Dragon in the Mountains, Sword Beyond the City

Stop!

The mountain peak finally stopped when it was twenty feet above the ground.

The dark, imposing mountains loomed overhead, covering most of Wuxin City. A section of the city wall even seemed to connect with the base of the mountain. The visual impact was so intense that the pressure was indescribable. Many people even forgot to breathe, feeling suffocated and oppressed.

Soon, the temperature in the city rose, and the air was filled with waves of heat.

This warm breath brought comfort and dispelled some of the oppressive feeling.

"It's stopped?"

The same thought crossed the minds of everyone in the city, while in the military camp outside the city, many soldiers stared intently at the mountain peak that had fallen from the sky. From their perspective, they could see more clearly how the mountain peak had stopped at the last second and hovered above the city.

"This mountain, and the figure and words that appeared in my mind before..."

Song Yuan frowned, his gaze fixed on the mountain. The military camp had been shrouded in a thin mist, and many soldiers were in a daze, but Song Yuan was not among them. The sudden appearance of that figure in his mind made him feel surprised.

However, his train of thought was quickly interrupted. Not far from him, Song Qian mounted her horse, pulled on the reins, and galloped towards the city.

"This child..."

Song Yuan frowned, wanting to give chase, but unable to leave the military camp, he could only turn around and give a few instructions, ordering two of his personal guards to follow on horseback.

As the three riders departed, Song Yuan took a deep breath, glanced at the mountain peak again, and said in a deep voice, "The situation is still unclear, and we cannot afford to relax our vigilance."

As soon as he finished speaking, a warmth suddenly filled the air around them.

"Um?"

This heat emanated from the suspended mountain peak, and at this moment, the scenery around the peak was faintly distorted.

What exactly happened to that mountain?

With a sudden thought, Song Yuan looked up and gazed into the distance, his eyes landing on the mountaintop.

Flames rise from the mountaintop.

The Human Fire were much smaller than before, and seemed to be about to go out. But in reality, the flames on this mountain peak only covered a part of the entire mountain. More flames danced within the mountain, spreading and permeating outwards from the inside.

Within the mountain, layers of restrictions were spread, connecting the inside and outside. Now, as the flames seeped in, these restrictions gradually began to burn, but instead of being destroyed, they were gradually being refined.

Qiu Yan's senses spread through the mountains along with the flames, slowly transmitting the mysteries of the mountains and bringing a profound and solid atmosphere.

As the restrictions were continuously burned and refined, Qiu Yan's perception and consciousness deepened, and a force deep within the mountain, drawing people in without turning back, gradually became clear. This was an obscure force, faintly radiating magnetic energy, attracting the rocks.

Finally, a sense flashed through Qiu Yan's mind. A scene appeared!

What appeared was a dark, obscure river that flowed through the mountains, seamlessly integrated with them, as if it were alive.

"No! This river is indeed alive! It's the soul of a Horned Dragon that has been refined! It just takes the form of a river!"

Once the divine perception penetrates deeply, and with the aid of Human Fire, the key to understanding this river is easily discerned.

At the same time, the Black River suddenly boiled, condensing into a ten-zhang-long Black Dragon that roared, "I didn't expect you, a deity, to have such abilities. You're actually going to infiltrate and refine Red Leaf Peak. It's a pity I arrived first; the core of this Law Treasure is already under my control!"

As the Black Dragon roared, a phantom figure appeared above it, exuding an aura that Qiu Yan found familiar.

With a slight sense, Qiu Yan recognized that this person was actually the old man who had been lying through his teeth in the Spirit-Locking Picture!

Back then, the old man disguised himself to gain the trust of the scholar's avatar and keep him by his side, but he was directly refined. At that time, he left a message saying that he was just a Soul Split, and the Black Dragon emanating the same aura now is very likely the real body!

Having learned from his past experience, Qiu Yan naturally wouldn't easily trust the other party. This Horned Dragon soul was the core of the entire mountain peak, and it must have been controlled by Tang Lai before; how could it have changed hands so easily?

Upon realizing this, the deity ignored the other party's words and, with a thought, unleashed divine power, carrying the surging Incense Faith, which combined with Human Fire, and pounced towards the Black Dragon!

"Oh no! We didn't fool him!"

At the head of the Black Dragon, the illusory figure sighed, then vanished like a bubble, leaving no trace.

Splash!

The Black Dragon scattered and transformed back into a river, but before it could return to calm, it was surrounded by Human Fire. The flames burned the river, but instead of evaporating, they created some cracks. A thought emerged from these cracks, condensing into Tang Lai's roaring face.

Without the slightest hesitation, the deity himself raised his hand and annihilated the thought. Then, his own divine power and the Incense Faith poured in, quickly filling the river.

This river, refined from the soul of Horned Dragon, was devoid of thought and intention. After Tang Lai's will was shattered, she had no idea how to resist and was instantly controlled by Qiu Yan.

The next moment, his consciousness jolted, and the entire mountain appeared in Qiu Yan's mind, its interior and exterior as clear as a mirror.

He immediately noticed that stalactites were forming and assembling in a cave on the mountain.

These stalactites were originally connected to the mountain, and the energy within them twisted together, penetrating deep into the mountain and disturbing the core river, which is why Tang Lai was unable to control the mountain peak.

Of course, this is also related to Tang Lai's own repeated serious injuries.

"So, in that case, the people in the cave did offer some help. In that case..."

Changing his mind, Qiu Yan used the power of the entire mountain to refine a Human Path Flame, which he then merged into the stalactites in the cave. He then stopped attacking and let the stalactites fly out of the cave and disappear into the horizon.

Then, the entire mountain trembled, silver mist filled the mountain, and Human Fire flickered on the mountaintop, making it look like a huge stove from a distance.

Stove Mountain!

Immediately afterwards, under the horrified gazes of the people in the city, Stove Mountain slowly rose, its entire body swayed, and it flew rapidly southward!

With the departure of this mountain, the oppressive atmosphere throughout the city dissipated.

"Did the mountain fly away?"

"We're saved?"

"What just happened? Was I dreaming?"

Exclamations, gasps of surprise, and whispers echoed throughout the city.

At the same time.

In a corner of the city, Tang Lai lay in a deep pit, watching the azure sky revealed as the mountains receded, and let out a bitter laugh.

His body was completely blackened, and his spirit seemed to be gradually decaying.

At the edge of the deep pit stood a person, his blue robe fluttering in the wind; it was Qiu Yan's scholar clone.

Large patches of blood stained the clothes. But there was no wound at the tear in the clothes; instead, smooth skin and taut flesh were visible, revealing astonishing explosive power and a faint aura of authority.

Sensing this imposing aura, Tang Lai stopped his bitter laugh, shifted his gaze to Qiu Yan, and said, "I didn't expect you to have been hiding your cultivation level. That attack of mine should have crippled all your cultivation, but because I miscalculated and didn't control my strength well, I gave you a chance to catch your breath. However, your courage is indeed extraordinary, daring to gamble that I wouldn't kill you!" His voice was already hoarse.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan stepped forward and said, "My cultivation is not as high as yours, I don't have as many treasures as you, my backing is not as strong as yours, and I don't have as many resources to utilize. I'm at a disadvantage in almost every aspect. Without taking risks, how can I succeed?"

Hearing this, Tang Lai laughed, "Good! Well said! How can anything be accomplished without taking risks? This personality suits my temperament. If we weren't enemies, we might have had a good relationship. Unfortunately, fate decides our grudges, but our hearts are shaped by our own actions. It's destined that we'll fight to the death. But there's still one thing I don't understand. I hope you can let me die in peace. Where did you learn my Upper Spirit Sect arts from?"

Qiu Yan did not answer, but walked straight to Tang Lai.

"Unwilling to talk? Fine, let's get started." Tang Lai shook his head, putting on a magnanimous appearance.

Qiu Yan laughed, "What a ruthless nature! You put on this act to make me take action, probably because you think I don't know you're covered in poison. Once you die, your body will explode, affecting the entire city, and I'll be the first to be hit, with no chance of survival. Your desire for revenge even if it means your own death is truly chilling!"

"Huh? You actually knew that!" Tang Lai's expression changed drastically when her thoughts were exposed.

At this moment, a shadow suddenly appeared on Qiu Yan's left, twisting and stretching into a pitch-black figure, releasing chaotic and negative emotions; on his right, a flash of light revealed the form of the deity himself.

"This..." Upon seeing this scene, Tang Lai's pupils shrank, but before he could speak, Qiu Yan made a hand seal, a method of the Upper Spirit Sect.

Upon seeing this, Tang Lai trembled all over and suddenly shouted, "You dare, you brat! I..."

The moment he uttered his cry, the pitch-black figure pounced forward, merging into his body. Then, the divine being turned around, unleashing a torrent of divine power that flowed into the scholar's clone and coalesced into a hand seal.

Immediately afterwards, the scholar's clone pointed forward, and a beam of extremely concentrated light flew out from the fingertip, striking Tang Lai directly on the forehead.

Boom!

Tang Lai trembled violently, her scattered Three Souls Seven Souls twisting and converging towards her forehead...

Wuxin City, on a hill.

Xi Yun knelt on one knee, supporting his body with his long sword. He trembled all over, his forehead was covered in blood, and blood flowed from his seven orifices.

"Cough cough cough..."

He coughed and vomited blood.

A voice suddenly rang out from his hand, clanging and clashing like metal striking metal. "Xi Yun, are you really going to die this time? Do you have any last words?"

The one who spoke was the Greensteel Longsword in his hand.

Xi Yun glanced at the longsword, but said nothing. Not long after, his body went limp and melted, eventually turning into a pool of blood, leaving only a wisp of his Living Soul floating away.

Looking at the Living Soul, the longsword sighed and shot out a beam of sword light, enveloping the Living Soul and blocking out the sunlight.

"It seems you've won the gamble, but I wonder if you've achieved the desired results in the Yu Zhanguo. After all, you bear the Slave Seal. Although you haven't been completely annihilated yet, you still can't enter the Netherworld unless a deity is willing to intervene."

Upon hearing these words, a thought immediately emanated from the Living Soul.

"Hmm? I see." The longsword let out a soft exclamation, then flashed with a cold light, carrying the Living Soul as it soared through the air, its direction clearly towards Wuxin City. (To be continued)

ps: Thank you to book friends "Yanyan Baby", "cmhappy", "Do you want to eat apples", " poison", "tilaf", "Sulfide Heart", "Dark Mystery", "sgcy", "kai special", "Twenty Months", and "Yi Er Da" for their monthly votes!

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