The body of the dragon was covered in black scales with what seemed to be barbs on them. When they scraped against the skin, it felt as painful as being sliced by a blade.
Bai Qi was entangled with me. Seeing that I was shivering all over in pain, he summoned all his strength and tried to create a gap for me.
"Ah..." He let out a hysterical roar. His figure transformed from a cute little boy into a tall and strapping young man. His narrow eyes blazed with fury.
The muscles in his arms tightened. I heard the sound of his clothes tearing. He actually ripped off a scale from the dragon's body with his bare hands.
The dragon let out a pained howl and loosened its hold. Taking this opportunity, Bai Qi picked me up and flew out from where the dragon's body had been coiled.
"Be careful!" Before we could fully break free, the dragon opened its huge mouth wide. Its fangs caught my ankle and yanked me violently towards it.
I let out a scream and raised my hand to push Bai Qi away, trying to send him to safety. I thought it was better for one of us to die than both of us.
Unexpectedly, this guy grabbed my shoulder tightly and refused to let go.
The dragon opened and closed its mouth again, and we were swallowed whole.
Seeing this, Long Lin shouted my name and was about to fly over to rescue us. But another dragon coiled around him. At this moment, he could barely take care of himself and could only watch helplessly as we fell into the dragon's mouth.
To the dragon, two people were hardly enough to fill its teeth. We were swallowed without being chewed. A stench of rotten meat assailed my nostrils. Then it went dark before my eyes, and I lost consciousness.
I didn't know how long I had been unconscious. It was Bai Qi who woke me up. Groggily, I saw that I was sitting on something red, covered in all kinds of mucus. It looked disgusting.
I instinctively drew my feet back. They still hurt. I looked down at the wound on my ankle. Bai Qi had already bandaged it for me.
He stared at me with a frown, looking quite unhappy.
"What's wrong? Are you injured somewhere?" I quickly checked his dirty clothes. They were in tatters. Sure enough, I found a large scar on his shoulder. There was still some dirt on it, and the wound was red and swollen. If it wasn't treated soon, it might get infected.
Thankfully, there was a first - aid kit in my backpack. I quickly took it out and planned to bandage his wound.
I couldn't help but scold him: "Why did you only treat my wound? Your shoulder is so badly injured. Didn't you know you should treat it first? If it gets infected, what will happen to your physical body? I'm so worried about you."
"Well, you were also trying to push me away just now. It's so dark in here. Wouldn't you be scared if you fell alone? I'd be worried about you too."
So he was angry about this.
I pursed my lips with relief. I didn't know what to say to him. Although we weren't real siblings, our bond was stronger than that of real siblings.
Although he was a celestial being with strong healing ability, the thing that bit him was also a demon celestial. If it wasn't treated properly, there might be after - effects. I had to treat his wound carefully.
"Come on, stop being angry. Even though I didn't want you to follow, you still came down, right? Gu Yuan was right. You're my little shadow. I can never shake you off." I tapped his nose, trying to make him happy.
"If you push me away next time, I'll really be angry." Bai Qi touched his nose. He looked so pouty that it made me want to laugh.
"Don't worry. Next time there's trouble, I'll cling to you first."
I picked up the flashlight and shone it around. The place was bathed in a blood - red light. Various body parts and skeletons were floating in the blood.
Some intact skeletons were wrapped in something like spider webs, looking like cocoons. All the essence and blood in their bodies had been drained. They were hanging in mid - air, swaying from time to time. It was quite terrifying.
"Where are we?" I whispered.
Bai Qi stood up, pressing his injured shoulder. He checked the blood - drained people and said, "We should be in the stomach of the Nine - Headed Dragon. We have to find a way out quickly, or we might end up like them."
"Do you think it will be easier to find its inner core now that we're inside its body?"
This Nine - Infant Demon Celestial was huge. Its black scales were as hard as steel plates. Not even a hail of bullets could penetrate them. Bai Qi had exhausted all his strength just to break off one scale. It would be even more difficult to penetrate its thick muscles and take the inner core.
Maybe it wasn't a bad thing that we had been swallowed by it.
"Good for you, Lan Lan. You're starting to use your brain now."
I pretended to be angry and glared at him. So he had always thought I was a silly girl.
Just as the two of us, both injured, were about to find a way out along the dragon's stomach, the Nine - Headed Dragon suddenly started to shake.
Bai Qi and I could hardly stand steady. A powerful sense of oppression came from behind us, making it almost impossible for us to breathe.
We turned around together and saw a huge dragon's head staring at us menacingly.
Damn it! Its primordial spirit was actually here. It must have heard our conversation and come directly.
Bai Qi protected me behind him. He conjured a short gun out of thin air and was ready to fight it.
As the primordial spirit of the Nine - Headed Dragon spread its huge ear - like wings, a gust of evil wind blew over.
The saliva spat out from its huge mouth was enough to drown a person.
Seeing this, Bai Qi took me to a high place. He put me down and then quickly rushed towards the dragon's primordial spirit.
He split the short gun into two parts and held one in each hand. He stabbed straight at the Nine - Headed Dragon's eyes. But the dragon's eyelids were very hard. The gun tips only sparked when they hit them and didn't hurt it at all.
I stood there, my heart in my mouth. I tried to think of a way to help him. Unexpectedly, I was attracted by a light in the distance.
Just as I was staring intently at it, a man in white clothes and a mourning mask suddenly appeared behind me.
I turned around abruptly. His appearance gave me a shock.
"Lord White - Mask? Why are you here?" I limped back a couple of steps quickly.
He stood there with his hands behind his back, his figure tall and straight. I couldn't tell his expression because of the mask.
"Old acquaintance. I told you we'd meet again." His voice was deep, with a natural, mixed tone.
"Old acquaintance? I don't know you." I secretly slipped a dagger out of my sleeve and held it in my hand warily.
"You've been reincarnated. It's not strange that you don't remember."
I stared at him warily while using my peripheral vision to check on Bai Qi. I was afraid something would happen to him.
"He's at a disadvantage. This is a Nine - Headed Dragon that has been cultivating for thousands of years. It's the only one that can be called the Nine - Infant Demon Celestial."
I didn't want to waste time talking to him. After all, finding the inner core was my top priority now.
"I won't talk to you much. After all, your friend won't last long. If you want to find the inner core, I can help you." Lord White - Mask actually saw through my thoughts at a glance.
"Why should I trust you? You're on the same side as the Five - Path Gods." I said with a bad tone.
"Hahaha, so what? Our ultimate goal is the same, isn't it?"
I didn't quite understand what he meant, but he didn't explain further. He raised his sleeve and turned around to walk inside.
He showed me his back without any fear that I might attack him from behind.
"Old acquaintance, if you don't want your friends and loved ones to die in front of you, follow me."
He didn't stop walking. He seemed to be using teleportation. If I couldn't keep up, he might never show up again.
Looking at his disappearing back, I was extremely conflicted. Should I follow him or not?