Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

"Hahahahaha!" Ling Xiao roared with laughter. His clear voice carried far into the night sky, echoing back from the opposite mountain.

The Flood Dragon, hidden in the darkness, was quite puzzled. ’Has this little human brat gone mad?’ it thought. ’He must be overcome with excitement! Hmph. I’ve never shown mercy to any human, so he should feel honored. A future Divine Beast is actually sparing a weak little human!’

The Flood Dragon thought it had figured out Ling Xiao’s thoughts, but then felt something was off. The memory of its parents being struck down by tens of thousands of lightning bolts from the sky came to mind. As a Magical Beast, even it had been heartbroken. Wouldn’t humans, known for their rich emotions, be even more grief-stricken when facing death? And so, it asked in confusion, "Why are you laughing?"

"I’m laughing at you! Laughing because you’re at death’s door and don’t even know it! Still acting all high and mighty, hahahaha!" Ling Xiao couldn’t help but laugh a few more times as he spoke.

"Nonsense! Hmph, utter nonsense! You little human brat, don’t you try to scare me. I’m at death’s door? What a joke! Hmph, besides the people from *that place*, who in this world can be my match? Or do you think... that my intellect is inferior to that of a human child like you?"

The ancient voice was filled with deep disdain when it mentioned humans, but there was a distinct, slight tremor when it said "that place." Only someone with exceptionally powerful Spiritual Power like Ling Xiao could have detected the change in its tone.

Faced with an old monster that had lived for ten thousand years, Ling Xiao knew that ordinary reasoning would never convince it. Moreover, the moment it got annoyed, it would immediately reveal its true form and devour both him and Ming Yue.

Thus, Ling Xiao sneered, "You’ve lived for ten thousand years? Then I’ll just call you the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon! I’m laughing at you because you, an old monster who’s lived for ten thousand years, don’t even know who your greatest enemy is. You’re still here, clamoring about ’*that place*’... Tsk tsk, look at you. You’re talking about the Holy Sanctuary, right? True, if people from there came out, they could probably skin you, pull your tendons, grind your bones to dust, and scatter your ashes with ease, couldn’t they? But I’m not talking about the Holy Sanctuary. Think about it yourself. Think! Your ancestors, your own kind—when they cultivated to their peak, who was their greatest enemy? That’s why I say you’re at death’s door and don’t even know it, yet you’re still eager to devour us. Haha, haha... Go on, eat! The more you eat, the faster you’ll die!"

"You’re courting death!"

The ancient voice roared in fury. Instantly, an immense, overwhelming pressure erupted from the mountain opposite them, crushing down on Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue.

Song Mingyue couldn’t withstand it first; blood spurted from all seven of her orifices. Blood also trickled from Ling Xiao’s eyes and the corners of his mouth as he gritted his teeth and yelled, "I have a way to save your life during your greatest tribulation!"

SWISH!

So fast it was almost audible, the immense pressure vanished in an instant.

Song Mingyue’s body went limp and she collapsed to the ground. Her heart was pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of her throat.

Ling Xiao quickly took out an Elixir and fed it to Song Mingyue. A flash of fury crossed his eyes as he thought, ’You damned beast, just you wait! One day, I’ll skin you and pull out your tendons! We’ll see how arrogant you are then!’

"You have a way?" the voice asked, filled with doubt. At the same time, a figure suddenly emerged from the mountain and appeared before Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao focused his gaze. The person before him was about his height, with a beardless face that was unnervingly pale and as smooth as a baby’s skin. A pair of blood-red eyes looked exceptionally bewitching. He was bald, his head covered in strange patterns that extended all the way to his crimson eyes.

A pure black cloak materialized on its body, and a hazy cloud of energy swirled around it, giving it an illusory feel. Ling Xiao knew this wasn’t the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon, now in the form of a young man, deliberately trying to be mysterious. That hazy cloud was the physical manifestation of immense Spiritual Power!

The Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon narrowed its scarlet eyes, which glinted as it stared at Ling Xiao. It bared its teeth, flicked its tongue out, and the ancient voice sounded again, "If you dare to deceive me, hmph, I will tear you to pieces!"

Song Mingyue stared in horror at the bewitchingly handsome "person" before her. The voice sounded male, but seeing that face and hearing that voice together created a very strange, unsettling feeling.

Fortunately, having followed Ling Xiao, she had seen her fair share of miraculous things. Song Mingyue suppressed her anxiety. Seeing Ling Xiao’s calm and collected expression, her heart gradually settled as well.

A wicked smile touched the corners of Ling Xiao’s lips. Without even wiping away the blood from his eyes and mouth, he said, "Have you ever seen it? When your kin, or perhaps even your elders, reach the peak of their power and try to tear open space to ascend to another world, countless bolts of Tian Lei descend from the sky, striking them down and turning them to ash?"

Hearing Ling Xiao’s words, the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon couldn’t help but tremble. Its intellect might be high, but its experience was far inferior to a human’s; it had no idea how to conceal its emotions. But even knowing this would expose its vulnerabilities, the Ten Thousand Year Flood Dragon didn’t care. It, and its kind, were firm believers in the saying: in the face of absolute power, all schemes and plots are useless.