Chapter 63: The Real Star Comes Down

With a whoosh, a fire crossbow bolt, half a person's height, shot out towards the South City. He fired it randomly but with a precise angle. The bolt pierced through the roof of the first house, shattered a wall to enter a room, and then embedded itself in a pillar of the second house. Fueled by the oil on its arrowhead, the struck houses quickly caught fire with a few crackling sounds.

The buildings in South City were densely packed, shoulder to shoulder. Logically, firewalls should have separated the properties, but illegally expanding and encroaching on land was a common human tendency. As a result, the houses were all connected. When confronted with an arsonist like Nian Songyu, the area immediately erupted in smoke and flames. His most devastating new weapon was a nail bomb; a single impact would release hundreds of shrapnel fragments, scattering sparks everywhere.

South City was vast, and manpower was insufficient, so Sun Fuping had no choice but to join the effort. Rolling stones, coated in tar and ablaze, pounded the houses in South City, leaving them riddled with holes. Some of them landed in the official residences, and two large stones specifically pierced through the Zhong family's house. Simultaneously, the trees in the courtyard and the beams of the roof burst into flames.

Initially, the fires weren't alarming, but once the scattered flames merged into one continuous blaze, they became an inferno engulfing the city. Still finding the burning too slow, Sun Fuping chanted a spell to summon wind. Since this wasn't the Great Thousand World, his divine power was greatly diminished; the expected gale was reduced to merely a gentle breeze. Nevertheless, it was sufficient to fan the flames. With the wind fueling the fire, columns of smoke billowed skyward.

He Lingchuan and Maotao stood by a small lake in the south of the city, deliberately keeping their distance from the official residences. Finally, the wooden beams of the Zhong residence burned through and snapped in two, crashing onto the bed and dressing table. The wooden comb bounced twice before inevitably falling into the flames. Flames licked at the wooden comb, swiftly charring its lower half.

As if a hidden mechanism had been triggered, the city's flames suddenly erupted outwards in all directions with an unstoppable, astonishing speed. Standing by the lake, both felt the intense heat, their hair almost singed. They had no choice but to dive into the water to cool themselves. Even through the layer of lake water, He Lingchuan could see the red glow flickering above. The entire city was ablaze, with flames reaching the sky and burning everywhere.

Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping, standing atop the city wall, were also struck by the horrifying sight. The sudden, rapid spread of the flames was clearly abnormal. Sun Fuping exhaled, "Tao Bo was right." Only by destroying the illusion of peace and tranquility would Panlong City reveal its true form.

Suddenly, heavy rain began to fall. The overwhelming blaze, despite its fury, struggled only briefly before the rain extinguished it in a flash. Sun Fuping stared at a small depression on the parapet; within moments of the rain starting, a small puddle had already formed there. "The rainwater is red," he said slowly. "It's the same color as the pond and well." Ahead, the city had been reduced to ruins, with columns of dark smoke curling upwards.

The water level in the lake rapidly receded, and He Lingchuan and Maotao found themselves sitting in a mud pit, completely drenched. "Ptooey, ptooey!" Maotao quickly spat out the water. "This tastes like blood?"

"The illusion has receded," He Lingchuan stated. He, too, had accidentally swallowed a few mouthfuls earlier and now had a coppery taste in his mouth. He paid no mind to it and pointed ahead: "Look, the ruins have changed." Although everything was charred and smoky, the entire city had transformed. Many architectural ruins, which had not existed in the illusion, appeared out of nowhere. Even the lake where He Lingchuan and Maotao had sought refuge had shrunk to a small pond, merely three to five zhang (approx. 9-15 meters) in circumference. They climbed out and saw that the original lakebed had been filled in, and the structures built on top of it appeared to be a stable. This version of Panlong City truly resembled a desolate desert ghost town.

Then, everyone heard a loud, angry roar! The roar made pebbles jump on the ground, caused listeners' eardrums to ache and their hearts to pound, and even directly toppled a dilapidated, tottering house in South City. Despite hearing it for the first time, He Lingchuan could discern an endless sorrow, resentment, and defiance in the sound. Maotao pointed at the South City Gate, her finger trembling uncontrollably. "It's... it's coming out! It's coming out!"

The colossal black flood dragon bas-relief actually moved. It first shook its head, then violently struggled free, bursting through the South City wall. That single movement dislodged thousands of kilograms of earth and stone, which crashed loudly onto the ground. Shedding its outermost stone shell, the black flood dragon's body appeared dark and glistening amidst the swirling dust. Each of its scales was larger than the tortoise shield in Nian Songyu's hand. Upon closer inspection, the black flood dragon's horn was perfectly straight, sharp as a knife at its tip, unlike the branched horns of a typical dragon.

It clearly knew where its enemies were. After breaking through the wall, it glanced back, then slithered back onto the city wall. Although it had no legs, it moved like a snake, capable of reaching places inaccessible to ordinary four-legged creatures. It clearly spotted the two figures standing on the city wall, then lashed its tail. Its long tail, thicker than a towering tree, slammed heavily onto the top of the city gate. Just that one blow made He Lingchuan and Maotao, despite their distance, feel the ground tremble, as if it couldn't bear the creature's fury. Then, its tail swept horizontally, almost demolishing the battlements.

Nian Songyu and Sun Fuping naturally could not remain there and leaped back down to the base of the wall. The barbican wall stood fifteen zhang (over forty-five meters) high. Nian Songyu dug his hands into wall crevices, braking his descent twice against the wall before finally reaching the ground. Sun Fuping, however, descended with far greater elegance, as if supported by the air itself, gently lowering him to the ground.

The black flood dragon perched atop the city wall, looking down at them. "Why must you always strive to destroy such a beautiful place?" a colossal voice resonated in their minds. "You are seeking your own demise!"

Sun Fuping stepped forward, declaring with a raised voice, "I am the Grand Preceptor of the Great Kite Kingdom, dispatched by the Emperor's command to retrieve the Great Fanghu, to restore order and uphold righteousness!"

The black flood dragon lowered its head, scrutinizing him. "Nonsense!"

Nian Songyu shouted loudly, "We bear no ill will, and dispelling the illusion was a last resort. As soon as we obtain the Great Fanghu, we will leave and no longer trouble you."

"The Great Fanghu?" The black flood dragon scoffed. "I am the Great Fanghu! Come, let me see what you're capable of, whether you're even enough to pick my teeth!"

As the guardian boss, it clearly understood its duty and wasted no further words on the two figures before it. The flood dragon's tail lashed against the city gate, making the entire South Wall shudder. "My little ones, it's dinner time!"

No sooner had its words faded than Nian Songyu's peripheral vision caught sight of something white moving by his foot. He instinctively dodged, only then realizing it was a thin, rope-like snake that had just retracted its head. Had he not dodged so quickly, the creature would have bitten his calf. However, no sooner had he averted his gaze than something came flying with a whooshing sound, hurtling directly towards his face. It was, alarmingly, a broken bed. The bed was charred black, but its high-quality ebony frame still held its form. Weighing three to four hundred *jin* (approx. 150-200 kg), it was heavy and powerful, about to strike him in the face almost as soon as he turned. There was no time to dodge. Nian Songyu roared in fury, hoisting his tortoise shield and swinging it upwards.