Zhu Da and the Earth Dragon

It was already late at night. After leaving Jade Dragon City, Zhu Da flew for nearly a thousand miles without stopping until he saw a small mountain peak in the distance before slowing down.

Wow~~~~

The ground in the distance churned like waves, and a giant dragon head suddenly emerged from the ground.

The dragon's body was entirely blue, with a single horn on its forehead. Its two eyes, as large as cartwheels, saw Zhu Da and then retreated back into the ground.

Zhu Da streaked across the light and swooped down, disappearing from the spot where the dragon head had vanished, as if he had plunged into the water.

The churning ground gradually calmed down. If Zhou Hao's divine sense hadn't been constantly locked onto Zhu Da, he wouldn't have been able to notice this mountainous terrain, which was no different from the surrounding ground, even with his naked eye.

"Earth Dragon?" Zhou Hao raised an eyebrow. "No wonder Zhu Da Restaurant never lacks Zhilong Meat; it turns out Zhu Da has such a spirit beast."

Earth Dragon are divine beasts, and their potential and strength vary greatly depending on the purity of the ancient divine and demonic bloodlines they contain.

The two spirit beasts he killed yesterday, the 'Shaking Motai Xiao Mountain-Shaking Rhinoceros ' and the ' Howling Moon Wolf ', could be called divine beasts, but they only contained a trace of the ancient divine and demonic bloodline.

It is much stronger than ordinary monsters, but it is just one of the most common types of divine beasts.

For cultivators, the simplest way to discern the potential and strength of divine beasts is to observe their level of attainment when they transform into human form.

The difficulty of transforming different mythical beasts into human form varies.

Ordinary divine beasts such as the ' Earth Armor Dragon ', ' Mountain-Shaking Rhinoceros ', ' Howling Moon Wolf ', and ' Whitewater Marsh ' can transform into human form once they reach the Purple Mansion Realm.

The more powerful ones, like Zhu Da, the Earth Dragon, need to reach the Myriad Phenomena Realm before they can transform into human form.

Even stronger ones include creatures like the ' Red-Clawed Golden Crow ', ' Thundersea Owl ', and ' Red-Scaled Horned Dragon ', which require reaching the Nascent Soul stage to take human form!

Some truly powerful mythical beasts, with noble bloodlines, can only take human form after becoming celestial beings.

Earth Dragon need to reach the Myriad Phenomena stage to take human form, and their bloodline is far more noble than that of the Mountain-Shaking Rhinoceros and the Howling Moon Wolf.

Moreover, divine beasts and great demons are born with powerful bodies and have the talent to control the power of nature.

Zhu Da entered the underground just now thanks to the Earth Dragon's ability to burrow underground.

This innate talent is far superior to the earth-based escape techniques cultivated by ordinary cultivators.

"Let's see what you're up to." Zhou Hao continued Wind Riding fly high in the sky, using his divine sense to lock onto Zhu Da and the Earth Dragon.

He had just broken through to the level of divine sense. Although it was not as powerful as the Primordial Spirit Daoist, which could cover a range of a thousand miles, it could still easily cover the Baili range where he was.

Underground.

The Earth Dragon and Zhu Da burrowed underground for a little over a mile, and then traveled for another ten miles or so before arriving at a huge underground cave.

"Earth Dragon, is there any news of the Helmsman?"

As soon as Zhu Da entered the cave, he asked impatiently, "Zhou Hao and the others have returned from Motai City and even rescued Xiangcao's soul."

"Master, the branch altars are in chaos now, and the altar master's life tablet has been confirmed to be shattered."

The Earth Dragon shrunk its body to five or six zhang in length, and its muffled sound echoed in the cave, making people's ears ring.

"Damn it!" Zhu Da's face immediately turned ugly.

" With Tong You dead, I'm at risk of being exposed at any moment. I can't stay in Jade Dragon City. Let's leave tonight and return to the main altar."

"We should return to the main altar as soon as possible." The Earth Dragon nodded slightly. "Several Purple Mansion Cultivator from the branch altars have already returned, vying for the position of Great Wild Branch Altar. Master should also make plans early."

"Hmph! If Tong You hadn't kept delaying giving me the Origin Liquid, and if you had reached Purple Mansion Perfected Purple Mansion Realm by now, how could they possibly have defeated me!"

It would have been better if this matter hadn't been brought up; the mere mention of it only fueled Zhu Da's resentment.

His aptitude wasn't particularly good; he couldn't even break through to the Tiandu after undergoing the God-Devil Body Refining. Only his Qi Refining was passable. It took him over a hundred years to cultivate all the way to the peak of the Innate Realm.

Originally, Zhu Da was not highly regarded in the Fire Worship Sect Main Altar.

But luck is something you can't stop when it comes.

By chance, Zhu Da encountered a severely injured and dying Earth Dragon.

At that time, the Earth Dragon had just broken through to the Innate Realm. Although its strength was comparable to that of a great demon in the late Innate Realm, it was naturally no match for Zhu Da when it was seriously injured.

At the time, the Earth Dragon thought that it was doomed to die in the hands of a Xiantian Lifeform being, but unexpectedly, Zhu Da not only did not kill it, but also took good care of it and helped it recover from its injuries.

This made the Earth Dragon deeply grateful, and it took the initiative to recognize Zhu Da as its master.

It's important to know that mythical beasts are extremely proud. To tame one and make it a spirit beast, you either need to have a powerful background that can provide convenience for its future growth, or you need to have amazing potential.

Otherwise, a noble divine beast possessing the bloodline of ancient gods and demons would rather die than submit.

With the help of the spirit beast Earth Dragon, Zhu Da suddenly gained a powerful ally. After successfully completing several missions at the main altar, he not only finally entered the Purple Mansion Realm with the resources he was rewarded with, but was also assigned to the Great Wild Branch Altar as the deputy altar master.

However, when he arrived at the Great Wild Branch Altar, he was constantly feared by the altar master Tong You, because of the existence of the spirit beast, the Earth Dragon.

First, they arranged for Zhu Da to infiltrate as a spy in Jade Dragon City, the stronghold of an enemy force, and then they cut back on his and the Earth Dragon's cultivation resources.

Zhu Da understood Tong You's thoughts. Once a divine beast like the Earth Dragon grows up, it can almost crush human cultivators of the same level.

If he were to break through to the Myriad Phenomena Realm, Earth Dragon would be considered a core fighting force within the main altar, far surpassing Tong You.

Tong You naturally didn't want to see such a person among his subordinates.

Later, Zhu Da risked overstepping his bounds and secretly sought out a familiar Myriad Phenomena True Person in the main altar to apply for enough Origin Liquid to elevate the Earth Dragon to the Purple Mansion Perfection stage.

However, Tong You still interfered, withholding the Origin Liquid and delaying it until now.

"Forget it, the person's dead, it's too late to say anything." Zhu Da looked at his spirit beast, the Earth Dragon. "When we get back to the main altar, I'll see if I can apply for another dose of Origin Liquid for you."

The Earth Dragon is his greatest asset in terms of future status and position. Even if his own cultivation level doesn't improve, as long as the Earth Dragon's strength can be increased, Zhu Da will not be a nobody that anyone can bully.

"Thank you, Master." The Earth Dragon stretched out its head and nuzzled affectionately against Zhu Da.

As spirit beasts, once they recognize a master, they will absolutely obey the master's commands.

The Earth Dragon and Zhu Da grew up together from the Xiantian Lifeform and had a very deep bond.

Therefore, even though Tong You repeatedly revealed that as long as it recognized Tong You as its master, it would immediately receive resources far exceeding what Zhu Da could provide, the Earth Dragon never considered betraying it.

"Oh, right."

Suddenly remembering something, Zhu Da asked, "Did that old guy confess?"

"They've all confessed." The Earth Dragon looked at a rocky area inside the cave, its eyes flashing with an earthy yellow light.

Rumble~~~

There, a large crack appeared in the hard rock, revealing a stone chamber several meters long and wide.

Inside the stone chamber, another figure lay supine in the corner.

"What he sold to Zhou Hao was just an ordinary Red Copper Statue. Many Xiantian Lifeform had already seen it in the East City Market, but nobody wanted it," the Earth Dragon said.

"He said he stole the statue when he was a servant in the Ling Clan family, a family of cultivators."

"The Ling Clan family was wiped out sixteen years ago, and the perpetrator was Motai Xiao of the Black Hand Tribe."

"It was precisely because Motai Xiao received the resources of the Ling Clan family that the Black Hand Tribe was able to rise from a small tribe."

"Just an ordinary statue? Then it seems that Zhou Hao's ability to break through to the Purple Mansion so quickly must be due to his monstrous talent." Zhu Da nodded, his eyes filled with jealousy.

For someone of his mediocre talent, there was an intense, deep-seated resentment towards those prodigies and geniuses.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have cooperated so well with Tong You, gathering such detailed intelligence about Zhou Hao.

Originally, seeing that Zhou Hao had only been away from Jade Dragon City for a few days, and had broken through to the Purple Mansion Realm upon his return, they had even made a special trip to West Gate Market to inquire about the old man who sold him the statue before they were about to leave.

Zhu Da thought Zhou Hao had some kind of extraordinary encounter with the statue he bought.

But now it seems, were we just giving the old man some Thunder Gold out of pity?

God knows what Zhou Hao was thinking.

"Since we can't get anything out of him, there's no point in keeping this old guy around." Zhu Da walked to the front of the underground stone chamber, looked at the old man lying on the ground like a lump of mud, and raised his hand to unleash a sword aura.

Just then--

Wow!

Inside the stone chamber, the power of heaven and earth surged, and endless water and fire formed a Taiji Diagram of thin air at the top of the chamber, obscuring it.

When Zhu Da's sword energy landed on the Water-Fire Taiji Diagram, the two fish, one black and one red, spun around, creating a ripple before dissipating.

"Who?" Zhu Da exclaimed in surprise.

Earth Dragon also quickly scanned the cave, and used his earth escape talent to sense the ground for dozens of miles around, but no trace of the enemy was found.

"Master, the enemy isn't underground!" the Earth Dragon cried out in alarm.

The fact that someone can cast spells from underground layers several miles away, even without being underground, is simply incredible.

Could it be the Myriad Phenomena True Person?

A bad thought flashed through Zhu Da's mind, and he flipped over and leaped onto the Earth Dragon's body.

"Go quickly! Use Earth Escape to go underground."

At this point, survival was the priority, and they no longer had time to kill the old man in the stone chamber.

The Earth Dragon didn't hesitate; with a flick of its tail, it rushed toward the passage on one side of the cave.

On the ground, Zhou Hao used his divine sense to watch Zhu Da and the Earth Dragon enter the underground cave.

He only understood when he heard that Tong You had been delaying giving Zhu Da Origin Liquid, which prevented the Earth Dragon from reaching the Purple Mansion Perfection stage.

No wonder there were 130 catties of Origin Liquid in Tong You treasure; it turns out it was withheld from his inventory.

When the Earth Dragon opened the underground stone chamber and mentioned the Ling Clan family of immortal cultivators, Zhou Hao immediately realized that the old man in the underground stone chamber was none other than the old man with the red nose who had sold him the Ou Huang Statue.

Seeing that Zhu Da was about to kill the old man with the bulbous nose, Zhou Hao used his divine sense to control the Water-Fire Taiji Diagram and save him.

"Trying to escape?"

Under the shroud of spiritual consciousness, Zhu Da rode on the back of the earth dragon. One man and one beast wanted to rush into the underground passage. Naturally, he couldn't hide it from Zhou Hao if he wanted to escape.

"You can't let the Earth Dragon use Earth Escape! Otherwise, even Wanxiang Zhenren won't be able to catch it underground."

Swish!

Zhou Hao produced a Ou Huang Mace in his hand, holding it upside down with the tip Ou Huang Mace downwards.

He then suddenly soared into the sky, before plunging down like a meteorite crashing straight to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Ou Huang Mace in Zhou Hao's hands suddenly grew longer, reaching over a mile in length in an instant, as if he were holding a long, thin needle in both hands, which he then inserted into the rocky ground below.

Pfft!

The hard rocks were easily pierced like paper by the Ou Huang Mace ', which had been forged by the blood of gods and demons.

Zhou Hao's divine power, at the eighth level of the Purple Mansion realm of the Chiming Nine Heavens Map, allowed the Ou Huang Mace to break through the surface rock layers with unstoppable force, directly piercing towards Zhu Da and the Earth Dragon, who were locked onto by his divine sense.

"Hurry, hurry up!" Zhu Da urged, sitting on the Earth Dragon's neck.

Ahead lies the cave passage; once inside, the surroundings will no longer be hard rocks, but rather slightly soft soil.

At that time, given the Earth Dragon's talent for escaping underground, even if the Myriad Phenomena True Person came underground, he wouldn't be able to catch up with them.

Whoosh!

The Earth Dragon moved with incredible speed, instantly rushing into the passage. Its body surface radiated an earthy yellow light, turning the soil below into a surging, watery surface.

At this moment, the power of heaven and earth trembled.

Wow~~~

A massive vortex appeared out of nowhere, pulling the speeding Earth Dragon to a halt, causing it to freeze for a moment.

And in that very instant...

Laugh!

At the top of the passage, a slender, sharp, four-sided bronze mace suddenly pierced through the soil, directly striking Zhu Da's head and the Earth Dragon beneath him.

Furthermore, the bronze mace contains a tremendous rotating and vibrating force.

Boom!

Zhu Da and the Earth Dragon's bodies were instantly shredded.

All of this happened so fast!

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Da and Earth Dragon, who were about to escape, were already dead.

Even at this point, they were still in shock, unsure of where the sudden attack had come from.

Zhou Hao, on the other hand, restored the Ou Huang Mace to its original length.

Having absorbed the murderous aura of two Purple Mansion Cultivator upon their deaths, the blood vessels on the surface of the Ou Huang Mace's Mace became even more concentrated.

"Since you enjoy hiding your identity so much, then go to the underworld and ask the Judge how you died."

I should be able to update again around 5 or 6 pm. I'll try my best to finish it before work and then polish it when I have time.

Thank you to my friend 'Qiuran Ke' for the 1500 points.

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Thanks to Lao Tie's "Yixi Qingfeng" for the reward of 100 points.

Thank you to my friend ' Southern Toon Tree Plants Northern Abyss ' for the 100-point reward.