Book 08 Chapter 053: Facing Three Alone
Thirty-nine kilometers long!
The towering black dragon emerged from the thick mist, its whiskers dancing and its horns towering into the sky. It was immense, its body stretching over thirty-three kilometers, and it bore down on the onlookers with an overwhelming might.
The faces of Ji Dihong, Cangjie, Ao Ying, Ju Mang, and Tianwu changed in unison.
“Did he really devour Qiang Liang? How did he do that?” Tianwu exclaimed in shock.
“We worked so hard to wound Qiang Liang severely, only for him to profit in the end?” Ju Mang questioned with a dark expression.
“Thirty-nine kilometers? How shocking!” Cangjie gasped.
When Gu Hai just entered years ago, he was only a few meters in length at best. A few meters? Now, he is about thirty-nine kilometers long?
“This Gu Hai grows at an alarming rate. If we don’t deal with him soon, he’ll become an unparalleled threat,” Ji Dihong warned in a somber tone.
Decades ago, who had heard of Gu Hai? Even ten years prior, Ji Dihong would not have given Gu Hai a second glance. Even five years ago, Ji Dihong had not perceived Gu Hai as a threat.
Now, Ji Dihong not only put importance on Gu Hai but also considered it a formidable adversary.
Although Gu Hai might not have Jiang Lianshan’s strength, it was even more dangerous. Jiang Lianshan was arrogant, but Gu Hai, coming from humble beginnings, was always cautious and never complacent. Its presence was so menacing that Ji Dihong felt an intense desire to end it.
They had to stop Gu Hai here, ensuring it would never escape.
“Ji Dihong, Cangjie, Ao Ying? Hah! You came back after all!” the black dragon Gu Hai greeted in a chilling tone.
“If we hadn’t returned, you might’ve consumed everything!” Ji Dihong retorted coldly.
However, Gu Hai turned its dragon head towards the stunned Ju Mang and Tianwu.
“Ju Mang, Tianwu, what do you mean by this? Did you bring Ji Dihong here?” it asked seriously.
The hungry ghost kings’ expressions s.h.i.+fted, and Ju Mang finally replied coldly, “That’s right! Gu Hai, surrender now.”
Understanding their stance, Gu Hai realized they had betrayed it.
It narrowed its eyes and said, “Are the two of you really that impatient, unable to wait a few more days?”
“Why should we wait? Gu Hai, stop fooling us. We know you can’t leave, but Ji Dihong has promised to take us with him. Why should we wait for a future that’s not coming?” Tianwu responded coldly.
A frosty glint flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes. “Ju Mang, Tianwu, we genuinely wanted to help you both get out, and we were grateful for your a.s.sistance. That was why we helped you come up with a plan to eat the hungry ghost kings, She Bis.h.i.+ and Ru Shou. We had hoped this would strengthen you once outside. Yet, you betrayed us despite our help. Hungry ghost kings? Hah! You are just physical souls, in the end, lacking ambition and perseverance.”
“You helped us consume those two hungry ghost kings only for your benefit!” Ju Mang snapped.
“Benefit us? We didn’t need to give the two hungry ghost kings to you. You had placed all your hopes on us then. If we wanted them for ourself, could you have vied with us for them? We’ve grown stronger over the last six months by consuming hungry ghosts, but we never harmed your subordinates. We only consumed those under She Bis.h.i.+ and Ru Shou. Once we left, we wouldn’t return, so why waste them? Hah! It’s you two who don’t understand perseverance and see our goodwill as a threat,” Gu Hai shot back.
“You even used us to help you consume Qiang Liang!” Ju Mang added.
“Did we use you? We had a plan to defeat Qiang Liang, but you two were too narrow-minded. We told you back then to push further after you severely injured Qiang Liang. After that, you could decide what to do with Qiang Liang yourselves. However, you gave up the chance to attack him because you couldn’t decide who would take the prize. After all, one hungry ghost king would be hard to split between two. You did not want the other party to obtain it if you could not, so you stopped attacking Qiang Liao. We consumed Qiang Liang only because of your narrow-mindedness. How have we used you? Hah! A hungry ghost is just a hungry ghost, indeed, petty and narrow-minded, unable to see the big picture. Even if you could leave this world, you would not amount to much on the Divine Continent,” Gu Hai countered coldly.
Ju Mang’s and Tianwu’s expressions darkened.
“Enough! You two, there’s no need to argue with Gu Hai. After killing Gu Hai, we will let you leave this world!” Ji Dihong said.
The faces of Ju Mang and Tianwu lit up.
“Ju Mang, Tianwu, you betrayed us to join Ji Dihong, but we remember the protection you once offered. We’ll give you one last chance. Join us now, and when our subjects open the exit, we’ll forget about the past and take you with us. It’s up to you now,” Gu Hai offered coldly.
“Don’t believe him. He can’t do it,” Cangjie interjected.
After a brief exchange of glances, Ju Mang and Tianwu coldly faced Gu Hai. “Gu Hai, surrender now, or we won’t show mercy. You know our strength.”
“You’ve chosen your path. Just don’t regret it later,” Gu Hai warned.
Gu Hai emitted black energy from all over its body, and its scales bristled. It was clearly enraged.
Boom!
Suddenly, Ju Mang transformed into a thirty-seven-kilometer-tall tree with a face and arms, looking fierce. Its roots sank into the earth, and its branches swayed mightily.
On the other hand, Tianwu transformed into a thirty-seven-kilometer-long tiger with a human head, emanating a fearsome aura that shook s.p.a.ce.
Both were slightly lesser than the black dragon Gu Hai’s length. However, the combined size of the tree and the beast was much larger than Gu Hai’s.
The two hungry ghost kings showed fierce expressions, encircling the black dragon.
Rumble…!
With a wave of his hand, Ao Ying summoned a thirty-three-kilometer-long azure dragon, the ancestor dragon’s corpse. It hovered in the air, radiating a powerful aura of wood.
Ao Ying stood on the head of the ancestor dragon’s corpse, controlling it.
Although this thirty-three-kilometer-long dragon was smaller than the black dragon, it was still of considerable size.
The three ferocious beasts surrounded Gu Hai, ready to strike.
Ji Dihong had made up his mind: Gu Hai must be trapped and destroyed.
Cangjie stood beside Ji Dihong, waiting in silence.
At the center, Gu Hai found itself surrounded by menacing beasts.
“Gu Hai, you’ve grown fast, but what use is that? Do you think you can escape today?” Ji Dihong taunted.
“All three of them are here. Aren’t you going to make a move as well, Ji Dihong? Wouldn’t that increase your odds of winning?” Gu Hai responded with a laugh.
A challenge?
These three ferocious beasts are not enough for you? You still want us to attack with them?
Everyone felt slightly startled. Ji Dihong’s face sank, but he did not make a move. Instead, he said, “We don’t need to make a move to deal with you.”
“Alright. Just watch, then!” A ferocious glint flashed in the black dragon’s red eyes.
“Roar!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, the black dragon furiously charged Tianwu, who had a human head and a tiger’s body.
“Attack!” Ao Ying commanded loudly.
Boom!
The three ferocious beasts lunged at Gu Hai simultaneously.
However, Gu Hai, being the closest to Tianwu, reached Tianwu first and slammed its claws on Tianwu’s back with immense force. With a fierce yank, it elicited a painful roar from Tianwu. Then, Tianwu bit down hard on its back.
The black dragon winced in pain but did not halt, snapping its jaws around the tail of the tiger-bodied figure.
Grimacing in agony, Tianwu increased the force of its bite.
Suddenly, it tore off a scale from the black dragon. However, the black dragon bit off its tail.
“Argh!” Tianwu howled in pain.
This clash resulted in injuries on both sides. However, the black dragon did not scream in pain, which demonstrated its ferocity.
Boom!
Now, all three ferocious beasts arrived by the black dragon, starting an intense battle with it. s.p.a.ce shattered, and rocks flew everywhere; chaos ensued. In the end, it was not strong enough to fight against three alone. As it fought, it retreated into the distance.
“Think you can escape? You won’t get away!” Ao Ying laughed heartily.
“Gu Hai, today marks your end!” Ju Mang proclaimed with a boisterous laugh.
“I’ll claim your life for the grudge over my severed tail!” Tianwu roared furiously.
The intense battle between the four experts drifted farther away.
Ji Dihong and Cangjie quickly followed.
“Your Holy Eminence, are you not making a move?” Cangjie asked.
“The three of them are sufficient to destroy Gu Hai. Furthermore, Gu Hai challenged us to join the battle earlier. That makes us somewhat uneasy,” Ji Dihong explained seriously.
“Perhaps Gu Hai is intentionally trying to distract us. He does not dare to have Your Holy Eminence intervene and thus deliberately provoked you,” Cangjie speculated.
“Hopefully. However, judging by the current situation, we don’t need to join the fight. The three of them can take down Gu Hai,” Ji Dihong remarked gravely.
Cangjie nodded.
Indeed, the battle unfolded just as expected. Besieged by the three experts, Gu Hai was barely escaping. Moreover, his injuries were escalating. Had he not been so ferocious, he would have been pinned to the ground and beaten by the three experts already.
Gu Hai, Ju Mang, Tianwu, and the ancestor dragon all suffered severe injuries yet continued their unremitting efforts. The three experts relentlessly pursued Gu Hai, who fought while retreating.
“You cannot escape, Gu Hai. Accept your death!” Ju Mang declared with a broad grin.
The heavily injured black dragon in front suddenly plunged from the sky. As it descended, it breathed out a ma.s.sive cloud of black energy that instantly engulfed an entire hungry ghost base.
“What?” Everyone’s expression changed dramatically.
To their astonishment, the black dragon inhaled sharply, pulling in all the hungry ghosts in the hungry ghost base into its mouth, using the earlier black energy.
A ma.s.sive number of hungry ghosts entered the black dragon’s maw.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
While the three experts attacked the black dragon, it devoured the many hungry ghosts, and its stomach swelled up. After the three experts pummeled it thrice, its stomach suddenly shrank; it had digested everything.
The digested energy immediately mended the black dragon’s injuries, helping it recover significantly.
“Oh no! He can recover while fighting! Don’t let him run!” Ju Mang said in shock.
All four had sustained injuries. While Gu Hai’s injuries were the severest, it could consume endless hungry ghosts to recover. However, the other three’s injuries could only worsen. If this continued, not only would they fail to kill Gu Hai, but Gu Hai would kill them instead.
“Block him! Avoid the hungry ghost bases!” Tianwu’s eyes turned red.
The battle continued unabated. Gu Hai naturally fought while heading towards the hungry ghost bases, with the three experts attempting to stop it. Although they managed to slow it down considerably, the cycle repeated incessantly.
Not far away, Cangjie and Ji Dihong wore grim expressions.
“Your Holy Eminence, perhaps you should make a move. Once you do, you can eliminate Gu Hai immediately. It would be too late for whatever scheme Gu Hai has,” Cangjie said worriedly.
Ji Dihong’s expression darkened, and he fell into a brief silence. His instincts told him not to act at this moment, lest he fall into Gu Hai’s trap. However, he could not pinpoint the exact issue, which left him in a dilemma.