novelraw Chapter 1267: Chains
Chapter 1267: Chains
Boom—!
The wall burst open at a single point and instantly collapsed in large chunks… Wang Hu stepped in through the breach — this was his most straightforward way of traveling: smashing straight through.
Heishui had only just withdrawn the hand that pierced through Zhong Luochen’s chest and abdomen — Wang Hu happened to witness the moment.
He merely glanced at Zhong Luochen, who lay in a pool of blood… Wang Hu didn’t know this human, so he naturally felt no interest. Whether the man lived or died wasn’t something he cared about.
So for Wang Hu, there was no sense of arriving “too late.”
Heishui’s expression remained cold and indifferent. She had taken a human life with that strike… yes, a human. To her, Zhong Luochen was merely a dispensable human being.
She didn’t feel deep hatred toward humans, but neither did she hold any fondness… If not for humanity’s endless expansion, she could’ve still lived peacefully in her original forest home. The young ones she cared for wouldn’t have been left homeless.
She had been restraining herself — True Dragon had once set rules. Later, after being forced out of Yang Taizi’s Daoist temple and coming here, she originally thought she would find stability in True Dragon’s territory.
But then humanity laid hands on her children. That crossed even her nearly nonexistent bottom line — along the way she saw brutally killed bodies, children treated like lab mice, and finally Piglet’s tearful complaints.
She didn’t feel she had done anything excessive. She had only killed the mastermind… She never intended to cause too many deaths. Once the main culprit was gone, she planned to take Piglet and leave.What happened afterwards was none of her concern.
If she couldn’t stay here, she’d take the young ones elsewhere. Divine Land was vast — surely there was a place where they could live… Even wandering endlessly was better than letting them be harmed.
But the situation changed — for example, this one-armed brute who smashed in through the wall. Unlike human martial artists, this man radiated pure demon energy — overwhelming demon energy.
“You’re with them too?”
Holding Piglet close, Heishui eyed Wang Hu with vigilance.
Perhaps stimulated by her demonic aura, a powerful urge to fight surged through Wang Hu’s heart… Having lost his memories, with no real moral compass, he acted purely on instinct. He shook his head. “I don’t know these humans… I’m just interested in you. Fight me. Beat me, and you can leave.”
“You’re trying to stall for time?” Heishui frowned.
Wang Hu wasn’t good with words—probably both before and now. Fighting was ingrained in him, almost instinctive. Without speaking, he launched forward with a sudden kick.
He just… attacked?!
Heishui was startled. His speed and pressure didn’t allow her the slightest carelessness. She instantly lifted a hand, conjuring a shield of condensed demonic energy.
Boom—!
The shield shattered instantly!
Heishui’s heart trembled… A massive surge of demonic energy crashed into her like a flood. She hugged Piglet tightly, curling around him—then she was struck, sent flying, and slammed violently into the wall.
“Big Sis!” Piglet cried in fear.
Blood trickled from the corner of Heishui’s lips. She drew a deep breath, steadied herself, and set Piglet down. “Hide. Big Sis will deal with this big brute… It won’t take long.”
Even as she said it, she wasn’t confident… The pressure from the one-armed man kept rising.
But Wang Hu didn’t strike again. Instead, he waited… only after she regained her stance did he step forward. “Ready? If you’re ready, go all out. Otherwise you might die.”
“A madman who only knows how to fight…” Heishui snorted.
She was certain they had no prior conflict, not even recognition. The man didn’t show actual hostility — only pure desire for battle.
She waved her hand; a sword materialized out of thin air. Her demonic energy surged violently… enough to nearly match the pressure Wang Hu exuded.
“Good!” Wang Hu’s eyes lit up.
The two clashed without any needless words… The reinforced concrete of the underground superpower research facility couldn’t withstand their power.
The structure trembled as destructive shockwaves spread. The entire building was becoming unstable…
Above, the demon cloud expanded into a massive vortex… Twin pillars of demonic energy shot skyward.
Just as this terrifying scene formed, the Management Bureau’s agent duo — Liu Minghao and Wei Zidào — arrived.
“Dear god… at least two big-demon-level monsters fighting?” They stared in shock.
Outside the building, two streaks of light spiraled upward around it. Every exchange shattered another section as if struck by a demolition hammer.
“Seriously… did they plan this? The Dragon Consultant leaves for five minutes and they start tearing down the city?! That one looks like… Wang Hu?” Wei Zidào cursed.
“Save people first,” Liu Minghao said urgently. “Bu Bugao said there are many injured inside… Leave that unknown big demon to Wang Hu!”
He rushed into the building.
“I’m definitely finding out Wang Hu’s true identity after this!” Wei Zidào growled and followed.
A big-demon-level monster normally required several high-level agents… He and Liu Minghao were only a junior and a mid-level agent. Pure luck kept them alive.
---
They didn’t know what exactly happened.
It felt like an earthquake. The moment Cheng Yun caught up to Chen Er, the disaster hit — neither was more than flesh and bone, and the collapsing concrete could have crushed them easily.
But whether it was Cheng Yun’s luck or Chen Er’s uncanny ability to avoid danger — neither suffered the slightest injury.
“Damn it! This road’s blocked too!” Chen Er cursed — another path sealed by falling debris.
“Are… are we going to be buried alive in here, Master Chen?” Cheng Yun grabbed Chen Er’s arm like a lifeline.
Chen Er wanted to shake him off. Not the time.
“Isn’t there another way?!” he snapped. “I’m not dying here!”
Cheng Yun panicked. “The other research sector… maybe there’s a path!”
“Then move!” Chen Er barked.
Cheng Yun jolted, scrambling ahead — then suddenly gasped with delight. “There’s a hole in the wall! Great, we don’t need to detour!”
Not just one hole — every wall ahead had similar breaches!
Following the broken path, they soon arrived at an area less destroyed.
“Master Chen, you were right! Disaster was coming for us! Good thing I followed you out — I’d be buried like the others… After this I’ll definitely repay you!”
“We’ll see.” Chen Er said absently.
Cheng Yun smiled — but froze.
At the end of the breached hallway lay a figure on the ground, blood pooling beneath him.
The… Second Young Master!
“Young Master!!” Cheng Yun cried, stumbling forward. “Young Master?! Wake up! Wake up!!”
Chen Er approached, frowning. Cheng Yun’s wailing annoyed him. “Stop shouting! He’s already dead! Look at the wound — who could survive that?”
The gaping hole in Zhong Luochen’s chest was unmistakable.
Cheng Yun’s trembling hands were now soaked in blood… He yelped and recoiled — and saw the Young Master’s eyes still open, staring blankly at him.
“W-w-what do we do… Y-Young Master is dead… he’s really dead…”
“Dead is dead, what else can you do?!” Chen Er snapped. “You planning to stay here and get buried with him? Are you leaving or not?!”
“Go… go… we can’t go, we can’t go!” Cheng Yun suddenly jolted to his feet, trembling, clutching Chen Er’s arm with both hands. “Second Young Master can’t die, he can’t die… Master, save him, you must have a way, right? You definitely have a way, Master Chen!!”
“You think I’m some kind of immortal?!” Chen Er flung his arm free. “Your Young Master is long dead! Sure, I can extend someone’s life, but only if they’re not dead yet!!”
“No, no, Master Chen, you must save Second Young Master, you must bring him back! If he doesn’t come back, none of us can survive, really!! Old Master won’t spare me… and he won’t spare you either! Master Chen!! Old Master loves Second Young Master the most, he’ll stop at nothing… Look, Second Young Master obviously wasn’t crushed to death—he was definitely killed… Old Master will find out!”
“I said it already, Zhong Luochen is ice-cold. He can’t be saved!! Don’t annoy me!!”
“No, no, no, no…” Cheng Yun trembled. “He’s my only bridge. If this bridge breaks, I’ll have nowhere to go… No, no, you… you can’t leave—!!!”
His expression twisted instantly, ferocious, both hands clamping down on Chen Er’s shoulders as he roared.
“Damn… you really think you’re somebody?” With a vicious move, Chen Er kneed him in the stomach, folding him over and making him retch in pain. “If you wanna die, do it alone… hmph!”
Ignoring him, Chen Er glanced around, looking for a way out.
Cheng Yun stared blankly at Zhong Luochen’s corpse, then slumped to the ground as if everything had drained away. “It’s over… everything’s over… all gone. Second Young Master, I’m sorry, but I’m leaving too. It’s not that I won’t save you, I have to live… At most, when you become a ghost, I’ll burn more offerings for you. Please… don’t come looking for me…”
But Chen Er suddenly paused. He turned back toward the terrified Cheng Yun. “What did you just say?”
“I said I’m leaving… I want to live.” Cheng Yun shivered. “Master Chen, don’t leave me! I—I have money, I really have money, I saved a lot over the years!!”
“Not that part. The last sentence!”
“Don’t… don’t come looking for me?”
“Two sentences before that!”
“Become… become a ghost, I’ll burn more offerings?”
“That’s it!” Chen Er rushed back to Zhong Luochen’s corpse, crouched down, pressed his fingers to the neck, then pulled open the eyelids to check the lifeless pupils.
“Mas… Master Chen?”
Chen Er’s eyes gleamed. “I can’t bring him back as a person, but as a ghost… I might be able to try!”
“Ghost?”
Chen Er nodded. “Ever heard of raising a little ghost? He just died, so his three souls and seven spirits shouldn’t have scattered yet… I can try summoning his soul, then raise it using the little-ghost method!”
Cheng Yun was terrified and thrilled. “Then… then can he come back to life?”
“You’ve watched too many movies. Ever heard the phrase ‘the dead can’t be revived’?” Chen Er snorted. “This is yin and yang, the order of heaven and earth! Even if some revival method existed, it’d bring heavenly punishment! One lightning strike and you’re charcoal! And my master never taught me anything like that! I can only help summon his soul and raise him as a little ghost… So? Yes or no? If not, I’m leaving right now!”
Cheng Yun clenched his teeth. “Master Chen… do it!”
Chen Er nodded—decisive as ever. He bit his finger and drew a Taoist sigil with blood on Zhong Luochen’s forehead. Then he barked, “Lift his body. There’s nothing here, I can’t do anything! We have to leave… go back to my villa, I need tools to set up the ritual!”
Chen Er had inherited Huang Qifa’s villa… it wasn’t far, maybe ten kilometers away.
Cheng Yun hurried to comply, swallowing hard as he hoisted Zhong Luochen’s corpse. “Master Chen, this way… I remembered, there’s an emergency passage here…”
……
……
BOOM—!!!
A dark figure plummeted from the sky.
Like a meteor, it crashed from the rooftop straight down through five or six floors before stopping… Heishui spat out dark blood, her body entangled by steel bars. She looked up at the shattered openings above.
Wang Hu stood on the upper floor, looking down.
“Your technique is terrible.” Wang Hu shook his head. “You have all that demonic energy, yet no idea how to use it. Wasteful. I used less than thirty percent of power equal to yours.”
Heishui’s demonic nature surged—fangs protruding, eyes turning vertical. She struggled to rise.
Wang Hu spread his fingers toward her, then clenched them. “If you don’t show something real, I might actually kill you… Don’t disappoint me.”
Something stirred in his memory.
His battle lust climbed higher… Wang Hu felt as if something in his forgotten memories was sprouting. If this demon with such massive demonic energy pushed him seriously…
All he needed was a thrilling fight.
The demonic clouds above trembled. The huge vortex spun wildly as an even greater violent demonic aura erupted from Heishui, shooting up to the heavens.
Her eruption sent gravel flying like bullets, pelting Wang Hu—who burst into wild laughter. Facing this overwhelming storm of demonic energy, faint changes rippled over his body.
The sigil of the White Tiger flickered on his forehead.
At the vortex’s center, Heishui’s vertical pupils fractured into golden shards. Her legs vanished, replaced by a black serpent tail. Behind her, the colossal demonic energy coalesced faintly into a massive phantom—snake head, humanoid torso.
The ground trembled, spreading outward from the building.
“Nuwa’s lineage…” Wang Hu murmured.
He had no idea what the words meant—instinct spoke them. His White Tiger blood roared as if provoked.
“Hahahahahahaha!!!”
Wang Hu roared toward the sky, thrilled for what was coming. The White Tiger transformation erupted on its own, instantly reaching its second stage. A demonic aura no weaker than Heishui’s exploded outward.
The two overwhelming demonic energies clashed. The upper floors of the building were pulverized instantly.
Both auras kept rising—still not at their peak. The true collision would only come when both hit their limits.
Almost there.
But at that very instant—just as their energies were about to peak—chains of cold light pierced through the clouds above, raining down.
The chains split into hundreds in an instant, falling like a curtain. They ignored the raging demonic energy, wrapping around Wang Hu and Heishui and shattering their power completely…
……
In his room, Luo Qiu—sleeping fully dressed—slowly opened his eyes.
Softly, he whispered, “This is the city… it seeks to protect.”
(End of Chapter)