Azure Wave Dragon King

"Five-Element Heavenly Escape Talisman?"

The Daoist in the lead recognized the talisman at a glance.

This talisman ranked in the second grade. Once activated, it could unleash the innate Five-Element Escape Technique, allowing its user to pass through anything within the five elements.

The restrictive formations in the Demon-Slaying Bureau's prison were linked to the earth veins and likewise fell within the five elements.

A fat monk arrived next, holding a string of golden prayer beads, each the size of an adult's fist.

"Oh? Since when has the Daoist order been colluding with the demon race?"

The monk was equally knowledgeable. Only a handful of Daoist leaders in the world could draw a Five-Element Heavenly Escape Talisman.

No matter where the dragon soul had obtained the talisman, splashing dirty water on the Daoist order first could never be wrong from the Buddhist School's perspective.

The Daoist frowned and retorted, "You have neither evidence nor grounds, Chan Master Jingming. Do not speak falsehoods!"

"Daoist Xuanqing is right. How could the Daoist order wallow in the same mire as demons? The most important thing now is to capture that demon and publicly execute him according to the law, upholding the Demon-Slaying Bureau's authority!"

The speaker was a fully armored general. Black armor encased his entire body, leaving only two openings for his eyes.

The Great Qian Code strictly forbade any demon from entering the Demon-Slaying Bureau. Those who violated this decree were to be killed without mercy, with no interrogation required.

"Rest assured, Prince of Chu. That demon forcibly escaped in soul form, leaving traces of his soul's aura behind. We will certainly find his trail."

As one of the Daoist order's representatives at court, Xuanqing had to refute Jingming's slander. With a pang of reluctance, he took out a white jade turtle shell.

The white jade turtle shell was translucent and lustrous. Its natural markings formed the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, exquisitely intricate and profound. Only three cracks marred the jade.

Using his magical power, Xuanqing drew a wisp of aura from the spot where the dragon soul had escaped and placed it inside the white jade turtle shell. He then took out three sticks of sandalwood incense, lit them, and bowed three times to the shell.

The white jade turtle shell trembled gently, and another crack appeared on its back.

The smoke from the burning sandalwood incense moved without any wind, drifting southeast.

"Go!"

Holding the incense, Xuanqing transformed into a streak of azure escape light and departed.

"Amitabha! Benefactor Xuanqing is willing to use the Spirit-Communing Turtle Shell. It seems he has no connection to the demon race."

Chan Master Jingming took a step, shrinking the earth to inches, and instantly appeared dozens of yards away.

The Buddhist School's Divine Foot Travel was no slower than the Daoist escape arts.

The Prince of Chu did not immediately pursue them. He waited for the Demon-Slaying Bureau's officials and captains to enter the prison, ordered them to thoroughly investigate Cell B-13, then followed the aura Xuanqing had left behind.

Jade Waves Pool.

One of the Luo Capital's scenic wonders.

The pool connected to underground fire veins, keeping its waters hot and creating a natural hothouse.

The surrounding vegetation remained green even in the depths of winter, and many visitors came every day.

No one would have imagined that a flood dragon lived in seclusion in Jade Waves Pool. He had even built a Water Manor, styled himself the Azure Wave Dragon King, and gathered quite a few water demons.

The dragon soul escaped into Jade Waves Pool and returned to his flood dragon body within the Water Manor.

The flood dragon's eyes slowly opened. Able to control the vast demonic energy within his body again, he immediately felt much more at ease. However, having spat out two mouthfuls of his Primordial Spirit's essence in succession, he would need at least a dozen years to recover.

The Azure Wave Dragon King's expression was dark and terrifying as he ordered his water demons.

"Someone, bring that human to me."

A short while later.

A richly dressed middle-aged man was brought in under guard. Judging by his bruised, swollen face and disheveled appearance, he had clearly suffered a great deal.

"Lord Dragon King, I assume you have already entered the Demon-Slaying Bureau and rescued your son."

The middle-aged man was neither servile nor overbearing and carried himself with remarkable poise. Despite being a mere cultivator of the Lower Third Grade, he calmly faced the dragon's might.

"I have just returned from the Demon-Slaying Bureau..."

The Azure Wave Dragon King seized the middle-aged man's collar and hoisted him into the air. "Had I not escaped quickly enough, I might already have been thrown into the Demon Refining Cavern!"

"Impossible. So long as you followed my lord's method and substituted another snake demon's remains-the plum tree dying in the peach tree's place-there could not have been any problem."

The middle-aged man believed the Azure Wave Dragon King had eaten his fill and wiped his mouth clean, intending to renege on their deal. Other demon kings had done the same before, but they had all died miserably afterward.

So the middle-aged man threatened him. "Think carefully, Dragon King. My lord possesses vast divine abilities. Do not say you were not warned!"

Doubt appeared on the Azure Wave Dragon King's face. Had he really blamed this man unfairly? At least there had been nothing wrong with the Five-Element Heavenly Escape Talisman he had provided.

Boom!

A tremendous crash came from outside the dragon's Water Manor.

An unbroken succession of thunderclaps followed, along with the water demons' agonized screams.

The Azure Wave Dragon King sensed three familiar auras. They belonged to the owners of the escape lights he had encountered at the Demon-Slaying Bureau.

"Damned human! You led them to my Water Manor, and even now you still try to deceive me!"

Without giving the middle-aged man a chance to argue, he tossed him straight into his mouth, chewed him up, and swallowed him.

Roar-

With a dragon's roar, the flood dragon's body, over a hundred feet long, darted through the water as he led his water demons out to attack.

"Just in time. This humble Daoist has been waiting for you!"

Xuanqing redirected the lightning art bombarding the Water Manor, sending dozens of thunderbolts crashing toward the Azure Wave Dragon King.

At the same time, prayer beads as large as grain measures descended from above, wrapping around the flood dragon's body and pinning him firmly in the water.

Violet divine lightning rained down upon the dragon's body. Scales scattered in all directions, and dragon blood dyed Jade Waves Pool red.

"Despicable humans!"

The Azure Wave Dragon King felt his magical power faltering. With a dragon's cry, his body swelled again to over three hundred feet long, and he opened his jaws to bite Xuanqing.

The demon race's greatest strength lay not in spells or divine abilities, but in the savage power of their flesh.

Xuanqing dared not clash head-on with the flood dragon's body. His escape light flashed, and he easily evaded the snapping jaws.

The depths of Jade Waves Pool were the flood dragon's home ground. Water escape came as naturally to him as an inborn gift, and he stayed hard on Xuanqing's heels, nearly swallowing him several times.

Xuanqing was no easy opponent either. Holding the Violet Spell Sword, he unleashed an endless succession of lightning arts.

Man and dragon pursued each other through the water, trading spells and stirring up surging currents throughout Jade Waves Pool. Huge fissures split the bottom, spilling fiery red magma.

Chan Master Jingming pressed his palms together, and a Buddhist School mantra rang out.

"Om!"

The prayer beads around the flood dragon kept tightening, almost strangling his body in two.

Roar-

Unable to bear the pain, the Azure Wave Dragon King had no choice but to shrink his body until he was only thirty to fifty feet long.

At that moment, a black silhouette appeared from the pool's bottom. It was the Prince of Chu, covered head to toe in black armor.

"Wicked dragon, you trespassed in the Demon-Slaying Bureau. You must be executed!"

The Prince of Chu's voice was cold as ice, as though he were passing judgment on the Azure Wave Dragon King.

The armor on his right arm rapidly transformed into a black spear over ten feet long, exposing the powerful muscles beneath.

"Ma!"

Jingming uttered another mantra at precisely the right moment. The prayer beads suddenly grew crushingly heavy, dragging the Azure Wave Dragon King to the bottom.

The Prince of Chu seized the spear. His blood and vital energy surged into visible form, kindling crimson flames along his right arm.

Man and spear as one!

The spear pierced straight through the Azure Wave Dragon King's reverse scale, pinning him to the pool's bottom.

The flood dragon thrashed his demonic body, making the spear embedded in him tremble incessantly. Blood-red lines bulged along the Prince of Chu's arms as he pitted a human body against a flood dragon's strength.

Xuanqing flicked all ten fingers in succession. Streaks of spiritual light landed on the flood dragon, transforming into sealing patterns.

"Soul seal!"

The Azure Wave Dragon King's body stiffened. He fell utterly silent, as though his soul had scattered into nothing.

The other water demons in the Water Manor took advantage of the chaos to break through the surface and flee, only to be surrounded by the arriving Demon-Slaying Commandants.

After a fierce battle, their demonic energy was stripped away and their demon souls sealed. They were immediately sent to the Punishment Office Prison for execution.

Dragging the Azure Wave Dragon King's demonic body, the Prince of Chu walked step by step from the bottom of Jade Waves Pool to the shore. The fearsome dragon carcass left a deep furrow in the ground.

Chan Master Jingming retrieved his prayer beads. Freed from their suppression, the flood dragon's body returned to its length of over three hundred feet.

The Prince of Chu hauling the flood dragon out of the water looked like an ant dragging an elephant.

"Reporting to Your Highness: the soul of the Blackwater Mystic Serpent, the prisoner in Cell B-13, has dissipated. Examination confirmed that its body contained dragon blood."