Chapter 154: Candle Dragon Form

The people already gathered there merely glanced at the arrival of Lin Qiu and Dou Ming without making any significant moves, seemingly wary of the spring not far away.

"Everyone, we've come this far. Don't you plan to join forces? According to ancient records, the water of this Ashen Mist Spring can purify the impurities in our bloodlines and enhance our physical bodies!"

A young man with numerous scales covering his body and a curved nose spoke, his voice filled with a bewitching allure that clearly carried a trace of arcane power.

"Hmph! Guli, spare us these cheap tricks!"

Another young man let out a cold snort and reverted to his true form, revealing a white tiger-fish appearance before the crowd while simultaneously dissipating Guli's spell.

"One is from the Oyster Clan, adept at bewitchment, and the other is a mutant of the killer whale, a tiger-fish. Both are reclusive races of the Eastern Sea."

Things having reached this point, Dou Ming knew very well that if he wanted to leave the mystic realm alive, he had to rely on Lin Qiu. Therefore, he proactively introduced these details to Lin Qiu, while the atmosphere at the scene remained deadlocked.

Within this ashen mist, one had to endure its corrosive assault every second, and the spring nearby exuded an eerie aura. The reason Lin Qiu had not acted rashly upon reaching this place was that he sensed he had been locked onto by the spring. Any rash movement would likely trigger an attack from the spring, and the skeleton lying over there was the best proof of that.

This place was permeated with strangeness everywhere; no wonder even Tier 6 powerhouses had perished here. It was somewhat understandable.

"Since you are all hesitating, I shall take my leave first."

Suddenly, Guli, who had spoken first, seemed unwilling to waste any more time. He retrieved a green seashell from his spatial magical treasure. A burst of brilliant light erupted from the green shell, enveloping his entire body.

Under the presence of the green seashell, the surrounding ashen mist immediately retreated three hundred paces, and the spring's lock on Guli dissipated as well.

"Oyster Clan, form a protective barrier and block the others!"

After doing all this, Guli instructed the rest of his clansmen. His purpose in coming to this mystic realm was precisely this spring. Having prepared for so long, he naturally did not want anyone to ruin it.

The other Oyster Clan members also produced green seashells, which, although much smaller than Guli's, were sufficient to push back the ashen mist. In this environment, the most troublesome nuisance was undoubtedly this ashen mist, which constantly sought to invade their bodies.

Seeing this, the people from the other races were in no rush to make a move. When it came to treasures, being able to obtain them was not the most crucial thing; being able to take them away was.

"Roar!"

Lin Qiu had originally intended to just watch the spectacle, but a mournful dragon cry suddenly echoed in his ears, giving him a start. Yet none of the surrounding races reacted in the slightest; it seemed this sound could only be heard by Lin Qiu alone. He nudged Dou Ming and asked, "Did you hear any other sounds?"

"No. Did you hear something?"

Hearing Lin Qiu's question, Dou Ming immediately frowned, a sense of uneasy premonition flashing through his heart. He couldn't help feeling that this place was rather strange.

"It's nothing."

Lin Qiu confirmed that the mournful cry just now had been heard by him alone. The strange thing was that the cry caused no physical harm to him; the only effect was an intensified craving for that spring.

[Temporary Awakening: Power of the Torch Dragon!]

At that moment, the system timely reminded Lin Qiu that this place was connected to the Torch Dragon. Since he already possessed a portion of the Torch Dragon's power within his body, it was only natural that it would trigger a resonance.

Following the awakening of the Torch Dragon's power, Lin Qiu felt a deep affinity with the ashen mist, as if he could manipulate it at will. Stretching out his hand, he guided the gray mist, and a cluster of black flames burst forth from within it.

The commotion on Lin Qiu's side immediately attracted the attention of the other races, and their expressions shifted slightly. After all, maintaining a necessary wariness toward Lin Qiu, the lord of the royal city, was essential.

"Scram, or you all die!"

After adapting to the changes, Lin Qiu spoke with overbearing arrogance. Surrounded by black flames, his entire figure took on a slightly malevolent air. With a flick of his wrist, he projected a wisp of black flame toward Guli's green seashell barrier. It attached itself like a bone-eating parasite, frightening Guli into hastily discarding the black shell and retreating beyond the spring's perception range.

"Lord of the Othershore Royal City, isn't this behavior of yours a bit too tyrannical?"

After retreating, Guli's complexion turned extremely unsightly. Lin Qiu's strike had completely destroyed one of his magical treasures. At the current stage, spiritual energy had not yet fully recovered, meaning that even reclusive races did not possess an abundance of treasures.

"No matter how strong you are, you're only one person. We are geniuses from more than a dozen races!"

Zhan Hu, the aforementioned tiger-fish, also stepped forward a few paces, his tone laden with threat. Clearly, they were unwilling to just back down like this.

That spring was continuously yielding treasures; asking them to relinquish such a blessed land was undoubtedly harder than ascending to heaven.

"If you don't retreat, you die!"

Faced with the words of Zhan Hu and Guli, Lin Qiu did not waste any more breath. He shot out several more wisps of black flame, which Zhan Hu and Guli joined forces to counter.

However, although these two were Tier 5 experts, they were no match for Lin Qiu. Moreover, the black flames were amplified in this environment. It took them a tremendous amount of effort to deal with the black flames, at which point Lin Qiu spoke again, "For the sake of your clans, I'll give you one last chance. Get out of here."

Dignified and overbearing as Lin Qiu appeared right now, only he knew the truth: he was currently restricted by the black flames. None of his other techniques could be deployed, and the sole black flame could only be controlled enough to be projected outward. Otherwise, given Lin Qiu's personality, how could he possibly have bothered talking so much?

The Torch Dragon form was getting somewhat out of control.

When all was said and done, Lin Qiu's current cultivation level was still incapable of fully bearing the Torch Dragon bloodline. One must know that a Torch Dragon hatchling was born with Tier 8 cultivation; it was precisely because of this heaven-defying innate heritage that the Torch Dragon held such a lofty status among the dragon race.

"..."

Zhan Hu and Guli exchanged a glance and made a unanimous decision to lead their men and retreat. Having experienced the clash just now, they naturally knew they were no match for Lin Qiu. Therefore, no matter how bitter they felt in their hearts, they had no choice but to surrender the treasured land. The law of the jungle—the strong prey upon the weak—was nothing more than this.

Before long, Zhan Hu, Guli, and the rest of the marine races all withdrew. Only Lin Qiu and Dou Ming remained in the very center. Lin Qiu walked straight toward the spring and casually flicked a wisp of black flame to spin around Dou Ming. "You can leave now as well. This wisp of black flame will escort you out of here."

Next, he was going to absorb this spring, and the secrets of the system could by no means be exposed, so Dou Ming had to leave.