Today, Slay the Dragon

Jiang Li's lips twitched as he looked at the three options before him.

He had thought the spell, "Dragon Slaying Sword," would not be as rowdy as the cultivation art, "Profound Yellow Heart Refining Art." Who would have thought he had celebrated too soon?

When it came to giving themselves extra scenes, neither was any less dramatic than the other.

One shouted every day about slaying demons and defending the Dao, upholding justice.

The other wanted to butcher dragons.

Hey, hey, hey.

Wake up.

The host's life was a life too.

I just wanted to lie low and cultivate.

That was what he said, but Jiang Li still looked over with a reluctant body and an honest heart.

There was no other reason.

The rewards were truly generous.

Even the simplest Option One mission could reduce the spell's progress by 30%, allowing him to reach the proficient realm sooner.

There was even less need to mention Options Two and Three.

One instantly granted spell proficiency, while the other instantly granted minor mastery.

Who knew how much time that could save?

Of course.

The corresponding missions would also be more difficult.

Jiang Li began to analyze them carefully.

Of the three options, one was to observe a dragon, one to eat a dragon, and one to slay a dragon...

Observing a dragon was the least difficult.

There was no need to fight.

Eating a dragon and slaying a dragon both required directly confronting dragon-type creatures.

Jiang Li wondered whether the dragon-type creatures mentioned by the system referred to pure-blooded True Dragons or demon beasts with dragon blood.

If it was the latter, then there was still a chance of completing it.

After all.

Pythons could also be considered a type of dragon, and they possessed thin traces of Dragon Race bloodline.

Such demon beasts were not uncommon in the Cultivation World.

After considering it again and again.

Jiang Li chose Option Three, which offered the greatest reward.

The benefits that minor mastery of the Dragon Slaying Sword would bring him were simply too great.

With his Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivation supplemented by a spell at minor mastery, he would be able to kill late-stage Qi Refining cultivators head-on.

In the ever-changing situation within Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, he needed that strength.

The spell, "Dragon Slaying Sword," began to act.

That familiar cold, mechanical voice appeared.

Jiang Li once again lost control of his body.

He could only watch as his system-controlled body opened the Cave Residence formation and ran toward the Mountain Gate.

Jiang Li was not surprised.

The Demon Race and humanity were like fire and water.

The proud Dragon Race was even less likely to be enslaved by humans.

To find dragon-type creatures, he could only leave the Holy Land and search elsewhere.

In this regard, the system was practically the strongest intelligence agent.

The three Yin Puppet Sect spies from before had been one example; this dragon hunt was another.

It was worth mentioning that the spell, "Dragon Slaying Sword," did not intend to rigidly run all the way to its destination. Instead, it went to the Mountain Gate and rented a small Flying Skiff.

Fifty of the five hundred Spirit Stones he had barely had time to warm in his hands were gone just like that.

What a profiteer.

Renting it once cost fifty Spirit Stones.

And fuel was not included.

He had to spend Spirit Stones himself as the source of spiritual power.

Jiang Li thought that the system had no idea how expensive daily necessities were when it did not manage the household. Whenever it had Spirit Stones, it spent them freely without even bargaining.

Amid his muttered complaints.

The system controlled Jiang Li's body and set off.

Riding the Spirit Boat out of Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, it headed west all the way.

During this time.

The spell, "Dragon Slaying Sword," did not stop moving.

While controlling the Spirit Boat's flight, it compressed Mana at Jiang Li's fingertips, condensing a pale white, gaseous sword phantom in his palm.

One Spirit Stone after another floated into the air.

Once their spiritual power had been drained dry, they shattered into powder.

Throughout the process.

The sword phantom grew increasingly solid.

It changed from a mist-like form into a three-inch sword radiance.

Sharp fluctuations swept outward.

Was the system... making preparations before battle?

Jiang Li's heart jolted.

As a Foundation Establishment Realm spell, the Dragon Slaying Sword required an enormous amount of Mana every time it was cast. The more Mana poured into it, the greater its power.

He counted carefully.

From just now until this moment, the system had already spent a full hundred Spirit Stones.

And there was no end in sight.

The number of Spirit Stones being consumed continued to rise.

From one hundred to two hundred, it was approaching the target of three hundred.

The Mana infused into that three-inch sword radiance was already equivalent to that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

Such control was something only the spell, "Dragon Slaying Sword," itself could achieve.

No cultivator could endlessly stack Mana like this.

Not even Foundation Establishment Realm or Golden Core Realm cultivators could do it.

This was an ability unique to the system.

And the Dragon Slaying Sword driven in this manner would absolutely rival a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator's all-out strike.

Holy shit.

Could this dragon-type creature possibly be a Foundation Establishment Realm demon beast?

System, you bastard, you wanted a tiny Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivator like me to slay a Foundation Establishment Realm dragon beast?

You really were not afraid of getting me killed.

After complaining.

Jiang Li secretly grew excited again.

Because this ability to endlessly stack Mana was undoubtedly a tremendous trump card.

As long as he had enough Spirit Stones, he could fully let the spell take over before battle and condense an attack comparable to the Foundation Establishment Realm or Golden Core Realm, ambushing anyone to death.

After all.

Who would expect a Qi Refining stage cultivator to erupt with strength spanning one or two major realms?

Not bad, not bad.

His sense of security had risen once more.

An hour later.

With the small Spirit Boat flying at full speed, Jiang Li had already fled more than a hundred kilometers away.

The outline of a majestic city had entered his sight.

Jiang Li knew this city.

It was the mortal city closest to Heavenly Mystery Holy Land, called Frostfeather City.

It belonged to the Cloudmist Dynasty.

However, the Spirit Boat did not enter Frostfeather City's territory.

Instead, it stopped above a deep mountain cold pool ten kilometers from the city.

The cold pool was not large.

It was only about the size of a lake.

The water gleamed faintly.

It was rich in spiritual power.

It was a rare and excellent place for cultivation.

"Looks like this is the place."

Jiang Li muttered.

Just then.

Activity by the cold pool's shore drew Jiang Li's attention.

The system controlled Jiang Li's body to look down at the same time.

Three people and one serpent were locked in fierce battle.

One side consisted of cultivators: one old man and two youths.

The white-haired old man in the lead revealed Mana fluctuations belonging to Qi Refining Level 9 as he fought.

Beside him were a male and a female disciple, both at Qi Refining Layer 4.

The other side was an enormous juvenile Poisonous Serpent.

It was over thirty meters long, its black scales covered in savage spikes, while its fangs could corrode even spiritual artifacts.

Its cultivation was at Qi Refining Level 7.

Logically speaking, a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator leading two Qi Refining Layer 4 cultivators to besiege a Qi Refining Level 7 opponent should have given the former an overwhelming advantage.

However...

The situation at the scene was exactly the opposite.

The Qi Refining Level 7 Poisonous Serpent was beating down the Qi Refining Level 9 old man.

Whenever its serpentine body swept out, it sent the old man coughing blood, his aura growing increasingly withered.

The two Qi Refining Layer 4 assistants were in an even worse state.

Merely being brushed by the aftershock caused their defensive spells to collapse, leaving them seriously injured.

They had completely lost the strength to resist.

Jiang Li took it all in.

He was not surprised.

No matter how thin the Dragon Race bloodline within the Poisonous Serpent was, it was still one of the most supreme bloodlines. Anything that touched upon it could not be weak.

Its powerful fleshly body was even unmatched among those of the same realm.

As he thought this.

The old man below also seemed to notice Jiang Li's arrival. He abruptly raised his head, and when he saw Jiang Li riding a flying spiritual artifact, a trace of joy appeared on his aged, withered face.

"Young friend, I am the Rogue Cultivator Huang Fei. We accepted Frostfeather City's extermination mission and came to eliminate this Poisonous Serpent, but we never expected its strength to be so terrifying. Please take my two disciples with you and inform Frostfeather City of the situation here."

The old man's thinking was clear.

He did not choose to ask Jiang Li for help. Instead, he asked Jiang Li to seek reinforcements in Frostfeather City, which would also save his two disciples.

He would hold the creature here.

Jiang Li said nothing.

A Rogue Cultivator, huh? No wonder he was being suppressed despite being two minor realms above the Poisonous Serpent. Given a Rogue Cultivator's cultivation conditions, they could only focus on one among spells, cultivation arts, cultivation level, and spiritual artifacts.

His cultivation might seem impressive, but his foundation was shallow.

He was not exactly a blank slate, but he was not much stronger than one.

"Young friend, do you have any concerns? Once this is over, this old man will certainly reward you handsomely."

Huang Fei was frantic.

The longer this dragged on, the worse his condition became.

By then, he would no longer have the strength to stall for time.

Jiang Li still said nothing.

He stood unmoved atop the Spirit Boat.

His gaze remained fixed on the Poisonous Serpent.

Immediately.

A system notification sounded in Jiang Li's mind.

The spell "Dragon Slaying Sword" looked at the serpent before it, and an urge rose in its heart. It recited: Today, slay the dragon.

"Today, slay the dragon."

Jiang Li opened his mouth.

He slowly spoke those words in a flat voice devoid of any emotion.

The next second.

A peerlessly dazzling pale white sword radiance slashed down.

The light of heaven became a single color.