Accompanied by a roar that shook the entire Luofu, a massive mushroom cloud rose from the Starskiff Sea Haven. The Luofu, which had just calmed down for a few days, instantly plunged back into chaos.
Watching the panicked Cloud Knights mobilizing towards the Starskiff Sea Haven, Dan Heng lowered his head slightly, feeling a pang of guilt towards Jing Yuan. Ever since they arrived on the Xianzhou, misfortunes had befallen Jing Yuan one after another...
But there was no other way. For Dan Heng, his companions on the Express were more important than anything else.
The only thing he could do was try to take as much blame as possible after Twilight's resurrection, easing the pressure on Jing Yuan... If worse came to worst, and Jing Yuan still faced execution because of this, he was even willing to consider staging a prison break.
But today, he was determined to save Twilight. Even Lan himself couldn't stop him!
...Let alone his old friend from a past life.
Outside the Shackling Prison, Dan Heng slowed his steps upon seeing the familiar figure blocking his path.
It was a man with blue-green hair and blood-red eyes, clad in an ancient-style windbreaker, holding a sharp blade.
This wasn't the first time Dan Heng had seen this man. His current name should be Blade... This man, like a shadow constantly chasing him, like an unkillable piece of sticky plaster, would find him again and again even after being pierced by a spear or cut by a blade. He was truly his nightmare.
In his previous life, Dan Feng, along with this man, had used the Transmutation Arcanum to revive their friend Baiheng, ultimately causing the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae. Dan Feng was sentenced to molting rebirth, while this man was infected by the power midway, gaining immortality but becoming afflicted by Mara.
This person stubbornly considered him the Dragon High Elder Dan Feng who committed sins in his past life, chasing him and demanding Dan Heng pay for the past transgressions—even after joining the Express and not seeing this man again, Dan Heng was still plagued by nightmares about him... But recently, those had ceased.
He had been sleeping very well recently—at least before her incident.
Dan Heng subconsciously touched the flower tucked in his chest pocket, protected by his power.
Was it because this flower from Jarilo-VI truly had miraculous sleep-aiding properties, or was it something else...
"Dan Feng, you've come..."
The man named Blade let out a chilling laugh, his eyes fixed deadly on Dan Heng, as if seeing a mortal enemy with a blood feud. "I knew you would come! You haven't changed one bit. Even with a different name, a different skin, the thing inside is still the same guy from back then!"
"Hahahaha... This is perfect! Saves you the trouble of spouting nonsense like 'I'm Dan Heng, not Dan Feng,' trying to write off past sins."
Blade's gaze swept over Dan Heng and the Express crew behind him, slowly curling into a savage grin. "Are you stupid and forgetful, or just rotten and uncaring? Ha, doesn't matter... It's time to pay the price! The time has come—"
"No time to waste talking nonsense with you. Move!"
"..." Hearing Dan Heng's unthinking reply, Blade's expression froze for a second. Clearly, while he expected Dan Heng might be resolute, he hadn't anticipated such extremity.
But then, Blade burst into furious laughter. "Good, good, good! It really is you... You're not the shadow, you are the original! This way, when I kill you later, I'll enjoy it even more!"
"Move. You are no match for me." Seeing Blade still standing at the entrance with no intention of leaving, the anxious Dan Heng's face turned cold.
The next moment, the sound of rushing water accompanied currents appearing from nowhere, flowing around his body. Majestic horns sprouted from his forehead. "Otherwise, you'll likely only be able to wait for the Cloud Knights to retrieve your corpse back to the Shackling Prison and slowly await rebirth inside."
He had no time to dally with Blade. Jing Yuan could discover the Preceptors' deception at any moment and arrive with the Cloud Knights, making things troublesome. Anyway, the person before him couldn't die. If he insisted on blocking the way, Dan Heng could only make him lie down—
"Heh, Imbibitor Lunae, your tone is even grander than before..."
With a clear, cold female voice, a white-haired, blindfolded woman holding a sword slowly emerged from the Shackling Prison. "Why not let me exchange a few moves with you as well, how about it?"
Seeing this person, Dan Heng's already icy face became even colder, like frost.
"Dan Heng, who are these two?" The sudden change prompted Caelus to ask Dan Heng in a low voice.
"One is a Stellaron Hunter, Blade; the other is the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, Jingliu... Both were once part of the High-Cloud Quintet, now wanted criminals on the Xianzhou." Dan Heng narrowed his eyes slightly.
If it were just one of them, he was confident he could achieve a swift victory with the help of the others. But with Jingliu added, things wouldn't be resolved easily. Although they could win, time might be dragged out until Jing Yuan arrived.
"Five people, three prices to pay... Imbibitor Lunae, you are the chief culprit," Although blindfolded, everyone present could feel Jingliu's eyes fixed deadly on Dan Heng now.
"Acting willfully, daring to use the Transmutation Arcanum to revive the dead, changing form and substance, causing great disaster, dishonoring the warrior's glory. I originally thought that although you changed your name, you still held some awareness and reverence for past sins. But now it seems I thought too highly of you."
"You were the same back then, using the Transmutation Arcanum to revive one person... But now you are even worse than before. Merely because a friend died of old age, you intend to commit this act again. Have you forgotten everything that happened then? Those who died... she who died!"
Dan Heng didn't answer immediately. He looked wordlessly at Jingliu and Blade, then finally said calmly, "That was what Dan Feng did. What does it have to do with me, Dan Heng?"
Hearing this, Jingliu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what. She wasn't particularly sharp-tongued to begin with, and faced with Dan Heng's words now, she truly couldn't think of a reply.
She remembered the Imbibitor Lunae of the past wasn't this shameless...
Dan Heng paid no mind to Jingliu's complex feelings, just continued, "The sins Dan Feng committed have nothing to do with me, Dan Heng. And the things Dan Feng couldn't achieve, I, Dan Heng, can! Besides, if not for the Xianzhou enjoying the blessings granted by Yaoshi of Abundance while simultaneously denouncing longevity as poison and refusing to share it with others, why would I need to do this! If Twilight could have obtained the elixir of immortality back then, why would today's events happen!"
The power of the High Elder surged within him. Dan Heng stared intently at the two before him, issuing a final ultimatum. "This is the final warning—move aside, otherwise... don't blame me for disregarding old ties!"
There was no other way. If the two before him insisted on opposing him, he could only defeat them with the full force of the Express crew, then force his way into the Shackling Prison.
The commotion of the battle would not only alert the prison guards but also attract Jing Yuan and the Cloud Knights. He didn't know if there would be enough time then—
"Dan Heng, we'll handle them. You infiltrate the Shackling Prison first."
Himeko calmly took out her briefcase. "We don't know the Transmutation Arcanum, nor the layout of the Shackling Prison. Besides fighting, going inside wouldn't be much help anyway. Better to intercept the enemies here. You go in now, save time. When you return with Twilight, we'll summon the Express and warp out immediately."
Caelus also took out a box from his pocket and stuffed it into Dan Heng's hand. "This is the Borisin Warleader's heart... Dan Heng, we're counting on you for Twilight!"
"...Alright."
Having absolute trust in his companions, Dan Heng wasted no more words. Ignoring everything else, disregarding Blade and Jingliu in front, he charged straight towards the Shackling Prison.
"Dan Feng, don't think you can escape—"
Clang!
The moment Blade tried to pursue, March 7th's arrows and Himeko's drone attacks arrived instantly, forcing him to defend with his sword.
Simultaneously, Jingliu on the other side was intercepted by Caelus and Welt, only able to watch helplessly as Dan Heng's figure vanished into the entrance of the Shackling Prison in the blink of an eye.
The Shackling Prison was a heavily fortified Luofu location, full of mechanisms and dangers. But its initial construction heavily involved Vidyadhara assistance.
Therefore, as the former High Elder, Dan Heng knew its layout extremely well. If anyone among the Express crew could accomplish the plan of infiltrating the depths of the Shackling Prison alone, it could only be Dan Heng.
"You... have no idea what you've done!"
Facing Blade's fury, Caelus just silently tightened his grip on his baseball bat. "The Express crew doesn't need to explain its actions to others!"