Chapter 271: with translation of chapter title

271. Chapter 271: Fierce Battle

The atmosphere grew increasingly solemn; Ao Yuan looked at the five people tightly surrounding him, feeling both the relief of impending release and a hint of lament for the dwindling might of the dragon clan.

Back then, not to mention a spiritual treasure—anywhere on the Four Seas, even a blade of grass would belong to the dragon clan; how could there be a situation of being pursued?

"You lot are so presumptuous; don't forget this is still the East Sea—aren't you afraid of the dragon clan's retribution?"

Ao Yuan felt a bitterness in his heart; knowing they wouldn't care, he still had to speak these words, personally handing over the dragon clan's dignity for them to trample, making his heart feel as if it were bleeding.

As expected, Ao Yuan's threat was like a sea breeze—no one present paid it any heed, and some even laughed: "Daoist friend, you must be lost in the past glory of the dragon clan, forgetting that it's no longer the era of the three clans."

"Using the dragon clan to threaten us, Daoist friend, you must be addled, unable to see reality—an old man who should already be in the grave, how could you know today's state?"

The five burst into loud laughter, their contempt undisguised; to those who had never witnessed the dragon clan's splendor, Ao Yuan's words were not worth mentioning.

Ao Yuan instantly flared with anger; although this island had been carefully chosen by them, its guardians were all youngsters who had not experienced the great calamity.

But when he actually saw the scene he had anticipated, Ao Yuan could not help but blaze with rage, gritting his teeth as he said:

"Fine, then let me see whether today's light can shine upon this lord's body!"

No sooner had his words fallen than Ao Yuan transformed into a silver-white divine dragon, tens of thousands of zhang long, shining in the sunlight like a true god.

However, a huge wound on its belly marred the white dragon's imposing appearance, adding a ferocious edge to its majesty.

The five from Penglai wore solemn faces; although they had not lacked witness to the dragon clan's might, they also knew that to become a chief figure in the great calamity, one must possess some unique superiority.

"This murderous aura almost completely obscures his immortal spirit—just how much carnage has this guy wrought!"

A daoist in a purple robe, holding a golden basin, wore a stern expression, his tone full of gravity.

"Today may not be easy to deal with; given his appearance, he still bears some immortal demeanor, making it somewhat plausible to call him a great demon."

One daoist wearing a tall cap, plain long sleeves, clutching a treasure sword, barefoot, was shaken by this murderous aura, his sword nearly slipping from his grasp.

The other three all wore purple robes: one held a gourd, another raised a treasure mirror, and the third waved a banner.

The white dragon did not wait for them to speak further; its tail swayed, and instantly a tens-of-thousands-zhang-high wave rose from the flat sea, hurtling straight at the five.

Within the great wave, phosphorescent lights flickered, revealing hidden tricks; the five, merely a temporary alliance, dared not clash head-on and instantly scattered.

At the same time, the dragon's maw opened, emitting a long resonant chant; the white dragon vanished into the tide, then reappeared near the five with the surge, lunging at them.

The gourd daoist failed to dodge, was struck directly by the dragon's claw, swept into the tide; a miserable cry rang out, and then brilliant spirit light flared as a figure burst from the water.

Everyone stared; they saw the gourd daoist's skin stripped, flesh rotted, the exposed white bones scorched black—a sight that made hearts race.

"Solar Divine Water! The tide is mixed with Solar Divine Water!"

The daoist holding the golden basin cried out in alarm; everyone hastily avoided the rising tide again, and the wounded gourd daoist especially scrambled away, fearing even the slightest contamination.

Seeing the others' courage falter, the sword daoist could not help but shout angrily: "Monster, cease your rampage—behold my treasure!"

He hurled his treasure sword, which turned into a streaming light that sliced through and plunged into the water; the tide, as if slow to react, only split apart after a few breaths.

Ao Yuan sensed the threat of the treasure sword; his dragon body continually swayed, using magical power to make the seawater form vortices that blocked the sword's advance.

At the same time he again stirred the great wave, riding the current to assault the others.

The dragon's scales reflected sunlight underwater, emitting dazzling light; yet in this dreamlike, beautiful scene, they betrayed a chilling killing intent.

Seeing that the treasure sword achieved nothing, the sword daoist shouted again in anger: "Won't you help me?!"

Those who had merely been fleeing now turned back, reoriented themselves, and charged toward the white dragon.

The mirror daoist raised his silver mirror high; divine light poured into the mirror, and for a moment heaven and earth turned a blinding white, the mirror's radiance brilliant, surpassing even the sun in the sky.

Where the light reached, the seawater receded, Ao Yuan's form was laid bare; his scales touching the light even showed signs of drying and cracking.

The daoist holding the banner seized the moment to wave it; the sea breeze was drawn in, tinged with a hint of yellow dust, sweeping straight toward the silver dragon.

The basin daoist, meanwhile, lifted his golden basin as if to hoist something; Ao Yuan felt a tremendous force surge from below, the seawater churning as if lifted by something, driving him straight toward the yellow wind.

"Ao!"

Ao Yuan let out a miserable scream; a large swath of his flesh and blood was torn away by the yellow wind, the rest of the affected areas bleeding profusely, his dragon scales flipping over.

At the same time, the spirit light formed from the treasure sword surged forward; Ao Yuan could not dodge in time, so he gritted his teeth and struck it with his dragon claw.

The two collided, ringing with a metal-on-metal clang; the treasure sword was hurled away to a distance of hundreds of millions of li, and a deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on Ao Yuan's hand.

A dragon's chant rang out; Ao Yuan's eyes widened, his dragon roar shaking heaven and earth, sending rippling waves through the air.

He swung his dragon tail, taking advantage of the others' exhaustion to strike again at the gourd daoist; only thus could he avoid revealing a flaw. Moreover, even if he were to die, he ought to go out in a blaze of glory; even if this struggle were full of scheming and he was destined to die, he would never let the opposition have it easy.

At the very least he must make the myriad beings of the primordial world understand once more the dignity and might of the dragon clan; even though it is now weakened, it is not something these petty creatures who cannot bear the vastness of heaven and earth can offend.

Faced with the white dragon's assault, the gourd daoist inwardly cursed, yet his movements were not slow; he chanted a spell, formed hand seals, and the gourd instantly swelled, spewing forth flames that surged toward the white dragon.

"Die!"

Ao Yuan faced the oncoming flames without dodging or evading; his mane burned away, and his dragon scales, under the fire's scorching, gleamed with a vitreous luster, unchanged.

But the wound on his belly could not endure thus; the flames burst into it, searing Ao Yuan's five viscera and six bowels.

Fortunately, his mana wrapped around him; although the pain almost twisted him, he still gritted his teeth and pressed on to reach the gourd daoist.

Confronted by the looming dragon maw, the gourd daoist could not even move, shouting hoarsely: "Save me!"

But before his words finished, the huge dragon jaws clamped onto his body; with slight force, the dragon head flicked, and the gourd daoist turned into a mist of blood drifting between heaven and earth.

Ao Yuan gently opened his mouth and drew in a mighty breath; the blood mist was sucked into his belly, then he spat out—a tiny gourd emerged from his dragon's mouth, floating on the waves.

"Not bad a taste, just that gourd is a bit stuck between the teeth."

Ao Yuan's expression turned ferocious, his eyes blood‑red, making him seem as if the calamitous qi had once again addled his mind, hard to bear.

The other four daoists had already been chasing desperately when the gourd daoist cried out, yet they were ultimately a step too late.

Only a faint scent of blood lingered in the air to remind them that the gourd daoist had once existed, and now, beneath the sea wind, he had vanished completely.

The four wore grim faces, staring at Ao Yuan from afar, for a moment feeling as if they were riding a tiger and could not dismount.

"We can only kill him; otherwise none of us will escape the dragon clan's retribution, and the celestial court's punishment is no walk in the park either."

"Now the only way is to make a big fuss; otherwise we'll both become political sacrifices between the dragon clan and the celestial court."

The sword‑holding daoist spoke slowly, saying that even if they retreated now, they could not avoid future punishment from the celestial court, lest they become pawns discarded in the clash between the two powers.

As for whether the Dragon Clan would deal with Ao Yuan, the Sword-wielding Daoist also held no hope; the other side ultimately belonged to the same clan, sharing the same bloodline, which was still closer to them than their relationship with the Celestial Court.

The other three nodded; they were not fools either, knowing that the current situation allowed no retreat.

If they slew Ao Yuan, they would have a chance to survive; leaving him alive would bring endless trouble.

Without any warning, both sides attacked together; Ao Yuan churned a towering wave that secretly contained Solar Divine Water, making the four dare not touch it.

After all, if they were contaminated, their combat strength would suffer, and they would likely end up like the Gourd Daoist.

After all, if they were contaminated, their combat strength would suffer, and they would likely end up like the Gourd Daoist.

Golden Basin Inverted pressed down the surge while pressing toward the White Dragon; banners fluttered, the Yellow Wind swept across, blowing away the splashing water.

The Treasure Mirror turned over, its clear light sweeping over; all things stilled, then slowly froze into frost, causing fine ice spikes to form on the White Dragon's body.

The Treasure Sword descended with tremendous momentum, as if to cleave the White Dragon in two, but after entering the water it was repeatedly blocked by vortices.

Ao Yuan emitted divine light from his mouth, shooting straight at the Treasure Sword; with the aid of the vortices, it actually halted the sword's blade, rendering it immobile.

Seeing this, the Sword-wielding Daoist sneered:

"A trapped beast still fights."

He then pinched his fingers in a seal, combining with the Yellow Wind's assistance, and pressed once more toward the White Dragon in the water.

Seeing this, Ao Yuan spat out the Vast Ocean Stabilizing Hammer, without exerting any astonishing supernatural power, simply letting the two collide head-on.

Instantly a terrifying shockwave surged, violently shoving Ao Yuan and the four Daoists apart; a tremendous humming accompanied the shockwave as it spread through the seawater.

The Vast Ocean Stabilizing Hammer was driven into the seabed, its landing place unknown; the Treasure Sword was also blown away, its blade showing a visible crack that kept spreading.

Ao Yuan spat blood mixed with fragments of his organs; his scales shattered all over, hardly any part remaining intact.

The Sword-wielding Daoist also spat fresh blood, his face as pale as gold paper, his robes tattered; though he could barely stand in the void, his breath was faint, his whole body swaying on the verge of collapse.

The other three also far from unscathed, all in a sorry state; the silver mirror held by the Mirror Daoist likewise became dented and uneven.

"You wretched beast! I will surely kill you!"

The Mirror Daoist's voice sounded shrill, his whole visage twisted as he lunged to kill Ao Yuan! PS: There is still one more chapter, just to be posted later. Hope everyone gives more support. Phoenix King offers his thanks. (End of chapter)