Chapter 75: The Decisive Battle – Part 1
Two figures, one tall and one small, stood at the pavilion, watching the swimming fish for quite some time. Yun Zhao discreetly turned his head to look and saw the little dragon’s tail swaying slowly on the ground, seemingly in a better mood.
Perhaps due to the dragon clan having a lower body temperature, Yun Zhao felt a slight chill when holding the small hand of the dragon in his palm. However, there was still a layer of softness, making it quite pleasant to touch.
Before Yun Zhao could play around more, Ao Yu yawned, sensing the youth’s gaze, and immediately covered his mouth with his other hand.
Annoyed, Ao Yu turned his face away, thinking that spending too much time with this guy had led to such impolite and casual behavior.
“Feeling sleepy? Then go to bed.”
Yun Zhao didn’t feel tired at all; he found it amusing to see the little dragon yawning, revealing its two small, cute fangs, much tinier and lovelier than those in adulthood.
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“Oh?”
Curiously, Yun Zhao picked up one of the dolls and gave it a squeeze. It was stuffed with cotton and had a good bounce to it, even better than the small rabbit plush he had bought for Luo Xue in the past.
“Is this your bedtime companion?” Yun Zhao waved the doll in front of the little dragon.
Seeing the youth teasing him with a smile, Ao Yu coldly snorted, rising on his toes to snatch it back. “Stop messing around!”
“This is something from my childhood; I just forgot to throw it away!” Ao Yu’s tail tip curled into a tight coil, as if speaking louder would add some confidence to his words. “I don’t need these things from my past anymore!”
He lifted his head, staring intensely at Yun Zhao, determined to show the truth behind his words through his eyes.
After a few moments of eye contact, Yun Zhao shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, well. You’re just a kid now too…”
…
Ao Yu emphasized, “I really don’t like these childish dolls anymore.”
Yun Zhao nodded earnestly, “Sure, I believe you.” Not really.
Ao Yu felt that something was off and skeptically glanced at the youth, but he couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.
He could only take off his robe and hang it on the rack. He then neatly covered himself with the blanket, saying to Yun Zhao, “I’ll take a short nap. You can rest on the nearby couch or read the bamboo scrolls if you’re bored.”
In short, he could do whatever he wanted, as long as he didn’t wander around.
Yun Zhao nodded, sitting by the bed and propping his face with his hand. He asked, “Do you want me to sing a song to help you sleep?”
“No!” Ao Yu coldly snorted, feeling that this mountain spirit was becoming more and more presumptuous. He turned his back to Yun Zhao, curling up the blanket and facing away from him.
Yun Zhao smiled and rhythmically patted the little bundle under the blanket. An unnamed melody hummed from his mouth, echoing in the grand yet icy-cold palace.
As he felt the body under his hand gradually relaxing, faint breathing sounds came from the blanket. He glanced over and couldn’t help but smile.
All those dolls that were supposed to prove the little dragon’s departure from childishness were now kicked to the foot of the bed, pitifully piled together.
However, the long dragon tail was curled up, involuntarily hugged into his own embrace. The soft face occasionally rubbed against the cold dragon scales, and in his hand, he clutched the fur at the tip of his own tail.
Yun Zhao found it amusing to watch, until the system lightly coughed, snapping him back to reality.
He asked, “Now that Ao Yu has fallen asleep, can I proceed with the purification?”
The system seemed to run a check and after a while, it replied, [Yes, you can proceed now.]
“Alright.”
With the system’s response, Yun Zhao felt somewhat relieved. He rolled up his sleeves and gently placed his hand on the dark aura at the little dragon’s heart. Warm spiritual power flowed gently from his fingertips into the darkness.
The moment his hand touched the dark aura, Yun Zhao felt the separated strand of spiritual power instantly transform into a spiderweb, eagerly capturing and devouring the abyssal aura.
Dizziness surged to his temples, and Yun Zhao’s forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. His heart pounded wildly. He had to remove the remnants of the dark aura from Ao Yu’s body without waking him, making him even more cautious than usual.
However, those dark energies seemed to have taken root, cunningly trying to rush around the little dragon’s heart. Yun Zhao had no choice but to stop his actions and wait for the dark aura to settle before continuing the purification.
Time passed bit by bit, and Yun Zhao’s back became damp with sweat. He didn’t dare to relax until he saw the last trace of dark aura being completely consumed by his spiritual power.
“Finally done.”
Yun Zhao withdrew his hand, feeling no lingering exhaustion of spiritual power, and the dizziness in his mind gradually dissipated.
“Huff…”
He sighed in relief, about to ask the system if it counted as a success. However, before the system could answer, a white light flashed before his eyes, and all the surroundings instantly became hazy, like ripples on the water’s surface.
[Warning! Warning! The target has awakened!]
[The current loss of control is at 50%. Please continue with the purification, host!]
“What!”
Yun Zhao exclaimed in surprise, “Didn’t I already finish the purification?”
However, before the system could reply, the hazy scene before him froze, shattering into countless pieces under a resounding and fierce dragon’s roar.
Yun Zhao hurriedly stood up, and everything around him shattered and peeled away like broken glass mirrors. In the blink of an eye, he found himself standing on a rocky reef being struck by sea waves.
The purple-black clouds pressed low to the ground, and the roars emanating from within made Yun Zhao’s eardrums ache.
The system urgently said: [The illusion has multiple layers; you must continue purifying, or all your previous efforts will be in vain!]
Yun Zhao anxiously looked around for Ao Yu’s figure. The current scene was not from his infancy. The surging waves all around appeared dark blue, forming layers of towering seawalls that crashed down fiercely, resembling a colossal maw devouring everything.
Amidst lightning and thunder, heavy rain poured down, and a hole broke open in the purple-black clouds, revealing countless scarlet demon eyes inside.
“Roar!”
A pained dragon’s cry echoed through the sky. Yun Zhao looked up and saw a silver-white giant dragon covered in blood, its jade-like scales shattered and falling into the sea.
The sharp and curved dragon claws dripped with black-red blood, making it difficult to tell if it was the dragon’s own or from the monsters of the abyss.
Despite being covered in blood, the white dragon continued to slaughter the demons pouring out of the hole. The sea below was dyed a dark red, resembling a bizarre otherworld that had exploded.
Another hoarse scream, and Yun Zhao’s pupils dilated in an instant. He saw a whip-like black aura piercing through the white dragon’s body, its pained cry shattering the coastal rocks.
In the next moment, the severely injured white dragon went on a rampage. As the purple clouds dispersed, it fell lifelessly into the deep sea.
“Ao Yu!”
Yun Zhao had now realized that this was the scene of Ao Yu’s battle with heavy injuries, but he never expected it to be so tragic.
He wore the Dragon Jade on his hand and dove straight into the deep sea.
The deep sea was icy, dark, and profound, with only the faint glow of the Dragon Jade dispelling the fear of the unknown depths.
In Yun Zhao’s eyes, there was only that silver-white figure descending straight down. He reached out his hand, chasing after Ao Yu.
Transparent bubbles kept rising, and in the moment when the light gold vertical pupils were about to close, Yun Zhao exerted all his strength and finally caught up with the heavily scarred body.
However, before he could rejoice, the stimulated giant dragon suddenly changed direction, swinging its powerful tail and soaring into the sky after just a few breaths underwater.
The system shouted, [Quickly! Now’s the chance! He’s still out of control and will start destroying the world within the illusion! Once it’s destroyed, his loss of control will continue to increase!]
“Got it!”
Yun Zhao tightly clung to the feathers on the white dragon’s body and regained his composure, moving upward.
The out-of-control giant dragon soared through the clouds, causing the weather to worsen. Vortexes of white waves devoured each other, transforming into water spouts that connected with the sky under the raging winds. Amidst lightning and thunder, the sea surface seemed like it was under a natural disaster.
Yun Zhao could easily be thrown off by the white dragon’s violent movements. His palm was cut by the flipped scales, and blood flowed over his hand. As he moved towards the dragon’s head, he left a long trail of blood on the dragon’s body.
“Huff… Huff…”
Finally getting close to the dragon’s head, Yun Zhao spotted the damn dark aura.
He tried to use his spiritual power to heal again, but the white dragon’s violent movements made it impossible for him to maintain the connection.
“Damn Zhu Sui!”
The stabbing pain in his palm made Yun Zhao’s entire arm twitch uncontrollably. The healing constitution of an immortal could accelerate wound recovery, but it couldn’t keep up with the speed at which Yun Zhao was injuring himself.
With seawater contaminating the wounds, it was both itchy and painful, leaving him pale and bloodless.
Yun Zhao looked at the Dragon Jade in his other hand, decisively cut a few lines on the unharmed arm with the scales, causing fresh blood to flow.
Along with the gushing blood, Yun Zhao held the Dragon Jade in his palm and raised it high, smashing it down forcefully onto the dark aura.
“Roar!”
The white dragon raised its head and roared. The warm spiritual power was like the gentle spring sun, dispersing the endless coldness of winter. Babbling streams broke through the solid ice, rushing forward.
The dragon’s roar made Yun Zhao dizzy, and the pain in his chest made him lose focus. After the white dragon’s powerful tail swung, he was thrown straight out.
[Yun Zhao! Wake up! Don’t pass out!]
The system’s electronic voice frantically shouted, but Yun Zhao felt extremely dizzy and couldn’t muster any strength, allowing the sense of weightlessness from falling to envelop and erode him.
He had never been of much use, and he didn’t know if he had succeeded…
If he had exchanged for a useful golden finger from the system in the beginning, would Ao Yu not be suffering like this…
Countless thoughts flooded his mind, but his eyelids felt heavy, and in the moment before closing his eyes, Yun Zhao seemed to see a silver-white figure rushing towards him…
…
At this moment, on Mount Yuming.
Having finished off the last demon that broke through the barrier, Bai Yu leaned against a tree and walked towards a side hall, feeling exhausted. Thanks to Yun Zhao’s strengthened spiritual power reinforcing the barrier, it wasn’t that hard to block those reckless creatures.
“Are you alright?”
Bai Ze asked, panting, as he saw Bai Yu return. “Go rest at the array eye for a while. The spiritual energy there is the strongest and will make you feel more comfortable.”
“I’m fine.”
Shaking his head, Bai Yu glanced at the Dragon Patriarch guarding the barrier’s light screen and sighed helplessly. As immortal cultivators who ascended to this realm, he and Si Wuchen were responsible for protecting the Northern Land. But they felt more at ease in their duties, lacking the sense of fate that the dragon race carried. Thus, they couldn’t fully understand the choices made by this tough and unyielding Dragon Patriarch.
The tense atmosphere in the sky didn’t leave Bai Yu any time to dwell on these thoughts. He looked up at Si Wuchen, who was waiting outside the barrier in mid-air.
Bai Yu had full confidence in his senior brother’s abilities and smiled at him, about to call him to come inside the barrier for some rest. However, before he could do so, a heavy and bloody pressure spread.
“What’s this…?”
Bai Yu fixed his gaze and realized something, immediately wanting to call Si Wuchen back.
But it was too late—
The black aura, like two enormous beast claws, enveloped Si Wuchen, tightening with malicious amusement.
A brilliant sword light appeared, breaking through the black mist. Si Wuchen hastily descended but was struck by the protruding tail and slammed into the mountain wall, shattering numerous rocks.
“Senior brother!”
Bai Yu hurriedly ran over and supported the fallen Si Wuchen, anxiously asking, “Are you alright? Are you injured?”
“No worries.”
Si Wuchen stabilized himself using the sword’s hilt, his expression grave as he looked towards the sky.
…
In the gloomy sky, nauseating and bloody winds swirled within the crimson mist. A rift tore open in the celestial canopy, and blood-red pupils rotated eerily, peering at all living beings below.
Flocks of ravens circled in the air, flying faster and faster, forming a cone as they swirled, and the sharp howls from the depths of darkness tore apart the recently acquired tranquility.
In the next moment, all the ravens dispersed rapidly, revealing the black-clad figure at the center.
Half of his face was covered by jet-black scales, and he grinned happily at Si Wuchen and Bai Yu.
Si Wuchen shielded Bai Yu behind him, frowning as he looked at the person suspended in mid-air. “Zhu Sui.”
Such power didn’t resemble an incarnation; it must be the true form of Zhu Sui, who had come to Mount Yuming this time.
“I’ve long heard the names of you two Immortal Lords. Today, I see for myself that you are indeed extraordinary, far stronger than those waste from the immortal sects,” Zhu Sui said with a grin, his blood-red lips revealing a greedy gaze as he scrutinized the two of them. “Eating you two would surely be of great benefit to me.”
Si Wuchen met his gaze coldly, and the Curved Spirit Sword in his hand trembled with anger. The chilling sword hum silently deterred the ravens, who were looking for an opportunity to attack.
Unafraid, Zhu Sui’s curiosity was piqued by the long sword in Si Wuchen’s hand. He thought it would be interesting to break the sword into pieces and insert them one by one into the bodies of those he protected.
Fueled by his curiosity, the arrogant creature laughed, giving the command for countless shadows behind him to attack.
Bai Yu nervously took out talismans, preparing to confront them when suddenly the ground trembled, and fine rocks lightly danced.
Surging spiritual energy gushed from the back of the mountain, unstoppable like waves, sweeping away the eroding black mist.
Taking the opportunity, Si Wuchen brought Bai Yu back inside the protective barrier of the side hall. Zhu Sui, unwilling to let them go, followed closely behind, whipping the light screen angrily with the whip formed by condensed black aura.
“Clang—”
Just as the barrier was about to shatter, countless vines broke through the soil and shot up from the ground, standing before everyone.
Bai Ze was taken aback, sensing something, and looked towards the back of the mountain. As expected, he saw the Spirit Vein Tree flourishing at an astonishing speed, resonating with a resounding dragon’s roar. Golden-hued petals scattered throughout the entire mountain.
“It’s Ao Yu and the others!” Bai Ze exclaimed in delight.
Everyone turned their heads towards the sound and saw the silvery-white figure soaring from the treetops, ascending like a rising sun, breaking through the suppressed layers of dark clouds as it flew towards them.
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Translator’s note: Two more chapters and we’re saying goodbye. Huhu.
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Thanks for the chapter!