History Has Fallen Ill-Chapter 112 : The Heavenly Lock Binds the Evil Dragon, All Beings Are Birds in a Cage

Chapter 112: The Heavenly Lock Binds the Evil Dragon, All Beings Are Birds in a Cage
This moment, all were silent.
Wu Sangui’s greatest weakness was that, though he considered himself the Mandate-Bearing Son of Heaven, he ultimately failed to transform into a dragon and became nothing more than a parasitic insect devouring a dynasty, a fickle creature.
Neither the Historical Mutation nor the Corpse-Dissolution Rebirth had granted him dragon blood or dragon form—instead, he displayed signs of centipede transformation.
This, too, was Wu Sangui’s deepest obsession.
For one so self-regarding, he utterly lacked the qualifications to become a dragon!
What humiliation that was.
And yet, with the fortune of the Heavenly Kingdom aiding him, he had successfully transformed into a dragon, shedding his insect form, metamorphosing into a lofty True Dragon overlooking all living beings.
Wasn’t this proof that even Heaven acknowledged him?
“Next, I only need to switch to the path of God and I can ascend to the Ancient Talisman stage, becoming the dragon that governs the heavens!”
Wu Sangui murmured softly, his dragon eyes rotating as he glanced toward the Law Domain, chuckling lightly:
“Before that, let me deal with this nuisance.”
Just then—
Jiang Yan, riding the 【Crossing the Bitter Sea】, traversed the Law Domain—Nation of Decay. The red candle atop the green lamp before him had burned down to one-tenth, soon to be extinguished.
The three-headed black dragon, Wu Sangui, looked down from above at Jiang Yan, hoping to see fear or panic on his face.
But to his disappointment, there was only a calm and composed smile.
However, Jiang Yan had stowed away the remaining red candle and dispersed the 【Crossing the Bitter Sea】.
Wu Sangui spoke with amusement, “What, have you given up struggling?”
Jiang Yan shook his head and said, “No, this farce simply needs to end.”
As his words fell, a radiant crown emerged behind him, its back-light illuminating all directions. Vaguely, a figure with three heads and three aspects could be seen, as if a Buddha had descended to the world.
Where the light reached, dragon-shaped chains formed of brilliance materialized, sinking into the void, instantly weaving a net that covered heaven and earth.
Crack crack crack!
Thousands upon thousands of chains rotated, their surfaces displaying dragon eyes, all fixated on Wu Sangui, brimming with fierce hunger.
It had been waiting too long!
“What is this!?”
Wu Sangui sensed the eerie aura emanating from them. His dragon blood trembled, as if it had encountered some natural nemesis.
He immediately struck with full force, opening his bloody maw. The ash of decay gathered, igniting without wind, transforming into black flame, and blasted outward.
Decaying Dragon Breath!
The fire of ashes coalesced into a breath capable of corroding all things, surging majestically, imbued with power worthy of Ancient Talisman-level caution.
Su Baitao and the others had already prepared to meet death.
Unexpectedly, the dragon breath fell upon the chains like a clay ox entering the sea—utterly silent, vanishing without a ripple.
In the next moment, the chains tightened, wrapping around Wu Sangui’s black dragon form, binding it fiercely, shattering dragon scales and eroding flesh and blood.
“Get off me!”
Wu Sangui roared, activating all his strength. But to his disbelief, the stronger his resistance, the more his dragon blood boiled, the tighter and tougher the chains became.
“Ahhhh!”
The three-headed black dragon roared and struggled madly, crashing from the sky to the ground, rolling violently, crushing countless Guanning Cavalry and Vajravārāhī Cavalry beneath him.
They had not died to the Undead Calamity, but to Wu Sangui.
In an instant,
Dragon blood and shattered scales scattered across the ground. It even triggered his savagery; to escape, he would abandon flesh and reveal bare bone.
Even exhausting all his might, he couldn’t break free—reduced to a bound beast, even his soul imprisoned with no release.
No earth-shattering battle, no twist in the tale.
With the appearance of the Chains of All Dragons, the pride of a True Dragon was crushed instantly.
At last, the three-headed black dragon that was Wu Sangui lay on the ground, ceasing its struggle. Its dragon eyes rotated, looking at Jiang Yan as it croaked hoarsely:
“A fine scheme… so it was the Dragon-Binding Chains!”
Now he understood—the Heavenly Kingdom Dragon Robe was a trap laid especially for him.
Before becoming a dragon, he had myriad possibilities.
But he had allowed himself to be driven by the bait, willingly taking the hook, willingly becoming the fish on the chopping block.
Now, everything was beyond his control.
“The Dragon-Binding Chains… weren’t those a treasure from the ‘Investiture of the Gods’ novel?” Liang Yao was stunned. Setting aside whether it was historical or apocryphal, by historical depth, it belonged to the Shang and Zhou periods.
A time when the Mythic Era had yet to fade, and beings of Great Divine Ability walked the earth.
Even if a Heavenly Official descended, they would need to tread carefully—lest they be crushed.
Could it be that this Sima A’man… truly was a reincarnated celestial or Buddha?
Su Baitao’s voice rang out, “There are many origins to the Dragon-Binding Chains, not solely from ‘Investiture of the Gods.’ Numerous ancient legends are entwined within.
“For example, Zhao the God of Wealth—also known as Marshal of the Orthodox Mysterious Altar—also wielded Dragon-Binding Chains, iron chains he used to subdue evil dragons, plague spirits, and vile gods.
“In folk tales, the tale of the 【Dragon-Binding Rope】 speaks of a youth using an immortal rope to bind an evil dragon. And higher-grade Diseased Domains often evolve into many micro-Diseased Domains that surge into shallow historical layers, spreading their path as minor anchor points.
“Like the one before us—chains rather than rope—but still of remarkable origin. At the very least, an Ancient Talisman-level treasure, likely a projection of some legendary secret treasure.”
Even Su Baitao had not anticipated that the dragon transformation was a lie.
Wu Sangui became a dragon—only to become prey.
He had delivered himself to the executioner’s blade, step by step.
Zhou Xiaoxiao and Liang Yao’s pupils trembled violently. They had expected a reversal of the desperate situation—never expecting a trap expertly set.
Such schemes and setups were a thousand times more terrifying than overt blades and swords.
‘Truly, being from the Tianxia Alliance with a deep cultural heritage has its conveniences—saves me the trouble of explaining.’
Jiang Yan smiled without speaking. To others, it appeared inscrutable, but in truth he was laughing inwardly—this way, he didn’t need to use the Heart Monkey Arm to erase their memories physically.
In truth, Wu Sangui had been deceived from beginning to end.
Jiang Yan had already begun setting his plan in motion even before he knew the identity of the Young Heavenly King, weaving an enormous lie.
From the moment he arrived at the Diseased Domain of the Yellow Talisman Dog-Folk, amidst the ceaseless torrent of calamity qi, Jiang Yan had realized that with his current strength, defeating Wu Sangui head-on was impossible.
Even so, this was a path almost certain to fail.
However,
Jiang Yan had always liked turning the impossible into the possible.
Deliberately dragging out time to complete Mission One might seem like hope, but in reality, it only meant losing all initiative—passively awaiting death.
Becoming a lamb awaiting slaughter.
The best defense was always offense!
To that end, he had slain the Corpse Realm Worm to cut off interference from the Corpse-Dissolution Court.
He set up the 【Eight-Headed Treasure Elephant Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Wonder】 to eliminate Wu Sangui’s forces and prevent the Guanning Cavalry from interfering.
The third step: gravely injure Wu Sangui to prevent him from maintaining clear thought.
All seasoned hunters knew that the most difficult prey was not the frenzied beast—but the cunning, composed one.
Finally, Jiang Yan used the trust-inducing ability of the Heart Monkey bloodline to deceive everyone. With the intel he acquired about the Young Heavenly King, he successfully wove a lie.
That lie was—the Young Heavenly King’s Dragon Robe!
If it were real, the Yellow Talisman Dog-Folk would’ve discovered it long ago. How would he have stood a chance?
Jiang Yan, through the Crossing the Bitter Sea, sent out the Heart Monkey Arm to implant false memories into Fuyuan and even modified her clothing.
The raw material came from Wu Sangui’s obsession with dragon transformation, captured by the Heart Monkey Arm.
It transformed into an Inner Demon—the Centipede Dragon Demon.
The stronger Wu Sangui’s obsession and belief in his success, the more powerful this Dragon Robe became.
Since it shared the same origin, and with Calamity Qi veiling perception and dulling reason, he only felt resonance. Even if he suspected Jiang Yan, he believed he could consume the sugar coating and spit back the shell!
This wasn’t a flaw—every successful person had unwavering belief in themselves to blaze a trail through adversity.
Yet this very confidence had been accounted for in Jiang Yan’s scheme.
Had it been anyone else, this would be aiding the enemy.
But Jiang Yan was different. He had a lethal weapon against all dragonkin—the Chains of All Dragons!
The purer the dragon blood, the stronger the suppression.
Especially since Wu Sangui had not yet changed his path or ascended to Ancient Talisman level—he stood no chance of escaping the suppression of the Chains of All Dragons.
With all these factors intertwined, Jiang Yan used the power of the 【Bodhi Calamity Heart Monkey】 to deceive the entire world, making fiction real.
He helped Wu Sangui forge the Scarlet Armored Golden Embryo and complete his dragon transformation.
Only it wasn’t a True Dragon—but an Evil Dragon, a Wretched Dragon.
“Bird in a cage, when will you fly? The road to freedom is nowhere to be found.”
Jiang Yan murmured. Within the Cataclysmic Sea of the Return Ruins Foundation, Calamity Qi surged and slowly wove a new spell. Ancient divine script emerged, forming three characters—【Bird in a Cage】.
But it had just formed when it shattered, returning to the river of Calamity Qi.
Not only was it missing the foundational Elemental Qi of a top-tier Calamity Path, it also lacked a Qi of Causality.
Causality and calamity—born together, traveling together.
The conditions were harsh, but Jiang Yan had a feeling...
If it were born, it would become a nightmare for countless cultivators!
Thinking this, he looked at Wu Sangui.
Sizzle!
The Three-Headed Flood Dragon feasted greedily, controlling the Chains of All Dragons to drink dragon blood wildly. The chains grew tougher, brighter.
But there was still one problem…
This was a dragon transformation built on lies. If Wu Sangui suffered fatal damage, it might shake the Inner Demon, allowing him to see the truth—
And thus expose the lie.
So, Jiang Yan looked up at the three-faced black dragon before him and said softly:
“Actually, if you abandon your dragon body and admit you are not a True Dragon, the Dragon-Binding Chains will no longer restrain you.”
“Heh… you’re trying to give me that ‘lay down your butcher’s knife and become a Buddha’ speech? I, Wu Sangui, have committed monstrous crimes, I crave the throne, crave riches and glory—what’s there to deny!”
The three-faced black dragon growled low, but instead ignited and boosted his dragon blood, roaring:
“Even if I, Wu Sangui, lose—so what!?”
“No one can judge me—not even celestials or gods!”
As he spoke, destructive energy filled the air. He chose self-destruction, intending to destroy the Scarlet Armored Golden Embryo.
In response, Jiang Yan simply pointed a finger, touching the dragon’s head.
In an instant, Wu Sangui’s consciousness blurred. When he awoke, he found himself in a palace of golden splendor. He jolted upright, discovering he was lying on a luxurious golden-threaded nanmu bed, with silk curtains fluttering around.
He had returned to human form—only now in his twilight years, his body frail and wracked with illness. Yet this frailty carried more peace than his monstrous three-faced form.
“A dream? Or an illusion?”
Wu Sangui frowned, assuming Jiang Yan was trying to convert him through this means—turn him into a puppet of Buddha.
How laughable. No illusion could overcome him!
He, Wu Sangui, lived a hero, would die a ghost-hero!
“Kill!”
But then—beyond the curtains appeared a young figure wielding a sharp sword, charging toward him with overwhelming momentum!
“Just another assassin!”
Already agitated by repeated defeats and knowing he was trapped in an illusion, he knew he must remain steadfast—or be consumed. He shouted angrily:
“Who are you!?”
Even stripped of transcendent power, his aura alone was enough to terrify common folk.
But the young soldier showed no fear, kept moving, and shouted clearly, voice resounding:
“I am Wu Guodong of Liaoxi, come to punish the traitor!”
The words rang like a great bell in Wu Sangui’s ears, his face twisted in shock.
Because that was his courtesy name—Guodong.
A pillar of the nation.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Just then, wind lifted the curtains, letting Wu Sangui clearly see the youth’s face.
Radiant, upright, full of heroic spirit—it was...
His younger self!
On Wu Sangui’s body, three faces emerged—youth, middle age, old age. Compared side by side, his current visage was hideous, twisted like an insect, stained with the blood of countless compatriots, bearing immeasurable sin.
In that moment, he faltered.
Though he knew it was fake—
He could no longer see through it.
He even wanted to resist—but his younger face stopped him.
In warfare, breaking the will is paramount!
Crack!
He watched helplessly as a blade pierced his chest.
When he came to, the illusion shattered—only to find the Chains of All Dragons had pierced deep into his flesh, transformed into blades, and run through his heart, devouring the dragon qi within.
Severing his final chance to resist.
At that moment, Jiang Yan’s voice came to his ear:
“In youth, there was courage alone, seeking to slay the traitor even at the cost of one’s life. In old age, haunted by dreams, ever doubting if som