Just A Daoist Who Occasionally Kicks Ass-Chapter 369: Cavern of No Return! Possession! The Sealed Abomination of a Thousand Years!
Inside the pitch-dark cavern, on an uneven stone platform, a lump of viscous black substance slowly oozed. A tall figure pressed his palm upon the platform. The black sludge crept up along his arm, seeping toward the dragon scale on his forehead.
That man was none other than the Crown Prince of the Chu River Dragon Palace, Ao Ang!
His eyes flickered between moments of clarity and demonic madness, muttering to himself as though possessed. When lucid, terror filled his gaze, he struggled desperately to pull away from the black corruption. But soon his eyes turned increasingly strange and venomous, his smile twisting with hysteria.
From the dragon scale on his forehead, an eerie blurred, warped human face slowly pushed its way out.
“Hehehe... Stop resisting. Isn’t this the power you’ve always dreamed of? Fuse with me. I shall grant you an immortal body, and boundless might!” The blurred face’s voice dripped with temptation.
The clarity in Ao Ang’s eyes faded, leaving only venomous, twisted obsession.
Seeing this, the blurred face grinned. Long ago, by a fluke, he had escaped from the underworld, attaching himself to a young man. He thought possession would be easy, but the youth carried the legacy of the taotie[1]. Instead, he overpowered him and pinned him down in a pitch-black cavern, even diverted an entire river to this place, and sealed him here forever.
Were it not for his undying physique, he would have been killed long ago!
Only when a flood dragon later discovered this place and built its palace upon it did he glimpse hope again.
By fate’s irony, that flood dragon even gained a true dragon pearl, but fearing him, only dared siphon his power, never daring to swallow him outright.
He thought he would languish here until the old dragon perished. But then, one of the dragon’s sons sneaked inside while his father was away.
With painstaking whispers, he lured Ao Ang into tasting his power, bit by bit unraveling the ward left by the old dragon.
And today, when Ao Ang finally swallowed him, he could reveal his essence and take over Ao Ang’s body.
All that remained was to extinguish the last spark of spirit within that dragon scale. Once its power was gone, he would seize full control.
Then he would devour lives, restore his form, and rebuild his strength, venting a millennium of festering rage!
***
Li Yanchu, saber in hand, stood warily scanning the cavern around him.
The group had already plunged deep into the winding caverns, pursuing the Dragon Palace Crown Prince, Ao Ang, the true culprit behind the sacrifices of brides and the slaughter of innocents.
All along their path, no dangers had emerged. There were no hidden beasts, nor lurking monsters.
The silence was suffocating. And the calmer it was, the heavier their hearts became. For this was where the Chu River Dragon King had secluded himself in cultivation, how could it possibly be an ordinary place?
Yet the bow was already drawn; there was no turning back. They steeled themselves and pressed on.
At last, when they broke through the passage and reached the cavern’s depths, the space suddenly opened wide.
It was a vast stone grotto, empty save for a single ancient stone platform standing at its center. Nothing else rested upon it.
There, in front of the platform, stood Prince Ao Ang in human form with his back to them, utterly still.
Startled, the group exchanged glances.
Fang Qinglan was about to step forward to investigate, but Li Yanchu blocked her. “Wait.”
He immediately summoned forth the Heaven-Illuminating Seal. The radiant divine seal expanded, unleashing a storm of heavenly flames that swept across the cavern, shattering its oppressive chill.
Yet, as the blazing divine fire surged toward Ao Ang, it vanished. It was gone in an instant, without a trace.
Gasp! Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
That divine fire was domineering beyond compare, its searing heat enough to incinerate demons and fiends. They had all felt its terrifying power, yet it had vanished into nothingness, just like that. The strangeness made their hair stand on end.
Even more unsettling, Prince Ao Ang still stood with his back to them, utterly motionless. The sight chilled their hearts.
“Let me try!” Master Benxin strode forward, summoning forth the pure yang Buddhist beads.
In an instant, the beads expanded to seven or eight zhang in size, radiant with Buddha’s light as they descended to envelop Prince Ao Ang.
For a moment, everyone’s eyes brightened. This might work!
But suddenly, the Buddha light winked out, and the great beads dropped uselessly to the ground at Ao Ang’s feet.
“Eh!?” Master Benxin’s eyes went wide.
These beads were a Buddhist treasure, nourished by Dharma power and the incense and prayer powers of the faithful. Their might was immeasurable, yet they had been struck down in an instant.
Everyone was shocked! Their minds flashed back to Li Yanchu’s five-colored divine light, the Radiant Gem Ruler, which specialized in knocking down magical artifacts.
But no, this felt different. It was as if... these artifacts simply could not draw near.
After all, when the Heaven-Illuminating Seal’s flames had surged forward earlier, only the divine fire had vanished, and the seal itself remained completely unscathed. This scene reeked of uncanniness!
No one dared approach for the moment. If a person drew too close and something indescribably strange befell them, it would be far too late for regret!
Bang!
Li Yanchu swung his saber, shearing off a stalactite overhead, then hurled it with force at Prince Ao Ang. The stalactite cut through the air with a sharp gale, and smashed heavily against Ao Ang’s body!
Boom!
Ao Ang was sent flying outright.
Seeing this, everyone was utterly baffled. Could that stalactite possess some hidden divine power!?
“Earlier, that old dragon stirred the mysterious power of this cavern to suppress spells and divine arts. The source should be here. Perhaps at the very spot where Ao Ang is standing... magical artifacts and sorcery simply don’t work!” Li Yanchu analyzed calmly.
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit with sudden realization. It was possible! Otherwise, how could a plain stalactite knock him down?
Still... just what exactly was happening to Ao Ang?
Li Yanchu’s expression remained steady as he prepared to step forward and investigate.
Suddenly, Ao Ang’s body erupted with dazzling light. The cavern shook violently as rubble cascaded down, nearly collapsing the chamber.
Roarrrr!
A dragon’s roar reverberated. The dragon scale at Ao Ang’s brow vanished, transforming into a sinister rune!
From his body surged a strange jet black substance, which was thick and slimy, as well as liquid in form, radiating a pure and absolute evil. The very first glance at him made one’s skin crawl. It felt as though the blood in their veins might freeze.
“Hahahahahahahaha!” Ao Ang’s eyes blazed with madness, and he erupted into a fit of wild, unrestrained laughter.
“I succeeded! I succeeded!” His smile was manic and deranged, sending chills into the heart.
With a vicious motion, he tore his robes apar. That black, viscous substance spread across his chest and arms, turning his entire upper body a dark, blood-red hue. Bulging veins and cords of muscle pulsed grotesquely, a sight enough to make the stomach churn.
“What in blazes is that!?” The old beggar shuddered in horror.
At this moment, Ao Ang’s aura was sinister and overpowering as his gaze turned coldly toward the old beggar.
“You’re courting death!”
In the next instant, he appeared right before the old beggar. Though the beggar’s mastery of spellcraft was profound, his magical power now flowed sluggishly, as though his very blood were suppressed by a force of ultimate yin and evil.
1. The taotie is an ancient Chinese mythological creature that was commonly emblazoned on bronze and other artifacts during the 1st millennium BCE. Taotie are one of the Four Perils in Chinese classics like the Classic of Mountains and Seas, alongside the Hundun, Qiongqi, and Taowu. Here is a reference image. ☜
