Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 37

Volume 7 Chapter 37: The Dust Settles (Part 2)

The turtle has always been a symbol of defense and protection in people’s hearts since ancient times.

All of this comes from the heavy and strong shell of the turtle.

This shell greatly limits the turtle’s speed, but at the same time gives the turtle an unmatched defense that is far superior to any living creature in the world.

It is not hard to defeat the turtle, but it is extremely difficult to harm it.

The Azure Dragon is undoubtedly the best among them; its shiny golden shell is not only one of the strongest objects in the world, but the various patterns on the shell form a natural defense formation. To break it while it is fully protected is almost impossible. Even when it evolves into a true dragon, it never abandons its shell, but simply combines it with its dragon scales.

At this moment, Xu Qingfan, risking being killed by the water dragon or being crushed by the whirlpool, has devised this extremely daring plan to break through the Azure Dragon’s shell.

As the dragon and phoenix summoned by Xu Qingfan collide with the fully defended Azure Dragon, enclosed in its shell, the heavens and earth shake once more, and a deep, thunderous roar suddenly echoes through the world. The already violent stormy seas rage even more at this moment.

However, between the shimmering golden shell, neither the fierce Azure Dragon Divine Soul nor the agile and dangerous Infernal Phoenix can truly threaten the Azure Dragon.

"Boom… Boom… Boom…"

The Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix did not give up after their first strike failed. They continuously attacked the Azure Dragon with strong winds. The golden light on the turtle shell had already been shattered by the Azure Dragon Divine Soul, while the Death God flames from Infernal Phoenix kept burning on the Azure Dragon’s shell.

However, the Azure Dragon remained curled up inside its shell, quietly floating on the surface of the sea, completely still.

It was as if the Azure Dragon was the tallest and mightiest mountain in the world. The unending attacks from the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix might have caused some vibrations, but they could not move its body an inch.

As the Azure Dragon stayed firm and unmoving, the impacts from Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix also created the same reaction force against them. With the defensive strength of the Azure Dragon, if this strategy continued, the likely outcome would be that the Azure Dragon would be fine, while Xu Qingfan’s Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix would eventually vanish between heaven and earth under the ongoing counterforce.

At least, that is how it appeared on the surface.

But the Azure Dragon knew its own pain.

"Dragon and Phoenix Calling" is Xu Qingfan’s most powerful skill. Even the defensively strong Azure Dragon could not stay unharmed under its relentless attacks.

The Azure Dragon Divine Soul was fierce and powerful. Each impact made the Azure Dragon inside the shell shake violently. Despite the Azure Dragon’s strong body, it felt extremely uncomfortable, its insides churning. The attacks from Infernal Phoenix seemed less destructive than those of Azure Dragon Divine Soul, but each strike left many Hellfire marks on the Azure Dragon, and the Hellfire was very powerful, continuously eroding the defense energy on the Azure Dragon’s shell.

The most frightening part was that after each clash, two opposite energies remained on the Azure Dragon’s shell—one was sacred and peaceful, and the other was dark and evil. These two energies seemed like natural enemies, endlessly battling on the Azure Dragon’s shell. The destructive power of their fight was far greater than the simple addition of the two energies.

As the attacks seemed endless and their destructive power was far greater than Azure Dragon had imagined, doubts began to creep into its heart. Under such ceaseless assaults, would it be able to hold on till the end?

"Creak…"

With the continued attacks, a suddenly sharp yet faint cracking sound echoed. Beneath the terrifying and shocking roar, it was almost inaudible, but in Azure Dragon’s ears, it sounded like a thunderclap.

Its seemingly indestructible shell had, under the relentless impacts of the dragon and phoenix, developed a tiny crack.

No matter how tiny this crack was, it was the first time in Azure Dragon’s life that its shell had been damaged. It didn’t even know how long it would take to heal.

Although Xu Qingfan had fallen into the whirlpool and didn’t know if he was alive or dead, there were other strong warriors in Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. At that moment, Azure Dragon was no longer focused on safely evacuating all of the East Sea Demon Monsters. In the face of danger, it started to think more about its upcoming breakthrough, worrying about how much danger it would face after this crack appeared. Its heart felt a bit chaotic, and it quickly directed all the Spirit Qi in its body toward the shell.

From the outside, as the dragon and phoenix summoned by Xu Qingfan took turns to strike, Azure Dragon’s shell not only remained firm but instead shone even brighter with golden light.

However, as Azure Dragon focused solely on defense, it overlooked the situation around it and completely failed to notice that, a hundred feet away on either side, a black light and a colorful spiritual light were heading towards it.

These two beams of spiritual light were none other than the "World Defying Sword" and "Qixia Sword," two God Weapons that Xu Qingfan had previously wielded in his hands.

Two bright lights flashed and, in the blink of an eye, pierced through the holes in the turtle shell that allowed the limbs to extend and retract, and entered the Azure Dragon’s body.

At that moment, all of Azure Dragon’s strength was gathered on the turtle shell, and it was unprepared for the attacks of the two God Weapons and had no defense at all.

As the two God Weapons pierced in, Azure Dragon let out a tremendous roar. The "Qixia Sword" was not too much to worry about; its main function was to adjust and merge the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth. Although it was powerful, given Azure Dragon’s strong body, being struck by the sword only resulted in serious injury.

The main concern was the "World Defying Sword." Its destructive power against all living beings was far too strong. A wild killing intent and strange, terrifying demonic energy surged into Azure Dragon’s body from the "World Defying Sword," damaging its body structure and causing parts of Azure Dragon to lose their connection.

To resist the terrifying destructive power of the "World Defying Sword" and the "Qixia Sword," Azure Dragon instinctively recalled most of the Spirit Qi from the turtle shell to drive out the destructive energy that had entered its body.

However, at that moment, the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix summoned by Xu Qingfan suddenly erupted with an unprecedented force and charged toward Azure Dragon again.

This time, the Spirit Qi of the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix was wildly chaotic, very different from before; it could explode at any moment, and their attacking power was much greater than before.

Azure Dragon sensed the immense power coming from the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix and was greatly alarmed, quickly directing more Spirit Qi from its body toward the turtle shell.

Unfortunately, with Azure Dragon unable to focus on both, it was already too late for everything.

"Boom…"

A particularly powerful and terrifying explosion suddenly erupted when the Azure Dragon Divine Soul collided with the Infernal Phoenix.

With this collision, both the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and the Infernal Phoenix exploded, and the wild power raged between heaven and earth. The two completely opposite forces crashed together, making the explosion even stronger.

Each previous collision had stirred up fierce winds and huge waves, but this time, the sea surface dropped dozens of feet, and countless seawater was turned into emptiness, yet it was completely silent.

The clouds in the sky were scattered by the explosion. After a night of battle, daylight broke, and a ray of sunlight shone down from the broken clouds, landing on the spot where the Azure Dragon was.

The lonely turtle shell floating hundreds of feet above the sea was striking under the sunlight, even though it was already shattered with cracks everywhere, losing its former glory.

Upon seeing this scene, the demon beasts around Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands were all astonished. The powerful ancient demon beast Azure Dragon, which ranked among the top ten in strength over the Eastern Sea, and the once noble Azure Dragon that was about to break through to a heavenly level, had been killed like this?

Just as countless demon beasts and cultivators were filled with confusion, the turtle shell floating in mid-air suddenly shook, and the Azure Dragon’s limbs, head, and tail suddenly emerged from the shell. Two God Weapons were stuck in the dragon’s head, and golden blood flowed continuously from the wounds. The sight was both messy and sorrowful.

"Roar…"

The Azure Dragon raised its hand and let out a fierce and unwilling roar, then suddenly turned around. Although it was not usually fast, it transformed into a flash of golden light and quickly flew away into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

The Azure Dragon ran away…

This impact is much greater than if the Azure Dragon were killed, and it has a bigger effect on the East Sea Demon Monsters.

While the East Sea Demon Monsters were still in shock, the remaining cultivators from Tianji Camp and Yaoguang Camp reacted quickly and began to hunt the East Sea Demon Monsters that were much stronger than them.

The army fell apart like a landslide.

…

On the other side, after the Azure Dragon escaped, the whirlpool created by its power gradually calmed down, losing control and the Spirit Qi, becoming a very ordinary and peaceful sea area, showing no sign that countless demon beasts had just drowned in it.

Suddenly, a splash of water rose up, and Xu Qingfan, who had been swallowed by the whirlpool, surged out of the sea.

In the fierce battle with the Azure Dragon, Xu Qingfan emerged victorious, taking less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to defeat an opponent who was equal to him, a feat he could be proud of for life.

However, at this moment, Xu Qingfan looked just as distressed as the Azure Dragon did when it was injured and fleeing.

His face was pale, his clothes were torn, blood was flowing from his seven orifices, and his skin was bruised.

To avoid the attacks of the more than a hundred water dragons, Xu Qingfan willingly entered the whirlpool beneath him. While the water dragons could kill Xu Qingfan in an instant, the whirlpool was equally powerful, slowly torturing him to death instead.

Most of Xu Qingfan’s Spirit Qi was used to control the Azure Dragon Divine Soul and Infernal Phoenix he summoned, and to attack the Azure Dragon with the "Qixia Sword" and "World Defying Sword," leaving only a small amount for his defense.

However, once he entered the whirlpool, immense water pressure attacked Xu Qingfan from all sides. This pressure could crush him to pieces in an instant. The blood flowing from his seven orifices was squeezed out by the tremendous pressure, and his bruised skin was the result of all his blood vessels bursting under such great force.

It can be said that if the Azure Dragon had held on a little longer, Xu Qingfan would never have resurfaced from beneath the sea.

At this moment, the darkness in Xu Qingfan’s eyes had faded, and the black markings on his face had disappeared, as he had returned to his normal state from the demonic state.

Thinking of the recent scenario, Xu Qingfan felt a wave of fear in his heart.

After becoming demonic, his mind was calm and detached, unaffected by any emotions, reacting with incredible speed, able to assess the situation and make the right decisions in an instant, and he would go to any lengths to achieve his goals.

For example, this time, to achieve the goal of defeating Azure Dragon in the shortest time, the enchanted Xu Qingfan even put himself in a very dangerous situation without any hesitation, something he would never do under normal circumstances.

Looking at the Azure Dragon that had disappeared into the sky, Xu Qingfan sighed. The East Sea tribe was undoubtedly innocent in this battle; although they were fierce, they had never actively provoked the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. This great battle was completely instigated by Xu Qingfan, who was letting Chou’s grudge get the better of him.

However, whether to strengthen the resolve of the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands cultivators to follow him, to collect many precious treasures for the next plan, or to test the stance of everyone from the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, this battle had to happen. Despite the future cost to humanity, Xu Qingfan still sacrificed the East Sea Demon Monster without hesitation, feeling some guilt but not hesitating at all.

Looking around the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, the so-called East Sea had turned into a sea of blood, with countless floating corpses everywhere, impossible to count.

Xu Qingfan sighed and waved his hands toward the sky. In an instant, a black light and a colorful light suddenly appeared from the edge of the sky and returned to Xu Qingfan’s hands.

These were the "Qixia Sword" and the "World Defying Sword" that had been pierced into the Azure Dragon’s body earlier.

After putting the two God Weapons into his sleeves, Xu Qingfan waved his hands down at his feet, and countless fragments suddenly appeared from the deep sea, which were also collected into his sleeves.

This time, it was the "Five Spirit Bell" that Xu Qingfan had used before to resist the terrifying water pressure, but now it had turned into fragments.

Once more glancing at the place where the Azure Dragon had vanished, Xu Qingfan silently sighed. With such heavy damage, the imminent breakthrough evolution of Azure Dragon was truly at death’s door. Moreover, Xu Qingfan had already left a mark on Azure Dragon, sealing its fate.

Although the Azure Dragon never took the initiative to activate the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands, Xu Qingfan absolutely would not allow any potential threat that could reach a heavenly level to appear in order to secure their position.

The sigh was only a momentary pause; in the next instant, Xu Qingfan’s expression turned completely cold. The "World Defying Sword," which had been tucked away in his sleeve, reappeared in Xu Qingfan’s hand. In a flash, he dashed towards the fleeing demon beasts.

Under the World Defying Sword, one strike meant death, and yet another scene of blood and chaos unfolded.

At the same time, two heart-wrenching dragon roars echoed as the remaining two Fish Dragon Beasts were either devoured or killed under the powerful attacks of Chou and Little Black.

…

The Azure Dragon flew away injured, three Fish Dragon Beasts were successively killed, leaving the remaining dragon transformations and the flood dragon in a state of shock.

At this moment, they were battling against Wang Zegang and Dongfang Quan.

Wang Zegang had just become enlightened, and for cultivators, this process usually takes more than a month. After becoming enlightened, a cultivator needs time to comprehend the Heavenly Way, merging their insights with what they have learned throughout their lives. However, when Wang Zegang became enlightened, the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands was under attack, and he couldn’t take the time to integrate his understanding of the Heavenly Way with his knowledge. He hurried to join the fight.

However, his opponent, the flood dragon, had already reached the heavenly level and was close to the middle stage of that level. Its strength far exceeded Wang Zegang’s. Even though Wang Zegang had only been fighting the flood dragon for a short while, he was already in a dire state with multiple injuries.

Dongfang Quan and the other four had only reached the Golden Core Stage for ten years. Although each received a top-quality magical tool, made to imitate the Five Elements Sacred Tool, which was as powerful as an ordinary treasure, even when they formed a Five Elements formation together, they were still far from comparing to their opponent, the Transforming Dragon. At that moment, they were even more distressed than Wang Zegang. If the Transforming Dragon wasn’t concerned about the five top-quality magical tools they held, the five of them would have already been devoured. Even so, in just a brief moment, they were nearing their limits and could be defeated at any time.

However, even though they were about to overcome their opponent, the Transforming Dragon and the Flood Dragon hesitated instead.

With the Fish Dragon dead, Azure Dragon fleeing, and powerful masters from the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands emerging one after another, Xu Qingfan, Chou, and Dark Crow were ruthlessly killing, rushing toward their direction.

Although the Flood Dragon and Transforming Dragon were demon beasts, they felt terrified.

Suddenly, the Flood Dragon and Transforming Dragon looked at each other, each gathering their strength to push Wang Zegang and Dongfang Quan back, then quickly flew away.

However, the Flood Dragon and Transforming Dragon had not flown far when they suddenly stopped and coldly stared ahead.

Xu Qingfan stirred up a storm of blood and slaughter, killing all the demon beasts in his path, but now, they stood in front of him.

The "World Defying Sword" in Xu Qingfan’s hand was covered in blood, with no telling how many demon beasts from the Eastern Sea he had killed, but now the blood was quickly decreasing and soon disappeared, as if being absorbed by the sword. At that moment, the World Defying Sword shone even darker.

The Flood Dragon and Transforming Dragon roared threateningly at Xu Qingfan, yet each hesitated and did not dare to approach. They sensed the power displayed in the battle between Xu Qingfan and Azure Dragon. Though Xu Qingfan appeared quite messy, they still didn’t believe they could defeat him.

In fact, if they tried their best right now, they might have a chance. Unfortunately, this opportunity was lost due to their fear and hesitation.

Xu Qingfan looked at them coldly, and slowly raised his sword, ready to attack.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan paused for a moment, as if he had noticed something.

In the distance, a dark cloud flew quickly toward them, and upon closer look, it was formed by countless Dark Crows gathering together.

After the dark cloud arrived, it quickly surrounded Xu Qingfan and the dragon, with countless cold eyes silently staring at them. As the dragon turned its head to observe the surrounding Dark Crows, it noticed that half of them had reached high Earth level, while the other half were middle Earth level, shocking it even more.

Suddenly, a terrible crow caw echoed through the air. Normally, this sound would make people laugh, but at this moment, it felt like a call from the God of Death, chilling everyone.

At the same time, a powerful and indifferent aura enveloped the dragon and the transformed dragon. This aura was so strong that even when compared to the distant Azure Dragon, it was not far off, and far exceeded that of the dragon and the transformed dragon.

Then, a Dark Crow, twice the size of a regular one, with magnificent golden stripes on its wings, exuding an overwhelming presence and an unusually proud demeanor among demon beasts, slowly flew into the circle, causing the other Dark Crows to bow their heads and make way, as if a king had arrived.

Next, this Dark Crow completely ignored the presence of the dragon and the transformed dragon, slowly making its way toward Xu Qingfan.

"Little Black…"

A rare gentle smile appeared at the corner of Xu Qingfan’s mouth, bringing a sense of harmony to the cold surroundings.

Then, in front of everyone, Little Black slowly landed on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, just like how they had done so forty years ago.

However, both Xu Qingfan and Little Black ignored the two powerful opponents in front of them and closed their eyes, as if they were connecting through their minds and sharing some kind of communication.

The Dragon and the Transforming Dragon exchanged glances and prepared to attack.

But in the next moment, the Dragon and Transforming Dragon stopped moving.

Because outside the circle of Dark Crow, a cultivator cloaked in a large robe was coldly watching them. It was this cultivator who had recently killed two Fish Dragon Beasts, and now they were even stronger.