Though our hearts were still set on saving Old Fourth, we knew that if we didn't retreat now, we would surely perish alongside him. With reluctance and deep regret, the three of us swiftly pulled back.

Not long after, I watched as the Nian inside Old Fourth suddenly erupted. At first, I thought the crimson Nian was a single entity, but now, just as Old Fourth had said, it was composed of countless tiny particles, each one the larva of a man-bird.

This time, I saw it clearly: these larvae, growing too large, caused Old Fourth to explode with a loud peng into countless pieces of flesh. "Old Fourth!" Da Xiong wailed, sounding like a grieving wolf, ignoring everything else.

He dropped to his knees, pounding the ground with his fists. Watching Old Fourth burst open like a blooming flower made my head ring, and my eyes instantly turned red.

But I knew this was not the time for sorrow. Rubbing my eyes hard, I told Da Xiong, "Get up.

We must gather all these body parts and burn them. Otherwise, these man-bird hatchlings will devour the remains and transform into endless scourges." Hearing this, Da Xiong wiped away his tears and stood up.

Next, we sorted through the gruesome pile of countless body parts scattered across the open ground, heaped them all together, and found some dry grass to set them alight. The stench of burning flesh was almost unbearable.

But to ensure every single man-bird was incinerated, we covered our noses and remained until the very last moment. When Da Xiong poked the pile of remains with a wooden stick and confirmed everything had been reduced to ash, the three of us collectively stood by a thicket and retched for nearly ten minutes.

Despite the nausea, we finally buried the ashes together, planting a military knife in front of the mound as a makeshift tombstone. After finishing, we headed in the direction Old Fourth had indicated, seeking the Dragon Palace he had mentioned.

Indeed, following the narrow path between the pavilions, we found the main continent running north to south. Thinking about it, I did recall the location of the Central Dragon Tower.

Before, just as we were about to reach the bamboo forest, we had spotted two magnificent eight-story, pavilion-style palatial structures flanking the main road. The one on the left was adorned with many golden auspicious beast totems, while the one on the right was decorated with silver totems of divine birds.

Therefore, the left structure was very likely the Dragon Palace Old Fourth spoke of. When we reached the main thoroughfare, we found ourselves surprisingly close to the main gate.

To reach the Dragon Palace, we would have to venture deeper again. As Da Xiong walked, he kept looking back at the faint smoke still drifting in the distance.

I knew he couldn't accept Old Fourth's death so easily, so I patted his shoulder and said, "The dead cannot return. Don't be so consumed by this; try to be more open-minded, okay?" Da Xiong let out a rare sigh and said nothing.

I knew that among us, Da Xiong had the closest bond with Old Fourth. For one, they were both from the Northeast, and secondly, Old Fourth was straightforward, always saying what he meant, which made him very compatible with Da Xiong.

Thinking of the times they sneaked off to the woods together to smoke, I sighed as well. As for Jie Yuting and the others being ambushed, it was obvious who was responsible.

Monk Lei Yun had already hidden in the temple; the only one capable of causing trouble here had to be the white-haired old man. Moreover, we had previously seen the white-haired old man execute the thin man, and the person he mentioned tracking them must have been us.

The thin man must have been tracking us because the places we went were not accessible to ordinary people, which is why he lost the trail. The ones who followed and ambushed Jie Yuting's group must have been another party.

Now that I think about it, back in Kobe, we found a listening device in Old Fourth's green hat—it must have been planted by the white-haired old man's people. Those people tracked us into the mountains, only to be stopped by Old Third's trap, yet we never saw the enemy's true faces.

Precisely because of that, it hadn't alerted Jie Yuting, leading to the ambush. If we want to avenge Old Fourth, ultimately, we need to go confront the white-haired old man.

However, before that, we must rescue Jie Yuting and the others. I didn't know how long Jie Yuting and the others had been in danger, so I was unsure of their chances of survival, but given Jie Yuting's skills, he wouldn't be taken down easily.

Despite these thoughts, the three of us secretly quickened our pace, even breaking into a light run. As we neared the location, we saw two magnificent pavilions far taller than the surrounding structures looming in the distance.

But when we looked toward the Dragon Tower on the left, everyone froze. Compared to the dazzling, exquisitely carved Phoenix Tower on the right, this Dragon Tower looked more dilapidated than a recycling yard.

Specifically, it appeared as if a tornado had swept through it; the entire structure was twisted. Broken windows, splintered beams, and wooden supports were everywhere, emitting thick plumes of smoke.

Honestly, I was astonished by the building's structural integrity; despite this condition, it hadn't collapsed. But when we reached the plaza beneath the Dragon Tower, we immediately understood why it hadn't fallen.

The lower half of the Dragon Tower was almost entirely encased in ice nearly two to three meters thick, and the plaza was also covered in a dense sheet of ice that radiated an overwhelming chill toward us. Da Xiong, walking at the forefront, hugged his arms and exhaled a puff of white mist, saying, "What in the world is this?

Ice and fire everywhere." Nie Chuan and I stomped our feet from the cold, momentarily speechless. "There must be an incredibly powerful Yao inside here…" I said with a frown.

"Did you see anything?" Nie Chuan asked, rubbing his hands together. I shook my head.

"Do we need to see? Look at the destructive power—this definitely couldn't be man-made." "Look, someone seems to be wandering over there!" Da Xiong said, slipping slightly as he ran forward.

We looked ahead and indeed saw a shadowy figure. The person was dressed entirely in black, head bowed, walking with a strange, stooped posture, limp and boneless.

I followed Da Xiong, warning him to be careful from behind, and the three of us rushed toward the peculiar figure. When we were about fifty meters away, I noticed a faint, pale blue Nian emanating from the person.

It was very weak, dimmer than candlelight, suggesting the opponent wasn't strong—perhaps just an ordinary person. As I watched, the faint blue Nian suddenly vanished.

Then, Da Xiong ahead shouted, "What's happening! Why did it suddenly disappear!" Without him needing to say it, the two of us behind also witnessed the bizarre sight.

An object vanishing instantly isn't inherently strange, but since I perceived its Nian, it meant it was a living entity. What kind of living thing could move with such incredible speed?

I had never heard of such a thing. Furthermore, the open ground around us was frozen solid, leaving no other escape routes.

If it had run away quickly, we should have seen it! Overwhelmed with questions, we reached the ice-encased main gate of the Dragon Tower.

At this point, we realized the ice wasn't a solid mass; it looked as if someone had splashed water onto the tower, which had then frozen instantly. Thus, the massive layer of ice surrounding the Dragon Tower had many fissures formed by the movement of flowing water.

Coincidentally, right in the center of the ice-sealed Dragon Tower gate, there was such a fissure, about as thick as a human arm. Da Xiong impatiently pressed his eye close to the gap and peered inside, then turned back to tell us, "The door is open, but it’s too dark inside; I can’t see a thing." I nodded without speaking, still pondering how that black-clad figure had vanished.

Just then, I suddenly saw a hand reach out from the ice fissure and clamp tightly around Da Xiong's neck. Da Xiong seemed startled and quickly tried to pull back.

But at that moment, something strange happened. As Da Xiong retreated rapidly, the hand remained firmly gripping his neck.

Yet, Da Xiong had pulled back further than a normal person's arm could reach, and the hand's length unexpectedly extended, as if infinitely so. "Damn it, did we run into Luffy the pirate, or was that Kuroda-dera we injured before?" Nie Chuan joked from the side.