Chapter 11: The Butterfly Bone Dragon Clan (Part 1)

With a deafening crash, the outer wall of the glowing barrier was struck by fierce forces from all directions, abruptly halting its momentum and leaving it suspended in mid-air.

A flash of red light rippled as the outermost explosive current was triggered in the nick of time, erupting into a sheet of fire.

Two or three giant demons who had been standing a little too close quickly wrenched themselves away and flew backward. Even so, their bodies caught fire, and they had to be frantically beaten out by their companions.

Though their injuries were not severe, this initial defeat inevitably stirred up a shared sense of outrage among the spirits. Enclosing the area with lightning speed, the horde of demons regrouped once more. Instead of rushing to attack, however, they conferred in low whispers, seemingly searching for the vulnerabilities in the barrier.

"What are they planning?" Shi Jun asked, unable to keep a hint of anxiety out of his voice as he turned to look at Zi Sheng.

Zi Sheng did not answer, keeping his cold gaze fixed on the outside.

A delicate-looking female demon named Ice Brow stepped out from the crowd. Originally a species of moth surviving on the surface of the water, she had already transformed into human form, yet white, butterfly-like wings still fluttered slowly behind her shoulders, possessing a chilling and ethereal beauty.

As she drew a slow breath and parted her cherry lips slightly, millions of microscopic ice crystals suddenly shot out from her mouth, carrying a bone-chilling mist that struck the explosive current with pinpoint accuracy.

A continuous hiss filled the air. Water and fire are incompatible; the moment the ice crystals met the heat, they melted instantly, sending up billows of steam from the explosive current. Of course, this mere spray of mist was no match for the high temperature of the explosive current. However, Ice Brow pressed her hands against her chest, and those ice crystals continued to spew endlessly and unstoppably from her mouth. Shi Jun looked at her slender figure—she hardly looked like someone who could hold so many ice cubes in her stomach—and could not help but marvel in astonishment.

Meanwhile, another creature with the head of a bird and an extraordinarily long chin refused to be outdone. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Ice Brow, he let out a roar, and a stream of dark brown water jetted from his mouth like a running tap, pouring directly onto the barrier.

Bi Yuan, growing impatient, wanted to bark a few scolding words, but after a second thought, she figured these beings were her older brother's subordinates after all, so she swallowed her words. Pouting, she stood off to the side and glared.

Zi Sheng showed no inclination to make a move easily; he remained seated motionlessly, his long silver hair veiling his handsome face so that his expression was unreadable. Fuchao, by contrast, opened her eyes wide, looking about with a tense and nervous expression.

Shi Jun gradually calmed down as well, knowing that Zi Sheng could not possibly be blindly overconfident. Combined with the fact that Chi Yang also sat with a calm and indifferent expression, eyes closed in concentration, Shi Jun simply sat down as well, watching the outside world with growing fascination.

The red light of the explosive current flickered erratically, buffeted by the ice crystals and the "saliva" spat out by the bird-man, dimming and brightening in turns. At that exact moment, silver radiance abruptly materialized. Countless silver threads hidden beneath the explosive current suddenly bristled like razor-sharp blades. With a low hum, they sprang out from the barrier, lashing about in all directions like lethal whips before instantly sinking back into the barrier and vanishing.

Caught entirely off guard, the demons were thrown into disarray once again by the fiercely sharp "Three Thousand Worries Threads." Many had their garments shredded to ribbons, their bodies covered in bleeding cuts. Terrified, they scrambled away as fast as they could. In the blink of an eye, the glowing barrier sphere shot upward with a whooping rush, spinning as it battered aside a dozen demons who attempted to block its path, and roared away toward the upper reaches of the Stone Chaos Mountain Range.

"This is outrageous! If I'd known, I wouldn't have played around with them. You idiots are all to blame!" Bi Yuan could no longer restrain herself. Letting loose a stream of bitter curses, she leaped forward to give chase, only to be yanked back by the aforementioned bird-man.

"Miss Bi Yuan, ahead lies the forbidden boundary of the Butterfly-Bone Dragons! We cannot go there!"

"Get lost!" In a fit of violent rage, Bi Yuan threw a punch straight at the bird-man. She had originally intended merely to toy with Shi Jun and the others, which was why she had summoned a group of lackeys. Never had she expected Shi Jun to escape—how could she not be furious? Abandoning the dumbfounded demons on the spot, she dashed off alone in pursuit of the glowing sphere.

* * * * * * * *

Sitting inside the barrier, Shi Jun clearly saw that the hundreds of demons had all simultaneously halted their pursuit, with only Bi Yuan trailing stubbornly behind. Puzzled, he asked, "Brother Zi Sheng, what is going on here?"

"There is an invisible boundary surrounding the Stone Chaos Mountain Range—easy to enter, difficult to leave. It was set up by Ju Lan back then after negotiations with the chieftain of the Butterfly-Bone Dragon clan," Zi Sheng explained patiently. "Because Butterfly-Bone Dragons are among the most bloodthirsty races in the demon realm, feeding on weaker spirit beasts, Ju Lan summoned the chieftains of all the tribes to negotiate with the Butterfly-Bone Dragon clan and establish a pact: without the chieftain's permission, they are henceforth forbidden from stepping outside the boundary even by a single step."

"Then... then do these Butterfly-Bone Dragons just sit and wait for death if they can't find food?"

"This restrictive barrier is transparent. If outside spirit beasts carelessly stumble in, they naturally cannot escape death. However, it successfully restricts those violent and bloodthirsty Butterfly-Bone Dragons inside from roaming outside for indiscriminate slaughter. Moreover, Ju Lan agreed that they could farm their own animals within the boundary for food, and also permitted them to travel to the human realm by legitimate means to capture wild animals or purchase provisions."

"Ah?" Shi Jun was dumbfounded. "Butterfly-Bone Dragons run to the human realm to find food?" Then realization dawned on him. "Oh, I suppose they must transform themselves; otherwise, that would truly be terrifying."

It seemed that the peace of the human realm was indeed akin to walking a tightrope. As one walked down the street, who could be certain that the person approaching was truly one's own kind rather than an entity from one of the other four realms? If one day a certain Butterfly-Bone Dragon went on a wild rampage and wreaked havoc in the human realm, who could possibly handle him? Or what if other deeply skilled immortals, demons, and fiends lost their minds and engaged in a massive brawl in the human realm—what kind of scene would that be? Of all these things, how much do ordinary humans truly understand? Peace and freedom do not come easily, yet humans fail to cherish them, fighting and killing one another day in and day out, wishing for mutual destruction. Why on earth must they do this?

Shi Jun's mind wandered uncontrollably into wild musings, and the scenery before his eyes grew increasingly desolate—passing through a primeval forest, a massive white stone mountain towered before them.

"We have arrived," Zi Sheng reminded him softly. Upon hearing this, Fuchao looked somewhat nervous, unconsciously tightening her grip on Chi Yang's arm.

* * * * * * * *

Stretching out before them was a rolling white mountain range spanning hundreds of miles. The peaks were majestic, towering, steep, and craggy, their surfaces riddled with countless large and small hollows. Not a single blade of vegetation grew upon the mountains, while the base was entirely composed of white sand and gravel, glowing with a soft, translucent luster under the sunlight.

At the foot of the highest peak of the mountain range lay a massive lake, its surface flat as a mirror and of unfathomable depth. From their altitude in the sky, it was impossible to see what kind of fish might be swimming within.

At the other end of the mountain range, the golden light emanating from the Nisu Treasure had almost completely vanished. A massive section of the mountain had completely collapsed, exposing a neat, bottomless circular cave that still billowed thick black smoke.

Who would have imagined that Nisu could be this formidable? Even after dying countless years ago, he was still able to put the living beings of the demon realm through absolute agony. He was truly worthy of being an ancient demon shaman who had achieved enlightenment ages ago.

Because they were still suspended in mid-air, the features of the stone mountain were presented to them with striking clarity. Shi Jun could not help exclaiming, "This—is this even a mountain? It's practically a giant skeleton rack."

"Correct," Zi Sheng said, standing up. "This Stone Chaos Mountain Range was originally formed from the remains of the ancestor of the Butterfly-Bone Dragons, and later became their home."

Shi Jun wanted to ask more, but to his absolute horror, in the blink of an eye, hundreds of tooth-and-claw-bearing creatures suddenly flew out in unison from the countless hollows of the Stone Chaos Mountain Range. Following closely behind them came a trail of flickering blue tongues of flame, surging out from the caves like living things in hot pursuit of those creatures' tails.

Their powerful bodies were covered in seven-colored scales that flashed with exotic brilliance under the sunlight. They possessed four giant, sharp claws capable of splitting gold and shattering stone, huge horned heads adorned with tactile whiskers, and four blood-red eyes gazing out simultaneously. Their massive jaws revealed rows of white fangs, and they possessed heavily muscled, rhythmically swaying long tails... Shi Jun stared in wide-eyed amazement at these varying sizes of Butterfly-Bone Dragons—they looked so much like the dragons of legend!

Shi Jun had initially assumed that these Butterfly-Bone Dragons had discovered their presence and were preparing to launch a collective siege against them. As it turned out, the situation was evidently quite different—at this very moment, these Butterfly-Bone Dragons, closely pursued by the flames spewing from the caves, were frantically darting through mid-air, scattering in all directions to evade those clusters of blue fire while letting out earth-shaking roars. Those roars echoed for hundreds of miles, causing the entire mountain range to rumble with massive tremors.

Witnessing this scene, even the normally serene and composed Zi Sheng widened his eyes in profound astonishment. "Strange. To think so many Butterfly-Bone Dragons are sounding an alarm en masse... Just what kind of person has arrived?"

* * * * * * * *

After the glowing barrier sphere entered the Stone Chaos Mountain Range within the Butterfly-Bone Dragon's territory, Bi Yuan, feeling a twinge of timidity, did not dare to charge in rashly. With no other choice, she spat a few bitter curses and turned to fly far away.

"Shall we go down and take a look?" Chi Yang spoke up.

"Mm, wait a moment longer," Zi Sheng replied, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the movements below.

Shi Jun nodded. "I reckon it won't be long before the real powerhouse behind all this makes their entrance."

Sure enough, the moment Shi Jun's voice trailed off, a piercing long whistle rang through the air, and a tall figure leaped out from one of the mountain caves. Wielding a gleaming metal short staff, the figure vaulted into mid-air. Clad in dark battle armor with brown hair draped over his shoulders, he stood tall and imposing like a heavenly deity. Amidst his resonant laughter, the metal short staff "roared" as it spewed tongues of flame, driving and scattering the surrounding Butterfly-Bone Dragons like falling meteors.

"Uncle!"

Seeing this clearly, Shi Jun could not help crying out in alarm.