Chapter 112: The Wrath of the Dragon (Part 1)

The middle-aged female illusionist standing behind Linghu Yu let out a disdainful snort. “Brother Taixing, so in the end, all you know how to do is use your family to intimidate others. But that trick won’t work on us!”

Shen Taixing’s face had turned livid with rage. The normally lofty and overbearing man had just had his authority challenged in front of a group of juniors, leaving him thoroughly humiliated.

“Linghu Yu, Ji Qingxue, I, Shen Taixing, will remember today’s disgrace. One day, I will repay it tenfold!” Shen Taixing issued his threat.

“Brother Taixing, I’ll be waiting,” Linghu Yu replied indifferently.

“Jianming, Pinglu, we’re leaving!” Shen Taixing ordered the young Shen family expedition team behind him in a restrained voice.

As he spoke, he waved his hand and withdrew the defensive formation covering the ground. Blue spirit-illusion energy flashed across his palm.

“Uncle Taixing, how can we just leave like this? Are we really going to hand over the Dragonscale Grass and this sacred beast to those treacherous villains for nothing?” a young man behind him shouted angrily.

Shen Taixing naturally had no desire to surrender the Dragonscale Grass to his sworn enemy, Linghu Yu. However, the opposing side now had the upper hand in strength, along with Shen Duo, a Sword King who had appeared from nowhere. The strongest members of the young Shen family expedition team were no more than Spirit Illusionists.

Moreover, these highly gifted Shen family youths were each a future hope of the family. Though he hated Linghu Yu and was reluctant to give up the Dragonscale Grass, he could not gamble the Shen family’s future by allowing these young people, who still had tremendous room for growth, to die here.

He had clashed with Linghu Yu many times. Aside from that old man from Qiaosilin Academy, Linghu Yu listened to no one. When the time came, he would not care that they belonged to one of the Four Great Families.

Even if he led the survivors back to the Shen family’s main city, he would still be punished by the Council of Elders should any of the younger generation be lost.

Having spent many years making his way through the family’s main city, Shen Taixing knew perfectly well what mattered most.

“Shut up! I’m in charge of this team!” Shen Taixing glared fiercely at the young man behind him.

His gaze carried a fury more terrible than any they had ever seen. The several indignant juniors immediately swallowed their anger.

The Shen family expedition team finally fell silent. Shen Taixing no longer looked toward Shen Duo and merely began organizing the retreat of his family’s younger members in an orderly fashion.

Standing where she was, Shen Duo could feel the venomous stares the Shen family youths hurled at her. She gave a faint laugh and paid them no heed.

Just then, Lou Jingbai, perched on Shen Duo’s shoulder, suddenly widened his limpid eyes and looked up toward the towering ancient tree.

In an instant, everyone heard a furious dragon’s cry laden with overwhelming pressure. The sound robbed nearly every magical beast present of its ability to fight, while even the low-ranked illusionists began to tremble.

The azure flood dragon coiled once around the towering ancient tree. Its enormous head lowered, and its golden vertical pupils coldly fixed upon the cultivators beneath it.

Two immense whiskers floated above the flood dragon’s head. As its jaws opened and closed, a majestic voice rang out through the dense forest.

“Insignificant humans, since you have trespassed into this flood dragon’s territory, how could I allow you to come and go as you please?”

The echo had barely faded when its enormous tail swept across the path before Shen Taixing. The towering trees toppled in an instant, and a deep trench more than a dozen meters long tore across the earth, completely cutting off the Shen family expedition team’s escape route.

Shen Taixing’s expression changed. He had never imagined that this high-ranked flood dragon would be so domineering and arrogant.

The younger members of the expedition team were likewise stunned by the flood dragon’s seemingly effortless yet incomparably powerful strike. Terror surfaced in their eyes.

Linghu Yu, Ji Qingxue, Shen Duo, Feng Jun, and the others were equally shaken as they secretly marveled at the terrifying strength of the flood dragon hidden within Nascent Canyon. Its power had far exceeded Linghu Yu’s earlier estimates. At that moment, they were all somewhat relieved that the two teams had chosen to cooperate.

Ji Qingxue stared at the azure flood dragon coiled around the towering ancient tree, her fine brows drawn tightly together.

An ominous premonition began to rise within her.

Something seemed to have changed in Nascent Canyon…

How could a flood dragon of such strength appear so easily in the outer reaches of Nascent Canyon? They were fortunate to have encountered it themselves today. Had an ordinary illusionist team stumbled upon it, they would most likely have perished here. At that thought, Ji Qingxue had already made her decision.

The azure flood dragon had no intention of wasting words with them. After suppressing them with a single strike, it immediately launched another attack.

The enormous azure tail, touched with a faint violet hue, once again swept toward the Shen family expedition team. It carried a fierce astral wind and crushing pressure, like a hammer weighing a million pounds. Anyone struck directly would likely die on the spot.

The Shen family expedition team was caught off guard by the sudden assault. Many of the young illusionists were so shocked that they simply forgot to dodge.

Shen Taixing’s eyes reddened with panic. Even as a Sky Illusionist, he could not protect more than a dozen people at once. At that critical moment, he pulled a defensive illusion artifact shaped like an umbrella from his storage ring.

He opened it at once, shielding the young members of the Shen family beneath it. A deep violet radiance flashed, and when the flood dragon’s powerful tail struck the artifact, a deafening boom shook the heavens.

Shen Taixing’s right hand, gripping the defensive artifact, went instantly numb. The pain was unbearable, and before long, blood burst from the web between his thumb and forefinger. Cracks spread across the umbrella-shaped supreme defensive artifact in his hand. It was clearly beyond further use.

The flood dragon’s golden vertical pupils fixed upon Shen Taixing. “What extravagance. You even brought out a Saint-grade illusion artifact! What a pity that it has already been destroyed. Now this flood dragon would like to see how many such artifacts you possess!”

Before the words had even faded, the flood dragon attacked once more in fury.

Shen Taixing immediately ordered the Shen family youths, “Spread out! If you cannot evade it, do not hesitate to use whatever defensive artifacts you have!”

After the sudden turn of events, the Shen family expedition team had finally regained their senses. They had undergone a year of wilderness training, after all, and were not without combat experience. Once they recovered their composure, they quickly resumed an orderly formation.

As he transformed into armor and narrowly evaded the flood dragon’s tail, Shen Taixing turned furiously toward Linghu Yu, Shen Duo, and the others, who were still standing nearby and watching.

“You are human cultivators just like us! Are you truly planning to stand by without lifting a finger? Once every member of my Shen family is dead, do you think this flood dragon will spare you?”

Shen Duo was the first to draw her sword from her storage ring. Cooperating perfectly, Lou Jingbai transformed into his true form—a five-tailed fire fox—and carried her upon his back.

The sword gleamed with dense azure sword energy. Spirit energy flowed through its blade, making it seem almost alive. Seizing her opportunity, Shen Duo gave a clear shout and swung down. The razor-sharp edge, filled with sword energy and carrying the force of ten thousand tons, cleaved toward the flood dragon’s enormous tail.

The sword radiance transformed in midair into a colossal golden phantom blade. Bearing unstoppable sharpness and a lively sword intent that seemed almost sentient, it slashed toward the flood dragon’s tail.