Chapter 551: Year

"Huh... huh..." Blood streamed from the gash on Li Huowang's forehead, tracing a path down his scar, then over the edge of his gasping, open mouth. From there, it trickled onto his scorched chin and finally dripped to the ground, slowly soaking into the cracked earth.

Li Huowang's situation was dire. Neither his talismans, nor the Spine Bone Sword (capable of slicing through historical rifts), the evil-slaying Copper Coin Sword, or even the Zisui Sword (which cut through iron like mud) had any effect against this Dragon Vein.

More critically, even the divine abilities of the Zuowang Dao and the previously disadvantageous Aojing techniques proved ineffective against it.

Having been in this chaotic world for so long, this was the first time Li Huowang had encountered such a formidable entity.

He finally understood what Zhuge Yuan had meant when he said the Zuowang Dao wouldn't target the Dragon Vein.

Perhaps Bahui's Cangqiang Ascent could be effective, but at this moment, where would Li Huowang find a profound, unforgettable despair and pain?

Suddenly, a familiar whistling sound echoed in Li Huowang's ears. A massive shadow, accompanied by a gust of wind, whipped violently towards his head.

The force was so immense that a single blow would likely shatter bones into dust.

"Thud!" Peng Longteng's massive body instantly appeared before Li Huowang, firmly intercepting the shadow.

The shadow was none other than the Dragon Vein, formed by the stacked Emperors of Great Qi.

Though the withered, ancient emperors merely seemed to be stuck together, impact revealed them to be as solid as iron and bronze.

Dragon claws dug into Peng Longteng's chest, tearing at him. Peng Longteng was unafraid of this attack.

Yet, even the immensely powerful Peng Longteng was no match for the Great Qi Dragon Vein. With a violent tremor of its segmented body, Peng Longteng was instantly flung away.

Fortunately, seizing this opportunity, Li Huowang had retreated several yards, moving out of the Dragon Vein's attack range.

It appeared Li Huowang was trapped in a deadly predicament, yet he showed no discouragement, as he wasn't the only one in such a plight.

A sound resembling a lion's roar and a wolf's howl erupted from the other side of the Dragon Vein, diverting some of its attention from Li Huowang.

It was Xu Nian, who had previously fought Li Huowang. Their former enmity had now turned them into comrades in distress.

Xu Nian, with his human face and beast body, leaped on all fours onto the Dragon Vein. His three sharp claws slashed down fiercely, sending four white-haired emperor heads soaring into the air.

"Wah wah wah!" The Great Qi Emperor at the top of the Dragon Vein, with a missing front tooth, cried out in pain.

As the golden beaded tassels on his head swayed, the Dragon Vein rapidly writhed, coiling tightly around Xu Nian like a long serpent.

Xu Nian continuously attacked the stacked emperors, but they were so ancient that no life force could be extracted from them.

Seeing Xu Nian about to be crushed by the Dragon Vein, Li Huowang, gripping his Spine Bone Sword, was thrown by Peng Longteng towards the youngest Great Qi Emperor at the very top of the Dragon Vein.

Although Xu Nian had just tried to kill him, Li Huowang had to save him. He understood that if Xu Nian died, he would be next.

Just as Li Huowang clearly saw his reflection in the young emperor's eyes, the Dragon Vein twisted, and a series of crown-wearing, aged heads blocked his view.

As Li Huowang's expression hardened, Peng Longteng's body slammed heavily onto the Dragon Vein, lunging towards the young emperor behind.

However, in the next instant, countless hands reached out, seized Peng Longteng, who had no leverage in the air, and threw him away.

While defending, they didn't forget to attack. The long Dragon Vein, leaving a trail of afterimages, swept towards Li Huowang once more.

Li Huowang's leg was injured, hindering his movement, but he had his own method.

A bewildered Zuowang Dao suddenly appeared before Li Huowang, serving as a flesh cushion for him.

Li Huowang didn't expect this sneak attack to succeed, but the distraction allowed Xu Nian to escape being crushed.

When a gasping Li Huowang pushed away the mud-like Zuowang Dao, he clutched his wounds and shouted to Xu Nian in the distance: "If we continue to fight separately, we'll both end up dead! How about we cooperate first? Truth be told, we don't have much of a grudge against each other!"

Xu Nian shook off the human skin from his head, glanced at Li Huowang, and nodded slightly. He surprisingly spoke again, "Kill the youngest one."

Seeing the Dragon Vein furiously lunging at him, Li Huowang rapidly retreated, saying, "Alright then, you trap the older ones below, and I'll kill the youngest one at the top!"

Xu Nian nodded slightly again. Facing the Dragon Vein that was pursuing Li Huowang, he raised a foreleg high and stomped heavily on the ground.

The fur on his body instantly turned red and grew rapidly, soon becoming as abundant as a lion dance costume.

The red fur spread out into the surrounding darkness, as if probing for something. With him as the center, the surrounding darkness rapidly receded.

He remained there for what felt like an eternity, infuriating the precarious Li Huowang, who cursed aloud, "What are you doing?! Don't just stand there!"

At this point, he was utterly disfigured: half his face was gone, an arm was severed at the shoulder, and a large chunk of his torso was missing.

If it weren't for the indestructible Peng Longteng holding the front line, he would likely have died at the hands of the Dragon Vein.

But this was the limit. Li Huowang's head began to ache, indicating that Peng Longteng couldn't last much longer.

No sooner had Li Huowang's words faded than Xu Nian finally moved. His method of movement was peculiar: he charged towards the Dragon Vein and Li Huowang, yet a red, afterimage-like beast body remained in his original spot.

And it wasn't just one spot; wherever Xu Nian went, he left behind a trail of red afterimages. These red traces connected, forming a continuously lengthening red line.

Li Huowang didn't know what Xu Nian was doing, but he understood this must be his ultimate move, and his survival depended on it.

As he re-sheathed the Spine Bone Sword on his back, Peng Longteng, standing nearby, grabbed his half-shoulder with one hand. The instant Xu Nian made contact with the Dragon Vein, Peng Longteng forcefully hurled Li Huowang forward.

Two colossal dragons, one yellow and one red, violently collided. Around every red afterimage, everything began to change.

Li Huowang's wounds healed at an incredibly fast pace, but this regeneration lasted only a moment before his body rapidly deteriorated again.

Not only Li Huowang, but the entire barren ground swiftly sprouted vegetation. The world spun, stars shifted, and vast changes occurred.

This peculiar phenomenon also manifested on the Dragon Vein. The Dragon Vein, withered and decaying like rotten wood, began to rejuvenate.

However, this "good thing" seemed to be bad news for the Great Qi Emperors, who were firmly stacked together. Their tightly interlinked bodies began to sway, as if they could disintegrate at any moment.