"Fellow Daoist, please wait!"
Though Nan Ji's voice came from behind him, Zhao Gongming did not dare slow down in the slightest.
Instead, Zhao Gongming shouted, "Fellow Daoist, run!"
At this moment, Zhao Gongming's topknot had come undone, and his clothes were covered in claw marks. He looked thoroughly bedraggled.
Meanwhile, Nan Ji followed behind him at an unhurried pace.
Nan Ji had originally been the first immortal crane born in the southernmost lands after the creation of heaven and earth, so naturally, he was not slow.
What was more, he had successively obtained the Three Pure Ones Primordial Scripture, listened to the Dao teachings at Purple Cloud Palace twice, received special guidance from the Dao Ancestor, and been strengthened by the Wine Crystals of the Twelve Ancestor Witches.
If Nan Ji pursued ultimate speed now, coupled with his understanding of the laws of space and wind, a single beat of his wings could carry him one hundred twenty thousand li.
"Brat, don't run!"
"Tell us at once where those three fairy maidens are!"
A black flood dragon and a golden flood dragon chased the two relentlessly from behind. Their mountain-like bodies rolled through the waves, stirring up towering swells.
"Dream on!"
After shouting, Zhao Gongming said to Nan Ji beside him, "Fellow Daoist, Gongming will remember this kindness. Those two flood dragons are at the perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, and they command yin and yang qi. Please leave quickly."
Because his realm was too low, Zhao Gongming could not discern Nan Ji's cultivation. Yet in the Great Desolation, perfected Grand Unity Golden Immortals were already among the strongest.
Zhao Gongming then said to Nan Ji, "Please leave behind your name. If Gongming is fortunate enough to survive, I will come visit you another day."
"I am Nan Ji of Xuanqing Peak."
After saying that, Nan Ji stopped fleeing with Zhao Gongming and instead turned to face the two flood dragons.
Though the two flood dragons were indeed a minor realm above Nan Ji in cultivation, he intended to teach them that cultivation realm was not the most important thing in the Great Desolation.
When Zhao Gongming saw Nan Ji stop, he too stopped despite having intended to flee for his life.
"Fellow Daoist Nan Ji, do not face them head-on! Run!"
Seeing Nan Ji's manner, Zhao Gongming assumed he had yet to experience the cruelty of the Great Desolation and hurriedly urged him on.
"It's fine. Just watch..."
Nan Ji had been about to bring out his eldest martial uncle's Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda and earn some favor with this future chief outer disciple of the Interception Sect.
But Zhao Gongming stepped in front of Nan Ji first and said gravely, "Fellow Daoist, Gongming will never forget your kindness. If Gongming meets with misfortune later, please flee at once."
With that, Zhao Gongming prepared to fight.
Seeing this, Nan Ji thought, Zhao Gongming really was someone worth befriending.
When the two Primordial Yin-Yang Flood Dragons saw Zhao Gongming stop, they coiled their enormous bodies and said, "What is it, little Daoist? Have you made up your mind?"
"Hehehe, offer your three younger sisters to my brother and me for dual cultivation, and we'll guarantee your safety in the East Sea," the other flood dragon said with a sinister laugh.
Those words were especially grating to Zhao Gongming's ears. His eyes turned bloodshot as he roared, "I'll fight you to the death!"
But just as Zhao Gongming was about to risk his life against the two flood dragons, a pagoda that blotted out the sky and covered the earth suddenly appeared overhead.
The pagoda radiated countless beams of golden light, while endless Mysterious Yellow Qi poured down from its base in an instant. It was the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda that Nan Ji had summoned.
"Huh, my cultivation has indeed improved. Using this pagoda feels much smoother now," Nan Ji remarked.
The Mysterious Yellow Qi immediately shielded Zhao Gongming and Nan Ji within it.
Though Zhao Gongming did not recognize the treasure before him, he could tell it was no ordinary object. For a moment, he was so shocked that his mouth hung open.
The flood dragons, who had intended to capture Nan Ji and Zhao Gongming, wore grave expressions upon seeing the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda. They had clearly recognized its origins.
"The Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda!"
"What is your relationship to the Three Pure Ones?"
Unlike Zhao Gongming, the two flood dragons had been conceived when Ancestor Dragon sensed the innate yin and yang qi. Naturally, they had inherited knowledge of this acquired merit supreme treasure.
"I am Nan Ji, chief disciple of the Three Pure Ones and eldest disciple under Jade Pure Yuanshi Celestial Venerable!"
Standing within the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda, Nan Ji showed no fear. Yet as he spoke those words, his heart was filled with emotion.
Sure enough, upon hearing Nan Ji's introduction, Zhao Gongming inwardly sighed, Having a master really is different in the Great Desolation. A few traces of yearning arose in his heart.
"You..."
Upon hearing Nan Ji's background, one of the flood dragons immediately felt like retreating. But the other said directly, "Why fear the Three Pure Ones? When our dragon race roamed the Great Desolation, what were the Three Pure Ones?"
At this time, though the Witch and Demon clans had yet to formally contend for dominance over the Great Desolation, the dragon race had already begun to decline rapidly.
Nan Ji laughed loudly. "Then let's have a round and see."
The two flood dragons said no more. Their enormous draconic bodies began winding around each other.
Accompanied by two dragon roars, immense yin and yang qi erupted from their intertwined bodies.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color under the influence of the yin and yang qi.
The two flood dragons twisted around each other as they tore through space and charged at Nan Ji and Zhao Gongming. Everything in their path crumbled and was transformed by the yin and yang qi.
Nan Ji watched with a grave expression. He had not expected these two Primordial Flood Dragons to be so formidable, and he hurriedly poured more mana into the Heaven and Earth Mysterious Yellow Exquisite Pagoda.
At once, Mysterious Yellow Qi surged from the pagoda like a waterfall, firmly protecting Zhao Gongming and Nan Ji within.
Bang!
When the two flood dragons struck, their force and yin and yang qi were neutralized by the descending Mysterious Yellow Qi of the pagoda.
Because of the violent impact between the two flood dragons and the pagoda, a thunderous roar rang out.
The impact shook the East Sea beneath Nan Ji, blasting a massive whirlpool into the waters with the force of the flood dragons' collision.
"Is that all?" Nan Ji said disdainfully.
In truth, Nan Ji had never worried about the pagoda's defensive power.
The pagoda was already a supreme treasure to begin with.
What was more, it had been refined by his eldest martial uncle, Laozi.
Although Laozi had lent him this treasure, if real danger arose, his eldest martial uncle would sense it immediately and come control the pagoda.
How could the two flood dragons let Nan Ji's words pass? They immediately separated and stretched out their sharp claws toward the two of them.
But when their claws struck, they discovered that the Mysterious Yellow Qi before them was exceptionally hard. Their dragon claws even began to ache faintly from the impact.
Though the two flood dragons were furious, they had no way whatsoever to deal with Nan Ji and Zhao Gongming.
The sight made Zhao Gongming's blood boil. If he possessed such a treasure, how could he have been so miserable earlier? His yearning for Nan Ji's identity as the disciple of a great power grew even stronger.
One of the flood dragons cursed, "A disciple of the Three Pure Ones hiding inside a turtle shell—what kind of skill is that!"
"Then how about this?"
As he spoke, Nan Ji summoned the Soul Slaying Staff and gripped it in his hands.
Nan Ji held the Soul Slaying Staff with both hands, exerted his strength, raised it over his head, and smashed it fiercely toward one flood dragon's claw.
Accompanied by a dragon roar, the sea of clouds within a thousand li instantly scattered.
The instant the Soul Slaying Staff came down, it smashed that flood dragon's claw into a bloody pulp.
"Brat, this karma will be..."
Just as the struck flood dragon was about to say something, he felt a murky force rapidly spread from the wound, madly corroding his primordial spirit.
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