Yelü Defeated, Ge Xian Incident

With the support of the Earth Core and Water Vein merging into it, the already imposing Qiantang River erupted with even more terrifying force. The tide raced across the land, a towering line reaching almost to the heavens.

The combatants on all sides were focused on their opponents and paid it little heed, but the human civilians along the riverbank gazed in wonder, full of astonishment.

Deep beneath the water, Ge Xian did his utmost to conceal his aura, hiding in the muddy silt. When he realized he had gone undetected, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he was swept into the Dragon Transformation Sensation.

As the waters surged onward, the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, the Yin Cold Fiend Qi in the Water Vein, and the great quantity of Spirit Materials and flesh... were all being devoured by his Dragon Body in a frenzy. He grew larger with every breath. Not only was his Foundation Establishment Realm becoming more stable, but his body was growing stronger and stronger, far beyond the physical forms of other Foundation Establishment Realm Dragon Cultivators.

The price was wave after wave of itching, aching pain that never let up.

"Ah, what a rush. What a delicious tingle."

While Ge Xian marveled at the sensation, at the Sunset Mountain Battlefield...

Watching the Flesh and Blood Provisions they had worked so hard to transport get swept away, Li Wa and Li Su once again howled in heartbroken anguish.

Bao Mingjing also looked over. When he saw that the Water Vein had not burst through Qiantang County, but had, by some exquisite coincidence, just barely avoided it, he burst out laughing.

"Excellent! Excellent!"

"I never imagined my meteorite would have such a miraculous effect. An Underground Spring has sprung forth, the Blood Filth has been washed away, and all is clean and clear. Hahaha!"

"Hm?"

Bao Mingjing was still laughing when he suddenly sensed something. He abruptly turned to look in a certain direction.

In an instant, everyone present, Bao Mingjing included, saw the distant sky filled with countless black dots. The heavens changed color, Demonic Mist billowed, thunder roared without end, and flames blazed across the sky.

Could a Demonic Army be passing through?

The thought had barely crossed their minds when they saw that behind the terrifying army in front, an even larger force was pursuing it.

A breath later, Bai Fugui suddenly spoke. She was the first to make out the details in the distance.

The Dairy Cow Spirit Demon clapped her hands and laughed.

"It's Yelü Tianzheng and his followers, along with the surviving remnants of the Eternal Life Cult. Lord Bao is leading a host of Spirit Demons and heroic beasts, together with the Inu-ō Army stationed here, in pursuit."

"Looks like Old Thief Yelü was finally abandoned by that Princess. He couldn't withstand Lord Bao's divine ability and has been utterly defeated."

"He won't get far if he tries to flee from here."

"Treacherous Ministers and rebels never meet a good end."

By the time she finished speaking, everyone else had gotten a clear look as well.

The distant sky, discolored by the slaughter, drew ever closer.

Li Wa and Li Su, Lu Hualong, and the Yelü Yuyan couple all knew that the tide had turned against them.

Yelü Tianzheng and the Eternal Life Cult had still failed to overcome Bao Hanzhang, that important minister said to be deeply favored by Tuotuo, and perhaps even poised to succeed her as chancellor. The rumors about him had certainly not been exaggerated.

After all, Yelü Tianzheng was a famous Border Governor in his own right. He had still been defeated by Bao Hanzhang, even with the Eternal Life Cult backing him.

At this point, the rebels should have fled at once.

But the next moment, a cold voice filled with resentment rang out.

"Yelü Yuyan. Lu Hualong."

"Though our great undertaking has failed, there's still a chance to salvage it. I want you two to help me capture Bao Mingjing and Bai Fugui."

"One is Bao Hanzhang's son, and the other is Tuotuo's daughter. If they fall into the hands of my Eternal Life Cult, they'll make valuable bargaining chips."

"You, the monk, and you, the scholar—your masters are rebels too, men of Zhang Shicheng's faction. Everyone on Zhang Shicheng's side has already left. If you stay, Bao Hanzhang may catch you all in one net."

"Your Borrowed Cultivation can still hold for now. It's enough to get the two of you out of Jiangzhe Province."

Those words had certainly been shrewd.

Clearly, though Li Wa hated them to the depths of her soul, her wits were gradually returning.

Monk Faxian and Yang Bi exchanged a look and each nodded. Sure enough, they both withdrew at once.

The next instant!

Li Wa let out a piercing shriek, then suddenly turned and sucked in the nominal "daughter," Li Su.

The Spirit Embryo Maiden instantly turned into a creature like a Blood Leech and slipped down Li Wa's throat.

Clearly, this was the true meaning of Spirit Desire Union.

As the mother and daughter completely merged, the crimson mass of flesh beneath Li Wa seemed to become a burden. It suddenly exploded.

A vast cloud of Spirit Desire Blood Cloud, thick with Blood Poison and filth, spread across the sky above Sunset Mountain, enveloping Bao Mingjing and Bai Fugui before they could react.

Li Wa had returned to her Eight-Foot Body.

But one after another, a seemingly endless number of Flesh and Blood Flowers began to bloom behind her.

Eight-Foot Li Wa was far more dangerous than before. Even Bao Mingjing, meeting her gaze, couldn't help but feel his heart pound.

With Yang Bi no longer keeping him occupied, Lu Hualong flew straight over in the form of a Gu-Eating Spirit Monster.

At the same time, he turned to call for Yelü Yuyan.

Bao Mingjing was a formidable fighter, but the three of them together could certainly capture him.

But just as he turned his head, he didn't see "Yelü Yuyan."

All he saw was Monk Faxian, his Buddhist Qi depleted, turning and fleeing ahead of the others when he saw Bao Hanzhang and the Imperial Court's army appear.

And Yelü Yuyan?

She still wore the aspect of a Heart Devouring Fox. As if she had spotted something, she suddenly began racing across the sky.

She was so fast that all anyone could see was a streak of white light, racing after the Qiantang River as it flowed toward the East Sea.

Lu Hualong opened his mouth, but he didn't have time to call out.

By the time he thought to send a telepathic message, Yelü Yuyan was already far away. If he shouted, he would draw the attention of the two sides locked in battle. If Bao Hanzhang heard him and hurried to help, the last sliver of opportunity would be lost.

"That madwoman!"

"As soon as I survive this calamity, I, Lu Hualong, will do whatever it takes to escape the Yelü Family's control."

Those two thoughts flashed through his mind, and Lu Hualong had no choice but to grit his teeth.

Then he turned and charged into the blood cloud, helping Li Wa capture Bao Mingjing and Bai Fugui, the two top-tier second-generation heirs.

At the bottom of the Qiantang River, Ge Xian was summoning wind and rain, driving the Water Vein out to sea.

At the same time, he was savoring the ultimate ecstasy brought on by his transformation.

In his mind, he contemplated the mysterious and supreme Immortal Lord Yinglong. His earlier guess had been right: he needed to reveal his dragon form before he could glimpse even a single scale or claw of Yinglong's divine Dragon Body.

Anything more?

He couldn't see it.

All he could do was contemplate it again and again. Whenever he caught some new detail—an organ imbued with might, a pattern, or anything else—he would use the Dao Qi and blood energy swallowed by his Dragon Body to reshape himself.

Beneath the mud, the mysterious Dragon Shadow grew larger with every breath, gradually gaining one extraordinary Dragon Aspect after another, things that ordinary dragons simply did not possess.

The fish, shrimp, crabs, and beasts on the riverbed surged toward the sea with the current. Whether they were demons or not, they all kept their distance from Ge Xian.

The cultivators on shore couldn't sense this enormous creature, but the beasts could, and they were terrified.

Some demons had once been human, then mutated after practicing secret aquatic techniques. Others were sentient spirits, fish demons who had awakened their intelligence. They shrieked nonstop beneath the water.

"Lord of the Waters above, when did such a strange Evil Dragon come to the Qiantang River?"

"An Evil Dragon? Why does it feel like that Evil Dragon that caused such a stir a few days ago?"

"Stop guessing. It must be a True Dragon bloodline from the Dragon Nest or Dragon Palace, practicing Dragon Transformation. No one should eat or cast spells right now, or that True Dragon will suck you over, swallow you, and turn you into a Blood Food Spirit Pill."

"How terrifying! I've seen Dragon Transformation before, but it never looked like this!"

"I know. This True Dragon bloodline must be contemplating Immortal Lord Yinglong. Only that Dragon God is willing to hide in the mud and capable of reigning over the heavens."

The aquatic demons and spirits shrieked among themselves.

Ge Xian heard faint traces of their cries, but he had no time to worry about them.

After all his contemplation, his reborn, incomparably powerful Dragon Body was gradually taking shape. Only the Dragon Aspect on his ribbed back remained, like a heavenly chasm he could never cross.

Two enormous lumps of flesh had already grown there.

They had gone from green to black, then turned red, as if they had been forged in fire.

But through round after round of changes, the Qi within the lumps of flesh still couldn't break free and take shape as a Dragon Aspect.

"Yinglong has wings. This Dragon Aspect is completely different from those of the other ten thousand dragons."

"If I can grow Yinglong Wings, I'll gain an Innate Divine Ability ahead of time, even before I set foot in the Mortal Transformation Realm."

As the idea came to him, Ge Xian understood the cruel reality.

He couldn't do it!

Though Ge Xian had used a clever shortcut to gain a tremendous advantage, and his conditions for Dragon Transformation far surpassed those of other dragon cultivators—enough even to compete with the "True Dragon bloodlines"—his accumulated foundation was still insufficient.

After all, he had transformed into a dragon halfway through his life, and through Cai Bu at that. He had never lived in a great lake or Water Vein.

To ascend to the heavens in a single step and gain an Innate Divine Ability was simply beyond his reach.

In particular, he had already driven the waters into a frenzy. He had swallowed most of the Fiend Qi and Spiritual Qi available, and his Dragon Body was already vastly larger and more complete than it had been at Sunset Mountain.

Ge Xian gradually emerged from his Meditation Method and turned his head to look.

A "Dragon Body" that filled him with desire and satisfaction came into view.

It was so enormous that it could almost match the physical forms of Mortal Transformation Realm powerhouses like Bao Mingjing, Lu Hualong, and Yelü Yuyan.

Its divine aura was also nearly as powerful as theirs.

Its savage dragon horns had become branching Thunder Trees, jagged and sharp. Gray-green mane flowed around its neck like swirling mist. Below that drifted clouds born of the Dragon Body, then layer upon layer of dusky green Dragon Scales, each covered in spiritual patterns. Its claws trod upon Yin Cold Fiend Qi, and, from time to time, a long-looking dragon tail emerged—slender, yet imbued with enough strength to cleave open the earth.

If Ge Xian's earlier body had been a living, breathing Evil Dragon, this one could truly be called a True Dragon.

What pleased Ge Xian even more was that within this immensely convincing Dragon Body, all the "deadly things" like poisonous water and Thunder Fiend were still there—and had even grown stronger.

Ge Huolang couldn't help imagining himself revealing this Dragon Body before his enemies one day, making them freeze in shock, then striking them down with a vicious ambush.

If he could sneak-attack them, why waste the effort and risk of a head-on fight?

That was Ge Huolang's creed in life.

"Good!"

"Even though I can't gain Yinglong Wings, this Dragon Body is already far superior to the one I had before. I've gained more than enough."

"I no longer fear any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator."

"Hm?"

Just as Ge Xian was puffing himself up with boasts, he suddenly sensed something too. He looked up with his dragon head and saw the waters, still beset by raging waves, violently struck.

A colossal creature crashed into the water, smashing through the surface. An incomparably savage fox demon's head, glaring with fury, thrust beneath the waves.

Its crimson fox eyes locked onto Ge Xian's Dragon Eyes.

The sight was rather comical.

But to Ge Xian, it was an ill omen.

The newcomer was none other than the great victim whom he had repeatedly fleeced, all while keeping her completely in the dark: Yelü Yuyan.

In their exchange of gazes, he clearly saw suspicion and fury in the eyes of this deranged, vicious-habit-ridden Eldest Young Lady of the Yelü Family.

Her sharp fox voice rang out at once.

"You Evil Dragon, you clearly escaped by driving the Water Vein beneath Sunset Mountain, then used the Immortal Lord Yinglong Scroll to contemplate Dragon Transformation."

"Tell me, where did you get that scroll?"

"Qiu Niang, you wretched servant, come out and tell me! How dare you collude with this long snake, this stinking worm, and steal my scroll and secret technique?"

Yelü Yuyan clearly wasn't about to give anyone a chance to make excuses.

Convinced she had caught Ge Xian, she didn't wait for a reply. She directly tossed her personal maid, Qiu Niang, out of the Fox Tail Sac, then shouted at her.

Her words went straight to the flaw in Ge Xian's hypnosis technique.

After being hypnotized, Qiu Niang had taken Ge Xian for her master.

How could she endure Yelü Yuyan "insulting" her master right to his face?

If Ge Xian had sent her a telepathic message in advance to explain, it might have been fine. But he hadn't, so the truth was exposed in an instant.

And so, under Ge Xian's helpless gaze...

Qiu Niang heard Yelü Yuyan's words and immediately transformed. She charged at her former master, shrieking as she cursed, "You wretch! You demoness! You stupid fox! How dare you insult my master..."

She didn't manage to finish. Halfway through her charge, Yelü Yuyan, many times larger than her, snapped her up in her jaws. She chewed with loud, crunching sounds, sending flesh and blood flying. She seemed to find it quite tasty.

Seeing this!

Ge Xian sighed inwardly at his bad luck, then fled wildly ahead without a word.

He had swallowed a great boon, completed Foundation Establishment, and gained an impressive Dragon Body. He was a formidable figure in his own right.

But a Mortal Transformation Realm powerhouse? Especially one like Yelü Yuyan, an outstanding Border Governor's daughter even among Mortal Transformation Realm cultivators? He had no chance of resisting her.

The reason he didn't rely on his silver tongue and powers of seduction to make excuses, bluff, and deceive the County Magistrate's Wife was that he knew why Yelü Yuyan had eaten Qiu Niang: first to vent her fury, and second to perform Soul Searching.

In other words, this time, he had been exposed.

Not only his theft of the Immortal Lord Yinglong Scroll, but also his murder of her maid and his deception of Yelü Yuyan's affections. All of it would likely be exposed together.

Though "Fox Woman Qiu Niang's" memories lacked the details, anyone with a brain could guess after Soul Searching that Ge Xian was involved with that so-called Ugly Dragon Girl from before.

Sure enough!

Ge Xian had barely darted away when a fox's cry of unbridled fury came from behind him.

Perhaps her hatred ran too deep for Yelü Yuyan to even utter a threat.

In an instant, a streak of white light cut across the Qiantang River and caught up with Ge Xian.

The massive creature plunged into the water again. She didn't even care that she wasn't a "water beast," but a Heart Devouring Fox that had cultivated on land.

Her fox tail swept through the water, her demonic body probed the riverbed, and her heart-gouging fox claws shot straight toward Ge Xian.

When their eyes met again, Ge Xian saw a pair of eyes that were truly burning with foxfire. She didn't need to speak; he could feel what she meant.

Falling into her hands meant wishing for death.

And so, the next moment, Yelü Yuyan was struck by a combination divine ability, now vastly amplified and evolved, made up of the Five Poisons Yin Thunder, Mysterious Yin Poison Fiend, Centipede Poison Cloud Miasma, and other demonic arts.

In an instant, the surrounding waters were caught in the disaster along with Yelü Yuyan.

Amid the thunderous roar came a fox demon's howl, sharper than before and immeasurably more pained.