A Jiao King Slain Across Ten Thousand Li of Parched Earth, a Drought Demon Killed with One Sword
[Calamity Warning triggered.]
[Causal simulation completed.]
[The severe drought across the land is not a natural disaster, but a man-made calamity caused by demons. Water-Running Jiao King, residing in the Azure Pool of the Northern Border, is at the fourth stage of the Twelfth Realm of the Fourth Stellar Metamorphosis, possessing a thousand-year-old water-based demonic art, and is greedy and violent in nature.]
In previous years, surrounding villages and towns would offer sacrifices of young boys and girls, cattle, sheep, and grain to the Jiao King in exchange for favorable weather and abundant harvests. Recently, people in several areas have been unable to afford the sacrifices, thus angering the Jiao King.
[The Jiao King, enraged, invoked its own water-based laws, imprisoning the water vapor within a thousand miles, locking away clouds and stopping rain, creating a severe drought that scorched the land for thousands of miles, in order to slaughter the people and punish all living beings.]
[Recommendation: Travel alone to the Northern Border Azure Pool and kill him in the desolate wilderness. Avoid engaging him near Qingfeng Temple, otherwise the ensuing repercussions will surely harm the temple's disciples and tens of thousands of refugees.]
With the warning over, Chen Du remained calm and composed.
The Twelfth Realms, the Fourth Stellar Metamorphosis.
Looking at himself, he had only completed one transformation, and in terms of fundamental foundation and accumulated realm, there was indeed a considerable gap between him and his opponent.
However, within his sea of consciousness, the seventh sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords had already taken shape, only lacking a real battle to thoroughly refine and verify its perfection.
Tonight, the timing is perfect.
The night was deep, and the mountain breeze was hot and dry.
Taking advantage of the night, Chen Du quietly left the temple, his figure soaring into the air and speeding towards the Azure Pool, five hundred miles away in the Northern Border. His light figure silently cut through the dark night.
In a short while, they arrived above Azure Pool.
This deep pool is vast and dark, with all the surrounding vegetation withered and dead. The surrounding area is hot and lifeless for miles around, a consequence of the water vapor being imprisoned by the laws of the Jiao King.
Chen Du did not rush to make a move. He condensed a wisp of pure Calamity Qi at his fingertips and flicked it lightly.
Laugh--
The Calamity Qi pierced through the water's surface and exploded with a deafening roar deep within the pool!
The domineering and destructive power of the calamity instantly tore apart the tranquility of the pool's bottom, startling the overlord Lie Dormant there.
Boom!
Suddenly, the vast pool of water surged and burst open, sending towering waves soaring into the air!
A colossal figure burst through the water and soared into the sky, hovering in the night!
Its body was as majestic as a small mountain, covered with dense, hard, bluish-black scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the night.
It has a pair of short, prominent horns on its head, flowing whiskers under its chin, and a lustrous, emerald-green pearl in its mouth, exhaling and exhaling misty water vapor. It is the water-elemental pearl that is the natal element of the Jiao King.
The Water-Running Jiao King hovered in mid-air, its massive body stirring up a foul wind. Looking down at the tiny Chen Du, it was slightly taken aback at first, then let out a deafening, arrogant laugh.
Haha! So it was you, kid!
"I heard that Qingfeng Temple produced a capable person who killed the Red Flame King. I thought he was some profound and hidden senior cultivator, but I never expected him to be just a callow youth!"
With a sudden flick of its long tail, the water in the deep pool surged violently, creating towering waves several meters high, displaying its domineering and tyrannical power.
"That useless Red Flame King, a mere Twelfth Realm cultivator, was utterly pathetic. He deserved to die!"
"A mere youth like yourself dares to trespass on my territory alone? It seems you're tired of living and have come here specifically to die!"
Chen Du in the night sky, his clothes fluttering lightly. Facing the enormous demonic body and overwhelming power, his mind remained completely calm.
He raised his eyes, his voice calm yet each word sharp and piercing:
"A severe drought has swept across the land, leaving countless people displaced and hundreds of villages and towns devastated. Is this your doing?"
The Water-Running Jiao King, his face full of disdain, let out a sneer, his malevolent aura surging to the heavens.
"It is indeed I, the King!"
"A bunch of lowly, unruly people, who have enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests under my protection for years, dare to neglect their sacrifices and show disrespect to me! It is only right and proper for me to lock down the water and stop the rain to punish these foolish people!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Du nodded slightly, without uttering another word.
Right and wrong are clear, good and evil are determined.
Only one sword can determine life and death.
He flicked his right hand in the air, and a resounding sword hum echoed through the night sky!
The Twelfth Tier Dark-Gold Tribulation Sword appeared out of thin air. Its blade was dark and deep, with ancient calamity patterns crisscrossing it. The blade edge flowed with a cold and piercing dark gold sword light, and its desolate power instantly suppressed the hundred-mile-long desolate pool.
The Ninefold Tribulation-Transcending Law and the Ninefold Tribulation Armor Law were completely integrated into the sword!
Nine thin, dark gold swords, as thin as cicada wings, flew out and slowly swirled around him, their Calamity Qi pressing down on the surrounding area.
The Water-Running Jiao King, who had just been arrogant and mocking, suddenly narrowed his eyes, a strange sense of dread rising in his heart!
Its smile hadn't faded, but its body instinctively took a half-step back, its scales taut.
It clearly sensed that the seemingly frail boy before it possessed an aura that had suddenly erupted from him, a power that was terrifying to the extreme!
That was an unparalleled calamity-level pressure that surpassed all others in the same realm, suppressed demonic paths, and annihilated all things!
Before the Jiao King could regain his composure, Chen Du raised his arm and slashed down with his sword!
The Seventh Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords – Calamity Devour! Its embryonic form has appeared!
With a single sword strike, the world suddenly went dark!
The night sky above the entire Azure Pool was completely swallowed up, and the vast expanse of sky was shrouded in darkness.
Endless dark golden tribulation clouds gathered wildly from all directions in the void, hanging down in layers and pressing down on the pool of water.
Within the clouds, countless bolts of lightning Lie Dormant and rolled, their flashes appearing and disappearing, exuding a surging aura of world destruction.
The nine floating swords instantly merged into the sky full of tribulation clouds, transforming into nine thick lightning pillars that stretched across the heavens and earth, locking onto all the dodge directions around the Jiao King, and crashing down on him with a deafening roar!
The Water-Running Jiao King was terrified and dared not show the slightest contempt.
Its entire body was engulfed in the laws of water, its natal Azure Water Pearl soared into the air, and endless pool water gathered around it, forming a thick and majestic emerald green water shield above its head, its water light surging, and its water-based defense was pushed to its Peak Stage!
This is the ultimate defense of Fourth Stellar Metamorphosis, strong enough to withstand a powerful attack!
But the next second--
Click!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out as the water shield shattered!
The thick water shield, condensed with countless water vapors, was as fragile as thin glass paper before the Calamity Devour the Seventh Sword, the Thunderous Devouring Blade. It couldn't even withstand it for a moment before shattering into countless water droplets!
Nine bolts of world-destroying lightning pierced through the defenses and slammed heavily onto the Jiao King's massive demonic body!
BOOM!
A deafening roar reverberated for miles around!
The Jiao King's incredibly tough, dark blue scales shattered and flew everywhere, and deep, charred wounds that revealed the bone instantly spread all over his body, with scalding demon blood gushing into the sky!
It let out a piercing, mournful cry as its massive body plummeted out of control, crashing heavily into the pile of rocks on the shore, causing the rocks to crumble and dust to fly everywhere.
The Jiao King struggled desperately to get up, but more than 70% of the water-based laws he had cultivated for thousands of years had been destroyed by the power of this sword strike.
His meridians were severed, his demonic power dissipated, and he was in excruciating pain all over his body. He couldn't even lift his proud long tail.
It struggled to raise its head, staring intently at the giant shadow of the boy with the sword hanging down in the night sky. Its demonic eyes were filled with a terrifying and unbelievable horror that defied all reason.
"Impossible... Absolutely impossible..."
"You're only in your fifties... how could you be... so strong...?"
Stellar First Metamorphosis; a reversal of that Fourth Stellar Metamorphosis!
A rudimentary sword technique, crushing the millennia-old Jiao King!
This completely overturned its millennia-old understanding of spiritual practice!
Chen Du landed lightly and walked slowly to its enormous demonic body. He lowered his eyes and looked down at it, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable judgment.
"A thousand miles of barren land, all because of you."
"The people are starving, and it is because of you."
"Hundreds of villages and towns have been displaced, and thousands of lives have been lost."
What will you offer in return?
The Jiao King opened his mouth as if to beg for mercy, to bargain, and to use his millennia of cultivation and resources to save his life.
But Chen Du was too lazy to listen to another word.
The evil deeds have been committed to the fullest extent, and the sins are unforgivable.
He raised his hand, and the final sword strike landed lightly.
A flash of cold light, and blood splattered.
The Jiao King's enormous head rolled into the dust, over the rocks, and was completely extinguished.
The emerald-green natal pearl, which contained the essence of a thousand-year-old water system and nourished the local water vapor, rolled out of its mouth and gently spun on the stone ground, its luster warm and lustrous.
Chen Du bent down, picked up the pearl, and put it into his sleeve.
Having done everything, he turned and strode slowly back towards Qingfeng Mountain.
Behind them, the deathly, desolate clouds that had imprisoned them for thousands of miles and shrouded them for months slowly dispersed.
Sweet rain follows
Chen Du walked on air, the Azure Water Pearl in his sleeves slightly warm.
Wisps of water vapor, forcibly confined deep within the void by the Flood Jiao King, slowly broke free of their restraints as the precious pearl lost its master's control, scattering and flowing across the vast land.
The originally scorching night breeze has quietly taken on a damp coolness.
He traveled north, and in the distance, he could see the outline of Qingfeng Mountain hidden in the night.
Outside the mountain gate, there was still a dense crowd of disaster victims, some sitting, some kneeling, fast asleep from exhaustion and thirst. Occasionally, the faint sobs of children could be heard, scattered in the scorching mountain wind.
As Chen Du silently returned to the bamboo courtyard, the emerald green natal water droplet trembled gently in his sleeve, releasing a continuous stream of water-based essence.
He reached out and took out the precious pearl, placing it on the stone table.
The pearl shimmered with light, and countless droplets of water vapor rose from within it, spreading down the mountain along the veins of Qingfeng Mountain, flowing into the dried-up river valleys, cracked fields, and depleted ancient wells.
First, the mountain springs gushed forth again, flowing along the old stream; then, in the distance, rain clouds of varying shades slowly gathered.
There was no thunder or lightning, only fine, gentle rain falling slowly from the night sky.
It's raining... it's raining!
The first to notice were the disaster victims guarding the mountain gate. Someone stretched out a withered hand, caught a drop of rain falling into his palm, paused for a moment, and then burst into tears.
The call spread like wildfire.
Countless exhausted and dying people struggled to their feet, tilting their chapped faces up and letting the rain lash their faces and fall on their lips.
The parched earth greedily absorbed the rainwater, slowly soaking the jagged gullies, and the withered rice seedlings struggled to show a faint hint of green in the rain.
Xuanwei stood under the porch in front of the temple, looking up at the rain falling all around. His gaze went beyond the rain curtain and toward the direction of the bamboo courtyard. He let out a soft breath.
Inside the bamboo courtyard, Chen Du stood quietly under the eaves, watching the Azure Water Pearl on the stone table gradually lose its luster.
[The disaster has been resolved.]
[Slaying the Fourth Stellar Metamorphosis- Water-Running Jiao King, quelling the drought across a thousand miles, and saving countless lives.]
[Acquired Calamity Qi: 970,000 years.]
A thick and powerful Calamity Qi descended from the Heavenly Dao, quietly merging into the sealed space of his sea of consciousness, settling beside his Self Star, quietly Lie Dormant, awaiting its activation in the future.
Chen Du gently stroked the Azure Water Pearl with his fingertips.
The Jiao King used it to lock in water and control rain, causing havoc in the region.
Now that it's in his hands, this precious pearl has become a rare treasure that harmonizes water vapor and nourishes mountains and rivers.
The rain pattered down, washing over the entire Qingfeng Mountain and the barren land for miles, cleansing away months of heat and despair.
He raised his eyes and looked towards the direction of the Azure Pool to the north, his eyes remaining calm.
The prototype of the seventh sword of the Heavenly Tribulation Nine Swords had just been tempered in the bloody battle.
The power of that sword Calamity Devour, along with many subtle patterns of law, still needs to be refined.
This ordeal is over.
But on the chessboard, the undercurrents never cease.
The power struggles in the Capital of the Ling Dynasty, and the powerful forces lurking behind the scenes, continue to quietly observe from afar.
Chen Du turned and walked into the bamboo house, closing the door behind him.
Outside, sweet rain fell upon the world; inside, the young Daoist's long night of enlightenment had only just begun.