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In Chinese mythology, Yinglong is a rain deity and the most powerful of all dragons from which all others descend. It is also the only winged dragon.
At dusk, the strong wind was slanting the clouds, and the eagles' cries were startling.
On the vast wasteland, more than fifty demonic cultivators surrounding a luxurious sedan rode their swords breaking the wind, and leaving dust behind as they headed toward the Seven Dragon Valley.
Gui Qinghe, who wore a dark blue brocade robe, sat behind the curtain of the sedan chair, accompanied by several women in belly-revealing dancing skirts, and poured the thousand-year-old wine collected from Brilliance City into his wine glass.
The "fame, wealth, sex, and profit" pursued by everyone in the world was something that he, as the Young Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect, could have without moving a finger.
That was why the thousand-year-old wine in Gui Qinghe's wine glass, which ordinary cultivators could hardly get a drop of at a high price, tasted like well water on his tongue.
Gui Qinghe only took a sip and poured the rest of the wine onto the clothes of the woman beside him with a disdainful expression.
"The aged wine of the immortals is nothing much. Here's a reward for you."
The female demonic cultivator in front of him felt a cool sensation on her chest, and her cheeks flushed red. She lay at his feet like a dog, kneeling to lick the wine from his boots.
"Thank you, young master... slurp slurp..."
"Heh..."
Gui Qinghe sneered, then propped his cheek with his fist, looking out from the window of the sedan. As far as he could see, there was still endless yellow sand, and he became increasingly annoyed.
His father had already left with the Elders of the Ghost Spirit Sect after the Nascent Soul immortals led by Fu Xuan.
In contrast, he was leading fifty Core Formation stage cultivators to chase a group of Foundation Building cultivators.
The more Gui Qinghe thought about it, the angrier he got. At this moment, the female demonic cultivator who was pouring wine beside him asked softly, "Young Master, why do you look so unhappy?"
"That old man Kong Xiangmo asked me to chase after a group of insignificant soldiers. Why wouldn't I follow that Fu woman from the Heavenly Demon Sect and chase after the Core Formation cultivators' group? What's the difference between this and asking me to sweep the floor?"
The woman rolled her eyes before replying in a charming voice, "Well... Young Master, you are wrong. I think that what Elder Kong asked you to chase was not those Foundation Building cultivators, but the little boss from the Black Star Sect. Young Master should know that the Patriarch was once..."
Pah---
Gui Qinghe narrowed his eyes slightly, and before she finished speaking, he raised his hand and slapped her.
"Who do you think you are to discuss this?"
"Ah... Sorry, I was wrong."
"Heh..."
A thousand years ago, Seven Ghost Tomb was almost destroyed by Red Moon Immortal Matriarch, and he had not fully recovered until now. That was why Red Moon Immortal had been on his father's mind for a thousand years.
Although his father would definitely be very happy if he killed or captured the Young Miss of the Black Star Sect alive, but after all, it was still only an early-stage Core Formation cultivator.
He was a Nascent Soul cultivator, and even if he captured a Core Formation cultivator alive, this couldn't prove his ability.
What's the point of this?
It was just a matter of one or two of his ghost spells...
At this moment, a demonic cultivator landed in front of the curtain of the sedan chair and knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to Young Master. According to the scouts, the Justice Division seems to have stopped in the Seven Dragon Valley and set up camp. The leader of the Black Star Sect and the leader of the Sword Sect led the disciples to set up many formations and restrictions in the area."
Gui Qinghe sneered. "Ha, they know they can't escape, so they want to fight to the death?"
"So it seems. The Seven Dragon Valley is basically a barren place, but because it used to be a dragon dwelling, the caves in the canyon are intricate, and there are many low-level demonic beasts residing there..."
"Want to set an ambush? Do they think that the ones who're coming after them are just some low-level disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect? What can a group of Foundation Building and two Core Formation cultivators do if they set up an ambush?
Once we reach the Seven Dragon Valley, we will directly set up a formation. At worst, we can raze the place to the ground."
"Yes, sir!"
The demonic cultivator who came in to report the situation retreated from the sedan chair. Gui Qinghe and the others sped up again, breaking through the wind.
A hundred-mile distance was only a few hours away for a team of fifty people.
As the sun set and the moon rose, Gui Qinghe closed his eyes to take a short rest. When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already rising. The female disciples who were accompanying him at the wine table were already drunk and sprawled at his feet.
He reached out to lift the curtain in front of him and looked up ahead.
The sunrise appeared behind the horizon and above the weathered sandstone blocks that looked like they had been gnawed by dogs.
Each sandstone was like a dragon's corpse, hundreds of feet high and tightly packed together, making the entire Seven Dragon Valley look like a huge maze.
"It is indeed a good place for an ambush..."
Gui Qinghe commented with a sneer, but his voice stopped abruptly.
He saw a tiny black dot in the center of the rising sun in the distance, as if there was a mole on the sun's face.
Gui Qinghe thought it was just a grain of sand, or maybe he was dazzled by the sunlight, but after squinting his eyes and using the Distant Vision technique to take a look, he found that it was a black-clothed youth wearing a bamboo hat standing on a flying sword.
He didn't know if the youth had some powerful magic tool or something, but he couldn't discern his cultivation level at first glance.
Gui Qinghe hesitated for a moment and raised his hand to give a signal.
In an instant, the fifty Core Formation cultivators surrounding the sedan chair slowed down their flying swords and stopped about a thousand feet from the young man.
...
As the sun rose, the fiery spirit of the desert gradually surged out from the ground.
There was dead silence in the Seven Dragon Valley; not even the sound of the wind, as if there were no living creatures for a hundred miles.
Standing on the flying sword, Ye Anping slowly raised his bamboo hat. He watched with a solemn expression on his face as the sedan chair surrounded by the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples approached from afar and stopped a thousand feet away from him...
Until--
A hand looking like a skeleton reached out from the sedan chair's curtain, revealing its owner's true appearance in front of him.
After seeing Gui Qinghe's face, Ye Anping seemed to be relieved. His serious expression turned into a faint sneer, and then he used his spiritual power to expand his voice. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. You must be Gui Qinghe, Young Master Gui, right? I've heard a lot about you. I'm Ye Anping. I am also the Young Master of a sect, same as you."
Gui Qinghe narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. He stood up and walked out from behind the curtain, hands behind his back. "Ha, my reputation has actually reached the ears of the Young Master of the Black Star Sect."
"Young Master Gui has misunderstood. I am not the Young Master of the Black Star Sect but of the Hundred Lotus Sect."
Hundred LotusSect?
Gui Qinghe paused and glanced sideways at a demonic cultivator disciple at his side.
However, after the man noticed his gaze, he shook his head slightly to indicate that he did not know either.
Because he couldn't see through Ye Anping's cultivation, he didn't dare to act recklessly. What if it was different from the information? If this person was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, he might suffer a loss if he didn't test him first.
"Never heard of it."
Ye Anping smiled and lightly grabbed the jade pendant hanging from his belt. "Young Master Gui should know that the Hundred Lotus Sect is a pretty good sect with beautiful scenery, especially the Young Master of the sect, who is loved by everyone and is stunningly handsome."
Gui Qinghe and the group of demonic cultivators froze as if they felt a cold wind blowing past them.
Seeing their reaction, Ye Anping made an awkward face and continued, "It's a shame that I, the Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect, am not famous and influential. I'm leading three thousand disciples of the Justice Division on this march, but they don't listen to me very much. They only listen to Miss Xiao and Miss Yun, which gives me a headache."
Sensing the sharpness in Ye Anping's words, Gui Qinghe narrowed his eyes and immediately released the spiritual energy around his body.
In an instant, a hellish cloud suddenly appeared in the sky, as if covering the entire valley with a layer of black sand. The shadows reflected on the weathered sandstone disappeared at this moment.
The world was deadly silent---
"What are you trying to say?"
"I just want you to know this before you die."
Ye Anping slowly put the jade pendant at his waist into his storage bag, then touched the Snow Jade Spirit Sword wrapped in bandages on his back. Holding the hilt, he brought the sword to his right side and tilted his head, asking, "Young Master Gui, let me ask; if say... the Hundred Lotus Sect Young Master in the Core Formation stage was to destroy you, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master... Could I establish my prestige in front of all the disciples of the Justice Division?"
"..."
Silence---
One breath.
Two breaths.
Gui Qinghe suddenly glared and shouted angrily, "A mere Core Formation cultivator wants to use me as a stepping stone?!!"
Buzz---
A dark purple ghostly spirit aura materialized behind Gui Qinghe, and the ghosts were crying out with a shrill sound that was enough to rupture the eardrums.
However, almost at the same time, Ye Anping raised his sword and pointed it at the dark cloud in the sky. Twelve golden light pillars rose from all parts of the Seven Dragon Valley and shot up straight into the sky.
Gui Qinghe wanted to swallow this arrogant Core Formation stage youth with his ghost spirit, but seeing the twelve light pillars, he instantly felt a chill down his spine. Instinctively, he surrounded himself with all his ghost spirit energy to protect himself.
He heard the ghost spirits he controlled wailing...
It was as if something extremely threatening to him was lurking nearby...
And the next moment, the sand seemed to have turned into a vortex collapsing downward.
Roar--!!
The dragon's roar shook the heavens and the earth, and the hearts of all the demonic cultivators skipped a beat. Gui Qinghe was the first to react as he immediately shouted, "Disperse!!"
However, only about half of the fifty Core Formation stage disciples reacted, scattering in all directions. As for the remaining half, they were swallowed by a bloody mouth in an instant.
A behemoth emerged from the center of the sandy valley.
Gui Qinghe, who had dodged the mouth, turned to look back and couldn't help but stare wide-eyed.
It was a dragon hundreds of feet long.
But its whole body was earthly yellow, without the slightest dragon's majesty, just like a decayed dragon corpse. Most of the body was no longer covered with scales, and the remaining scales were mixed with soil and sand.
Gui Qinghe muttered in an uncertain voice. "Sand dragon?!"
However, he had never heard of a Sand Dragon having such a body size. Moreover, the spiritual energy that this dragon displayed also made him feel a kind of desolation that came from a longevity that a Sand Dragon could not have.
"No way!"
Holding the Snow Jade Spirit Sword in his hand, Ye Anping hovered above Gui Qinghe's head. He looked at the degraded dragon's body with a smile. "The Seven Dragon Valley was once the dwelling of the dragons. As the spiritual vein was broken, the seven dragons moved away, but in fact, one dragon stayed behind. As there was no spiritual energy to nourish it, it had no choice but to sleep here. This is a Yinglong*. Although its brain is a little dumber and its strength is not as good as in its heyday, it is still able to swallow a Deification cultivator."
In fact, in player terms, this was just a World Boss of the Central Region.
However, the feeling of oppression when seeing him in the game was completely different from the feeling of oppression when standing in front of him in person.
Roar---
Yinglong soared into the sky, its eyes fixed on Gui Qinghe and Ye Anping hovering in the air below as if it were looking at two ants.
The bat-like wings spread out behind the dragon's body like it was announcing its identity to them.
Ye Anping slightly narrowed his eyes and glanced at the two figures hiding behind a sandstone several thousand feet away. Xiao Yunluo, Yun Yiyi, and a few Sword Sect disciples were all staring speechlessly at this moment.
"Young Master Gui, how about letting this dragon be the referee?"
"...Lunatic."
Gui Qinghe cursed. He couldn't care less about Ye Anping at this moment, and he no longer thought about how Ye Anping woke up this broken dragon. Right now, the dragon's hostility made him shiver.
The dragon's aura terrified all the ghosts he controlled.
Perhaps there were immortal and demonic cultivators among the human race, but in the eyes of the dragon race, he was no different from Ye Anping, and they were both inferior ants.
Boom---
The wind gusted violently, blowing Gui Qinghe's hair.
He immediately mobilized all his spiritual energy and barked an order. "Disciples, listen up! Engage Dragon Slaying Formation!"
In an instant, the remaining twenty or so Ghost Spirit Sect disciples gathered around him, forming hand seals in front of their chests and channeling their spiritual power to him.
The demonic spiritual energy formed a huge and complicated formation in the air within a breath.
However, the moment the formation was set...
Swish---
The ice-blue sword energy swept through two of the demonic cultivators, and their heads were lifted before falling into the sea of sand that was like a vortex of quicksand below.
After Ye Anping finished off those two, he rushed toward the others.
"You!!"
Gui Qinghe couldn't believe it. He simply thought that this Ye Anping was not normal.
In this situation, instead of running away, he was helping this Yinglong to deal with them?!
If he and all the demonic cultivators were swallowed by Yinglong, the next target would be him!
He did not believe that a mere Core Formation cultivator could deal with such an ancient dragon by himself.
Even if his father came personally, he would at least lose a few teeth to Yinglong.
"Stop!!"
Ye Anping slashed another demonic cultivator with his sword and shook off the tainted blood. He smiled. "Master Gui... have you heard of the Dragon Ball?"
"What Dragon Ball?"
He took out a sachet from his belt and shook it. "This is Yinglong's favorite food. The dragon will chase after the Dragon Ball. In other words, I am like a Dragon Ball at this moment..."
Roar---
The earth-shaking dragon roar resounded for thousands of miles, and the sand in the desert seemed to turn into waves hundreds of feet high.
The turbid dragon eyes stared at Ye Anping like a bull seeing a piece of red cloth. In its eyes, only Ye Anping had color.
Roar---!!!
The dragon's mouth opened wide, its body coiled, and then suddenly pressed down.
"Come on~ catch it... Young Master Gui."
After Ye Anping dealt with a few formation knots, he rode his sword diagonally lower than Gui Qinghe, placing him in the middle of the straight line between him and the dragon's mouth.
Seeing the bloody mouth that blocked everything in his vision rushing toward him, Gui Qinghe didn't care about anything. He immediately left the disciples who had already set the formation and dodged a few hundred feet upward alone.
The remaining ten disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect were swallowed up by the dragon's giant mouth.
In Yinglong's eyes, those disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect in the Core Formation stage were like dust in the desert. When they hit the dragon's teeth, they all turned into blood mist and exploded, and didn't even get to scream before they turned into ashes.
Roar---
As he watched the dragon attack, Ye Anping gritted his teeth slightly and swung his sword.
Two strands of ice-blue sword energy shot straight to the dragon's tongue and turned into black ice at the contact.
"Hiss-- this is still a bit..."
After trying to stop the dragon's momentum with the Immortal Yun Jian's sword to no avail, Ye Anping kicked the flying sword under his feet directly into the dragon's mouth. He then stepped on the Snow Jade Spirit Sword and leaped toward Gui Qinghe.
Boom boom---
Deafening bursts of spiritual energy exploded one after the other in the air.
Ye Anping, who was using the Snow Jade Spirit Sword as his flying sword, used almost all of his spiritual energy to control his movements. In an instant, he exploded with the speed of a late Nascent Soul cultivator and arrived beside Gui Qinghe.
Gui Qinghe's face was pale with fear as he watched him approach.
"You!!!"
"Master Gui, I suggest you..."
"Don't come over!!"
Yinglong seemed to have sensed that Ye Anping had escaped from its mouth. Just as it was about to crash into the ground, it coiled its body and turned around 180 degrees to continue. He whistled and jumped toward Ye Anping again.
Just by turning its head, its huge body caused the energy in the air to explode into countless spiritual lights.
Gui Qinghe was stunned for a moment, then he stepped in front of Ye Anping, grabbed his collar, and threw him into the air with force, trying to make Yinglong change direction. He then hurriedly looked for the Escaping Magic Talisman from the storage bag, wanting to flee.
However...
"Cough-- many thanks!"
Ye Anping, who had taken a punch from Gui Qinghe, spat out a mouthful of blood as he staggered to clasp his hands in front of him.
?
Gui Qinghe heard him and looked down. Only then did he realize that the sachet that Ye Anping took out from his storage bag had been hung on his belt at some point.
"You!!"
He immediately tore off the sachet and wanted to throw it out, but just as he raised his hand...
His vision filled with the dragon's mouth, the bright red upper palate with a rotten stench...
Crack---!
The dragon's mouth closed, and the yellow upper and lower dragon teeth collided, sending a circular wave of air.
Blue Water Ghost turned into a Dragon Ball and was swallowed by Yinglong.
Rumble...
The Seven Dragon Valley was once again dead silent. However, two breaths later, Yinglong's head slowly turned towards Ye Anping, who was now free-falling without a flying sword.
Roar---
The dragon's eye narrowed vertically into a slit, and the spiritual pressure of a Deification-stage cultivator instantly choked Ye Anping.
Ye Anping looked at the dragon's eyes, which seemed to have realized that it had been deceived and was extremely angry. He put one hand behind his back and summoned the Nine Dragons Heavenly Seal from his storage bag. At the same time, he looked at Xiao Yunluo, who was hiding behind a huge rock concealing her spiritual energy.
He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and shouted.
"Yunluo!!!"