A Corpse Sinking in Still Waters

Before those words had faded, while the Demonic Cultivators and Mo Chen were still on guard, the countless rocks that had fallen into the river shot out of the water at astonishing speed, as though controlled by an invisible giant hand, and scattered into a reverse-falling rain of stone that hurtled toward everyone.

Mo Chen had it easy. Only two wheel-sized rocks came his way; he sliced one apart with his Flying Sword and blocked the other with his jade talisman, handling both without difficulty.

But the last group of Demonic Cultivators to arrive had it far worse. Besides the eight-petaled stone flower hurled at them earlier, numerous coffins flew out of the river and headed straight for their cluster.

When had those Qi Refining Demonic Cultivators ever seen anything like this?

The rocks and coffins flew incredibly fast, each carrying terrifying force. Taking one head-on would leave them gravely injured.

The weaker Qi Refining Demonic Cultivators were frightened out of their wits. They scattered with startled cries, their formation instantly falling into chaos.

"Hmph! Mere insect-carving tricks, and you dare wield your axe before a master?!"

A Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivator sneered at the sight and stepped out ahead of the others.

Taking one step forward, the cultivator casually thrust a right palm outward. A vast surge of Demonic Qi, visible to the naked eye, gushed from the palm and formed a black-and-red barrier that met the incoming boulders and coffins head-on.

Deafening explosions rang out one after another. Rocks shattered and coffins splintered, their debris splashing back into the river like rain.

"Form ranks! Prepare for battle! There's a powerful demon underwater!"

Another Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivator shouted sternly, expression grave.

"Yes!" The Demonic Cultivators forced down their panic and tried to regroup into formation.

But the powerful demon beneath the water clearly had no intention of giving them that chance.

Before their demonic formation could take shape, the river below exploded again.

This time, more than twenty even thicker columns of water shot into the sky, rapidly transforming in midair into Water Dragons that attacked everyone present with claws bared and jaws snapping.

While everyone deployed their own methods to deal with the Water Dragons, a huge whirlpool rapidly formed beneath Dragonwall Cliff.

The river churned and waves battered the banks, as though some colossal creature lurked on the riverbed.

Then, beneath everyone's horrified gazes, a dark blue-green figure over seventy feet long suddenly burst from the center of the whirlpool!

Mo Chen, who was closest to the water, first caught a foul, fishy stench. Only then did he see the dark shape shoot out of the river and lash a claw at the four Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators.

The four Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators joined forces to release a mass of Demonic Qi that turned into a shield. It collapsed after their combined strength blocked the Demon Beast's claw.

The Demon Beast circled once, then flew straight toward the top of Dragonwall Cliff. Roughly seventy feet long, it was covered in dark blue-green scales, with dense water spiritual energy coiling around its body.

Four limbs grew from its belly, and even its claws were a foot long. It pressed one claw onto the pavilion, then crushed the East Terrace Pavilion atop the cliff with the slightest exertion.

"That's...?"

For a moment, everyone stared helplessly at the Demon Beast, half python and half Flood Dragon.

"It's a Flood Dragon!" someone in the crowd of Demonic Cultivators cried involuntarily.

"No panicking! Form ranks and defend yourselves! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" A Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivator shouted hoarsely, trying to steady their ranks, but with little effect.

Another Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivator also spoke to bolster their resolve. "This Flood Dragon's cultivation isn't all that high! If we work together and take it down, we'll have our offering for the Blood Sacrifice! Then we can return straight to the sect and report, instead of scraping out a living here on the righteous path's turf!"

"Yes!"

"As you command!"

The Demonic Cultivators rallied and answered in unison.

A trace of mockery flashed through the Flood Dragon's slit pupils, then turned to furious rage. "Arrogant humans. You think blocking one casual strike of mine gives you reason to pat yourselves on the back? You truly have no idea how close you are to death!"

Before its words had faded, the Demon Beast violently whipped its tail. The water clinging to it scattered instantly into countless sparkling droplets, which flew toward them, stretched out in midair, and condensed into three transparent Water Blades as thin as cicada wings.

The Water Blades reflected the moonlight. All anyone saw was a white arc flashing past.

The Protective Aura of the three nearest Qi Refining Demonic Cultivators was sliced apart like paper, and their bodies were severed at the waist.

Their screams rang out almost simultaneously. Blood sprayed through the air, and three severed corpses fell.

Only a single breath passed between the tail lash and their bisection.

The Demon Beast also unleashed its Spiritual Pressure without restraint. At the very bottom, Mo Chen's heart pounded wildly as the pressure struck him.

The Cultivation Miscellany stated that spiritual energy naturally flowed from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration.

Spiritual Pressure arose from the pressure differential caused by differences in the density of Spiritual Power. Those with higher cultivation could stir the Spiritual Power within their bodies to create invisible waves of energy, exerting an unseen deterrent.

If the difference in Spiritual Power resulting from the gap in cultivation was too great, those surging waves could even shake the Spiritual Power out of a weaker cultivator's body. In mild cases, their Dharma Power would be depleted; in severe cases, their dantian would shatter.

The Spiritual Pressure sent Mo Chen's blood churning and made his meridians ache slightly. He dared even less to make any rash move, merely slipping out a few Spirit Stones to slowly replenish his Dharma Power.

"You vile beast! How dare you!"

At the sight, the four Foundation Establishment Demonic Cultivators' eyes nearly split with fury. They could no longer stand by.

All four attacked with furious shouts, bringing out their prized Magic Artifacts, including Demon Banners and Bone Swords, and leading the assault on the Flood Dragon!

With the Foundation Establishment cultivators taking the lead, the other Demonic Cultivators forced down their fear and unleashed fireballs, Ice Spikes, and other spells, hurling them all at the Flood Dragon.

The Demon Beast roared and flew into the sky, summoning another twenty lifelike Water Dragons to aid it as it charged at everyone alongside them.

One of the Water Dragons picked out its target and flew toward Mo Chen.

Although he had already used up more than half his Dharma Power, this was no time to conserve it.

Mo Chen summoned eight Firebirds to hold the line in front of him, then flung out several talismans for further protection before turning to flee.

Yet after crashing through the eight Firebirds and two Flame Serpents, the Water Dragon had merely lost some water to vaporization. It remained ferocious and pursued Mo Chen relentlessly.

The Water Dragon had shrunk a little, but its speed had not diminished. Remembering how the Five Elements generated and overcame one another, Mo Chen reached toward the cliff face from a distance. Copying Shi Tian, he used the Object-Manipulation Technique to wrench loose a stone slab three finger-widths thick and shield his back.

The Water Dragon struck the slab and paused only briefly from the pain before opening its jaws to bite at Mo Chen again.

Mo Chen turned the slab horizontally, applied two layers of the Giant Strength Technique, and hurled it out. At last, it sliced through the Water Dragon along the corners of its mouth, dividing it into upper and lower halves that dissolved into water and fell into the river.

The other cultivators likewise brought out their defensive methods to deal with the Water Dragons.

Although the group of more than twenty Demonic Cultivators faced the Demon Beast itself and over a dozen Water Dragons head-on, they had four Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators among them. Alarmed but not panicked, they activated their Demonic Artifacts and barely managed to withstand this round of water-column attacks.

For a time, Demonic Qi churned high in the sky and demonic power swept in every direction. Both sides became entangled in a chaotic melee, neither able to break free.

At that very moment, where no one was watching, Mo Chen quietly dispersed the spiritual light around his body. His eyes went unfocused, and he plummeted toward the river as though he had been slain.

Mo Chen fought to keep his facial muscles from breaking into a smile, maintaining the look of someone dying in despair.

Splash!

Mo Chen plunged bodily into the river and used the momentum to sink.

Once he was three feet below the surface, an invisible membrane formed by the Water-Avoidance Technique quietly spread around him, keeping the river water out.

Mo Chen secretly rejoiced, but still dared not let his guard down. He continued using the momentum of his fall to sink toward the dark riverbed.

When he reached a depth of twenty feet and saw that no one had noticed him, Mo Chen immediately cast the Water Escape Technique and dove farther down.

Below that, it was too dark to see his own hand, but fortunately, cultivators possessed Divine Sense. Whether there was light made no difference at all.

As long as he could escape, none of that mattered.

Seeing that no one pursued him from the surface and that no Water Dragons attacked him underwater, Mo Chen devoted even more magical power to the Water Escape Technique. Wrapped in blue light beneath the water, he sped even faster into the river's depths.

Heh heh, I'm outta here~

Yet he had not gone far when Mo Chen suddenly sensed an abnormally dense aura of cold death permeating the waters below!

A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed... the river below was full of coffins and corpses!