The Eight-Armed Divine Dragon was a transcendent spirit from Zhutuolan mythology. Even Daoist Zigui, who had only recently descended here, had heard of it. Legend said that such divine creatures were often the mounts of gods, but that did not mean the Eight-Armed Divine Dragon could only serve as a mount.
According to those legends, the earliest Eight-Armed Divine Dragon had even battled gods, fighting until heaven and earth went dark, destroying several city-states and wiping out millions of living beings before it was subdued by a god and became a mount. Even then, it would be sent out to slay demons and suppress evil, and among the common folk, its reputation was louder than that of many Lesser Gods.
The divine dragon that appeared before Daoist Zigui now was enormous. It had a dragon's head and a human body, entirely covered in scales that gleamed brilliantly. Looking closely, one could make out the color of refined iron amid each tiny scale. Four arms extended from each side of its body, while its lower half ended in a dragon-like tail. It looked somewhat top-heavy, yet as it floated in the air, that only added to its majesty.
The moment the Eight-Armed Divine Dragon appeared, the forest, which had still held some sound, immediately fell silent—
The rustling of wind through branches and leaves, along with the faint cries of birds and insects, seemed to have been frozen and suppressed. All around was still.
By then, Daoist Zigui had no mind to care about the abruptly vanished sounds. His entire attention had been drawn to the Eight-Armed Divine Dragon's gaze, fixed tightly upon him.
Pressure weighed on him, and pain pricked wherever that gaze fell. Daoist Zigui grew ever more vigilant.
*To produce such an effect merely by looking, without even