Devouring Against Devouring, the Dragon Lizard's Core Exposed

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard crawled out of the darkness.

It was nearly ten meters long, its entire body covered in jet-black scales. Its limbs were thick and powerful, its claws dug into the cracks in the rocks.

The golden light sac on its abdomen was particularly conspicuous, brightening and dimming with every breath.

The dragon lizard had no wings on its back.

Yet its head bore clear draconic features.

Rows of sharp teeth curved inward from its jaws, seemingly designed to lock down prey and prevent devoured energy from escaping.

Golden Crocodile made his judgment after only one glance.

"About seventeen hundred years."

"An appropriate age."

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard did not attack at once.

Its gaze remained fixed on Xiao Jin.

The light and draconic aura emitted by the Twelve-Winged Holy Dragon Hatchling held an overwhelming attraction for it.

That attraction far surpassed that of ordinary light-attributed soul beasts.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard opened its mouth.

The pulling force intensified once more.

The golden light around Xiao Jin's body was continuously drawn away, and even the wings on its back began to dim.

It let out an angry roar, its four claws gripping the ground tightly.

Through their martial soul connection, Chu Jin sensed that Xiao Jin's Soul Power was draining at a tremendous rate.

"Come back."

With a thought from him,

Xiao Jin turned into golden light and merged into his body.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard lost the target of its devouring and let out a dissatisfied roar.

Qian Renxue raised her longsword.

"Should we attack directly?"

Golden Crocodile stood at the entrance to the valley.

"The soul beast is for you two to deal with."

"This old man will only make sure it does not escape and that nothing unexpected happens."

He did not release his martial soul.

He merely stepped forward.

A heavy aura blanketed the valley.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard seemed to sense the danger. Its body visibly recoiled, yet it did not flee immediately.

Chu Jin took out the eight-hundred-jin Heavy Halberd.

"Let's first test the limit of its devouring."

The six wings behind Qian Renxue unfurled.

Her first soul ring lit up.

A golden light blade flew from her sword.

She did not use her full strength. The light blade's power was suppressed to the level of an ordinary two-ring Soul Master.

Upon seeing the light blade, the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard did not dodge.

It opened its massive jaws.

The instant the light blade drew near, it was distorted by an invisible force, rapidly shrank, and finally flew entirely into its mouth.

The light sac on the dragon lizard's abdomen flashed.

Its aura also rose slightly.

"It devoured it completely."

Qian Renxue continued probing.

The second light blade was raised to the power of a three-ring Soul Master.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard swallowed it in one bite again.

The light sac on its abdomen became brighter, and fine golden patterns began appearing across its surface.

Chu Jin's Double Pupils remained locked on the Soul Power within the dragon lizard.

After the light blade entered its mouth, it did not vanish immediately.

The energy traveled through a special meridian in its throat into the abdominal light sac, where it was broken down, compressed, and converted into power the dragon lizard could use.

During the devouring process, the throat meridian and the point where it connected to the light sac opened at the same time.

At that instant, its internal defenses were at their weakest.

"Again."

Chu Jin said.

Qian Renxue swung her sword for the third time.

This time, she did not condense her Soul Power into a single light blade.

Dozens of tiny golden sword lights shot out at once.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard let out a low growl as devouring force spread from its mouth.

Every sword light was tugged toward it.

Some entered its mouth.

The others were too numerous and flew past both sides of the dragon lizard's body, leaving shallow marks across its scales.

"The range of its devouring is limited."

Qian Renxue quickly spotted the issue.

"About thirty meters in front of it."

"Beyond that range, the devouring force rapidly weakens."

Chu Jin nodded.

"Xiao Jin will draw its attention from the front."

"You keep using low-intensity, high-frequency light blades to fill its light sac."

"I'll attack the core."

Xiao Jin was released once more.

Having just had part of its Soul Power devoured, it was in an extremely foul mood.

The moment it landed, it spread its wings and roared at the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard.

"Roar!"

Holy Dragon Soul Suppression spread outward.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's body trembled slightly.

The suppression brought by a superior draconic bloodline made it hesitate for an instant, though the mental intimidation was not particularly strong.

This sort of soul beast possessed a degree of mental resistance by nature.

Xiao Jin had not expected to settle its opponent with a single roar.

Flapping its wings, it flew straight toward the top of the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's head.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard immediately opened its mouth to devour it.

The holy light around Xiao Jin's body was stripped away once more, and its flight speed quickly dropped.

It forcibly changed direction in midair, skimming past the edge of the devouring range.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard turned its head to follow.

Qian Renxue seized the opportunity.

Dozens of Angel Light Blades shot in from the other side.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard instinctively opened its mouth.

The light blades were swallowed into its abdomen in succession.

The light sac grew brighter and brighter.

Chu Jin did not rush to attack.

His Double Pupils continuously observed the dragon lizard's devouring rhythm.

Every time it swallowed a soul skill, the light sac needed a brief period to compress it.

As it devoured energy continuously, that period gradually lengthened.

Xiao Jin flew past from the front again.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard swung out a claw.

The massive claw swept past Xiao Jin's tail and smashed a nearby rock to pieces.

Xiao Jin rolled several times through the air before swiftly pulling away.

Qian Renxue's second wave of light blades had already arrived.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard continued devouring them.

There was even a trace of excitement in its eyes.

Angel Soul Power was exceptionally pure.

To it, swallowing these light blades was rare nourishment for growth.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard did not realize that the light sac in its abdomen was gradually nearing its limit.

Chu Jin, however, saw it clearly.

The golden patterns on the light sac's surface grew increasingly dense.

The energy within no longer flowed smoothly and began producing small collisions.

"Add another ten percent of power."

Qian Renxue immediately complied.

The third wave of light blades was noticeably stronger.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard still refused to stop devouring.

Great swathes of golden energy were pulled into its mouth.

The abdominal light sac rapidly expanded.

A muffled sound came from within its body.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard stiffened.

Golden Crocodile stood in the distance, a trace of approval appearing in his eyes.

They had not forcefully bombarded it with high-intensity soul skills.

By relying solely on the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's own greed, they had turned its strongest ability into a weakness.

This was the opportunity Chu Jin had been waiting for.

"Xiao Jin!"

His first soul ring lit up completely.

Xiao Jin raised its head directly before the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard.

Holy Dragon Soul Suppression activated once more.

Golden mental ripples and dragon might crashed head-on into the dragon lizard's mind.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard was suppressing the chaotic energy within its light sac, and its mental defenses had slackened.

Its movements stalled for an instant.

Qian Renxue concentrated all her Soul Power into her longsword.

She no longer split it into tiny light blades.

A more solid Angel sword light shot into its mouth.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's devouring instinct had yet to stop.

The sword light was forcibly dragged into the light sac.

Boom!

The energy within the light sac completely spiraled out of control.

Golden radiance burst from the gaps between the scales on its abdomen.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard let out a pained roar and rolled about wildly, smashing the surrounding rocks apart without pause.

Chu Jin had already charged out.

Without enough enemies and allies to bolster it, Overlord Army could presently provide only an extremely slight enhancement to himself.

Using his Double Pupils, he locked onto the connection between the light sac and the heart.

The Soul Power meridians there had already become fragile from the rampaging energy.

Seeing Chu Jin approach, the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard endured the pain and swung its tail.

The black dragon tail swept across the valley.

Chu Jin leaped forward.

The dragon tail passed beneath his feet.

The gale it generated still threw his body off balance.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard raised a foreclaw and swatted at Chu Jin in midair.

Xiao Jin rammed into it from the side.

Its body was far smaller than its opponent's, incapable of truly knocking the massive claw aside, but it slowed the attack by a fraction.

Chu Jin spun the Heavy Halberd in midair.

The halberd shaft struck the dragon claw.

Bang!

The tremendous force blasted Chu Jin away.

Chu Jin rolled repeatedly across the ground, and the eight-hundred-jin Heavy Halberd nearly slipped from his grasp.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard also suffered backlash from within its light sac. After swiping out a claw, its body convulsed violently, and the golden light in its abdomen grew increasingly chaotic.

Qian Renxue dove down from the air.

The Angel Longsword slashed toward the dragon lizard's eye.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard was forced to raise its head to evade.

Xiao Jin seized the chance to fly toward its abdomen and bit down on the scales near the light sac.

Crack!

The first scale was torn away.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard let out an even more miserable roar.

Chu Jin rose to his feet again.

His arms were still numb.

He did not wait to recover.

His feet shattered the ground as he charged at the dragon lizard once more.

Qian Renxue swung her sword continuously, forcing the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard to keep its head raised and preventing it from attacking Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin clamped down on the scales and kept tearing backward.

The wound near the light sac grew larger and larger.

Chu Jin's Double Pupils locked onto the point where the two connected.

The eight-hundred-pound Heavy Halberd thrust upward from below.

Squelch!

The halberd tip pierced through the soft scales of its abdomen and plunged between the light sac and its heart.

Uncontrolled energy spewed outward through the wound.

Chu Jin's hands were scorched bright red, yet he still did not release the halberd shaft.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard twisted its body frantically.

Its tail swept over again.

Chu Jin had no time to evade.

He was sent flying head-on and crashed into a stone pillar.

Crack!

The stone pillar broke in half.

Chu Jin's chest tightened, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The Heavy Halberd remained lodged in the dragon lizard's abdomen.

Xiao Jin was flung several meters away, but quickly climbed back to its feet.

Seeing its master injured, the golden light on its scales suddenly intensified as it lunged at the wound in the light sac again.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's aura was already declining rapidly.

After its light sac ruptured, it had lost most of its stored energy.

Qian Renxue slashed her sword across its front leg.

Golden sword light tore through the black scales.

The dragon lizard lost its balance and crashed to its knees.

Chu Jin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The dark golden glow in his Double Pupils grew even denser.

He did not pull out the Heavy Halberd embedded in its abdomen.

He took out the heart-protecting mirror forged from his father's Dragon-Patterned Spear from his waist, gripped the spear-tip pattern on its back, and charged at the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard again.

Once he drew near, Chu Jin stepped on the shaft of the Heavy Halberd and used it to leap onto the dragon lizard's head.

Both hands seized one of its protruding bone spikes.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard shook its head violently.

Chu Jin's body swayed nonstop.

Xiao Jin charged in from the front and bit down on the dragon lizard's snout.

Qian Renxue, meanwhile, thrust her longsword at its eye from the other side.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard could not attend to both.

Chu Jin seized the fleeting opening, drew the short blade from his waist, and thrust it down with all his strength at the junction between the dragon lizard's eye socket and skull.

The short blade pierced its brain.

The Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's body suddenly went rigid.

Qian Renxue's sword light followed immediately after.

Its eye was completely pierced through.

Its enormous body swayed a few times before crashing into the valley.

Dust spread in every direction.

Chu Jin jumped down from the dragon lizard's head, braced himself against the Heavy Halberd lodged in its abdomen, and slowly caught his breath.

Xiao Jin landed beside the corpse.

It first sniffed it warily.

After confirming that it was dead, it immediately slapped at the black scales with its claws, as though selecting the tastiest spot.

A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's corpse.

Its color was deep, and its Soul Power fluctuations far surpassed Chu Jin's first Soul Ring.

Qian Renxue landed beside Chu Jin.

She also had several wounds on her shoulder and arm, but her aura remained fairly steady.

"How is your body?"

"My chest is a little bruised."

Chu Jin moved his arms.

"My meridians and bones are fine."

Golden Crocodile finally stepped forward.

He first examined Chu Jin's body, then checked the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's condition.

"The soul beast is around one thousand seven hundred and thirty years old."

"Your vitality and blood have been somewhat depleted."

"Rest for half an hour. Absorb it after you've recovered to your peak."

Chu Jin nodded.

He did not begin immediately just because the Soul Ring had already appeared.

He sat cross-legged on a flat rock and circulated his meditation technique to recover his Soul Power.

Qian Renxue also recovered her depleted strength beside him.

Xiao Jin remained beneath the purple Soul Ring, looking up as it rotated, drool constantly dripping from the corner of its mouth.

Half an hour later.

Chu Jin opened his eyes again.

Golden Crocodile checked his mental state and vitality once more.

Only after confirming that he had largely recovered did he step aside.

Chu Jin sat cross-legged beside the Light-Eating Dragon Lizard's corpse.

Xiao Jin also obediently lay down in front of him.

Drawn by his martial soul, the purple Soul Ring began to descend slowly.