Just as Qing Cang was less than a kilometer away from the East Sea, its heart suddenly tightened, as if it were being watched by something terrifying.
A streak of light flew rapidly from the south, and everywhere it passed, the sky turned crimson as if a raging fire had been ignited.
Qing Cang looked up, its expression changing drastically.
With a flick of its tail, it used all its strength to swim toward the East Sea.
Having spent so many years in the South Xuan Region, Qing Cang knew at least a thing or two about the few overlords in this territory, even if it didn't know them inside out.
That thing flying in the sky was clearly the Nanming Departed Fire Cover of the Lihuo Sect.
Legend had it that in ancient times, this territory was much larger than it was now. That was until the Four Sacred Beasts—the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise—were born, causing the continent to split.
The South Xuan Region was the territory of the sacred beast, the Vermilion Bird.
Sacred beasts were spirits of heaven and earth, possessing Daoist rhymes in their bodies, and every move they made aligned with the Great Dao.
Ancient cultivators observed the majestic forms of these sacred beasts, attained peerless techniques, and established lineages passed down to later generations.
The Lihuo Sect originated in this manner.
Qing Cang was skeptical about whether they truly originated from the sacred beast, the Vermilion Bird, but the strength of the Lihuo Sect was beyond doubt.
The Nanming Departed Fire Cover, the sect-protecting divine artifact of the Lihuo Sect, was the best proof.
Countless great demons and evil cultivators in the South Xuan Region had been suppressed and refined by it until not even ashes remained.
Now, being locked onto by such a terrifying object, how could Qing Cang not panic?
However, during this act of walking the water, a flood dragon had to rely on physical instinct to travel and could not cast Daoist spells. Otherwise, not just one kilometer, but ten or even a hundred kilometers would be covered in the blink of an eye.
Qing Cang dove to the very bottom of the river, swimming at high speed while hugging the riverbed.
Eight hundred meters. Only eight hundred meters left until the East Sea.
But the Nanming Departed Fire Cover moved faster and faster, drawing closer. It was about to fly over Qing Cang, cover it, and suppress it on the spot.
At that moment, a phantom of an emperor manifested in the air, holding an imperial seal in its left hand and a precious sword in its right, its eyes radiating majesty.
"Sovereign of Huang Cang!"
Qing Cang felt a wave of relief upon seeing the phantom.
"Do you truly intend to assist this wicked flood dragon?"
A world-weary, casual voice drifted from the south.
The Sovereign of Huang Cang remained silent. Using the sword as a brush and the heavens and earth as a scroll, he wrote a holy decree and pressed the imperial seal onto the world. The decree was formed, and the heavens and earth trembled.
In an instant, dark clouds gathered, heavenly majesty surged, and thunder rolled.
"Under the wide heaven, all is the King's land. How I act is none of your business, you old fogies."
As the words fell, several bolts of lightning struck down from the black clouds, hitting the Nanming Departed Fire Cover in the sky.
The lightning transformed into chains, firmly binding the Nanming Departed Fire Cover. Following that, a massive executioner's blade appeared above the cover, emitting a terrifying aura as it prepared to drop.
"Sigh."
A sigh echoed, and then, a mouthful of fresh blood appeared out of thin air, falling onto the Nanming Departed Fire Cover.
Instantly, an extreme heat was born within the Nanming Departed Fire Cover.
The flames rapidly spread to the surrounding lightning chains, burning them to ashes.
Following the chains, the terrifying fire burned all the way into the sky. The black clouds, the executioner's blade, and even the phantom of the Sovereign of Huang Cang were all set ablaze.
The raging flames distorted the very space itself, and in just two breaths, the phantom of the Sovereign of Huang Cang vanished.
After resolving the Sovereign of Huang Cang's interference, the flames on the Nanming Departed Fire Cover gradually died down as it continued to fly toward the flood dragon below.
That sense of fatal threat returned. Qing Cang used every ounce of its strength, flailing its limbs just to move forward.
Three hundred meters. The Sovereign of Huang Cang's intervention had bought it five hundred meters of distance.
Now, only three hundred meters remained.
But it seemed destiny was not on Qing Cang's side. The Nanming Departed Fire Cover had already arrived above it. The divine artifact vibrated, pushing aside layers of river water to reveal the flood dragon's body and pulling it upward.
Qing Cang resisted the pull of the Nanming Departed Fire Cover while continuing to crawl forward. Without the river water, it had to switch from swimming to crawling.
The gravitational pull of the Nanming Departed Fire Cover grew stronger. Qing Cang's lower half was already floating in the air, with only its front half still clinging to the ground.
Behind it, small demons that had followed Qing Cang all the way leaped from the water, trying to strike the Nanming Departed Fire Cover.
But without exception, before these small demons could even get close, they were baked into mummies in mid-air.
Just as Qing Cang's front claws were about to lose their grip, Wu Xiuyuan appeared above the Nanming Departed Fire Cover with a teleportation dash.
He pulled a large glob of black mud from his robes and threw it at the Nanming Departed Fire Cover.
Slap!
The mud hit the Nanming Departed Fire Cover and, surprisingly, was not dried out by the high temperature. Instead, it continuously spread along the surface of the cover, covering it in no time.
"Brat! How dare you defile my sect's divine artifact!"
A furious roar came from the south, sounding like rolling thunder that startled every bird and beast in the South Xuan Region.
The Nanming Departed Fire Cover began to shake violently from side to side, attempting to shake off the black mud. However, the mud's stickiness seemed incredibly strong, and no matter how it shook, it could not be shed.
This self-saving movement allowed Qing Cang to regain its freedom. Seizing the opportunity, it continued to swim toward the East Sea.
The Grand Elder of the Lihuo Sect looked at the departing Qing Cang and then at the sect's divine artifact covered in black mud. After a brief thought, he raised his hand and recalled the Nanming Departed Fire Cover.
So be it. It was fate. It seemed the heavens had decreed that this flood dragon would defy destiny and become a true dragon.
As long as the sect-protecting divine artifact was in hand, he wouldn't even fear a true dragon. It was just a pity for the other sects that didn't have such artifacts.
Seeing the Nanming Departed Fire Cover fly away, Wu Xiuyuan retreated back into the nearby forest.
"Old Wu, what was that thing you just threw? It's so powerful!"
Chen Xu quickly approached and asked.
"Heh heh, just some unorthodox tricks, nothing worth mentioning."
Wu Xiuyuan waved his hand dismissively.
"No way. I saw how effective it was; it even forced that cover to retreat. Do you have any more in stock? Give me some to study."
Hearing this, Wu Xiuyuan's eyes lit up. He pulled a large handful of black mud from his pocket and handed it to Chen Xu.
"You think this black mud is good too, eh? Heh heh, this is a great item I developed over my many years of tomb raiding—oh, I mean, many years of helping people with Feng Shui. It's Divine Mud refined by gathering all sorts of filthy and lowly things.
It specifically defiles equipment. Whether it's tomb traps or heirloom treasures, as long as they're touched by my Divine Mud, their divine power will be obscured.
It's a shame there aren't many people in Daxia with your vision. Ye Bufan, Xiang Longwu, and the others all think this is just some crooked path not worth mentioning. Sigh, where can one find a kindred spirit in this world?"
Chen Xu looked at the glob of black mud. Instead of taking it directly, he opened a spatial gate, summoned a ghost to take the mud, and sent it back to the Undead Kingdom.
Wu Xiuyuan clapped his hands and turned to walk toward Ye Bufan.
"Ye Bufan, lend me your spirit wine to wash my hands."
But before Wu Xiuyuan could get close, the spirit sword in Ye Bufan's arms began to hum. A surging sword intent stirred up gusts of wind.
Seeing this, before Ye Bufan could even explain, Wu Xiuyuan curled his lip and walked to the riverbank to wash up himself.
Seeing Chen Xu accept the black mud, Ye Bufan explained to him.
"Brother Chen, it's best if you use Old Wu's mud sparingly. That stuff can only affect ownerless artifacts. For artifacts with owners, they can ignore the influence of the mud under the reinforcement of the owner's divine sense.
As for that cover just now, its owner likely misjudged the situation due to the distance. Once he takes a closer look at the components of that mud, he might hang his head in regret."
Chen Xu nodded, wanting to learn more.
But suddenly, dark clouds filled the sky, and a monstrous wave surged upstream from the East Sea.
Everyone present flew into the air.
Above the East Sea, Qing Cang had completed its walk of the water. This journey of defying fate had reached its final reward stage.
A beam of light pierced through the dark clouds, shining directly on Qing Cang.
Understanding the signal, Qing Cang flew into the air along the beam of light.
For a moment, lightning flashed and thunder roared as a torrential downpour began.
As the raindrops fell and hit Qing Cang's body, they would knock off a flood dragon scale.
Before long, Qing Cang was covered in blood. The blood dripped into the sea, attracting countless small fish to fight for it.
As for the small demons that hadn't been taken by the Nanming Departed Fire Cover, they continuously leaped out of the sea to catch the ambrosia.
The rain grew lighter, and two dragon whiskers had already grown on Qing Cang's head. On its blood-covered body, dragon scales were slowly growing back.
After a while, the rain stopped, the clouds dispersed, and the sun shone brightly.
Qing Cang flew freely in the sky, displaying its form.
A vast aura of a true dragon spread across the entire South Xuan Region.
The people from Daxia looked at each other and then at Xia Qiming.
"Move out. The clearing campaign enters the second stage: Dragonslayer!"
Rate on N.U.
