Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

However, this rumor dealt a significant blow to the Qin Family’s reputation. It forced Patriarch Qin, Qin Zhaoran, to personally apologize at the evening banquet and promise that he would definitely find the missing Demon Sword Master.

Ling Xiao didn’t hear Qin Zhaoran’s speech at the banquet that evening, as he was mingling in a less reputable tavern. However, he heard about it soon after. He sneered inwardly. ’So, Patriarch Qin couldn’t sit still after all. It would be even better if things got a little more chaotic!’

However, things didn’t go as Ling Xiao wished. The rumor had left nearly everyone distracted, so even rivals with old grudges had lost the will to fight.

To entrap everyone attending the grand event, the Qin Family had hastily produced a large batch of maps of the nearby islands. The island inhabited by the Tier Nine Python Magical Beast was marked with particular clarity.

Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue had originally come here to witness the strength of the other prominent families and sects, and maybe find some treasures along the way. But now that they had news of the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon, there was no reason not to go check it out.

If they went there with the main group, it was more likely they’d all be wiped out.

So, that night, Ling Xiao and Song Mingyue slipped away. The Qin Family Island at night was like a city that never sleeps, its streets brightly lit and filled with people. The members of most prominent families and sects were relatively reclusive, so having a rare chance to leave their homes, they naturally wanted to take it all in.

The two of them didn’t look out of place on the street. Since the island had no walls, they simply picked a direction and gradually entered a desolate region. Weeds grew rampant everywhere. Looking back, the bustling residential area receded into the distance, creating a stark contrast with the desolation around them.

’No wonder Song Yi was able to overhear the Qin Family’s secrets all those years ago,’ Ling Xiao thought. ’This island is enormous. The residential district is just one small patch, and the rest is no different from a wilderness!’

The pair walked in a straight line until they reached the island’s edge. Before them lay a stretch of soft sand. As they stepped onto it, they could still feel the lingering warmth from the day’s sun.

Ling Xiao hadn’t brought clown with him this time. Now in its adult stage, clown needed constant battle to increase its strength. Ling Xiao also wanted to see what kind of Magical Beast clown would ultimately become, so he had left it in Penzes City. That way, if anything happened in Penzes City, clown could alert him.

Ling Xiao and clown had long ago established a mental link and could sense each other from hundreds of miles away. Before leaving, Ling Xiao had specifically told clown that he would be on an island in the East Sea. He was confident that with clown’s intelligence, it wouldn’t be difficult for it to find him.

Seeing that no one was around, Ling Xiao summoned the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword and pulled Song Mingyue aboard. The sword’s brilliant light dimmed, and it shot swiftly through the air.

This wasn’t Song Mingyue’s first time flying on the Demon Blood Red Lotus Sword, but her face was still flushed with excitement. The feeling was completely different from flying under her own power.

’I have to learn how to do this,’ Song Mingyue thought.

As they flew over the island marked on the map, they felt an immense pressure weighing on their chests, making it hard to breathe, even though they had almost completely concealed their auras.

Ling Xiao landed the sword at the edge of the island. This island, too, was massive. It was lush and almost entirely covered by forest. A large mountain stood in the center of the island, blanketed with dense, flourishing trees. In the dim light of night, it looked dark and imposing, even a little frightening.

They were standing on a strip of grassland overgrown with weeds, about a few miles wide. Behind them, they could clearly hear the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Further ahead lay a dense forest.

"Where does that thing live?" Song Mingyue asked softly. In reality, while everyone knew how powerful a Tier Nine Magical Beast was, it was just as Qin Zhaoran had said: no one had witnessed the power of a Tier Nine Magical Beast for many, many years. As a result, some experts at the Sword Emperor level and above were far too confident in their own abilities.

Even Song Mingyue was the same. She was well aware that it took her own family’s ancestor to personally deal with a Tier Eight Magical Beast, which meant a Tier Nine creature was powerful beyond her imagination. But since she had never seen one with her own eyes, she subconsciously pushed the thought aside.

"The Thousand-Year Flood Dragon loves water, but it prefers freshwater, so it most likely lives in a deep pool. Just like the one we encountered in those Ancient Ruins. If the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon could find that place, it would absolutely love it!" Ling Xiao explained softly, then pulled Song Mingyue deeper into the island.

The oppressive presence they had felt just moments before was purely the aura being naturally emanated by the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon. This confirmed that the beast was indeed on the island right now.

Song Mingyue felt a mix of apprehension and anticipation. ’If we can get the Thousand-Year Jiao Blood, Father can finally recover! But this Thousand-Year Flood Dragon is so powerful... If Ling Xiao is hurt in the slightest, I’ll be heartbroken! I’m glad I’m by his side. Even if we die, we’ll die together!’

Ling Xiao, for his part, had no intention of dying here. Nor had he come to this place recklessly. Ever since he entered the Golden Core Stage, the growth of his power had slowed. On one hand, further advancement depended on his comprehension of the Dao; on the other, he needed to start searching for various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to constantly refine and consume high-level elixirs to increase his strength.

This Thousand-Year Jiao Blood was an excellent ingredient for refining many elixirs. So, Ling Xiao wasn’t just doing this for Song Yi and the High Priest; he needed it for himself too.

As for self-preservation, if he truly failed to negotiate for the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon’s blood, the Urgently Cold Cauldron that he had almost finished refining was his trump card. He could jump inside with Ming Yue, and it would guarantee their safety. Unless the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon went mad and swallowed the Urgently Cold Treasure Cauldron whole, it would be powerless against them.

If the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon actually swallowed the Urgently Cold Cauldron, Ling Xiao had at least a hundred ways to kill it.

Great power didn’t mean it had no weaknesses. At least, in Ling Xiao’s eyes, this Thousand-Year Flood Dragon was nothing to be afraid of.

Ling Xiao thought, ’Since this Thousand-Year Flood Dragon has surpassed Tier Nine strength, it should be able to take human form. Once it has a human form, it will gradually develop some human nature, for better or for worse. And once it possesses human nature, this Thousand-Year Flood Dragon can be considered a true demon!’

’Since it’s colluding with the Qin Family to devour human experts, it’s obviously trying to increase its own power. But by doing this, when it faces its Celestial Tribulation... it’s almost certain to fail!’

’I’m sure the Thousand-Year Flood Dragon is well aware of this itself, but it can’t resist the temptation of such rapid growth in power. It’s clinging to the hope that it might get lucky. Therefore, tempting it with a Soul-Stabilizing Pill is an excellent idea!’

The Soul-Stabilizing Pill was a type of Top-Grade Elixir. In his past, Ling Xiao had only mastered its refining method; he had never attempted to create one due to a lack of ingredients. The Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures required to refine a Soul-Stabilizing Pill were likely impossible to find in the entire Cultivation Realm back then. Otherwise, the ancestors of his sect wouldn’t have faced their tribulations with such a sense of tragic finality. Without a Soul-Stabilizing Pill, under the destructive power of the Celestial Tribulation Thunder, failing the tribulation meant one’s soul would be obliterated, utterly destroyed.

However, an even bolder idea was forming in Ling Xiao’s mind.

Although most people from the hidden families were not necessarily good, Ling Xiao despised this evil method of advancement from the bottom of his heart: increasing one’s power by devouring humans.

This Thousand-Year Flood Dragon... was also a thousand-year-old Demon Flood Dragon!

If he got the chance to kill it, Ling Xiao would not be merciful.

’Making the Qin Family utterly dumbfounded... that would be pretty amusing,’ he thought.