Chapter 178: Transformation of the Serpent and Dragon Chant – Shocking Pati and Chen Lu!

In the 1,200-meter high Gale Wind Layer, the Underworld Flame Warship sped toward the city No. 109, fifty li away.

Inside the warship's cabin, three 'Shapa' tribe members were gathered. They were wrapped in black battle robes, their faces hidden behind special helmets, sitting on three chairs while studying a map.

"We're almost there. If we can destroy just one more city, the three of us will gain a significant boost in merit. When we return, we'll be able to purchase a set of fifth-tier Silver Feather Battle Armor," one of the Shapa tribe members grinned.

"Big brother Pati, with your strength, once you put on the Silver Feather Battle Armor, you'll be able to exert the power of a fully perfected Seventh Rank. By then, we'll earn merit even faster."

The two Shapa tribe members glanced at their eldest brother.

"Silver Feather Battle Armor is just a stepping stone," Pati, a towering figure whose massive body covered his chair, said. "Golden Feather Battle Armor, now that's the real treasure of the Royal Court!"

"If I could wear the Golden Feather Battle Armor, I'd easily be able to kill a Sixth Rank. Even if I couldn't defeat a stronger Sixth Rank, I could at least escape."

At the mention of the Golden Feather Battle Armor, all three of them revealed expressions of longing.

The Golden Feather Battle Armor was a pinnacle creation of the Golden Feather Royal Court. It was said to surpass the craftsmanship of Da Zhou.

However, the Golden Feather Battle Armor was a royal-exclusive, rarely available for purchase by the tribes. Most had to settle for wearing 'Flying Feather' or 'Silver Feather' Battle Armor.

This time, though, a special military order from the Sacred Mountain had mobilized the Four Great Royal Courts, and in order to strengthen the tribes, the purchase of Golden Feather Battle Armor was permitted.

The three Pati brothers had nearly accumulated enough merit to exchange for Silver Feather Battle Armor, but the Golden Feather set was still far out of reach.

"The merit required for Golden Feather Armor is a hundred times that of Silver Feather, and each month there's only a limited number of slots for redemption," one of the Shapa members sighed. "It'll probably take us until next year to even have a chance."

"Zesheng, my good brother, don't lose hope," Pati laughed. "Once we take down this city and plunder it, we might just gather enough in one go."

"Da Zhou's possessions are highly valuable to us. Who knows, we might even have some left over!"

"Then all three of us brothers will each have a Golden Feather Battle Armor! Hahaha!"

"Hahaha, big brother is right! Da Zhou's cities are veritable treasure troves!"

Hearing Pati's words, the three brothers laughed together.

The grand strategy of the Southern Wilderness was to retreat while fighting. Yet, these three brothers had risked returning for one reason—loot!

As Da Zhou was a powerful empire, even the most basic third-tier armor could fetch a high price among the tribes in the Southern Wilderness.

They had already raided two grain cities, and the Underworld Flame Warship was now nearly full. The divine weapons and sharp blades alone could be exchanged for a set of Silver Feather Armor.

The rest of the loot, most of which they didn't recognize, might be worth even more. However, to be safe, they still decided to attack the Zhenhai Army's supply city.

"Only thirty li left. Go tell the others to prepare the Heavy Water Catapult," Pati ordered. "And remember, once we breach the city, use the 'Blood Kui' to destroy their temple first."

"That way, we'll have more time to loot."

"Last time, we were too slow in destroying the temple, and the reinforcements arrived too quickly. We didn't have enough time to plunder."

"We can't make that mistake again."

"Understood."

The two Shapa tribe members immediately headed down to the lower deck, where many others were operating the ship's machinery and formations.

"Click, click, click~"

With Pati's order, the Underworld Flame Warship picked up speed, preparing for the assault.

What Pati didn't know was that a small Swordfish Airship had appeared on the horizon behind them.

On the Swordfish Airship, Zhao Xing observed the Underworld Flame Warship. "The warship has slowed down, they're preparing to attack the city. It seems the Zhenhai Army's garrison hasn't detected the approaching enemy."

After pursuing for some time, Zhao Xing's Swordfish Airship finally had the Underworld Flame Warship in sight.

It hovered above the Zhenhai Army's city No. 109, still cloaked in invisibility.

Long Xiao commented, "We don't know who the garrison commander of the Zhenhai Army in this city is, and we can't contact them. Let's observe for now."

Zhao Xing nodded.

Although both he and Long Xiao were confident in defeating enemies of the same rank, if the opponents stayed inside the Underworld Flame Warship, it would be difficult to breach its defenses in a short time.

The Underworld Flame Warship was a medium-sized vessel at the fifth rank.

However, it was not comparable to a single fifth-rank divine weapon.

It was a combination of over a thousand fifth-rank materials. Items of this caliber automatically increased in value, elevating it to a higher tier.

When sold, a fifth-rank warship would fetch a price equivalent to a sixth-rank weapon.

The Swordfish Airship had no powerful weapons capable of breaking through such defenses, so they had to wait for the enemy to either exit the ship or deactivate their defensive barrier during the attack.

The reason Long Xiao referred to them as "fat sheep" was because if they could seize this warship, they could sell it as a sixth-rank item. Moreover, anyone capable of piloting such a vessel would be worth a high price as a captured target.

"Do you know any invisibility techniques?" Long Xiao asked. "Can you cast one on me?"

"You're overestimating me. Just because I can use the Invisibility Straw Puppet doesn't mean I can cast an invisibility spell. That's an advanced technique."

Long Xiao shrugged. "Then we'll have to go in hard. Just get me close to the ship."

It seemed they couldn't rely on the Zhenhai Army.

The warship's weapon compartments had already extended, but there was still no reaction from below.

"Alright," Zhao Xing agreed.

The commander of Zhenhai Army's city No. 109 was named Chen Lu.

He held the title of Junshu Commandant, a Seventh Rank official.

Why was this?

Because all of the gods Chen Lu worshipped were related to the Shennong deity.

Chen Lu had always enjoyed farming more than fighting.

But lacking talent in cultivation, after seven years of attempts, he never officially advanced, so he took an alternative route and became a priest.

In the realm of religious rites, Chen Lu displayed great talent, quickly rising to become a Shennong Priest.

As such, he could perform his duties as a Military Shennong Officer when invoking divine powers.

However, in ordinary times, he was just a priest.

His sensitivity to changes in the weather wasn't particularly sharp.

Therefore, Chen Lu hadn't noticed the approaching enemy yet.

At this moment, he was busy drying Ganling Grass, a fourth-tier medicinal herb used for treating external injuries, often utilized by military medics.

"Sh-sh-sh~"

Chen Lu sifted through the seeds of the Ganling Grass in a sieve. Afterward, he tied the processed herbs together with a rope and placed them in a cart nearby.

"I've processed several thousand jin today. My second military task is complete, and I've earned another thousand merit points." Chen Lu smiled with satisfaction.

Certain materials regularly appeared on the daily task list.

Such as the Ganling Grass—there was never enough of it.

Chen Lu had been working with this herb for half a month, and most of his merit points had come from processing these medicinal plants.

"Come on, guys, let's pick up the pace."

"It'll be dark soon."

Chen Lu called out to the workers as he pushed the cart toward the medicine storage.

However, after taking only a few steps, the sky suddenly darkened.

A shadow loomed over the entire city.

"Lord Chen, why did it get dark?"

"What's going on? Lord Chen, did you cause this?"

Chen Lu looked at the shadow on the ground and felt a chill run down his spine.

Immediately, he abandoned the cart and shouted, "Enemy attack!!"

"Defensive forces, prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!"

Chen Lu sprinted toward the temple.

The sky above had turned completely black, as if ink was being poured over the city, and it was beginning to erode the city's defensive formations.

In just three breaths' time, the darkness shifted to a deep crimson.

Faced with such a large-scale assault, Chen Lu knew the enemy was formidable. To exert his full power, he needed to reach the temple quickly and invoke divine aid while also calling for reinforcements.

As a priest, Chen Lu was competent.

But as a commander, his leadership skills were average at best.

He hadn't even reached the temple when the black sky split open, revealing a crimson rift.

"Whoosh!"

A large quantity of thick, red liquid splashed onto the temple's roof.

Moments later, a blood rain began to fall.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The temple's roof began to emit smoke as the red liquid seeped inside, drenching the statues of the gods.

Even the ground began to smolder.

The statues of the gods cracked, and within an instant, the golden light they emitted was swallowed by the crimson glow.

Arms, faces, and heads… all began melting under the blood-red liquid.

"Ah—!"

"Pu, pu!"

Several priests of the eighth rank who had been inside the temple began screaming as their skin started to corrode upon contact with the red liquid.

Chen Lu watched in horror as the priests staggered out of the temple, screaming in agony.

His face turned pale with fear:

"It's the Blood Kui! Don't invoke the gods! Do not invoke the gods!"

But his warning came too late.

Some of the priests, in their panic after being corroded, instinctively tried to summon divine possession, but instead of calling down a god, their bodies dissolved into puddles of blood.

Seven ninth-rank soldiers, their faces twisted into grotesque grins, emerged from the temple with four arms protruding from their backs. Their muscles had swelled grotesquely.

They ignored Chen Lu, a seventh-rank official, and charged toward the others.

"Corrupt power of the evil gods."

Chen Lu felt a deep chill in his heart.

Once the Blood Kui had been spilled onto the temple, any priest of Da Zhou who attempted to invoke divine possession would immediately summon a Southern Wilderness evil god instead.

The evil gods of the Southern Wilderness would corrupt the minds of those who invoked them, turning them into their puppets.

"Ah! Help!"

"Don't run, use the Spirit-Piercing Crossbows to kill them!"

"Oh my god, how are they still moving without their heads?!"

"They're monsters!"

With the destruction of the temple, the appearance of the "Blood Puppet" monsters caused chaos among the defenders.

These puppets felt no fear of death, and even when decapitated or pierced through the chest, they continued moving and fighting.

Moreover, those killed by the puppets quickly stood back up.

The city quickly descended into chaos.

Firstly, Chen Lu, the commander, had failed to organize a proper defense or issue effective orders, and the leaders of the various divisions were not coordinating their efforts.

Secondly, the enemy had swiftly destroyed the crucial temple, unleashing the terrifying blood puppets.

Lastly, the Zhenhai Army had become complacent after half a month of easy victories, having faced little serious resistance. Chen Lu's city had never been attacked before.

Therefore, although the Zhenhai Army still had the strength to fight, they quickly fell into disarray.

Back in the military temple, Chen Lu knelt before a small shrine.

"Great Lord Tian De, save me!"

Chen Lu knelt down on one knee, swiftly lighting incense and burning paper offerings.

"Sizzle~"

The flames ignited.

The god statue's eyes opened, and a golden phantom appeared, consuming the incense offerings before flying into Chen Lu's body.

"Tap, tap, tap~"

Chen Lu's expression turned serious as he quickly rose and left the temple.

"Swish~"

With a wave of his hand, a sound transmission order appeared in his grasp.

"Where is the First Commander of the Martial Division?!"

No response.

"Second, Third Commanders of the Martial Division, gather and annihilate the blood puppets in the eastern city! Coat your weapons in Yang energy and use them to kill!"

Still, no one responded.

"Where is the Chief Engineer? Reinforce the city's defensive barrier—"

"Jie, jie, jie~"

This time, there was a response, but it came in the form of eerie laughter.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

"Boom!"

Large boulders fell from the sky, but when they struck the ground, instead of creating dust clouds, droplets of water splashed everywhere.

Chen Lu sighed.

"Blood Kui corruption and heavy water catapults."

"Boy, run. This city is lost. At least a Seventh Rank elite force is attacking, and they have a fifth-rank warship."

"The deity you serve is the Shennong god. Even if you lose, they won't take your head."

"No!"

Chen Lu's face twisted in frustration.

"I am willing to offer my heart's blood as a sacrifice. Great Lord Tian De, please save this city!"

With that, Chen Lu swiftly slashed open his chest with his finger, drawing forth a drop of his heart's blood.

"Fool!"

A voice boomed out, and Chen Lu's right hand was seized by his left hand.

"It's just a fragment of my soul. Why do you need to offer your heart's blood?"

"This battle is lost. If you die here, Da Zhou will have lost a seventh-rank official for nothing!"

"Hurry and carry my statue, burn the inner treasury, and escape underground using the Earth Protection technique."

The stern voice forcefully moved Chen Lu's right hand away.

Chen Lu winced in pain but ultimately agreed with the deity's assessment.

He quickly flew toward the inner treasury of the city.

His fingertip ignited a small flame, ready to set the treasury ablaze.

"Hmm? Wait!"

Just then, the deity's voice rang out again, and Chen Lu's left hand seized his right hand once more.

"Look up at the sky."

Chen Lu, confused, raised his head.

He saw that the crimson hue in the sky was gradually fading.

"Whoosh!"

Chen Lu raised his hand and cast a cloud technique, spreading it across the city.

"Crash~"

Heavy rain began pouring down, drenching the blood puppets in the city.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

The rain, infused with spiritual power, caused the blood puppets to emit smoke and greatly weakened their movements.

"They've grown weaker."

"And the enemy hasn't descended yet."

"Could it be reinforcements?"

Chen Lu immediately soared into the sky on a cloud.

When he reached the skies above the city, he saw, to his surprise, a red-black Underworld Flame Warship hovering in the gale wind layer.

However, at this moment, the warship's weapons were all aimed at the sky, firing in a different direction.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A barrage of elemental energy arrows, net traps, and various sharp projectiles, some infused with gale wind or fire, were all being launched toward the heavens.

"What are they firing at?"

Chen Lu was utterly bewildered.

The Underworld Flame Warship was firing while simultaneously trying to retract its barrier.

It seemed to be afraid of some unknown enemy.

But just as the barrier was about to close—

"Whoosh!"

A dragon-shaped phantom shot forward, and upon closer inspection, it was revealed that at the center of this dragon was a golden sword.

"Clang!"

The golden sword struck one of the warship's statues just as the barrier was about to seal, causing the black flame barrier to stop closing.

"Impressive!"

Standing in the sky, Zhao Xing couldn't help but exclaim, "Sword cultivators are always so impressive. Long Xiao's 'Dragon Chant' technique is particularly awe-inspiring."

Half an hour earlier...

After the Underworld Flame Warship had launched the Heavy Water Catapult and the Blood Kui had rained down, breaking the city's barrier—

Pati had ordered his two brothers, Zesheng and Pachao, to prepare their people to descend and plunder.

But just then—

Zesheng and Pachao noticed something strange in the gale wind layer—a fog had appeared.

It was drifting toward them quickly, closing the distance from a thousand meters to five hundred meters in no time.

"How can there be fog in the gale wind layer?" Zesheng and Pachao were puzzled but hadn't yet realized the gravity of the situation.

Zhao Xing's Five Elements Mist Concealment Technique was incredibly deceptive. At a distance of a thousand meters, the mist blended seamlessly with the gale wind, making it indistinguishable.

As it closed to within a thousand meters, it became harder to remain hidden, but Zhao Xing controlled the shape of the mist, making it appear to be retreating rather than approaching.

When the distance shrank to five hundred meters, Zesheng and Pachao, both Seventh Rank cultivators, finally realized something was wrong.

But it was too late—

"Whoosh!"

A golden sword shot forward like a swimming fish, closing in on Pachao and appearing right in front of his eyes.

"No!!"

Pachao desperately tried to defend himself, but his body couldn't keep up with his brain because the sword was just too fast!

A Seventh Rank sword cultivator was not someone he could resist, especially when caught off guard. Long Xiao's "Dragon Chant" was his fastest technique.

By the time Pachao realized what was happening, the tip of the sword was already at his nose.

"Thud!"

Pachao, who had just removed his helmet to breathe fresh air and was ready for battle, was skewered by the golden sword and fell to the ground.

Zesheng, the other Shapa tribe member, tensed up at the sight, his nerves on edge as he frantically channeled his internal energy and covered his face with his helmet.

But at that moment, his vision suddenly became blurry and flattened into a single line.

"Thump, thump!"

His heartbeat slowed rapidly, and his blood grew cold.

Zesheng looked at his hand and realized that scales had started growing on it.

His legs instinctively fused together, and when he stuck out his tongue, it came out forked, like a snake's!

"Help me!"

This bizarre transformation caused him to cry out for help from his elder brother, Pati.

But when he tried to speak, all that came out was a hissing sound.

His legs fused into one, and his skin, muscles, and bones were rapidly changing!

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Zesheng's eyelids grew heavy, and scales began to cover them. His internal energy was quickly dissipating.

He was regressing!

A rapid regression, accompanied by a transformation into another species!

The Five Elements energy within his body had combined in a strange way, causing his own energy to backfire, destroying every inch of his flesh and skin.

After struggling for three seconds in mid-air, the half-human, half-snake Zesheng's body exploded, his organs splintering as he plummeted from the sky.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Long Xiao's golden sword moved even faster than Zhao Xing, skewering hundreds of enemy soldiers around him.

The sky rained with corpses.

"What?!"

Pati, who had been eagerly anticipating his loot, was completely stunned.

It was too fast!

One moment, he was celebrating the smooth breach of the Zhenhai Army's city. The next, his two brothers were dead.

Especially his brother Zesheng, whose death was beyond strange, as if it were the work of one of the Southern Wilderness shamans.

He hadn't even had time to react!

By the time he did, Long Xiao had already killed half of the soldiers who had just emerged.

"Attack! Kill them!!"

Pati roared in fury, but fear crept into his heart. Even though he wore the Flying Feather Battle Armor and was inside a fifth-rank warship, he felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

"No! Close the barrier! Retreat!!"

Three seconds after giving the order to attack, Pati's rational side took over, and he decided to close the Underworld Flame Barrier and flee.

He was only slightly stronger than his two brothers.

If someone could instantly kill his two brothers, wouldn't that person also be able to kill him?

If he didn't flee now, when would he?

But just then—

A golden sword shot through the air, hitting the base of the barrier formation and causing the closing barrier to freeze, leaving a large gap.

"Trying to escape?!"

"Have you asked Lord Long yet?"

Long Xiao leaped from the clouds and landed on the deck of the Underworld Flame Warship.

Zhao Xing, still standing on the cloud, watched as Long Xiao stormed the warship.

As a Shennong Officer, Zhao Xing didn't need to get involved at this point. Slashing through enemies inside the warship was Long Xiao's specialty.

"I used Serpent Transformation to kill a Seventh Rank Shapa. It cost me thirty percent of my energy. This technique is quite taxing for me."

"But Long Xiao, as a sword cultivator, used far less energy to kill the other Shapa."

"In comparison to Long Xiao's swordsmanship, my Seventh Rank abilities still feel lacking."

"My killing move is probably equivalent to Long Xiao's few 'normal consecutive attacks.'"

"If I used Serpent Transformation on Long Xiao, it likely wouldn't work. His internal organs are protected by sword energy, and even if I could make scales grow on him, I wouldn't be able to change his physical form. Let alone cause his body to explode."

When it came to raw killing power, sword cultivators were undeniably stronger. Of course, Zhao Xing understood that Shennong Officers had their own roles to play, and Long Xiao couldn't move as stealthily or be as versatile as he could.

"If I consider Long Xiao my opponent, in a head-on encounter, I'd have a thirty percent chance of killing him. In an ambush, that likelihood would rise to sixty percent."

"But as long as I'm underground, Long Xiao wouldn't be able to kill me at all." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Divine Travel Guard would allow him to burrow underground, leaving Long Xiao helpless. Sword cultivators couldn't pursue enemies underground.

Moreover, Zhao Xing could still launch attacks from below.

Below, Chen Lu watched in disbelief.

He had just seen two Seventh Rank Shapa tribe members fall right before his eyes.

One was decapitated—nothing unusual there.

But the other died in the strangest way.

He had developed snake-like characteristics.

"Great Lord Tian De, what technique was that?" Chen Lu asked in his mind.

"That was Serpent Transformation, a high-level technique," replied Tian De Zhenjun's voice. "The person standing in the clouds is a Military Shennong Officer."

"Great Lord, can I use Serpent Transformation?" Chen Lu asked.

"You cannot," Tian De Zhenjun replied. "It involves the subtle transformations of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang. Your understanding of the Dao is too weak. Even with me possessing you, you'd only be able to use it at the Sixth Rank."

"Boy, your life is safe for now. Those two are both Da Zhou military officers—one a sword cultivator, the other a Shennong Officer."

"Go help them, do whatever you can to assist. If you can gain some merit in the counterattack, it'll help compensate for your losses."

"And remember, be respectful."

Chen Lu nodded, then cautiously flew up on a cloud. He stopped when he was ten meters below Zhao Xing.

"Chen Lu, Junshu Commandant of the Zhenhai Army, thanks you, great lord, for the rescue. May I ask your name?" Chen Lu said respectfully, his tone completely deferential.