Five-Clawed Golden Dragon

The two of them rounded a mountain pass, and the view before them suddenly opened up into a relatively broad gravel valley.

In the center of the valley, a fierce battle was underway.

A Five-Clawed Golden Dragon nearly a hundred zhang long was being besieged by more than a dozen vicious beasts with savage appearances.

The golden dragon was covered from head to tail in dazzling golden scales. Its jagged horns resembled a crown, golden whiskers flowed beneath its jaw, and its five dragon claws were powerful and vigorous, making it look exceptionally imposing.

The vicious beasts came in all shapes and sizes. Some resembled lions or tigers but had fleshy wings, while others resembled giant pythons yet possessed hundreds of legs. However, they all shared one trait: their bodies were wrapped in black Malevolent Qi so dense it seemed impossible to disperse. Their blood-red eyes were filled with pure desire for destruction.

Lin Yan and Mo Xuan looked closely and discovered that the golden dragon was clearly at a disadvantage. There were numerous wounds on its body, and pale gold blood continuously flowed from its torn flesh.

Among the beasts besieging it, three possessed especially powerful auras. They had all reached the Heavenly Immortal Late Stage. Working together seamlessly, they continuously spewed corrosive Torrents of Sha Qi or unleashed strange innate divine abilities, steadily wearing down the golden dragon's dwindling strength.

"Those are a Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey, a Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede, and an Earth Sha Flame Demon." Mo Xuan recognized the three leading beasts. "These fellows are not easy to deal with. They're all Heavenly Immortal Late Stage. This is bad—the golden dragon looks like it can't hold on much longer... Huh? Five claws? It seems to be part of the Dragon Clan's direct lineage."

Lin Yan had long noticed that the golden dragon was extraordinary. It was not merely because of its five claws; the fact that one dragon could fight three beasts with Heavenly Immortal-level strength proved that its origins were far from ordinary. Otherwise, it would have long since been torn to pieces by the beasts.

"Lin Yan, what do we do? Should we save him?" Mo Xuan turned to look at Lin Yan, waiting for him to decide.

Before Lin Yan could make a decision, a miserable howl rang out from the battlefield. The golden dragon had carelessly been struck in the back by the Earth Sha Flame Demon's dark-red fire sha. The scorching Fire Sha Qi burned the dragon's back black, while Malevolent Qi carrying a destructive aura took the chance to burrow into its massive dragon body and began ravaging its internal organs.

"Save him!" The instant Lin Yan spoke, Mo Xuan transformed into a seven-colored flowing light and charged straight toward the center of the battle, targeting the Earth Sha Flame Demon.

"You vile beast, don't be so arrogant! Mo Xuan of the Kirin Clan is here—take your death!"

Seeing this, Lin Yan gave a bitter smile and swiftly sank into the ground. Yet in the next instant, he silently appeared at the edge of the battlefield.

Unlike Mo Xuan, Lin Yan did not rush in to fight the beasts head-on. At the edge of the battlefield, he activated his Bloodline Talent and began communicating with the Power of the Earth. At the same time, the Earth Spirit Seal expanded to the size of a mountain and smashed fiercely toward the Earth Sha Flame Demon with unstoppable force.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With three thunderous crashes, the unlucky Earth Sha Flame Demon was reduced to a pile of minced flesh without even managing a cry.

It turned out that after the golden dragon was ambushed by the Earth Sha Flame Demon, it swept its massive tail and sent the demon flying. At that very moment, Mo Xuan pounced forward and activated Qilin Steps on Heaven, stomping the flying Earth Sha Flame Demon so hard that its tendons snapped and bones shattered. The beast had not yet died at that point, but the Earth Spirit Seal that arrived afterward directly crushed its severely wounded body into minced flesh.

Having succeeded in one blow, the three of them were immediately invigorated and prepared to use the same method against the other beasts.

However, the battle that followed was not nearly as smooth.

Both the Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey and the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede were extremely fast, making them difficult to hit. Moreover, they were both Heavenly Immortal Late Stage beasts with thick skin and flesh and astonishing defenses. Unless their weak points were struck, it was difficult to succeed in a single blow. On top of that, several weaker beasts on the battlefield kept interfering with the three men's attacks.

For a time, the three of them actually fell to a disadvantage.

Seeing that the battle situation was unfavorable, Lin Yan no longer dared to hold back. While directing the Earth Spirit Seal to smash at the beasts, he released the Primal Chaos Plate, continuously absorbing the surrounding Malevolent Qi and even sucking away the Malevolent Qi attacking him. On top of that, he hurled earth-element spells such as the Earth Trap Technique, Earth Spike Technique, Flying Stone Technique, and Earth Wall Technique at the beasts as though they cost nothing.

Lin Yan's all-out barrage immediately disrupted the beasts' rhythm.

The Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey accidentally stepped into a pit created by the Earth Trap Technique. Just as he tried to pull himself out, Mo Xuan seized the opportunity. Golden Flames shot out from beneath his four hooves, directly burning several large holes through the Malevolent Qi protection covering the Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey's body.

The golden dragon endured a strike from the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede and opened its mouth to spit out a Dragon Pearl. The Dragon Pearl transformed into a dazzling ray of light, passed through one of the holes, and pierced straight through the Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey's body.

The severely wounded Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey tried to flee, only to be struck dizzy by the hastily arriving Earth Spirit Seal. Before he could regain his senses, a bright bead pulled him into itself—the Heaven and Earth Bead, another magical treasure Lin Yan had released.

Although the Heaven and Earth Bead could not directly kill enemies, it was extremely effective for trapping them. Once sucked into the bead, one could not escape unless one possessed the ability to break through the World Barrier within it.

The facts proved that a Heavenly Immortal Realm beast did not have the ability to break through the World Barrier. The Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey, trapped within the Minor World, could only rage helplessly and recklessly destroy its few mountains and rivers to vent its dissatisfaction.

Watching one companion die and another become trapped, the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede knew that it could no longer kill the three of them alone. It simply abandoned the battle, commanded the other beasts to launch a desperate counterattack, and prepared to flee.

Seeing the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede trying to escape, Lin Yan shouted at Mo Xuan, "Xiao Mo, stop it! Golden dragon, help me hold back the other beasts. I'll capture it."

Mo Xuan reacted first. The Golden Flames beneath his hooves rapidly spread, instantly surrounding the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede and cutting off every route of escape. Then Qilin Steps on Heaven activated, striking directly at the beast trapped in the center.

At the same time, an enormous mountain descended from the sky, ready to smash the beast below into pulp.

The Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede, with death imminent, knew it was already in a desperate situation. It let out a howl toward the heavens as countless streams of pure Torrent of Sha Qi burst from its massive body and gathered above its head, preparing to withstand the Earth Spirit Seal's attack head-on.

"Little fellow, absorb it! Drain it dry!" Lin Yan hurriedly transmitted his voice to the Primal Chaos Plate.

Upon receiving Lin Yan's command, the Primal Chaos Plate did not hesitate in the slightest. Its disc body shook violently, and its suction force suddenly increased dozens of times over. The Malevolent Qi shielding the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede's head was directly sucked into the disc body by that overwhelming force.

Having lost its Malevolent Qi protection, the beast could not withstand the combined heavy blows of Qilin Steps on Heaven and the Earth Spirit Seal with its physical body alone. It was soon smashed into minced flesh just like the Earth Sha Flame Demon.

Without the restraint of the three Heavenly Immortal Late Stage beasts, the remaining beasts instantly scattered like birds and animals, fleeing into the Sha Qi Clouds within the valley.

By then, the valley had already become a complete mess. The beasts' corpses were swiftly corroded by the remaining Malevolent Qi, beginning to rot and decay.

Seeing that the danger had passed, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon let out a long howl toward the sky. Its enormous dragon body gradually shrank until it became a small golden dragon only a little over one zhang long. However, the mottled scales on its body showed that the previous battle had left him badly wounded.

The miniature dragon floated in the air and circled Lin Yan and Mo Xuan twice before speaking. "I am Ao Ye of the Dragon Clan. Thank you, Fellow Daoists, for coming to my aid. Otherwise, Ao Ye would likely have perished here today."

"Stay... up all night? Does this Fellow Daoist not like sleeping?" Lin Yan blurted out after hearing the other party's name.