The Dragon Girl was currently extremely weak, unable to even maintain her human form, her entire draconic body curled up on the small island.
Her dragon scales were scattered, and gaping wounds tore across her flesh. Scarlet dragon blood flowed along the shallows and into the sea, attracting crab-shaped demon beasts that were only the size of a fist.
Her massive aqua-blue dragon head rested on a rock, her crimson dragon eyes blank and lifeless. Only when she heard the whistling of the wind did she immediately summon the last of her strength to release a faint trace of Dragon Might—
“Roar!!”
Terrified by the Dragon Might, the crab-shaped demon beasts scrambled to dig holes and hide. However, several Sky Demons perched on the flood dragon's corpse, tearing at its flesh, sensed the Dragon Girl's weakness and began to move forward eagerly.
The Dragon Girl must have gone through a fierce, desperate battle.
Countless corpses of Sky Demons of all sizes floated in the sea, covered in claw marks, all having perished at the Dragon Girl's hands.
She was originally a great demon capable of fighting a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even though her cultivation and spiritual energy had been devoured by the black mist, causing her realm to plunge, she was still not someone ordinary Sky Demons could bully.
“Who is there?!”
The massive dragon head paused, and a mature female voice let out a cold laugh:
“A co-conspirator of that bastard Jiao Run, I suppose! How dedicated of you to pursue me so closely. Unfortunately for you, Jiao Run's luck was poor, and he died before this lord did!”
Draped in her Spirit Swallowing Grass blanket, Nan Zhi only now realized that a faint layer of black mist shrouded the Dragon Girl's eyes.
It turned out she could no longer see and was relying entirely on beastly instinct to determine her surroundings.
Nan Zhi did not need to guess to picture how she had torn into the flood dragon in a death match, plunged into the Wuwang Sea, and then, despite her severe injuries, fought to the very last moment.
How fierce, how unyielding.
Nan Zhi did not rashly approach. Instead, she donned her Paper Skin Garment, transformed into a mature female cultivator, and rode the wind to land right in front of the dragon's head:
“You have guessed wrong. This old woman is neither of the Dragon Clan nor a breed of Sky Demon.”
She lowered her voice and said slowly:
“The outside world rumors that Dragon Lord Mingzhu is fierce and battle-hardened. Seeing you today, it is indeed true. You dared to use yourself as bait to lure the Sky Demons, attempting to wipe them out in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, your luck was poor, and you crossed paths with a traitor of the Dragon Clan, causing your efforts to fall short at the final step.”
“...Who on earth are you? Were you sent by the Hehuan Sect, the Wuwei Sect, or the Qingjing Sect? You certainly have quite the ability to be able to enter the depths of the Wuwang Sea.”
The Dragon Girl did not lower her guard in the slightest. The dragon whiskers near her lips trembled slightly, indicating that she had barely a single breath of life left:
“Whether friend or foe, just give me a swift end. Otherwise, once the High-level Sky Demons notice us, even if your cultivation is heaven-defying, Fellow Daoist, you won't be able to escape either.”
“Whether I am friend or foe depends entirely on your decision, Dragon Lord.”
Seeing that the Dragon Girl still had a breath of life, Nan Zhi could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, she kept her expression neutral and casually waved her hand. A patch of rain clouds suddenly formed above them, and moments later, a gentle drizzle fell, moisturizing the dry, scabbed scales on the dragon's body.
It was actually the divine ability of Summon Rain!
Almost instantly, the Dragon Girl was thoroughly shocked, unable to stop herself from gasping inwardly.
The Wuwang Sea was thoroughly contaminated by the black mist, and not a single drop of clean water had existed here for ages. Not only could the mysterious person before her move freely through the depths of the Wuwang Sea, but they could also Call Wind and Summon Rain!
One must know that although the Dragon Clan also knew rain-making techniques, walking the clouds to bring rain, they had to rely on the right time and place.
And if her royal father wanted to bring rain to a city, he had to follow the decrees of the Heavenly Court, working in tandem with Grandfather Thunder and Grandmother Lightning before any rootless water could fall.
Not a fraction of an inch more, not a fraction of an inch less.
Yet this mysterious female cultivator before her turned her palm to summon clouds and flipped it to bring rain. There was no fluctuation of spiritual energy, let alone any chanting or petitions to heaven; she did it effortlessly.
Such capability could only be an Innate Divine Ability.
“You...”
The Dragon Girl took a deep breath as her parched, unbearable dragon scales regained a sliver of luster. She deliberated for half a breath before asking cautiously:
“Are you perhaps a Great Witch of the Witch race?”
“Quite clever.”
Nan Zhi knew the Dragon Girl had definitely misunderstood something, but she did not explain further, merely adopting a mature, experienced tone:
“This old woman happened to travel here and saw you fighting to the death with that flood dragon without retreating. I admired your spirit, and keeping the future in mind, I decided to save you.”
With that, she pulled out a gold-glowing Spirit Beast Contract.
This Spirit Beast Contract was a quest reward she had obtained from killing the Golden Core demon earlier. Nan Zhi had originally planned to form a contract with Corn, but she had never expected she would have to use it early on a true dragon.
A stranded true dragon with formidable combat power, whose cultivation was equivalent to the Nascent Soul Great Circle, and who was also the master of the Rakshasa Sea Market, governing the twelve nations of the four directions.
Taking advantage of her weakness now to wrap herself in the prestige of the Witch race and force a contract might seem a bit like kicking someone while they were down, but Nan Zhi did not feel any shame.
—The task of saving the world was simply too much for her to bear alone; her own strength was still a bit too meager.
If they wanted to eliminate the Sky Demons and rewrite the future history where the Four Provinces Continent collapsed, the cultivators of the world—be they humans, demons, or devils—must unite as one and work together to survive this calamity.
Since destiny had presented her with this opportunity, delivering a heavily injured true dragon to her, then she would start with the Rakshasa Sea Market.
“Senior, do not push me too far! The Witch and Demon races have been like fire and water since the Primordial era. You expect this lord to become a lapdog of the Witch race?”
The Dragon Girl was instantly enraged. Her muscles tensed up, and she opened her massive mouth wide, spitting out sparks of fire:
“Though my Dragon Clan has long lived beneath the gods, this lord is different from those sycophantic, groveling cowards! If Senior intends to force a contract on me—”
The Witch and Demon races had always been at each other's throats. Although the Witch race had faded from the world and had not walked the cultivation world for a long time, someone who could stroll leisurely through the Wuwang Sea could not possibly be some nameless nobody.
Perhaps she was a Great Witch, an Earth Witch, or even a Heaven Witch of some Witch lineage!
Such a powerful figure might be trying to reap the benefits while the Sky Demons and the Dragon Clan fought.
Once a Spirit Beast Contract was established, one could only submit to the contractor, unable to harbor even a single thought of defiance.
A trace of struggle flashed through the Dragon Girl's eyes, but in an instant, her resolve hardened.
“How much of your strength do you have left right now? In a few more days, you will end up just like that flood dragon, turning into nourishment for the Sky Demons of the Wuwang Sea. Are you truly willing to let that happen?”
Nan Zhi could not help but sigh inwardly, adopting a cold, indifferent facade:
“Besides, you are in no position to refuse. If you die, the Rakshasa Sea Market will fall into chaos. Hundreds of years from now, when the Sky Demons invade the twelve nations of the four directions and the North Province Continent is reduced to a land of flesh and blood for demons, that will be the beginning of the collapse of the Four Provinces Continent.”
—Are you kidding me? The red-skinned gourd couldn't hold a true dragon, and the system inventory couldn't store living creatures. If they didn't form a contract, was she supposed to carry a multi-thousand-ton giant dragon out of the Wuwang Sea with one hand?
“‘The collapse of the Four Provinces Continent’? So the Sky Demon race truly harbors the intent to escape the Wuwang Sea?!
How does Senior know of this? Could it be... Legend has it that the powerhouses of the Witch race can commune with heaven and earth and converse with all living beings, seeing the past and foretelling the future. Is this a prophecy of the Witch race?!”
The Dragon Girl suddenly hoisted her head up, “looking” around in sheer panic:
“That's right, that's right! If I die, the dragon palace will surely send my useless brother to take over the Rakshasa Sea Market. With his temperament, it would be absolutely impossible for him to ever think of wiping out the Sky Demons.
The peace of the Rakshasa Sea Market will last five hundred years at most. Once a Demon Lord is born among those Sky Demons, the Sky Demon race will surely trample the Wuwang Sea and devour the twelve nations of the four directions!
The twelve nations of the four directions are where the Heavenly Pillars of the North Province stand, the very place where Wahuang severed the legs of the giant Ao to mend the heavens in the past. If the Sky Demons occupy the North Province and devour the Heavenly Pillars, the Four Provinces Continent will surely perish!”
Her deductions were completely spot on.
As expected of Dragon Lord Mingzhu, she was incredibly sharp and caught on instantly, even voluntarily revealing some information that Nan Zhi herself hadn't known.
Nan Zhi could not help but blink, her eyes filled with admiration.
If she hadn't jumped down after her, the Dragon Girl Mingzhu's story would have undoubtedly ended right here.
It would have been a terrible pity for such a remarkable figure to perish in the vast Wuwang Sea.
Rate on N.U.
