Chapter 512 - 364: The Splendid Scene (Part 2)
As a result, Hidden Dragon had made many enemies. Yet, he thrived in White Mountain like a fish in water, a testament to his formidable skills.
Legend had it that he earned the name "Hidden Dragon" after subduing a flood dragon that was on the verge of enlightenment, making a name for himself in a single stroke.
A flood dragon on the verge of enlightenment was already at the Late-stage Golden Core, and once it achieved its breakthrough, it would reach the Nascent Soul Level.
With such a feat to his name, Hidden Dragon was considered even more troublesome than Yu Ran. Don’t be fooled by the fact that Yu Ran was also at the Late-stage Golden Core. In terms of actual combat, Yu Ran of Qi Yun, who rarely fought his enemies, was no match for Hidden Dragon, a man who constantly fought to survive in White Mountain.
With a Golden Core Cultivator like him leading them, plus several hundred White Mountain Tribulation Cultivators as his minions, this group would stand a good chance of breaching a Golden Core Sect if they chose to attack one.
But when this group set its sights on Fang Qingyuan’s convoy of Hump-backed Rays, they had already chosen the path to their own destruction.
Watching the White Tiger Dharma Aspect’s massive claw take shape, Hidden Dragon took a deep breath and slowly exhaled the metallic tang of blood. The frigid air circulated through his lungs, mingling and exchanging with the qi and blood in his organs. Every breath seemed to generate heat through friction until, between one inhale and the next, his entire body felt ready to combust.
The taste of blood could drive a man to frenzy, but it also seemed to grant him infinite strength.
Through his many battles, Hidden Dragon had learned one thing: either do nothing, or see it through to the bitter end. Otherwise, hesitation would sooner or later get him killed.
This was the path Hidden Dragon walked, and it was this very belief that had allowed him to survive in White Mountain.
And so, filled with a burning fury, Hidden Dragon let out a thunderous roar. His muscles bulged, threatening to burst from his armor. Ignoring the formidable-looking White Tiger Star Aspect, he lunged straight for Fang Qingyuan nearby.
In Hidden Dragon’s eyes, Fang Qingyuan was a typical Beast Taming Sect disciple. Although Fang Qingyuan hadn’t used a Spirit Beast against him, the techniques on display were characteristic of that discipline. For this kind of opponent, the best strategy was to strike at the head.
’Once I get close to him, he won’t last more than a few rounds before I capture him. Then I’ll hand him over to the Spirit Wood Alliance in exchange for an even larger sect territory.’
...
But things did not go as Hidden Dragon had planned. As he closed in on Fang Qingyuan, the seemingly frail cultivator who specialized in spiritual cultivation suddenly transformed, becoming a powerful Body Cultivator whose Body Refining Technique was in no way inferior to his own.
Fang Qingyuan met Hidden Dragon’s attack with a cold smirk. His internal organs were pumping a ceaseless supply of energy into his body. His qi and blood began to boil, suffusing every inch of his muscles and bones, extracting power only to feed it back into the raging current to burn even hotter.
This was the Five Elements Undying Body, a technique Fang Qingyuan had cultivated for a century. When he broke through to the Golden Core Realm, the Five Elements Undying Body had also advanced to the Golden Core level, tempered by the baptism of his Celestial Tribulation.
Fang Qingyuan was keen to test the Body Refining Technique he had painstakingly cultivated for a century. He wanted to see what weaknesses it had when pitted against the Hidden Dragon Wanderer, a man renowned for his Body Refining prowess.
Fang Qingyuan’s body had become a living furnace. He fueled it with his Five Elements Magical Power as charcoal, his own flesh the crucible. As magical power surged into his organs, the temperature at the furnace’s core skyrocketed.
Power—explosive, ferocious power—was continuously drawn forth for him to command.
Instantly, every move Fang Qingyuan made was surging with True Baleful Aura, burning like fire and scorching the air. The destructive power was astonishing. The impacts came in waves, each stronger than the last, and the aftershocks cracked the ground and flattened all vegetation in their path.
...
’Is this an illusion? How did this beast-taming cultivator suddenly become even more skilled in the Body Refining Technique than I am?’
Hidden Dragon groaned internally. He had never imagined things would develop this way. Fang Qingyuan had transformed in a flash, becoming a Body Refining Cultivator.
No, that wasn’t quite right. Hidden Dragon’s gaze fell upon the faint Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect manifesting around Fang Qingyuan. It was precisely because of this enhancement. Although Fang Qingyuan lacked experience using his Five Elements Undying Body in combat, the defensive instincts of the Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect were now fully imbued within him. That was why, even when facing the fierce onslaught from a veteran Body Cultivator like Hidden Dragon, Fang Qingyuan showed no sign of being defeated.
When Hidden Dragon occasionally unleashed a killing blow, he could clearly see that Fang Qingyuan was unable to react in time. But then the eyes of the Black Tortoise Dharma Aspect would flash, and Fang Qingyuan would execute a stroke of genius, neutralizing the deadly attack.
Even more terrifying, Hidden Dragon discovered something else in the heat of battle: Fang Qingyuan was learning from him, studying how to utilize the power of his own body.
’Are all Major Sect Disciples this brilliant?’ Today was probably the day Hidden Dragon had asked himself the most questions in his entire life.
The longer Hidden Dragon fought, the more alarmed he became. This was not going according to his plan. After a moment, another characteristic of the White Mountain People surfaced in his mind.
When things looked bad, you absolutely do not push your luck. When it’s time to run, you run.
At this point, Hidden Dragon couldn’t be bothered with what the Spirit Wood Alliance disciples watching from a distance would think of him. Right now, he just wanted to get far away from this place. He had a premonition that if he continued to tangle with Fang Qingyuan, he would lose the upper hand, and then he wouldn’t be able to escape even if he wanted to.
...
Following a world-shaking collision, Hidden Dragon’s body was flung into the distance like a bolt from a powerful crossbow.
At that moment, the White Mountain Loose Cultivators who had gathered there could no longer contain their greed. Taking advantage of the fight between Fang Qingyuan and Hidden Dragon, they had already launched an attack on the twenty-odd, slow-moving Hump-backed Rays.
The hundred or so disciples of the Qingyuan Sect, who represented the core elite of the sect, were flying in formations of three to five. Riding their Cyan Jade Dragonflies, they circled the Hump-backed Rays, struggling to fend off the plundering White Mountain Tribulation Cultivators.
Han Ping was coordinating from the center, using his Magical Artifact to periodically support the Qingyuan Sect disciples who were in peril. But unfortunately, there were simply too many of these Tribulation Cultivators.
In just ten breaths, one squad of disciples was struck down from their Cyan Jade Dragonflies by the crafty White Mountain Tribulation Cultivators.
With every breath that passed, another disciple of the Qingyuan Sect was injured, and Fang Qingyuan took in the entire scene.
He could no longer be bothered with finishing off Hidden Dragon. Instead, he changed direction and rushed back toward his convoy of Hump-backed Rays.
Amid the great tide of fear washing over from the hundreds of people, Fang Qingyuan could clearly identify which cultivators were instigating the chaos.
Among the multitude of fearful Spiritual Lights directed at him, a few calm, blue lights suddenly appeared, which told him everything he needed to know.
These few cultivators had to be spies from the Spirit Wood Alliance. One of them felt somewhat exasperated and indignant, likely because he was unwilling to accept that Hidden Dragon had fled.
For the moment, Fang Qingyuan paid no mind to these Spirit Wood Alliance spies. His priority was to ensure the safety of his sect’s disciples, whom he had brought along to gain experience.
Looking at the excited, almost frenzied expressions on the faces of the White Mountain Tribulation Cultivators, Fang Qingyuan decided to make an attempt while his own condition was at an unprecedented peak. He was going to detonate their negative emotions, one after another.
It was like a tower of stacked stones; if you gently pulled out the first one, the rest would come crashing down on their own.
The only problem was that this first stone wasn’t easy to find.
...
At this moment, Fang Qingyuan was enveloped by the Black Tortoise Aspect. Since the Black Tortoise governed life and death, his sensitivity to the aura of death was also exceptionally keen.
To his senses, the Tribulation Cultivators who were devoid of vitality stood out the most. He attempted to gather the fear from the hearts of the several hundred cultivators on the battlefield, extract it, and pour it all into a single Tribulation Cultivator whose heart was already filled with terror.
The next moment, the head of the White Mountain Tribulation Cultivator whom Fang Qingyuan had used for his experiment abruptly exploded. The scene was instantly and utterly gruesome.
At the moment of his death, he was still clutching a First-grade top-quality magic tool, madly attacking the convoy of Hump-backed Rays.
As the man died and his head burst open, another White Mountain Tribulation Cultivator next to him felt an ocean of fear envelop his mind.
And so, a breath later, his head also exploded into a shower of red and white.
What followed was a continuous chain of exploding heads, like festive fireworks, filling the air with a celebratory mood.