The three yellow dragons included one at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm and two in the late stage. In an era when the Great Luos of the three clans had all gone into seclusion, that was a formidable force to bring against the impoverished West.
The highest-ranking yellow dragon was the very dragon who Randeng had wounded that day over the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl.
He continued to taunt the formation. "If I'd known that day you were only at the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, neither you nor that sword-wielding Daoist would have gotten away!"
"This poor Daoist already explained that I know nothing about a sword-wielding Daoist or the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl."
Inside the formation, Jieyin replied while controlling it. Several thousand years ago, while he was repairing the earth veins, a dragon had come looking for him, insisting that he had joined forces with someone else to steal its spirit treasure and had wounded it.
At first, Jieyin hadn't taken it seriously. The two had fought, neither gaining the upper hand, and the dragon had left. But less than a century later, it had returned with two other dragons and attacked Mount Sumeru directly, trapping him inside.
"Bullshit! Who else but you could wield such a pure Annihilation Law? If you won't hand over the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl, fine. Hand over the Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Root inside the formation, and we'll spare your life and leave at once. Otherwise..."
The leading yellow dragon spoke with arrogant confidence, as if Jieyin were already at his mercy.
"We'll destroy every earth vein you've repaired!"
Jieyin's heart jolted. He turned to look at Zhunti's true form.
This is bad. They sensed Junior Brother Zhunti's presence. If Senior Brother Randeng doesn't come back soon, I won't be able to hold out.
Jieyin's face had turned ashen. The unrelenting strain of the past thousand years had taken a heavy toll on him. If he hadn't luckily advanced to the peak of the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm along the way, he would have fled with Junior Brother Zhunti's true form long ago. Now, all he could do was hope Senior Brother Randeng returned soon.
Just then, an enraged voice rang through the formation and into the ears of Jieyin and Zhunti.
"Dragon Clan, how dare you!"
Jieyin's face lit up, and Zhunti's spirits lifted as well.
"It's Senior Brother Randeng!"
With killing intent so palpable it seemed almost tangible, Randeng used his Annihilation Dao Fruit, at the Great Luo realm, to suppress the leading yellow dragon. Then he directly brought out the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler.
There was no flashy spellwork. The Heaven-Measuring Ruler's sheer weight alone was enough to make space tremble.
As the dragon stared in rage and disbelief, the Primordial Chaos Heaven Measuring Ruler came crashing down on his body with the force of a million jun.
"Weren't you looking for me? Well, here I am!"
The yellow dragon was flung away like a kite with its string cut, slamming into a nameless barren mountain and embedding itself in the rock. Dust billowed for thousands of feet. Its life or death was unclear.
Randeng brought forth his Annihilation Dao Fruit, and its boundless pressure sealed off the surrounding world.
"None of you are leaving today. You'll stay here in the West and atone for your crimes!"
He took out four Ginseng Fruits and handed them to Zhenyuanzi.
"Please forgive this spectacle, fellow Daoist. I'll apologize properly after dealing with these three wretches. For now, please go into the formation and treat my two junior brothers."
Zhenyuanzi accepted the Ginseng Fruits and shook his head to show that it was no trouble. This was the first time he had seen Randeng so enraged. It seemed the West and those two junior brothers meant a great deal to him.
After seeing Jieyin and Zhunti settled, Randeng flashed over to the two remaining yellow dragons, who had already taken human form.
"I'll give you a chance. Tell me exactly what happened. If you can't explain yourselves, you'll join him down there!"
Randeng looked at the yellow dragon below, now silent and still. His gaze was icy.
The middle-aged dragon spoke first. "You evil Daoist, you're finished! The one lying down there is a member of the West Sea Dragon Clan—"
BANG!!!
Before he could finish, Randeng struck him with a single palm, driving him into the mountain beside the first dragon.
"Enough prattle!"
"What about you? Are you going to try throwing the West Sea Dragon Clan's name around too?"
Randeng turned to the last dragon, a young man—the only one who hadn't damaged the earth veins or attacked the formation.
"Have mercy, Senior! The Third Crown Prince—no, that wicked dragon—dragged me here by force. He said that ten thousand years ago, a Daoist who cultivated the Annihilation Law had not only stolen his spirit treasure but wounded him. Later, he found out that the Daoist was active in the West and was only at the Taiyi realm, so he brought us here to lay siege to the mountain."
The young yellow dragon kowtowed frantically, laying out the whole story.
Only then did Randeng understand. That day, he had let the yellow dragon go because he didn't want to antagonize the Dragon Clan, but later the dragon had followed the trail of the Annihilation Law straight to Jieyin.
He sighed. He knew he had dragged Jieyin into this mess. After all, Randeng and Jieyin were the only two in the West who excelled at cultivating the Annihilation Law.
Randeng turned to the young yellow dragon and spoke softly. "Since you were honest, I'll spare your life—but you won't escape punishment."
A wisp of Netherworld Ghost Fire drifted out of the Spirit Vulture Palace Lamp, landed on the young dragon's forehead, and burrowed inside.
"Ah!" the young dragon cried out in agony. His Primordial Spirit throbbed with unbearable pain as he writhed on the cloud. After a while, he collapsed there like a heap of mud.
"So the West Sea Dragon Clan has some nerve! They dare set their sights on the West!"
Randeng didn't believe that the so-called Third Crown Prince would have brought two late-stage Taiyi Golden Immortal dragons along based solely on his own speculation. Some higher-ups in the Dragon Clan must have given their tacit approval. After all, the West, with its repaired earth veins and two Supreme-Grade Innate Spiritual Roots, was enough to tempt most of the old monsters.
With a sweep of his sleeve, he bound the three dragons with magical power and let them hang behind him as he headed down toward Mount Sumeru.
Before Randeng had even fully entered the formation, a wail rang out behind him.
"Senior Brother Randeng, you're finally back! If you'd taken any longer, Mount Sumeru would've fallen!"
Seeing Jieyin lunge at him, Randeng's normally cold expression cracked. Perhaps one could change the course of a life, but this personality seemed to have been born with him.
Randeng pushed Jieyin away. "Fellow Daoist Zhenyuanzi is here. Mind yourself."
Randeng could only sigh. The Two from the West truly lived up to their reputation as a pair who could cultivate to sainthood by shamelessly abandoning all dignity.
"No need to worry. I've already been introduced to both Jieyin and fellow Daoist Zhunti. They're both quite interesting."
Zhenyuanzi waved a hand, indicating that Randeng needn't worry. When Randeng had permitted him to enter the formation, Jieyin had nearly caught him off guard with a sucker punch. Fortunately, Zhenyuanzi had explained his purpose in time and avoided the attack.
"Senior Brother Randeng, what happened to those three yellow dragons? You can't let them get away! They even urged Senior Brother Jieyin to erase my intelligence and hand me over to them!"
Zhunti sent his Spiritual Sense, sounding aggrieved. He complained about how hard he'd worked to complete Randeng's instructions while Randeng was away, and how the three yellow dragons had mocked him.
Randeng stepped aside, revealing three figures, all gravely wounded and unconscious.
"They're all here. Neat and tidy!"
Jieyin looked furious. He raised his palm, ready to annihilate the three dragons who had abused their power to bully others.
"Wait!" Randeng stopped him.
Jieyin looked puzzled, but trusted Randeng enough to lower his hand.
"Wouldn't killing them like this be a waste? Besides, killing the young ones only to have their elders come after us would be a real hassle."
Feeling the World-Destroying Black Lotus slowly turning in his Spiritual Platform, Randeng came up with a plan.