Qing Huan's figure appeared at the same time. Standing shoulder to shoulder with East Prince, he cast a faint glance at the panicked Hei Qiu, the corner of his mouth curving into a meaningful smile.
"Heh. To refuse what Heaven grants is to invite calamity. How could one decide the fate of a treasure merely by gaining the first move?"
It was not the Innate Gourd Vine.
Moreover, this island was one of the Five Overseas Islands. It contained a Nascent Great Thousand World, with profound blessings and enduring Luck... The Dragon Clan was now entangled in tribulation and burdened by boundless karma. How could they possess the fortune to bear it? They were merely making a wedding dress for someone else.
Qing Huan had already calculated everything. This immortal island itself was an incomparable foundation, perfect for "guiding" East Prince and extorting a good sum from him...
"Roar! Who goes there?! This is Dragon Clan territory, and the innate treasure belongs to our clan! Retreat at once, or do not blame me for showing no mercy!"
Hei Qiu was both shocked and enraged. His enormous dragon body abruptly turned, dragon might erupting as a savage aura rushed forward.
He stopped attacking the formation. Magic Power surged around him as he warily fixed his gaze upon the two uninvited guests in the sky, whose auras were unfathomably deep.
"What a joke!"
East Prince sneered, his voice ringing like clashing gold and iron.
"Your Dragon Clan has committed endless slaughter and is burdened by karma. The fact that you still cling to life is already Heavenly Dao's mercy!
"And yet you dare speak of territory and covet a supreme treasure?
"Rather than following Ancestor Dragon to eternally guard the sea eyes of the Four Seas and atone for your sins, you broke free of your restraints to stir up trouble outside. You truly defy Heavenly Dao! Today, you are destined to meet your tribulation!"
Hei Qiu's sore spot had been struck, and shame turned to fury.
"Insolence! Though the Dragon Clan has withdrawn, we are not to be humiliated by wandering cultivators like you! Die!"
The black dragon could no longer restrain himself. His ten-thousand-zhang body tore through the sky amid a rolling stench of blood. His massive tail gathered immense water-element power, becoming like a divine whip that held up the heavens as it whipped up towering waves and swept fiercely toward East Prince and Qing Huan!
Even space let out a groan of unbearable strain beneath that sweep!
"Stubborn fool!"
Qing Huan's gaze turned cold. The warning had been given; this killing tribulation had been brought upon himself.
His body swayed lightly like a phantom, and he had already evaded the earth-shattering strike of the dragon tail.
East Prince reacted a fraction slower, but his cultivation was profound. He gave a low shout.
"Guard!" The dragon-headed cane in his hand shone brilliantly, transforming into an indestructible golden barrier.
"Boom!"
The dragon tail smashed brutally against the golden barrier, erupting with a deafening crash. The violent force pressed a vast depression into the seawater below.
East Prince's body swayed slightly before steadying. Killing intent surged in his eyes!
"Wretch, receive my divine ability!"
How could Qing Huan miss such an opportunity?
Standing in the void, he formed a seal with one hand and spread his five fingers toward the enormous dragon head exposed by the attack. He coldly uttered,
"Seven-Colored Destruction Divine Light!"
In an instant, seven streams of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet Destruction Divine Light, containing the intent of Chaos Creation and All Things Return to Chaos, burst from his palm. They immediately condensed into a terrifying Destruction Pillar that tore through space and annihilated all techniques, piercing straight toward Hei Qiu's head!
Its power was so overwhelming that even the surrounding space began to twist and collapse!
"Not good!"
Hei Qiu's huge dragon pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints as an extreme fear born from his instinct for survival seized him!
The power of the laws contained within this divine ability far exceeded his imagination. It was absolutely not something he could withstand head-on!
At the critical moment between life and death, he threw open his blood-filled maw. The remnants of Ancestor Dragon Bloodline within him burned madly.
"Ten Thousand Seas Return to Source—Xuan Ming Heavy Water!"
A jet-black pillar of water, profound as ink and heavy beyond measure, surged from his mouth. Carrying soul-freezing cold and the weight to crush stars, it attempted to block the Destruction Pillar.
At that very instant, a fierce gleam flashed through East Prince's eyes, his killing intent fully exposed! How could he allow Qing Huan to take all the glory?
"Pure Yang Exorcism, sever!"
With a sharp cry, the ancient longsword in his hand suddenly flew from its sheath!
The blade flowed with incomparably pure, supreme Yang innate energy. A peerlessly sharp sword light, as though capable of severing every foulness and evil in the world, struck after yet arrived first!
This sword was crafty and vicious. While Hei Qiu was devoting all his strength to Qing Huan's divine light, during the instant when his old strength had faded and new strength had yet to arise, it struck with incomparable precision at the vital point beneath his reverse scale—the seven-inch point of his dragon neck!
"Aang—!!!"
A miserable dragon roar that shook the heavens echoed through the skies!
The seven-colored annihilation divine light collided viciously with the Xuan Ming Heavy Water. Terrifying power of law-based annihilation erupted in an instant, breaking down and vaporizing the immensely heavy water pillar inch by inch!
Though weakened, the remaining Destruction Divine Light still slammed heavily into Hei Qiu's enormous dragon body, shattering his scales and scorching them black!
Yet even more fatal was East Prince's Pure Yang sword strike!
Like a hot knife through butter, it forcibly cleaved through Hei Qiu's protective water-element aura and tough dragon scales, carving a massive wound into his neck so deep that bone was visible!
Scalding dragon blood gushed forth like a breached heavenly river!
"Splash—!!!"
Having suffered two deadly wounds, the ten-thousand-zhang Hei Qiu could no longer sustain his power of flight. His enormous dragon body, filled with despair and unwillingness, crashed like a falling star into the boundless ocean below!
"Rumble—!"
Towering waves surged into the sky!
The violent tsunami raised by the impact reached tens of thousands of zhang high, sweeping in every direction with the force of collapsing mountains and overturning seas. Its immense momentum lingered without end.
The sea was swiftly dyed red by scalding dragon blood, releasing a pungent stench and surging energy fluctuations.
"Lord Hei Qiu!"
The few remaining Golden Immortals of the Dragon Clan had their eyes split with rage. They howled in grief and tried to rush into the sea to save him.
"Hmph, noisy ants."
Qing Huan did not even look at them. He reached out and grabbed through the air.
Several invisible fingers of Destruction force instantly crossed space.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
Before those true dragons at the Golden Immortal realm could even scream, they were blasted apart in midair, turning into several glaring clouds of blood mist that the violent sea wind scattered away, leaving neither corpses nor bones behind.
Beneath the sea, Hei Qiu, grievously wounded and now suffering a frenzied backlash as karma took advantage of his weakness, had an extremely faint aura. He no longer even had the strength to struggle. Dragon blood poured continuously from him, dyeing a vast stretch of sea red.
Qing Huan's gaze fell upon the scarlet, churning surface, his eyes glinting.
"A Great Luo black dragon—its tendons, bones, hide, and scales are all superior materials for refining artifacts. Its blood essence in particular has endless uses and would be excellent material for refining a Supreme Acquired Spiritual Treasure.
"Fellow Daoist East Prince, leave this black dragon to me. How about it?"
Qing Huan's tone was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable meaning.
East Prince glanced at the Pure Yang sword, which had not been stained with a single drop of blood and had already returned to its sheath. Then he looked at the vast dragon aura and karma permeating the sea below.
Though he was somewhat tempted by the black dragon's materials, he recalled the terrifying divine ability Qing Huan had displayed and the fact that he still needed Qing Huan's assistance, so he suppressed the thought.
"Of course."
East Prince laughed heartily, appearing quite magnanimous.
"If Fellow Daoist Qing Huan had not severely wounded this beast first, I would have found it difficult to succeed in one strike. It is what you deserve."
More importantly, he truly had no need for such spiritual treasures. At most, they could be refined into Acquired Spiritual Treasures, which were of practically no use to him.
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