Chapter Twelve: The Butterfly-Bone Dragon Race (Part Two)

My uncle is here for me! He worried about my safety and single-handedly stormed the Demon Realm! Seeing Lie Jin's heroic and majestic posture, Shi Jun felt a warm surge of gratitude, shame, and worry... Overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions, he disregarded the surprised glances cast simultaneously by Chiyang and the others, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Uncle! I'm over here!"

Lie Jin snapped his head up, focused for a moment, and his eyes flashed with an unbelievable surge of joy.

In that brief span of time, tens of thousands of butterfly-bone dragons emerged from the hundreds of miles of chaotic stone mountain ranges, shooting like arrows toward the glowing sphere where Lie Jin, Shi Jun, and the others were located.

The leading butterfly-bone dragon was unusually massive, with silver scales, clearly the "leader." With a fierce roar from its maw, the other butterfly-bone dragons swiftly fell into formation. Their giant tails swept up the flying white sand across the sky, hurtling like bullets toward Lie Jin and the protective barrier.

Dozens of butterfly-bone dragons quickly surrounded the barrier. Relying on their scales—capable of withstanding intense, scorching heat—they showed no fear of the boiling torrent's searing temperature. Wielding sharp claws, they launched a ferocious assault on the barrier.

The barrier, having already sustained damage earlier, did not even last three full minutes under the giant claws of the butterfly-bone dragons before it shattered completely. Zisheng's "Three Thousand Threads of Sorrow" deployed across the barrier were triggered immediately; however, these razor-sharp silver wires lashed against the tough, calloused flesh of the butterfly-bone dragons like a three-year-old tickling an old ox. While effective purely for defense, they fell short when used for offense. Countless frenzied butterfly-bone dragons swung their sharp claws, clawing, tearing, and dragging every single thread out from within the barrier.

All of this happened in the flash of a spark. Before Chiyang and Zisheng could deploy another defense, dozens of dragon tails struck the barrier with a powerful thwack, sending it spinning wildly. At the same time, those butterfly-bone dragons opened their huge mouths and spat out countless white, marble-sized pebbles, pelting the outer wall of the barrier relentlessly.

Chiyang closed her eyes and silently chanted a spell. Previously, having been struck by the "Miasmic Dispersal Powder," her spiritual power had been scattered. With no other choice, she had to forcefully channel the "Blood-Swapping Soul-Transfer Art." Though she barely managed to gather her spiritual power, it could not possibly last long. At this moment, she was at the end of her rope, but with a fierce battle imminent, she had to keep pushing forward no matter what. With this thought, she could only continue sustaining her body through the "Blood-Swapping Soul-Transfer Art," though the outcome was entirely beyond her prediction.

Upon finishing the spell, Chiyang felt her body wither a bit more, yet her spirit revived significantly, much like the final flash of clarity in a dying person. A pale, unnatural flush spread across her wan face. She quietly glanced at Shi Jun, seeing his eyes wide open, fists clenched, staring unblinkingly at the outside world. She shook her head and gently unhitched the golden bow from behind her shoulder.

Fuyao's twin whips were already in her hands, but her body trembled uncontrollably, clearly gripped by extreme fear. A-Li, on the other hand, maintained its unhurried demeanor, its long antennae braced against the ground to steadily shield Fuyao from the front.

"First small hailstones, and now small pebbles? Why do these creatures all like to keep such inexplicable things in their bellies?" Shi Jun watched helplessly as the outer wall of the barrier broke into pieces, unable to hold out any longer. Though not inherently bloodthirsty, he was utterly sick of this endless game of chase and flight. Deep within his heart, an impulse arose to test his own true capabilities—especially since his uncle was outside the barrier, fighting the butterfly-bone dragons all by himself! And his uncle had come entirely for him! Was he supposed to continue cowering inside this barrier like a cowardly fool?

With a sharp *crack*, the barrier finally burst right down the middle, splitting into two halves.

At the same time, unable to hold back any longer, Shi Jun stepped out from within the shattered barrier. His hands moved in a blur of hand seals, preparing the high-level water-attribute spell "Wind and Lightning Destruction" learned from the Yellow Spring Ancestor. A massive array of glowing, dark-blue ice arrows materialized instantly, shooting toward the butterfly-bone dragons fluttering across the sky.

A sudden deafening thunderclap cracked across the heavens. The previously clear blue sky instantly filled with dark, rolling clouds that condensed and gathered in an instant, whistling as they swept toward Shi Jun. Raising his hand, Shi Jun cast them forward, and those ethereal clouds immediately transformed into solid ice, tightly wrapping around hundreds of butterfly-bone dragons that were charging straight at him. Encased in ice several meters thick mid-air without anything to push off against, the massive butterfly-bone dragons fell stiffly to the ground, kicking up dust over a dozen meters high.

* * * * * * * *

On the other side, Lie Jin was locked in a fierce battle with a massive swarm of butterfly-bone dragons. Although the Demon Realm's affinity for fire naturally countered the wood attribute of the Demon/Monster Realm, facing countless butterfly-bone dragons renowned for their ferocious physical prowess still proved somewhat strenuous for Lie Jin alone.

The silver butterfly-bone dragon that had remained outside the fray to observe was named "Shuntian," and he was none other than the patriarch of the butterfly-bone dragon clan. Seeing this situation, he let out another piercing, deafening roar.

Zisheng and Chiyang also leaped out simultaneously from the fractured barrier. Chiyang's golden bow continuously fired sizzling lava at the surrounding butterfly-bone dragons, emitting waves of burnt, acrid stench. Zisheng's weapon was a long flute, lush, green, and slender; though lacking any intimidating aura, wielded in Zisheng's hands, it was extraordinarily agile. With seemingly effortless gestures of pointing, tapping, blocking, and poking, Zisheng forced the ferocious butterfly-bone dragons to keep their distance.

Fuyao remained inside the barrier, her twin whips spinning into an impenetrable wind-and-water-tight silver net that wrapped tightly around her. Given her current strength, she was not yet ready to do battle with the butterfly-bone dragons and could only barely manage self-preservation. A-Li, conversely, stood firmly on the outer edge of the barrier, its soft tentacles flexing and stretching with dexterity as it continually attacked the heads of the approaching butterfly-bone dragons.

The butterfly-bone dragons were encased in impenetrable scales from head to toe, leaving their heads as their sole major weakness. Although their four eyes possessed exceptional vision, they were extremely vulnerable and positioned on either side of the head, guarded only by their front limbs. Naturally, given their strength and penchant for gang attacks, few would actively provoke them, meaning this weakness was rarely known to outsiders.

Hearing Shuntian's command, the other butterfly-bone dragons instantly twisted their bodies mid-air. Their massive frames coiled up like snakes, forming a circle with their heads in the center and their tails raised high. At a glance, it looked as though the sky was filled with floating golden pancakes—albeit pancakes that could fly around freely.

Having scored a hit, Shi Jun intended to press his advantage and execute a hand seal to cast "Cold Frost Freezing Earth," but upon seeing this bizarre spectacle, his combat experience, though meager, told him something was terribly wrong. With a sharp cry, he forcefully recalled "Cold Frost Freezing Earth" and switched to "Myriad Miles of Drifting Snow." In the blink of an eye, a curtain wall composed of soft, translucent ice crystals materialized out of thin air from bottom to top, completely enveloping the five of them and spinning continuously, stirring the surrounding air into a bone-chilling gale.

Recognizing that "Myriad Miles of Drifting Snow" was an extremely spiritual-energy-draining spell, Chiyang anxiously shouted to Shi Jun, "You're poisoned! Why use such a troublesome spell? Are you trying to kill yourself?"

Before her voice even faded, the bodies of those butterfly-bone dragons began to spin on their own. As their rotational speed increased, thin, razor-sharp scales of countless brilliant colors flew off in all directions.

The curtain wall created by "Myriad Miles of Drifting Snow" only protected the sides around Shi Jun and the others, leaving the top and bottom vulnerable. A continuous sound of *swish, swish, swish* echoed through the air. A-Li was the first to suffer injuries; positioned at the highest point, scales raining down from above embedded themselves entirely into his body, and one of his tentacles was cleanly sliced off.

Chiyang and Zisheng, positioned at the lowest point, also let out muffled groans simultaneously. Their garments were shredded in over a dozen places, and fresh blood immediately seeped out, dripping downward drop by drop.

Overwhelmed by excruciating pain throughout her body, Chiyang loosened her grip, and the golden bow dropped from mid-air.

Zisheng had not expected these scales to be so formidable. Seeing Chiyang swaying and on the verge of collapse, Zisheng gritted through the pain, rapidly deploying three defensive barriers above and below "Myriad Miles of Drifting Snow," grabbed Chiyang, and leaped up onto the initial, shattered small barrier.

"A-Li!" Fuyao cried out, throwing herself over A-Li. She knew that had A-Li not shielded her from above, the one lying here would likely be herself. Looking at A-Li covered in countless large and small wounds, Fuyao was frightened out of her wits; tears failed to fall, and she could only tremble uncontrollably while holding A-Li's unresponsive body.

Shi Jun happened to be right in the center of the barrier alongside Fuyao, leaving him completely unharmed. Seeing Chiyang pulled up by Zisheng, panic flushed his eyes red. His head rang with a loud *buzz* as his mind went entirely blank, losing all sense of time and place, to the point that even his heartbeat seemed to stop.

Ever since Shi Jun was poisoned and his spiritual senses clouded, the Blue Souls had their connection to his mind severed, remaining cozily inside the treasure pouch. Suddenly catching the scent of blood from the underworld and sensing danger, they swam out of the treasure pouch with a *whoosh* and gathered tightly around Chiyang.

Lie Jin had not anticipated that these butterfly-bone dragons possessed this trick up their sleeve. Although beings in the Demon Realm were not known for spellcasting, their physical bodies were exceptionally formidable, boasting supreme offense and defense. Consequently, no matter how profound the cultivation of those who had attained demonhood or immortality in the other three realms might be, none dared lightly come here to provoke them.

This particular pack of butterfly-bone dragons was even more elite among the Demon Realm; their individual capabilities were high, their numbers vast, and their regenerative powers incredible. As long as injuries were not fatal, they typically recovered swiftly within a short time. Thus, after trading blows, the number of butterfly-bone dragons had not decreased significantly; instead, their wild instincts were ignited, launching an even fiercer assault on everyone.