Chapter 131: Dragons and Serpents Rise from the Deep

As the two clashed, an overwhelmingly powerful force rose steadily from the north like the sun ascending the sky.

The appearance of this sun caused Xu Zhong and Li Yuanhua to instinctively halt their movements in perfect sync.

They turned their gaze toward the source of the disturbance and saw a dragon turtle bearing a massive mountain on its back, advancing steadily.

The mountain was rugged and pockmarked with countless caves, each housing a myriad of monsters peering outward.

The dragon turtle plodded forward, heading directly toward Xu Zhong and the others.

“Before you strike the dog, you should first consider the master. Your Li family has reached too far,” the dragon turtle declared. Suddenly, it lifted its head, and a dragon-shaped figure soared forth from the mountain like a ribbon of light, rescuing General Mibao from the grasp of Elder Ling.

“Did you ask this master before attacking my dog?”

At these words, a great river burst forth from under its feet, spreading outward and washing over the mountains and rivers, turning a vast expanse into a marshy land.

From this newly formed marshland, numerous pseudo-dragon breed awakened to their draconic bloodline emerged, forming a grand array that began to absorb the human cultivators present.

This was the dragon turtle’s furious retaliation.

At the same time, figures appeared atop the other three highlands surrounding Sleepy Dragon Valley.

These were the four sovereign beasts of Sleepy Dragon Valley: the Eastern Coil Dragon, the Western Bixie, the Southern Dragon Sparrow, and the Northern Dragon Turtle.

All four sovereigns bore true dragon blood, while most creatures in Sleepy Dragon Valley were pseudo-dragons.

This land was uniquely blessed—a place where the spirit of nature was concentrated. A mountain range stretched for thousands of miles, shaped like a dragon. The mountains and waters nurtured its form, creating a dragon vein that, over centuries, gave rise to many beings who bore the form and spirit of dragons, thus becoming pseudo-dragons—creations of this dragon vein in Sleepy Dragon Valley.

All four sovereign beasts had reached the Qiwu Realm, with the Coil Dragon being the strongest, showing signs of the Inner Realm on the Outer Realm level.

Even Xu Zhong, a cultivator accustomed to innate deities, felt his legs tremble under the overwhelming presence of the Qiwu Realm.

Yet, he harbored no fear.

Having witnessed many deaths in the Qiwu Realm, he had grown numb to it.

The emergence of the dragon turtle and the other three sovereign beasts caused the atmosphere in Sleepy Dragon Valley to shift dramatically; the battle was on the verge of eruption.

It seemed as if, in the next moment, the four sovereign beasts would descend upon this place, consigning all human cultivators in Sleepy Dragon Valley to oblivion.

“Dragon Turtle, you don’t even deserve to speak to my Li family this way,” Li Yuanhua said disdainfully, shaking his head. “Elder Ling!”

“I am here!” Elder Ling appeared beside Li Yuanhua, clutching the heart of General Mibao.

From that heart grew a blood spirit fungus, swaying in the wind and exhaling a dazzling crimson glow, clouds and mist swirling, purple energy flowing eastward.

This spirit fungus possessed infinite miraculous uses. Just a slight inhalation caused the fiery core hidden within Xu Zhong to erupt like a volcano, humming with divine light and resonating harmoniously with the blood spirit fungus.

Xu Zhong stifled the trembling in his heart as Li Yuanhua plucked the fungus, cut open his chest to reveal his heart, and implanted the fungus upon it.

In an instant, blood flowed freely, nourishing the fungus while the fungus bestowed its blessing.

His fiery core seemed to grow significantly stronger.

Flesh and blood quickly healed, and Li Yuanhua felt the transformation within. Facing the dragon turtle, he commanded, “Attack! Take it down!”

“If you want to kill me, you’re not strong enough yet!” The dragon turtle transformed into human form, wielding innate energy to lift the mountain on its back.

“Whether I’m qualified or not, you’ll know once you try,” Elder Ling said gravely upon hearing Li Yuanhua’s words. This dragon turtle was a formidable opponent, a tough nut to crack. Though he prided himself on his extraordinary methods, he was not confident he could defeat the enemy outright.

A cold gleam flashed in Elder Ling’s eyes as he extended his hand, unleashing a torrential divine light upon the mountain.

At this moment, the man and beast had fully engaged.

Meanwhile, General Mibao silently appeared before Li Yuanhua.

Suddenly, General Mibao opened its massive jaws, ready to devour the unsuspecting Li Yuanhua and Xu Zhong.

But in the next instant, a spear pierced through General Mibao’s skull, shattering it explosively.

Yet from its brain emitted an undying spiritual light, its soul surging with endless vitality, sweeping up the shattered flesh and pressing it against its neck. The fragmented flesh reassembled seamlessly into General Mibao’s head.

General Mibao was left trembling with fear.

Li Yuanhua remained unmoving.

Around him, the faint outlines of eight gates materialized.

These corresponded to the eight gates of Open, Rest, Life, Injury, Block, View, Death, and Shock.

These eight gates were the essence of his “Divine Prison Demon Suppression Art.”

The changes above the eight gates.

This art absorbed all spiritual energy around, using itself as the center to control the yin transformations, generating the eight gates.

The eight gates could be transformed at will according to his intent.

Yet, this transformation was not permanent.

Xu Zhong noticed that as the eight gates changed, the yin forces in the surroundings shifted correspondingly.

He and the heavens and earth were like small and large gears.

The small gear could turn itself to make the large gear move accordingly.

But the large gear also reflected the rotation frequency and direction of the small gear.

In short, while he harnessed the heavens and earth, the heavens and earth also revealed his flaws and weaknesses.

General Mibao had just charged at Li Yuanhua, entering through the Injury Gate, and was wounded by Li Yuanhua’s own spell.

At this moment, both Li Yuanhua and Xu Zhong focused on General Mibao.

“How dare you sneak attack?” Li Yuanhua smiled faintly as the eight gates around him became more distinct, roaring thunderously. The yin energy swirled and transformed, and the eight gates shifted constantly.

At this moment, General Mibao seemed trapped within the eight gates, looking around in confusion.

To the east, south, west, and north were the eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, Li, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, and Dui.

In a flash, the scene became ever-changing.

The eight gates emerged, standing tall between heaven and earth, cycling endlessly in transformation.

“Am I inside a formation?” General Mibao’s scalp tingled. It had intended to retreat into the great river to vanish but realized that with its heart in someone else’s grasp—and the blood spirit fungus as well—it grew increasingly enraged and decided to strike, only to meet this fate.

“No,” Li Yuanhua smiled coldly. “You’re in prison!”

Hearing this, General Mibao immediately sensed a calamity brewing within the eight gates. Above its head, a layer of storm clouds gathered, accumulating lightning and thunder, forming an oppressive shroud.

Fear gripped its heart, but it dared not show it. “Watch me break this formation!”

It lightly struck a palm forward, swinging yin and yang energies that extinguished the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, dispersing the force of calamity. The palm hit the storm clouds directly.

But the next moment, it felt as if the world had overturned.

In an instant, it was drawn into one of the gates.

Its inner fire blazed fiercely while the yin energy waned, transforming it into a solitary yang being with yin and yang out of balance.

This yang fire was soon ignited by its own triple-flame true fire, burning fiercely. Its flesh and essence withered and decayed under the flames, turning as black as charcoal.

“This is the View Gate!”

The View Gate lies in the south, associated with the Li trigram and fire element.

Fire rises in spring, peaks in summer, is trapped in autumn, and dies in winter.

This yang fire also undergoes four stages: formation, duration, destruction, and emptiness.

General Mibao was currently in the formation stage.

Here, the yang fire was born and grew strong.

The stronger the yang fire, the weaker it became. Its body only had the stages of duration, destruction, and emptiness left.

It was gradually dying.

Within the View Gate, it suffered excruciating pain as its flesh decayed and approached destruction, finally returning to nothingness.

It had no Outer Realm left, having sacrificed it during the earlier battle with Elder Ling. Thus, it had no means to resurrect itself at this moment.

Though it had been beaten half to death and lost much cultivation, being extinguished so easily within the View Gate was beyond Xu Zhong’s expectations.

“Were you planning to attack me too?” Li Yuanhua looked at Xu Zhong. At the moment General Mibao tried to ambush him, Li Yuanhua had sensed Xu Zhong’s murderous intent.

Xu Zhong had not entered the eight gates.

He was sharp and had kept his distance from Li Yuanhua, escaping far away as soon as the eight gates opened.

In truth, the key was the excellent intelligence from Yuan Yi.

Watching Li Yuanhua from afar, Xu Zhong studied the transformations of the eight gates.

“These eight gates are not impossible to break. As long as you understand the principles of birth, conquest, and the innate eight trigrams, no matter how exquisite the cultivation technique is, there are still traces to follow.”

Eight gates, eight trigrams, yin energy—all intertwined.

These formed the true essence of the “Divine Prison Demon Suppression Art.”

The changes in the eight gates corresponded to changes in the eight trigrams and yin energy.

If one calculated fast enough, one could capture every transformation, find the three auspicious gates, and navigate advantageously.

Though this was easier said than done—who could guarantee such rapid calculations in practice?

“This General Mibao is so useless, it can’t even escape the View Gate,” Xu Zhong muttered internally.

If General Mibao had held out longer, Xu Zhong might have found its weakness directly.

Such a pity.

Xu Zhong withdrew his spiritual insight as the enemy glanced his way.

Suddenly, he sensed the shifting yin energy around and a crushing pressure descending like Mount Tai.

He immediately knew Li Yuanhua was about to strike.

Xu Zhong stepped into the Seven Star Step, becoming a streak of light and leaping beyond the range of the opponent’s technique, escaping the influence of the eight gates.

“Consider yourself lucky today. I’ll come back to kill you tomorrow!”

The Purple Jade Gourd appeared beneath him, unleashing a magnificent sword light so powerful that even Li Yuanhua’s spatial contraction technique couldn’t catch him.

“Such a pity. I should have kept you here,” Li Yuanhua said, shaking his head as he watched Xu Zhong vanish. “But I have a feeling we’ll meet again. When that day comes, I will personally take your head.”

As Li Yuanhua sighed in regret, Xu Zhong had already fled far beyond sight.

He had lost all sense of direction.

For at this moment, Sleepy Dragon Valley had descended into chaos.

With the dragon turtle’s arrival, the other three sovereign beasts had also unleashed their power, instantly drawing much of Sleepy Dragon Valley’s Outer Realm and true territory into their respective Outer Realms.

Xu Zhong reached the edge of the dragon turtle’s Outer Realm only to discover the surroundings were illusory spaces, floating like bubbles linked together by enormous shells.

“The west is unfavorable for me. I’ll go east!”

After a brief assessment, he passed through the dragon turtle’s Outer Realm and entered the Outer Realm of an unknown sovereign beast.

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Chapter 131: The Dragon and Serpent Rise to Land — Free Reading.