Fierce Battle! Fierce Battle!

This was the greatest improvement Shen Wanqing had gained after cultivating the Azure Dragon Method.

Previously, she could only release one support soul skill at a time, but now she could unleash three simultaneously.

Liu Yunlan charged out from the rear as her five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—lit up.

She unleashed her fifth soul skill, Emerald Jade Poison Domain, and a pale green toxic mist began to permeate the area within a thirty-zhang radius, centered on her.

The toxic mist did not harm teammates, but it inflicted continuous poison effects on enemies—paralysis, corrosion, and soul power depletion.

The old woman's second soul skill was released at the same time; a jade-green venomous snake flew from her sleeve, slithering silently through the grass in search of a weak point in the Wind Wood Dragon's defenses.

Qing Zhengyue charged from the front, his six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—flaring to life.

His sixth soul ring was black, a ten-thousand-year soul ring.

As he unleashed his sixth soul skill, Azure Snake Slash, a layer of black radiance coated his long blade, causing the air around the weapon to distort.

This was his strongest single-target attack soul skill and his ultimate trump card.

He poured his full strength into this strike.

High in the sky, Qing Mufeng hovered a hundred zhang above, looking down at the battlefield below.

At this moment, he released his dragon might without reservation.

It was not a deliberate release, but the natural suppression of a lower-tier dragon by the Azure Dragon bloodline.

That suppression did not rely on soul power or spirit, but on an instinct carved deep into the marrow of the bloodline.

When facing a higher-tier dragon, lower-tier dragons would feel a tremor surging from the depths of their bones.

The Wind Wood Dragon's body suddenly stiffened.

The pressure bearing down from above caused its movements to slow by half a beat.

It was this half-beat that decided the course of the battle.

Qing Hongyuan's Azure Snake Strangling clamped onto its neck.

The snake shadow coiled around the Wind Wood Dragon's throat, tightening continuously as wood-attribute soul power eroded its scales and muscles.

Qing Zhengyue's long blade hacked into its right foreleg; the black edge sliced through the scales, leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone.

Fresh blood gushed out, staining the grass beneath it.

Liu Yunlan's toxic mist enveloped its entire body, and the jade-green venom seeped into the wound, causing the Wind Wood Dragon's movements to become noticeably sluggish while the rate of its soul power depletion accelerated.

The Wind Wood Dragon let out an angry roar.

It was a thirty-thousand-year soul beast; it would not be subdued so easily.

That dragon might had indeed suppressed it.

Its speed had slowed, its reactions had dulled, and its attack power had decreased.

But it was a ten-thousand-year soul beast after all; even when suppressed, its strength could not be underestimated.

It lashed its tail violently, whipping it toward Qing Hongyuan on the left flank.

The snake-like tail carried the force of a thousand jun, slamming heavily into Qing Hongyuan.

The light shield of Jade Protection blocked most of the impact, but the remaining force still sent Qing Hongyuan flying, crashing into a large tree as a trace of blood spilled from his mouth.

"Hongyuan!" Shen Wanqing exclaimed.

"I'm not dead yet!" Qing Hongyuan climbed up from the ground, blood still hanging from the corner of his mouth, yet his movements remained agile.

His injuries healed rapidly under the radiance of Spring Returns to Earth, while Jade Rejuvenation continued to restore his stamina and soul power.

Spring Returns to Earth.

This was the second soul skill that Qing Mufeng had been maintaining all along.

From the moment that thirty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon appeared, Qing Mufeng had released Spring Returns to Earth from high above.

Green light cascaded from the sky, shrouding the entire battlefield, its range nearly double what it would have been if released from the ground.

Within this area, everyone's injuries were recovering rapidly, and their soul power was being continuously replenished.

This was the value of Spring Returns to Earth.

It was not a one-time heal, but a continuous, uninterrupted recovery.

As long as Qing Mufeng's soul power was not exhausted, no one on this battlefield would fall.

The battle continued.

Although the Wind Wood Dragon was suppressed by the dragon might, its counterattacks remained fierce.

Its claws, fangs, tail, and wind blades—every strike carried ten-thousand-year-level destructive power.

Qing Zhengyue took three of its wind blades head-on, each one leaving deep gouges on his long blade.

Liu Yunlan was struck once by its tail, leaving a large swelling on the old woman's left arm, but she gritted her teeth without a single groan, continuing to release her toxic mist.

Qing Hongyuan was sent flying three times; the blood at the corner of his mouth was wiped away only to flow again, wiped away and flowing once more.

Yet, every single time, he managed to stand back up and rejoin the battle.

Shen Wanqing was the only one not directly engaged in combat, but her expenditure was no less than anyone else's.

Maintaining three auxiliary soul skills simultaneously was a massive test of her soul power and mental strength.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped onto her forehead and her face had turned somewhat pale, but her hands remained steady, and the support never faltered.

High above, the Dragon Might of Qing Mufeng showed no signs of weakening.

His soul power was being consumed rapidly: the maintenance of the Azure Dragon Armor, the release of Spring Returns to Earth, and the suppression of his Dragon Might.

Operating on three fronts was a tremendous test of both his soul power and mental strength.

However, with all four paths of his Azure Dragon Method fully opened, his soul power recovery speed was several times faster than an ordinary person's, barely keeping pace with the rate of consumption.

While maintaining his Dragon Might, he searched for an opening to strike.

The moment the Wind Wood Dragon was forced back by a slash from Qing Zhengyue and its form became slightly unbalanced, he moved.

Azure Dragon Claw Probe!

His right arm underwent dragonification; azure scales covered the entire limb, and his fingers transformed into sharp, lethal claws.

He dove down from high altitude, the dragonified right claw bolstered by the momentum of his descent, and slammed into the top of the Wind Wood Dragon's head.

Five deep azure claw-lights struck the Wind Wood Dragon's skull, the erosive power of the wood attribute seeping through the scales and into the bone.

The Wind Wood Dragon let out a painful hiss and whipped its head violently, flinging Qing Mufeng away.

Qing Mufeng flipped twice in the air, used Azure Dragon Wind Control to stabilize his form, and ascended back into the sky, unharmed.

The defensive power of the Azure Dragon Armor, combined with the continuous recovery from Spring Returns to Earth, granted him a certain margin for error.

He could not withstand every single attack, but at least he would not lose his combat effectiveness from being hit just once.

The battle lasted for nearly half an hour.

The body of the Wind Wood Dragon was covered in wounds.

Most of its scales were shattered, blood stained the grass beneath it red, its front left leg was nearly severed under the relentless attacks of Qing Zhengyue, the snake shadows coiled around its neck made it increasingly difficult to breathe, and the toxins eroding its body caused its soul power to drain away continuously.

It was still resisting, but the strength of its resistance was growing weaker.

It attempted to flee.

It spread the scales on its back.

That was the Wind Wood Dragon's posture for flight.

It wanted to take to the air.

But the Azure Dragon Might of Qing Mufeng pressed down on it firmly, like a mountain, preventing it from taking off.

It also tried to run toward the depths of the valley, but Qing Zhengyue blocked its path of retreat.

The old man stood like an insurmountable mountain, blocking the space between it and that ancient tree.

In the end, a single blade strike from Qing Zhengyue brought this battle to an end.

The long blade, bolstered by a black soul ring, pierced into the neck of the Wind Wood Dragon and emerged from the other side.

The body of the Wind Wood Dragon stiffened abruptly.

The light in its golden slit pupils gradually faded away.

It let out one final, low whimper, and its massive body collapsed with a crash, causing the ground to tremble slightly.