Chapter 428 - 243: Molten Earth Dragon
A Flood Dragon was a Flood Dragon, after all. Even without its territorial advantage, its innate strength was still extraordinary. It was by no means an easy opponent to defeat.
What’s more, Huo Yezi only wanted to subdue it.
Effortlessly plucking a Fire Lingzhi, Lü Zhong saw Huo Yezi suddenly ascend and begin to charge upward. He quickened his Escape Speed as well, abruptly shooting toward the surface.
SPLASH!
Golden magma flew everywhere as the two of them, one after the other, burst out of the molten rock.
They found themselves in a massive subterranean cavern, at least a dozen li wide. Above them, several rivers of golden magma cascaded down, converging into an immense Magma Lake.
And right in the heart of the lake, a massive stone pillar rose, upon which grew a small, entirely crimson tree.
It went without saying that this little tree was the Fire Dragon Tea Tree.
Visibly, wisps of pure Fire Spiritual Qi were drawn toward it, all converging upon the tea tree and causing it to shimmer with a golden radiance.
To one side, a colossal creature lay crouched.
The Molten Earth Dragon!
Lü Zhong summoned his Magical Treasure as he sized up the beast.
Compared to the slender Water Flood Dragon, the Molten Earth Dragon was far shorter and stockier, roughly eighty-something zhang long. It looked like a dragon made of stone, its body covered in sharp spines. Its claws and legs were exceptionally thick, undoubtedly possessing terrifying strength.
Sensing their arrival, the Molten Earth Dragon rose and roared.
ROOOAAARR!
The roar was soul-shaking. Had it been a Core Formation cultivator with a weaker will, their fighting spirit would have been completely shattered.
Unfortunately for the dragon, it was facing Lü Zhong.
To him, the roar was merely noisy; it had no other effect whatsoever.
Just as they were flying closer, Huo Yezi, who was in the lead, suddenly cried out in alarm.
"Watch out! It’s going to use its Fire-Eating Divine Technique!"
They watched as the Molten Earth Dragon plunged its massive head into the Magma Lake and began to inhale the molten rock like a whale swallowing the sea. Under the power of its Divine Technique, the brilliant golden lake dimmed visibly.
Immediately after, its massive maw opened.
A thin line of fire shot out, swelling in an instant.
It became a three-zhang-thick pillar of golden fire, sweeping toward them with the force of a cataclysm.
’The Fire-Eating Divine Technique is utterly ridiculous!’
’I knew it!’ Lü Zhong cursed Huo Yezi inwardly. ’That old man was definitely hiding things.’ However, dodging this attack would be quite easy for him.
Meteor Escape, activated by directly burning his Essence Blood!
’Dodging a few times is nothing,’ he thought. ’It consumes less than a single dual cultivation session.’
Instantly, his Escape Speed soared.
The fire pillar controlled by the Molten Earth Dragon swept back and forth several times, melting deep grooves into the distant cavern walls, yet it failed to land a hit on Lü Zhong. All its effort was for naught.
It could only change its target to Huo Yezi, but he nimbly dodged its attacks several times.
After several failed attempts, the pillar of fire gradually lost its power.
Clearly, the Molten Earth Dragon’s Fire-Eating Divine Technique had its limits.
If it could have kept spewing fire continuously, Lü Zhong would have turned and fled without a moment’s hesitation.
Meanwhile, Huo Yezi, having dodged the Molten Earth Dragon’s attacks, had yet to bring out the Profound Ice Banner. Instead, he was still steadily approaching the beast.
"Fellow Daoist Lü, I must trouble you to keep it occupied! The Profound Ice Banner takes a while to activate, so I have to catch the Molten Earth Dragon off guard. Otherwise, the beast will surely flee into the Magma Lake."
Huo Yezi’s voice transmission reached him, but Lü Zhong couldn’t be bothered to argue.
’I’ll settle this score later!’
He immediately condensed several Thunderous Spears and shot them toward the beast.
The Thunderous Spear’s power was considerable. Even against a thunder-resistant beast like the Molten Earth Dragon, it had a noticeable effect. Each blast left a large crater, causing the beast to howl in pain.
And so, it began drinking deep from the magma again, unleashing its "Fire-Eating Divine Technique."
He had to admit, the power of this technique was truly terrifying. On a battlefield between two warring sects, it would be a weapon of mass destruction; the pillar of fire could sweep away any number of opponents.
Even a defensive formation would offer little resistance against this laser-like beam. Lü Zhong estimated that even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would have to avoid a direct hit, not daring to block it rashly.
No wonder Huo Yezi was willing to expend a Profound Ice Banner just to try and subdue it.
As Lü Zhong mused, the terrifying pillar of fire struck again.
With his previous experience, dodging it was much easier this time.
During one evasion, however, he was grazed.
A visible chunk of the Star Yang Gang Qi protecting his body was instantly obliterated, causing Lü Zhong to break out in a cold sweat. A single graze like that would have been enough to instantly kill an Early-stage Core Formation Cultivator.
’Thank goodness the Star Yang Gang is tough enough. It should be able to hold for a second or two.’
A few moments later, the pillar of fire weakened once more.
Seeing Lü Zhong completely unscathed, the Molten Earth Dragon threw its head back and roared in fury, causing the surrounding magma to churn violently. Just as it was about to unleash its Fire-Eating Divine Technique again, an arctic storm suddenly erupted.
Huo Yezi, seeing he was finally close enough, had abruptly activated the Profound Ice Banner in his hands.
WHOOSH!
The icy wind howled.
Wherever it passed, even the scorching magma was instantly frozen into solid, ice-cold rock.
Seeing things turn against it, the Molten Earth Dragon immediately abandoned the Fire Dragon Tea Tree and tried to dive into the Magma Lake, only to slam solidly into a layer of rock, sending countless fragments flying.
Unwilling to give up, it frantically clawed at the ground, but even after digging down a dozen zhang, it only found more thick rock.
Lü Zhong was secretly astonished as he watched the scene unfold.
’If a mere replica of a Spirit Treasure is this powerful,’ he wondered, ’how terrifying would the real thing be?’
Shaking off the thought, he summoned his Star Mirror and charged forward. After all, if he didn’t act now, the beast might actually manage to dig through the rock and escape into the unfrozen magma below.