Lure the Tiger to Fight the Dragon

The Horned Dragon's attacks were ferocious. Caught between lightning and poisonous mist, Red Cloud was hard-pressed on every side, danger lurking at every turn.

His cultivation had already been inferior to that of the leading Horned Dragon. Now, facing three opponents alone, he was at an absolute disadvantage.

I have to find a way to take one of them out first!

A vicious glint flashed through Red Cloud's eyes as he abruptly charged at the Horned Dragon controlling the poisonous mist.

That Horned Dragon had the weakest cultivation of the three, only at the late Primordial Unity Golden Immortal stage. Moreover, while its poisonous mist was troublesome, its defenses were weaker than those of the other two Horned Dragons.

Seeing Red Cloud rush toward it, the Horned Dragon controlling the poisonous mist was delighted rather than alarmed. It opened its mouth and spat out a mass of thick poison mist, black as ink and reeking of a pungent stench. One look was enough to tell how potent its venom was.

Red Cloud did not evade. Instead, he charged straight into the poisonous mist. A layer of golden light emerged over his body—the protective power of the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune, capable of sealing off external toxins.

The Horned Dragon controlling the poisonous mist had not expected Red Cloud to be immune to its poison. It froze for a moment.

In that brief lapse, Red Cloud had already reached it. The Ice Soul Sword transformed into a sky-shaking arc of sword light and stabbed straight for its throat.

The Horned Dragon reacted swiftly as well, suddenly contracting its body to evade the vital point at its throat. Yet the sword light still pierced its shoulder, the razor-sharp blade penetrating its scales and sinking into flesh.

Aoo—

The Horned Dragon let out a pained howl. Dragon blood gushed from its wound and splattered across the ground, corroding one deep pit after another into the earth.

"You're courting death!"

The leading Horned Dragon flew into a rage. Its tail swept out like a gigantic whip, lashing toward Red Cloud with a shrieking gale.

Red Cloud had no time to dodge and could only take it head-on.

He crossed his arms before him, and the golden words of the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune condensed into a shield in front of him.

Smack—

The dragon tail struck the shield, shattering it at once. Red Cloud was sent flying, tumbling dozens of times through the air before he stabilized himself. Both his arms were numb, his palms split open, and blood streamed down.

What overwhelming strength...

Gritting his teeth, Red Cloud shifted the Ice Soul Sword to his left hand and drew an Ice Soul Divine Thunder from his sleeve with his right.

Seeing that Red Cloud could still stand, a flicker of surprise passed through the leading Horned Dragon's eyes.

One strike from its dragon tail was enough to grievously wound an opponent of the same realm, yet Red Cloud had suffered only minor injuries.

"Interesting. Then take another strike from me!"

The Horned Dragon swung its tail again. This time, its power was even greater; wherever the tail passed, it tore rifts through the void.

Red Cloud did not meet it head-on. With a flicker, he evaded the direct blow of the dragon tail. But rather than fleeing, he charged toward it, silently pressing the Ice Soul Divine Thunder in his hand against the tail.

Boom—

The Ice Soul Divine Thunder exploded, and a frigid tide instantly froze the Horned Dragon's tail into an ice club.

The Horned Dragon let out a miserable shriek. Its tail had been frozen, severely restricting its movements.

"Now!"

Seizing the chance, Red Cloud shot forward, his Ice Soul Sword thrusting directly at the Horned Dragon's abdomen. The abdomen was the weakest point in a Dragon Clan member's defenses; if struck, it would inflict grave damage.

But just as the sword light was about to pierce the Horned Dragon, a bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the Ice Soul Sword with perfect accuracy, scattering the sword light.

It was the Horned Dragon controlling lightning.

Red Cloud sighed inwardly, knowing he had missed the best opportunity. The three Horned Dragons were coordinating more and more seamlessly. Breaking them one by one was no longer likely.

With that thought, Red Cloud made his decision without hesitation. His body became a streak of light as he fled toward Buzhou Mountain.

"Chase him! Don't let him get away!"

The leading Horned Dragon roared and took the lead in pursuit. Though its tail had been frozen, it quickly thawed it with dragonflame and regained its mobility.

The three Horned Dragons pursued relentlessly from behind. In particular, the Horned Dragon controlling lightning was the fastest, and the distance between it and Red Cloud steadily shrank.

As he fled, Red Cloud considered his options.

In his current condition, he could not possibly shake off the pursuit of three Horned Dragons. He had to find a way to create chaos, or hide somewhere with many people.

Suddenly, inspiration flashed through Red Cloud's mind.

Find territory belonging to the Qilin Clan. If he could lure the Dragon Clan into Qilin Clan territory, then given the tension between the Dragon Clan and the Qilin Clan, it might provoke a conflict. He could escape amid the chaos.

This plan was extremely risky.

The Qilin Clan might attack him as well, but that was still better than being caught by three Horned Dragons.

With that in mind, Red Cloud calculated with his fingers, changed direction, and flew toward Qilin Clan territory.

The Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Tribes divided the Primordial World among themselves, but their own members were not numerous enough to rule the entire Primordial World. Thus, beneath the Three Clans were vast races that had submitted to them.

The Tiger Clan was one of the powerful Primordial World races that had submitted to the Qilin Clan. Its ancestor, the White Tiger, was a mighty Primordial Golden Immortal. Because of this, the Tiger Clan held a lofty position among the beasts.

The Tiger Clan's relationship with the Qilin Clan was like that of the Turtle Clan with the Dragon Clan. Both clans possessed a Primordial Golden Immortal ancestor.

The Qilin Clan territory Red Cloud chose was Tigerhead Mountain, a range guarded by the Tiger Clan.

Tigerhead Mountain stretched for hundreds of millions of miles, inhabited by countless Tiger Clan members and beast races.

At the center of Tigerhead Mountain stood Black Tiger City, the Tiger Clan's main stronghold, where a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Tiger Clan was stationed.

Naturally, Red Cloud did not dare approach Black Tiger City.

But he did not need to approach Black Tiger City either.

Red Cloud only needed to enter the outer reaches of Tigerhead Mountain for there to be a chance of provoking a conflict between the Dragon Clan and the Tiger Clan.

When Red Cloud flew into the skies above Tigerhead Mountain, the beast races below immediately stirred into commotion.

Some beast-race cultivators with higher cultivation even rose into the air, intending to intercept Red Cloud.

But Red Cloud was incredibly fast, and those cultivators could not catch him at all. As his plan unfolded, the Dragon Clan's aura quickly drew the Tiger Clan's attention.

A furious roar rang out from the depths of Tigerhead Mountain.

A massive figure charged out from the mountains. It was a Black Tiger, its entire body dark as ink and radiating a faint glow. Auspicious clouds swirled beneath its four paws, and it looked imposing beyond measure.

"Dragon Clan, you have crossed the boundary!"

The Black Tiger's voice boomed like thunder through the sky. Red Cloud felt even his soul tremble. The Black Tiger's appearance instantly complicated the situation.

The Black Tiger was the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of Tigerhead Mountain.

When the three Horned Dragons reached the edge of Tigerhead Mountain and saw the Black Tiger blocking their path, they had no choice but to stop.

The leading Horned Dragon looked grimly at the Black Tiger and said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Black Tiger, we are not provoking the Tiger Clan. We are merely pursuing a little thief who stole a Phoenix Clan treasure. That thief fled into your territory. Please grant us this convenience and allow us to enter and capture him."

The Black Tiger snorted coldly. "Hmph. The Dragon Clan's affairs have nothing to do with me."

"But this is Tiger Clan territory. Your intrusion without permission is a provocation against the Tiger Clan."

"Black Tiger, why be so rigid?"

The leading Horned Dragon frowned. "What that brat stole was the Parasol Tree. You know how important the Parasol Tree is to the Phoenix Clan. If we help the Phoenix Clan recover it, we will be doing them a favor."

"Ha ha, helping the Phoenix Clan?"

The Black Tiger sneered. "Would your Dragon Clan truly be so kind-hearted? You would rather the Parasol Tree vanished forever, wouldn't you? Enough. Stop putting on a performance before me."

"Since that brat entered Tigerhead Mountain, he falls under the Tiger Clan's jurisdiction. Your Dragon Clan will not interfere."