A ripple, then another.
Suddenly.
The ground slowly cracked, forming shocking fissures.
The previously calm lake surface churned with whirlpools, its waters erupting towards the sky.
Lu Fei felt the ground beneath him begin to flip and rise!
"Damn! We're flying!"
He found himself forcibly lifted into the air, unable to tell if he was standing or upside down!
For a moment, panic seized him.
From the backpack behind him, Brother Ji felt a terrifying force from the outside and curiously poked out half its head.
Before its eyes could even fully open, it saw a vortex like a black hole hurtling towards them!
"Old Lu, careful!" Brother Ji shouted, retreating its head.
Lu Fei faltered.
The next moment, the black hole descended, engulfing everything. Lu Fei's vision turned completely black, and an oppressive force swept over his entire body.
Lu Fei felt an unbearable agony, as if his body were about to explode.
"Mom... I want to go home!" Lu Fei cried out with all his might.
...
Within the mist.
A colossal beast, whose origin and purpose for being there were unknown, lowered its head and snorted.
A ray of setting sun fell from the sky, illuminating its entire body, casting a glow upon its golden scales.
Its form slowly materialized – it was a dragon!
A colossal golden dragon, its body entirely encased in golden armor-like scales!
In the Beast Taming Continent, pure-blooded dragon-type contracted beasts had become legends, few and far between!
Consequently, even contracted beasts with mere dragon bloodlines were coveted treasures by Beast Tamers. Their emergence would invariably trigger intense competition among the continent's top Beast Tamers.
These dragon-blooded contracted beasts were at least S-rank in rarity!
If this golden dragon on the ground were discovered by any of the top Beast Tamers in the Beast Taming Continent, the small city of Cang Town would instantly become the focus of national attention once more!
The golden dragon's eyes, each as large as a lantern, slowly closed, like those of a dying elder.
Perhaps it was tired, and soon, snores could be heard.
The surroundings once again returned to peace.
Beneath a distant large tree, a figure lay prone. This person's hair was white, their appearance indistinguishable, and their life or death uncertain!
Beside the dragon, a contracted beast, entirely dark green in color, resembling a tiger with wings, also lay motionless, its fate unknown!
If a top Beast Tamer were present, they would recognize this contracted beast's identity instantly due to its extreme rarity.
It was a "Qiong Qi"! A contracted beast of SS-rank rarity!
Yet, a contracted beast as powerful as Qiong Qi, in the presence of the golden dragon, appeared to be nothing more than a toy!
Just then.
"Ah!!!"
A startled cry echoed from above the golden dragon's head.
The golden dragon slightly raised its eyes.
"Bang!"
Something struck its head.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" A series of crisp sounds followed.
The object rolled onto the ground, tumbling several times.
After a while, it slowly managed to get up.
Lu Fei, one hand on his head and the other on his waist, felt as if he were falling apart.
Finding a golden wall, he leaned against it powerlessly, surveying his surroundings.
Mist swirled before him, with faint lights dotting the scene, making the path ahead entirely unclear.
At this moment, Brother Ji leaped out of the backpack, vomiting uncontrollably.
"Bowel movements the day before yesterday, vomiting today; Brother Ji can't take it anymore... *gag*." Brother Ji's expression was one of pain.
"Old Lu, where are we...?" Brother Ji asked.
Lu Fei, still shaken, was utterly dishevelled. His body was covered in mud from the earlier attack by the Clown Frog, and now, after being violently lifted and dropped, his clothes were tattered, and his hair resembled a bird's nest.
Lu Fei shook his head, a look of bewilderment on his face.
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept from behind him, and Lu Fei stumbled, flying forward.
"Damn, the wind is this strong in this cursed place?"
As he finished his complaint, Lu Fei looked up.
To his delight!
He saw two points of light appearing through the mist.
"Where there is light, there is an exit!" Lu Fei thought to himself, excitedly exclaiming, "Brother Ji! I've found the exit!"
"Where! Where!" Brother Ji excitedly ran over.
However, the next moment.
Those two points of light were slowly approaching him!
"Thump!"
Lu Fei swallowed hard!
He saw the source of the lights clearly – a massive dragon head materialized before him!
And this head was now less than a meter away from him!
The immense pressure instantly stunned Lu Fei.
But soon.
He felt a surge of excitement. In his previous world, dragons existed only in legends, but now, he was witnessing a dragon with his own eyes!
His professional curiosity was immediately piqued!
Lu Fei stared intently at the golden dragon, meticulously recording every detail of its being.
He was astonished to discover that the dragon's entire body was covered in numerous scars, stark and shocking. A large pool of dried blood lay on the ground; upon the bloodstain, there seemed to be an egg?
"Hmph!"
A low grunt from the dragon jolted Lu Fei back to reality, and he flinched backward in alarm.
The colossal dragon head slowly moved, its snout soon coming to rest directly against Lu Fei.
"It's over! I'm going to be eaten!" Ten thousand thoughts of despair raced through Lu Fei's mind as he dared not make a sound.
Suddenly, the dragon stopped.
It sniffed Lu Fei with its nose, emitting strange sounds.
"It says your scent is very familiar," Brother Ji translated.
Contracted beasts could understand human language, but humans could not understand the language of contracted beasts, making Brother Ji's role as a translator indispensable.
Lu Fei felt his mouth turn dry, making it incredibly difficult to speak. He stammered, "Bro... Brother Ji... is there any way to negotiate..."
At this point, he could only place his hope in Brother Ji, perhaps with its astonishing diplomatic talent, the dragon might spare them.
Brother Ji swallowed hard and cautiously poked out half its head.
It spoke in fluent contracted beast language, "Bro... brother, can you spare us..."
Hearing Brother Ji's voice, the golden dragon's eyes shifted towards its direction.
Taking advantage of the mist to conceal him, Lu Fei secretly crawled behind the dragon...
"It's over, it's over, it seems to be very interested in me!" Brother Ji's pupils dilated, its demeanor bordering on despair.
The golden dragon's expression held a hint of confusion, and it grunted a few more times.
"You can understand the dragon's language?"
Brother Ji froze.
"Do contracted beasts also have dialects?" it mused inwardly.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed through its mind.
Brother Ji said with earnestness, "To be honest, brother! I was raised by dragons since I was young; they all called me Dragon Chicken!"
"Impossible! You insignificant creature, you aren't even worthy of being dragon food!" the golden dragon immediately exposed Brother Ji's lie.
Brother Ji's expression turned awkward, its pride wounded.
"Tell me, why are you here?!" the golden dragon's voice grew increasingly louder.
Brother Ji, thoroughly frightened by the thunderous questioning, said with a crestfallen face, "Brother, we didn't want to come here. A black hole forcibly sucked us in!"
Suddenly, the golden dragon roared in fury.
"Hmph! You crawling insect, you speak not a word of truth! Those who enter my [Eye of Karma] meet only destruction! You could not possibly have survived! Unless..."
It extended a dragon claw, holding Brother Ji firmly between its fingertips and lifting it up.
"Are you envoys of the Moon Kingdom?" the dragon asked, its expression turning ferocious, eyes filled with murderous intent.
Brother Ji was utterly bewildered, completely unable to comprehend.
But it no longer mattered, for the dragon was already raising it towards its mouth!
Brother Ji struggled wildly, wriggling its body frantically.
"I'm not a meat chicken! I have no meat! Not even enough to get stuck in your teeth, brother!" Brother Ji desperately explained.
The golden dragon completely ignored the garrulous liar.
Brother Ji fell into utter despair!
It had miscalculated; this colossal being was not like the three little dogs, whom a pile of dung could successfully deceive.
Just as Brother Ji reached the dragon's maw.
At the critical moment.
A voice rang out.
"Put it down! Otherwise, I'll destroy this egg!"