A gaze filled with deep resentment, including the Princess Royale, had never seen such a ferocious and venomous look before!

Even wild beasts crazed with hunger were not as fierce, and the most wicked people in the world did not possess such venomous eyes. Just one glance at that face was enough to know it was an omen of great misfortune!

Even Chen Qing was startled by that gaze, but, he could understand.

These monsters were once the elite of the Human Race, and anyone who could find this place and become such an entity must have been born into a top-tier Sorcerer Family with considerable experience, like Chen Baifeng, and only they would have the chance to come here.

But what were they before? The pinnacle of nobility, industry magnates, living a life of glory and wealth, and in their desire to cling to such riches permanently, these people took dangerous risks and went too far...

They transformed into these monstrous beings, neither human nor ghost. To turn their fortunes around, they could only spend their days in the Dragon Palace Secret Realm, allowing the moisture in their bodies to evaporate, relying on the unique energy of the Dragon Palace to sustain their lives, but their consciousness was far from clear.

Chen Qing, in order to create even more ferocious monsters, had been extremely harsh on these lost ones. When these fellows evaporated their moisture, they were not in a state of sleep, but fully awake!!

You can imagine, in such an environment, enduring the long millennia, unable to do anything, unable to eat anything, suffering hunger, cold, and clinging to a sliver of faint hope, living a life worse than that of ghosts, with a key period starting at a thousand years.

Who wouldn’t go mad in such a situation?

Who wouldn’t turn into a psychopath?

When players first visited the Dragon Palace, they all complained that the monsters, which had transformed from humans, were exceptionally malicious and insanely aggressive, as if they had deep-seated hatreds!

In fact, it was somewhat true. After suffering for so many years, they found... there were newcomers encroaching, competing, wouldn’t they go mad?

"Lord Chen..." Duke of Wei frowned as he looked at these monsters, instinctively stepping back a few paces. These creatures looked like human skins pasted on the ground, obviously devoid of combat strength, but that ferocity made one’s blood run cold, giving him the feeling that if a desperate fight were to ensue, it would be extremely dangerous!

"Don’t worry..." Chen Qing stepped forward, bowing slightly, "Esteemed predecessors, I, Chen Qing, am fortunate to have entered the Dragon Palace today.

Like you, I have the opportunity to explore the mystery of supreme immortality.

The future is uncertain, life and death unknown.

I do not wish to cause any distress to any predecessor here, nor do I wish for any of you to trouble us! "

Duke of Wei and the others were taken aback; they had thought Chen Qing had a method to deal with these monsters, but he had unexpectedly chosen to surrender directly?

Seeing Chen Qing directly step forward to negotiate, not only were the people behind him surprised, but the group of monsters was also taken aback, all seeming somewhat bewildered.

Immediately afterward, they all wore a strange smile, which appeared... full of malice!

The Princess Royale and others furrowed their brows, their vitality bursting forth, skyward, attracting even the attention of the Flood Dragons in the periphery.

All monsters were startled, looking at the Princess Royale in astonishment.

Then they chirped and tweeted for a long while, these fellows obviously hadn’t spoken for a long time. It was clear they were trying to speak human language, but it was so quivering and dry that they could not form a single coherent sentence, which was very frustrating to observe.

Chen Qing waved his hand, and many bubbles containing water essence floated gently over. The monsters were incredibly wary at first but then, feeling the gentle Water Art Energy within the bubbles, their expressions softened slightly.

They stretched their necks as far as possible to swallow the bubbles, and instantly the moist mist soothed their throats and visibly restored some vitality to their bodies, with some tentacles even beginning to plump up.

"Young man..."

Finally, after wolfing down those bubbles, one of the monsters looked dimly at Chen Qing and the others, "You’ve seen our fate... Are you still determined to proceed?"

A shiver ran through the group of magicians at these words; to be frank, becoming like this was worse than death!

It seemed as if they had read the magicians’ thoughts, and the monster said with a sinister sneer, "Thinking that if turning into a dragon is hopeless, and becoming like this is miserable, wouldn’t it be better to just die?"

Everyone: "...."

"Young man, who among us didn’t think like that at the beginning? But when it comes to that point, how many are really willing to commit suicide?"

"We’ve lost everything, what is it if not also losing life?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, indeed the words had a point. Gambling everything, when it came down to it, as long as there was a tiny bit of hope, it’s likely that they would cling on. Human desire... truly is the most terrifying poison!

"Predecessor..." Chen Qing also said with a smile, "You said it, coming here is a gamble of everything. Since we’ve all become gamblers, can a word or two from you turn us back?"

Upon hearing this, the monsters’ eyes became even colder, but they said no more.

"Good advice is hard to convince the doomed, so be it. If you wish to go, then go!"

"Many thanks to the predecessor!" Chen Qing bowed, then said, "In that case, please allow us to pass!"

Chen Qing suddenly took out a jade bead from his chest, pure and untainted, floating by, and immediately various types of energies were drawn in from the surroundings. Among them, Art Energy swirling with dark mist was the most, clearly emanating from some vicious Techniques!

At this moment, everyone’s expressions darkened considerably, these monsters... clearly had no good intentions!

Chen Qing had anticipated this, speaking as though it was expected, "Seniors and others have utilized a secret technique to dehydrate their bodies while waiting for the next opening of the Dragon Palace. Naturally, there would be techniques to protect themselves. I can understand. However, we need to go ahead now. I would ask the seniors to seal away your techniques. Otherwise, if we’re not careful and fire is lit, and we come to blows, that would be unsightly! "

The horde of monsters glared at Chen Qing’s floating jade bead with a sinister and increasingly terrible gleam in their eyes, "Are you... the descendant of those Array Masters?"

"Impossible... weren’t those people eradicated by the Ancient Worms?"

"They shouldn’t exist, those despicable things. If it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be in such a state..."

A variety of hoarse voices rose, making one’s eyelids twitch with the sound.

In the midst of the noise, Elder Shen took a few steps forward.

A fierce ancient aura suddenly swept through, and all the monsters fell silent.

At this moment, the malice in their eyes turned to surprise, sheer surprise.

"You... you are..."

"I wasn’t aware that I had exterminated the lineage of the Array Masters," Elder Shen said in a spectral tone. "It seems you know more about what happened back then than I do?"

"You... actually!" The monsters recoiled in shock, moving back cautiously. Their bodies were still not recovered, making movement quite strenuous; being careless could damage their internal organs, yet they couldn’t help but retreat a step.

Back then, that very Ancient Worm had been exceedingly dreaded even within the confines of the Dragon Palace. The four Yaksha Lords and even a Dragon God Lord had to awaken prematurely because of it.

Otherwise... just relying on those Array Masters, they might not have been able to seal this creature.

Has he finally come out?

Has he finally returned?

At this moment, all the monsters felt a chilling despair.

The strength of these juniors was no less than that of the Sorcerer Dynasty era ten thousand years ago, especially the woman who just released her vital energy.

Her overwhelming vitality was probably the pinnacle of this world, on par with the Ghost King!

This was troublesome enough, and now they were actually mixed up with the Ancient Worm...

"The Human Race... actually cooperating with such a monster!" The monsters all turned their gaze to Chen Qing and his party, "You... you have betrayed the Human Race!"

"And didn’t the seniors do the same?" Chen Qing replied with an unabashed smile.

Both sides confronted each other with escalating tension, but in the end... neither chose to act. After a standoff that lasted a quarter of an hour, the leading monster finally sighed, "Let’s go then..."

The next moment, visible black miasma retracted from both sides.

Only when the black miasma materialized could everyone clearly see that at the entrance, close to a thousand—if not five hundred—techniques were gathered.

If they had carelessly entered just then, their flesh might have been instantly corroded away to nothing!

Chen Qing remained vigilant, and after visually confirming the dispersion of the black miasma, he threw out another piece of jade. The jade bead floated in the air and after testing again, finding no remnant Art Energy, he finally relaxed and bowed with his hands clasped, "Thank you, seniors!"

The monsters looked at Chen Qing with dark and dreary eyes. This youngster seemed naive and young, yet he was so cautious...

Without further pleasantries, they led their group towards the hall’s entrance. All the withered heads did not move, watching Chen Qing and the others enter the hall like statues, until they disappeared. Only then did the leader from before speak ominously.

"This is our last chance... these sacrifices are of good quality..."

The next moment, a chorus of wicked laughter rose...

---------------------------------

"We really owe a lot to Lord Chen. Had it been I leading the team, I might have acted without a second thought!"

The others nodded in agreement. With the monsters clearly in weakened states, attacking them now would theoretically be the best opportunity.

"Those who made it here are all old hands who have lived untold ages.

How could they not have some strategies?

" Chen Qing shook his head, "Not only these demon-transformed humans but also those evaporated creatures of the Dragon Palace are the same. If you can avoid them, do so at all costs. Don’t try anything like attempting an early kill.

For their own safety, these creatures must have prepared countless fallbacks before the Dragon Palace closed! "

"They were also hesitant to act just now because once the fight started, their own precarious states could have led to severe harm, and if we were careless and destroyed this True Wind Passage, those Flood Dragons outside could swallow us up in an instant, leaving nothing behind."

"This is also true..." Chen Baifeng laughed, "Despite his youth, Lord Chen thinks things through very thoroughly, truly remarkable."

"I will still need the seniors’ support..." Chen Qing smiled and then looked forward, "Let’s go. This is just the first step, there’s much more trouble ahead!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a scene that no one expected unfolded.

The silent Princess Royale suddenly stepped forward, approached Chen Qing, and abruptly took his arm!

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