Chapter 129: What If It Is a Trap?

The Myriad Poison Demon Orb!

It was the very treasure that had earned the Nether Poison Emperor his fame. Not only was it a Quasi-Saint Artifact, but it was also the primary target for which everyone had been competing. Yet, at this very moment, it had detonated of its own accord!

Boom!

A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth. The entire underground city was struck by a massive earthquake, with the stone palace at the city’s center bearing the brunt of the impact. Though Jiang Rulong was powerful, he could not withstand the blast; he was sent flying, the blood-red phantom of a dragon that protected his body rapidly shattering.

With a thud, Jiang Rulong crashed outside the stone palace. His face was deathly pale, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—he was clearly severely wounded. Jun Wushuang and Mo Fenglie were also blasted out by the shockwave. Mo Fenglie’s injuries were grave, and he coughed up blood in great, ragged gasps, while Jun Wushuang, protected by his Life-Death Demon Armor, remained unscathed.

"The Nether Poison Emperor!" Jun Wushuang’s gaze sharpened, his Violet Extreme Demon Eyes scanning the interior of the palace.

Within the hall, toxic mists boiled and churned incessantly. From amidst the venomous fog, a towering figure emerged. The figure wore ancient purple robes and possessed a face as dark as pitch, emanating a monstrous, suffocating miasma. Yet, his eyes were hollow and vacant, as if his consciousness had long since departed, leaving behind nothing more than a puppet. A thick, oppressive aura of necrotic poison radiated from his body, terrifying in its intensity.

"ROAR!"

A furious howl erupted from the throat of the Nether Poison Emperor. The terrifying sound waves vibrated with such force that it felt as if one’s skull were about to shatter. The overwhelming pressure of the Martial Emperor realm bore down on them like a mountain, causing even Jun Wushuang to knit his brows in strenuous resistance.

"This is a trap!" Jiang Rulong’s blood energy surged, allowing him to hold his ground against the Emperor’s pressure. He wiped the blood from his lip, staring fixedly at the figure, and the truth dawned on him in an instant. "This tomb was no accident. The Black Demon Sect intentionally led the Prince of Zhennan to discover it, all for the sake of this expedition. You prohibited those at the Heavenly King realm from entering, specifically to lure me here."

"The Myriad Poison Demon Orb was merely a decoy. Your true target... was me!"

Although Jiang Rulong lacked the profound insight of Jun Wushuang, he was sharp-witted enough to discern the truth. How could the tomb of the Nether Poison Emperor have been discovered by the Prince of Zhennan so conveniently? And why would they have encountered members of the Black Demon Sect so fortuitously? Furthermore, if the goal was truly the orb, why restrict those at the Heavenly King realm?

Now, everything was clear.

"Jiang Rulong, you really are clever. It is a pity that you only realize it now—it is already too late!" Mo Fenglie scrambled to his feet, his eyes blood-red, a mocking smirk playing on his lips. The madness he had displayed earlier was completely gone; it had been a ruse all along.

*Swish!*

A bronze throne flew out from the stone palace. Mo Fenglie leapt onto it, and instantly, a powerful demonic aura erupted from him, making him appear like a young demon lord. This bronze throne was the key to controlling the Nether Poison Emperor.

"Jiang Rulong, you enjoyed beating me earlier, didn't you?" Mo Fenglie sneered. "To trick you, I took those hits for real. It is a pity you escaped unscathed and weren't killed by the explosion. But it does not matter. You are injured now; how could you possibly be a match for the Nether Poison Emperor? The blood of a Dragon Blood Saint Body is vital to him. Once I extract your blood, the Nether Poison Emperor will have a chance to breakthrough to the Supreme realm! Hahaha! Are you ready to die, Jiang Rulong?"

Mo Fenglie laughed wildly, his previous humiliation washed away. This entire affair had been a trap meticulously laid for Jiang Rulong.

"Do you think this is enough to deal with me?" Jiang Rulong stared coldly at Mo Fenglie, his expression as arrogant and imperious as a dragon looking down upon the world. Even though this was a trap, even though the explosion of the Myriad Poison Demon Orb had wounded him, and even though the corpse of the Nether Poison Emperor possessed terrifying might—what of it?

*Swish!*

Jiang Rulong reached out, and a golden spear materialized in his hand. It was the Dragon-Patterned Golden Scale Spear, a top-tier Dao Artifact. As he gripped it, his aura underwent a sudden transformation. In Mo Fenglie’s eyes, Jiang Rulong no longer appeared human; he was a divine dragon, high and unreachable, commanding reverence. His dragon might was peerless, forcing all spirits to submit. Powerful. Divine. Invincible. That was the impression Jiang Rulong left upon him.

"So what if you have a Dragon Blood Saint Body? Today, I will kill you and claim your blood!" Mo Fenglie roared, using the bronze throne to command the Nether Poison Emperor.

"ROAR!"

The Nether Poison Emperor lunged at Jiang Rulong. His body was saturated with such dense poison that even the space around him corroded into a pitch-black void. As a powerhouse of the Martial Emperor realm, even without his wits, he remained a force that no ordinary Marquis-realm martial artist could withstand. His strike shattered the air, bringing destruction in its wake.

"True Dragon Dharma Manifestation!"

Jiang Rulong’s aura surged, his internal energy erupting to manifest his own Heaven and Earth Dharma. Unlike ordinary martial artists, his manifestation was not a humanoid figure, but a true dragon! It was a creature of roiling blood energy, appearing as real as life, radiating a brilliant golden light that compelled all existence to kneel.

*BOOM!*

The True Dragon manifestation collided with the Nether Poison Emperor. Space trembled, and the heavens seemed to collapse. Golden light and black poisonous miasma collided like a tidal wave, sweeping across the surroundings. Stone palaces crumbled and the earth fractured, turning the area for a thousand meters into ruins.

"That is... the corpse of the Nether Poison Emperor!"
"Heavens! His Highness the Crown Prince is actually fighting the Nether Poison Emperor! This is terrifying!"
"The Nether Poison Emperor has been dead for three hundred years. I never imagined his corpse would still be here, and it looks incredibly formidable. I wonder if the Crown Prince can hold his own!"

There were still survivors in the underground city. Attracted by the battle, they watched in shock and awe. Unaware of the true scheme, they assumed Jiang Rulong had accidentally disturbed the corpse, triggering this cataclysmic fight.

As the dust settled, the True Dragon manifestation remained radiant and unscathed. The Nether Poison Emperor, however, had suffered no damage either. The strike had ended in a stalemate.

"Impossible! The Nether Poison Emperor is a Martial Emperor; how could this be a draw?" On the bronze throne, Mo Fenglie’s face was twisted in disbelief. The Emperor had been a supreme powerhouse in life, and his body had been nurtured by the tomb for three hundred years—he was a nightmare made flesh. That he could not swiftly overwhelm Jiang Rulong was simply incomprehensible.

"How could someone like you understand my strength!" Jiang Rulong scoffed. The True Dragon manifestation pressed forward against the Emperor, while Jiang Rulong himself, wielding the Dragon-Patterned Golden Scale Spear, carved a path toward Mo Fenglie on the bronze throne.

A trap? So what? One thrust of his spear would shatter it, and it would cease to be a trap. The Myriad Poison Demon Orb might be gone, but the corpse of the Nether Poison Emperor remained. If he seized the corpse and occupied the tomb, everything here would be his!

In this moment, Jiang Rulong resolved to break the trap and seize everything. He was unstoppable, and he was absolute.