You, a living person, are telling me I've served in the underworld for ten years?

All eyes were fixed in terror on the young figure standing in the center of the corpses, whose clothes were almost perfectly smooth with not even a single wrinkle, and who was surrounded by a faint black aura.

Was it death descending upon their town?
This terrifying silence lasted only a few seconds.

"Evil... evil spirit! A demon that blasphemes the land!"

A sharp, trembling voice filled with madness and extreme terror suddenly rang out from a corner in the far end of the airport terminal. It was a local staff member hiding behind the water bar counter.

He wasn't targeting Chen Yang, but rather seemed to have seen some kind of taboo from tribal legends!
"It's that Easterner!"
He...he used forbidden power!

He devoured their souls! God...the gods will punish him!
This land will not forgive him!

This terrifying prophecy spread like a plague in the eyes of the survivors, deepening the fear etched into their souls.

The look in their eyes as they looked at Chen Yang completely changed from fear to awe and dread, as if they were worshipping a legendary taboo.

Chen Yang frowned, and the chilling aura suddenly subsided.

But he sensed that a vast, ancient, and primal will of nature was being stirred up from all directions by the “blasphemy” that was taking place here, and was rapidly gathering like rolling clouds!

"Brother Wang, if you can still walk, don't just stand there!"

Chen Yang gave a low shout, startling Wang Shengxiong out of his daze.

He must leave the airport immediately!

However, it was too late!

boom--!
A tremendous, muffled thud, as if rolling from the depths of the earth, exploded out of nowhere just as Chen Yang and Wang Shengxiong were trying to rush toward the nearest exit! The entire airport terminal seemed to tremble violently!
The bright ceiling lights above the hall suddenly flickered violently and erratically, as if there was a poor connection! Then, with a few hissing sounds, a section of the light tubes burst open!
Even more terrifying, all the green plants around the hall, whether tall tropical palms or potted shade-tolerant shrubs, withered and died instantly at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning from emerald green to grayish-yellow!

A thick, lifeless smell, filled with the scent of humus that had been forcibly drained of life, filled the air!
Beneath the smooth marble tiles, twisted veins suddenly bulged out! The solid floor began to ripple violently like the surface of water! Countless thick, gnarled, grayish-brown roots and vines, smelling of damp earth, burst forth from the hard floor like giant tentacles!
These roots and vines, gleaming with a deathly, unnatural bluish-black sheen and barbs, coiled around Chen Yang and Wang Shengxiong with lightning speed! The force was so great that it even produced a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air!

At the same time, an invisible, heavy, and viscous pressure, like a mountain of immense weight, descended from the sky, striking their souls fiercely! It was as if countless voices were roaring, cursing, and chanting ancient judgment proverbs in their ears!

"Despicable outsider! How dare you cast that evil soul-devouring spell on this ancient, slumbering land! You have turned your flesh and blood into nourishment, and your soul has returned to my feet! And what you took that is not rightfully yours! Hand it over! Otherwise, you will be eternally imprisoned in the embrace of Mother Earth!"

A vast, indistinct, and eerie sound, like the overlapping echoes of countless forests, reverberated directly across all levels of the soul!
Wang Shengxiong felt an irresistible pressure slam into his chest. His vision went black, and without even uttering a sound, he coughed up blood. Like a seashell flattened by a massive tsunami, horrifying lines of blood instantly seeped from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His body went limp uncontrollably, and he couldn't even muster the slightest strength to struggle before falling into a complete coma!

Chen Yang's pupils also contracted, and he felt as if his heart was being squeezed by an invisible hand.

That omnipresent pressure on his soul was enough to crush an ordinary person with an iron will in an instant! But his powerful physical body and soul foundation, forged by the "Divine Dragon Creation Scripture," were by no means ordinary!
bass!
A crisp sword cry rang out!
At the critical moment, Chen Yang's body suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light!
The "Sheng Guang Dao Fa" will automatically protect its master!
A thin yet incredibly resilient golden light membrane completely enveloped him, forcefully blocking the terrifying soul pressure and the constantly invading whispered curses!

The enormous, deathly roots and vines that had coiled around the golden light sizzled and burned as they touched the light, like ice meeting fire, and instantly turned black and retreated!
But the pressure didn't disappear; instead, it intensified because of his resistance! The light bulbs on the ceiling began to explode one after another, and shards of glass rained down! The metal supports throughout the hall groaned and deformed under the strain!

Chen Yang knew he couldn't fight them head-on; he had to outsmart them and find a way out immediately!

"Disperse!"

A low shout.

The "Wind Control Technique" was activated! A violent and invisible vortex of air instantly rose from the ground centered on Chen Yang! It forcefully blasted a hole several meters wide through the undulating paving stones and the surging, thick roots beneath his feet! The air currents transformed into countless incredibly sharp wind blades, shredding the approaching eerie vines into dust!
Make the most of this fleeting gap!

"Sever the River!"

Chen Yang's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he cleaved down with both hands in the air! It was as if he was wielding an invisible giant axe!

A fierce and incomparable will, seemingly capable of cutting off the rushing river, suddenly descended!
Whoosh—!
Spatial oscillation!

The airport terminal floor, which had just been undulating and tangled like waves, was forcibly "cleaved" open by this invisible yet extremely sharp will, creating a deep, unfathomable fissure that was tens of meters long, several feet wide, and unfathomably deep! It was as if the earth had been cleaved open with a hideous wound!

All the surging roots and twisted terrain were suddenly blocked before this "broken flow" mark! The ground returned to a brief, deathly "calm"! Only the edge of the fissure gleamed with a dangerous sharpness.

"The favor of an evil god?!"

That grand, layered roar carried a clear hint of surprise and anger!
The earth vein roots seemed to feel the pain, frantically wriggling and piling up at the edge of the fissure, trying to fill the "wound," but were temporarily blocked by the remaining interrupted flow of energy.

The agony of the earth being torn apart enraged the deep-seated will of this land! The ground undulated even more violently! More roots burst forth from the earth like furious black pythons!

This time, the target was crystal clear: Chen Yang, who was retreating rapidly!
"Filthy! How dare you defile the great source of life! Die!"

The roar shook the heavens.

Boom boom boom!
Dozens of massive roots, as thick as buckets and covered in jagged barbs and damp moss-covered rocks, converged together, like a colossal pillar wielded by a resurrected stone and wood giant from mythology. They exuded a destructive, space-freezing aura of death, and slammed down upon Chen Yang! The air was compressed and torn apart, producing a piercing explosion!

The force of this strike was enough to flatten a heavy main battle tank into a pancake! The desolate, decaying, and life-devouring aura emanating from it was overwhelming! Wang Shengxiong was lying nearby; if this strike had landed, he would have been instantly killed by the aftershock!
Chen Yang's eyes narrowed, and instead of retreating, he advanced! Faced with this attack that was like a mountain collapsing, he knew that simply defending or dodging would only put him on the defensive!
"Fierce Purgatory!"

Chen Yang's words are like thunder in spring!

He pushed the "Divine Dragon Creation Scripture" within his body to its limit, and his true essence surged wildly towards his hands!
A ball of crimson-gold flame, not ordinary fire, but a condensation of the ultimate Yang essence and violent energy capable of incinerating all things, suddenly compressed, condensed, and spun between his palms! In an instant, it transformed into a miniature blazing sun, so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it, with magma flowing inside and golden patterns pulsating on its surface!
The lifeless air around them, drained of its vitality by the "Earth Mother's power," began to distort and vaporize as it was baked by this miniature blazing sun!
"Edict!"

Chen Yang exhaled and shouted, then pushed forward with both hands!
That golden "sun" that could scorch the heavens and split the earth shot out with a roar! It crashed straight into the "giant pillar" formed by countless terrifying roots that pressed down like a mountain!
There was no loud noise.

A blinding light instantly engulfed everything! Gold, white, and red colors frantically merged and exploded!
Sizzle—sizzle—!
Like a red-hot iron forcibly inserted into ice that had been frozen for millions of years! The terrifying high temperature was accompanied by a piercing, violent boiling sound, as if boiling a vast expanse of oil, and a deafening vaporization sound!
The colossal pillar that crashed down with immense force instantly melted and vaporized its moss-covered rock upon contact with the blazing sun! The ancient, gnarled, and resilient roots of the ancient trees that formed the pillar's main body, strong enough to pierce concrete and steel, burned, charred, and disintegrated violently, like straw thrown into a high-temperature steel furnace, turning into a shower of black ash!
The golden flames, as if alive, spread wildly in the opposite direction, burning along the broken and scorched roots! They moved with incredible speed, like golden flames engulfing a decaying forest! "Whoosh—!"

That immense will from the earth let out a sharp, clear howl, like boiling oil being poured into lava! It was filled with pure pain, rage, and... a hint of barely concealed fear!

"Flames! Pure flames that incinerate the rules! No!"

The entire airport terminal suddenly lurched inward! It was as if the earth itself was convulsing in agony!
Puff puff puff!

The countless twisted roots and vines that had just surged forth from the ground, like ice and snow under the scorching sun, instantly withered, curled up, and lost all vitality, frantically shrinking back into the depths of the crack in the floor! The huge crack in the ground also seemed to lose its support, and with a piercing sound like a landslide, it began to collapse and close violently!
That omnipresent, soul-suppressing pressure and whispered curses vanished without a trace, like a popped soap bubble!

Only the golden embers of flame flickered among the ruins, quickly extinguishing, leaving behind a lingering smell of burnt earth and strong sulfur in the ravaged airport terminal.

The remaining light on the ceiling flickered a few times and then went out completely.

"go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Yang picked up the unconscious Wang Shengxiong and dashed like lightning towards the nearest dilapidated fire escape exit! His figure disappeared behind the door in the blink of an eye.

Only a few seconds after his figure completely disappeared did the survivors, who were hiding in the ruins and trembling, dare to let out suppressed sobs of relief.

***

In Hainan, China, the coconut palms and ocean breezes remain warm. The afternoon sun shines obliquely through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows into the luxurious ocean-view restaurant's private room on the top floor of the five-star Lijing Hotel.

The air was filled with the gentle scent of the sea breeze and the aroma of exquisite food.

The atmosphere around the huge mahogany round table was completely different from the smoke-filled hell of Africa; it was warm and even carried an indescribable excitement.

Chen Tianxiong, the "Living Yama," a powerful underground figure whose every stomp shook the entire South China coast, was now completely devoid of his usual domineering aura.

He gripped his daughter Lei Tingting's cold hand tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. His once fearsome eyes, stained with the blood of countless enemies, were now brimming with tears. His lips trembled slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time. It seemed he wanted to etch his daughter's face deep into the depths of his eyes.

"dad……"

Lei Tingting's voice was more composed than a year ago, but her eyes were red.

She was wearing a bathrobe provided by the hotel, which covered her previous disheveled state and scars.

"Alive..."

Chen Tianxiong finally managed to squeeze out two words through gritted teeth, his voice hoarse and heavy, like sandpaper.

"It's good that you're back... It's good that you're alive! It's all thanks to Dad..."

The second half of the sentence was filled with lingering self-reproach and a sob, and she didn't finish it.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes looking at the two young men sitting across the round table—Chen Yang, whose robes were slightly dusty but who was still handsome and composed, and Wang Shengxiong, a junior who, although he had changed into new clothes, was still a little pale but whose eyes were full of excitement.

"I am deeply grateful!"

Chen Tianxiong suddenly raised the porcelain glass filled with baijiu in front of him. His arm trembled slightly with excitement, and the liquor sloshed around.

"Brother Chen Yang! Little Wang! I, Chen Tianxiong, owe you two lives in this lifetime! From now on, whenever you need this old man, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

This glass is a toast to my two brothers!

His voice was loud and clear, filled with barely suppressed gratitude and the boldness of a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world). He tilted his head back and gulped down more than three ounces of Moutai, the spiciness making his eyes even redder.

Wang Shengxiong quickly stood up, picked up his wine glass, and was so excited that he became somewhat incoherent.

"Boss, you're exaggerating!"

This is...this is...anyway, Brother Chen is amazing! I...I respect you!

Chen Yang, with a calm expression, raised the teacup in front of him.

"Brother Chen, you're too kind. It's just a chance encounter; there's no need for such formalities."

A gentle clinking of glasses conveys the deepest sentiments.

Just then, waiters in smart uniforms filed in carrying a variety of exquisite dishes and carefully placed them on a huge mahogany turntable.

As the lid of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was lifted, a rich and delicious aroma instantly filled the private room; the steamed grouper had delicate, white flesh as smooth as jade; the stir-fried Australian lobster was tempting with its golden-red color; and there were also bowls of stewed fish maw chicken until tender and juicy, and sweet and nourishing oyster soup...

However, Chen Yang's gaze suddenly sharpened as he swept over a plate of vibrant green stir-fried vegetables.
A subtle, pure, and vibrant aura, mingled with the fresh plant fragrance of the vegetables and the aroma of the stir-fried oil, wafts out! Though faint, it is extremely pure!

This spiritual energy was neither naturally dissipated nor released by any ancient jade artifact; rather, it seemed to have permeated the very fibers of the dish, like the most primal nourishment! (End of Chapter)