CHAPTER 556: CHAPTER 553: FOODIE TO THE RESCUE! [FIRST UPDATE]

Inside the Holy Mountain Underground Palace, Jiao Long was lying prone on the ground, listlessly staring at its claws.

But on its claws, there were only three toes; it counted several times back and forth, unable to accurately represent the five Dragon Blood Fruits, leaving itself completely dumbfounded.

If the Divine Tiger were here, it would definitely mockingly say that not even able to count, the lack of education is truly terrifying!

Suddenly!

It seemed to sense something, and its head shot up with its eerie green and red beastly pupils staring towards the entrance of the Underground Palace as it let out a roar that could shatter the heavens.

This was a warning to keep the enemy at bay.

However, before its roar could even dissipate, five figures appeared from afar, gradually entering its beastly line of vision.

The owners of these five shadows were none other than Fire Dance, Shui Ze, Jin Xing, Musheng Liu – the Four Great Sealed Ninja, and Miyamoto Sakura.

Fire Dance recognized Jiao Long and urgently said, "This beast is Immortal Master Li’s Spiritual Pet; if it’s here, Immortal Master Li must be nearby. Everyone, be careful!"

Miyamoto Sakura stepped forward, pointed at the Earth Core Magma, and said, "If I’m not mistaken, Immortal Master Li should be in the magma!"

Hearing Miyamoto Sakura’s words, Jin Xing, Musheng Liu, Shui Ze, and Fire Dance all showed shock on their faces.

Whether it’s Earth Fire or Heavenly Thunder, even Divine-level Masters, if not careful, could be annihilated in an instant.

Yet this Immortal Master Li is actually attempting to engulf the power of both Heavenly Thunder and Earth Fire to break through. Even for them, the thought of such a life-and-death method of breakthrough was unimaginable.

Miyamoto Musashi did this because his time was almost up; if he did not seek a breakthrough, he would not have many years left to live. Hence, he had to gamble no matter what.

But this Immortal Master Li was still so young, with a long life ahead, and yet he dared to use such a death-defying method – just for this courage alone, he was worthy of admiration.

"Immortal Master Li truly is a rare genius that appears once in a hundred years in Huaxia; Old Five’s death at his hands is not unjust," praised the straightforward Jin Xing sincerely.

"Jin Xing, quit your nonsense. If we let Immortal Master Li achieve his breakthrough, the four of us might well follow Old Five’s fate!"

Musheng Liu and Jin Xing didn’t get along well, so before the latter’s words fell, he jeered at him.

Fire Dance and Shui Ze exchanged a glance and said, "The second brother is right, no matter what, we can’t let Immortal Master Li successfully break through. Otherwise, our Japan Martial Arts will really fall into an irredeemable abyss!"

"Roar roar!"

Jiao Long felt the murderous intent surging from the five of them, its beastly pupils dilated in an instant, lightning swirled around its belly and claws with thunder crackling, in an attempt to intimidate them.

"Beast, courting death!"

Jin Xing shouted furiously, wielding the Golden Battle Axe and hacking towards Jiao Long.

Jiao Long was not to be outdone, its Thunder Claw gathered a lightning orb and met the War Axe head-on.

"Crack!"

The lightning struck the War Axe, creating a loud thunderous noise.

Seeing this, Musheng Liu pulled out a long spear and swiftly drew a white line through the air, stabbing towards Jiao Long’s back.

His spear thrust, with piercing power like that of a fighter jet’s cannon, was so powerful that although Jiao Long’s Scale Armor was as sturdy as rock, it got stabbed, causing blood to pour out.

"Roar roar!"

Jiao Long, in pain, performed a Divine Dragon Tail, violently sweeping towards Musheng Liuu.

Fire Dance and Shui Ze nodded at each other, one condensing flames, the other gathering water to form ice, attacking Jiao Long with fire and ice together.

"Sakura Slash!"

Miyamoto Sakura also drew out her grandfather’s Tianzhao Divine Sword, with countless Sword Shadows like a sky full of cherry blossoms, sweeping across.

Jiao Long faced five enemies alone and, after a brief encounter, was beaten down to lie on the ground, emitting low growls of "keng keng keng."

However, after taking a look at its blood-drenched claws, it suddenly raised its head and furiously roared at Jin Xing and the others.

Jin Xing saw Jiao Long stand up again after taking their joint strike and was shocked to his core.

You should know that the attack of their five people just now would result in death for even a Divine-level Master.

"Didn’t expect it, this beast’s defensive power is pretty formidable. A regular Divine-level Master may not necessarily be its match!"

Jin Xing saw that his own Tornado Axe didn’t gain any advantage and immediately exclaimed in amazement.

"Hmph, it’s just a beast after all. I want to see how long it can hold out."

As the words ended, Musheng Liu’s spear suddenly lashed out, spinning like a drill as it rapidly thrust forward.

The spear tip pierced Jiao Long’s Scale Armor, emitting a "zila zila" sound as blood sprayed everywhere.

Jiao Long, in pain, let out a low roar to the sky, and its body severely contracted into a ball.

Musheng Liu’s spear got stuck in it, unable to move.

"Swish!"

At that moment, Jiao Long’s gigantic tail swept over like a covering the sky.

If that tail sweep solidly connects, even a Divine-level Master could be lucky to survive with half their life left.

However, just at this moment, Jin Xing, who always had friction with Musheng Liuu, suddenly raised his Golden Battle Axe and hacked towards Jiao Long’s tail.

"Crack!"

The axe head directly shattered Jiao Long’s Scale Armor, plunging deeply into its flesh. Blood splattered everywhere like a fountain in a park.

Jiao Long writhed in pain, its immense body rapidly curling up into a ball.

Now, it lay wounded all over, its entire body soaked in blood, as if it had just crawled out of a blood pool.

Seeing this, Huo Wu felt some compassion and pointing to an open space, she shouted, "Just clear the way, and we promise not to kill you!"

It appeared that Jiao Long understood her words. It looked back at the Earth Core Magma behind it and then at its own claws that were no longer in shape and covered in bloodstains, and once again shook its head firmly.

With too many wounds on its body, it felt an excruciating pain the moment it moved. Large tears dropped down continuously.

"Huo Wu, why waste words on this beast. I don’t believe it can withstand many more attacks!"

Musheng Liuu once again lifted his spear, like a bolt of white lightning, and viciously stabbed forward.

This time, Jiao Long did not resist.

It no longer had the energy to resist, but rather curled its massive body into a ball, resolutely blocking the passage to the magma tunnel.

One stab!

Two stabs!

Five stabs!

Ten stabs!

...

Musheng Liuu’s spear pierced into Jiao Long’s body over and over again.

Upon piercing, every stab hit flesh!

Upon withdrawal, every stab brought spurts of blood!

How could one word, "tragic," be sufficient?

At first, each spear that broke through the scales and pierced into the flesh made Jiao Long feel a heart-wrenching pain.

But later on, it no longer felt pain. Its eyelids became incredibly heavy, and it intensely wished for a sound sleep.

Although its mind was not mature, it vividly remembered Li Chen’s last words, to guard this place well, and there would be Dragon Blood Fruit to eat!

Thinking of the Dragon Blood Fruit, Jiao Long’s spirit suddenly lifted, and its dull animal eyes emitted a faint green glow.

Amidst the blur, it seemed to see five Dragon Blood Fruits lined up in front of itself, and saliva dripped out in excitement.

However, just as it struggled to open its mouth, ready to eat the Dragon Blood Fruit, it inadvertently pulled at its wounds, causing it to grimace in agony. Like a babbling baby, it uttered a few indistinct words.

"Guoguo, Guoguo...."

Hearing Jiao Long suddenly utter human speech, Jin Xing, Musheng Liuu, and the others were all stunned.

"What did this beast say?"

"Sounded like some cricket!"

"Cricket? Isn’t that a type of insect?"

"Who cares about crickets, this beast is about to die. Let’s all go at it and kill it!"

Musheng Liuu, seeing that his dozens of stabs hadn’t killed the beast, could not help but feel frustrated and angry, immediately letting out a hysterical roar.

Jin Xing, Huo Wu, Shui Ze, and Miyamoto Sakura exchanged looks and nodded to each other.

At this moment, they all knew clearly that if they didn’t eliminate this beast, they wouldn’t be able to enter the magma tunnel and kill Immortal Master Li.

They had already wasted too much time here and couldn’t afford to continue. Otherwise, if Immortal Master Li broke through, the ones to die last would likely be them.

Having made up their minds, Jin Xing, Huo Wu, Shui Ze, Musheng Liuu, and Miyamoto Sakura each readied their strongest killing moves, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Jiao Long.

"Fire Dance Tornado!"

"Thrust!"

"Overlord Battle Axe!"

"Reverse Water One-Sword Style!"

"Sakura Slash!"

In this final moment, Jiao Long seemed to sense the approaching Death God, mustering its spirit as if it was experiencing a final surge of vitality.

Yet, it still did not dodge and instead turned its head with difficulty, using the last of its strength to let out a roar towards the Earth Core Magma.

This was its final warning to Li Chen: it had tried its best and could not withstand the attacks any longer!