Five-Clawed Golden Dragon

The two bypassed a mountain pass, and the view suddenly opened up—revealing a relatively spacious gravel valley.

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

A Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, roughly a hundred zhang in length, was being besieged by over a dozen ferocious beasts.

The golden dragon was covered from head to tail in dazzling golden scales. Its dragon horns were jagged like a crown, golden whiskers fluttered beneath its jaw, and its five dragon claws were powerful and vigorous, appearing truly majestic.

The ferocious beasts, however, were varied in shape. Some resembled lions or tigers but possessed fleshy wings, while others looked like giant pythons but sprouted hundreds of sharp legs. Yet, they all shared one common trait: their bodies were wrapped in thick, impenetrable black Sha Qi. Their blood-red eyes were filled with nothing but a pure desire for destruction.

Lin Yan and Mo Xuan looked closely and realized that the golden dragon was clearly losing. Its body was riddled with wounds, and as its flesh tore, pale golden blood flowed out continuously.

Among the beasts besieging it, three possessed exceptionally powerful auras, clearly reaching the level of the Heavenly Immortal Late Stage. They coordinated seamlessly, constantly spewing torrents of corrosive Sha Qi or unleashing bizarre innate divine abilities, relentlessly draining the golden dragon's remaining strength.

"It's a Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey, a Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede, and an Earth Sha Flame Demon," Mo Xuan recognized the three lead beasts. "These guys aren't to be trifled with; they're all at the Heavenly Immortal Late Stage. Oh no, the golden dragon doesn't look like it can hold on much longer... Wait? Five claws? It seems to be of the direct lineage of the Dragon Clan."

Lin Yan had long since noticed the golden dragon's extraordinary nature. Not only because of its five claws, but the fact that it could hold its own against three Heavenly Immortal-level beasts proved its origin was remarkable. Otherwise, it would have been torn to shreds by the beasts long ago.

"Lin Yan, what should we do? Should we save it?" Mo Xuan turned to look at Lin Yan, waiting for him to make the call.

Before Lin Yan could decide, a miserable howl echoed from the battlefield. The golden dragon had been careless and was struck in the back by dark red fire-sha spewed by the Earth Sha Flame Demon. The intense heat of the fire-sha scorched the dragon's back pitch-black, and the destructive energy seized the opportunity to burrow into its massive body, beginning to ravage its internal organs.

"Save it!" As soon as Lin Yan spoke, Mo Xuan transformed into a seven-colored stream of light, charging directly into the heart of the fray, targeting the Earth Sha Flame Demon.

"You ferocious beast, cease your arrogance! Mo Xuan of the Qilin Clan is here—surrender your life!"

Seeing this, Lin Yan gave a wry smile, his figure quickly sinking into the ground. But the next moment, he appeared silently at the edge of the battlefield.

Lin Yan did not rush in to clash head-on with the beasts like Mo Xuan. Instead, from the edge of the battlefield, he activated his bloodline talent, beginning to commune with the power of the earth. At the same time, the Earth Spirit Seal transformed to the size of a mountain and, with an unstoppable momentum, smashed down fiercely toward the Earth Sha Flame Demon.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Following three massive thuds, the unlucky Earth Sha Flame Demon didn't even have time to let out a scream before it was reduced to a pulp of flesh and blood.

As it turned out, after the golden dragon was ambushed by the Earth Sha Flame Demon, it had whipped its massive tail and sent the beast flying. Just then, Mo Xuan had lunged forward, activating his Qilin Steps on Heaven, and stomped the flying Earth Sha Flame Demon, shattering its bones. The beast hadn't been dead yet, but the final blow from the descending Earth Spirit Seal had crushed it into a pulp.

The three, having succeeded in their first strike, were suddenly invigorated and prepared to use the same method to deal with the other beasts.

However, the subsequent battle did not go as smoothly.

The Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey and the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede were both extremely fast, making them difficult to hit. Furthermore, they were both Heavenly Immortal Late Stage beasts with thick hides and astonishing defenses. Unless their weaknesses were struck, it was hard to land a decisive blow. Moreover, besides those two, there were other, slightly weaker beasts on the battlefield constantly interfering with their attacks.

For a moment, the three found themselves on the back foot.

Seeing that the battle situation was turning against them, Lin Yan dared not hold back any longer. While directing the Earth Spirit Seal to smash at the beasts, he released the Primal Chaos Plate, which began to absorb the surrounding Sha Qi, incidentally drawing away the Sha Qi directed at him as well. Beyond that, he unleashed earth-element spells like Earth Trap Technique, Earth Spike Technique, Flying Stone Technique, and Earth Wall Technique as if they cost nothing, raining them down upon the beasts.

Lin Yan's all-out firepower immediately disrupted the rhythm of the ferocious beasts.

The Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey carelessly stepped into a pit created by the Earth Trap Technique. Just as it tried to pull its body out, Mo Xuan, seizing the opportunity, unleashed golden flames from his four hooves, burning several large holes through the Sha Qi protective layer on the monkey's body.

The golden dragon risked taking a hit from the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede, opening its mouth to spit out a Dragon Pearl. The Dragon Pearl transformed into a dazzling ray of light, passing through a large hole and piercing straight through the body of the Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey.

Severely wounded, the Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey tried to flee, but was left dizzy and disoriented by the Earth Spirit Seal that had rushed over in haste. Before it could recover, a bright, gleaming bead sucked it inside—it was the Heaven and Earth Bead, another magical treasure released by Lin Yan.

Although the Heaven and Earth Bead could not directly kill enemies, it was exceptionally effective for trapping them. Once sucked inside, there was no way to escape unless one had the ability to shatter the world barrier within the bead.

As it turned out, a beast at the Heavenly Immortal Realm did not yet possess the ability to shatter the world barrier. The Bone-Corroding Flying Monkey, trapped inside the bead, could only rage impotently within that Minor World, wantonly destroying the few mountains and rivers inside to vent its dissatisfaction.

Seeing one companion dead and another trapped, the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede realized that it could no longer kill these three on its own. It simply abandoned the fight, ordering the other beasts to launch a desperate counterattack while it prepared to make its escape.

Seeing the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede about to flee, Lin Yan roared at Mo Xuan, "Xiao Mo, stop it! Golden Dragon, help me hold off the other beasts; I'll take care of this one."

Mo Xuan was the first to react. The golden flames beneath his feet spread rapidly, instantly surrounding the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede and cutting off its escape routes in every direction. Immediately after, he launched Qilin Steps on Heaven, striking directly at the beast trapped in the center.

At the same time, a massive mountain descended from the sky, preparing to smash the beast below into pieces.

In a desperate situation, the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede knew it was cornered. It let out a roar toward the sky, and its massive body emitted countless torrents of pure Sha Qi that gathered above its head, preparing to resist the attack of the Earth Spirit Seal.

"Little guy, suck it up! Drain it dry!" Seeing this, Lin Yan hurriedly sent a telepathic message to the Primal Chaos Plate.

Upon receiving Lin Yan's command, the Primal Chaos Plate did not hesitate at all. The plate vibrated violently, and its external suction force increased dozens of times over. The Sha Qi that had been shielding the head of the Hundred-Legged Sha Centipede was sucked directly into the body of the plate by this overwhelming force.

Having lost its Sha Qi protection, the beast could not withstand the dual heavy strikes of Qilin Steps on Heaven and the Earth Spirit Seal with its physical body alone. Soon, just like the Earth Sha Flame Demon, it was smashed into a pulp.

Without the restraint of the three late-stage Heavenly Immortal beasts, the other beasts instantly scattered like birds and beasts, fleeing into the Sha Qi clouds within the valley.

By now, the valley had become a complete mess. The corpses of the beasts were rapidly eroded by the residual Sha Qi, beginning to decay and decompose.

Seeing the crisis resolved, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon let out a long howl toward the sky. Its massive dragon body gradually began to shrink, eventually becoming a small golden dragon only a zhang long. However, the mottled scales on its body indicated that the previous battle had left it severely wounded.

The miniature dragon floated in the air, circling Lin Yan and Mo Xuan twice before speaking, "I am Ao Ye of the Dragon Clan. Thank you both, fellow Daoists, for your righteous intervention; otherwise, I fear I would have lost my life here today."

"Ao... Ye? Does this fellow Daoist not like to sleep?" Lin Yan couldn't help but blurt out after hearing the other's name.