Dong Linyuan had a gentle expression, his gaze even carrying a bit of sorrow and pity, like a charitable elder looking at a disobedient junior. He spoke softly, "Good Gou'er, do not run."
"Uncle has spent so much effort on you."
"You have been very sensible since childhood; do not disappoint Uncle this time either."
Deng Gang's eyes turned blood-red, his blood qi surging. When he let out a roar toward the sky, what emerged was not a human voice, but a dull sound like a bull, violent like a tiger. Gray scales grew over his body, and his form swelled and expanded, actually transforming into a gray flood dragon one zhang long.
"Good, good, good!" Dong Linyuan's eyes sparkled. After looking him up and down, he nodded repeatedly with a satisfied smile, saying, "What a fine gray flood dragon! To be able to transform into a dragon at the Qi Refining realm—my thirty years of painstaking cultivation have truly not gone to waste!"
Having transformed into a gray flood dragon, Deng Gang clearly loathed Dong Linyuan to the extreme, yet he did not charge forward to attack him at all. Instead, he turned around and lunged straight toward Qiao Yunbai of the Qingyun Sect!
Caught off guard, Qiao Yunbai could only raise his pestle artifact to meet the attack, feeling extremely annoyed in his heart.
This time, as for refining the human pill, he had merely happened to be in the right place at the right time, and he had no deep grudge with Deng Gang.
He truly could not understand why Deng Gang was fixing his gaze solely on him.
Although Deng Gang had transformed into a flood dragon, a trace of sanity still remained.
Xue Yang to the north possessed a flying artifact and was clearly a direct descendant of the Xue family of Qixia Mountain; he was definitely the one least to be provoked.
Dong Linyuan to the south had raised him with his own hands and knew him intimately; there was no possibility of escaping from him.
On the contrary, Qiao Yunbai guarding the east was a cultivator of the New Method, who had no deep understanding of the Old Method or of Deng Gang himself, offering a slender ray of hope instead.
More importantly, to the east lay the White Dragon River!
As long as he entered the White Dragon River, with a flood dragon's innate talent for commanding water, he would have a chance of escape!
Enraged, Qiao Yunbai made the pestle artifact in his hand swell abruptly and smash down with a crash.
Boom!
The massive flood dragon body was smashed to the ground, scattering blood-tainted bloody wind mixed with dust and grass blades.
Just as Qiao Yunbai was about to sigh in relief, he heard a dull dragon roar.
Thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, Deng Gang was not severely injured. He struggled to his feet and pounced toward the Qingyun Sect disciples off to the side.
Disciples of the Qingyun Sect were adept at planting herbs and refining pills.
In a direct fight, they were truly helpless.
Not to mention facing a vicious flood dragon of late-stage Qi Refining!
"Fall back!" Seeing Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan looking on cold-eyedly, Qiao Yunbai shouted at his disciples to retreat, stepping forward alone to block Deng Gang.
Rumble!
The waters of the White Dragon River whipped up waves out of nowhere, churning up white surges one zhang high out of thin air that swept away most of the Qingyun Sect disciples who had retreated to the riverbank!
Although Deng Gang had followed the path of body refinement, now that he had transformed into a flood dragon, he possessed the atmosphere of 【Kan Water】 and had gained innate abilities to command water and control waves.
Qiao Yunbai cultivated the New Method, which emphasized gathering great strength within oneself, with few spells that connected with heaven and earth.
After landing in Nanya Province, although he had heard of the profound unpredictability of the Old Method, the New Method was dominant after all, while the Old Method lingered on its last breath. He inevitably felt some disdain in his heart, and now, caught unprepared, he suffered a heavy blow.
"Seeking death!" How could Qiao Yunbai not realize that he had not only been taken for a soft target, but had also committed the mistake of underestimating the enemy, causing the deaths of many of his sect's disciples? Infuriated, he gritted his teeth, brushed his waist, and a golden bamboo sword appeared in his hand.
Upon the sword blade, thunder and lightning were clearly wrapped around it.
Xue Yang of Qixia Mountain took a distant glance and his face instantly turned solemn: "It is not a sword; it is actually 【Thunder】!"
Dong Linyuan of Mount Xiaolong was much older, and his ancestors also had extraordinary origins. Taking a deep look, he said, "Fortunately, it is 【Xuan Thunder】, not 【Divine Thunder】."
【Divine Thunder】 executes heaven's judgment, punishing evil and smiting the unrighteous.
Right now, Deng Gang was overflowing with resentment and malicious qi, and his cultivation realm had been piled up using the blood qi of human pills.
If he encountered 【Divine Thunder】, he would likely be annihilated in a single instant.
Although 【Xuan Thunder】 also possessed mysterious qualities, its intent lay in the clash of Yin and Yang and the balance of high and low. Therefore, it did not distinguish between good and evil, nor could it restrain malicious qi or blood qi.
"Vile beast, die!" Qiao Yunbai had already used his bottom-line card, no longer caring about any plan to emulate the old affair of Fubo. He intended to slay the vicious flood dragon before him to avenge his disciples.
Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan continued to watch coldly from the sidelines.
If Deng Gang were slain by a cultivator of Mount Taixuan, fulfilling the old affair of Fubo back then, it would naturally pose no problem.
However, nowadays the New Method possessed immense momentum, vaguely showing signs of controlling the realm.
As a cultivator of the New Method who had set foot in Nanya Province, Qiao Yunbai held the 【Xuan Thunder Bamboo Sword】 in his hand. If he slew Deng Gang, it could also be considered a symbolic gesture taken to the absolute fullest.
Even if there were genuine karmic retribution, the dragon lineage would not come knocking on the doors of Qixia Mountain or Mount Xiaolong.
Faintly sensing the extraordinary power of the 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】, Deng Gang was unwilling to retreat any further. He wanted to push forward in one breath and charge into the White Dragon River, for only then would there be a chance at survival.
Facing the 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】, he surprisingly neither dodged nor evaded, instead opening his massive dragon mouth wide and biting down ferociously upon it!
Qiao Yunbai was not shocked, but delighted: "Vile beast, you seek your own death!"
That was 【Thunder】!
The 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】 was bitten tightly. Thunder and lightning shot outward in all directions from the sword blade, causing Deng Gang's flood dragon body to crack open and blood and bones to fly across the air as a dull scream transmitted across a hundred li.
The White Dragon River also seemed to boil, rumbling loudly as its waves churned unpredictably, seeming to wail continuously as well.
"What a fierce and malicious gray flood dragon!" Dong Linyuan's eyes sparkled as he watched, his voice even trembling. As a descendant of the Huanlong Clan, being able to raise such a vicious flood dragon was considered a merit that could aid his cultivation: "What a pity it is a flood dragon, not a dragon!"
The smile on Qiao Yunbai's face gradually froze, filled with shock and doubt.
This vicious flood dragon... could actually swallow the 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】 without dying?!
Deng Gang's flood dragon body had already swallowed the entire 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】. Through the scales and flesh, one could still vaguely see thunder-fire and electrical light leaking from the broken gaps, having actually defiled the 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】 relying on malicious qi and blood qi!
"Are Old Method cultivators truly all this fierce?!" Qiao Yunbai urged the sword-control arts again, but there was no response. Seeing the vicious flood dragon lunging toward him to slay him, he cast a resentful glance at Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan, swept up the surviving Qingyun Sect disciples, and actually turned around and fled directly.
Deng Gang was also near the end of his rope, struggling to drop toward the White Dragon River.
"Sigh... truly a good show." Xue Yang sighed softly, yet he could not allow Deng Gang to escape. He pulled out a jade mirror and shone it toward the river's surface.
On the White Dragon River, a patch of rainbow glow appeared out of thin air, filling heaven and earth with sublime beauty that dazzled the eyes and mind.
Deng Gang slammed down into it, yet his formidable flood dragon body could not shake that patch of radiance in the slightest. Instead, he was clad in a layer of glow and burned by it, screaming repeatedly in pain.
Hongxia was the residual essence of Taiyang, naturally possessing the power to burn evil and scorch malice.
It did not belong to the five elements or Yin and Yang, with few lineages able to restrain it. It was also close to 【Shaoyang】 and had the ability to obscure 【Taiyang】, disliking only 【Mingyang】.
Having witnessed the arrogance of Nanya Province's premier prominent lineage and knowing there was no path of escape, Deng Gang could only turn back around and say to Liu Zhijian, "Brother Liu, even an ant clings to life, let alone me?!"
"Right now, I can only head west to Mount Taixuan."
"Whatever profound means you have, please display them to the fullest!"
"I will not show mercy either!"
"Good!" In truth, ever since Deng Gang transformed into a flood dragon, the black box at Liu Zhijian's waist had been trembling incessantly, almost breaking free of his control, yet Liu Zhijian held it down firmly with sheer willpower.
By now, his palm was already drenched in blood from being pierced by the golden rays leaking out from the black box.
The vicious flood dragon that Deng Gang had transformed into ignited his final essence blood, carrying boundless resentment, malice, and blood qi as he pounced forward to slay Liu Zhijian.
It was not a bit different from the 【Foundation Establishment】 demon beast Fubo back then!
Liu Zhijian's expression was calm as he moved away the palm pressing against the black box at his waist.
Clang!
A sharp, ear-piercing sword howl resounded through heaven and earth.
Even Dong Linyuan, who possessed the highest cultivation here, frowned abruptly and subconsciously reached out to cover his ears, yet he felt a faint warmth on his hands.
Blood was actually flowing from both of his ears.
A streak of golden-white mystic light leaped out from the black box, transforming into a small sword one finger long that locked onto Deng Gang from afar.
Although Xue Yang was not facing the sword's edge directly, his throat felt cold and his hair stood on end, as if threatened by the blade edge. For the first time in his decades of cultivation, a dread of the great terror between life and death surged in his heart.
If it were said that upon seeing the Qingyun Sect's 【Thunder Bamboo Sword】 earlier, Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan still possessed some composure to watch the show with at most a bit of surprise;
Now, they were already unable to suppress the fear in their hearts.
Following his master's guidance and instructions, Liu Zhijian connected his divine sense to the small sword and flicked his fingers together in a wave.
A streak of golden-white sword light abruptly descended!
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