The long strand of hair was naturally all but invisible to ordinary eyes. Almost none of those looking up from the ground could see it, but to the North Sea Dragon Lord and the others, it seemed extraordinarily conspicuous.
The hair drifted away on the wind, then descended toward the ground. The Great Toad King and Chan Qin, who had only just landed together, both instinctively reached out.
But the strand did not fall into their hands. Father and daughter both grasped at empty air, and Chan Qin even leaped up to catch it, only to see it drift away on the wind.
"Qin'er. If you can't catch it, let it go."
At the Great Toad King's words, Chan Qin landed again. With a trace of reluctance, she could only watch the hair float away.
By now, the strand's aura had completely dissipated. In a moment's inattention, it drifted far away and vanished amid the dust and raging winds filling the sky.
Rumble!
The brief distraction of the hair was finally swept aside by a far greater disturbance.
As thunder exploded, heaven and earth shone as brightly as day. In the lightning, the whole of Dragon Painting Mountain seemed to turn into a mountain of pure white snow.
Below, countless pairs of eyes squeezed shut under the glare, streaming with tears, and people raised their hands to cover them.
Rumble!
The thunder grew louder, and Dragon Painting Mountain trembled faintly. The collision of auras whipped up a tornado.
The presence concealed within that wind was immense and oppressive. Even the North Sea Dragon Lord, already in his dragon form, could no longer approach Dragon Painting Mountain's main peak. His True Dragon body was driven far back through the gale.
Rumble! Crack-rumble!
Peal after peal of thunder mingled with boundless auras.