The Purple Dragon King, its entire body radiating brilliant violet divine light, resembled the legendary Qilin Beast. Its body was like that of a deer and a horse, with wolf-like hooves, dragon-scaled hide, and a powerful crocodile tail.
A pair of forked violet-gold horns, resembling antlers, grew from its head. Its skull also resembled that of the legendary Ancestral Dragon, and it emanated an overwhelming aura of pressure.
The Purple Dragon King seemed to turn into a violet afterimage as it darted through the forest. Its body, barely over a meter long, made it exceptionally agile and swift.
Yet behind it, the curse masters who had been pursuing it for half the day had no intention of letting it go so easily.
A group of golden-haired, green-eyed curse masters dressed in long robes chanted obscure incantations. Then, one after another, they rose into the air and swooped down from above the forest toward the Purple Dragon King weaving through the trees.
"Move!"
Land and Yan Qingcheng, standing beside the waterfall, exchanged a glance before seamlessly coordinating their attack.
Land solemnly chanted an incantation, his dazzling golden hair streaming in the wind, while Yan Qingcheng spread her Undying Sky Wings and flew after the Purple Dragon King.
Land's chant was exceptionally rapid. Mere seconds later, a blazing sea of golden flames appeared in the sky. The golden firestorm surged into a fiery serpent and shot toward the curse masters.
"Watch out!"
A curse master in a hemp-colored robe abruptly spotted the incoming golden fire serpent, his expression changing at once. He hurriedly warned the curse masters around him and began chanting a defensive spell.
Although the Hemp Robe Curse Master's warning had been timely, several curse masters still failed to cast defensive spells in time. They were swept into the golden fire serpent and fell, charred black, into the dense forest.
"Land, what do you mean by this?!"
The Hemp Robe Curse Master raised a milky-white protective barrier around himself and hovered in the air, suppressing the fury in his heart as he demanded an answer from Land.
"Heh, I simply think you're unworthy of possessing this Accompanying Dragon King!"
Land rose into the air, looking disdainfully at the group of curse masters led by the Hemp Robe Curse Master.
"You!"
The Hemp Robe Curse Master flew into a rage.
"Let's see just how capable you really are!"
Led by the Hemp Robe Curse Master, the curse masters immediately began chanting. Milky-white holy light condensed in the sky into countless blades of light, which streaked toward Land like a meteor shower.
Facing the incoming light blades, Land did not panic. He raised a milky-white light shield while evading the blade-rain.
As he dodged, Land calmly began chanting a counterattack spell from within the Holy Light Shield.
Fire serpents danced, light blades flew, and enormous exotic beasts formed of energy leaped and rolled through the sky, roaring without end.
Yet despite using every means at their disposal, the curse masters still could do little to Land. Instead, Land fought them all alone and held his own.
But that was only Land. While he alone held back the curse masters—those most threatening to the pair's attempt to capture the Purple Dragon King, since they could fly through the air—Yan Qingcheng had already chased after it.
Her Undying Sky Wings unfurled against the wind as Yan Qingcheng swiftly flew toward the Purple Dragon King darting through the forest.
Though the Purple Dragon King was fast as it moved between the trees, it was still far too slow compared to Yan Qingcheng flying directly through the sky.
She was getting closer and closer.
Like a swallow spreading its wings through the air, Yan Qingcheng drew ever nearer to the Purple Dragon King. She began descending and pulled a violet cylinder from her robes.
"Bang!"
At the press of Yan Qingcheng's finger, a massive silver-white net sprang from the cylinder and rapidly flew toward the Purple Dragon King.
The net was more than five meters long and wide, almost perfectly sealing off the Purple Dragon King's path forward.
"Roar!"
Seeing the silver-white net flying toward it, the Qilin-like Purple Dragon King let out an earth-shaking roar.
The enormous dragon roar shook the forest itself. Even Yan Qingcheng's blood and qi churned from the shock, and she nearly fell from the sky. It was difficult to imagine that such a young dragon could unleash a roar of such terrifying power.
With the Purple Dragon King's furious roar, a bolt of violet lightning descended from the sky and struck the silver net directly. Yet the net suffered no damage whatsoever and continued toward the Purple Dragon King without slowing.
As the silver net was about to ensnare the Purple Dragon King, Yan Qingcheng felt as though her heart had stopped beating.
Could it succeed?
This cylinder was a secret treasure she had brought from the Undying Saint Gate: the Heaven Binding Net. The net it released was woven from divine silkworm thread. It was incomparably resilient and impervious to water and fire. Even the Purple Dragon King would find it difficult to break free quickly once caught.
Just as the Heaven Binding Net was about to capture the Purple Dragon King, dazzling violet divine light suddenly erupted from its violet-gold antler-like horns.
The violet divine light flashed over the Heaven Binding Net, fixing it in midair. Then, with a sweep of the violet light, the immobilized Heaven Binding Net was sent flying away.
"How is that possible?!"
Yan Qingcheng was utterly shocked by the divine ability displayed by the Purple Dragon King.
Hadn't it been said that all great divine abilities of the dragons on Dragon Island, apart from their innate abilities, had been suppressed? Why could this Purple Dragon King still freely use divine abilities? Could this ironclad rule be ineffective against Accompanying Dragon Kings?
After sweeping the Heaven Binding Net aside with violet divine light, the Purple Dragon King shook its Ancestral Dragon-like head and turned its gaze toward Yan Qingcheng.
"Not good!"
Yan Qingcheng's heart jolted. She instantly beat her Undying Sky Wings, preparing to shift position, but it was already too late. Dazzling violet divine light swept toward her and flung her away.
Yan Qingcheng's body was instantly immobilized, leaving her unable to move. She could only watch helplessly as she was hurled away, crashing through countless branches before falling to the ground.
"Cough, cough!"
Coughing up a trace of blood, Yan Qingcheng circulated the Undying Heavenly Art to suppress the churning blood and qi within her body, then struggled to her feet.
Perhaps the violet divine light was still beyond the Purple Dragon King's current ability to wield. After forcibly using it across realms, the Purple Dragon King was clearly listless. Even its once-brilliant violet-gold horns seemed to have dimmed considerably.
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
"Whoosh, whoosh..."
After seeing Yan Qingcheng and the Purple Dragon King both suffer injuries, many of the opportunists following close behind could no longer restrain themselves. They sprang out one after another and charged toward the Purple Dragon King.
"Roar!"
Though the Purple Dragon King appeared somewhat weak at the moment, its status as the king of savage beasts made it unwilling to surrender obediently. Instead, it launched a counterattack.
With a furious roar, a wave of dazzling violet divine light swept out, knocking the charging cultivators aside. Several bolts of lightning then struck down from the sky, scorching the cultivators behind them black from head to toe.
After displaying such might, the Purple Dragon King looked even more exhausted. With a low growl, it turned and vanished into the forest.
"Chase it!"
After the prolonged battle, the Purple Dragon King had consumed much of the dragon essence in its body. Thus, its attacks had failed to inflict severe injuries upon these cultivators.
Some of the less seriously injured cultivators struggled back to their feet after seeing the Purple Dragon King flee, then once again chased after it.
Yan Qingcheng, who had also been struck by the violet divine light, was no exception. She spread her Undying Sky Wings, rose into the air, and pursued the fleeing Purple Dragon King once more.
A violet dragon shadow darted rapidly through the forest, countless figures pursuing it relentlessly from behind. Above them, Yan Qingcheng in violet robes was also rapidly closing in.
"Roar!"
No one knew how far they had chased it when an enormous dragon roar suddenly rang out in the distance, shattering metal and stone as it pierced the heavens. A violet savage dragon as tall as a mountain abruptly appeared before them.