Chapter 86

Jiang Chen stumbled and staggered, using all the remaining strength in his body to rush into the depths of the fourth layer of space. At this moment, he no longer cared about the forbidden zones or the possibility of never returning.

He could die, but he absolutely could not die at the hands of the Long siblings!

He could not bear the thought of the Long siblings holding his head and returning to the capital to boast to his father!

If he could not control his life, then at least he should control his death!

Therefore, Jiang Chen did not stop, his steps continuously rushing forward. He did not know how long he had been walking, but he felt his body becoming heavier, his mind more muddled, his steps more disordered, and his consciousness increasingly blurred.

Bang!

He fell, collapsing in a pool of blood.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Chen's consciousness, as if in the endless darkness, was pierced by a ray of light.

He seemed to wake up, yet it felt like he was still dreaming.

He dreamed that he had returned to his previous life, to the glory of being the Son of the Heavenly Emperor, and to the helplessness of guarding for a million years...

In an instant, the dream shifted, and he seemed to return to the capital, seeing a large number of soldiers from the Long Teng Marquis Manor rushing into the Jiang Han Marquis Manor, dragging his father out in chains.

Then, a executioner's blade was raised high, about to behead his father, Jiang Feng.

"No!" Jiang Chen felt a sharp pain in his chest and suddenly opened his eyes.

"Yo!"

A golden-winged swordbird, its body glowing with golden light, seemed to be startled, flapping its wings and flying away from his side.

Jiang Chen looked down and found that his clothes had been torn by the swordbird's sharp beak. Fortunately, he was wearing a layer of celestial silk whale soft armor.

Otherwise, that beak would have ripped him open.

"Golden-winged swordbird?" Jiang Chen was extremely weak, and when he tried to move his meridians, he felt as if his body was about to fall apart, as if his meridians were about to break.

Jiang Chen coughed lightly a few times, spitting out a bit of residual fluid from his chest, and felt his breathing become slightly smoother.

He reached out to take a Divine Transformation Pill, but suddenly his hand paused.

His eyes almost bulged out.

Looking around, his entire body's pores involuntarily stood up.

All around, the area was black with swordbirds!

On the rock walls, strange rocks, swamps, bushes, and mud pits...

Wherever there was a place to stand, it was crowded with swordbirds!

They say thousands upon thousands, but the swordbirds here were far more than that!

Jiang Chen looked around and could not see the end, only a sea of swordbirds, their sharp and neatly aligned wings, the luminous spirit pearls on their heads, and their beaks as sharp as swords.

"Am I... in the swordbird's stronghold?"

Although one or two swordbirds posed no threat, the current scene was like a sea of swordbirds!

Even if Jiang Chen were not injured and his strength were ten times greater, he would still be torn to pieces in this sea of swordbirds!

One or two, you can kill.

Ten or a hundred, you can still kill.

A thousand or ten thousand, you can't kill, but you can escape.

But, looking around, everywhere was filled with swordbirds. Wherever you went, wherever you escaped, it was still swordbirds. How could you escape? There was no space to escape!

Moreover, among these swordbirds, there were some silver-winged swordbirds, and even more than ten golden-winged swordbirds!

One golden-winged swordbird was as powerful as a True Qi Master!

Jiang Chen smiled bitterly, realizing that even if he did not encounter fierce monsters in the fourth layer of space, this endless sea of swordbirds was enough to drown him.

"Unfortunately, the Long siblings didn't take the risk to chase me in here." Jiang Chen had no thoughts of escape; he only regretted not being able to take the Long siblings down with him.

He swallowed the Divine Transformation Pill and decided not to think too much about it.

However, he was slightly puzzled. These swordbirds, each one glaring at him, why hadn't they attacked yet?

With his current strength, a single ordinary green-winged swordbird could tear him to pieces.

Whoosh!

A golden-winged swordbird circled over Jiang Chen's head.

Whoosh!

Another one flew past from the other side, leaving a trail of golden light.

These golden-winged swordbirds, worthy of being compared to True Qi Masters, had perfect wings and a streamlined body, emitting a terrifying aura, indeed not inferior to human True Qi Masters.

Even their wildness was even more intense.

One after another, golden-winged swordbirds continuously circled and hovered over Jiang Chen's head.

Jiang Chen felt puzzled. These golden-winged swordbirds continuously circled and hovered, as if dancing in the air, but he could sense their hostility and also their restraint.

"What are these golden-winged swordbirds hesitating about?" Jiang Chen was baffled. This state was the most unbearable, like a condemned prisoner waiting for the executioner's blade.

However, the blade did not come, making him even more frustrated.

"You feathered beasts, if you want to attack, do it quickly. Flying around my head all the time, what's the point?"

"Hey, can you at least be a bit hygienic when you defecate? You almost splashed my pants."

Jiang Chen was speechless, cursing for a while. Seeing that the golden-winged swordbirds continued to threaten and provoke but did not attack, he decided to ignore them.

At this moment, the power of the Divine Transformation Pill slowly entered his meridians, beginning to heal his injuries.

"Regardless, if they don't attack, I have a chance. Let's heal my injuries first."

Indeed, the Divine Transformation Pill lived up to its name, capable of miraculous transformation. As long as one was not dead, any internal injuries would be fully healed in a night at the shortest, or three days at the longest.

Of course, with Jiang Chen's physique and meridian resilience, the healing process would be faster than that of ordinary martial artists.

After all, his meridians had been uniquely and rigorously trained, making them unparalleled.

"Yo!"

A golden-winged swordbird circling over Jiang Chen's head suddenly let out a long cry. Then, the other golden-winged swordbirds followed, all letting out long cries.

Next, the silver-winged swordbirds joined in, and then countless green-winged swordbirds joined the chorus. For a moment, the cries formed a sharp, piercing sound, like a tidal wave, causing the surrounding rock walls and strange rocks to sway and collapse.

"This..." Jiang Chen's expression changed, sensing that something was happening. Even with his cultivation of the "Heart of the Steadfast Rock," he felt a sudden, inexplicable tremor.

It was not because of the sound or the earth-shaking momentum.

But a vague, increasingly clear pressure radiated from the darkness, growing closer.

"What's happening? Is a powerful monster appearing?" Jiang Chen felt his heart race uncontrollably, even the suppression of the "Heart of the Steadfast Rock" could not stop this sense of shock.

Thud!

Thud thud!

Thud thud thud thud!

A drum-like sound vibrated Jiang Chen's eardrums.

Then, an incredible scene unfolded. All the swordbirds, like a well-trained army, lined up neatly to the west, their wings spread like two sharp blades.

Row after row, countless rows of swordbirds, in that moment, formed a formation!

This scene was magnificent and unforgettable!

Suddenly, Jiang Chen saw two lantern-like lights appear in the darkness to the west.

Then, a powerful and indescribable aura pierced through the bird crowd, rushing toward him.

This was an unprecedented pressure, far surpassing that of a True Qi Master, even the combined pressure of ten or a hundred True Qi Masters could not match it!

"Spirit-level fierce beast?" Jiang Chen suddenly remembered something!

Then he realized, those were not lanterns, but the eyes of this fierce beast!

It was the king and ruler of this territory!

Suddenly, Jiang Chen understood everything. Why these golden-winged swordbirds, despite their fierce aura, had not attacked him.

It was not that they did not want to, but they dared not!

Even the golden-winged swordbirds, under this powerful fierce beast, lowered their proud heads, like servants, in a very low posture.

This was a posture of submission!

The "Heart of the Steadfast Rock" reached its peak, and Jiang Chen tried to suppress his tension and fear.

He was not afraid of death, but he did not want to die in a humiliating way, to be looked down upon by these alien races.

He finally saw clearly. It was a large, long, and thick-bodied beast, with a head like a dragon but without the dragon's scales.

It had legs, but not dragon claws.

Every step it took caused the ground to tremble.

Thud! Thud thud!

This rhythm and momentum made Jiang Chen's internal organs extremely uncomfortable!

The pressure from this fierce beast made Jiang Chen's breathing rapid. If he were not the reincarnation of the Son of the Heavenly Emperor, he would have been overwhelmed by this pressure long ago.

"Human!?" The beast finally stopped and somehow mimicked human language!

Jiang Chen, having seen much in his life, quickly recovered after withstanding this wave of pressure. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden idea came to him, and he spoke in the ancient beast language: "Big guy, are you the king of this endless underground cave?"

"Hmm?" The beast's lantern-like eyes blinked, almost doubting if his ears were deceiving him. This human could actually speak the beast language?

And it was the noble ancient beast language?

"Are you the king of this endless underground cave?" Jiang Chen asked again in the beast language.

"You know the ancient beast language?" The spirit-level fierce beast asked in surprise.

"I know many things, but you haven't answered my question yet." Jiang Chen continued in the beast language.

"Interesting, interesting! I never thought a human would know the ancient beast language!" The spirit-level fierce beast did not know that Jiang Chen, in his previous life, had spent a million years in a long and boring existence, with a wide range of interests. Anything interesting, Jiang Chen knew.

"King?" The spirit-level fierce beast shook its head. "I am just the lord of the outermost area of the fourth layer of space. I am not even the main lord of the fourth layer! King? Ha ha, I don't even have the qualifications to know."

"Don't even have the qualifications to know?" Jiang Chen was surprised.

"Exactly! But how did you, a human, learn the ancient beast language?" The spirit-level fierce beast knew a little of the ancient beast language but was not proficient. So it was very curious.