Diverting Trouble Eastward

Nuwa, who had been dragged along at breakneck speed, had been a little unaccustomed to blinking at first, but was now perfectly calm.

Even so, her other hand still formed a Method Formula, ready to strike at any moment.

She had thought Xiang Dong wouldn't last long, but she hadn't expected him to have such stamina. If she were in his place, she wasn't confident she could escape the Earth Qilin's pursuit.

And Xiang Dong hadn't merely lasted a long time. The distance between the two sides had narrowed at first, then widened, and now narrowed again.

If Xiang Dong got away, where would that leave its dignity, and the dignity of the Qilin Clan?

It was clear the Earth Qilin was truly desperate, even resorting to its most closely guarded secret technique.

All that remained was to burn its Essence Blood and origin, but that would be too costly, and it would be weakened for a long time afterward. What if it still couldn't catch up?

At the start, the Earth Qilin certainly wouldn't have thought that way, but how long had it been chasing him now? Xiang Dong was still as lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger, leaving it rather less confident.

Earth Qilin: (〝▼皿▼)

She looked at Xiang Dong, her eyes full of curiosity.

Just how many secrets was this guy hiding?

"Fellow Daoist, just running like this isn't a solution. How about..."

By now, the Earth Qilin's presence had weakened somewhat, while she had been resting and conserving her strength, so Nuwa felt they could fight it.

Even if they couldn't kill it, they could at least drive it back.

"No, absolutely not!"

Xiang Dong shook his head like a rattle drum. They had beaten a junior and brought out a senior; if they provoked an elder too, wouldn't that be even more trouble?

"We're almost at the East Sea. Let's do something fitting for the occasion and divert the trouble eastward."

Nuwa: (⊙o⊙)... She felt that Xiang Dong was about to pull another stunt she couldn't understand.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiang Dong blinked into view once more, and a salty, damp sea breeze rushed into his face.

An endless expanse of azure ocean appeared before them, its waves beating against the shore.

This was the East Sea. Xiang Dong hadn't even had time to properly admire the Primordial Land's seascape before the Earth Qilin's roar came from behind him.

The Ancestral Dragon commanded water, ruling the Four Seas and every waterway in the rivers, and was lord of all scaled creatures.

The East Sea, West Sea, South Sea, and North Sea were collectively known as the Four Seas. They were all Dragon Clan territory and the clan's principal dwelling place.

This was because the Primordial Land was currently under the Qilin Clan's control, with the clan ruling the mountains, rivers, and beasts.

The Phoenix Clan, meanwhile, commanded the heavens, ruling the nine heavens, with all birds and feathered creatures obeying its orders.

The three clans had not yet gone to war, but their territories were clearly divided. Invading another's territory without a word was undoubtedly a provocation, and an invitation to war.

But after chasing for so long, with the treasure about to fly into the sea before its eyes, the Earth Qilin couldn't concern itself with so much. Surely it couldn't have gone to all this trouble for nothing? It still hadn't even seen what that Jizhi syrup looked like.

The Earth Qilin prepared to force its way into the East Sea, but as it arrived, a clear, piercing dragon roar exploded from within the sea.

The sea's surface burst open, sending towering waves surging skyward. A golden dragon circled in the air, its eyes fixed on the Earth Qilin.

This was a true dragon, possessing pure Dragon Clan blood and dragon might.

Dragon might collided with the Qilin's presence, and heaven and earth changed color.

"Qilin Clan, how dare you trespass in the territory of my East Sea? Leave at once, or don't blame me for showing no mercy."

The Earth Qilin was already seething, and now that a dragon had blocked its path, it blew up on the spot.

"Scram! I'm not here for your Dragon Clan. Stay out of my way."

If it scrammed just because it was told to, wouldn't the Dragon Clan lose face?

This was the East Sea, not the land. This was the Dragon Clan's shore! Even if it were being nosy, it would be perfectly justified. What right did the Qilin Clan have to act so overbearing?

"This is the East Sea, not the Primordial Land. You're the one who should scram, Qilin."

"Are you my ancestor or something? Why should I listen to you? Our Qilin Clan has Water Qilins too, and we can rule the Four Seas as well."

The dragon narrowed its eyes. It had already shown great restraint, yet the Earth Qilin was being even more overbearing and domineering. Moreover, his words showed signs of an intent to seize territory.

The Dragon Clan knew that the Qilin Clan wasn't content to control only the land, because the Dragon Clan wasn't content to remain in the Four Seas forever either.

But everyone had kept that understanding unspoken, silently building up strength for a battle that would decide both life and death and who stood above whom.

Now that the Qilin had said it aloud, however, it was plainly a declaration of war. As a member of the Dragon Clan, it could not back down.

"Qilin, are you declaring war on my Dragon Clan?"

"Then let's fight! Roar!"

As a powerful member of the Qilin Clan, the Earth Qilin naturally wouldn't let its opponent cow it. It immediately roared back at the true dragon.

A fight it was, then. Come on! Who was afraid of whom?

Just like that, the two primordial behemoths confronted each other on the shore, their terrifying presences locked on one another. Swords were drawn and crossbows bent; a great battle was ready to erupt.

Xiang Dong watched the scene, hardly knowing what to say. He had intended to divert the trouble eastward, but he hadn't expected it to be so simple, without the slightest difficulty.

He didn't even need to fan the flames and stir up trouble. The two of them had drawn each other's aggro and started fighting of their own accord.

"What kind of Earth Qilin is that? Its temper is even hotter than a Fire Qilin's. I know there's no reasoning with anyone in the Primordial Land, but these local gangs are really too rude. They start fighting at the slightest disagreement."

Complaining aside, he still had to make his escape. This was the result he had wanted, after all.

Taking advantage of the opening while the two behemoths were fighting and all attention was on them, Xiang Dong pulled Nuwa along and headed straight in one direction.

Behind him, whether the true dragon and Earth Qilin fought until heaven and earth went dark or set off the great war between the three clans ahead of time, it had nothing to do with him anymore.

After getting far from the battlefield, Xiang Dong took a handful of sunflower seeds out of his true body's space.

These were the very sunflower seeds used to defeat Pangu, which Pangu's Will had used as a medium, arranging them into arrows and exclamation marks to guide him.

And now they continued to serve their purpose, pointing Xiang Dong in the right direction. Otherwise, if he searched blindly on his own, he could never find his target in the vast sea.

After all, the East Sea was no smaller than Mount Buzhou, and there were no landmarks on the water. If he lost his bearings and made a tour of all four seas—east, west, south, and north—that would be quite something.

The sunflower seeds once again formed an arrow, hovering steadily before Xiang Dong and pointing the way.

Xiang Dong's destination was the mysterious Three Immortal Islands.

The Three Immortal Islands had yet to emerge into the world. Ordinarily, they were hidden in the chaotic void and could not be found at all.

But every so often, they intersected with the Primordial World. To put it more vividly, they were like a comet.

The time and place of each intersection were uncertain. The only thing certain was that it would be somewhere within the East Sea, and the intersection itself was extremely brief.

Without Pangu's guidance, it would have been impossible for Xiang Dong to find the Three Immortal Islands.

He didn't have that much time, much less that kind of luck.

But now everything had fallen into place and was proceeding smoothly.