His entire body was covered in rough, heavy gray-brown scales like granite. Each scale was riddled with the ravines of time and dark yellow Origin of Earth patterns.
He had none of the True Dragon's elegant whiskers or antlers. His head looked more like a jagged mountain of rock.
His abyssal maw was filled with crisscrossing, razor-sharp fangs like barbs. Foul, nauseating saliva dripped from every one.
But what frightened people most were his enormous eyes, like two blood-red full moons.
There was not a trace of emotion belonging to an intelligent creature in those eyes, only endless greed, savagery, and an insatiable hunger for food.
At that moment, those blood-red eyes were fixed on Lu Changsheng, who was frantically fleeing across the ground.
To him, the little bird before him radiated pure innate fire qi and the fragrant aura of boundless merit. It was nothing less than the perfect tonic pill under heaven.
As long as he swallowed that bird, he could definitely break through the shackles of the Mystic Immortal realm and perhaps even leap straight into the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm!
Boom!
Old Earth Dragon moved.
His enormous body suddenly lunged forward. He didn't need to use any fancy divine abilities.
The terrifying momentum of his ten-thousand-zhang body alone made the surrounding space groan under the strain.
How is this beast so fast?!
Lu Changsheng cursed furiously to himself.
His speed, which he'd always been so proud of, was laughable in front of this enormous Mystic Immortal Earth Dragon. It was like watching a snail crawl.
A casual thrust of his head carried him farther than Lu Changsheng could cover in half a day of desperate running.
I can't just keep running. He'll swallow me whole!
With his life on the line, Lu Changsheng's potential in the Dao of Cowardice was fully unleashed.
He whipped his wings and pulled a dozen or so battered formation plates from the corner of his Storage Jade Box—junk he'd never given a second glance.
He'd picked them up near the low hills years ago. Their grade was so low
that they hadn't even qualified for use in the 360-Layer Heavenly Cycle Array, so he'd tossed them into a corner of his storage space to gather dust.
Now, they were his only lifeline.
Blow up!
Without even looking, Lu Changsheng flung all the formation plates at Old Earth Dragon behind him, then detonated the formation markings still left inside them.
Bang, bang, bang—
A dozen bursts of multicolored spirit light exploded before Old Earth Dragon's eyes.
Some conjured clouds of mist, some released poison gas, and others formed earthen walls.
However.
These low-grade formations, which even a Heaven Immortal could tear apart with ease, struck Old Earth Dragon's Mystic Immortal-level stone hide and weren't even fit to scratch an itch.
Old Earth Dragon didn't so much as blink. His massive head smashed straight through the bursts of light, and he kept right on charging toward Lu Changsheng to bite him.
The difference is too great!
Lu Changsheng was frantic with worry.
The gulf between a Mystic Immortal and a True Immortal can't be bridged with a bunch of worthless junk. No wonder everyone in the Primordial Land says that crushing someone with a higher cultivation realm is an absolute truth!
As the fang-filled abyssal maw drew closer and closer, the nauseating stench of his breath ruffled the feathers atop Lu Changsheng's head.
Lu Changsheng clenched his teeth, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
You really think I became a True Immortal just for show?!
He stopped abruptly, turned around, and quit running.
He drew on every last bit of True Immortal magic power within him, channeling it all into his right wing.
Innate Pure Yang Sword Qi! Fall!
Lu Changsheng roared, bringing his right wing down like a heavenly blade.
A hundred-zhang-long sword beam, formed entirely from dark golden magic power,
ripped through the air with unstoppable force and struck Old Earth Dragon squarely on the bridge of his nose.
It was the first time since breaking through to True Immortal that he'd unleashed an attack with all his strength.
Wherever the sword beam passed, it left a faint, charred mark on the void.
Clang—!!!
A thunderous boom rang out like a great bell.
The Pure Yang Sword Qi slammed into Old Earth Dragon's gray-brown scales, erupting in a blinding shower of sparks.
Lu Changsheng stared at the point of impact, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart.
Even if I can't kill you, surely I can at least slow you down?
But when the sparks faded,
the hope in Lu Changsheng's eyes froze in an instant, replaced by deep despair.
The Pure Yang Sword Qi had drained every last bit of his magic power and carried enough force to split a mountain in two. Yet all it left on the scales along Old Earth Dragon's nose was a faint white mark.
It hadn't even broken through the outermost layer of stony hide!
Is that hide... cast from Chaos Divine Iron?!
Lu Changsheng couldn't help blurting out a curse.
Old Earth Dragon seemed to have been enraged by that blow.
He hadn't been hurt, but an ant had bitten him on the nose. The provocation sent his already savage temper completely over the edge.
Roar!
Old Earth Dragon suddenly opened his abyssal maw.
He didn't lunge forward to bite again. Instead, he stopped in midair as his chest swelled violently.
Then,
an unimaginably powerful suction force burst from his gaping mouth.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
A violent gale swept through the area for dozens of li in every direction.
The rocks and soil on the ground, along with towering dead trees torn up by their roots, all flew uncontrollably into the air and streamed into Old Earth Dragon's mouth.
Holy crap! The Star-Absorbing Art?!
Lu Changsheng's face changed dramatically.
He flapped his wings with all his might, trying to resist the terrifying suction.
His claws dug into the rocks beneath him. The force pulled his body into the air, stretching him into a straight line.
Hold on! I absolutely can't let myself get sucked in!
Lu Changsheng's claws gouged ten deep furrows into the rock, sending sparks flying.
But the suction was simply too powerful. This was a Mystic Immortal's innate divine ability!
Crack, crack...
The massive rock Lu Changsheng was gripping finally gave way beneath the frenzied suction and broke off from the ground.
It's over!
The instant he lost his foothold, Lu Changsheng closed his eyes in despair.
Like a leaf caught in a gale, he spun helplessly through the air along with the enormous rock, weighing tens of thousands of jin,
and was sucked straight into the dark abyss that reeked of putrefaction.
Gulp.
Old Earth Dragon closed his mouth in satisfaction, his enormous Adam's apple bobbing once.
He even let out a contented burp, exhaling a cloud of foul air mixed with the smell of soil and sulfur.
In the eyes of this subterranean overlord, who'd slept for countless ages, the fragrant little bird from just moments ago had become a meal in his belly.
All he had to do now was wait for his stomach acid to digest it. Once he absorbed that pure source energy, he could begin another transformation.
Old Earth Dragon slowly twisted his enormous body, preparing to burrow back into the depths and find a comfortable position to slowly refine his delicious meal.
Meanwhile, inside Old Earth Dragon's stomach,
lay a genuine purgatory on earth.
Lu Changsheng tumbled wildly down the slimy esophagus before finally plunging into a viscous swamp that reeked of acid.
Cough, cough, cough... Ugh—
Before you continue