The First Immortal of Destiny

The Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon seemed truly asleep; Shen Mo took away the dried dragon blood right under its nose, and it didn’t react at all!

It might also be because Shen Mo’s realm is low, not yet reaching the Formless Realm, posing no threat to its senses, thus causing it to be too lazy to wake up from its slumber... This point is evident as the sixth-order demons lurking at this place were killed or injured by it, while demons and monsters of the fifth order and below managed to escape with their lives, indicating the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon had no interest in "weak existences."

Retreating tens of thousands of miles away, Shen Mo waved his robe sleeve, releasing a Fairyland Sword Qi, bringing out the Heaven Patrolling Boat House, then he flew and boarded it.

Zhao Lingyin, Flower Fairy Ami, Qian Xiaofeng, and others were on the boat. Suddenly seeing the towering Immortal Mountain and the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon coiled atop it, their expressions changed dramatically.

"This monstrous dragon actually came to the Immortal Realm too?" Zhao Lingyin’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Back then, when Shen Mo rescued the trapped disciples from the Mountain River Realm, he briefly released Zhao Lingyin and others from the Golden Flowery Realm, so she recognized this soaring serpent.

Later, Qian Xiaofeng also returned to the Linjiang Mountain Range, looking from afar at the culprit who devoured her father and brother. As soon as she recognized the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon, tears streamed down her face, her expression peculiar, half-sad, half-resentful, mixed with a little hope.

"Master, with your cultivation, can you slay this evil dragon?"

Qian Xiaofeng wiped away her tears and turned her gaze to Shen Mo.

Shen Mo shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It is a sixth-order peak great demon, far beyond my ability!"

"Then... is there a possibility my brother Qian Xiaohu is still alive?"

Years ago, the then Supreme Elder of the original Riverside Sect, Zhou Zhiwei, speculated that the reason why the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon devoured most of the Qing State was mainly due to three possibilities... One was to extract Primal Spirit from it to restore and enhance its strength; another was to use the swallowed small world to expand its cave paradise; the last was purely to satisfy its appetites!

If it’s the second scenario, where the small world of Qing State becomes part of the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon’s cave paradise, then the creatures residing therein would naturally have a path to survival, able to continue prospering within its domain.

The Shopkeeper Qian, Qian Xiaofeng’s biological father, of a lower cultivation level, even if he didn’t perish on the spot, would mostly have died of old age over these years.

As for her brother Qian Xiaohu, he was already a Qi Gathering Realm cultivator with a lifespan of two hundred years. If living in the dragon’s cave paradise, he might still be alive today.

Thus, Qian Xiaofeng asked so!

Before opening the Green Cloud Cave, limited by experience and vision, Shen Mo also thought this way;

Now, with his cultivation just one step away from the Formless Realm, and a deeper understanding of cave paradises, he can see clearly that there is no possibility of the second scenario existing now!

He’s carefully examined it and found no clues of any cave paradise hidden in the space-time where the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon is.

Combining previous various observations, it can be deduced that years ago, the Soaring Serpent devoured much of the Qing State, much like it devours the Immortal Mountain it now perches on, all for absorbing Primal Spirit from swallowed nature’s spiritual energy, gold and stone veins, and spiritual plants and items, to compensate for the consumption from "descending" to the Primordial Realm and battling other great demons!

In other words, Qian Xiaofeng’s father Qian Xingji, brother Qian Xiaohu, the entire Qian Family, the Shen Family originating from Tianyou City Shen Mo’s father, Jiyun Town, Hongye City, Wolf Howling Ridge, and numerous cities and village towns, a large number of immortal sects and cultivating families, countless creatures of Qing State, all these have become fodder for the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon.

Perhaps, the original intent of the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon was merely to swallow up the resources of most of the Qing State, indifferent to whether it consumed hundreds of millions of creatures on the ground, for neither human immortals nor demons and beasts are enough to fill its teeth.

Finding it too troublesome to drive away these insignificant "ants," it swallowed them in one gulp!

And the sins it committed in this "carelessness" will one day require it to pay the price.

Shen Mo released Qian Xiaofeng from the Sword Zone to inform her that the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon had come to the Immortal Realm, cutting off her unrealistic fantasies.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth, explaining all the truths he knew.

"Father, brother..."

Qian Xiaofeng closed her eyes, tears flowing like rain. When she opened her eyes again, they held nothing but profound hatred and anger towards the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon, without a trace of hope.

"Roar!"

At that moment, a chilling dragon roar sounded.

The Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon slightly opened its eyes, its cold and indifferent gaze sweeping towards Shen Mo and the others!

Clearly, Qian Xiaofeng was unable to control her emotions, and the intense hatred and killing intent were sensed by this sixth-order peak great demon.

At the same time, the [Chanjue] on Shen Mo’s body also began to frantically warn.

He thought to himself, this is not good, and immediately brought the entire Heaven Patrolling Boat House, along with Zhao Lingyin, Qian Xiaofeng, and others, into the Sword Zone, then activated the [Sword Escape] Skill, disappearing into thin air the next moment.

When Shen Mo reappeared, he was already millions of miles away...

Earlier, he had preemptively activated [Sword Escape] to unleash the Demon Slaying Sword, never expecting to take away the dried dragon blood without awakening the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon, yet formless hatred and killing intent woke it up!

Just having grasped the Demon Slaying Sword, Shen Mo once again slashed it out using the Starfall Sword Form.

At this time, the Taiyi Sword nurtured in his Dantian was also summoned, its sword intent soaring to the skies, then he fiercely turned and slashed behind him!

Only to see in the direction the sword light slashed, a violent gust of wind, containing destructive power, roared toward him; it was a breath from the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon, seemingly crossing millions of miles like a divine skill, pursuing him relentlessly.

"Clang~~~ Whoosh~~~~"

"Boom!"

With a fierce collision, the sword light shattered, the winds billowed and swept out.

The scattered winds made Shen Mo’s robe flap fiercely, and he dared not delay, disappearing from the spot once more!

Continuing to employ [Sword Escape], Shen Mo fled southwest, avoiding heading directly westward to prevent bringing calamity to Dayu Mountain.

Tens of millions of miles later, Shen Mo sensed he had completely shaken off the lock of the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon’s aura, and the [Chanjue] Destiny no longer warned!

"The evil dragon surprisingly did not pursue..."

Shen Mo couldn’t help feeling a bit surprised, pondering carefully, he thought perhaps he owed it to the Basic Destiny, [Heavenly Machine Protection]...

With this Basic Destiny, even True Immortals find it hard to penetrate the chaotic heavenly machine, deducing anything about him; thus, in the eyes of the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon, even Shen Mo might just be an annoying mosquito, waved away easily, if squashed dead it’s all well and good, if not, it matters little.

Otherwise, intertwined causes and effects, towing the Qi, the Soaring Serpent and Bizarre Dragon would have inevitably sensed his threat, seizing the opportunity when his strength was "weak" to annihilate and remove future troubles!