Breaking Through the Siege

"Those two Qi Refiners from the Shuitu Clan are chasing us again!"

Zhong Yue looked up and couldn't help but grit his teeth. He spread his legs and fled. These past ten-plus days had been incredibly difficult. He had to refine the excess Beast God Essence within his body while simultaneously evading the pursuit of these two Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners, dodging them all over the Great Wilderness.

He transformed into a Dragon Steed, his speed astonishing. He could even ride lightning to escape, but he couldn't maintain such speed for long. Before long, those two Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners would catch up.

What threatened him the most wasn't the Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners, but the Beast God Essence constantly emanating from the Beast God's inner core. He had to maintain his visualization of Suihuang without interruption. Otherwise, the Beast God Essence in his body would accumulate, eventually turning him into a complete Dragon Steed.

This was a form of cultivation more tormenting than facing death or tempering his soul with lightning – an unprecedented ascetic practice. He had to cultivate without interruption while dodging pursuit, even needing to maintain his visualization while sleeping. It was an immense test for his Spiritual Power, body, and willpower!

He could endure the first two days, but on the third day, he nearly collapsed, unable to resist falling asleep by a mountain stream, forgetting his visualization and the pursuing Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners.

Fortunately, Xin Huo was always watching, waking him up and urging him not to forget his visualization. This saved him from being completely assimilated into a Dragon Steed and from falling into the hands of the Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners.

After these ten-plus days of tempering, Zhong Yue had basically reached the level of "Non-Thinking State."

The so-called "Non-Thinking State" meant that one could enter a state of visualization without conscious effort. Li Xiuniang was also at this level.

Li Xiuniang had achieved this state after years of cultivation, while he had reached the Non-Thinking State through more than ten days of torturous hardship.

However, to be able to visualize continuously even in his dreams, he needed to achieve the "Beyond Non-Thinking State," which was extremely difficult.

The "Beyond Non-Thinking State" was a level higher than the "Non-Thinking State." Only with Xin Huo's constant reminders could he achieve it intermittently, but it wouldn't last long. As he fell into deeper sleep, his visualization state would be interrupted.

These ten-plus days had been an unimaginable torment for him, and he had only persevered through his immense willpower. But it had also been a great tempering, causing his Spiritual Power cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds!

Now, his Sea of Consciousness was vast, having expanded to three thousand mu. Moreover, his Spiritual Power was incredibly pure!

"These two Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners are like persistent ghosts!"

Zhong Yue gritted his teeth. Currently, his cultivation had improved, his Sea of Consciousness had expanded, and the Beast God Essence emanating from the Beast God's inner core above his Sea of Consciousness had reached a delicate balance with his refining speed. This was a tremendous 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 Steed form back into a human!

"Hmm, have these two Qi Refiners split up?"

Zhong Yue suddenly sensed that the auras of the two Qi Refiners had separated. One was still closely pursuing him, while the other's aura was growing distant. He must have taken a detour.

"Strange, why did they split up?"

Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes, filled with curiosity. "These two haven't been able to stop me after chasing for so long. Splitting up will only make it harder to stop me... No, there's water vapor ahead. So that's it!"

He ran forward for about a mile and saw a great river flowing turbulently before him. The river was thousands of feet wide, spanning ten miles, with swift currents and waves several feet high!

Furthermore, this great river flowed past this area, forming a semicircular arc around the mountainside beneath Zhong Yue's feet. This meant that the other Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner hadn't taken a detour but had separated from the other Qi Refiner upstream and was traveling on the river to intercept him!

The other one was pursuing from behind, creating a pincer attack from two directions, determined to trap him on the surface of this great river!

Zhong Yue narrowed his eyes and looked downstream. He saw numerous tribes and continuous settlements on the riverbanks and floodplains. Many fishing boats were docked along the shore.

"No, this is the Weishui River! It's a Shuitu Clan territory! There are likely Qi Refiners stationed in the Shuitu Clan. If I get trapped here, I might be doomed!"

Zhong Yue took a deep breath. "The Shuitu Clan settlements are downstream, and there are Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners above and behind me. There's only one path now: cross the river before the two Qi Refiners can surround me and reach the other side!"

Upstream on the Weishui River, amidst the surging waves, a Qi Refiner was advancing, having already transformed into the form of a River God, controlling the waves with incredible speed!

At this moment, the Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner behind him was also accelerating, his aura rapidly approaching.

Without hesitation, Zhong Yue leaped forward, speeding towards the opposite bank of the Weishui River. His Dragon Steed steps were incredibly fast. He trod on the river's surface, and before falling into the water, his explosive power propelled him forward. Tap, tap, tap, the water surface exploded repeatedly as a dragon-like silhouette charged forward!

"The Weishui River is our Shuitu Clan's home turf. You still want to escape on our home turf?"

A booming laugh echoed. The Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner on the river surface suddenly increased his speed. Waves rose a hundred feet high, spanning the entire Weishui River and rolling forward. He sneered, "On this great river, our Shuitu Clan is the invincible king!"

The hundred-foot-high waves blocked the great river, crushing forward with terrifying force.

Zhong Yue gritted his teeth, and lightning erupted from his feet, greatly increasing his speed. In an instant, he broke the sound barrier. However, the waves were faster. By the time he reached the center of the great river, they were already beside him!

"Ice Soul Sword Mountain!"

The Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner stood atop the waves and stomped heavily. Countless Ice Soul Sword Qi shot forward from within the waves.

Zhong Yue leaped, dodging the sword qi, and soared into the sky a hundred feet high. The Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner laughed heartily and, channeling his River God form, charged forward. He said, "You beast, do you think you can contend with me on the Weishui River?"

As he spoke, the other Shuitu Clan Qi Refiner descended onto the Weishui River, his speed also greatly increasing as he pursued Zhong Yue.

Simultaneously, Qi Refiners from the Weishui Tribe noticed the commotion upstream. One by one, Qi Refiners took to the sky, looking on from afar.

"It's Senior Brother Jian Shu and Senior Brother Jian Ping!"

Several Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners exclaimed in surprise. "They're capturing a strange beast, quickly go and help!"

Those Shuitu Clan Qi Refiners hurried from downstream towards upstream. At this moment, in mid-air, Zhong Yue, without hesitation, visualized a Flood Dragon and clashed head-on with Jian Ping's River God form, being shaken and falling from the sky.

The Kindling Child said lazily, "Little Yue, you're visualizing a Flood Dragon, why not visualize yourself?"

"Visualize myself?"

Zhong Yue, struck down from the sky, was stunned by the words. Below him, on the river surface, giant water dragons surged upwards, baring their fangs and claws, ferocious and menacing, lunging towards him, preparing to capture him. This was likely the terrifying spectacle conjured by Water Jian Ping controlling the great river!

He was still too immature to contend with a Qi Refiner. Although Water Jian Ping was just an ordinary Qi Refiner, the difference between an Upper Court disciple and a Qi Refiner was like the difference between heaven and earth.

With his current strength, he was no match for him.

"Of course, visualize yourself. What's a Flood Dragon compared to that? It's not even one ten-thousandth of a Dragon Steed."

Xin Huo chuckled happily. "You yourself are a Dragon Steed. You must be familiar with the structure of a Dragon Steed by now. Visualizing a Dragon Steed and turning it into a totem pattern shouldn't be difficult for you. If you visualize a Dragon Steed and combine it with yourself, becoming one, your physique will be at least twice as strong as it is now! Would you still be afraid of not being able to escape?"

Zhong Yue's heart trembled. He immediately visualized the Dragon Steed, which meant visualizing himself. Instantly, his three thousand mu Sea of Consciousness surged, and rolling Spiritual Power flowed into every corner of his limbs and bones, filling his physique with unimaginable strength!

"Hiss—"

Zhong Yue let out a high-pitched, impassioned dragon's roar. The sound waves vibrated, and the lightning contained within his Spiritual Power erupted, coiling around his body. He stepped on the air, actually running as fast as flight in the sky. With a boom, he shattered a water dragon that was coiling towards him. The water dragon exploded into pieces, and a torrent of water rained down, crashing onto the river's surface.

Bang bang bang!

Water dragons were shattered one after another. Shui Jianping, who was above, felt a jolt in his heart. He reached down with his River God body, but he couldn't grab Zhong Yue at all. He watched as Zhong Yue escaped from between his fingers!

"So fast?"

Shui Jianping's mind went blank. The waves beneath his feet surged, and countless Sword Qi shot out. The ice-cold Sword Qi filled the sky, slashing towards Zhong Yue. A series of crisp sounds followed as the ice-cold Sword Qi struck Zhong Yue's body, shattering upon impact. They couldn't even pierce the dragon scales on the surface of his skin!

"Fog Locks the Great River!"

Shui Jianping roared. Water columns surged into the sky from the river surface, which was several miles wide, forming a cage. Then, a thick, white mist billowed out from the water columns, sealing off the Weishui River. Just then, a loud boom echoed. The Dragon Steed shattered a water column and broke out of the mist, soaring into the sky. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled wherever it went.

Shui Jianping stared blankly. Shui Jianshu chased to the center of the Weishui River, while the Qi Refiners of the Shuitu Clan, who had flown out from the tribe, also arrived from downstream. They all stared blankly at the scene.

"This Dragon Steed's growth rate is too fast. We can't catch up anymore..." Several Qi Refiners exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Shui Jianshu coughed and said, "You all continue the pursuit. I'll go to the Sword Gate to notify the Elders. We'll have to ask the Elders to mobilize more Qi Refiners to surround him. Otherwise, with just the few of us..."

He shook his head and turned to leave.

On the edge of the Weishui Tribe, they had the advantage of time, terrain, and people. It was such a favorable situation, yet they still couldn't capture the Dragon Steed. This was a huge blow to their confidence.

At this moment, Zhong Yue was running rapidly, his feet treading on the air. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed. He suddenly let out a long cry, and his form changed drastically. He transformed from a Dragon Steed back into human form, reverting to his original appearance. Yet, he still didn't fall from the sky; he continued to walk on air.

"Finally recovered! Finally, I don't have to worry about being mistaken for a Demonic Beast and beaten to death! Finally, I can return to the Sword Gate!"

Zhong Yue couldn't help but let out a long roar. Visualizing the Dragon Steed had allowed his Spiritual Power to permeate his entire body. Even after dispersing the Dragon Steed form, he could still fly through the air and didn't have to worry about falling.

"Little Yue..."

Xin Huo couldn't help but remind him, "You're not wearing any clothes. Your beast-skin vest and shorts were all ripped apart when you transformed into the Dragon Steed..."

A startled cry echoed from mid-air.

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