Chapter 286: The Flood Dragon

Chapter 286: The Flood Dragon

“I have great faith in you three—but protect yourselves as well. And also…”

Chen Huaian pointed toward one of the caves. “Help this Venerable One destroy all the formation nodes. If possible, avoid unnecessary killing. But if someone comes at you with the intent to kill, show no mercy.”

“Just leave it to us, Patriarch,” Duan Feng said, gripping his sword hilt. His gaze was sharp as a blade. “Junior Brother Zhen is known for the power of his sword. Junior Brother Xu’s sword is famed for its momentum. And my sword… is known for its speed.”

The moment he finished speaking—

Clang! A sword cry echoed. Only Duan Feng’s afterimage remained.

Chen Huaian looked up, and in the dusky twilight, he saw a streak of sword light pierce the sky.

One slash swept toward the twelve Golden Cores in the air.

The other turned into a beam of light, piercing straight toward one of the caves holding a formation node.

The one aimed at the Golden Cores was sword qi.

The first three were forced back instantly, barely managing to block it with everything they had.

And in that instant, the sword qi ripped open a gap in their encirclement.

Chen Huaian knew this was his chance.

He bolted toward the lake and dove straight in with a splash.

The twelve Golden Cores in the air didn’t even have time to react.

“He’s trying to escape?!”

“Who cares if he is! Focus on the ones right in front of us!”

The leading Golden Core elder’s expression darkened as he turned to face Xu An and Zhen He.

They were both Golden Cores too, but the sword intent emanating from their bodies made his skin crawl.

And let’s not even talk about that sword light tearing apart the other eleven formation nodes at terrifying speed.

If they didn’t quickly suppress these four unknown Golden Core cultivators,

they could forget about completing the mission those “lords” had assigned.

They’d be dead men walking.

Meanwhile, atop Mount Taishan, by the cliff—

An old Daoist in a gray robe, beard trailing to the ground, suddenly opened his eyes.

His gaze glowed like an eagle’s, piercing through the mountains to see the battle unfolding above the lake.

“So… the Dragon Soul’s chosen one has finally arrived…”

He murmured to himself, voice tinged with a chilling smirk.

Today’s setup: trap the Flood Dragon, extract its tendons, steal its soul.

The Monster Hunting Tournament? Just a public-facing smokescreen.

The rewards? Bait to attract participants.

Spiritual revival was about to enter the intermediate stage.

Only those with a Dragon Soul could anchor fortune and fate in the coming era.

“Qingfeng old man… Decades ago, when the Wokou invaded your Qingfeng Sect, it was my palm strike that wiped out their entire squad and protected your sect from destruction.

Isn’t it time you repaid that favor?”

A voice echoed from the horizon.

Faint silhouettes could be seen among the gloomy clouds.

“Wudang’s Zhou Renchuan?” Song Qingfeng smiled.

“If you hadn’t used that damn Mountain-Shattering Palm back then, I would’ve already slaughtered all those ghosts myself.

Calling that a favor? Sounds more like a nuisance!”

He stood up. With no visible movement—

he simply took a step forward, and his figure instantly leapt a hundred feet away.

“Whoever wants the Dragon Soul today—let’s settle it with fists.

Whoever hits the hardest… gets it.”

Under the lake—

Chen Huaian stood at the head of a colossal creature lying in the mud, stunned beyond words.

This wasn’t his first time seeing a dragon.

He’d even ridden in a dragon-drawn carriage before. The damn thing was still in his player inventory.

If only he had enough strength to handle the black dragons, he could summon the Sacred Chariot into the real world just for fun.

But even all those black dragons combined didn’t match the sheer scale of this Flood Dragon.

Coiled up, its body was hundreds of feet long.

If fully extended and soaring across the skies… how magnificent would that be?

And yet, such a mighty creature… was now hanging by a thread.

He stood by its head, where the Flood Dragon slowly opened its weary golden eyes—vertical pupils tinged with exhaustion.

【You’ve finally come…】

A voice like rolling thunder rang in Chen Huaian’s mind—low, respectful, and full of longing.

Warmth spread through his Dantian.

Looking down, he saw the golden Dragon Soul swimming out from within him.

Though only the size of a fist, it radiated a terrifying majesty that froze the entire lakebed.

That’s when Chen Huaian realized—the Flood Dragon wasn’t talking to him.

It was talking to the Dragon Soul.

The Dragon Soul didn’t speak.

But the Flood Dragon seemed to hear something in silence. Its gaze turned toward Chen Huaian, scanning him up and down.

【He’s… weaker than the previous inheritors.】

The Flood Dragon’s voice thundered inside his skull.

【Was there no better choice?】

…Excuse me?

Chen Huaian’s face darkened.

What’s that supposed to mean?!

He was the dignified Patriarch of the Sword Pavilion!

In the Cangyun Realm, people trembled at the mere mention of his name!

And here he was, being looked down on by a lizard.

“Hey, show some respect when you speak!”

Chen Huaian poked the Flood Dragon’s nostril with his sword sheath.

“I came here to save your ***. There are twelve Golden Cores outside guarding you. I could’ve easily just ignored this mess!”

The Flood Dragon gave him a long stare—then rolled its eyes, full of disdain and contempt.

“What’s with that look?!”

Chen Huaian twitched at the corner of his mouth.

Good thing he wasn’t in his Heavenly Demon Art state right now.

Otherwise, with that kind of temper, he might’ve already slashed this oversized snake in the face.

【This is the ninety-ninth time. Your true soul has thinned to this extent… If you fail again, you’ll vanish forever. Is it worth it?】

The Flood Dragon ignored Chen Huaian and stared at the Dragon Soul with complicated eyes.

After a long pause, it seemed to get an answer. It sighed deeply.

Chen Huaian took out a few healing pills from his inventory.

As arrogant as the Flood Dragon was, it was still clearly powerful.

If he could save it, that’d mean gaining a solid meat shield in this world. A total win.

【Kid, what are you doing?】

“Healing pills. You want some?”

【No.】 The Flood Dragon shook its head.

【You can’t save me. I don’t want to be saved.】

“You trained so hard and got so damn big, and now you don’t wanna live?”

Chen Huaian tried persuading it gently, “How about this—come out with me, eat good food, drink fine wine. I’m the one and only cheat player in this world, with a ton of secret cards. I may look like I’m just Ninth-layer Qi Refining, but under extreme anger I can get extremely angry.”

The Flood Dragon gave the Dragon Soul a skeptical look.

The Dragon Soul shook its head and floated back into Chen Huaian’s Dantian.

Out of sight, out of mind, apparently.

【Kid, I’m sacrificing myself to restore the Dragon Soul. From this moment forward, you’ll be the only True Dragon Physique in this world.】

At this point, the Flood Dragon had no choice but to accept that its chosen inheritor was… well… kind of an idiot.

But hey, people say idiots have their own kind of luck.

The previous ninety-nine inheritors had all been proper cultivators—some absurdly powerful, others frighteningly intelligent.

But none of them had ever changed anything.

Maybe the twist of fate would come from this dopey bastard. Who knows?

It was an all-in gamble now anyway.

“You’re giving me such a huge inheritance right after we met? Hakyryu, you old softie…”

Chen Huaian’s nose tingled, and he let out a sneeze.

Flood Dragon: “…”

【Remember. Never become an Ascender.】

【No matter how tempting it seems… don’t do it.】

The Flood Dragon rose from the lakebed, coiling above Chen Huaian’s head.

The twelve golden chains that bound its body snapped under an overwhelming force.

Even trapped, it had saved a final sliver of strength—

for this moment.

To sacrifice itself and complete the Dragon Soul.

And to brand this warning deep into the inheritor’s soul:

【Above all else… never become an Ascender!!!】