Chapter 617: Against Men in Ruthlessness, Against Beasts in Wits

"We understand."

Facing Shen Yi's cupped-fist salute, Ji Jingxi suddenly saw the tension hidden in the other's eyes.

She reached out and grabbed Ye Jiu, who still wanted to grip his sword and rush back.

This was the first time the Shen Zongzhu of the South had chosen to trust them, so naturally, they too should trust him in return.

Trust that he could rely on his own strength alone, standing above the dragon lair, to annihilate the entire West Long Gong!

"Tonight, not a single aquatic being will leave these waters alive."

Ji Jingxi, on behalf of her two senior brothers, swore the oath toward the young man in the dark robe.

Then she turned and departed, transforming into moonlight.

Ye Jiu and Qi Yansheng froze for a moment, exchanged a glance, sighed softly, and simultaneously transformed into streaks of light, fleeing in two directions.

General Nanyang had issued a decree—how could the Qi Sect dare disobey!

At the same time, the two people on the other side gradually came back to their senses.

"Didn't he just obtain this formation diagram?"

The Crown Prince of Ziyang, his expression solemn, gazed at the peach blossoms above. The dark, murky waters resembled a deep night curtain, now illuminated by scattered brilliant stars. The grand formation was utterly seamless, leaving no flaw to be found.

To put it bluntly, even if all seventeen Shen Zongzhu of the Liangdaohuang Sect came to lay the formation themselves, they might not achieve such a perfectly unified effect.

"Could he really be the reincarnation of some old ghost from the Liangdaohuang Sect?"

"Bullied and schemed to death, so he plans to live again and return with a vengeance…"

Zi Xian muttered to herself, already having imagined an entire tale of grudges and drama in her head.

Until her brother swept her with a look that said 'fool', she awkwardly tucked her thoughts away. Well, given that group of cultivators from the Liangdaohuang Sect—those sycophants who wished they could carve Hongze Daxian onto their foreheads—how could they possibly utter the words 'slay the immortal'?

"Can we win?"

Zi Xian was only at mid Heavenly realm cultivation; with her eyesight, she couldn't even judge who currently held the upper hand.

Hearing this, the Crown Prince of Ziyang hesitated for a moment, then shook his head uncertainly: "Hard to say."

This Greedy Wolf Star Chart was certainly formidable, but the West Hong Dragon Lair was no simple matter either—buried within were dragon bones as vast as Rushan, and such surging aura bolstered it, endless and inexhaustible.

Even if temporarily suppressed by the immortal formation, its upper limit was insufficient, but the formation consumed the cultivators' aura.

A mere seventeen experts—how could they compare with the accumulated foundation of the Jade-Horned Silver Dragon across generations?

"Then why not help!"

Zi Xian gave her brother a hard shove, her heart surging with emotions beyond words.

With those ruffians from the Wan Yao Dian causing trouble, she had thought her father's plans would have to be postponed, but unexpectedly she had encountered this lucky star, Shen Yi.

Looking at it now, gathering the three dragon seals was only one night's distance away.

"…"

The Crown Prince of Ziyang clenched his teeth, somewhat hesitant.

For some reason, he always felt an ominous premonition in his heart. His father was wise all his life, but this time the target was an immortal, so he had never truly supported this plan.

But… it really was only one step away!

Just a stretch of the hand, within arm's reach.

Of course, the Crown Prince of Ziyang's hesitation had another reason—every time he intended to step out and help Shen Yi, the ending would turn somewhat awkward.

"Huu."

He reached out and touched that dragon seal, as if having made some kind of decision, and clenched his fist tightly.

"Brother Shen, I'll help you!"

The Crown Prince of Ziyang let out a long breath and strode forward boldly.

Likewise, the aura of a perfected Heavenly realm was unleashed wantonly. As the Crown Prince of the East Long Gong, purely in terms of realm, he was the strongest present.

However, the moment he took a step forward, he instinctively raised his arm to shield his face.

He saw the peach blossoms in the sky rapidly spinning, their scattered radiance illuminating the surging waters, yet they did not attack the many dragon demons—instead trapping them all in place. As for the greater brilliance, it spread toward the deepest part of the waters!

With this Greedy Wolf Star Chart, he severed this place from heaven and earth.

Qi Shengtao took two slight steps back, his pupils contracting slightly. Watching the silver-white radiance on his body slowly dissipate, he was horrified to discover that his connection with the dragon lair had been severed.

"You seek death!"

The two were comparable in strength—in fact, Qi Shengtao was even slightly stronger—one relying on the dragon lair, the other on the immortal formation.

But now, it discovered that Shen Yi had voluntarily abandoned the immortal formation, using it as the price to take away its dragon lair.

Under the gaze of everyone.

They finally understood why Shen Yi had loosened his collar earlier.

Roar—

Two primordial dragon souls suddenly surged up and crashed violently into his solid chest.

On Shen Yi's Bai Xi skin, crack-like golden lines suddenly appeared, flowing like lava. He casually tossed the Feng Yuan into his mouth, then drew out the Gold-Patterned Mystic Blade.

The dark robe draped loosely over him fluttered wantonly.

Under the burning of heart-fire, those eyes were filled with pale red veins. He calmly swept his gaze over the many dragon-kind within the immortal formation, his five fingers suddenly tightening on the hilt. The next moment, his pitch-black eyes were covered by the Tianyan Siji gray.

Shen Yi, gripping his long blade, walked slowly into the grand formation.

Then he extended his left arm and, unhurriedly, clenched his fist.

In an instant, the final exit in the entire grand formation that connected to the outside world was sealed shut.

He had long been salivating over this fine feast.

Today, the banquet begins!

The slender young man, holding his long blade, walked step by step toward those towering, massive dragon demons.

With every step he took forward, this group of proud scions of the West Long Gong would unconsciously retreat one step backward.

"Roar—"

Qi Shengtao could not quite understand when, exactly, it had begun that his own presence was being utterly suppressed by this young man.

It instinctively let out a bellow—a dragon's roar meant to make all living creatures submit—hoping to intimidate its opponent.

The invisible wave of sound swept outward, tousling Shen Yi's hair, yet failed to stir even the slightest ripple in his expression.

Instead, the West Long Wang's actions made him suddenly understand something.

These so-called lords of Hongze, the lofty dragon race, who held the lives of countless beings in their hands and could decide the turmoil of an entire land and water with a single word—

Yet when faced with true life-and-death combat, they were no different from that black dog he had slaughtered right after transmigrating—driven by instinct alone.

Just beasts, that's all.

The next moment, dense black clouds rolled and spread apart, like long rainbows upon the water.

"Father!"

Qi Laowu sensed something was wrong. A flash of panic crossed his face as his body shot forward, closing in toward the West Long Wang.

The next instant, a figure covered in golden fissures stepped out from the clouds, robes fluttering, appearing right behind Qi Laowu.

A vicious knee strike slammed hard into the great demon's lower back.

Bang!

Under the dual empowerment of Divine Mountain Suppresses the Blue Sky and the Azure Dragon Primordial Spirit Body, Qi Laowu felt his mind shudder, going blank, as his entire body flew sideways through the air.

Beneath him, Shen Yi's expression was indifferent as he drew his blade with practiced ease.

A streak of dark-gold edge-light spanned the waters, sweeping upward from below, like a curtain of night descending to devour every trace of light.

Puchi!

A muffled sound rang out on all sides.

The burly demon body split in two; blood carrying shattered organs splattered outward, haphazardly slapping onto Qi Shengtao's trembling face.

It stared wide-eyed as the two halves of Lao Wu's body crashed down before its gaze.

The dragon claw it had reached out to rescue him with still hung frozen in midair.

"You…"

Accompanied by a hoarse voice, Qi Shengtao suddenly wrenched his bloody maw open, fangs chillingly cold. That dragon claw frozen in midair was like thunder parting the waves, carrying blood-red demon power as its fingertips savagely punched into Shen Yi's chest.

It exerted all its strength, wanting to tear apart this frail body.

Yet Shen Yi seemed to have no intention of dodging. He let the golden blood flow, staining the dragon claw, while those Tianyan Siji eyes stared fixedly at Qi Shengtao's neck.

In an instant, he suddenly reached out and gripped the West Long Wang's fingertips, while his other hand swung the blade in a frenzy of wind and rain.

The body of a peak Heavenly Realm great demon was immensely tough; the natural scales of the Jade-Horned Silver Dragon were a treasure rarely seen in the world, let alone that this old dragon also wore heavy armor condensed from demon power.

One slash—the heavy armor shattered!

One slash—silver scales flew in all directions.

Until the long blade sank into flesh, Shen Yi was like a blood-sighted fierce wolf. One hand gripped the West Long Wang's struggling fingers in a death-hold, repeating the same motion as if he would never tire.

"You think you can trade lives with this king? You're not worthy!"

To say the injuries were severe—that wasn't quite it either.

But before that flashing blade-light, Qi Shengtao only wanted to temporarily avoid its sharp edge. He raised an arm to block, and after great difficulty wrenched himself free, finally stumbling backward.

For some reason, his vision suddenly darkened.

He looked up in astonishment and found that he had unknowingly stepped into a sinister, ghostly great mansion.

The sound of springs rose and fell, carrying a bizarre sense of soul-stripping. Qi Shengtao's foot found empty air; he hurriedly steadied himself, only to see he was standing at the end of a broken bridge.

"What evil art have you used now!"

Sensing that unsettling feeling of his soul being unstable, Qi Shengtao instantly steadied his mind, summoned his two frost-Bai Long blades back into his palms, and only then looked forward.

He saw Shen Yi walking toward the ghostly mansion as well; beneath his tattered black shirt, his body had long been soaked in Jin Xue.

As the two clashed, the remaining dragon offspring around them all reverted to their true forms. Several Jade-Horned Silver Dragons fled in panic, crashing toward every direction, but no matter how bloodied their heads became, they still could not escape the bounds of this peach blossom.

Just then, illusory black shadows appeared before them all at once.

The next moment, the frenzied, furious dragon roars almost simultaneously turned into wretched wails!

"Aaargh!"

Those indifferent figures swung their butcher blades down in unison.

On such massive dragon bodies, scalding, blood-red blossoms bloomed in full splendor—so much so that even the peach blossoms in the sky took on a touch of eerie beauty.

"Hiss."

Watching the rain of blood fall from the sky.

Zi Xian instinctively looked away. As a member of the Purple-Mane White Dragon clan, even in her angriest moments she had never imagined such a scene.

As Crown Prince of the East Long Gong, Zi Yang fared somewhat better, but he was still a dragon at heart, and could not help but feel a trace of unwillingness within.

Of course, that sliver of unwillingness quickly faded.

What truly shocked him was this: from the moment Shen Yi stepped into this great formation, the towering killing intent in Qi Shengtao's heart had been frightened step by step into timidity, led by the nose the entire way.

Could it really be that sitting in a position of power for too long had caused him to lose his heart for slaughter?

And what about Shen Yi—so young—where had he tempered such a ruthless heart?

Zi Yang's expression turned solemn as he looked toward the formation, so much so that he forgot the awkwardness of having been ignored earlier.

The moist, fishy-scented rain of blood mingled with the murky waters.

It drifted between the two figures.

Shen Yi had already walked up to Qi Shengtao, and the West Long Wang stared blankly at his surroundings. This vast West Hong Long Gong—now only himself remained.

In the moment his mind wandered, he failed to notice that the entire ghostly mansion had become illusory, the pervasive black qi like a sharp hand slowly clawing toward his body!

Boom!

Shen Yi flipped up and delivered a flying side kick, slamming it brutally onto Qi Shengtao's battered neck and knocking him off the broken bridge.

At the same time he pressed forward, his long blade swift as wind, the dark-gold edge enveloping the entire dragon body.

Qi Shengtao slashed back in fury. The frost-Bai Long blade formed from his jade horn was a treasure he had nurtured for many years, and for the moment it actually blocked every strike of the gold-veined dark blade without shattering, gaining only a few cracks.

"Want to kill this king? You're not enough!"

"Even without the dragon lair, without the immortal array's protection, you're still no match for this king!"

He swung the blade violently, the essence-blood in his body boiling, and inch by inch forced the gold-veined dark blade back.

"…"

Shen Yi felt no panic. Though bolstered by immortal arts and divine abilities, his opponent was after all a dragon demon whose realm far surpassed his own; losing half a measure in raw strength was only natural.

He dropped the Canglong Sun-Devouring blade without hesitation, and in the same motion whipped a side kick that sent the blade flying from the opponent's hand.

He raised both fists and slammed them forward, each fist carrying a dark-white fierce tiger, crashing brutally into Qi Shengtao's face.

In an instant, the two were like maddened beasts, abandoning all bearing of the strong and falling into a close-quarters brawl, every fist landing on flesh.

"Come! Come on!"

"In a fight of pure viciousness, would this king fear a mere cultivator?!"

Qi Shengtao gradually recaptured the feeling of his youth, growing fiercer with each exchange, the killing intent on his face flaring anew.

This was the style of combat he was familiar with. No matter how much the cultivator had learned, he was nothing but a monkey in a crown—how could he possibly match him?

By contrast, Shen Yi remained calm throughout.

Wrestling with a beast, one must indeed be more vicious than it, but one cannot truly become the beast.

Qi Shengtao had not noticed that the sharp claw formed of black mist had already slowly sunk into his body.

Two shadows slowly sank to the deepest part of the waters.

Sensing the youth's aura growing ever fainter, Qi Shengtao finally let out a savage grin: "You're done?"

Just then, he suddenly noticed Shen Yi glance at him casually, as though looking at some fool.

Qi Shengtao finally realized something was wrong.

He seemed to have forgotten something.

He raised his head to look at the sky, only to find that at some unknown moment, that bewitching peach blossom was gone, and the waters had grown dim and murky.

Under the influence of the Supreme Nether Hall and Yin-Yang Life-and-Death, he had fought ever more fiercely, but had long lost his awareness of his surroundings.

That dragon lair… Shen Yi had long since returned it to him.

Unfortunately, it was a little too late now.

Shen Yi spread his palm and pressed the bloodstained peach blossom over the dragon's forehead, blocking his vision.

A hoarse voice, roughened by exhaustion, slowly rang in Qi Shengtao's ear.

"Greedy Wolf… Immortal-Slaying."

In that unseen Sea of Consciousness between the brows, within the Ten Thousand Demons Hall where black qi shot to the heavens—

The seventeen suppression stones, led by Ke Thirteen, all opened their eyes.

The bloodstained peach blossom sank into Qi Shengtao's pupils.

The next instant, the body he was proudest of turned to stone, cracking from the inside out. A blinding white radiance, like the sharpest sword in the world, pierced out through the cracks and illuminated the entire waters.

Qi Shengtao's mind trembling, he looked to the side.

That pitch-black, bottomless abyss was precisely the dragon lair he relied on most.

In the eyes of this Western Long Wang surged endless despair and unwillingness.

Crack—

Amid the crisp sound of shattering, the immortal array—wielding a power nearly akin to the Dao—finally spread through the old dragon's body, shattering him into chunks of broken corpse.

(End of chapter)