The SSSSSSSS-level Mad Dragon is released from prison!

Jun Wanhe's roar echoed dully in the underground palace.

"The patriarch has ordered! Sweep through the underground palace, leave no survivors!"

"Trespassers, die!"

"Even the key ingredient must die!"

The newly appeared shadow guard commander spoke in a cold voice and suddenly swung his arm forward.

Dozens of the Jun family's most elite assassins, without the slightest hesitation in their eyes, surged towards the tightly closed stone door once more, like a black tide.

What they were about to carry out was the Jun family's most ruthless order to silence them.

Just as Xiao Ruoye was about to draw her sword and go up again, the voice of Zhou Weiguo, the garrison commander, rang out above the well again, this time with a hint of imperceptible solemnity.

"Warning! Those below, lay down your weapons and surrender immediately!"

"Repeat it, and you'll surrender immediately!"

"Otherwise, we will resort to indiscriminate firepower!"

Before the warning had even faded, a completely different voice, filled with supreme authority and arrogance, came from above Chun Ya Xuan.

It is you, myriad valleys.

He stood atop a pavilion, hands behind his back, looking down at everything below.

"Chief Zhou, this is a family matter of the Jun family."

"There's no need for the military to get involved."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his right hand.

In the palm of his hand, he held a palm-sized array plate, dark red in color and engraved with countless intricate patterns.

"Activate the formation!"

Jun Wanhe poured all his internal energy into the array plate.

The array plate glowed brightly with a red light.

"Boom!"

The ground of the entire Chun Ya Xuan began to shake violently.

Inside the underground palace, sixteen dark openings suddenly appeared in the solid rock walls.

Sixteen thick black iron chains, each as thick as an adult's thigh, shot out with a piercing shriek that tore through the air.

The tops of the chains were menacing dragon head barbs, which precisely and firmly embedded themselves into sixteen energy nodes in the dome and on the ground of the underground palace.

hum-

A dark red light curtain rose from the ground, centered on Chun Ya Xuan, forming a huge inverted bowl that completely isolated the entire courtyard from the outside world.

The blinding flashlights at the wellhead went out instantly.

Even Zhou Weiguo's shouts could no longer be heard.

"This is... the Dragon-Trapping Locking Formation!"

One of the Jun family's shadow guards recognized the formation, his voice filled with fervor and awe.

"The patriarch has actually used his last trump card!"

The moment the formation was activated, the temperature inside the underground palace began to rise at an alarming rate.

The air was distorted by the heat, and every breath carried the smell of a red-hot iron.

The bloodstains on the ground evaporated rapidly, turning into a foul-smelling white mist.

"Jiang Chen!"

Jun Wanhe's maniacal laughter pierced through the rock strata and reached everyone's ears clearly.

"This formation is called 'Trapped Dragon,' but it is actually a furnace for alchemy!"

"I will refine you, those two women beside you, and my good-for-nothing niece into the purest 'Human Essence Pill'!"

"To pave the final step towards the divine realm for my son's pride!"

"Hahaha! This is your honor!"

The laughter was filled with cruelty and pleasure.

Inside the underground palace, Xiao Ruoye and Shen Suxin stood back to back, struggling to withstand the attacks of the shadow guards and the omnipresent high temperature.

Xiao Ruoye's combat uniform was charred in several places, and blisters had formed on her exposed skin.

Each swing of the hoe felt like pulling a red-hot iron from a furnace, leaving his hands a bloody mess.

Shen Suxin's situation is even worse.

She kept sprinkling the powder, creating cloud after cloud of poisonous mist, but the mist evaporated within seconds under the intense heat.

Her forehead was covered in sweat, her face was flushed, her lips were chapped, and she looked like a dehydrated fish.

"Sister Xiao...I...I can't hold on much longer..." Shen Suxin gasped for breath, her voice trembling.

Xiao Ruoye smashed the head of a shadow guard with a hoe, then turned to look at the tightly closed stone door.

There was still no movement inside.

"Hold on a little longer!" Xiao Ruoye gritted her teeth, a resolute glint in her eyes. "He'll come out!"

Just then.

"Squeak—"

The stone door they had guarded with their lives opened.

Jiang Chen walked out from inside.

He changed back into his black combat uniform, holding the unconscious Jun Yao in his arms.

His face was still pale, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.

Two dark golden flames burned silently deep within his pupils.

"Jiang Chen!" Xiao Ruoye was both surprised and delighted.

Jiang Chen's gaze swept over the two wounded women, over the pile of corpses on the ground, and finally landed on the Jun family's shadow guards whose offensive had slowed down due to the high temperature.

"Thanks for your hard work."

He spoke, his voice a little hoarse.

Then, he did something that surprised everyone.

He walked to the center of the underground palace and carefully placed Junyao on a relatively clean stone slab.

Then, he sat down cross-legged.

It was as if this purgatory, which could turn even a grandmaster to ashes, was just a warm sauna.

"What are you doing!" Xiao Ruoye shouted, both anxious and angry. "That old dog outside wants to use us for alchemy! Are you just going to sit here and wait to die?"

The Jun family's shadow guards were also stunned.

They stopped and looked at each other, puzzled as to what this murderous god was up to.

Jiang Chen raised his head and looked at the anxious Xiao Ruoye and the exhausted Shen Suxin.

He didn't explain, he just looked at them calmly.

"come over."

The two words carry an undeniable power.

Xiao Ruoye and Shen Suxin exchanged a glance. Although they were puzzled, they dragged their tired bodies to Jiang Chen's side.

As soon as they got close, they felt the aura emanating from Jiang Chen, which seemed to form a small barrier, isolating the scorching heat wave slightly.

Junyao, curled up on the stone slab, seemed to sense the danger as well.

She murmured unconsciously, and a faint purple mist began to appear around her.

That was her spirit Gu body, which instinctively released its power to protect itself in a life-or-death crisis.

"Jun Wanhe is right, this is indeed an alchemy furnace."

Jiang Chen spoke, his tone revealing no trace of panic.

"But it is not us who are being refined."

He looked up at the red-hot rock face above him and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"The shackles within me need a fire to burn them off."

"The Jun family's century-old heritage is just right."

Xiao Ruoye and Shen Suxin were both completely confused.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Ruoye asked.

Jiang Chen did not explain further.

He opened his eyes.

The two beams of golden light that pierced through the red mist sent a shiver down the spines of the two women.

"Believe me."

Jiang Chen's voice was soft, yet it carried a calming power.

"This is our only blessing."

As he spoke, he extended his hands to the two women.

Palms facing upwards.

Those hands were still stained with the blood offered by the Jun family.

Give me your hand.

Xiao Ruoye and Shen Suxin hesitated for a moment.

Finally, they slowly reached out and placed their hands, soaked with sweat and blood, into Jiang Chen's palms.

Two slightly cool little hands and one warm big hand were clasped together.

"Close your eyes."

Jiang Chen said in a low voice.

"Guard your mind and do not resist whatever you feel."

"Borrow fire into the body, and from destruction comes creation."

"Today, I'll be leading you."

"A meteoric rise to power."