Baleful Spirit

Without looking any further, he spread the golden wings on his back and immediately landed on the light barrier at the bottom of the lake.

Li Dao looked at the milky-white barrier beneath his feet and plunged straight into it without another thought.

Thud-

A muffled sound rang out, and the barrier swallowed him whole in an instant.

Beneath the barrier lay an independent space.

As Li Dao arrived, rows of candles immediately lit up in the dark, fathomless underground cavern.

"Is this the Yin-Yang Flood Dragon's corpse!?"

In the flickering candlelight, an enormous dragon corpse gleaming like white jade came into view before him.

Standing before it, Li Dao seemed no larger than an ant. He could not take in its entire body at a glance.

Tap, tap, tap-

He took a few steps forward and sent his divine sense spreading outward.

"That must be what formed the Yin-Yang Pool."

At the dragon corpse's chest, a white bone suffused with yin and yang energies and shining with a lustrous radiance continuously absorbed the vital essence of heaven and earth.

This was the Treasure Bone left behind by the Yin-Yang Flood Dragon, inscribed with its innate Treasure Art.

A flash of delight crossed Li Dao's eyes. He reached out, and Divine Power surged from his body.

It formed a great hand that reached for the Treasure Bone.

Bang-

But the next instant, an explosion rang out, and the hand formed from Divine Power dissolved into wisps of golden light in midair.

"What is that?"

Li Dao frowned slightly as the dust stirred up by the explosion gradually settled.

A figure had appeared before the Treasure Bone at some unknown moment.

He wore a jet-black robe embroidered with dragons, with a pair of pitch-black horns atop his head. An aura of decay and brutality emanated from his entire body.

"Could that be the Yin-Yang Flood Dragon's primordial spirit?"

Seeing his appearance, Li Dao could not help making that guess, but he quickly rejected the thought.

With the figure's appearance, the light overhead instantly changed from milky white to crimson.

Clearly, this barrier was meant to keep him confined.

"Those who trespass upon forbidden ground cannot atone for their crime even with a hundred deaths!"

"Come here and surrender your head!"

While Li Dao was still studying the figure that had appeared, the figure noticed him as well.

His tone was cold and indifferent, devoid of emotion. As his words fell, a surging aura of might erupted from his body.

Li Dao's expression remained unruffled at those words, and he suppressed the various thoughts stirring in his mind.

Whoever this man was, judging by the situation, a battle was inevitable.

"Who are you? How dare you bark and snarl here!"

As his words fell, three enormous Cave Heavens immediately manifested behind him.

Their brilliant golden light further illuminated the dim underground world.

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Xuan Sha is the name of your killer! Give me your life!"

With a furious shout, Xuan Sha immediately produced a spear in his hand.

The image of a flood dragon was engraved upon the spear, and its tip was black and red. With a slight sweep, it made the void tremble.

Pointing the spear at Li Dao, Xuan Sha sent the black aura surrounding him crawling up its shaft, then violently twisted his right hand.

"Roar-"

In a flash, an Evil Dragon wreathed in black energy shot from the spear and charged toward Li Dao.

"Just what I wanted!"

Battle intent blazed in Li Dao's eyes, and the three Cave Heavens behind him, vast as blazing suns, radiated countless layers of divine light.

He clenched his right fist. Divine light poured into his body like a tide, and a golden gleam flashed in his eyes.

He suddenly punched forward with crushing force, colliding with the Evil Dragon.

Buzzz-

Their collision immediately unleashed strange ripples. Wherever the ripples passed, sunken arcs appeared in the ground.

Their attacks canceled each other out. Li Dao beat his golden wings and immediately charged toward his opponent.

A flicker of admiration passed through Xuan Sha's crimson eyes. Then, without lingering, he charged toward Li Dao as well.

Boom, boom, boom-

The moment they met, they exchanged more than a hundred moves.

Li Dao's punches fell like rain, each one unleashed upon Xuan Sha.

Xuan Sha was no weaker. His spear whirled with the ferocity of a tiger, blocking all of Li Dao's attacks.

Clang, clang, clang-

The sounds of metal clashing echoed through the underground world.

Slash-

Li Dao sent Xuan Sha flying with a punch, but the spear tip also sliced through his skin.

In that instant, Li Dao's primordial spirit felt as though lightning had struck it, and his body shuddered involuntarily.

"This spear can actually injure the primordial spirit!"

Seeing Li Dao's reaction, Xuan Sha's lips immediately curled into a smug smile.

"The Evil Dragon Spear injures primordial spirits and damages cultivation."

"Boy, as the first cultivator to reach this place in hundreds upon thousands of years, I'll use it to send you to the next world!"

More black mist poured from his body, and a terrifying pressure surged outward like a tide.

The tip of the Evil Dragon Spear in his hand turned crimson as he swept it lightly through the void.

The void immediately tore apart like thin paper.

In a flash, he charged toward Li Dao, his terrifying killing intent already locking firmly onto him.

"Who lives and who dies has yet to be decided!"

"To spout such outrageous boasts, you truly know nothing!"

The three Cave Heavens behind him released a terrifying suction, swallowing the vital essence of heaven and earth like a whale.

In an instant, an unending stream of vital essence poured into his body.

Lotus Dao Patterns appeared over his eyes, while golden Dao patterns emerged all across his body.

The might he radiated made the ground sink three inches.

He lightly tapped his foot against the void. As terrifying ripples swept out beneath his feet, he instantly vanished from his spot.

He appeared directly before Xuan Sha and unleashed a punch.

-Clang

His fist collided with the spear, instantly sending showers of brilliant sparks flying.

He had taken the first step along his path of bodily cultivation, and the golden Dao patterns covering him radiated an aura of immortality and indestructibility.

When the Evil Dragon Spear struck his body, it merely scraped up sparks, utterly unable to pierce his defenses.

"What kind of

damned body is this!"

Feeling the terrifying vibrations transmitted through his hands, Xuan Sha was filled with horror.

He had never imagined that Li Dao's physical body had already reached such a level.

"You dare let your mind wander while fighting me!"

"Law-Suppressing Stele! Descend!"

Li Dao unleashed a punch and came to a halt in midair, seizing the instant when Xuan Sha was distracted.

His eyes suddenly grew utterly indifferent. He raised his right hand and pointed into the void, like a god moving pieces upon the chessboard of the mortal world.

The next moment, a six-sided prismatic stele radiating overwhelming pressure appeared in midair.

One face bore the character for "suppress," and another bore the character for "law."

The moment the Law-Suppressing Stele appeared, everything in the space beneath it was suppressed in place.

For the first time, terror appeared in Xuan Sha's eyes, and his body began to turn faintly illusory.

He raised his head and looked at the Law-Suppressing Stele in midair, feeling pressure unlike anything he had ever experienced.