Chapter 2337 (Raw 2444): Keys Tremble

The scarlet dragon moving about the black cloak laid its dragon claw over Xi’s arm and firmly grasped the Scarlet Blood War Banner.

This made it hard for Xiao Suo to advance. The thing blocking him was not a person but a vast dynasty.

With the moon as supreme, the scarlet dragon lay over the body.

The Scarlet Blood War Banner’s indomitable battle hunger could push Xi’s aura back. However, it could not budge a dynasty.

“How unfortunate.”

Xi sighed, “I am unable to meet the Scarlet Blood Pirate King for myself. Defeating his inheritor is just the result of an unfair advantage.”

The wrist of his hand holding the banner pole rotated gently. Xiao Suo felt that he would soon lose his grip on the banner. The banner pole slowly twisted in his palm as Demonic Qi Divine Energy flowed into his body through his palm, feeling like a demonic dragon sweeping through it by force.

Xiao Suo suppressed the Demonic Qi Divine Energy in his body and roared, “Blood Dyeing the Sky!” Then, a mysterious phenomenon immediately appeared.

Blood dyed the sky, and the sea roared. Huge waves surged, immediately forming a boundless momentum.

Boundless blood filled the sky, turning it flaming red. The seas surged with waves below, each wave taller than the one before it.

Infused with the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s indomitable battle hunger, Xiao Suo used the overlapping waves to push forward one step with the Scarlet Blood War Banner in his hand.

This broke through the other party’s dragon claw and stabbed the banner into the other party’s chest—a great upheaval of the situation.

“Roar!”

However, the scarlet dragon on Xi’s cloak came to life in an instant. The scarlet dragon image wrapped around Xi, placing its dragon head above Xi’s head. Then, it roared as it faced the surging waves.

“Rumble…!” The waves moved in reverse, the blood-dyed sky slowly losing its color.

The scarlet dragon’s fury forced the boundless momentum back and allowed Xi to regain the upper hand.

“Pu ci!”

Xiao Suo vomited a mouthful of blood due to the rebound of the killing move. He could no longer tightly grasp the Scarlet Blood War Banner.

The other party’s Demonic Qi Divine Energy lingered on the war banner, feeling like a hurricane lashing it.

After the rebound, Xiao Suo suffered this strike and went flying back.

Xiao Suo just landed and could not react when he saw Xi countering with the war banner.

“Whoosh!”

A miserable cry rang out as the banner tip pierced Xiao Suo’s chest, pinning him to the ground.

The Demonic Qi Divine Energy lingering on the war banner flowed into Xiao Suo’s chest and assaulted his limbs and bones like it was a ferocious tiger. Then, it flowed into his Soul Pool and frantically swept through the place.

This immediately and utterly suppressed Xiao Suo, rendering him immobile.

A chest wound was no longer fatal to a Sovereign Emperor unless one used Divine Energy to destroy all of the body’s lifeforce. Otherwise, as long as a drop of blood containing lifeforce remained, a Sovereign Emperor could regrow their body, remaining alright. However, this rebirth process would be slower if there was no special Secret Technique for it.

Even if the physical body got completely destroyed, as long as the Divine Seal was not destroyed in time, a Sovereign Emperor’s soul could flee.

However, Xi’s move completely suppressed Xiao Suo’s physical body and soul. While pinning Xiao Suo to the ground with the Scarlet Blood War Banner would not be fatal, the humiliation it brought was destructive.

More importantly, Sovereign Emperors were difficult to kill. Since Xi could not afford to expend the effort, he could at least restrain Xiao Suo to make the best of the situation.

Xi did not spare Xiao Suo because of benevolence; chasing after Xiao Chen was more important.

“You are too weak. You only scratched the surface of the Scarlet Blood Pirate King’s indomitable battle hunger.”

After speaking, Xi swaggered away, not giving Xiao Suo another look.

“Argh!”

Xiao Suo grasped the scarlet war banner and clenched his teeth, then tried to pull it out. His facial features scrunched up as he used all his strength. However, nothing worked.

This was indeed a great mockery, pinned to the ground by his own Scarlet Blood War Banner, but he could not do anything about it. Such humiliation would be unendurable.

However, Xiao Suo did not care. Even if his Divine Energy and Soul Energy were suppressed, leaving him like an ordinary person, he did not give up, resorting to sheer brute force.

Even worse was that the banner pierced his chest. Every movement brought intense pain that could cause anyone to faint.

However, Xiao Suo did not give up. He did not hesitate or get distracted, just focused on slowly extracting the Scarlet Blood War Banner.

He showed a twisted expression, and sweat poured off his forehead like rain. Now, he fully displayed the brute force, the tenacity, and ferociousness of a pirate captain.

“Ka ca!”

Xi, who had already walked a distance away, stopped and turned around to look.

He saw blood spurt out like a fountain from the supine Xiao Suo’s chest. Xiao Suo managed to pull out the Scarlet Blood War Banner with brute force.

The instant Xiao Suo removed the war banner, the restrictions that Xi left in his body crumbled like a dam smashed by a raging river.

Then, Xiao Suo stood back up while holding up the Scarlet Blood War Banner, letting the banner flutter in the wind.

The blood-stained war banner did not lose its elegance at all, looking even more hot-blooded.

The banner flapped noisily. However, it was not the wind making it flutter but the flag producing the wind. The battle hunger that ignited in Xiao Suo’s heart drove this previously unparalleled war banner.

As Xiao Suo held up the war banner, it was like he stood on the sea instead of the ground.

His battle hunger and his pirate’s heart seemed to have affected this ancient land. Then, a ship slowly broke out of the ground.

The experts who once followed this banner turned into war souls riding the boat to travel through time and heed orders.

A sea surged before Xi’s eyes. Xiao Suo stood on the bow of the ship as many warships materialized behind him. An expert’s soul stood on each of those ships facing the winds and riding the waves.

Xi showed surprise on his face. Finding it strange, he said, “Did you not feel humiliated earlier?”

He had not expected Xiao Suo to stand up again.

If it were a regular person, his mind would have crumbled from the great humiliation of being pinned to the ground by his own weapon. It would leave an indelible shadow in his heart in the future.

However, Xi did not see any hatred or humiliation in Xiao Suo.

Xi did not feel shocked at the strength of the Scarlet Blood War Banner, which summoned the war souls of the past and materialized many strong warships.

Xi felt shocked at Xiao Suo’s temperament. Such a person was the nemesis of his demonic eye. With such resilience and mental fortitude, Xiao Suo would not fear him.

“The Scarlet Blood Pirate King went through ups and downs, homeless and miserable, for half his life. He lived like a dog, but he did not abandon his pirate’s heart even after half a lifetime. That humiliation from earlier is nothing to me. How can it compare to the storms I experienced at sea? It is all the more nothing.”

Xiao Suo appeared calm and at ease, not showing any rage or dissatisfaction.

“So what? Even if you blocked me, there are two people no weaker than me chasing after Xiao Chen. He still cannot escape death.”

Then, Xi grabbed the collar of his cloak and tossed it up.

The black cloak turned into a blood moon rising. Xi continued staring at Xiao Suo patiently as he stood under the blood moon.

Then, Xi thrust his hand forward and beckoned. The Demonic Imperial Sword stabbed into the ground somewhere responded with a ‘buzz, turned into a beam of iridescent light, and entered his hand.

All these showed that Xi took Xiao Suo as a true opponent, bringing out his true strength.

“I only need to know that by blocking you, I am reducing the number of Xiao Chen’s strong enemies by one. There is no need for you to try to shake my resolve. After receiving his grace, I will remember it for life. It has already been engraved in my soul and blood.”

Xiao Suo lowered his war banner on the ship’s bow and pointed it at Xi. Then, he said, “Make your move.”

—

While Xi fought Xiao Suo, Xiao Chen, Jiang He, Chu Chaoyun, and the others took the opportunity to flee. However, they could not do anything about Yuan Zhen, who used the auspicious clouds in the sky to give relentless chase. They could not shake Yuan Zhen off, remaining within his sights.

There was an even greater problem. The Silver Dragon King, Sikong Shu, Dao Yan, Wenren Yu, Yan Cangming, Zhen Yuan, and the other outstanding talents with Ethereal Immortal Palace keys had figured out that the crux of the Ethereal Immortal Palace’s appearance lay with Jiang He. Thus, they gave chase as well.

Yuan Zhen attacked again. Xiao Chen and the others did not want to get delayed, so they went around and dodged.

“Boom!”

A huge palm appeared and smacked the ground, covering a radius of five thousand kilometers.

If this palm strike had hit them, it would have been unbearable. They would either die or get injured.

“The sea of bitterness is boundless. Turn back, and salvation is there.”

Taking the opportunity created when the group dodged, Yuan Zhen landed in front and blocked them.

A sea of bitterness appeared as Yuan Zhen sat on a lotus platform and looked at the group from the other side.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Ming Xuan and Yang Qing immediately arrived, landing together with the Silver Dragon King and Sikong Shu. Yan Cangming and Zhen Yuan blocked the path to the left.

Even farther away, Dao Yan and Wenren Yu came over unhurriedly.

Danger surrounded the group in every direction, even up and down. There was no escape route.

Xiao Chen looked around. Making up his mind, he turned to Jiang He and said softly, “As a friend, I can help you only up to here. I’ll deal with the monk.”

“I’ll help you block the Silver Dragon King and Sikong Shu,” Chu Chaoyun followed up.

“Leave Ming Xuan and Yang Qing to me.”

Since there was no way out in any direction, the group could only help block the strongest opponents in hopes that Jiang He could break out.

“Even if you don’t say it, I would be too embarrassed to remain here. Many thanks.”

Jiang He knew that this was all Xiao Chen could do to help him. This already surpassed what a friend should do, going all out to help.

Without any delays or pretentious words, a dragon roar came from Jiang He’s body as he soared towards a gap.

A vast dragon roar rang out in the surroundings, shaking the place slightly.

Jiang He gave off a rare Dragon Might that felt ethereal and divine.

“The Heavenly Dragon’s mysteries.”

Xiao Chen’s eyes lit up in recognition. It seemed that Jiang He was not weak, either.

What were the Heavenly Dragon’s mysteries? It referred to a great boldness and breadth of heart, one that could encompass the boundless heavens.

However large the heavens were, one’s heart had to be larger.

Encompassing the heavens did not refer to merging with heaven, reaching a point of no return that cut off one’s emotions. One had to be within and outside of heaven at the same time. There was where the ethereal nature came from.

“Attack!”

Upon seeing that Jiang He was going to flee, Yuan Zhen revealed a murderous intent in his eyes, and he made his move.

Xiao Chen, Chu Chaoyun, and Hao Kai expected this long ago. Their figures flashed as they blocked their targets.

They needed to create a path to life for Jiang He amid this dangerous, desperate situation.

Just at this moment, something strange happened. All the cultivators holding an Ethereal Immortal Palace key felt their keys trembling for some reason. Their expressions immediately changed dramatically.