Breakthrough Through the Siege

"Those two Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan have caught up again!"

Zhong Yue looked up, secretly grinding his teeth. He spread his legs and sprinted away. These past ten-odd days had been unbearably difficult. He had needed to refine the excess Beast God Essence in his body while also evading the pursuit of the two Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan, hiding everywhere in the Great Wilderness.

He had transformed into a Dragon Xiang, astonishingly fast, and could even ride thunder away at great speed. However, he could not keep running for long. Before long, those two Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan would catch up with him again.

The greatest threat to him did not come from the Qi Practitioners of the Shuitu Clan, but from the Beast God Essence constantly radiating from the Beast God's inner core. He had to maintain his visualization of Suihuang without the slightest interruption. Otherwise, the Beast God Essence in his body would continue accumulating until he completely transformed into a Dragon Xiang.

This was simply a tormenting cultivation more painful than walking between life and death or tempering his soul with thunder—a never-before-seen ascetic trial. He had to cultivate through uninterrupted visualization while evading pursuit. He even needed to maintain his visualization while sleeping. It was an unimaginably enormous test of his mental strength, body, and willpower!

He could still hold on during the first two days, but on the third day he nearly collapsed. Unable to resist, he fell beside a mountain stream and slept soundly, forgetting his visualization and forgetting the pursuing Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan.

Fortunately, the Kindling Child had been watching over him. It woke him and urged him not to forget his visualization, allowing him to avoid being completely assimilated into a Dragon Xiang and sparing him from falling into the hands of the Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan.

After more than ten days of tempering, Zhong Yue could basically reach the level of "Beyond Non-Thinking State."

The so-called "Beyond Non-Thinking State" meant that one no longer needed to deliberately visualize, yet could still naturally fall into a state of visualization. Li Xiuniang had reached this level as well.

Li Xiuniang had undergone years of cultivation before she could achieve Beyond Non-Thinking State, whereas he had been forcibly raised to that level through more than ten days of torturous suffering.

However, to maintain uninterrupted visualization even while dreaming, he needed to reach the "Beyond Non-Thinking State" level. That was extremely difficult.

"Beyond Non-Thinking State" was a level higher than "Beyond Non-Thinking State." Only under the Kindling Child's constant reminders could he intermittently achieve it, and he could not maintain it for long. Once he sank into deep sleep, his state of visualization would be interrupted.

These past ten-odd days had been an unimaginable torment for him, and he had held on only through his powerful willpower. Yet this had also been an immense tempering, causing his mental cultivation to surge forward!

Now, his sea of consciousness was vast, having astonishingly expanded to three thousand mu in circumference, and his mental strength was incomparably pure!

"These two Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan are simply like lingering ghosts!"

Zhong Yue gritted his teeth. His cultivation had risen, his sea of consciousness had expanded, and the Beast God Essence radiating from the Beast God's inner core above his sea of consciousness had faintly reached a balance with the speed at which he refined it. This was an enormous leap in his cultivation!

At this rate, in a few more days he would be able to refine the excess Beast God Essence accumulated in his body and transform from his Dragon Xiang form back into human form!

"Hm? Those two Qi Practitioners have split up?"

Zhong Yue suddenly sensed the auras of the two Qi Practitioners separating. One continued close behind him, while the other's aura grew increasingly distant. He was probably taking a detour.

"Strange. Why did they split up?"

Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes, feeling rather curious. They've pursued me for so long without managing to stop me. After splitting up, they'll have an even harder time stopping me... No, there's water vapor ahead. So that's it!

He ran forward for about a li and saw a great river surging and rushing ahead. The river was several thousand zhang wide, and for ten li its waters ran swift and turbulent, waves rising several feet high across its surface!

Moreover, as the great river passed through this region, it curved in a semicircle around the hillside beneath Zhong Yue's feet. In other words, the other Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan had not taken a detour. Instead, he had split from the other Qi Practitioner upstream, stepped onto the river, and was preparing to intercept Zhong Yue on the water!

The other man was pursuing from behind. They were attacking him from two directions, determined to keep him on the surface of this great river!

Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes and looked downstream. On the shoals along both banks of the great river, one tribe after another had appeared, with fortresses and stockades stretching into the distance. Numerous fishing boats were moored along the banks.

"That's bad—it's the Weishui! The Shuitu Clan's territory! There are likely more Qi Practitioners stationed among the Shuitu Clan. If I'm trapped here, I'll probably be doomed!"

Zhong Yue drew a long breath. "Downstream lies the Shuitu Clan's territory. There are Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan above me and behind me. Now there's only one road left: cross the river before the two Qi Practitioners encircle me and kill my way to the opposite bank!"

Upstream on the Weishui, the waves surged violently. A Qi Practitioner came striding over the waves, having already transformed into the body of a River Earl and riding the waves at astonishing speed!

At the same time, the Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan behind him also accelerated, his aura drawing ever closer.

Without a moment's thought, Zhong Yue leaped into the air and shot toward the opposite bank of the Weishui. The Dragon Xiang's steps were incredibly fast. His feet struck the river's surface, and before they could sink into the water, the explosive force lifted his body up. Tap-tap-tap! The surface of the water exploded again and again as a dragon shadow streaked forward!

"The Weishui is the home ground of my Shuitu Clan. Now that you've entered our home ground, you still think you can leave?"

Laughter rang out. The Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan on the river suddenly accelerated, sending waves surging a hundred zhang high. They stretched across the entire Weishui and rolled forward like a crushing tide. He sneered, "On this great river, my Shuitu Clan is the invincible king!"

A hundred-zhang wave locked across the great river and bore forward, crushing everything in its path with terrifying force.

Zhong Yue clenched his teeth. Thunder erupted beneath his feet, and his speed increased dramatically. In an instant, he broke through the sound barrier. But the waves were even faster. By the time he reached the middle of the river, they had already reached his side!

"Ice Soul Sword Mountain!"

The Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan stood atop the waves and stamped down hard. Countless streaks of Ice Soul Sword Qi shot forward from within the waves with sharp, piercing sounds.

Zhong Yue leaped into the air, avoiding streak after streak of sword qi and soaring a hundred zhang high. The Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan laughed loudly and urged his River Earl body to attack, saying with a laugh, "You beast, you're on the Weishui! You still think you can contend with me?"

As he spoke, the other Qi Practitioner from the Shuitu Clan had already descended upon the Weishui. His speed instantly increased as well, and he pursued Zhong Yue.

At the same time, the Qi Practitioners in the Weishui Tribe noticed the disturbance upstream. One after another, they rose into the air and gazed into the distance.

"They're Senior Brothers Jian Shu and Jian Ping!"

Several Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan cried out in surprise, "They're capturing an exotic beast! Hurry and help!"

Those Qi Practitioners hurried upstream from downstream. At that moment, in midair, Zhong Yue visualized a Flood Dragon without thinking and clashed head-on with Shui Jian Ping's River Earl body. The impact sent him tumbling from the sky.

The Kindling Child spoke lazily. "Boy Yue, you visualized a Flood Dragon. Why not visualize yourself?"

"Visualize myself?"

Zhong Yue had been struck from the sky, and he could not help feeling stunned. Below him, enormous water dragons shot into the sky from the river. They bared their fangs and claws, hideous and savage, and flew toward him, preparing to capture him. This was presumably the terrifying scene created by Shui Jian Ping urging the great waters into motion!

He was still far too inexperienced when fighting Qi Practitioners. Although Shui Jian Ping was merely an ordinary Qi Practitioner, an Upper Institution disciple and a Qi Practitioner were worlds apart, utterly incomparable.

With his current strength, he simply could not contend with him.

"Of course you should visualize yourself. What does a Flood Dragon count for? It's not even one ten-thousandth as good as a Dragon Xiang."

The Kindling Child laughed happily. "You yourself are a Dragon Xiang. After these days, you should already be familiar with the structure of a Dragon Xiang. Visualizing a Dragon Xiang and turning it into totemic patterns will not be difficult for you. If you visualize a Dragon Xiang and merge it with yourself, becoming one with it, your physique will be at least twice as powerful as it is now! Would you still be afraid of failing to escape?"

Zhong Yue's heart shook violently. He immediately visualized a Dragon Xiang—in other words, he visualized himself. At once, his three-thousand-mu sea of consciousness surged like a raging river, and rolling mental strength flowed into every corner of his limbs and bones, filling his physique with unimaginable power!

"Hooang—!"

A high, impassioned dragon roar burst from Zhong Yue's mouth. Sound waves rippled outward, and the thunder hidden within his mental strength erupted, coiling around his body. He stepped on the air and actually ran through the sky like a flying beast. With a boom, he smashed apart a water dragon that had coiled toward him. The water dragon burst apart with a crash, and a deluge fell from the sky, slamming into the river's surface.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One water dragon after another was smashed apart. Shui Jian Ping's heart trembled atop the waves, and his River Earl body reached down to grab Zhong Yue. Yet he was far too late. Zhong Yue had already flown away between his palms!

"So fast?"

Shui Jian Ping's mind went blank for a moment. The great waves beneath his feet surged, and countless sword qi shot out. A sky full of Ice Soul Sword Qi stabbed toward Zhong Yue in unison. Crisp sounds rang out as the Ice Soul Sword Qi struck Zhong Yue's body and exploded one after another, yet they had actually failed to pierce the dragon scales covering his skin!

"Mist Locks the Great River!"

Shui Jian Ping shouted furiously. Water pillars shot into the sky across the several-li-wide river, transforming into a cage. Then thick white mist poured from the pillars, sealing off the Weishui. But at that moment, a thunderous boom rang out. The Dragon Xiang smashed through a water pillar, burst from the mist, and ran through the air. Wherever he passed, lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Shui Jian Ping stared blankly. Shui Jian Shu reached the middle of the Weishui, while the Qi Practitioners from the Shuitu Clan who had flown from the tribe also caught up from downstream. They stared blankly at the scene before them.

"This Dragon Xiang is growing far too quickly. We can't catch him anymore..." Several Qi Practitioners exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Shui Jian Shu coughed and said, "Keep pursuing him. I'll go to Sword Gate and inform the elders. We can only ask the elders to mobilize more Qi Practitioners to surround him. Otherwise, relying on just the few of us..."

He shook his head and turned away.

At the edge of the Weishui Tribe, they had possessed every possible advantage of time, terrain, and manpower. Yet even under such favorable circumstances, they had still failed to capture the Dragon Xiang. The blow to their confidence was simply too great.

At that moment, Zhong Yue stepped on the air and ran swiftly. His heart brimmed with joy. Suddenly, he let out a long howl, and his form abruptly changed. He transformed from a Dragon Xiang back into human form, returning to his original appearance, yet he did not fall from the sky. He continued walking through the air.

"I've finally recovered! I no longer have to worry about being beaten to death as a Demonic Beast! I can finally return to Sword Gate!"

Unable to contain himself, Zhong Yue let out a long howl. Visualizing the Dragon Xiang had merged his mental strength into his entire body. Even after dispersing the Dragon Xiang form, he could still control the air and walk through the sky without worrying about falling.

"Boy Yue..."

The Kindling Child could not help reminding him, "You aren't wearing any clothes. Your hide vest and shorts were both burst apart when you transformed into a Dragon Xiang..."

A shriek rang out from midair.