Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

He was hiding here just fine. What damn danger could there possibly be?!

What a lunatic!

"Get lost! I’m miles away from that thing. How could I be in danger?!" the man immediately transmitted, scolding Ning Xuan.

Ning Xuan’s chuckling voice rang in his ear, "If I push you out there, you’ll be in danger, won’t you?"

The man’s body stiffened as realization dawned. "You... You’re fucking Ning Xuan!"

Ning Xuan feigned great surprise. "You actually know it’s me? You must have been waiting for me to come rescue you, right?"

The man’s composure completely shattered. "Rescue my ass! Among everyone here, there’s no one more shameless than you!"

Facing the man’s insults, Ning Xuan didn’t get angry. Instead, he said, "I just ate some kind of fruit, and now I feel insanely strong. I have this overwhelming urge to pick up that boulder in front of you and hurl it at the fire dragon."

The man’s face turned green. He naturally understood the unspoken threat.

He wanted to resist, but he was completely at Ning Xuan’s mercy. With no other choice, he had to compromise.

"I emptied my entire fortune just to get in here," he pleaded. "How about we talk this over after we get out, okay?"

"What’s going on?" Ning Xuan muttered from behind him. "This urge to throw things is getting stronger and stronger!"

The man even felt Ning Xuan start to lift his body off the ground.

"No, no, no! I remember now! I still have some things on me!" he immediately begged.

That fire dragon was utterly terrifying. If Ning Xuan really threw him out there, he would definitely not survive.

Soon, Ning Xuan had a wooden fish in his hand.

"Don’t underestimate this wooden fish, it..." the man began, trying to explain its value, afraid Ning Xuan wouldn’t recognize it.

But just as quickly, he found he was free again.

"Shit!" he roared, punching the boulder in front of him in a fit of rage.

The boulder wobbled for a moment, then rolled down the slope.

"AAAAAH..."

Realizing what he’d just done, the man screamed, cursing the fact he hadn’t been born with two more legs. The fire dragon roared and gave chase.

Sensing the aura of death closing in, he shouted in despair, "Ning Xuan, save me!"

The words had barely left his lips before he was devoured.

「Meanwhile.」

Ning Xuan was already engaged in a cordial and friendly exchange with another unlucky soul. With the previous encounter serving as a warning to others, Ning Xuan’s "negotiations" were not only successful, but they also took less and less time.

"A pity, though. Some of these guys are truly broke," Ning Xuan sighed as he tallied his new items in a hidden valley. "And there aren’t many useful treasures, either."

He was lucky no one else was around, or they would have drowned him in their spit. To get such a bargain and still pretend to be aggrieved... he was truly shameless.

"Brother Ning, what’s the situation inside?" Wang Ao’s voice rang in Ning Xuan’s ear again. In just a short period, he had heard at least a dozen people cry out for Ning Xuan to save them.

"Not sure. It’s probably because I’m just too outstanding," Ning Xuan replied without a second thought.

As for lending a hand? That was absolutely out of the question. He wasn’t the type to kill innocent people indiscriminately, and his reason for targeting these guys wasn’t simply to kill them for their treasures.

The people he had just "visited" were all individuals who had shown murderous intent toward him at the feast.

If they wanted to be Tu Yu’s dogs, then they had to be prepared for him to put them down!

「Outside.」

Wang Ao couldn’t help but feel the corner of his mouth twitch. But he was a smart man and quickly figured out what was happening.

No wonder Brother Ning asked me to invite these unlucky bastards. He was already preparing for this back then!

As he sighed in admiration, Wang Ao couldn’t help but feel secretly relieved.

Thank goodness he hadn’t chosen to oppose Ning Xuan because of You Ruo. Otherwise, the treasures he held would never have been safe!

"I’d better use this thing less in the future... or rather, not at all, just in case..." Murmuring to himself, Wang Ao hugged the scroll tightly.

RUMBLE—

At that moment, a terrifying roar emanated from the secret realm not far away. Immediately afterward, several people were thrown out in succession. These were individuals who hadn’t shown any murderous intent toward Ning Xuan.

At the critical moment, Ning Xuan had appeared. He blocked the fire dragon, sacrificing over ten of the treasures he had just obtained to allow them to escape unharmed.

"Brother Wang, quick!" one of them yelled, scrambling over to Wang Ao as fast as he could.

Wang Ao was completely baffled.

"Save Ning Xuan!"

"Isn’t the secret realm yours? Subdue that fire dragon, quickly!"

"Right, right! Or Ning Xuan will be in danger!"

The rest of the group swarmed over, anxiously urging Wang Ao to help. Their desperation almost made Wang Ao jealous of Ning Xuan.

Why does all the good stuff happen to Ning Xuan? And in the end, I’m the one who looks like the bad guy!

Seeing how worried they were, however, Wang Ao could only patiently explain. He was afraid that if he didn’t, they might just beat him up indiscriminately.

Alas!

I’m the one who did the good deed, damn it! Damn it all! Being a good person is so hard!

Right now, Wang Ao wished he could be Ning Xuan.

What he didn’t know was that inside the secret realm, Ning Xuan was about to be roasted alive. The ferocity of the fire dragon’s flames was terrifying. Everywhere it passed turned a fiery red. With no intention of hiding its tracks, the fire dragon pursued him relentlessly, transforming one mountain after another into a sea of molten rock. The once-lush, primeval secret realm was becoming a crimson lake, and it was still growing.

"Aren’t you tired? Why don’t you take a break!" Ning Xuan taunted, using his Body Technique Skill to evade the dragon while attempting to find its weakness. Unfortunately, it was completely enveloped in flames, making it impossible to spot one. Ning Xuan had no choice but to give up.

BOOM!

In response, a colossal flame roared toward him, obscuring the entire sky.

Ning Xuan, who was sprinting away, suddenly stopped. Any further forward was the territory of that monkey.

That single Strange Mushroom had not only led him to the Monkey Tribe’s ultimate treasure but had also allowed him to obtain the secret realm’s soul. If Monkey Mountain got caught up in this, it would be a completely dishonorable act on his part! A true man knows what he must and must not do!

After a final glance at the mountain range, Ning Xuan charged back the way he came without a second thought.

BOOM!

The flames instantly engulfed him.

The fire dragon coiled, slowing its descent.

But then...

BANG!

Like a missile launch, a long trail of fire blasted open a path through space. Its destination was clearly the birthplace of the Fire Lotus.

The fire dragon seemed stunned for a moment. It had never anticipated that its seemingly invincible flames would fail. By the time it reacted, the man was already nearing its lair.

With a furious roar, the fire dragon whipped its tail through the void in a devastating arc. The next moment, its body completely enveloped the volcanic summit, and it slammed a claw downward.

Below, Ning Xuan, now covered in flames, looked as small as an ant beneath the dragon’s massive form. The dragon’s claw, along with the rest of its immense body, completely sealed off all of Ning Xuan’s escape routes.

An eerie, cackling laugh seemed to echo in the air, mocking Ning Xuan for ignoring the path to Heaven and willingly throwing himself into a trap.

However, Ning Xuan simply gave a cold smile.

Then, he dove headfirst into the volcano’s maw.