Time and events shifted like wind and clouds.
Countless streaks of light flashed through the storm, but most attacks from Golden Core cultivators landed on the flying dragon’s massive body without even tickling it.
Only those two Nascent Soul cultivators caused it any trouble.
A flicker of disdain passed through Yinglong’s eyes.
Its claws swung the Divine Tree, and the resulting air blast sent the ants on the sea surface spitting blood as they were thrown backward.
The Sea-Severing Alliance’s flagship was instantly sliced in two.
A large number of spirit boats sank into the sea.
Before they could even penetrate deep into the Great Whirlpool, their casualties were already severe.
Whether from fear of reprisal or not, Chain Docks suffered the most lightning strikes, yet Yinglong did not destroy the Fang Family’s warships, afraid of harming the precious sacrifice.
If the Fortune Fruit fell into the Great Whirlpool, finding it again by scouring the entire Wulang Sea would be nearly impossible.
A hundred years of painstaking effort would have been made for another’s benefit.
This forced Yinglong to leave its nest and chase its “wife” for ten thousand miles.
Ji Shiyu and Li Su were nearly struck by Dragon Qi, but luckily Ao Tian grabbed his master in time and flew up, away from the fleet, landing on a nearby isolated island.
Who would’ve guessed?
Despite the fat bird’s small size, its claws were quite strong.
“Hold on tight, Shiyu. It’s not our turn to act yet.”
Ao Tian transformed into a golden beam, liquefied, and merged into Ji Shiyu’s body, unfurling two wings of light behind her.
As the familiar warm current poured into her body, the “young man” shimmered with starlight all around, activating the Xuantian Nine Transformations.
His spirit breath leaped directly into the Golden Core.
“…Wait, what did you call me?!”
“Phew, thank goodness for Big Brother-in-Law’s chicken. You’re way more reliable than Ao Tian.”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. You’re the protagonist Mister designated for tonight, and protagonists always make their entrance last.”
“How can I not care about that?!”
“Weren’t you pretty wild when you made that lifetime pact with her?”
“Y-Y-Y-You… you’re Ao Tian?! Then what about Big Brother-in-Law? Don’t tell me…”
“Only now catching on? You unilaterally…”
“Shoot!”
Ji Shiyu’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
Recalling the humiliating remarks she had made right in front of the actual person, her vision went dark.
She clutched her head and wailed.
“I feel like I’ve been played… Waaah… That little punk tricked me again!”
Just as the Sea-Severing Alliance and Chain Docks cultivators were retreating step by step, locked in fierce battle, a piercing roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the Great Whirlpool.
It sounded like some giant creature lurking at the bottom of the sea was raging.
“Caw—”
Boom!
A colossal figure broke through the waves, leaping like a whale surging out of the tide, rising from the seabed into the sky.
A horrifying shadow loomed overhead, leaving the cultivators present dumbstruck as they gazed in awe at the Great Whirlpool’s true form.
Compared to the Holy Spirit of an entire province, mortals were truly as insignificant as ants.
A giant Kun—hammer-headed, shark-tailed, with a single horn on its forehead and a body as stout as a tortoise—seemed to carry a mountainous reef on its back.
Its four black fins were like wings, transforming into a Peng as it soared.
Fish and dragon danced together as it rammed headlong into Yinglong.
“Roar—!”
Yinglong bellowed in pain.
Caught off guard, its neck was pierced by the giant horn, and the Divine Wood Sword Branch in its claws was knocked away by the truck-like impact.
It plunged into the seabed, and the splattered blood turned into cherry thorns, scattering across the whirlpool currents.
Joy appeared on the faces of the survivors.
The Kun Spirit had descended, bringing fortune and blessings.
How could they allow an evil being from an outer domain to run wild in the Wulang Sea?
Yinglong retreated in shock and rage, struggling to break free from the Kunpeng behemoth.
It clumsily fled high into the sky, casting one reluctant glance back at the sacrifice below.
Then it coiled up heavy clouds and fled with a low roar.
It didn’t die?
The beast had recovered faster than expected.
Seeing that even the plot kill couldn’t take down the evil dragon, Yun Liu clenched his teeth in disbelief.
“It can’t run far. Chase!”
Yan Bingling and Gelan nodded.
The four of them sped off on the spirit boat, pursuing the eye of the storm.
This time, the tables had turned.
Meanwhile, the Kunpeng rolled across the sky, slapping its belly and chirping happily.
“Gock gock gock—”
It had heavily wounded the enemy but did not pursue, with a temperament like a child.
It flapped its wings leisurely, heading somewhere unknown.
It awoke only once a century and would not let anything disturb its vacation.
The cultivators of the Chaotic Sea all bowed in worship, grateful for the Great Whirlpool Master’s life-saving grace.
Then they turned to look at the bottomless end of the whirlpool.
The Great Whirlpool was complete.
The anomaly would persist for a long time.
Nothing could stop them from entering Mirage City now!
In the chaos, both Chain Docks and the Sea-Severing Alliance had suffered losses of over half.
The cultivators who had been turned into withered trees barely escaped with their lives, most retreating in the face of difficulty.
No one noticed that the few instigators had disappeared.
Mr. Yun and the White Whale Island Master were also nowhere to be found.
As for the fleeting demon dragon, it had likely come for the rare treasures of Mirage City.
On the other side, Yinglong fled desperately toward the outer seas.
Yun Liu could sense that the tornado’s fury was weakening rapidly, and it would soon be unable to hold on.
Yinglong had a subtle connection with Ah Lian; the Divine Servant Maiden could likewise sense the divine dragon’s location and pointed the way for the group from time to time.
Once they left the vacuum zone of the Great Whirlpool, Gelan and Yan Bingling’s pursuit became even more unbridled.
They soared into the sky on their flying swords, chasing directly after.
“Ten Directions! Hundred Calamities! Thousand Years Ten Thousand Thoughts!”
Whoosh!
The twelve flying swords in the sword case unsheathed and shot out one after another, piercing through the clouds and storms.
The cold moonlight froze the air.
The demon-fallen Little Master Aunt was ruthless and decisive.
She struck with a Celestial Full Moon, settling old scores and new grudges in one go.
From high above, wails echoed.
The giant beast fell from the clouds, crashing onto a distant island with a thunderous boom.
By the time Yun Liu rushed frantically to the beach, carrying little Ah Lian in his arms, the sky had already brightened.
Seeing that victory was assured, he relaxed slightly.
Yinglong lay dying on the sand.
Blood seeped into the ground, giving birth to a vast grove of cherry blossoms.
Its body was gradually shrinking, like a stranded young flood dragon.
Gelan and Yan Bingling stood guard on either side with swords drawn, not letting down their vigilance.
The long pursuit had also drained their stamina considerably.
The demon dragon’s intelligence was no less than a human’s.
Its gaze was calm, with neither sorrow nor despair.
It merely stared coldly at these ants.
Whether mortal or strange beast, all cultivated by seizing the power of heaven and earth, vainly hoping to transform and ascend to immortality.
But it had failed at the last step, just before crossing its tribulation.
Unwilling to waste a century of painstaking work to delay its ascension, it had taken the risk to leave the Divine Tree of Yingzhou, only to fall into an ambush.
It seemed these bugs were not just thieves, but robbers—well-prepared.
Yinglong struggled to rise, slowly opened its mouth, and spoke in human language.
“People from the Sword Sect again? How laughable. Yu Shen Longyi once tried to use my wife to imprint the Ultimate Path Fire Seed, but in the end, he fell into your hands…
“But if I die, she will die too. Can you bear that?”
As Yinglong grew weaker, the fate-linked Yu Shen Yinglian’s delicate body sprouted flowers and leaves, wrapped in thorns.
Her face contorted in pain as she fell into unconsciousness.
Yun Liu said calmly, “That might not be the case.”
He activated the Minghuang Divine Art, revealing a white-hot, vitreous flame aura.
As the blood aura dissipated, he wore a different face.
The Sacred Fire blazed fiercely, enveloping the two of them, blocking the Wood Spirit Erosion.
“Liuer, you!?”
Gelan’s expression changed in terror.
Her mind shook, and a chill ran through her body.
How could she not recognize the Mingzun Holy Fire?
It was the first time she had seen the young man display a demonic cultivation method.
The child she had watched grow up was actually a demon sect fiend.
This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to her.
And when she recalled the young man’s gradually refined dual cultivation method, it became truly horrifying.
“How amusing, how amusing. It seems I didn’t lose unfairly.”
Yinglong dropped its smile, its voice low.
“The Shenhua Sect claims to be a reputable orthodox sect, yet secretly colludes with the demon sect.
“It seems I didn’t lose unfairly.”