After leaving Du Cheng's (杜承 - protagonist's name) palm, the three lotus magic treasures (莲花法宝 - magical items derived from his cultivation, introduced in Ch 44) suddenly grew larger. By the time they flew near the statue, they were already the size of grinding stones.
The three flowers transformed into three streams of golden-yellow light. Their stamens and petals resembled large hammers, striking the crushed stone pavement in front of the statue in a '品' shape formation.
Boom, boom, boom!
With three muffled thuds, three large pits were smashed into the flagstone path near the statue, each about one meter square. And since the dungeon was located below the statue, these three lotus flowers actually smashed through the top of the dungeon.
Since Zig's (齐格 - a character's name, introduced in Ch 43) sacred artifact was below, Du Cheng wasn't afraid of accidentally harming the girl. So, this strike was performed with full force, intentionally seeing his true strength.
The result was quite good. Looking from a distance, the top of the dungeon was a full meter thick, yet it was still smashed through. The force of one of his lotus magic treasures was equivalent to a thousand jun (千钧 - an ancient unit of weight, implying immense force)!
Furthermore, everyone was taking refuge in the basements at this time. No matter how Du Cheng smashed or how much noise he made, they would assume His Eminence Zig had started fighting.
Du Cheng waited quietly. After a moment, there was no sound from the smashed dungeon. He was relieved; there were indeed no guards in the dungeon where the demoness was imprisoned.
However, he couldn't just go and rescue her like this. Although The Lotus Scripture (《莲花宝鉴》- the name of his cultivation technique, introduced in Ch 43) indicated that the demoness was a good person, she was still an enemy of Headmaster Zig. If Du Cheng's act of rescuing her was exposed, there would be endless trouble. Even the Flaying God of Combat (剥皮斗神 - seemingly a powerful or divine figure, introduced in Ch 45) behind him would probably feel a major headache.
Forget it, this good deed would be done anonymously.
Uh, more importantly, the girl was inhumanly beautiful. What if, after he rescued her, she clung to him relentlessly?
He absolutely couldn't create a second "Avril" (艾薇儿 - a character's name)!
Du Cheng rummaged through a nearby room and found a set of black clothes to change into, and used a black cloth to cover his face. At the same time, he stuffed some cotton wadding inside his clothes to change his body shape. At first glance, this was his true professional attire—night-traveling clothes (夜行衣 - stealthy clothing worn by thieves or assassins).
Arriving at the smashed hole, he first used a lotus magic treasure to probe the situation below, ensuring there was no danger. Then, Du Cheng put away his magic treasure and leaped into the dungeon. "Another good deed to do, heh heh, and it's a great good deed of 'stopping conflict'!"
After landing, Du Cheng quickly glanced around.
This was a large hall, very large, appearing not much smaller than the Vernal Palace Council Hall (凡尔纳宫议政大殿 - a specific place name) in the Lanning Empire (兰宁帝国 - a place name). The four walls and the floor and ceiling were made of polished bluestone, looking very sturdy.
Seeing this, Du Cheng felt somewhat pleased. So, the magic treasures hadn't just smashed through ordinary earth, but rock! Tsk tsk, their power was indeed astonishing. He just didn't know what level of Fighter (斗士 - implying a rank in the combat system, likely lower than God of Combat) this was equivalent to.
Although the hall was large, it was also very empty, with only a structure resembling an altar (祭台 - a platform used for rituals or ceremonies) in the center.
And Du Cheng's target was on the altar. The young lady with purplish-red long hair was bound by a silver chain. The chain was wrapped around her body many times, with two additional sections extending from her back and ankles. However, these two sections of chain didn't reach the ceiling or touch the ground; they simply floated in the air, like seaweed in seawater.
The young lady was also suspended in the air, and the silver chain on her body faintly flickered with waves of red light.
A stone platform, a young lady floating in mid-air—the scene looked utterly bizarre.
Du Cheng landed five steps in front of the stone platform, directly opposite the young lady.
"You... what are you here for?" The young lady actually spoke, and opened her sky-blue eyes. Her eyes, like autumn water (剪水双瞳 - an idiom describing beautiful, clear eyes) and soul-capturing (摄人心魄 - captivating/soul-stirring), caused Du Cheng's heart to lurch (咯噔一下 - an onomatopoeia for a sudden thud or startle) as her stunning purplish eyelashes trembled slightly.
Damn!
When this girl had her eyes closed, she was a fairy. When she opened them, she wasn't a woman but a piece of art perfected to the extreme. Anyone who saw her would feel a tremor originating from their soul!
Fortunately, Du Cheng had undergone bone transformation (脱胎换骨 - a fundamental physical transformation gained through his cultivation, introduced in Ch 43) by this point. Once his lotus inner energy (莲花内劲 - introduced in Ch 44) circulated, it calmed his heart like still water, immediately turning the "artwork" in front of him back into an ordinary woman.
The young lady was startled. The person who arrived was dressed in black and masked, clearly not wanting to reveal their true appearance, so her first sentence directly asked Du Cheng "what are you here for?" At the same time, for self-preservation, she activated her family's secret soul-capturing technique (摄魂术 - a skill to influence others' minds) with her eyes. But the incoming person's eyes only became momentarily hazy before immediately becoming clear as water again.
Although she was sealed, her eye technique had not lost much power. This person was able to resist the soul-capturing technique...
He's a master! I must deal with him cautiously.
Du Cheng examined the young lady from head to toe, changed his tone, and asked in a cold voice, "If I rescue you, can you stop the python horde from attacking the city outside?"
He was here to save her? Impossible! She only had one friend on the three continents, and he wasn't human! However, the python horde attacking the city indicated that her friend had arrived. She parted her red lips and said coldly, "Why would you save me?"
"Do I need a reason to save you?" Du Cheng thought to himself. This girl was quite wary.
"You don't need a reason? Doing anything requires a purpose, doesn't it? What is your purpose in saving me?" She lowered her head and glanced at the silver chain on her body. "Perhaps we shouldn't discuss this question. We should talk about whether you are qualified to save me?"
Du Cheng smiled. You truly are an interesting girl! Indeed, in the eyes of normal people, they wouldn't believe that Zig's seal could be forcibly broken.
Hearing Du Cheng's hoarse laughter hidden beneath the black cloth, the young lady furrowed her brows. "Is it very funny? Are you laughing at my question for being foolish, or are you mocking your own incompetence?"
"I'm laughing at your ignorance!" Du Cheng strode onto the altar. He glanced at the chain on her body. This chain, like the Storm Horned War Hammer (暴风羊角战锤 - the full name of the sacred artifact, introduced in Ch 43 and 45) in his hand, had a dense metal structure. However, it had many holes. At a rough look, there were over twenty of them.
What a complicated lock!
But I like it!
Du Cheng's fingers uncontrollably and slightly began to perform a joyful trembling dance. Then he leaned his body closer.
"Why am I ignorant?" The young lady coldly stared at Du Cheng as he approached her body with unclear intentions. In her pair of sky-blue eyes, a bone-chilling killing intent actually burst forth. Without a doubt, if she could move now, she would definitely 'deal with' Du Cheng severely.
Du Cheng didn't answer. He took out the tools from his back and began to probe the structure of the 'lock' on the young lady's body.
Clasping eight wire probes between his eight fingers, he probed the keyholes one by one. He confirmed in his heart that this chain was a four-layered Nine-Buckle Interlocking Chain (九扣连环锁 - a type of complex lock/seal), extremely intricate, but he could open it!
Having gained confidence, Du Cheng sat down on the edge of the altar and conversed with the young lady with ease, "Never mind why I say you're ignorant, and never mind whether I'm qualified to save you. Just one thing: after you get out, can you make the pythons besieging the city leave?!"
"First tell me your purpose. Otherwise, even if you break the seal, I won't leave!"
"Heh heh, quite a stubborn temper!" Du Cheng chuckled.
"My temper is very good, no need for you to worry. However, you are of unknown origin, masked, and suddenly say you want to save me! Hmph, even the most foolish Beastman (兽人 - a race in this world, like Orcs or other humanoids) wouldn't believe you have no purpose."
Sigh, this girl is hard to deal with! Du Cheng thought to himself.
The young lady thought secretly, this person is troublesome!
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