Chapter 168

If used against enemies, it would be sufficient to crush all Grand Masters!

This, truly, was the divine ability belonging to his dragon form!

Brother Ning Chuan was utterly satisfied.

He felt he had taken another great step toward the true path of demonic cultivation.

Just as he was preparing to return to Taohuadao and continue his secluded cultivation to consolidate this newly comprehended divine ability.

His exquisitely sharp perception suddenly caught a trace of something unusual.

Amid the residual ripples of the black water dragon breath explosion, he seemed to sense a faint yet strangely energetic aura emanating from deeper in the ocean.

That aura was utterly unlike that of ordinary sea creatures.

It resembled something… a variant lifeform that had absorbed spiritual energy and undergone some transformation?

"A celestial variant?"

A glint of interest flashed in Brother Ning Chuan's pale golden dragon pupils.

Since he had embarked on the path of demonic cultivation and begun refining demonic power.

Ordinary sea creatures' flesh and essence held little value for him now.

Only beings like the earlier dark-gold giant crab, or this possible unknown variant,

whose own bodies had absorbed some spiritual energy and undergone beneficial mutation,

could their flesh contain energy beneficial to his current cultivation.

He did not immediately pursue it.

That aura, though faint, was stable—clearly, the creature had not sensed his presence.

Moreover, he now needed time to consolidate the newly comprehended black water dragon breath.

"No rush," Brother Ning Chuan thought silently. "Now that I've detected its trail, it will inevitably appear again."

"When it does, I can capture it then."

Brother Ning Chuan's massive dragon body slithered through the deep sea and soon returned to Taohuadao.

…

The moonlit night descended once more.

Brother Ning Chuan still coiled upon the seaside rocks, breathing in the lunar glow.

He could clearly feel the jet-black dragon core within his dantian sea.

After continuously absorbing and refining the lunar essence, its demonic power had now condensed to nine full tenths!

Only one-tenth remained to achieve perfect completion!

At that time, he could attempt to trigger the legendary "Dragon Tribulation!"

Should he succeed in passing it, his life's tier would undergo another earth-shattering transformation!

Truly transcending mortality, stepping into the hall of demonic cultivation!

Brother Ning Chuan's heart was full of expectation.

He had vaguely sensed, from the faint yet oppressive pressure in the heavens,

that he might be the only true, active cultivator of demonic cultivation in this world.

As for the legendary divine beasts—fire kirin, divine dragons, phoenixes—

they might possess great power and absorb spiritual energy,

but that was mostly an instinct of bloodline, a passive evolution.

They relied on innate talent and eons of accumulation.

Not like him, who possessed rebellious enlightenment, capable of actively creating and refining cultivation methods, constantly breaking through his own limits!

In this regard, he had already outpaced all other "demons!"

…

While Brother Ning Chuan immersed himself in cultivation, preparing for the impending Dragon Tribulation,

the mortal world beyond Taohuadao remained turbulent, rife with hidden currents.

In a remote mountain forest along the border between the Great Song and the Mongol Yuan,

a caravan of dozens of Daoist Priests, escorting dozens of horse-drawn carts, struggled along a rugged mountain path.

At the head of the caravan stood Wang Chongyang, ethereal and venerable, yet his face bore traces of weariness and solemnity.

Behind him followed Qiu Chuji, Ma Yu, and other core disciples of Menquanzhen Sect.

Their mission: to deliver Menquanzhen Sect's treasured Daoist scriptures to Taohuadao, to appease the wrath of the mysterious dragon island master.

The disciples all wore strained expressions, their hearts brimming with resentment and humiliation.

They, Menquanzhen Sect, were the foremost sect of the realm, the orthodox Xuanmenzheng Sect.

How had they ever endured such coercion and extortion?

But circumstances were stronger than men.

Even their Master, the number-one in the world, Wang Chongyang, had been defeated by that dragon.

What could they do?

They could only swallow their teeth and blood.

At that moment!

"Shii! Shii! Shii!"

A series of piercing whistles suddenly erupted from the dense forests on either side of the road!

Instantly, dozens of agile figures clad in black, masked faces, emerged like ghosts from the woods!

They brandished sharp blades, radiating murderous intent, their targets clear—the several carts in the center, laden with Daoist scriptures.

"Not good! There's an ambush!"

Wang Chongyang, a veteran of countless battles with vast experience, sensed the danger the instant the enemy launched their attack!

He shouted loudly, warning his disciples to be careful!

At the same time, his Innate Realm cultivation base surged rapidly within his body, a vast and righteous energy erupting forth as he prepared to strike back at the enemy!

But before he could make a move.

Three figures in black robes, radiating powerful auras, had already, like lightning, lunged fiercely at him from three different directions!

These three figures, coordinating with perfect synergy and striking with ruthless cruelty, were clearly all top-tier Grandmaster-level experts!

They were none other than Jinlun Fawang and the Xuanming Elders, who had previously been ordered by Zhao Min to seize the Daozang!

They had concealed their identities, but their unique Wu Gong styles could not fool Wang Chongyang's eyes!

At the same time, more figures in black, like a tide, surged in from all directions, slaughtering the unarmed ordinary disciples of the Quanzhen Sect responsible for escorting the carriages!

In an instant, sword light flashed, blades gleamed, and flesh and blood flew everywhere!

Screams of agony, roars of fury, and the clashing of weapons echoed throughout the entire mountain forest!

Qiu Chuji, Ma Yu, and the other Seven Masters of Quanzhen, seeing this, were all filled with rage!

They drew their long swords one after another and fought desperately to hold the line!

But the enemy was numerous, and among them were not a few second-rate experts with high Wu Gong skills.

And although the Seven Masters of Quanzhen all possessed cultivation bases at the Innate Realm, in such a chaotic melee, they found it difficult to protect everyone.

Moreover, they also had to divert their attention to protect the carriages filled with the Daozang.

Moments later.

Under the combined assault of Jinlun Fawang and the two Xuanming Elders, these three top-tier Grandmasters.

Even Wang Chongyang, as formidable as the Divine ability, Wang Chong, gradually began to feel unable to keep up, facing peril at every turn.

And those ordinary figures in black had already successfully broken through the defense line of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, seized the dozens of carriages filled with precious Daozang, and then quickly retreated deep into the dense forest...

"Rats! Leave the Daozang!"

Seeing this, Wang Chongyang's eyes nearly burst with rage; he shouted furiously and attempted to give chase.

But Jinlun Fawang and the Xuanming Elders, like parasites clinging to bone, held him down tightly, giving him not the slightest chance to break free.

A burst of triumphant, cold laughter was heard coming from the retreating group of figures in black:

"Hahaha! What nonsense is this Quanzhen Sect! What nonsense is this Dragon Island Lord!"

"These Daozang, we shall 'keep' them for you!"

Soon, those figures in black, carrying the stolen Daozang, vanished deep into the dense forest.

Leaving behind only a battlefield in utter disarray, and the corpses of dozens of Quanzhen Sect disciples.

Although Wang Chongyang, relying on his profound and unfathomable cultivation base, eventually forced Jinlun Fawang and the Xuanming Elders to retreat from their combined assault.