Mysterious Demonic Beast Strikes Suddenly

"Did you get a clear look at any of them?"

Qiu Buping cautiously asked the disciple who had come to report.

"According to our scouts, two of them had cultivation levels that were impossible to detect. It's highly likely they are high-ranking experts from the Qingyun Sect. Following them were some cultivators in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment realms."

The disciple reported truthfully to Qiu Buping.

"Impossible to detect? Could they be those few from the Qingyun Sect whose cultivation has reached Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation? I'll report this matter to the Sect Master first."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Buping felt a secret dread. He hadn't expected the Qingyun Sect to go to such lengths, actually sending such important figures. But then, he felt a surge of anger: "These righteous sects are going too far! They killed our people and then dare to brazenly come here to cause trouble for us. We must have the Sect Master stand up for us!"

Qiu Buping took out a talisman from his robes, and with gestures and writing in the air, he recorded everything that had happened on it. Then, he held it in his hand as it spontaneously combusted.

After a while, a voice echoed in Qiu Buping's mind. He closed his eyes to receive it, then opened them and stepped forward, saying to the others, "Let's go, we'll go meet them first!"

Meanwhile, Su Changqing, who had already reached the swampy depths of Nine Yin Mountain, was completely unaware of all this. He didn't know that the two blunders he had caused had led to two factions engaging in a major conflict in Nine Yin Mountain.

The swamp was filled with miasma, a desolate place where no light could be seen. His vision was limited to only three to four meters around him.

Su Changqing moved forward on his sword within the swamp, creating a barrier around himself with spiritual energy. This protected him from the miasma and significantly expanded his range of vision.

With this ability, Su Changqing surveyed the surrounding environment, searching for the Desolate Orchid Water Lily based on its depiction in the book.

"Where is it? Why can't I find any trace of it?"

Su Changqing searched left and right, but he couldn't even see a shadow of the Desolate Orchid Water Lily.

He recalled the book's description that this item was extremely rare and could only be encountered by those with destiny. Su Changqing wasn't discouraged, merely feeling that his luck wasn't good enough today.

If he couldn't find it today, he would continue searching tomorrow. Surely, he could find one within three days?

"Boom!"

Su Changqing, who was searching intently, was sent flying by a massive force in the next second. Fortunately, he had maintained his caution, which prevented him from falling into the swamp. He spun through the air, tumbling three or four times before regaining his balance.

However, the sudden, violent impact left him somewhat dazed.

"What the heck!"

Su Changqing looked blankly at the spot where he had just been. He vaguely saw a long figure disappear back into the swamp without a trace.

"It hit me and now it wants to run?"

Su Changqing's anger flared. This invisible phantom had bumped into him and now wanted to dive back into the water. It was clearly waiting to ambush him, and he wouldn't let that happen.

However, Su Changqing didn't rashly pursue. Instead, he used his flying sword to ascend into the air, creating distance. Then, he unleashed a Gale Sword Technique towards the spot where it had submerged.

Fierce sword qi erupted, scattering the surrounding miasma as it struck.

But when the Gale Sword Technique hit the water, it only caused the swamp water to splash several meters high. There was no sign of anything.

Su Changqing clenched his fist. He had been a step too slow, and this phantom had dodged his attack. Now, it would be difficult to track its movements in this swamp.

Just as Su Changqing was getting annoyed, another disturbance came from below him.

"Still trying?"

Su Changqing thought to himself.

But this time, Su Changqing was prepared. He didn't fall for its trick again. He quickly activated his movement technique and leaped away, dodging the attack. He then counterattacked with a sword strike.

"Hiss!"

With a hiss, the massive, elongated figure was struck by the Gale Sword Technique. It thrashed wildly in the air before falling back into the swamp water, its form disappearing once more.

In those two to three seconds, Su Changqing had managed to get a clear look at its appearance.

It was a snake, about eight to nine meters long. Its head was enormous, and its body was covered in scales that reflected a myriad of colors. It also had a single horn on its forehead. Even more peculiar were the pair of black wings on its back.

A flood dragon?

And it was a flood dragon with a horn and wings?

Su Changqing didn't know what kind of creature this was. It seemed that even the Qingyun Sect didn't have records of it, nor had stories mentioned such a creature.

"Whatever you are, you dare to obstruct me from finding the Desolate Orchid Water Lily? That's a grave offense!"

Su Changqing no longer cared about identifying this monstrous beast. He just wanted to deal with it as quickly as possible to prevent it from hindering his search for the Desolate Orchid Water Lily.

Seeing that the beast disappeared as soon as it submerged, Su Changqing surmised that it lived here and was very familiar with this swamp.

Su Changqing took out formation flags from his robes and placed them at the four corners of the swamp, deploying the Four Directions Earth Trapping Array. Immediately, a spiritual energy barrier appeared. As long as he could trap it within the array, where could it possibly run?

As expected, the moment the Four Directions Earth Trapping Array was set up, a heavy thudding sound came from the north. Water splashed high into the air, clearly the sound of the flood dragon hitting the barrier.

"Found it!"

Su Changqing immediately slashed his sword in the direction of the sound.

The long snake surfaced again, its huge eyes glaring furiously at Su Changqing. It spat out a massive spiritual energy projectile from its large mouth, which collided fiercely with Su Changqing's Gale Sword Technique.

"Boom!"

The two attacks collided and exploded in mid-air. Both forces were destroyed simultaneously. The massive shockwave caused the entire swamp to ripple. Su Changqing's eyes narrowed, and he quickly stabilized himself, but he was still pushed back two steps by the powerful shockwave.

"This monster is not like the Black Tiger Beast. I can't underestimate it!"

Su Changqing felt the threat posed by the flood dragon and decided to give it his full attention and deal with it with all his might.

"Ten Thousand Heavenly Thunder Array!"

"Gale Sword Technique!"

"Desolate Falling Violent Body Fist!"

Just like when he dealt with the Black Tiger Beast earlier, Su Changqing used every skill he had, unleashing all his divine abilities. His abilities were like a downpour, all directed at the flood dragon.

In an instant, heavenly thunder rumbled, sword energy was born anew, and fist shadows surged. Various strange techniques reappeared, shaking the spiritual energy in this swampy area into violent chaos. The miasma was instantly blown away, and all sorts of lights and shadows scattered outwards.

If the Black Tiger Beast, which had already died, were here, it would surely be terrified to the point of its liver and gallbladder cracking, shouting with a heart turned to ash, "You're here again!"

Yet, even after unleashing all these abilities, Su Changqing's eyes grew even more solemn.

Although the situation was the same as with the Black Tiger Beast, the flood dragon demon beast's outcome was completely different. The flood dragon either spat out spiritual bullets to disperse the sword energy, or flapped its wings to dodge the fist shadows. Even the rumbling heavenly thunder seemed to be guided, all of it landing on the horn on its forehead.

It had resolved them all, one by one!