Xiao Pingtian had completely lost control. Jealousy drives a man to madness. He didn't even consider the trouble his actions would cause for others. All that was left in his mind was the will to kill.
Lin Yun must die. No one could stop it!
Xiao Pingtian roared and thrust his sword toward Lin Yun. Streaks of sword qi were like tangible lightning.
So fast.
Lin Yun's eyes widened. Even from a great distance, he could feel the immense power of this strike.
Fang Chengqian cursed, "Do you have a mortal feud with this guy? He's actually willing to damage his own cultivation just to kill you?" He truly hadn't expected Xiao Pingtian to become so crazed over a mere Yuan Sea Realm disciple.
Lin Yun was silent. The sword qi was coming with overwhelming force, and Xiao Pingtian was putting his life on the line. This had completely cut off Lin Yun's path to survival.
But at that very moment, a hazy golden light barrier blocked the surging sword qi.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several sword qis smashed against it, creating a ripple before dissipating into nothingness.
It was Li Hong.
Lin Yun looked over and saw a creature resembling a white crane beside Li Hong. Its body was covered in green feathers with red markings, and it stood on only one leg. Its beak was a stark white. It was actually able to speak human words.
"Li Hong, you have broken your promise."
Seeing this spirit pet, Liao Changping's expression changed drastically. "A Red-Feathered Sun-Reaching Bird, the guardian spirit beast of the Beast Taming Sect. You... you actually brought it out." His voice was trembling. It was clear he was very afraid.
Never casually provoke a beast tamer you don't understand. And never, ever force them into a corner. Because you will never know what kind of creature they will summon.
Li Hong gave a dry laugh. "Afraid now? Today, none of you will be leaving."
Liao Changping was utterly panicked. "Xiao Pingtian, stop chasing those two! Kill Li Hong with all your might!"
Kick a man while he's down. Li Hong was using his life force to forcibly control the beast. Although his strength had soared, he would definitely suffer a backlash. As long as they could withstand this wave, Li Hong was certain to die.
On the other side, Fang Chengqian, having escaped disaster, didn't hesitate. He grabbed Lin Yun and jumped directly into the bottomless Weiyang Lake.
Watching the splash on the lake's surface, Xiao Pingtian stamped his feet in frustration. But hearing what Li Hong said, he turned his attention back to him. This one look gave him a real fright. Li Hong looked much more spirited, and a powerful aura was continuously radiating from him.
"For a mere disciple of my Flowing Cloud Sect, is it worth it?" Liao Changping couldn't understand Li Hong.
"It's not just for him. It's to ensure that your Flowing Cloud Sect's conspiracy does not succeed!" Li Hong shouted. "Sun-Reaching Bird, consider it my, Li Hong's, broken promise. Please, help me vanquish this great enemy."
The Sun-Reaching Bird glanced at Li Hong. "Fine. I will help you this one time. But you have used your heart's blood to drive your yuan energy and summon me. I fear your life is in danger."
The battles of beast tamers were different from those of ordinary cultivators. They established a connection with their spirit pets. In battle, a spirit pet's combat power was composed of its own strength and a portion of the beast tamer's yuan energy; neither could be absent. Therefore, to control a spirit pet stronger than oneself, the amount of yuan energy required was immense. A single major realm difference was still manageable, but the beast Li Hong was now controlling was the guardian spirit pet of the Beast Taming Sect. It was rumored to be at the Yin-Yang Realm, a state above Myriad Laws. For some reason, Li Hong had actually brought such a powerful spirit pet out this time.
"It's fine. To kill these few people, even if I die, it will be worth it." Li Hong gave a dry cough. Since it was a fatal situation anyway, he might as well go all out.
The Sun-Reaching Bird snorted. It threw its head back and let out a long cry. In an instant, a great fire flared up, and an invisible golden dome descended from the sky, trapping the few from the Flowing Cloud Sect. Then, an endless sea of wild fire surged.
Xiao Pingtian's expression changed, and he moved to Liao Changping's side. "Elder Liao, what do we do?"
Liao Changping sucked in a cold breath and gripped his sword with one hand. "Form a defensive array! That old bastard can't last much longer."
The few from the Flowing Cloud Sect summoned their flying swords. Amidst flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder, a sword shadow condensed from yuan energy fell from the sky, striking the dome directly.
RUMBLE!
The heavens and earth lost their color, and the entire ground quaked violently. With Weiyang Lake as the center, an area of dozens of miles was instantly flattened by the exploding energy wave. This was a peak battle of the Myriad Laws Realm.
...
After falling into the water, Lin Yun and Fang Chengqian naturally also felt the tyrannical energy fluctuations from outside. The Myriad Laws Realm. A realm one couldn't even dare to imagine.
Fang Chengqian's face was grim. Controlling the Water-Repelling Merman Pearl, he and Lin Yun soon arrived at the underwater cave.
"We have no other choice. This is the only place," he said. He knew that Li Hong wouldn't be able to hold on. Summoning the Sun-Reaching Bird to block them for a moment was already his limit. The best-case scenario would be to seriously injure Liao Changping, but the remaining Xiao Pingtian and the others would still be difficult to deal with. Right now, their only choice was to hide in this cave. Perhaps there was a sliver of a chance for survival, or maybe they could find another way to leave this place.
Lin Yun nodded in agreement. The two of them entered the underwater cave, still able to feel the ground trembling. The battle outside had likely not yet ended.
Lin Yun clenched his fists. Flowing Cloud Sect, for the humiliation I have suffered today, I will one day repay you double!
The moment Lin Yun entered the cave, the Yuan Embryo reacted again. Heavens, please. You little thing have been stealing my yuan qi in the Flowing Cloud Sect for so many days. Are you finally making a move? Lin Yun was almost moved to tears.
But the next moment, he bumped into Fang Chengqian's back. "Senior Brother Fang, what's..."
Halfway through his sentence, Lin Yun stopped. The cave held another world within it, like an underwater dragon palace. In the depths were palaces and jade structures, and the yuan qi was dense.
But what truly terrified them was what was beneath a statue in front of the palace. A flood dragon several hundred zhang long was coiled there, and wisps of dark, evil qi were seeping from its body.
Legend had it that a giant python could transform into a flood dragon after a hundred years. The one before them, hundreds of zhang long, was likely the giant python from the legend that had failed its transformation. For some unknown reason, it had actually survived, and it had even found another chance to successfully transform into a flood dragon.
"This flood dragon looks like it's seriously injured," Fang Chengqian said in a low voice.
Lin Yun was a bit skeptical. "Its aura seems even stronger than Liao Changping's at the Myriad Laws Realm. Who around here could have injured it?"
Fang Chengqian said, "This giant python must have used some unorthodox means to transform into a flood dragon, becoming evil in the process. The spirit pet from my sect that was killed was likely this beast's doing. It was probably seriously injured for a thousand years and couldn't heal, so it thought of devouring a spirit pet to recover, and we just happened to stumble upon it."
His voice was very low. This demon flood dragon was still asleep. If they woke it up, the two of them probably wouldn't even be enough for a snack.
Just then, Lin Yun cautiously pulled up Fang Chengqian's panel.
[Name]: Fang Chengqian
[Realm]: Ninth Level of the Void-Gazing Realm
[Destiny]: Southern Border Poison Man (Blue)
[Fate]: Evil Triumphs Over Good (Green), Poison Master (Blue), Deeply Scheming (White)
[Outcome]: ...dies under the Nine Yin Lightning Tribulation in his later years.
[Recent Turning Point]: Falls into Weiyang Lake, hides in the underwater cave and encounters the demon flood dragon. Inadvertently awakens it and is grievously injured...