. A breeze rose beneath his feet as he lightly stepped on the corpses floating in the lake. Like a dragonfly skimming the water, he reached the shore in just a few bounds.

Some demon beasts born with the ability to fly, such as enormous hawks or bats, grabbed companions who could not fly and beat their wings desperately toward the shore.

The demons' casualties were indeed considerably lower than those of the humans, who had descended into utter chaos.

This strange lake was like a sieve, weeding out a great number of greedy souls with inadequate strength or poor luck the moment they entered.

The old flood dragon's "hospitality" was cruel indeed.

By the time Red Bean landed steadily on the ground with Si Chen, the dark-green lake behind them was gradually growing calm again.

Only the white bones and fragments of broken magic artifacts bobbing on its surface told of the carnage moments before.

At a rough glance, that single ordeal had claimed at least a fifth of the vast crowd that had charged inside.

The survivors gathered on the solid shore, most still shaken. Curses rose one after another as they damned the old flood dragon who refused to rest even in death.

"Brother Si Chen! Over here!" Black Mountain waved his enormous bear paw nearby. He and Red Wind had already regrouped, along with a dozen or so demons who had made it ashore.

Si Chen walked over.

They seemed to be inside an enormous underground cavern. There was no telling whether it had formed naturally or been created by the flood dragon.

The only way forward was a deep, pitch-black passage ahead, leading who knew where.

The force suppressing flight remained, making everyone feel as though a mountain weighed on their shoulders.

"What cultivation did this old flood dragon have when he was alive? He's been dead so long, yet he can still pull something like this," a wolf-headed demon beast muttered, still rattled.

"Who cares what cultivation he had? He was sneaky enough, that's for sure!"

Black Mountain kept cursing. "Pulling a stunt like this the moment we step inside-who knows what other nasty things are waiting farther in?"

On the human side, someone refused to give up and tried flying again. But he had barely leaped ten feet into the air when he felt as though a mountain had settled onto his body. He crashed back to the ground with a bang, utterly bedraggled.

"It's no use! The restrictions in this damned place are too powerful. We can't fly!" he shouted in frustration.

The old flood dragon's cultivation in life had truly been unfathomable. He had even been able to lay down such an immense flight-suppressing restriction, one that continued to function after his death.

Complaints aside, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned forward.

At the end of the lakeshore stood an enormous cavern entrance. It was pitch-black inside, and no one knew where it led.

People slowly began gathering there. Although they knew greater dangers surely lay ahead, having come this far, none of them could turn back.

Si Chen did not follow. Instead, he turned around and looked up above the dark-green lake.

He was waiting.

Lü Ci, the sect master of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, had yet to come down.

Outside, the man had ambushed him with a sword strike. Si Chen disliked owing debts, especially debts that threatened his life.

Flight was forbidden here, and below lay a deadly lake that could melt flesh.

He, meanwhile, stood on the shore, waiting by the stump for the rabbit to come.

Si Chen suddenly felt that this place... was rather nice.

He raised his right hand, and dazzling lightning began gathering rapidly above his palm.

A Thunderbolt Spear swiftly formed.

Returning the courtesy wouldn't be excessive, would it?