Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 36

Volume 7 Chapter 36: The Dust Settles (Part 1)

Xu Qingfan did not wish to confront Azure Dragon.

First, at their level of strength, a battle between him and Azure Dragon would bring a disaster within a hundred miles. Even the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, which are located twenty to thirty miles away from them, would likely suffer an unexpected calamity. Although the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands have the "Sunglow Formation" to help them, it will not be easy to resist. The "Sunglow Formation" is powerful, but the cultivators controlling it are not exceptional fighters. Furthermore, the "Sunglow Formation" has already defended for an entire night, and its energy is heavily depleted, with many damages.

Secondly, Xu Qingfan has been tormented by the "Qi of Demonic Death" for many years. To resist its control, three streams of Spirit Qi have battled within Xu Qingfan for a full forty years. While he may appear normal, his injuries are severe and concerning. Over the years, Xu Qingfan has focused on fighting the "Qi of Demonic Death," leaving no time to care for his own injuries. It is not an exaggeration to say that Xu Qingfan’s body is in terrible condition. Although he is very powerful and there are few who can defeat him, he cannot endure a long fight; otherwise, he cannot hold up his body.

The third and most important point is that, unable to sustain a long battle, Xu Qingfan was not confident he could defeat Azure Dragon.

So, from the moment he saw Azure Dragon, Xu Qingfan tried to pressure it, hoping that Azure Dragon would realize it needed to conserve its strength for an upcoming breakthrough and choose to retreat from this great battle.

However, Xu Qingfan underestimated Azure Dragon’s determination. For many years, Azure Dragon, Hu Long, Jiao Long, and Yu Long have supported and protected one another. Azure Dragon can choose to stay on the sidelines and observe when it has the advantage, but it cannot selfishly let Hu Long, Jiao Long, and others perish for its own sake.

Wang Zegang attained enlightenment, and Dongfang Quan and the other five guardians emerged from their retreat. Little Black awakened from decades of long evolution and slumber, accompanied by countless Dark Crows, and Chou gaining the upper hand in the battle against the Fish Dragon Beast…

As the long-accumulated strength of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands burst forth, Azure Dragon’s resolve to fight only grew stronger. The idea of annihilating the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands was no longer realistic. At this moment, defeating the human who seemed to be the leader was the only chance to safely leave with the East Sea Clan; there would be many opportunities for revenge in the future.

Although Azure Dragon’s decision left Xu Qingfan feeling helpless, he did not want to form a grudge against such a powerful being, so he only wished for it to stay away from here. However, Xu Qingfan did not expect Azure Dragon to value the dragon and transforming dragon so much. A great battle was unavoidable, but in an instant, Xu Qingfan set aside his unusual thoughts and began to focus on confronting Azure Dragon before him.

Azure Dragon’s decision also strengthened Xu Qingfan’s confidence to fight. This Azure Dragon was about to reach the heavenly level, and since it valued ancient demon beasts like the dragon and transforming dragon so much, even if he let Azure Dragon go now, the consequences after it broke through to the heavenly level would be unimaginable.

"What a pity. The number of demon beasts that can reach the heavenly level is much fewer than the number of humans who can break through to the Soul Splitting Stage. However, I must kill the one with the greatest chance of breaking through."

Over the years, Xu Qingfan’s mind had become very strong. Since he had made up his mind, he would no longer hesitate. Just like before when he pondered a problem, Xu Qingfan let the coldness in his heart spread, allowing this emotion to control his entire body. His eyes, which were once deep and gentle, suddenly turned cold and fierce, and the merciless darkness dispelled the white light in his eyes. It was as if the darkest night was flickering with a ghostly light. Together with the strange black patterns suddenly appearing on Xu Qingfan’s face, he looked terrifying and eerie.

On the other side, Azure Dragon, usually slow and relaxed in tone, now had bright golden light in its eyes, and an involuntary look of tension appeared on its face.

The sudden change in Xu Qingfan’s aura, especially his emotionless gaze, made even Azure Dragon, despite its power, feel a chill in its heart. It sensed that this being before it was no longer just a human, but a terrifying and ruthless demon that had broken free from the depths of hell.

What shocked Azure Dragon even more was that Xu Qingfan was now surrounded by black and white mist. The two kinds of mist swirled together to form a Taiji shape, enveloping Xu Qingfan within. Among the black mist, an elegant and fiery figure moved, resembling a phoenix from ancient Mythical Beasts. However, compared to the phoenix Azure Dragon knew, this one had a more evil and terrifying flavor, as it was formed from the fusion of Xu Qingfan’s Phoenix Spirit Qi and "Qi of Demonic Death."

This phoenix, with its distinct aura, left Azure Dragon feeling confused. However, even more alarming to Azure Dragon was the dragon shadow moving within the white mist. This shadow appeared to be a Mythical Beast, the Azure Dragon, but Azure Dragon knew that the aura emitted by this shadow did not belong to an Azure Dragon; it was indeed a highest-level Azure Dragon that had shed its shell after reaching the heavenly level!

However, Azure Dragon noticed that although this Azure Dragon seemed to have evolved to the highest level in form, its presence felt somewhat weaker than its own. Yet, the sense of divine dignity was even stronger.

How could this human in front of me summon both the great Azure Dragon and the Phoenix at the same time?

Seeing this scene, Azure Dragon felt puzzled and unsure.

What Azure Dragon didn’t know was that Xu Qingfan had previously obtained a powerful artifact called the "Dragon Summoning Order," which contained the dragon soul of Azure Dragon. After Xu Qingfan merged it with himself using the "Great Method of Spiritual Transformation," he combined the dragon spirit with his own "Flourish Qi," and along with the "Qi of Demonic Death" from the Phoenix Spirit Qi, he created the most powerful technique from the "Formula of Life and Death" — the "Dragon and Phoenix Calling."

Considering his body’s condition was not suitable for a long battle, Xu Qingfan immediately used his strongest move.

After the initial shock, Azure Dragon quickly calmed down. Although confused, this was not the time to be distracted as the great battle was about to begin.

Just like Xu Qingfan thought, Azure Dragon decided to use his most powerful magical ability. However, the reason was that on another battlefield, the dragon and the flood dragon were at an advantage against Shen Gang and Dongfang Quan, but the other two flood dragons were about to be overwhelmed by the attacks from Chou and Little Black.

As the saying goes, time waits for no one. From the moment Azure Dragon made the decision to fight, to Xu Qingfan summoning the illusion of the dragon and phoenix along with two clones, and then to Azure Dragon’s shift from suspicion to calm response, it all took just an instant.

In the next moment, Azure Dragon and Xu Qingfan struck at the same time.

At the level of Xu Qingfan and Azure Dragon, tactics like surprise attacks, pretending to be weak, luring the enemy, and confusing the enemy no longer worked. Their battle had reached a level of simplicity, where they were competing in defense and attack strength, the subtlety of their magical powers, their understanding of the Heavenly Way, and their mastery of energy.

Xu Qingfan’s cultivation method is mysterious and his magical tools are powerful. Generally speaking, at the same level, a cultivator has few rivals. However, here in the East Sea, the Azure Dragon is the strongest ruler. Who will win and who will lose is very difficult to predict. The only certainty is that, under the mindset of both sides, victory or defeat is just a moment away; one move can determine the outcome.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan let out a cold shout, and the sound of dragon roaring and phoenix crying within the black and white mist grew stronger. In the next moment, a golden dragon glowing with a faint white light burst out from the white mist, and beside the Azure Dragon, a phoenix glowing with faint black flames rushed out from the black mist.

The dragon and phoenix had completely different auras, yet they moved in perfect harmony. Surrounded by thick black and white mist, they charged toward the Azure Dragon with an overwhelming momentum. As they moved, they maintained a subtle distance from each other, rotating around each other as if forming a Tai Chi shape, which was wonderfully mysterious.

At the same time, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan followed behind the dragon and phoenix, rushing towards the Azure Dragon.

Facing the equally powerful dragon and phoenix, the Azure Dragon showed no fear. With its head held high, a thunderous dragon’s roar erupted, causing the surface of the East Sea to boil even more. Countless sea columns shot up into the sky and transformed into over a hundred water dragons, roaring with equal ferocity as they quickly charged towards Xu Qingfan’s "Dragon and Phoenix Calling."

Below Xu Qingfan’s feet, a terrifying vortex began to swirl violently, extending for dozens of miles around. The vortex had a tremendous pulling force, sweeping towards Xu Qingfan. This force was so terrifying that even Xu Qingfan, as a cultivator, nearly lost control and fell into it. The demon beasts that got too close to the battlefield were unable to resist at all. With terrified howls, nearly a hundred mid to high-level Earth demon beasts were pulled into the depths of the vortex in an instant and disappeared without a trace.

The Azure Dragon was powerful but slow. Xu Qingfan originally planned to win by moving around while confronting it with magic. Unfortunately, the Azure Dragon had anticipated this and used its vortex technique. Under the terrifying pulling force of the vortex, Xu Qingfan struggled to resist being sucked in, let alone move.

Although the Azure Dragon desperately wanted to save the Hualong Snake Dragon and other ancient demon beasts, it showed no concern for the lives or deaths of other demon beasts.

As Xu Qingfan and the Azure Dragon unleashed their ultimate moves, a shocking battle erupted over the East Sea. Influenced by the momentum of this man and beast, everyone, except for a few heavenly-level demon beasts and master-level cultivators, instinctively stopped their actions, watching the battle in fear. Although they weren’t directly involved, their bodies trembled involuntarily.

"Boom…"

In a flash of lightning, the more than a hundred water dragons finally collided with Xu Qingfan’s dragon phoenix. The powerful roar made everyone on the scene momentarily deaf, and the vast East Sea shook at that moment. Where the two great powers clashed, a wild hurricane erupted, lowering the water surface by more than a hundred feet. From this center, countless towering waves surged outward.

However, neither Xu Qingfan’s dragon phoenix nor Azure Dragon’s water dragons showed any signs of fading after this fierce collision. Under the control of Xu Qingfan and Azure Dragon, these transformed Mythical Beasts became even more intense in their clashes.

As they continued to collide, the surrounding hurricane grew more violent, and the waves rising around them became even taller and more terrifying.

…

The countless demon beast cultivators from Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands suffered an unexpected disaster. As the waves passed, no matter how powerful the demon beast or what abilities the cultivators had, they were swept away by the waves without any resistance and vanished from sight forever.

On the other side, Shen Gang, along with Dongfang Quan and the five protectors, found their confrontation with the transformed dragon and flood dragon increasingly difficult amidst the massive waves and fierce hurricane. The transformed dragon and flood dragon, being demon beasts of the sea, were much more adaptable than Shen Gang and the others, making their situation even more dire.

At that moment, Chou had pushed his black mist to the limit, tightly surrounding the Fish Dragon Beast in front of him, eagerly anticipating the chance to devour another heavenly-level demon beast. However, with the sudden arrival of the powerful winds and waves, even his terrifying mutated death energy couldn’t hold up under such immense pressure, allowing the Fish Dragon Beast to seize the opportunity and break free from Chou’s encirclement.

On Tianshu Island, everyone in the heart of the formation was originally stunned, watching the clash between Xu Qingfan and Azure Dragon in awe of their power. Suddenly, Liu Ziqing and Shen Gang reacted simultaneously and shouted, "Defend! Full defense! Abandon control of the ‘Disaster Cloud Formation’ and everyone fortify the ‘Sunglow Formation’ with all your might!"

With the surprised shouts of the two, everyone woke up and quickly returned to their places, gathering the little Spirit Qi they had left and pouring it into the "Sunglow Formation." At that moment, a giant wave and hurricane struck, causing Tianshu Island to shake violently. In just an instant, a layer of radiant barrier was broken, and the winds and waves raised by the battle between Xu Qingfan and Azure Dragon continued relentlessly towards the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands.

When gods fight, mortals suffer; the aftermath spread fear among all living beings within nearly a hundred miles.

Xu Qingfan did not want to confront Azure Dragon before because of this, but in the end, it still happened.

Only Little Black, along with countless Dark Crows, fought against the last Fish Dragon Beast. On the other side of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, while they were also affected to some degree, their advantage had not changed at all. Not to mention that the three thousand Dark Crows were all at least earth level middle class. After absorbing the dead energy for forty years, Little Black reached heavenly level middle, far stronger than the Fish Dragon Beast.

Moreover, compared to the dragon, the Fish Dragon Beast is the weakest. Its Mythical Beast bloodline is also the thinnest. Among the four heavenly level demon beasts, the other three are all called "dragons," while the Fish Dragon Beast has "beast" added after "dragon," showing its relative weakness and awkward status. Under Little Black’s strength, its failure and demise were already certain.

…

In terms of sheer power, Xu Qingfan’s "Dragon and Phoenix Calling" is among the best in the world. Although the hundred water dragons summoned by Azure Dragon were indeed impressive, they were still somewhat weaker in comparison. Furthermore, Xu Qingfan’s dragons and phoenixes had the help of Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan.

Azure Dragon had already noticed this when Xu Qingfan was preparing the "Dragon and Phoenix Calling."

However, the vortex beneath Xu Qingfan created such a strong suction that while he was controlling "Dragon and Phoenix Calling," he also had to resist this pull. With his attention divided, "Dragon and Phoenix Calling" was slightly less agile than the hundred water dragons, making their duel evenly matched.

Under Xu Qingfan’s powerful spirit, he felt all the damage caused by his battle with the Azure Dragon beast, but his expression remained unchanged.

First, Xu Qingfan had already expected all of this. Second, even though his strength didn’t increase in the demonized state, his mind remained calm, never distracted by anything.

In the demonized state, Xu Qingfan’s thoughts became sharper. While fighting, he continuously analyzed the strength of both sides. Before entering the demon state, he had ordered himself to end the battle in the shortest time possible. Now, countless plans appeared in his mind, but were quickly dismissed. His thoughts were so calm and quick, it was as if he was no longer human.

At that moment, the Azure Dragon Divine Soul, controlled by Xu Qingfan, charged forward with great power. Many water dragons attacked it together, but they were the ones being pushed back. However, under all the resistance, it was very hard for the Azure Dragon Divine Soul to break through the water dragons’ defense and truly reach the Azure Dragon. On the other hand, the Infernal Phoenix was constantly battling the water dragons. Although it lacked strength compared to the Azure Dragon Divine Soul, it was more agile. As the phoenix cried, flames of destruction invaded the water dragons, damaging their structure. So far, it had dispersed dozens of water dragons, but for every water dragon the Infernal Phoenix defeated, the Azure Dragon would summon another, endlessly.

Although Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan were strong, they were unable to display their full power under the endless attack of the water dragons.

When Xu Qingfan saw this scene, a spark of determination flashed in his eyes, as if he had finally made a decision.

With a low shout from Xu Qingfan, Xu Ying and Xu Zhiyuan, who had been fighting the hundreds of water dragons alongside the dragon and phoenix, suddenly became blurry and then transformed into two shadows, retreating towards Xu Qingfan.

Once the two clones returned to Xu Qingfan’s side, a burst of light flashed, and Xu Qingfan activated the "Three Bodies Unite" technique. Although his face showed great pain, the Spirit Qi within him suddenly surged to nearly twice the amount.

As Xu Qingfan’s strength increased, the power of the dragon and phoenix he summoned also grew greatly, allowing them to gain the upper hand in the battle against the hundreds of water dragons.

When Azure Dragon saw this scene, it was stunned for a moment, but it was not worried. It could tell that the "Three Bodies Combined" power could strengthen Xu Qingfan for a short time, but it could not last long. During this time, Xu Qingfan’s dragon and phoenix could not break through its hundred dragon strikes.

However, Xu Qingfan’s next move was something Azure Dragon never expected.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan stopped resisting the huge pull beneath him and focused on controlling the dragon and phoenix he summoned.

Suddenly, under Xu Qingfan’s control, the dragon and phoenix gathered their strength as one and only attacked the ten or so water dragons blocking their path.

With the power of the dragon and phoenix greatly increased and Xu Qingfan controlling them to the best of his ability, the opponents were only ten water dragons, and they instantly created an opening in the encirclement of the hundred water dragons Azure Dragon had summoned.

Seeing this, Azure Dragon was shocked. Did Xu Qingfan really not care for his own life just to defeat him in such a short time?

While he opened a gap to directly attack Azure Dragon, the remaining eighty or so water dragons he controlled were also no longer blocked and could attack Xu Qingfan directly.

Azure Dragon, being a type of turtle, had extremely strong defense. Under the combined attack of Xu Qingfan’s dragon and phoenix, it still had a chance to survive. But Xu Qingfan, as a human, had powerful abilities but a weak body. At this moment, he could not move under the control of the vortex power, and under the attack of nearly a hundred water dragons, he would likely leave no trace behind.

But when Azure Dragon saw Xu Qingfan quickly descending toward the water surface after abandoning his resistance, it finally understood Xu Qingfan’s plan.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan was falling faster than lightning. The pull of the whirlpool alone could not explain his speed; rather, Xu Qingfan was using all his strength to dive toward the whirlpool below him.

With the pull and Xu Qingfan’s control working together, his speed was quicker than any lightning in the world. Although the water dragons of the Azure Dragon no longer faced obstacles to attack him directly, when they reached Xu Qingfan’s position, he narrowly dodged their attack with his lightning-fast descent, and in the next moment, he had plunged into the whirlpool below.

Hundreds of water dragons wanted to chase him, but Xu Qingfan was in that terrifying whirlpool. They were made of Water Spirit Qi, and once they entered the chaotic whirlpool of Water Spirit Qi, they would likely vanish in an instant.

The spell he had carefully crafted to trap Xu Qingfan had, at this moment, not only become a means for Xu Qingfan to escape but also constrained his pursuit of Xu Qingfan.

At this moment, Azure Dragon felt extremely complicated emotions.

But in the blink of an eye, Azure Dragon calmed the intense feeling of defeat, for the dragon and phoenix summoned by Xu Qingfan had rushed right in front of him, and the hundreds of water dragons he controlled were dissipating. Azure Dragon was too slow to avoid the combination attack of Xu Qingfan’s dragon and phoenix and had to concentrate all his strength on self-defense.

Azure Dragon pulled his head, tail, and legs into his shell, and the golden light on the shell became even more dazzling, like a shield of the gods that could not be broken.

However, perhaps Xu Qingfan’s earlier actions surprised Azure Dragon so much that he didn’t notice that before Xu Qingfan was caught in the whirlpool, the two God Weapons he had been holding in his hands had mysteriously vanished.