CHAPTER 1741: CHAPTER 485: LONG AND INESCAPABLE

When Zheng Qing’s stomach was "hammered," he hadn’t yet recovered from the previous shock.

He had rushed up to stop the Bronze Dragon in mid-air from using magic to destroy the Black Prison Castle; he was prepared to pay a huge price, even self-sacrifice; he genuinely wanted to do something good.

But the situation unfolded completely beyond his expectations.

Admittedly, his stance on "self-sacrifice" wasn’t that firm, or rather, it was tinged with a bit of wishful thinking—The gentleman is so powerful, even if I died, he could bring me back once more, right?

But his desire to do "good" was absolutely certain.

However, this mindset collapsed along with the slender red sky pillar toppling and the collapse of the defensive magic array inside the Black Prison Castle.

This was not the result he wanted.

Standing in mid-air, he saw a hunting team stationed on the inner castle wall buried by the collapsing walls as they failed to escape in time; he also saw the bewildered yet viciously delighted faces of demons on the battlefield, mixed with shock; moreover, he saw the confused eyes of the big Black Cat and the puzzled expressions of his companions in the shallow pit below.

The sky darkened.

The earth rolled like waves.

The entire world, along with the boy’s mood, plunged to the bottom.

Even though later the Paradise Mountain of Atlas fell, pressing down on the earth’s veins, the two suns ceased, and the sky stabilized, the boy’s mood did not improve in the slightest.

He didn’t know where he went wrong, beginning to doubt his choice—Clearly, staying down there quietly, this wouldn’t have happened; even if the sky fell, there would be someone taller to hold it up, why should a young wizard try to show off? Was it because the words ’forbidden curse seed’ gave him too much confidence, making him think he could be a hero, be a protagonist?

The young wizard was lost in this chaotic thought, unable to extricate himself.

Naturally, he also ignored the spray of fruit rising from the depths of the inner fortress, ignored the starlight scattering like fireworks, ignored the sudden boiling atmosphere on the entire battlefield, and the battle that had suddenly turned into a white heat once again.

Surprises and death happen in an instant.

Only hardships are long and hard to escape.

Wizards and demons on the battlefield desperately fought for that precious moment, while the young wizard in mid-air sank deeply into a sea of suffering.

Then, in the depths of the sea of suffering, he faintly heard the ticking sound of a clock hand moving.

He also heard what seemed like the babbling flow of a river.

His glazed eyes rolled around.

This finally brought him a trace of liveliness.

"Boom!"

A fruit shot from a distance, striking the boy’s arms, and knocked him down from mid-air back into the shallow pit on the ground. The heavy impact and sharp pain finally brought the young wizard back to his senses from the incident of the sky pillar collapsing earlier. Immediately, he felt several malicious gazes, unapologetically falling on him, making him shiver all over.

He held his stomach, struggling to stand with Zhang Ji Xin’s help.

Opening his hand, cradled in his palm was a fist-sized fruit, pale yellow with strands of blood-red mixed in, looking almost like a peach. Without needing much thought, Zheng Qing knew what he held in his hand.

Xuanhuang Fruit.

This fruit was the most direct fuse that ignited this war, and also the legendary elixir that could help the great demons purify their bloodline and help great wizards break through bottlenecks.

Although in reality, no one could clearly explain exactly what miraculous effects this fruit had—whether it could strengthen the body, purify the soul, or accumulate magic to aid in enlightenment—very few who had consumed the fruit and advanced to legend returned to preach to the common folk.

The only certainty people had was that this fruit indeed worked.

That was enough.

"Run!"

The Black Cat didn’t hesitate for a moment, headbutting the boy’s lower back, growling in a low voice: "Run towards Professor Yao, while those guys haven’t made a move yet... run!!"

Zheng Qing still stood there dumbstruck, holding the fruit.

The other hunters of the Absolution Hunting Team had already reacted. Without a word, Zhang Ji Xin grabbed Zheng Qing by the waist, threw him over his shoulder, and started running, with the Black Cat sticking close to their feet.

On a battlefield filled with big wizards, Xin Fat Man dared not recklessly release the true form of the Blue Giant, fearing being crushed by a boss’s finger. But this didn’t prevent him from magnifying a part of his body, like manifesting a pair of huge hands to block incoming rocks from afar, or creating two long legs to help the two captains of the hunting team escape together.

Xiao Xiao held the Turtle Shell, covering the three with a layer of faint golden protective barrier.

And Blue Bird and Dylan, upon Zhang Ji Xin’s initial dash from the shallow pit, sprang out to clear the path for him, fending off several suddenly appearing undead and corpse puppets.

These young people indeed reacted quickly.

But one must admit, on this battlefield, they were still too inexperienced. And holding a Xuanhuang Fruit, trying to distance oneself from a group of Dark Councilors, was overly naive.

The young wizards of the Absolution Hunting Team, after running out of the shallow pit, were forced to stop after merely advancing over ten meters.

One by one, barren patches of dark red earth slowly arched up, revealing hideous pale figures, which were the bones of demons buried in the Black Prison Castle. They turned their stiff necks, slowly gazing at the young wizards, their hollow eye sockets flickering with a pale soul fire.

Simultaneously, withered arms broke through the surface restraints, like man-eating flowers, reaching for the warlocks’ nearly reachable ankles and calves.

"Stop them."

The hoarse and concise order from the undead Great Witch Lin Chi of the Dark Council rang clearly in the ears of every young wizard: "...Capture them, get that fruit."

Did they refrain from giving a deadly order because I just helped them out? As Zheng Qing lay on Zhang Ji Xin’s shoulder, this self-destructive thought flashed through his mind.

He had just attempted to run away himself, but the earlier "magic" had not only drained his body of forbidden spell aura but had also exhausted nearly all his magic power, leaving not a drop. Therefore, even now, he felt weak with rubbery limbs.

Zheng Qing had no doubt that as his companions left him behind, he might not even have the strength to crawl a few steps forward.

"Get lost!!"

He heard Zhang Ji Xin’s furious roar beside his ear.

The red-faced male wizard swung his fist, leaping into the air to avoid several arms suddenly shooting up from the ground, then turned around, slamming down heavily: "Damn it, you soul light!!"

Boom!

The ground suddenly sank with the point where the fist landed as the center, creating a small bowl-like pit several meters round. The pit was filled with scattered bones.

Then, carrying Zheng Qing, Zhang Ji Xin fell heavily to the ground.