Chapter 205: The Dragon

"Disciple dares not accept such a heavy trust."

Xu Yuan pushed the sword case back: "Please, Master, choose someone more worthy."

Not understanding the hidden mechanism, Xu Yuan dared not take it.

And in this strange space, what benefit would there be in taking it?

The answer is most likely no.

The old Daoist Priest's savagery visibly surged forth.

"Dares not?"

Black mist surged from nowhere, filling the room with foul smoke and haze; piercing wails and screams rose from the black fog, drilling into Xu Yuan's ears like needles, trying to burrow deeper into his brain!

This time, the sword case behind the old Daoist Priest extended eight thin, bizarre insect legs.

But they did not target Xu Yuan—instead, they hooked backward, gripping the wall, hauling the old Daoist Priest swiftly up to the roof's corner!

The old Daoist Priest looked down at Xu Yuan, black mist swirling around his eyes.

"Among my disciples, once one learns the sword, one must bear the duty to slay demons and purge evil!"

He pointed at Xu Yuan; bones pierced through flesh and grew rapidly from his fingertip.

At its tip, it became a stub of white bone, like a withered branch!

To the old Daoist Priest, the withered branch was his sword!

"But!" Xu Yuan changed tone: "If Master cannot find a more suitable person for now, I am willing to temporarily hold this sword!"

Xu Yuan swiftly snatched the sword case back from the table.

"I bear the duty to slay demons, purge evil, and benefit all under heaven!"

"I merely wish to show Master my stance: I do not covet this sword!"

"If in the future Master wishes to reclaim it and bestow it upon another, I shall gladly return it with both hands."

The old Daoist Priest on the roof corner let out a loud laugh; the black mist in the room vanished instantly.

The reversed insect legs behind the old Daoist Priest also disappeared; with a thud, he fell straight onto the chair.

He nearly smashed the chair to pieces.

"No wonder I chose you—dutiful, with integrity."

Since Xu Yuan could not refuse, he seized the chance to ask: "Master, what is the origin of this evil dragon?"

The old Daoist Priest stroked his beard and nodded: "That beast was born in Yu Shan; even our founding ancestor did not know how many years of cultivation it possesses."

"But it possesses several divine abilities—I shall tell you, so you may beware when you face it!"

Xu Yuan bowed quickly: "Yes, Disciple will remember."

"First, the beast can swallow objects from empty space. Once it sees something, it can instantly swallow it into its belly from afar."

"And this ability has another terrifying trait: once swallowed, the object is severed from both yin and yang realms, existing only within its belly's void."

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered, but he said nothing, listening obediently.

"Second, the beast's ability is 'Poisonous Body, Evil Soul'—every part of its body is saturated with poison. Its soul naturally emits an evil intent; those who draw near are influenced, their very souls turning cruel and vicious."

"Third, it possesses the innate ability 'Rouse Storms and Stir Waves'—it can summon colossal waves in rivers, lakes, and seas."

"Not just cities—even a mountain, if it wishes, can be submerged under its waves."

"And within its storms, unless you are a fish or shrimp, no matter how skilled a swimmer you are, you will drown within them."

The old Daoist Priest concluded emphatically: "This beast has a powerful body and immense vitality. The best method is to use the Bridge-Cutting Dragon-Slaying Sword—to stab it through its seven-inch vital point as it crosses beneath the bridge!"

"When it undergoes transformation, it has not yet fully taken form; its body still retains the weaknesses of a serpent. Thus, if you strike true, one sword will end its life!"

Xu Yuan was puzzled: "If this evil dragon has such a strong body, why must it pass beneath the bridge? The arch is narrow—wouldn't it be better to simply smash the bridge?"

"No," the old Daoist Priest explained. "Transformation requires stealth. It seeks to make as little disturbance as possible."

"Smashing the bridge creates too much noise—it risks summoning heavenly thunder."

The old Daoist priest sneered: "Such beasts always cling to luck, hoping to slip past unnoticed."

"Yet how could the Dao spare them? It has long seen through all their schemes."

"Thus, no matter how cautious they are, they ultimately cannot escape their destined calamity!"

Xu Yuan felt increasingly uneasy.

The Dao?

In this realm of the Great Ming, who still speaks of "the Dao"?

Since the strange phenomena began spreading across the land two hundred years ago, no one has uttered this word again.

If there were a Dao, those strange evils and malevolent spirits would have long since been struck down by heavenly thunder.

Why does the old Daoist Priest still speak this word?

Xu Yuan recalled the dissonance he felt the moment he first saw "Qingxia Temple."

In Ghost Wushan, he had once seen distant temples, shrines, and palaces—evil spirits all.

But their names were clearly from Southern Jiaozhi.

For the evil spirits in Ghost Wushan mostly appeared after the canal was dug.

After the Great Ming people came, the new temples and shrines built were normal.

Qingxia Temple, however, bore a Great Ming-style name.

It should not be an evil spirit.

"Could this old Daoist Priest... be an evil spirit from two hundred years ago, carrying his temple from the Great Ming to Southern Jiaozhi?"

"Why come specifically to the Hun Du River?"

"Just for the evil dragon in the river?"

This strange event holds too many inconsistencies.

The evil dragon the old Daoist Priest spoke of was clearly the one from Yujing Village.

But that one had been dead for a long time; recently, it had somehow resealed its soul back into its corpse.

And that one clearly wasn't "evil."

The old Daoist Priest kept calling it a "monster" — if the evil dragon wasn't evil, then the old priest, though seeming immortal and refined, was himself a malevolent spirit…

That also made sense!

As Xu Yuan was pondering this, a faint rumble of thunder suddenly came from outside.

The old Daoist Priest's ears perked up!

It was a true "perking up."

In that instant, his two human ears became two enormous bat ears, standing upright atop his head!

He listened carefully, his face changed color, and he leapt up, spinning midair, transforming into a swirl of black wind and black sand, whooshing and rustling as it shot out through the window.

"Disciples, follow me quickly — the monster has begun its ascent!"

Xu Yuan followed, exiting through the door.

After hesitating, he quietly tossed the sword case into the corner of the room.

Outside, the sky was already dark; the faint thunder grew closer, clearer.

Xu Yuan had figured it out: this was the sound of water surging.

The evil dragon's ability: "Rouse Wind and Raise Waves."

It whipped up the river, summoned massive waves to conceal its enormous body, and began ascending the river against the current — it had begun its ascent!

The black wind and black sand formed by the old Daoist Priest had already risen dozens of zhang into the air.

From within it, he revealed his head and shouted loudly: "Disciples, draw your swords — slay the demons and purge the evil!"

Beneath Xu Yuan's feet, fire wheels appeared and propelled him with a whoosh up to the high roof of the main hall.

Coincidentally, just as Xu Yuan poked his head out from behind the hall, the evil dragon raised its massive head from the river nearby.

That face… was identical to the one Xu Yuan had seen through the Yin-Yang Guillotine!

(End of Chapter)