Wielding the Thunders Across Two Worlds

"Why so soon this time?" Gu Zhao asked.

"I don’t know." Taoist Jing Feng was standing on a mountaintop far from Mo Lake, gazing into the distance at the lake.

The Eight Hundred Li Mo Lake was shrouded in smoke and clouds. An endless mist blocked the sunlight, and even when Taoist Jing Feng focused his vision, he couldn’t see the scene at the center of the lake.

"The last time the Ink Flood Dragon emerged was two years ago, but it’s been less than a year and a half since its last appearance," Taoist Jing Feng sent via voice transmission.

"What’s the situation at Mo Lake now?" Gu Zhao asked again.

"The Demons in the lake are restless, their auras exposed. It seems they want to follow the Ink Flood Dragon out of the lake to wreak havoc in the surrounding areas as well." Taoist Qingwei and Taoist Qingyuan had also arrived near Mo Lake.

"We don’t sense any Demonic Qi, but the Demon Qi is dense and carries the stench of blood," Taoist Jing Hong said gravely. "Whether it’s the Ink Flood Dragon or the other Demon Beasts in the lake, they are all brimming with Evil Qi."

"The water of the entire Mo Lake is pitch-black and completely opaque. I wonder what kind of water this is," Taoist Qingyuan said, a little curious.

Gu Zhao recalled what Bai Fei, the White Spirit Mountain Master, had told him. "It’s said that this Ink Flood Dragon has already refined the Eight Hundred Li Mo Lake into its Lifebound Magical Treasure."

"Good heavens!" Taoist Jing Fa exclaimed in shock. "This is going to be a tough fight."

"Don’t fight it in Mo Lake," Gu Zhao said. "Senior Uncles, stay far away from Mo Lake. We’ll strike when the Ink Flood Dragon leaves the mountain, ambushing it on the way."

"Alright!"

The old Daoists all nodded in unison, glanced at the distant, mist-shrouded Mo Lake with its rippling surface, and then turned and left.

...

GLUG—GLUG—

Across the entirety of Pingjiang Prefecture, with its one prefecture seat and six counties, not a single commoner in the mortal towns surrounding Mo Lake dared to go near it. Even the fishermen who lived on Mo Lake’s tributaries had all come ashore. Everyone seemed to sense an ominous aura.

Within Mo Lake, dark figures patrolled the waters, whispering among themselves.

"It seems Lord Mo Ao is about to wake up."

"Good, that’s good! When the Lord wakes up, he’ll want to eat people, and we can get a good meal out of it too."

"I don’t know why, but I feel so restless right now. I just want to eat every mortal I see."

"What a coincidence, me too!"

"Heheheh, since we’re with Lord Mo Ao, we don’t have those guys from the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Spirit Court meddling in our business. We can eat people whenever we want. It’s great!"

"Hahaha, exactly!"

"It’s a shame Lord Mo Ao doesn’t allow us to cause too much of a commotion while he’s in slumbering cultivation. Otherwise, I would’ve lost control long ago."

"A few days ago, didn’t that big black fish sneak out because it couldn’t hold back? How come we haven’t seen it return?"

"Probably having too much fun out there."

"Or maybe it got killed by Daluo Palace to the west, hehehe."

"Daluo Palace? What’s that? Isn’t it the Golden Wind Sect in Changping Prefecture to the west? I’ve been to Changping Prefecture before. Aside from their Sect Leader, who’s truly extraordinary, I could swat the rest of their Ghost Gods dead."

"The Golden Wind Sect has been wiped out. Daluo Palace is in charge now. I heard some mortal merchants on the shore talking about it. They say they ’enforce justice on behalf of heaven by Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits’ or something."

"Just a bunch of hot air. How come they don’t dare to come to Pingjiang Prefecture?"

"Lord Mo Ao would tear that damn Daluo Palace apart!"

"Hiss... I’m starting to lose control..."

"Me too..."

Just then, a dragon’s roar suddenly echoed from the depths of Mo Lake. "ROAR—"

The roar was hoarse and deep, carrying the grating sound of metal on metal, along with a ferocious, savage brutality.

The sound traveled through Mo Lake, and the formless cry seemed to carry a wisp of Demonic Thought. It resounded in the Divine Souls of the numerous Demons, stirring the urges tainting the depths of their souls.

"HISS—"

"ROAR—"

The next moment, at the bottom of Mo Lake’s center, a pair of eyes as large as water vats snapped open. The vertical pupils first flashed with confusion, then with ferocity, before a flicker of demonic light transformed them into ultimate savagery.

’Three more times.’

At the bottom of Mo Lake, the Ink Flood Dragon stretched its massive body and looked down beneath it.

This was the place where the Ink Flood Dragon slumbered year-round. No other Demon from the lake was allowed within a ten-li radius. There was no cavern-abode or any furnishings like other Demons had; aside from the inky-black lake water, there was only seaweed dozens of meters long that blanketed the area.

But in the very center of this place, there was no seaweed, no silt—only a stone slab several hundred meters wide, inscribed with twisted patterns that pulsed with an eerie black light.

’Three more times, and you won’t be able to hold on anymore.’

The Ink Flood Dragon’s whisper echoed on the lakebed, but unfortunately, there were no other intelligent beings within ten li to hear it—only mindless river fish and water snakes swimming slowly by.

The next moment, the Ink Flood Dragon opened its mouth. Inside its cavernous maw, there were rings of sharp teeth completely unlike those of a Flood Dragon or snake.

The Ink Flood Dragon’s ears twitched, and it overheard the other Demons in the lake talking.

’Daluo Palace? Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits?’

’Interesting. Were they sent by the Xuanwei Divine Sect?’

’In that case, for this meal, I’ll just devour Changping Prefecture whole.’

’Ten years. In ten years, all of Jiangzhou will become a Demon Realm, and I will be the First Dragon King under the Demon Ancestor!’

...

BOOM!

The surface of Mo Lake suddenly surged. Even with the inky-black water, a larger, deeper shadow could be seen gradually rising just beneath the surface.

The next moment, a several-hundred-meter-wide section of the lake’s surface seemed to explode. Countless torrents of black water shot into the sky, even blasting apart the mist and clouds above the lake, briefly revealing the white clouds and blazing sun in the sky.

Then the water fell, crashing back onto Mo Lake’s surface like hills and giant boulders, stirring up monstrous waves that surged in all directions.

And in the very center of the explosion, a black Flood Dragon several hundred meters long soared into the air.

Its head was part dragon, part serpent, with two short horns on top and several whiskers flowing backward. Its body was covered in scales the size of washbasins, each one fitted together with edges as sharp as blades, gleaming with a cold light.

Its four Dragon Claws clenched at the empty air, and balls of black qi began to spread from its palms. They merged with the churning torrents of water that had erupted from the lake, condensing into dark clouds of vapor.

The vapor spread, rising with the Flood Dragon. By the time the Flood Dragon broke through the mist above Mo Lake, the black vapor had completely enveloped it.

Then, the black vapor absorbed the surrounding moisture, gradually expanding. In the space of a few breaths, it had spread over a dozen li, growing to the size of a Prefecture City.

INHALE—EXHALE—

The black qi condensed into a black cloud that seemed to breathe. It then flew off toward Changping Prefecture in the east.

And as the Ink Flood Dragon left the lake, the silence that had just fallen over Mo Lake was instantly shattered. Dozens, even hundreds, of Demons and Ghosts cheered and swam along with the surging waves, heading for the places where the mortals of Pingjiang Prefecture lived.