Chapter Forty-Two: The Battle Dragon

That mysterious figure turned out to be a member of the Dragon Clan?

Though I could scarcely believe it, those words had come from Black Jiao himself. Black Jiao hailed from the Immortal Island of Penglai—though he had lost his physical form, his cultivation and magical abilities remained intact. He was not one to be mistaken about such a thing.

If what Black Jiao said was true, and the mysterious figure was indeed from the Dragon Clan, then could it be the Azure Dragon from the bottom of the Azure Dragon Pool?

I relayed this news to Feng Zimo and the others. When they learned the identity of the stranger, fear swept across their faces, and Wu Xin’s expression changed dramatically. Only he truly understood how terrifying the Azure Dragon was. Before he descended the mountain, his master had warned him in particular never to provoke that dragon, for if the Azure Dragon were ever to awaken, it would bring about a catastrophe.

All our gazes turned toward the enigmatic musician. In that instant, we were thrown into disarray, losing both our composure and our will to fight.

Yet the mysterious figure remained unperturbed, calmly plucking the strings of his instrument. With each resonant note, the formation encasing us shattered completely. The sound waves struck our bodies like blows, and a horde of lesser demons surged in.

We fought with all our might, slaughtering the creatures in a frenzy, but these lesser demons cared nothing for their lives—one fell, another took its place. No matter how powerful we were, we could not withstand such relentless attrition.

The haunting music was like a barrage of sharp blades, ceaselessly stabbing into us. Before long, we found ourselves utterly exhausted, our spirits unwilling but our bodies failing. If not for sheer willpower, I would have long since collapsed to the ground.

Wu Xin fared little better, his body covered with wounds.

The mysterious figure finally set aside his instrument and gazed at us, battered and bloodied, with an air of idle amusement.

At that moment, a fat man entered the scene, wielding a large blade and wearing a black gourd at his waist.

I recognized him—he was the proprietor of the inn. What was he doing here? Who was he, truly?

He bellowed, “Heavenly Gourd, bottomless gourd! Spirits and demons, into the gourd!”

At once, the lesser demons were sucked into the gourd.

With those pests gone, we could finally catch our breath. I looked at the fat man and offered my thanks.

He grinned. “No need to thank me. If you all died, who’d pay me for the rooms? Don’t forget, you’ve only paid for one night.”

Hearing this, I knew he was joking, but he had a point—we had indeed only paid for one night. I laughed awkwardly. “We’ll pay you double when we return.”

The fat man shot me a look, then pointed his blade at the mysterious figure.

“You wicked dragon, you dare show yourself and bring harm again?”

It appeared Black Jiao had been right—the mysterious figure was indeed a member of the Dragon Clan.

The Azure Dragon sneered. “So, you’re a descendant of the Dragon-Slaying Clan. Back then, your ancestor only managed a draw with me thanks to the Azure Cloud Sword, and you dare come courting death?”

I was stunned—this fat man was a descendant of the Dragon-Slaying Clan? He looked nothing of the sort; more like a butcher, truth be told. Then again, appearances could be deceiving.

The fat man was incensed by the dragon’s words and stamped his foot. “You have some nerve! Who was it that was beaten into kneeling and calling for mercy back then? Today I’ll make you do it again!”

With that, he charged forward, blade in hand.

The Azure Dragon snorted coldly, and the entire Sword Tomb shook. The sword platform slowly cracked open, and a massive sword, over ten meters long, emerged.

The fat man halted, and all our eyes were drawn to the enormous weapon.

“What a huge sword!” I couldn’t help exclaiming.

Feng Zimo, ever a lover of fine treasures, gazed at the sword with open greed in his eyes. Even Wu Xin hadn’t expected the Azure Cloud Sword to be so immense; he was transfixed.

The Azure Dragon laughed wildly. “Now that the Azure Cloud Sword has appeared, there is no one left in this world who can stand in my way!”

At that, all the cords binding Little Bell snapped apart, and a powerful force lifted her into the air. She began to wail in terror…

“Not good, stop the Azure Dragon from performing the sword ritual!” shouted the fat man.

Lin Weiyan was the first to fly toward Little Bell, but before she could reach her, the Azure Dragon struck her down with a single blow.

Feng Zimo brandished his halberd and roared, “I’ll fight you to the death!”

But even so, he could not get close to Little Bell.

The Azure Dragon revealed its true form, instantly transforming into a colossal dragon that coiled around the Azure Cloud Sword.

The fat man hurled his butcher’s knife at the dragon, and aimed the black gourd, trying to suck him in.

Yet the dragon was unaffected, and the fat man nearly ended up in the dragon’s belly instead.

Desperate, I summoned Black Jiao again, hoping he could buy us a little more time.

But no matter how powerful Black Jiao had once been, now he was merely a spiritual remnant, and his opponent was a true dragon.

After only a few exchanges, Black Jiao was bitten and thrown to the ground.

The situation was dire. Under the Azure Dragon’s control, Little Bell’s body was slowly being drawn toward the Azure Cloud Sword.

Lin Weiyan struggled to her feet, and she and Feng Zimo charged the dragon once more.

Wu Xin’s formations were all but useless before the Azure Dragon, genius though he was.

The fat man, undeterred, summoned his blade and charged again with the Dragon-Subduing Step. He struck the dragon’s tail, causing it to howl in pain, its roar resounding throughout the Sword Tomb.

Wounded, the Azure Dragon turned berserk. With a sweep of its mighty tail, it sent the fat man flying, and struck Lin Weiyan with a claw. I rushed to catch her as she fell.

Cradling Lin Weiyan, I saw her face pale as death, her wounds bleeding profusely. She tried to rise and rejoin the fray, but I held her back—I could not stand by and watch her march to her death.

Hardening my resolve, I decided that, consequences be damned, I would use my Devouring Art to consume the Azure Dragon.

I called out to Feng Zimo, who was still battling the dragon. “Brother Feng, stand aside! Let me handle this!”

He must have thought I was about to unleash the same ultimate technique I’d used against the Illusion Demon, for he quickly withdrew.

I glared at the Azure Dragon, silently reciting the mantra of the Devouring Art. A vortex of darkness appeared before me, at first no larger than a fist, then growing wider and wider as I chanted, until it was more than a meter across.

An overwhelming force began to drag the Azure Dragon toward the void—its head was sucked in first, followed by half its body.

But soon I realized my body could not endure the process; I could not fully devour the dragon. If I forced it, I would surely suffer a lethal backlash.

By now, it was too late for regrets. The only way out was mutual destruction—at least this would save everyone else.

I forced myself to intensify the incantation, pulling the rest of the dragon’s body closer to the void.

Just as I was about to consume the dragon entirely, it unleashed a mysterious power and tore itself free from the vortex.

Because I had failed to devour it, I was struck by a vicious counterattack from the Azure Dragon, and collapsed into unconsciousness.