Shen Qing had been quietly watching the battle in the distance. But gradually, she noticed something amiss.
The blood of the demons and cultivators on the ground mixed together, turning sticky. The color had darkened due to the soil, yet when Shen Qing stepped on it, she strangely felt a faint warmth seeping from beneath.
Because of this faint warmth, the fresh blood on the ground failed to coagulate for a long time. Instead, it became even stickier.
Shen Qing crouched down and placed her hand on the ground. However, instead of the expected warmth, she was invaded by a cold aura. Her palm instantly started to throb with pain.
"This is... resentment..."
A shock ran through Shen Qing's heart. She immediately realized that something had been done to this place.
Here, the souls of the unjustly deceased were mixed with a large amount of demonic qi, forming a powerful resentment. This resentment penetrated deep underground, as if awakening something beneath.
Before Shen Qing could figure out what was going on, the thing underground seemed to have awakened and caused a tremor. But this tremor was so weak that the cultivators in the battle didn't notice it.
"Damn it!"
Shen Qing immediately sensed something was wrong. It seemed that the thing underground was about to emerge.
She quickly rushed towards the battlefield, trying to find the location of Real Man Kunshan. But the scene was too chaotic. Real Man Kunshan's figure was mingled among the cultivators and demons, and Shen Qing couldn't find him.
She could only shout loudly to everyone, "Get away from here quickly! There's something coming out from underground!!"
Shen Qing's voice was loud, but the sound of the fight was even louder. Her voice seemed so tiny amidst the noise.
Only two nearby cultivators heard what Shen Qing said, but they just glanced back at her and then plunged back into the battle.
Seeing that no one was listening to her, Shen Qing gritted her teeth and quickly recalled Wu Wang to her side.
Wu Wang had been happily slaying demons in the crowd. But in a flash, it found itself back beside Shen Qing. It complained unhappily, "What are you doing? I was having so much fun killing. Why did you summon me back?"
Seeing Wu Wang wriggling its body and trying to slip away from her hand, Shen Qing immediately punched it lightly on the head.
"Are you going crazy with killing? Haven't you noticed that there's something coming out from underground!"
Wu Wang had been feeling aggrieved, but after being reminded by Shen Qing, it realized that something was indeed wrong. It immediately sent its spiritual sense into the ground.
Beside it, Shen Qing was anxious but didn't dare to make a sound to disturb it.
She had also tried to spread her spiritual sense into the ground just now, but she only felt an extremely cold and gloomy aura. Her spiritual sense was forcefully pushed back.
How powerful must this resentment be to produce such a thing that even spiritual sense couldn't detect!
But as a sword spirit, Wu Wang wouldn't be like her. So Shen Qing could only recall it to her side.
Wu Wang's face became more and more solemn. Finally, its body even trembled a little.
It withdrew its spiritual sense. Its eyes were full of fear, and it immediately took a few steps back.
Shen Qing quickly asked, "What did you see?"
"A dragon! A huge dragon! Black! It's so terrifying!!"
Wu Wang stammered, with a great deal of fear in its tone, which made Shen Qing even more uneasy.
Shen Qing stopped Wu Wang from flying around randomly. "Tell me clearly what kind of dragon it is that could scare you like this?"
Wu Wang stretched out its short claws and pointed forcefully at the ground. "It's a black dragon, an ominous dragon!"
After saying that, it looked around. When it saw the sticky blood, it seemed to suddenly remember something. "Right! It's this blood! There's a great mountain - protecting formation beneath the Five - Element Dao Sect. But many people don't know that actually this formation also suppresses the countless wronged souls underground!"
"This place used to be like a mass grave. The corpses of cultivators who went mad or were killed would be thrown here to be suppressed. Over the ten thousand years, the resentment here has been extremely powerful. A great power set up a formation here to suppress these wronged souls."
"And that great power is the first sect master of the Five - Element Dao Sect. On top of this formation, he established the Five - Element Dao Sect."
"Now that there's so much fresh blood mixed here, it's the medium to unlock the formation. I don't know what else Han Ze has done, but this resentment has actually evolved into an ominous black dragon!"
"Shen Qing! Hurry up and let the people here escape. If it's too late, no one will be able to get away!!"
Shen Qing didn't know that the Five - Element Dao Sect had such a history. Now that she heard it, she knew that the situation had become extremely urgent.
"You knew about this. Why didn't you say it earlier!!"
Wu Wang pouted aggrievedly. It didn't do it on purpose. It just remembered it just now. Moreover, its memories were always incomplete. It was probably because it was a sword nurtured by Han Ze's dragon breath, so its memories were mixed with Han Ze's.
If no one mentioned it, it would be impossible for it to remember this on its own.
Only then did Shen Qing understand that Han Ze had deliberately chosen the Five - Element Dao Sect as the final battlefield in order to awaken the thing underground.
If these cultivators who were still fighting didn't escape early, they would eventually become sacrifices for the black dragon.
But why didn't Yu Xuzi foresee this?
Didn't he know that Han Ze would use the formation of the Five - Element Dao Sect? Why did he still take the initiative to send a message to let these people come here? What on earth was he thinking?
Shen Qing's thoughts were in a mess again. Just now, the situation was too urgent. She didn't have time to ask Yu Xuzi a few more questions before something happened to him.
Now, she could only rely on herself.
Shen Qing asked, "Do you have any way to remind everyone here to escape?"
Wu Wang thought for a while and said, "I can transform into an ice dragon and remind everyone in the air. I think everyone will be able to hear me like this."
Shen Qing nodded. "If that's the case, then do it quickly."
However, before Wu Wang could fly far, its body seemed to be suddenly frozen. After wriggling a few times, it floated in the air, unable to move.
Suddenly, Shen Qing felt a chill on her back. She quickly turned her head, only to find her neck being grabbed by Han Ze.
Shen Qing tightly grasped Han Ze's hand. Her neck was confined by Han Ze, and the feeling of suffocation was getting stronger. She forced her eyes open with difficulty and said, "Han Ze... Do you want to... destroy the Nine Desolate Continent?"
Han Ze laughed softly. "Sister, I won't let this place be destroyed. If it's destroyed, how can I become king?"
"However, for now, I have to use some extreme means. Please bear with it, sister."
After saying that, Han Ze immediately used ice to confine Shen Qing's hands. For some reason, Shen Qing felt that the power in her body was draining away more and more. Later, her body went limp, and she couldn't even stand steadily.
Shen Qing bit her tongue to keep herself awake. "What... are you... doing to me..."
Han Ze lowered his head and leaned close to Shen Qing. He said in a low voice, "Sister, just watch how your brother climbs to the peak step by step. I want you to know that the one who can become the master of the dragon clan and restore the glory of the dragon clan must be me!"
After saying that, Han Ze took two steps back. Madness flashed in his eyes, and the ice in his hand turned into an ice blade.
He raised his hand and swiped it across Shen Qing's neck. Instantly, blood spurted out.