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"You didn’t see wrong?"

In the North Sea defense zone, the weather was changing rapidly.

What had been a clear sky suddenly turned into rolling dark clouds, signaling the imminent approach of a terrifying storm.

This initially worried Xuu Hu, especially because a storm of large magnitude could potentially affect the Flaming Sun Array.

But what worried him more was the report that his subordinates had just delivered.

Just now... there were dragons soaring through the sky!

"My lord, I am not very clear either," a subordinate said.

"Just a moment ago...a warrior at the border reported seeing flying serpents.

We were all startled, but when people went to have a look, they found that the thing flying in the sky was much smaller than snakes.

But when we took a closer look, how could that be a snake?

It looked exactly like the dragons described by storytellers, and. .."

"And what?"

"My lord, please come this way!"

Xuu Hu frowned. He had just returned not long ago and heard about the flying dragon. Now, the soldiers were acting as if they wanted to take him to the location of the Formation, his heart skipped a beat. Could it be... that the Flaming Sun Array was in trouble?

Facing those giant serpents that could burrow through the ground, they still had no good solution.

If these cursed creatures broke into Jiangnan, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Although Jiangnan’s power was not so weak as to be completely defenseless like the North, it would likely suffer devastating blows!

After all, these creatures could strike directly at the rear through the underground, impossible to guard against. At this stage, even the clever ones from the Shen Family had not discussed an effective countermeasure.

Without the Flaming Sun Array, and with His Majesty not yet returned, it could be disastrous...

At the thought of this, even a warrior as eager for battle as Xuu Hu felt an immense heaviness in his heart, and he hastened his steps. He couldn’t wait for the warrior to lead the way, so he leaped into the air, bounding over vast distances, arriving at the front of the North Sea.

"Warrior God, my lord!"

The soldiers who were setting up formations at the front line turned to salute Xuu Hu as he descended from the sky.

"This is..."

Xuu Hu, who usually valued saluting in return, didn’t have time for that now. All his attention was completely captured by the sight before him!

It was a colossal ice path stretched across the sea’s surface, so magnificent it was indescribable. The path led straight to the north, disappearing into the distance!

"Reporting to my lord, it was that dragon!

" the nearby warrior hurriedly said. "Half an hour ago, after that dragon flew through the sky, dark clouds gathered, and the clear day disappeared. Then it dove to the sea’s surface, freezing numerous giant serpents, and created this ice path.

It continued heading north after freezing the surrounding giant serpents, leaving behind this path as it swam! "

"Heading north?" Xuu Hu was startled and looked toward the north, a bold thought emerging in his mind.

The dragon that froze the giant serpents was probably not on the same side as the giant serpents, and judging from the soldiers’ accounts of its capabilities, it probably wasn’t a drill either. After all, the Flaming Sun Array might not be able to stop such a creature!

Heading north...

"Where did that dragon come from?"

"It should be from that direction..." A few warriors quickly pointed in one direction. Xuu Hu looked over and took a breath. Indeed, it was from the direction of the Dragon Palace.

Had a colossal dragon from the Dragon Palace emerged?

Why did it head north first?

Was it to kill serpents?

Why?

"My lord, there is more information."

"Speak!" Xuu Hu urged, not able to make sense of the situation.

"Following that colossal dragon, there were also several people and a strange species, all frozen in the ice!"

"Oh?" Xuu Hu’s eyes lit up: "Take me to see!"

The men hurriedly led Xuu Hu onto a boat, and soon Xuu Hu saw the people the soldiers referred to as "frozen." They were several thick ice sculptures with people inside, as well as a black, roughly thirty-foot-tall creature, all encased in ice.

Xuu Hu’s pores stood on end. Although the black creature was frozen, the threat it emitted was significant. He understood instantly that this thing could not be released, or else he would likely be killed in an instant!

But the people next to it surprised him even more because he recognized them!

Next to the Yaksha was the renowned family head of the Xiang Family: Xiang Tianyu.

Back when Xuu Hu was in military service, his first assignment was under the Northern Xiang Family’s command, so he was naturally aware of Xiang Tianyu’s great reputation.

He was a genius on par with Weichi Peng, the family head of the thousand-year bloodline family, the Xiang Family.

The colossal dragon froze that creature, which should belong to the Dragon Palace. Why freeze humans?

What did it mean?

In that moment, unable to figure things out, Xuu Hu did not dare delay. He promptly ordered, "Go, call over all the high-ranking officials!"

"Yes!"

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

"There really is such a thing..."

After Third Elder Shen and others arrived, they curiously examined the frozen Xiang Tianyu. Among the frozen items, the most eerie was that colossal... shadow, looking like a dragon!

It was like a dragon but not quite so, with a peculiar dragon-like shape, a head like an ox, antlers like a deer, eyes like shrimp, ears like an elephant, a neck like a serpent, a belly that was also serpentine, scales like a fish, claws like those of a phoenix, but it also had limbs unlike those of dragons from the legends, similar to a centipede’s thousand legs, which looked rather unnerving.

Most unsettling was the figure merged into the dragon’s body, upon close examination, turned out to be Wang Shijie, the second-most beloved son of the Duke of Wei!

"How did Wang Shijie turn into this?" Shen San mused.

"Dragon Transformation?" Shen Er furrowed his brows but then shook his head, "That shouldn’t be right. Could it be a failed Dragon Transformation, or is that just what they look like after transforming?"

As they were speaking, the Yaksha nearby suddenly moved its eyes!

Everyone looked over warily. This black creature was no simple beast; if it broke free from the ice, none of them would likely be a match for it. They were contemplating whether to call for an Array Master to set up some kind of seal.

"Can we communicate?" Xuu Hu asked.

He knew that top magicians had ways to communicate mentally with others.

"There isn’t a single magician among these frozen people. We can send messages in, but these warriors can’t send messages out," stated Shen Lao San, frowning.

While they were talking, the frozen Xiang Tianyu struggled to blink his eyes...

Suddenly, everyone turned to look at him. After exchanging glances, Shen Lao San and the others nearby said, "General Xiang, can you hear us? If you can, please blink twice."

Xiang Tianyu hurriedly blinked twice!

He could hear them!

They all breathed a sigh of relief—it was good they could communicate.

But as they were about to speak, Shen Lao San suddenly noticed that the Yaksha in the distance was blinking more fiercely, and so was the second son of the Duke of Wei.

A suspicion rose in his heart.

"General Xiang..." Xuu Hu quickly asked, "Is that dragon from the Dragon Palace, or is it someone who has gone through Dragon Transformation? If it’s a Dragon Transformation, please blink twice. If from the Dragon Palace, blink once, and if it’s neither, then don’t blink."

Xiang Tianyu quickly blinked twice.

"As I thought!" Xuu Hu said with some excitement, getting to his feet. That dragon had targeted the giant serpents upon emerging and was heading north, and most crucially, this ice path!

This ice path perfectly solved the problem of transportation by ship. If acted upon properly, they could bring all the people from the north here.

"Is that dragon... Duke of Wei?" Shen Er asked directly.

Xiang Tianyu hurriedly blinked twice.

"Why would the Duke of Wei freeze you all?" Second Elder Shen frowned.

Xiang Tianyu remained silent, his eyes wide open. Clearly, he had no idea how to respond.

"Could it be because some kind of creature had infiltrated your group?" Second Elder Shen immediately guessed the reason.

The Duke of Wei’s group was not small; nearly thirty people had gone in, but only three and one strangely shaped dragon, plus.

.. a terrible demon, had come out. Clearly, something major had occurred.

Although the Duke of Wei managed to transform into a dragon, the events that took place were likely far from simple!

Xiang Tianyu blinked his eyes.

"Then why not simply kill this creature instead of bringing it up here frozen?" Shen Shi Yi wondered, looking at the ice sculptures. The creature seemed formidable, but if the Duke of Wei could capture it alive, couldn’t he kill it as well?

Why bring it up at all?

"Let me guess..." Shen San said with a sneer, "The people who went with you mostly met their demise, didn’t they?"

Xiang Tianyu blinked!

"The ones who killed them were not this black creature, but something else, something... amongst you!"

This time, Xiang Tianyu didn’t blink but instead looked directly at Wang Shijie, who had merged with the Thousand-Legged Dragon.

"Is that so?" Xuu Hu narrowed his eyes, "The second son was possessed by an evil creature, seized control of the dragon, and began slaughtering you?"

Xiang Tianyu blinked repeatedly!

"How can we rescue him?" Xuu Hu furrowed his brow.

"This freezing power is no trivial matter, I fear we’ll need to use the Golden Crow’s Flames reserved by the lord!" Second Elder Shen said in a low voice.

Xuu Hu immediately realized. He also knew that periodically, the lord would take the finest jade stones to Daqing Mountain, coaxing that little fellow to release the Golden Crow’s Flames to store them inside and use them for experiments at Lyuzhou Academy.

But this flame was incredibly dangerous; a slight mishap could lead to an inferno that couldn’t be extinguished. Therefore, only Chen Ying and a few of the highest-scoring disciples from the Heavenly Institute were researching it.

"To deal with this complex situation, the team of magicians brought a few of those jade stones. Paired with Eleven’s Divine Fire Technique, there’s a chance to melt the ice."

"Alright, I’ll fetch them immediately!" Xuu Hu nodded and hurried out.

He was very anxious. If that giant dragon truly was the Duke of Wei, then there might be hope for those in the north. He needed to quickly gather intelligence to see if he could arrange for the military to go for a rescue.

Nobody objected, as they indeed needed to quickly understand the situation beneath the Dragon Palace.

But Shen San slightly furrowed his brow.

He looked at Xiang Tianyu and then at the other side.

From the moment they started to free Xiang Tianyu, those black creatures and Wang Shijie, who had turned into a monster, began blinking incessantly!

Really... was it as Xiang Tianyu said?