Chapter 189: Chapter 186: Tricking the Dragon Soul
Mo Qi was dumbfounded.
"Without a body of flesh and blood, the Dragon Vein cannot be awakened. The bell will not ring!"
This meant that only a person of flesh and blood could ring the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell.
An External Incarnation obviously wouldn’t work.
But what normal participant in the annual selection could withstand a single blow from the Dragon Soul?
’Anyone who tried is probably dead!’
No wonder that in all these years, no one in the Mountain and Sea Empire, besides its Founding Ancestor, had ever been able to ring it.
"Mo the kid, this Emperor thinks this is a dead end," the Pig Emperor couldn’t help but say. "Forget you—even that Wu the Old Ghost outside couldn’t take a hit from this Dragon Soul."
"The Dragon Source is definitely inside that bell. The Dragon Vein Imperial Bell hasn’t been rung for so many years, so the Energy it has accumulated must be terrifying. Even if you do ring it, you won’t be able to withstand the backlash!"
"In this Emperor’s opinion, you’d be better off finding another way to save San Pang’s father."
Mo Qi remained silent, not responding to the Pig Emperor.
’Find another way?’
Jin Quan’s execution was scheduled for shortly after the annual selection. There was no time to think of another plan.
Besides, if there were another way, the Ni Brothers would have told him already.
Moreover, the significance of ringing the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell was no longer as simple as just saving Jin Quan.
Whether it was to help the Pig Emperor obtain the Dragon Source or to subdue the powerful prisoners Within the Pass, he had to succeed!
’If I shrink back at the first sign of trouble and give up the will to fight, then this path of the Martial Dao would be meaningless.’
Thinking this, Mo Qi glanced at the Dragon Soul, which remained motionless. With a thought, his External Incarnation transformed into Battle Armor, encasing his entire body.
Seeing him prepare to step into the hundred-zhang radius, the Pig Emperor went berserk. "Mo the kid, do you have a death wish?!"
Mo Qi waved his hand. "I have a theory I want to test. If something goes wrong, I’ll back out immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped one leg into the hundred-zhang area.
The Pig Emperor’s heart leaped into its throat.
The External Incarnation could take a hit from the Dragon Soul without a scratch, but that didn’t mean Mo Qi could do the same just by wearing it as Battle Armor.
With that kind of power, the aftershock alone could kill him.
However, the Dragon Soul coiled in the air above, merely watching Mo Qi impassively, and made no move.
Mo Qi tried again, leaning half his body in. The Dragon Soul still didn’t move.
He stepped all the way in. The Dragon Soul still didn’t react.
’It worked!’
’My theory was correct!’
Based on the Dragon Soul’s expression and tone when it spoke, Mo Qi deduced that it was not sentient.
To be more precise, its existence was merely to programmatically deliver a test blow whenever someone attempted to ring the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell.
’Otherwise, if it had even a shred of its own thought, how could it possibly remain calm after being trapped here for so long and finally seeing a living person?’
Since the External Incarnation had successfully withstood the Dragon Soul’s attack earlier, the Dragon Soul had, in its eyes, already registered its identity.
Now, by wearing the External Incarnation as Battle Armor, Mo Qi was essentially cheating, tricking the Dragon Soul into thinking he was the incarnation itself.
In a very dramatic turn of events, he had actually managed to fool the Dragon Soul!
Just as Mo Qi was getting excited about this, a powerful Dragon Might descended from the heavens. It passed through the Battle Armor and instantly forced him to his knees. Only by bracing himself with both hands did he avoid collapsing flat on the ground.
CREAK! CRACK!
Mo Qi’s bones and tendons strained under the immense pressure, twisting and deforming.
Overwhelming pain washed over him. He gritted his teeth, his body trembling violently.
"Mo the kid, what’s wrong?" the Pig Emperor cried, its face paling in shock.
The Dragon Soul floated in mid-air as usual. From the outside, the area within the hundred-zhang radius looked perfectly calm, with no sign of anything unusual.
But Mo Qi’s reaction clearly told another story—he was suffering immense pain.
"This Emperor is coming to save you!"
The Pig Emperor was about to charge into the hundred-zhang radius regardless of the danger, but Mo Qi’s voice stopped it.
"Don’t come over! I’m fine! This must be the second trial to ring the Dragon Vein Imperial Bell!" Mo Qi forced the words through his gritted teeth. "I can get through this!"
The Pig Emperor was so anxious its beady eyes darted around. It stood upright, clasped its trotters behind its back, and paced back and forth outside the hundred-zhang line with its big belly stuck out, muttering something under its breath.
Luckily, Mo Qi’s back was turned. If he had seen its comical, human-like behavior, he would have burst out laughing, lost his strength, and been crushed by the pressure.
The moment Mo Qi stepped into the hundred-zhang radius, Wu the Old Ghost and the others on the edge of the Dragon Vein all sensed something and looked toward the core region.
Liu Hui had woken up long ago. He and Jin San had reasoned with them, appealed to their emotions, but mainly relied on force to successfully "persuade" Qian Duoduo and the others to start digging furiously in the safe zone the Pig Emperor had created.
Although they were completely clueless about what they were doing, they operated on the principle that it was a wasted trip if you didn’t leave with some free loot, so they were hoping to dig up some treasures.
They were just idle anyway. If they happened to dig up some Dragon Bone or Dragon Blood, they would have scored big.
At that moment, they all dropped their tools and looked toward the blurry "dragon head" in the distance.
The Dragon Energy permeating the area outside the safe zone began to shift, coalescing into an image.
The image showed exactly what Mo Qi and the Pig Emperor were experiencing!
"That’s Brother Mo!"
Jin San exclaimed, looking at the image of Mo Qi kneeling on the ground, struggling to hold on.
Even though he was clad in Battle Armor with his face hidden, Jin San recognized him instantly just from his back.
"What’s happening to the Master?" Liu Hui frowned, his heart burning with anxiety.
"Brother Mo must be in danger! San Pang is going to save him!" Jin San shot to his feet, so agitated that his fat quivered.
"Let’s go together!" Liu Hui, naturally, did not object.
"I’ll go too!" Qian Duoduo said with a grave expression, his attitude resolute.
"I’m going with Brother Hui," Nangong Yan added, clearly following his lead.
Zhao Zijun and Zhu Fan exchanged a look and also stepped forward. Though they said nothing, their actions spoke for themselves.
"Nonsense!" Wu the Old Ghost snapped. "Where do you think you are? Save him? Let’s not even mention that Mo Qi doesn’t need your help right now. Even if he did, what could a bunch of people who can’t even withstand the Dragon Energy at the periphery possibly do to save him?"
Wu the Old Ghost was no less anxious than they were; after all, his son’s life was still in Mo Qi’s hands.
But he was, after all, an old monster who had lived for two thousand years, and he wasn’t about to lose his head to impulsiveness.
"San Pang doesn’t care! San Pang has to go save Brother Mo!"
Jin San wasn’t one to care about such things. With the mind of a four- or five-year-old, once he set his mind on something, he would pursue it stubbornly to the very end.
Reasoning with him was undoubtedly like talking to a brick wall.
As he spoke, Jin San charged out of the safe zone. However, he didn’t even make it a hundred meters before the Dragon Might crushed him to the ground, leaving him unable to move.
Wu the Old Ghost was both exasperated and touched. He could only risk being suppressed by the Dragon Vein himself to retrieve Jin San.
Only then did Liu Hui and the others stop talking about heading to the Dragon Vein Core.
If Jin San, with his Vajra Realm Cultivation, had only made it a hundred meters, what could they, who were merely in the Purity Realm, possibly do?
There was nothing more helpless in the world than knowing that even sacrificing your life would be of no use.
