Crocodile Dragon

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Crocodile Dragon
Alias(es)	Alligator Dragon; Flood Dragon; Rainy Night Devil (Yue Canglong)
Species/Race	Ferocious crocodile-like sub-dragon
Status	Extant species; the notorious elder Yue Canglong is deceased
First Appearance	7

Background / History

Crocodile Dragons inhabit inland marshes around Green Ridge City, claiming hunting grounds and ambushing people who enter them. The Baiyang Marsh specimen controlled a ten-mile territory and had consumed at least eleven treasure hunters before Luo Zhou killed it. Adult Crocodile Dragons are considered comparable to Qi Refining cultivators. 7

Their bodies are valuable hunting spoils: scales can be used for weapons, hides for clothing, meat for food, blood as a potent material, and bones for wine. A single Crocodile Dragon is therefore a lucrative but dangerous target. 7 One carcass weighed more than 1,300 jin and required five people, six horses, and a cart to transport from the marsh. 8

Luo Zhou and the Dragon Fang Troop—later the Dragon Tooth Gang—made Crocodile Dragon hunting a major source of income. The group located hunting grounds through scouts, killed the beasts, concealed their carcasses during transport, and sold their meat and materials. 7 8 11 27 28

Appearance

Crocodile Dragons are sub-dragons resembling enormous crocodiles, adapted to moving and concealing themselves in marshes and waterways.

• Adult specimens can lurk almost invisibly in mud, reeds, and water pits before attacking. 7
• The Crocodile Dragon killed in Baiyang Marsh weighed over 1,300 jin. 8
• Yue Canglong could alter his size, appearing as a dog-sized creature while moving through waterways and becoming a colossal ten-zhang monster when enraged. 17
• Yue Canglong possessed four recorded forms: a puppy-like form, a ten-meter assault form, a seven-meter combat form, and a three-meter escape form. 34

Abilities & Skills

Water Tide Energy

Adult Crocodile Dragons accumulate Water Tide Energy through instinct rather than cultivation methods.

• Their water-energy shields cannot ordinarily be broken by weapons lacking True Essence. 7
• The energy gained from slain Crocodile Dragons is limited because they lack formal cultivation techniques. 9 28
• Luo Zhou received Water Tide Energy and later Tidal Qi through rewards connected to killing man-eating specimens. 9 28

Ambush Hunting

Crocodile Dragons establish hunting grounds near marshes, roads, and waterways, silently stalking prey before striking.

• They prey upon treasure hunters seeking lotus roots, bird eggs, and other saleable materials in dangerous marshes. 7
• A Crocodile Dragon may observe a target for an extended period before deciding to attack. 7
• Newly established hunting grounds may contain no Dead Spirits if the creature has not yet killed anyone. 11 28

Water Defense

Their natural water-energy shields offer protection against conventional attacks.

• A Water Flow Shield manifested around the Baiyang Marsh Crocodile Dragon when Luo Zhou attacked. 7
• Dragon-Slaying Thrust could bypass this defense only by striking an eye at close range and reaching the brain. 7
• Luo Zhou later killed several Crocodile Dragons through repeated strikes of Overturning Rivers and Seas rather than his usual concealed thrust. 27 28

River Unity — Yue Canglong

Yue Canglong, the elder Crocodile Dragon known as the Rainy Night Devil, possessed an exceptional connection to water.

• He could merge with river water so completely that Dragon-Slaying Thrust could wound an eye but could not deliver a fatal blow. 17
• His connection was reinforced by a heaven-and-earth spirit inscription granted by the True Person of Green Ridge. 18 19
• Overturning Rivers and Seas could briefly sever this connection, stripping away his protection for fewer than three breaths. 33
• Even after a thrust destroyed his right eye and entered his brain, the restored spiritual inscription began healing him. 33

Notable Individual: Yue Canglong

Yue Canglong was an old Crocodile Dragon and the Rainy Night Devil of Green Ridge City. For nearly two centuries, he devoured tens of thousands of people, often entering the city through rivers during rainfall. 17 35

He was protected by the True Person of Green Ridge, identified as Yue Cangqing, whose seclusion and blessing prevented Green Ridge City's cultivators from killing him. Dean Zhao had previously attempted to slay Yue Canglong but failed because of his connection to the heavens, earth, mountains, and rivers. 18

Luo Zhou first attacked Yue Canglong at Green-Green Bay, striking his left eye with Dragon-Slaying Thrust. The attack failed to kill him because he had become one with the river, after which Yue Canglong expanded into a ten-zhang form and rampaged through the city. 17

At Diving Bay, Luo Zhou used Overturning Rivers and Seas to interrupt Yue Canglong's river connection and struck his right eye with Dragon-Slaying Thrust. Yue Canglong survived through the healing effect of his spiritual inscription, threatened to slaughter the city, and ultimately faced the Dead Spirits of those he had eaten. 32 33

Tens of thousands of Dead Spirits surrounded Yue Canglong and prevented his escape. After he attempted to devour one of them again, the Fairy of Green Ridge withdrew her protection; the Dead Spirits consumed his flesh and blood. His Primordial Spirit was taken away for reincarnation, while his skeleton was publicly displayed as a warning. 34 35

Relationships

• Luo Zhou — Dragon hunter and eventual slayer of Yue Canglong; Luo Zhou killed numerous ordinary Crocodile Dragons and enabled the Dead Spirits of Yue Canglong's victims to exact revenge. 7 27 28 33 34
• Dragon Fang Troop / Dragon Tooth Gang — Hunting group that scouted, transported, processed, and sold Crocodile Dragons with Luo Zhou as its essential dragon slayer. 7 8 27 28
• Dead Spirits — The spirits of people consumed by man-eating Crocodile Dragons could provide Luo Zhou with information; Yue Canglong's victims ultimately destroyed him. 7 33 34
• True Person/Fairy of Green Ridge — Yue Canglong's master and protector, referred to as Yue Cangqing and later as Cui Ling; she eventually withdrew the protection preserving him. 18 34 35
• Fang Daoqi — Green Ridge City's City Lord, who could only expel Yue Canglong and feared retaliation from his protector. 17 33

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Baiyang Marsh hunt — Luo Zhou kills a man-eating Crocodile Dragon by launching Dragon-Slaying Thrust through its eye, establishing the method that makes the Dragon Fang Troop viable. 7
• Dragon-hunting enterprise — Repeated hunts supply Luo Zhou and his allies with meat, spiritual materials, spirit fragments, and cultivation resources. 8 11 27 28
• Yue Canglong's rampage — Luo Zhou's failed assassination reveals that the Rainy Night Devil is protected and uniquely fused with local waters. 17 18
• Diving Bay confrontation — Luo Zhou disrupts Yue Canglong's river connection and gravely wounds him, but the elder dragon's protection restores him. 32 33
• Retribution of the Dead Spirits — Yue Canglong is consumed by the spirits of his victims after his protector abandons him; Green Ridge City celebrates the end of the Rainy Night Devil. 34 35
• Sea beast assault — Crocodile Dragons later appear among the sea beasts attacking Green Ridge City during the coastal siege. 43

Trivia

• Crocodile Dragon hunting grounds can contain valuable spiritual plants, including Purple Qi Lotus Roots and Water-Purifying Grass. 8 28
• Luo Zhou sometimes disguised Dragon-Slaying Thrust kills as curse deaths by damaging the corpse's facial openings with conventional weapons. 7 28
• Killing a Crocodile Dragon did not automatically earn Luo Zhou a reward; Dead Spirits connected to the creature's victims had to be present. 9 11 28