Sword Talisman

Dong Linyuan wore a gentle expression, his eyes tinged with pity, like a kindhearted elder looking at a disobedient junior. He said softly, "Good Gou'er, don't run away."

"Uncle has poured so much effort into you."

"You've been sensible since you were little. Don't disappoint Uncle this time either."

Deng Gang's eyes turned crimson and his Qi and Blood surged. He threw back his head and roared, but the sound that came out was no human voice. It was deep like a bull's bellow and savage like a tiger's roar. Gray scales grew over his body as it swelled, and he truly transformed into a gray flood dragon thirty feet long.

"Good, good, good!" Dong Linyuan's eyes shone. After looking him up and down, he nodded repeatedly and smiled in satisfaction. "What a fine gray flood dragon! To transform into a flood dragon while still in the Qi Refining realm-my thirty years of painstaking care have truly not been wasted!"

Deng Gang had transformed into a gray flood dragon, and he clearly hated Dong Linyuan to the bone. Yet he did not attack him at all. Instead, he turned and charged to kill Qiao Yunbai of the Azure Cloud Sect!

Caught off guard, Qiao Yunbai could only take up his medicinal pestle Law Artifact and fight back, furious.

As for the refining of the Human Pill, he had merely happened to be there, and he had no deep grudge against Deng Gang.

He truly could not understand why Deng Gang would not leave him alone.

Though Deng Gang had transformed into a flood dragon, some of his reason remained.

To the north, Xue Yang had a flying Law Artifact and was clearly a direct descendant of the Xue Household of Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain. He was surely the last person Deng Gang should provoke.

To the south, Dong Linyuan had raised Deng Gang himself and knew him inside and out. There was no chance of escaping him.

Qiao Yunbai, who guarded the east, was a New Method cultivator. He had no deep understanding of either the Old Method or Deng Gang himself, offering Deng Gang a slim hope.

More importantly, the White Dragon River lay to the east!

As long as he entered the White Dragon River, his flood dragon form's innate gift for controlling water would give him hope of escape!

Qiao Yunbai flew into a rage. The medicinal pestle Law Artifact in his hand swelled violently and came crashing down.

Boom!

The massive flood dragon was smashed to the ground. A bloody, foul wind swept out amid drifting dust and scraps of grass.

Qiao Yunbai was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard a deep flood dragon's roar.

Deng Gang's skin was thick and his flesh tough, and he was not badly hurt. He struggled to his feet and pounced on the Azure Cloud Sect disciples to the side.

The Azure Cloud Sect disciples were skilled at growing medicinal herbs and refining pills.

In a head-on fight, their willingness far exceeded their strength.

All the more so when they faced a vicious flood dragon at the Late Stage of Qi Refining!

"Get back!" Seeing Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan watching coldly from the sidelines, Qiao Yunbai ordered his disciples to retreat and stepped forward alone to block Deng Gang.

Rumble.

Though there was no wind, waves rose on the White Dragon River. White breakers thirty feet high surged up from nowhere and swept away more than half the Azure Cloud Sect disciples who had retreated to the riverbank!

Though Deng Gang had followed the path of body refinement, after transforming into a flood dragon he had gained the [Kan Water] Manifestation and some innate abilities, allowing him to control water and waves.

Qiao Yunbai cultivated the New Method, which emphasized gathering great power within oneself but had few Techniques for connecting with heaven and earth.

After arriving on the Southern Edge Continent, he had heard of the Old Method's unfathomable mysteries. But the New Method was powerful while the Old Method was barely clinging to life, so he could not help looking down on it somewhat. Now, caught off guard, he had suffered a heavy loss.

"You're courting death!" How could Qiao Yunbai still fail to understand? Not only had he been taken for a soft persimmon, but he had also made the mistake of underestimating his enemy, costing many of his sect's disciples their lives. Fury surged in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he brushed a hand over his waist, and a golden bamboo sword appeared in his hand.

Thunder and lightning plainly coiled around its blade.

Xue Yang of Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain glanced at it from afar, and his expression immediately grew grave. "That's no sword-it's [thunder]!"

Dong Linyuan of Little Dragon Mountain was much older, and his ancestors had an extraordinary background. He gave it a long look and said, "Fortunately, it's [Mystic Thunder], not [Divine Thunder]."

[Divine Thunder] carried out punishment on heaven's behalf, punishing evil and exterminating wickedness.

Now, Deng Gang's resentment soared to the heavens, his heart was full of malice, and his cultivation realm had been built up with the Blood Qi of Human Pills.

If he encountered [Divine Thunder], he would likely be exterminated in a single exchange.

Though [Mystic Thunder] also held mysteries, its purpose lay in the clash of yin and yang and the balancing of what was above and below. Thus, it made no distinction between righteous and evil, and could not suppress malice or Blood Qi.

"Die, you beast!" Qiao Yunbai had already resorted to his trump card. He no longer cared about any plan to imitate the events of Fubo's past; he meant to kill the vicious flood dragon before him and avenge his disciples.

Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan continued to watch coldly from the sidelines.

If Deng Gang were slain by a Supreme Mystery Mountain cultivator, echoing the events of Fubo's past, there would naturally be no problem.

But now the New Method was powerful and showed signs of taking control of an entire realm.

Qiao Yunbai was a New Method cultivator who had come to the Southern Edge Continent, and he wielded the [Mystic Thunder Bamboo Sword]. If he slew Deng Gang, the imagery would be complete.

If there truly was karmic retribution, the dragon kind would not be able to lay it at the feet of Rosy Clouds Resting Mountain or Little Dragon Mountain.

Deng Gang dimly sensed the extraordinary power of the [Thunder Bamboo Sword], but he refused to retreat again. He had to press on in one rush and plunge into the White Dragon River if he was to have any hope of survival.

Confronted with the [Thunder Bamboo Sword], he neither dodged nor evaded. Instead, he opened his flood dragon jaws wide and bit down hard.

Qiao Yunbai was delighted rather than alarmed. "You beast, you're seeking your own death!"

That was [thunder]!

The [Thunder Bamboo Sword] was clamped fast between Deng Gang's jaws. Thunder and lightning burst from its blade, splitting his flood dragon body apart and sending bone and blood flying. His muffled screams of agony carried for hundreds of miles.

The White Dragon River seemed to boil, rumbling as its waves surged and fell, as though it too were wailing without cease.

"What a fierce, vicious gray flood dragon!" Dong Linyuan's eyes shone as he watched, and even his voice trembled. As a descendant of dragon keepers, raising such a vicious flood dragon counted as Merit and could aid his cultivation. "What a pity it's a flood dragon, not a true dragon!"

The smile gradually froze on Qiao Yunbai's face, and his heart filled with shock and doubt.

This vicious flood dragon... can swallow the [Thunder Bamboo Sword] without dying?!

Deng Gang had swallowed the entire [Thunder Bamboo Sword]. Through the scales and flesh, thunderfire and lightning could still be seen faintly spilling from the ragged gaps. He had actually used malice and Blood Qi to defile the [Thunder Bamboo Sword]!

"Are all Old Method cultivators truly this vicious?!" Qiao Yunbai urged his sword-control Instruction again, but there was no response. Seeing the vicious flood dragon pounce toward him, he shot Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan a resentful look, swept up the surviving Azure Cloud Sect disciples, and simply turned and fled.

Deng Gang, too, was nearly at the end of his strength. He strained to plunge toward the White Dragon River.

"Alas... what a fine show." Xue Yang sighed softly, but he could not stand by and watch Deng Gang escape. He drew out a jade mirror and shone it at the river.

Rainbow Rosy Clouds appeared out of nowhere above the White Dragon River, lending heaven and earth a breathtaking beauty that dazzled the eyes and entranced the mind.

Deng Gang crashed headfirst into it. His powerful flood dragon body could not budge that light in the slightest. Instead, it covered him, scorching him until he screamed again and again.

Rainbow Rosy Clouds were the remnant essence of Greater Yang and naturally had the power to burn away evil and scorch wickedness.

They lay outside yin and yang and the five elements, and few lineages could counter them. They were also close to [Lesser Yang] and could obscure [Greater Yang], but they loathed [Bright Yang] alone.

Deng Gang had seen the overbearing might of the Southern Edge Continent's most illustrious lineage, and he knew there was no way to escape. He could only turn back and say to Liu Zhijian, "Brother Liu, even an ant clings to life, so how could I do otherwise?!"

"I can only head west to Supreme Mystery Mountain now."

"Whatever mysterious means you have, please use them to the fullest!"

"I won't hold back either!"

"Good!" In truth, ever since Deng Gang transformed into a flood dragon, the black case at Liu Zhijian's waist had trembled ceaselessly, nearly breaking free of his control. But Liu Zhijian had held it firmly in place through sheer force of will.

By now, the golden light seeping from the black case had pierced his palm, leaving it dripping with blood.

The vicious flood dragon Deng Gang had become roused the last of his Essence Blood and pounced on Liu Zhijian, carrying boundless resentment, malice, and Blood Qi with him.

He was almost exactly like Fubo, the great demon of [Foundation Establishment] back then!

Liu Zhijian's expression remained calm as he removed the hand holding down the black case at his waist.

Clang!

A sharp, piercing sword cry rang through heaven and earth.

Even Dong Linyuan, whose cultivation was the highest among those present, abruptly frowned and instinctively reached up to cover his ears, only to feel a faint warmth on his hands.

Blood was flowing from both his ears.

A streak of golden-white mystical light leaped from the black case, transforming into a small sword no longer than a finger and locking onto Deng Gang from afar.

Xue Yang was not facing the sword's edge, yet a chill ran down his throat and his hair stood on end. It was as though a blade were pressing against him. In all his decades of cultivation, it was the first time fear had surged in his heart: the fear that a great terror lay between life and death.

When Xue Yang and Dong Linyuan had seen the Azure Cloud Sect's [Thunder Bamboo Sword] earlier, they had still been composed, as though watching a show, and had been surprised at most.

Now, however, they could no longer suppress the fear in their hearts.

Following his master's guidance and instructions, Liu Zhijian linked his Divine Sense to the small sword and waved two fingers held together.

A streak of golden-white sword light suddenly came crashing down!