Chapter 882: Dragon Pearl

"Li Yi, how is he here?"

When everyone saw Li Yi appear, they were all surprised, but then a wave of relief surged forth—after all, with such a powerful mythic creature now awakened, Li Yi's help would surely turn the tide.

Li Yi had barely entered the Three Flowers Realm; atop his head, a crystalline, ethereal Dao flower bloomed like a canopy, drawing in cosmic energy from all around, which surged toward him, while five-colored light drifted through the air.

Though this giant Primordial Spirit flower had just bloomed, it lifted Li Yi's aura to an entirely new height, far beyond what it had been before—every movement he made seemed to stir the winds and clouds of heaven and earth.

It was precisely this aura that made the awakened mythic creature, Suanni, sense an unprecedented threat.

"You're using the temporal power of this strange land to cultivate—I wouldn't miss the chance either. Lucky for me, this long period of seclusion finally bore fruit. My current strength should rival that of a Demon King."

Li Yi brushed the dust off his body, then smiled with quiet confidence.

After years of hardship, he had finally entered the ranks of the top-tier strongholds. With the added power of incense energy, he was fully confident he could storm the Demon God Realm alone and shake its very foundations.

And with Demon King-level power, any other world thinking of invading Earth would have to weigh the consequences.

A top-tier expert's threat is like a nuclear weapon—if you don't have one, you'll always be bullied, because you can't fight back, only endure blows.

That's why, after Xiang Xiangzi, Xuan Yuezi, and Li Yi all gained Demon King-level power, the True Immortals of the Xuanxian Continent immediately considered retreating—everyone feared the warfire spreading to their own world, everyone feared being purged.

"Demon King-level power?"

Hearing Li Yi say this, everyone was both shocked and delighted.

They all knew that Li Yi had slain a Demon King on Earth's frontline before—only thanks to various power boosts, for which Wang Chengjun and Li Weiguo had both self-destroyed their own cultivation.

Yet, only months later, Li Yi had broken through again.

Though aided by temporal power, this still proved Li Yi's extraordinary nature—after reaching this level, further progress was exceedingly difficult.

But now, the mythic creature Suanni had grown impatient. Though this man was indeed dangerous, it refused to wait passively for death—it let out a sudden roar.

A terrifying power capable of shattering mountains and splitting earth erupted, seeking to disrupt the battlefield and carve a path to escape.

Everyone was stunned by the roar, their minds reeling, souls pierced with pain, as dust and smoke rose into the sky.

In that instant, Suanni's massive body surged forward, racing across mountains and rivers at blinding speed, aiming to plunge deep into the strange land's heart—to return to its lair, or perhaps find aid there.

"Too late to run now."

After his Primordial Spirit flower bloomed, Li Yi's perception of the surrounding heaven and earth had reached an astonishing level—even with his eyes closed, every blade of grass, tree, mountain, and river was vividly etched into his mind.

Even the flutter of a mosquito's wings was detectable.

No matter how fast Suanni moved, it couldn't outpace the perception of a Primordial Spirit.

He vanished from his spot in an instant.

The next moment.

. tkΛn. o

The roar of Dragon and Tiger shook the heavens; an overwhelming divine power manifested at once, instantly crushing Suanni's roar—so potent that even this mythic creature trembled.

Li Yi had opened one hundred and eight acupoints, but to maintain the Five Elements' balance, he sealed three, filling the remaining one hundred and five with magic power. Combined with the bloom of his Primordial Spirit flower, he could now draw upon the power of heaven and earth.

This strike could no longer be described as mere Dragon or Tiger strength—it was an entire sky crashing down.

Suanni, sensing it could not evade Li Yi's attack, did not attempt to flee. Instead, it halted abruptly, its mighty body unleashing a true Dragon power—equally terrifying, it collapsed the earth the moment it appeared; the entire strange land trembled and shuddered, as if unable to bear such might and on the verge of collapse.

"Kneel!" Li Yi roared, bringing down a strike that crushed the heavens and earth.

BOOM!

Suanni, desperate to resist, could no longer hold its ground. Though its unleashed power was fearsome, it was instantly shattered—its bronze-cast body let out a mournful cry.

With a thunderous crash,

Suanni collapsed to the ground, spurting blood in great gouts, its bones seemingly crushed—no longer could even a true Dragon's offspring rise again.

Yet it still lived, not dead—such mythic creatures possessed terrifying vitality.

But Li Yi, seeing the devastation around him, realized he had overdone it. This was his first time unleashing the full power of the Three Flowers Realm—he still lacked fine control.

"This Suanni does have Demon King-level power, but it's the weakest kind—far inferior to the former Tianyue Demon King or Jin Yu Demon King."

Once the residual power settled, he assessed the severely wounded Suanni.

"He subdued this mythic creature with a single strike? Li Yi wasn't lying—he truly has Demon King-level power! Cough, cough." Long Jie, having retreated to a distance, couldn't help but exclaim.

"Even a Demon King might not match Li Yi now. He seems to have entered a new realm. And from what I know, Li Yi cultivates Daoist methods—from a cultivation system of a Dao world."

Zheng Duoduo said, having once interacted with Daoist experts and knowing a little.

"It's not just that he cultivates Daoist methods—Li Yi's own power is terrifyingly strong. He must also cultivate a body-refining art, and he's an Evolver, a Gene Warrior besides. His foundation is too profound—no wonder he could fight above his level before. But the cost is that breaking through is excruciatingly hard." A woman named Su Mu flew over—she had just crossed the Spiritual Tribulation, her strength significantly enhanced.

Yet even now, facing Li Yi, she still felt her own insignificance.

But everyone now knew: Li Yi had crossed a major realm, his power having leapt qualitatively. Even if a Demon King reappeared or a True Immortal descended, they would perish on the spot—let alone this mere Suanni.

"Stop resisting. You can't escape. You can't beat me. Surrender."

He knew this mythic creature understood his words.

Beings of this caliber possessed high intelligence.

Suanni let out a mournful cry, but its Dragon-blooded pride and stubbornness drove it to struggle to rise—yet it failed, finally collapsing helplessly on the ground, blood flowing, life ebbing away.

"Li Yi, killing it is a waste. Can't you try to subdue it? Its power is immense—if we could claim it as our own, it would be a top-tier asset in the coming war."

At this moment, Su Mu flew over and offered the suggestion.

"I'd like to, but Suanni is one of the Dragon's offspring—just by its appearance, you can tell it's naturally arrogant and unruly. Taming it is nearly impossible. If we let it go, its revenge later won't be good either." Li Yi's gaze flickered, hesitating over what to do with the creature.

Killing it felt wasteful. Taming it was too hard. Letting it go was unthinkable.

Too bad Jiang Mingtian wasn't here—if he were, he could've tried.

Su Mu frowned: "If you can't tame it, you must kill it. Earth can't afford to let this mythic creature run loose. This time you defeated it—but if you leave this world, no one else could subdue it."

"That's true," Li Yi replied. He understood perfectly what a Demon King-level mythic creature meant.

He thought for a moment.

Finally, he made his decision: kill it and eat the meat.

Though regrettable, it was unavoidable.

Li Yi then drew a spear, carved from jade-like material—the Demon King weapon he had seized from Jin Yu Demon King: the Divine Jade Spear. Using this weapon to end Suanni's life was a mark of respect.

The Dragon and Tiger power surged within him again.

He aimed the Divine Jade Spear at Suanni's head and hurled it.

A brilliant streak of light flashed through the air—in an instant, the fallen Suanni was pierced clean through the skull.

With a final mournful cry,

the mythic creature's life ended.

"Everyone gets a share—divide the meat." Li Yi called out to the others, then gripped the Divine Jade Spear again and began carving up Suanni's corpse, distributing the meat.

"Th-this is too much!" An Evolver who received a large chunk of Suanni meat was stunned and overwhelmed.

This meat was akin to a heavenly treasure, offering immense aid to cultivation.

But Li Yi cared nothing for a few chunks of meat. After dissecting Suanni's body, he reached inside and pulled out a green gemstone—fully one person's height, radiating endless cosmic energy.

"Is this an inner elixir?" Li Yi hadn't read much—he didn't recognize this thing.

"Not an inner elixir. This is a Dragon Pearl—a complete wonder-item," Su Mu flew over to explain. "Legend says true Dragons give birth to Dragon Pearls within their bodies. Though Suanni isn't a true Dragon, it is a Dragon offspring, and having reached this realm, possessing a Dragon Pearl is unsurprising. But this one is unexpectedly large."

"A complete wonder-item: Dragon Pearl?" Li Yi's heart leapt with joy.

He had been lacking wonder-items to forge an Immortal Warship—and now, slaying a mythic creature yielded such a reward.

But why hadn't Jin Yu Demon King left behind a wonder-item after death? Tianyue Demon King had turned into a jade statue after dying—but Li Yi had destroyed it to prevent any chance of revival.