Pov: Vik
Gradually, my venom began to take effect. Her movements slowed down, and after a minute, she could hardly move. I noticed this and signaled Lu Ran with my tail. He fired an arrow, which was special because it contained a grenade at its tip.
Fortunately, both Lu Xiaoran and Roman had a grenade with them. We initially thought we wouldn't use them, but now they proved useful. The arrow flew through the air and hit her in the face, resulting in a blast that blew away half of the dragon's face, ending the fight and her life.
After the battle, my disciples and I took a moment to catch our breath, exhausted from the constant dodging and attacking. But then I realized that Xia Yang, who had been outside just moments ago, was missing; she must have entered the cave shrine. Just as I was thinking about going in, a slight earthquake shook the ground.
We wasted too much time outside. Lin Chen must be close to getting that treasure. Feeling uneasy about the quake, I headed toward the entrance of the cave, and my disciples followed me along with Lu Ran. They must have sensed that something was wrong inside the shrine.
As I entered the cave, I first saw the damp rock walls covered in moss. Water occasionally dripped from the ceiling. The cave resembled a narrow tunnel. Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and Lu Ran moved slowly because of the terrain, but I slithered quickly along the cave floor.
Continuing forward, I reached a larger area in the cave, which opened into a much bigger cavern. This place was cleaner and filled with human structures. Dozens of pillars, carved from white jade, supported the ceiling of this cavern.
It looked like a temple built inside a mountain. I moved deeper into the shrine, navigating between those jade pillars, until I found a smaller shrine-like structure. It was two stories tall, not small, but compared to the massive pillars, it felt tiny.
Upon entering, I sensed a strange energy. For the first time since arriving in this heaven-suppressing zone, I felt something supernatural. However, this energy was unfamiliar; it wasn't spiritual energy. Spiritual energy felt like air, while this was much denser, resembling flowing water.
I felt some resistance from this energy, as if it looked down on me, like a dragon viewing a small snake. Nevertheless, I pressed on and entered the shrine, where I finally spotted Lin Chen and Xia Yang.
In front of me was a platform, resembling an altar, with a statue of a dragon on it. The perfect eastern dragon was made of green jade, with antlers like a deer, a snake-like body, a lizard-like face, a lion-like mane, and eagle-like claws. Even as a statue, it exuded a sense of oppression.
Lin Chen and Xia Yang stood near the statue. Xia Yang was merely watching, while Lin Chen was doing something strange. He stood in front of the dragon statue, drawing strange symbols with his own blood from a cut on his finger.
The symbols glowed with a golden hue. Another earthquake shook the ground as those symbols brightened. Soon, Lu Xiaoran, Roman, and Lu Ran arrived. Despite standing in front of the altar, we couldn't stop him. The earthquake had caused the altar to rise, forcing us to look up at it.
Without wasting any time, Lu Xiaoran and Roman drew their pistols, ready to shoot Lin Chen. However, Xia Yang stepped in front of him, taking a bullet from Roman. Lu Xiaoran hesitated before firing, but the bullet struck Xia Yang in the shoulder, causing her to fall back toward Lin Chen, bleeding.
Seeing Xia Yang's condition, he shouted, "Xia Yang!" He tried to move, but she managed to hold on to her consciousness and said, "Brother Lin, I'm fine. Please focus on your work. Only then we can survive. Even if I die today, complete this work to have a chance of survival. Brother Lin, please!"
This was the classic moment of a heroine sacrificing herself for the hero. I realized Lin Chen was destined for an upgrade due to the power of love. I refused to be defeated by that, so I condensed energy in my tail and jumped toward the high altar. I almost missed but managed to land at the edge. I had to stop Lin Chen.
Unfortunately, I was too late. Lin Chen had bitten into his hand, bleeding a lot. His blood covered the entire dragon statue, causing it to crack. Golden light seeped from those cracks, and earthquakes began to intensify, along with spatial fissures forming in the cave. The realm was collapsing.
In mere seconds, the statue was completely destroyed, and in its place, a dark bead surrounded by flowing golden light appeared. This must be the Heaven-Suppressing Bead. Lin Chen reached out for it, but then he froze, or you could say he was attacked—not by me or my disciples, but by Xia Yang.
I couldn't believe my eyes. The same Xia Yang who took a bullet for Lin Chen now attacked him with a dagger. She drove a strange dagger, marked with dark purple inscriptions, into Lin Chen's shoulder. Taken by surprise, he gasped, "Why?" But she didn't answer. Instead, she pulled out the dagger, revealing another strange bead like the Heaven-Suppressing Bead, which must be the Heavenly Bead, the source of Lin Chen's original power.
Now, holding it, Xia Yang moved toward the Heaven-Suppressing Bead and took it in her hands. A dragon's roar echoed throughout the Heaven-Suppressing realm, causing the entire place to crack open. The cave was filled with spatial fissures, and my disciples and I were sucked into one of them, along with the injured Lin Chen and Xia Yang.