Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

The wilderness outside Qinglu County, Changping Prefecture.

The breeze was cool and crisp under a high, clear sky with wisps of White Cloud drifting by. Birds occasionally darted through them. On the ground, tree branches rustled in the gentle wind, accompanied by the chirping of insects and birds. Everything seemed perfectly normal.

But when the White Clouds drifted to a certain point, they would suddenly disperse. Birds in mid-flight would cry out in alarm and abruptly change direction.

Gusts of wind appeared from nowhere, carrying faint auras imperceptible to mortals. But the occasional wisp of Dragon’s Might that leaked out was enough to silence the insects and birds in the forest below.

The few passing Demons and Ghosts would also be suddenly startled. Though their eyes saw nothing amiss and they felt no fluctuations of Magical Power, they would hastily scatter in a panic.

And here, in this seemingly normal patch of sky, a massive space dozens of miles wide was actually concealed by an Array.

Outside, all was calm. Inside, a heaven-and-earth-shaking battle raged.

BOOM!

Thunderbolts and gales, flames and colorful lights, Netherworld Tai Chi, Sword and Saber Qi, and Celestial God Giant Beasts filled the Array Space, wreaking havoc upon the world within.

At the center of the Array, coiled within a mass of black clouds, was a massive Flood Dragon hundreds of meters long. Its Dragon Claws were sharp, its body was tough, and its Dragon’s Might shook the heavens. It spat forth boundless Black Water, which turned into colossal, raging waves to fight back against the Array.

...

This was already the tenth day since the Ink Flood Dragon had been trapped in the Array.

Over the ten days, the Ink Flood Dragon had tried to break out of the Array multiple times, but it was always thwarted. Each attempt consumed a great deal of its Magical Power, and a few times, the Taoists had taken advantage of its openings, nearly injuring it.

The Ink Flood Dragon saw how profound the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Array was. Although the many old Taoists casting and maintaining it were far weaker than itself, by combining their strength through the Array, they could indeed stand against it. What’s more, the most powerful one was holding down the Central Palace.

The Ink Flood Dragon had gone all out, and there were times it had managed to shake the Array, but in the end, the one in the Central Palace would always exert their power to stop it.

The Ink Flood Dragon clearly sensed that if it insisted on a head-on clash, it might be able to break the Array, but it would inevitably be injured—and perhaps not lightly.

So, it stopped being anxious.

Although the enemy’s Array was formidable, the people maintaining it were far weaker than it. Furthermore, as a mobile Array, it couldn’t absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power and could only rely on the Magical Power of its casters.

Therefore, as the side with far deeper reserves of Magical Power, the Ink Flood Dragon believed there was no need to risk injury by forcing a breakout. It was better to just stall for a few days. Once the enemy’s Magical Power was too low to sustain the Array, it could shatter it in one fell swoop.

The advantage was his!

A savage grin spread across the Ink Flood Dragon’s face. It would just wait for the Array to show signs of weakness and then break it. When that time came, not a single one of these dozen or so Human Mages—whose Dao Practice wasn’t particularly high, but not low either—would escape!

So, the Ink Flood Dragon gathered black clouds in the center of the Array, coiled up, and settled in to contend with it.

The TING-A-LING-A-LING of a Copper Bell echoed constantly in its Sea of Consciousness. The crisp, rhythmic sound sometimes made it dizzy and confused, and at other times, left its mind in a trance.

The one ringing the Copper Bell was Gu Zhao. The Dharma Gate he used was the Five Sounds Shattering Illusions, which he had learned from Taoist Han Xuan. The rhythm was inspired by the suona and great drums he had studied with Taoist Jing Hong and Taoist Tai Xian.

The ringing, accompanied by the murmurs of the Sutra of Salvation, swirled endlessly in the Ink Flood Dragon’s mind, forcing it to expend a great deal of energy just to focus its spirit and guard its soul.

Meanwhile, on the outside, the power of the Eight Trigrams Array also exceeded its expectations.

The Eight Trigrams Flowed and the Eight Gates interchanged. It contained Yin Yang Five Elements within and manifested various Dharma Gates without. Although the Cultivation of those powering the Array was not high, once their Magical Power was pooled, the dragon had to fight with all its might just to avoid injury.

Over the past ten days, it had been worn down responding to everything from the seven Divine Prisons representing the Netherworld, to the Celestial Pig God Statue representing the heavens, to the peerlessly destructive Five-Colored Thunderbolt and the sharp, piercing Sword and Saber Qi.

It was only because it had clearly sensed when the Array was set up that these people only had about a thousand years of Dao Practice—far less than its own—that it restrained itself. Otherwise, it might not have been able to resist breaking the Array by force, even at the risk of damaging its Origin.

However, after ten days of high-intensity confrontation, even the Ink Flood Dragon could feel its Magical Power gradually depleting. Yet the bell in its Sea of Consciousness remained steady and constant, and the offensive power of the Eight Trigrams Array had not diminished in the slightest.

’What’s going on?’ Confusion and anger showed in the Ink Flood Dragon’s eyes.

But the Taoists operating the Array were in much better spirits.

"The black clouds beneath the Ink Flood Dragon are already growing unstable," Taoist Yan Song noted, his senses sharp.

"The scales that were scorched by the Nanming Li Fire are regenerating more and more slowly," Taoist Shen Hao said in a deep voice, his white eyebrows fluttering as he held up the Flowing Gold Fire Bell.

"Its Protective Demon Qi isn’t as thick as before either." Taoist Yi Hong and Taoist Yuan He were most familiar with this, as their Saber Qi and Flying Sword attacks found their way into every opening.

The Eight Trigrams Array sealed off the surrounding world, preventing the Ink Flood Dragon from recovering Magical Power during the fight.

But the old Taoists were different!

In the eyes of ordinary people, Taoist Skills emphasized life-preservation above all else. But what did that imply?

It implied endurance!

The old Taoists had cultivated for many years; their very breathing and walking were a form of Cultivation. Recovering while fighting was second nature to them. Moreover, the Evil Qi absorbed by the Thunder Seeds in their bodies was constantly being released to replenish their energy.

Therefore, not only could the old Taoists recover during battle, but their recovery rate was also far faster than the Ink Flood Dragon’s.

Now, after ten days, the Ink Flood Dragon had consumed nearly half of its Demon Power, while the old Taoists still had ninety percent of their Magical Power remaining.

Taoist Qingyuan and Taoist Qingwei combined their swords—one Yin, one Yang. A Tai Chi Diagram formed directly beneath the Ink Flood Dragon. As the Yin and Yang flowed within it, it resembled an all-devouring vortex, slowly rising toward the black clouds.

"Hmph!"

With an angry snort, the Ink Flood Dragon shifted its claws. The black clouds crashed down, mixing with the Tai Chi Diagram. As the clouds and chilling vapor spread, its Demon Power wore down the Tai Chi Diagram, quickly erasing it.

But from the eyes of the Tai Chi Diagram’s Yin Yang Fish, two beams of Sword Light shot out. The bright silver Sword Light pierced through the black clouds, penetrated the Ink Flood Dragon’s Protective Demon Qi, and flashed across a weak spot in its scales.

CLANG!

DING!

Although the sounds of metal striking metal rang out, blood sprayed as the Sword Light passed. The two beams of Sword Light flew out of the black clouds, vanished into the Array, and disappeared from sight. But everyone saw the splash of blood that followed.

At the hands of Taoist Qingyuan and Taoist Qingwei, the Ink Flood Dragon was injured for the first time!

ROAR—! A draconic roar echoed.

Being unexpectedly injured sent the Ink Flood Dragon into a frenzy. A savage fury surged through its heart as strands of black gas churned within its body, unconsciously gathering at the wound.

The black gas roiled, and the wound on the Ink Flood Dragon’s leg healed at a visible rate. But as it did, a wisp of Demonic Qi wafted out, which was immediately sensed by everyone operating the Array.

"Demonic Qi?"

"Demonic Qi!"

"It really is Demonic Qi. But this isn’t like that Fish Demon I killed, which was only accidentally tainted. This dragon must be cultivating a Demon Technique itself," Taoist Jing Feng stated with certainty.

At the same time, feeling that the power of those two beams of Sword Light was completely undiminished compared to ten days ago, the Ink Flood Dragon also realized the truth.

’I was stalling, but they were stalling too! Their consumption rate is far lower than mine!’

Rage at being fooled instantly flooded its heart. With a furious roar, the Ink Flood Dragon’s Dragon Pearl suddenly trembled. A massive surge of Demon Qi erupted as it shot to the edge of the Array, its Dragon Claw aiming to tear a hole in space!

The old Taoists’ eyes narrowed. They too channeled their Magical Power and controlled their Magical Treasures. The Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Array transformed into a Primordial Impermeable world. Inside, lightning flashed and thunder boomed, gales howled, and swords and sabers vied for glory as the Array unleashed an even greater power.

BOOM!

A shockwave, a mixture of Daoist Charm Magical Power and Dragon’s Might Demonic Power, escaped the Array, flattening a wide swath of the surrounding forest.

"It’s here!"

"The final battle has begun!"