Heaven and earth overturned.
Rumble, rumble.
The entire Red Flame Heart-Refining Secret Realm let out a mournful wail, as if it could no longer bear the weight.
The ground was no longer just cracking—it shattered and collapsed in great swathes, as fragile as a brittle eggshell.
The blazing magma was no longer a river, but transformed into wild, raging waterfalls pouring endlessly into the abyss below.
In the sky, the once-stable Fire Law Runes crumbled inch by inch, dissolving into streaks of fire that shredded the space into chaos.
“Watch out!” Chi Lian, who had been watching nervously, let out a sharp scream as the Fire Lotus Petal beneath her feet rapidly disintegrated.
At this moment, none of the three could make sense of what was happening; all they knew was that the earth was sinking.
“Steady yourselves!” Jiang Huai shouted, forcibly suppressing the agitation in his bloodline.
In a flash, he rushed first toward Chi Lian, who was nearest to him and seemed momentarily stunned by the sudden change.
He grabbed her cold wrist, transferring a surge of pure spiritual energy to help her stabilize herself amidst the violent shaking.
Chi Lian, still terrified, felt the warmth and strength from her wrist, and instinctively gripped back tightly, as if clutching her last hope of survival.
She was dressed in her overly ornate Saintess Gown, which now felt especially cumbersome and inconvenient.
“Come with me!” Chihuang also reacted at this moment. Though shocked, the pride and responsibility of a Saintess forced her to calm herself.
Fiery flames rose around her as she attempted to fly, but she soon discovered that the space here was in complete chaos; the powerful Forbidden Air Force only allowed her to barely skim along the ground.
She rushed to Jiang Huai and Chi Lian, glanced at their clasped hands, and frowned almost imperceptibly, but said nothing more.
Why are these two even holding hands at a time like this?
“There’s something down there summoning me!” Jiang Huai pointed at the bottomless, ominous abyss beneath their feet, his voice heavy and resolute.
That sensation of Bloodline Resonance was coming from below.
“Summoning you? What nonsense is this! This is the ancient secret realm of our Red Dragon Clan! What does it have to do with you?!” Chihuang retorted, certain of her own clan’s secrets.
Yet the current scene was beyond anything she understood.
Before she could say more, the collapse suddenly accelerated.
“This is bad! We can’t dodge it!”
The ground beneath their feet vanished completely, and all three felt an irresistible devouring force pulling them from the abyss, their bodies instantly weightless.
Along with falling boulders and magma, they were all swept into the endless darkness below.
“Ah!” Chi Lian’s cry of alarm was swallowed by the howling wind.
Chihuang struggled to rouse her Dragon Essence, scarlet light encasing them like a cocoon, but as soon as it touched the edge of the abyssal darkness, it melted away like ice in boiling water.
Panic finally flickered in her eyes.
What’s going on? Why is there nothing I can do?
Jiang Huai gripped Chi Lian tightly with one hand, and instinctively slipped his other arm around Chihuang’s waist, tense from her exertion.
Beneath his hand was a startling elasticity and warmth, the thin fabric unable to hide the explosive strength beneath.
Chihuang’s body stiffened instantly.
She glared at Jiang Huai, caught between shame and anger, but saw only clarity and focus in his eyes, his attention fixed on what lay below, with no sign of disrespect. Gritting her teeth, she did not break free.
Her Dragon Essence was useless here, but Jiang Huai seemed to be managing just fine.
Falling! Endlessly falling!
Jiang Huai stood atop his Sword, holding Chi Lian’s hand with his left, his right arm wrapped around Chihuang’s waist, embracing the two young “matrons” as they drifted downward.
Who knew how long they fell, but eventually that harrowing sense of weightlessness gradually faded.
The darkness gave way to a faint crimson glow; the air was hot, but no longer raging, filled instead with an ancient, oppressive aura.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three heavy sounds—each of them landed in succession on a warm yet solid ground.
Jiang Huai’s Sword struck first with a clang.
The force of the impact made Jiang Huai’s qi and blood churn, but he managed to steady himself, immediately letting go of Chihuang’s waist and Chi Lian’s wrist.
“We’ve finally landed.” Jiang Huai let out a long breath, finally able to check his own condition.
His original azure robe had been burned to ash by the extreme heat during their fall, revealing his body.
A fine layer of black and white Black-Patterned Armor Scales covered his skin, like a natural suit of armor.
It not only protected his vital points, but also shimmered with chilling yin and killing auras, respectively from White Dew and Qin Qingyue.
Though his clothes were gone, with the scales covering him, he wasn’t entirely exposed—still, the sight was strikingly outlandish, the dragon horns on his head slowly emerging.
He looked to the two women beside him.
Chi Lian, thanks to her high-grade Saintess Gown with its defensive array, was only somewhat disheveled and dust-stained, but largely unscathed.
She, however, was still badly shaken, her delicate face pale as she clutched her lapels tightly, looking pitiful and fragile.
Chihuang’s situation was much more dire.
Having disguised herself as a maid, she wore only the most basic Red Dragon Clan disciple’s attire—how could it withstand the abyss’s terrifying heat?
Her curvaceous, fair body, flushed with shame and lingering warmth, stood out in the dim crimson light.
Her slender but strong waist gave way to a full, rounded curve, outlining a breathtaking silhouette—the ample hips unique to the Red Dragon Clan.
Her long, jade-like legs were pressed together, but even so, the lush curves could not be hidden.
Her entire body seemed to brim with the vitality of flames, yet now trembled slightly from the shock.
Sparse blades of red grass swayed in the breeze.
“Ahhhh!” Chihuang let out a scream of utter shame and anger, arms wrapping around her chest, desperate to cover what could not be concealed.
She trembled with rage, scarlet dragon horns atop her head almost steaming with anger—a classic trait of the Red Dragon Clan.
“Where are my clothes?!”
In her panic, she gave up caring about anything else.
With a flash of red light, she transformed into a small red dragon about the length of a forearm, exquisite and adorable, using her dragon form to conceal her embarrassment.
The little red dragon hovered anxiously in the air, spewing small tongues of flame in agitation and fury.
How could this happen? How could something like this happen?
“Chi Lian! Chi Lian! Do you have any clothes? Lend me one, quick!”
“My Storage Ring is in the Saintess’s Cottage!” The little red dragon spoke, her voice tinged with shame and frustration, all her former arrogance vanished.
Chi Lian looked at her young mistress and, feeling both sympathy and the urge to laugh, shook her head quickly:
“This is all I have on me. Everything else is back in our cottage in the secret realm.”
They had no idea what had become of the Saintess’s Cottage. Where would they find clothes now?
Her own Saintess Gown was a dress set and couldn’t be shared.
For a moment, both the girl and the dragon couldn’t help but look toward Jiang Huai, who had just put on a new robe.
Jiang Huai had already pulled out a fine Xuan Robe from his Storage Ring and put it on.
Though not as fitting as his previous azure robe, it restored his refined gentleman’s appearance.
He watched the little red dragon circling anxiously in the air, utterly composed.
After all, his Storage Ring was of a high grade, and Qin Qingyue had stuffed plenty of things into it.
“What are you staring at?!” The little red dragon bristled, her scales almost standing on end from embarrassment and anger.
“Nothing. I just think that even transformed, Lady Chihuang is… mm, exquisitely cute.” Jiang Huai’s tone was calm and unreadable.
“You—!” The little red dragon spat out a puff of black smoke in fury.
“Lend me a robe! I’ll repay you with even better ones in the future!” Her voice faltered a bit.
“No,” Jiang Huai replied crisply.
“What’s so wrong with lending one?! I, Chihuang, swear to heaven, I’ll repay you tenfold, a hundredfold! Immortal robes, divine garb, whatever you want!”
“No,” Jiang Huai shook his head again, clearly teasing this once-overbearing ‘maid.’
“You! You scoundrel! Lecher! Shameless cad!” The little red dragon spun furiously in the air, her tail snapping back and forth, spitting fire all the while.
Seeing her mistress on the verge of tears, Chi Lian spoke up softly, pleading with Jiang Huai:
“Young Master Jiang, could you please lend her a robe? It wouldn’t do for her to revert to human form with nothing but scales to cover herself, would it?”
At the sound of “Saintess,” spoken so gently and earnestly, Jiang Huai finally relented and nodded with feigned reluctance.
“Since the Saintess asks, I’ll lend you one.” With a flick of his wrist, he drew out another Xuan Robe—this one a different style but still a man’s robe—and tossed it into the air.
The little red dragon leapt and snatched it by the collar, letting out a muffled “hmph!” before wriggling her tiny dragon body away to change behind a large red boulder in the distance.
With Chihuang gone, Jiang Huai paid her no further mind. He simply sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
“Young Master Jiang, what are you doing?” Chi Lian asked curiously, sitting nearby with care.
“Letting my wife know I’m safe.” Jiang Huai replied, eyes still closed.
A faint black light glimmered from the Black Dragon Mark at his lower abdomen.
He found that they were still within the secret realm, and not far from his wife.
He could let her know he was safe, so she wouldn’t worry.
In the South Sea Palace, Qin Qingyue suddenly stood up, her gaze fierce and her red pupils fixed on the awkward-looking Chi Hong.
“Let me explain, Palace Master Qin.”