Dead End

The labyrinthine tunnel Du Chen was in was incredibly narrow. Even with just a few humans and two Green Gourd Beasts, they already occupied a fifth of the space. As throngs of panicked Green Gourd Beasts fled through, the tunnel became completely crammed, making Duhong feel constrained the moment he launched his attack.

He crouched and let out a low roar, emitting layers of water-like sonic waves from his mouth. Before these waves could reach Du Chen and his group, they were blocked by the frenzied Green Gourd Beasts. *Pfft, pfft, pfft!* The Green Gourd Beasts were pulverized by the sonic waves, green fluids splattering everywhere. But this also weakened the waves' power, so by the time they reached Du Chen, their intensity had dimmed considerably.

Deboning sliced through the Metallic Sonic Wave with his Blade, his conviction firm. He bellowed, "Young Master, it truly is Constantine! Watch these two Green Gourd Beasts; he's all mine!"

With that, he merged with his Blade and charged towards Duhong!

A lingering resentment had always festered within Deboning. That day, he had only crippled the Rebellious Dragon by ambushing him from inside his belly – a truly humiliating act for a master! Back then, he genuinely wasn't a match for Constantine, one of the Five Peaks of Myriad Streams, and had to obey orders to achieve Du Chen's goal. But today, with a new sacred artifact boosting his strength immensely, he was eager to use the Rebellious Dragon as a benchmark to test his progress!

Swallowing his indignation, Deboning furiously mobilized the Water and Metal Elements within him, shouting to Ben, "I'm going all out! Protect the Young Master!" Blade light morphed and crisscrossed, a swirling, coiling smoke of black and blue light intertwined, shooting towards Duhong.

Old Foye stood guard in front of Du Chen, his Blade held horizontally, defending against Deboning's scattered blade aura.

Meanwhile, Duhong felt a slight surprise when his initial sonic wave proved ineffective. "Well met!" he sneered, fixing his gaze on the blade light. *You call me what? Constantine! Hmph, I, Duhong, as a Nether Dragon, have endured decades of arduous cultivation in metal Secret Techniques for the Marshal's grand ambition, so much so that I believe my every move, even my Secret Techniques, are indistinguishable from Constantine's…*

*But if you truly believe I am Constantine, then you are mistaken! Terribly mistaken! Without strength far surpassing the Rebellious Dragon, how dare I impersonate Constantine and stir up a bloody storm across the Three Continents!?*

*My missions, Duhong's missions, never fail precisely because my enemies treat me as Constantine, while I… far surpass the Rebellious Dragon!*

Deboning's blade light drew near.

Duhong opened his mouth and spat out another sonic wave, its water-like undulations meeting Deboning's smoky attack. But just then, Duhong shifted his shoulders and clapped his hands, *Pa! Pa! Pa!* With each clap, three sonic waves shot out, reversing their trajectory along the sonic wave he had just exhaled, striking Deboning's head and both shoulders!

Deboning was stunned. *Constantine still has the energy for a counterattack? When did he become this formidable?* With no time to ponder, he flicked his wrist, his scimitar leveraging the power of his Level 10 sacred artifact to condense all surrounding Water Elements into a horizontal wall of water, blocking all four sonic waves.

With a muffled *'thud!'* the water wall shattered, the sonic waves dissipated, and Duhong stood tall, grinning menacingly at Deboning. Deboning, however, was sent stumbling backward, crushing several Green Gourd Beasts underfoot. He used their bodies as a buffer to regain his footing, preventing himself from falling into the dense, maze-like tunnel entrance!

Deboning was shocked. *This blow from Constantine was no less powerful than the Dragon God's! Has he advanced to an Eleventh-level Battle God and become a deity!?*

Duhong sneered, beckoning provocatively with a finger. "Not bad, you might reach Eleventh-level Battle God in another ten or eight years. Come again!"

*When did Constantine become this formidable?* Old Foye stared at his old friend, whom he had met years ago at Mount Wanliu. Du Chen asked the Green Gourd Beast a few questions, then whispered, "Uncle, today's Rebellious Dragon is off! We need to leave! The Green Gourd Beast has already told us which tunnels we can take!"

Old Foye shook his head slightly. "We can't retreat. Even if we're fast, we can't outrun Constantine's sonic waves. If we turn and run, losing the initiative, we'll surely be caught in his sonic death-net! Be careful yourself, I'm going to help!"

Saying this, Old Foye charged forward with his Blade.

But even two blades fighting one person, they were still forced into a disadvantage by Duhong.

Du Chen used his battle qi to snatch two Green Gourd Beasts, throwing them into the Precious Lotus Scripture as well. Once inside and shrunk, he cautiously dodged the scattered blade light, then casually tossed out Dus. "Old Five, take the Fire Lotus Lantern and go help!" After speaking, Du Chen knocked out one Green Gourd Beast and asked the other, "Tell me clearly right now, all the paths from here to Blade of Heaven Peak and how to take them! Don't even think about lying; I'll interrogate your brother separately later!"

The Green Gourd Beast nodded repeatedly. "The first path is the third tunnel on your left. After entering, when the tunnel changes for the second time, take the left one…"

Du Chen activated his superhuman memory, desperately trying to commit it to memory. His plan was that today's Rebellious Dragon was absolutely problematic, not something his group could handle. He needed to quickly use the time Deboning and his uncle could hold him off, master the nearby map, and then find a way to escape with everyone in the shrunken Precious Lotus Scripture – as long as the Lotus disappeared from Constantine's sight, with Arcane Artifacts being discoverable only by Tyran Beasts, they might just get away.

But as he memorized, Du Chen suddenly realized why the people of Water's Embrace Lake carried maps with them; the map of this Labyrinth of Life was completely an unregulated string of numbers. If taking the third tunnel from the left during the second change was recorded as 2-3, then the following would be 7-8, 6-4… and so on, a string of immensely long numbers. Even Du Chen's superhuman memory found it confusing. He could only bite his fingertip and record the numbers on his clothes with blood.

Du Chen wasn't alone in the Precious Lotus Scripture. Steve was curled up in a corner, dazed, but Xue Ji was wide awake. She was amazed by the miraculous sacred artifact of her benefactor, but also keenly watched Constantine.

Suddenly, Xue Ji said, "Benefactor, you just said this man is Constantine, one of the Five Peaks of Myriad Streams. Xue Ji once heard my teacher comment on the Rebellious Dragon, and he absolutely could not possess such strength! Moreover, Xue Ji has discovered something peculiar!"

Du Chen looked up, his hands still ceaselessly recording.

Xue Ji pondered, "Constantine, like your friend with the scimitar, should be a Battle God originating from the metal-element, but who has evolved a second element – water. However, after watching a few of his moves, this man's techniques are entirely metal-elemental, showing no water-elemental Secret Techniques. In fact, even after your friend used water-elemental Secret Techniques, it didn't elicit any resonance from Constantine. Furthermore…"

Du Chen's mind was entirely focused on recording numbers, with no spare capacity to analyze what Xue Ji meant. He urgently said, "Miss, if you've discovered something, please state it directly!"

Xue Ji nodded apologetically. "Xue Ji is long-winded, I apologize. Xue Ji believes that although this person looks exactly like Constantine, he is absolutely not a Battle God truly originating from the metal-element. Instead, like the Pontiff, he originates from the Earth-element, and has evolved the metal-element from his Earth-element. Given that he can wield the metal-element to such a degree, even making your two friends believe he is metal-elemental, this indicates he is an Eleventh-Tier Battle God of Earth-elemental origin who has fully integrated the metal-element, not a metal-elemental Constantine!"

As she spoke, Xue Ji still wondered. *Since my benefactor could save my life, he should be extraordinarily powerful. But why is his eyesight so… It seems my benefactor's strength isn't high, but he possesses miraculous life-saving Secret Techniques – apparently this sacred artifact I'm in!*

Du Chen, hearing this, exclaimed, "You're saying this Constantine is fake?"

Xue Ji nodded. "Unfortunately, Xue Ji cannot act at this moment, otherwise, I could fight this fake Constantine. But it's fortunate that this fake Constantine's hidden innate element is Earth. Your friend with the scimitar happens to wield Dead Water, which can restrain the Earth-element. So, with the cooperation of the other person, have the one who controls water elements unleash their full power, attacking the fake Constantine's innate Earth-element! Perhaps we can seize a glimmer of hope!"

Though Xue Ji was injured, her keen eyesight remained!

By this point, Du Chen had recorded most of the map. He suddenly stood up. "Brook, this man is fake! His innate element is Earth!" This single sentence was enough! After saying it, Du Chen touched his nose and glanced at Xue Ji. *Damn it, this Old Hag claims to be the best after Margaret of Water's Embrace Lake, and it seems she wasn't just bragging!*

*Good thing she's injured!*

Duhong also heard the warning and let out a cold laugh. "Not bad, you actually discovered my true identity!" His body trembled, revealing his innate element as he transformed into flowing black sand, like a black dragon dancing through the tunnel. "Since you know I'm fake, I can't let you live! Prepare to die!"

Rolling black sand swept forth. Deboning and Old Foye stood back-to-back. Deboning's Dead Water Blade cleaved, and the Dead Water mingled with the Black Sand. Duhong grunted, but Deboning and Old Foye were also shaken apart. Both knelt, Old Foye gasping for breath, while Deboning, who had directly confronted Duhong's edge with his water, couldn't steady himself and tumbled over!

"Hmph, injured? You actually dare to injure me?" The Black Sand once again solidified into a human form. Duhong's chest was stained with blood. Standing in the tunnel, he scanned his opponents...

Suddenly, Duhong opened his mouth and spat out a sonic wave, aiming it at the weakest person here… no, at Xue Ji! "Nosy girl, this is for you!"

But at this moment, Du Chen and Xue Ji were together in the Precious Lotus Scripture, fellow sufferers in the same boat!

The sonic wave came too quickly. Du Chen had just conjured the Water Veil Shield when it struck head-on. *"Boom!"* The immense pressure caused the Precious Lotus Scripture to sway violently, throwing everyone inside into disarray!

Old Foye and Deboning were aghast. Deboning, severely injured, struggled to rise. Old Foye, faring slightly better, held his breath, got up, and embraced the already wounded Duhong. "You want to kill my child? Come play with me in the tunnel!" With that, he twisted with all his might, dragging Duhong headfirst into the nearest tunnel beside them!

It was a Dead End!