Deeper In

"Keep moving." Qing Zhengyue drew his long saber. "Liu Yunlan's sixth soul ring still hasn't been secured. It's not time for us to turn back yet."

Liu Yunlan stood as well and brushed the dirt from her robes. A forty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon for her sixth soul ring—she was determined to get it.

The five of them continued deeper into the Hurricane Wood Mountain Range.

The farther they went, the denser the wood-element energy in the air became, until every breath seemed to carry the fragrance of grass and trees. The fallen leaves on the ground grew thicker and thicker, piled higher than knee level in some places. Towering trees blocked out the sky and sun, their canopies so dense that not even sunlight could penetrate them. The forest was as dim as dusk.

Qing Mufeng kept his Azure Dragon Pupil activated, the golden glow in his eyes especially striking in the dark forest. He could clearly sense that this forest was unlike any he had seen before—these trees were simply too old. Any one of those ancient trees was hundreds, even thousands, of years old. Their trunks were so thick that several people could not wrap their arms around them, and their bark was covered in moss and unknown vines.

"We're close." Qing Zhengyue suddenly stopped and looked ahead.

The terrain before them began to change. The flat woodland gradually disappeared, replaced by rolling mountains. The peaks were not high, but they were steep, their slopes covered in towering trees and layers upon layers of canopies.

What drew the most attention was the energy flowing through the air. Wood and wind elements converged and fused here, forming visible streams of azure energy that swept through the forest with faint whistling sounds.

Wind Wood Dragons.

Only places where large numbers of Wind Wood Dragons gathered could produce this degree of elemental resonance.

Qing Hongyuan's Azure Snake Dragon Wing trembled faintly as he sensed the dense attributes in the air. Sharing both wind and wood attributes, he felt an unusual affinity with this valley.

"We wait here," Qing Zhengyue ordered. "Spread out and hide."

The five quickly dispersed, each finding a concealed position. Qing Mufeng silently rose into the air and hovered beneath the canopy of a tall tree. His Azure Dragon Pupil surveyed the entire valley from above, while Wind Perception blanketed an area a hundred zhang around him. No creature entering that range could escape his notice.

Time passed second by second.

One hour. Two hours. Three hours.

They waited from noon until dusk, and from dusk until night fell.

Qing Mufeng had expended quite a bit of Soul Power, but he did not relax. His Azure Dragon Pupil remained lit, watching every inch of the valley.

Just as the moon climbed over the ridge, their target appeared.

Not one, but two.

From the shadows deep within the valley, two figures, one large and one small, slowly emerged. The smaller one walked ahead, less than ten meters long and giving off the aura of a ten-thousand-year soul beast, as though scouting the way. The larger one followed behind. It was over fifteen meters long, and each step made the ground tremble faintly. The Soul Power fluctuations emanating from it were almost tangible, pressing the surrounding grass and trees low.

Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Pupil locked tightly onto the larger one.

Size—fifteen meters.

Scales—deep azure, their edges carrying a dark golden sheen.

Horns—the dragon horns on its forehead had grown into fully branched antlers, their tips gleaming with cold azure light.

Spikes—extending from the back of its neck to the tip of its tail, every spike was as long as an adult's forearm.

Soul Power fluctuations—vast and powerful as a mountain.

Forty thousand years.

No less, perhaps even more.

Qing Mufeng silently descended and landed beside where his grandfather was hiding.

"Grandpa, there are two." His voice was extremely low. "The smaller one is around ten thousand years. The larger one is forty thousand."

A sharp glint flashed through Qing Zhengyue's eyes. Forty thousand years was precisely the target Liu Yunlan needed.

"Are you confident?" the old man asked.

Qing Mufeng considered it. "Drive the smaller one away first, then focus everything on the larger one. The smaller one is only ten thousand years old. If you release your pressure and Father drives it off from the air, we should be able to scare it away."

Qing Zhengyue nodded and quickly made several hand signals.

Receiving the signal, Liu Yunlan tightened her grip on the short dagger in her hand. A forty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon was even stronger than she had anticipated. With the foundation strengthened by Whale Rubber, she could endure it. And with her grandson beside her, the absorption process would be even safer.

Receiving the signal, Qing Hongyuan silently rose into the air. His Azure Snake Dragon Wing fully spread as he hovered above the canopy.

Receiving the signal, Shen Wanqing slowly lit the phantom image of her Jade Orchid martial soul, preparing her support soul skills.

Qing Mufeng also rose into the air, his Azure Dragon Pupil fixed on the forty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon.

Everything was ready.

Qing Zhengyue slowly drew his long saber, releasing the Soul Power of a level-seventy Quasi-Soul Emperor without holding anything back. Above the canopy, Qing Hongyuan fiercely beat his Azure Snake Dragon Wing, and azure light illuminated half the valley. High in the sky, the pressure of Qing Mufeng's Azure Dragon Martial Soul poured down like a collapsing heaven. Three forces pressed down upon the two Wind Wood Dragons at once.

The smaller one turned and fled. Under the triple crushing pressure of a level-seventy Quasi-Soul Emperor, a level-fifty-six Soul King, and the Azure Dragon's might, the ten-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon did not even have the courage to fight. Its four claws tore at the ground as it fled in panic.

The larger one did not run.

A forty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon already possessed considerable intelligence and pride. It sensed the threat, but rather than fleeing, it chose to fight.

It raised its head toward the hovering figure in the sky, opened its mouth, and unleashed a deafening roar.

The roar echoed through the valley, shaking leaves loose in showers.

Qing Mufeng hovered high in the air, looking down at the roaring behemoth.

This forty-thousand-year Wind Wood Dragon had an aura at least twice as strong as the last one. Yet his dragon pressure pinned it down mercilessly, preventing it from gathering all its strength and making the fear in its heart outweigh its will to fight.

This was his battlefield.

His battlefield alone.

On the ground, Qing Zhengyue watched the small figure in the sky and the roaring giant beast below, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

His grandson was only six years old, yet he was already qualified to stand before a forty-thousand-year soul beast.

The old man tightened his grip on the long saber and turned his gaze back to the Wind Wood Dragon.

"Attack!"

Qing Zhengyue's saber slashed into the Wind Wood Dragon's right foreleg.

Empowered by a black soul ring, the long saber cut through the deep azure scales and left a bone-deep wound in the muscle.

Blood gushed out, dyeing half his robes red, yet he did not even blink.

The Soul Power of a level-seventy Quasi-Soul Emperor surged rapidly through his body. His second strike immediately landed on the same spot, cutting the wound even deeper.

The Wind Wood Dragon let out an enraged roar. A forty-thousand-year soul beast was nearly at the top of the food chain on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest.

But today, it had been surrounded by a group of humans. What enraged it even more was the pressure pressing down from above, pinning it in place and preventing it from focusing its full strength.

Every attack it made was half a beat slower than usual, and every movement carried a touch more hesitation.

Liu Yunlan rushed out from the side, unleashing the full power of a level-sixty Quasi-Soul Emperor.

Her Emerald Jade Snake martial soul possessed her, covering her arms in a layer of emerald scales and transforming her hands into sharp claws.

Rather than attacking the Wind Wood Dragon's scales head-on, she targeted its joints and wounds.

Her poison-coated short dagger pierced the gap in the joint of the Wind Wood Dragon's left hind leg. The poison seeped in through the wound, and the Wind Wood Dragon's movements noticeably slowed by another half beat.