Rise

Was there a seventh slash?

A seventh slash, my ass!

Fang Heng spat out another mouthful of blood in fury. Forcing out the sixth slash had already pushed him to his limit, and now his internal organs hurt as though they had all been wrenched out of place.

What kind of monster was this brat?!

That was the only thought left in Fang Heng's mind.

Ever since childhood, he had been a genius in everyone's eyes. Challenging opponents above his realm had been as routine as eating a meal, yet today, someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm had driven him to this.

He had even... begun to feel like a "sparring partner" in his opponent's eyes.

Now he finally understood how those he had defeated across realms must have felt.

"Young master!"

Seeing how badly Fang Heng was injured, his gray-robed guardian, Elder Mo, blanched. He drove Red Wind back with a feint, then flashed forward to stand in front of Fang Heng.

He watched Si Chen warily and said in a grave voice, "Your abilities are formidable. You have my admiration. Perhaps there has been some misunderstanding today. Why don't we leave it at that?"

As Fang Heng's guardian, his first duty was to ensure his safety. Magic treasures and spirit materials could be obtained another day. As long as the green hills remained, there would be no fear of running out of firewood.

Si Chen understood at once: they couldn't win, so they wanted to flee.

But how could he agree?

After dealing with Lü Yan and Lü Ci, he had figured it out: in this world, once blows were exchanged and a grudge was formed, it had to be settled completely.

If he let them escape today, they might return tomorrow with someone even stronger to make trouble.

He had no desire to deal endlessly with the whole "beat the young one, and the old one comes running" mess.

"You're not leaving today."

Si Chen's refusal was clean and decisive. The Thunderbolt Spear forming anew in his hand made it clear he wasn't joking.

Elder Mo's expression darkened instantly. "Young man, leave yourself a way out. Do you truly intend to fight the Fang Household to the death?"

Si Chen frowned slightly. Why did these people always pin their hopes on the lineage or faction behind them?

As though announcing their lineage's name meant everyone else should fear them.

"I don't care if you're the Fang Household or the Round Household."

Before his words had faded, he hurled the Thunderbolt Spear in his hand like a bolt of lightning!

Elder Mo's gaze sharpened. His nascent soul middle stage cultivation erupted as he struck with his palm. The tremendous force shattered the Thunderbolt Spear in midair, scattering lightning in every direction.

But his heart sank as well. He knew there would be no peaceful resolution today.

His gaze swept quickly to the other side. The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect's two Core Formation Elders were being kicked around by a ring of demonic beasts, utterly unable to fight back. They looked unlikely to survive.

Meanwhile, after a head-on clash with Black Mountain, Lü Ci used the force of the impact to retreat, joining him and Fang Heng.

"You old bastard! Running away, motherfucker? Don't tuck your balls in if you've got any guts! Pah!"

Black Mountain roared relentlessly, but seeing his opponents gather together, he did not charge in recklessly.

Lü Ci's breathing was somewhat ragged, and several claw marks had been added to his Daoist robe. His gaze toward Si Chen brimmed with venom, yet also held a trace of fear he could not conceal.

Fang Heng looked at the somewhat disheveled Lü Ci before him, then at Si Chen, who refused to budge and was determined to tear out the weeds by their roots. An overwhelming surge of humiliation and hatred flooded his heart.

He knew that if he retreated in such disgrace today, this incident would become his inner demon. He might never advance another inch on his cultivation path!

How could he, Fang Heng, endure such humiliation! Fierce jealousy and resentment nearly stripped him of his reason.

"I admit you're strong. Stronger than I expected."

Fang Heng stared fixedly at Si Chen, his voice somewhat hoarse from injury and rage,

"But in the cultivation world... your own cultivation has never been the only thing that matters!"

He abruptly took something out of his Storage Ring,

It was a palm-sized banner, pitch-black and exuding an ominous aura. Twisted runes were embroidered across its surface, and black mist seemed to flow within it.

"The Yin Corpse Banner!"

At the sight of it, Elder Mo's pupils contracted slightly. He immediately understood what Fang Heng intended to do.

He wanted to stop him. Such an evil object inflicted tremendous backlash, and once used, it would bring endless trouble in its wake.

But when he saw the resolve in Fang Heng's eyes, he forcibly swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

He understood that the young master's Dao Heart was already in turmoil. If he could not reclaim his pride this way, he might truly be ruined.

"Do you see this?" Fang Heng raised the little black banner and addressed Si Chen in a grave voice,

"Lineage, magic treasures, reserves! They're all part of strength too! What do you have to fight me with?"

Those words were meant for Si Chen, but even more, they seemed intended to bolster his own courage as he tried to recover his shattered sense of superiority.

Before his words had faded, he bit through the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the Yin Corpse Banner!

Buzzz!

The little banner shuddered violently, swelling in an instant until it stood taller than a person. A bleak, sinister wind blew, and the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves poured from within as vast clouds of black mist surged out!

In an instant, the temperature throughout the cavern seemed to drop.

"Wh-what the hell is that thing?!"

"That... what an evil magic treasure!"

Every living creature watching, human or demon, stared at the sight in shock. Just what kind of evil object was this?!

"Fuck, what's that little bastard up to now?!" Black Mountain cursed, then kicked off the ground and landed in front of Si Chen.

Red Wind did the same. Both demons adopted defensive stances.

Si Chen also frowned slightly. The aura emanating from that so-called Yin Corpse Banner deeply displeased him.

Yet the towering black mist did not attack Si Chen or the Demon Race. Instead, it rushed straight toward the Flood Dragon's mountain-like corpse coiled in the center of the cavern!

The black mist swiftly enveloped the immense dragon corpse, seeping strand by strand into the flesh no longer protected by scales, even burrowing in through its eye sockets and mouth.

"Hahahahaha!"

Fang Heng burst into crazed laughter, his face unnaturally pale from the loss of essence blood and his excitement,

"So what if you have extraordinary talent? Before a supreme treasure like this, death is still your only fate! Rise!"

Amid his wild laughter, the Flood Dragon's corpse, dead for untold years and long since drained of every trace of life, actually began to tremble faintly!

Then, beneath everyone's utterly horrified gazes, the colossal dragon corpse suddenly moved!

Then its enormous head rose, slowly and stiffly.

Within its hollow eye sockets, two flickering balls of eerie black ghostfire now burned!

A pressure unique to a Flood Dragon instantly swept through the entire cavern!

The Corpse Flood Dragon opened its eyes!