Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 759 - 742: Mutual Destruction, Twin Dragons Subdued!
Roar~ Howl!
Accompanied by a resounding dragon roar that ascended to the sky, a cyan and gold dragon head giant blade, hovering between illusion and reality, suddenly appeared above the neck of the Unihorn Golden Dragon, slashing down fiercely.
After spending a fortune to continuously cast three Tier Six Spirit Talismans to fend off the enemy, Zhouyang finally secured a moment for himself to employ the [Azure Dragon Sky Splitting Slash].
And when that cyan and gold dragon head giant blade appeared, the Unihorn Golden Dragon was just pouncing again within several tens of yards in front of him.
At such a close distance, coupled with having just used instant teleportation divine techniques similar to [Shrinking Inches], the Unihorn Golden Dragon at this moment was almost impossible to avoid this decapitating blow.
Heaven is aiding me!
This was Zhouyang's thought after he swiped the blade.
He had concealed this move all along because he worried that the Unihorn Golden Dragon might foresee and evade this strike with its dangerous forewarning talent.
However, at such close proximity now, even if the Unihorn Golden Dragon realized it, what could it do? With the power and speed of the cyan and gold dragon head giant blade that could even slash through space, it was completely impossible for him to evade.
Danger!
Extremely dangerous!
The Unihorn Golden Dragon's dangerous spiritual sense frantically alerted him, causing all his dragon scales to involuntarily contract into a tight group, closing all gaps completely, like donning a covering iron armor.
This was the Flood Dragon's instinctive bodily reaction when encountering danger, akin to humans having their hair stand erect when stimulated by danger.
At this precise moment, the Unihorn Golden Dragon, as Zhouyang thought, had absolutely no way to avoid this blade before it struck.
Yet he still made some struggles before the blade landed on his body.
A dense golden light like substance surged from the Unihorn Golden Dragon, forming another layer of protection outside his dragon scales.
However, in the face of the blade edge of the cyan and gold dragon head giant blade, this layer of golden light shield was as thin as paper, with no resistance when pierced.
The dragon head giant blade shattered the Unihorn Golden Dragon's protective golden light, directly landing on his neck.
Shattered scales splattered, dragon blood spewed...
The Unihorn Golden Dragon's tough dragon scales couldn't withstand the blade edge, being instantly breached.
Yet the result Zhouyang had hoped for did not happen.
The Unihorn Golden Dragon's cervical dragon bone ultimately endured all the damage, without being directly decapitated by this blade.
As long as the head remains intact, the Unihorn Golden Dragon can still control the body's strength, preventing himself from being at the mercy of others.
"Roar! Damn human cultivator, this king remembers you. Once this king's wounds are healed, I will surely settle scores with you endlessly!"
Amid the roar filled with hatred, the Unihorn Golden Dragon who narrowly escaped death, without a backward glance turned into a golden light diving into the ocean below, disappearing from the battlefield.
Zhouyang's earlier move although failing to sever his head, nevertheless carved deep into the Unihorn Golden Dragon's cervical dragon bone which bore all damages, almost paralyzing the entire cervical dragon bone.
Such severe injuries, if not promptly returned to a safe place to recuperate, and consume the secret healing holy medicine of the Flood Dragon Race, the Unihorn Golden Dragon would need to contemplate replacing his body.
Compared to affairs concerning his own paths, future aspirations, and life, revenge and plot for the [Donglai Immortal Island] key matters have to be postponed.
After all, the Demon Race operates differently from the Human Race; even though a Demon King can possess and be reborn, it is impossible to achieve True Spirit with a possessed body unless he directly possesses a True Spirit juvenile of the same race!
The Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon's bloodline aptitude was already among the top existence within the East Sea Flood Dragon Race, otherwise, he couldn't temporarily manifest a True Dragon Body using the Dragon Transformation Secret Technique.
With the bloodline aptitude of his current body, he stands a great chance to achieve the True Spirit Realm in the future, naturally making it unlikely for him to abandon this body in disregard of some external objects and hatred.
Zhouyang, however, is not intimidated by the Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon's threats; given his cultivation speed, by the time the Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon heals, he might already break through to Late-Stage Nascent Soul, or at least have cultivated several more Great Divine Techniques, thus enhancing his power further.
Yet it's also regrettable for him that the Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon got away.
After all, it was a Tier Six Top Grade Flood Dragon, a born king within the Flood Dragon Race, a Golden Flood Dragon.
If he could keep this Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon, then his son Zhou Guangcheng would have the resources to cultivate the fifth layer of «Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique» in the future, and probably through using the same Flood Dragon Blood for assistance, once Zhou Guangcheng reaches the fifth layer of «Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique», his physical body might be even stronger than his father.
But such good fortune is merely wishful thinking; since the Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon wasn't decapitated, in his weakened state after casting [Azure Dragon Sky Splitting Slash], capturing the opponent was virtually impossible.
Moreover, the injury from losing his dragon tail torn off by the Unihorn Golden Flood Dragon urgently requires treatment.
At the same time, with the Unihorn Golden Dragon fleeing in panic, the other Demon Kings also lost the will to fight, and after using their ultimate techniques to force their opponents back, they leapt into the sea below using the Water Escape Technique to leave.
The sea is the main arena for these sea Demon Kings. Once they enter the ocean, human cultivators essentially cannot surpass them in pursuit, and may instead risk being counterattacked by those whose strength significantly increases in the sea.
This is also an important reason why Zhouyang did not chase the Unihorn Golden Dragon.
"Master, you're injured!"
Qin Yue'Er was originally being suppressed by her opponent. Now that the mighty enemy voluntarily retreated, she naturally had no reason to pursue and hurried towards Zhouyang, thus witnessing Zhouyang's continuously bleeding back end.
Zhouyang, in a half-dragon half-human form, had his dragon tail derive from the tailbone.
When the Unihorn Golden Dragon tore off the dragon tail, the injury reflected on his main body was a shattered tailbone which vanished, severely damaging the sacrum, iliac, and pelvic bones, including a significant loss of flesh from his buttocks.
This kind of injury is more severe than losing a limb.
Only because Zhouyang possesses great magical power and a strong body can he still stand and speak.
He merely waved his hand and said, "Zhou is fine, this injury is still within Zhou's tolerance. That Unihorn Golden Dragon is many times worse off compared to Zhou. Even with the aid of a Spirit Elixir, it definitely won't recover without decades of recuperation!"
Is it really alright?
Qin Yue'Er looked at his lower body stained with blood and his pale, weakened face, and her small mouth opened and closed, hesitating to speak.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, if you can endure, we should quickly head to the Donglai Immortal Island. That Golden Dragon is able to perform the Dragon Transformation Technique, holding a high status among the Flood Dragon Race. Since you severely injured him, almost claiming his life, the Flood Dragon Race will certainly not let this go easily!"
Lan Daoist, who arrived next, glanced at Zhouyang's situation and coolly stated his verdict.
Though he hadn't stepped outside the Kunxu Realm in tens of thousands of years, it doesn't mean he lacked cultivation realm knowledge. In fact, by conducting soul searches on the Divine Souls of cultivators fallen in Kunxu Realm, he hasn't fallen behind in understanding the Linghuan Realm.
"The senior here is correct; it's said the Flood Dragon Race possesses Tier Seven True Spirit beings. Master, you hold the key to Donglai Immortal Island and wounded significant members of the Flood Dragon Race; there's no guarantee that such beings won't use this as an excuse to act against you!"
Demoness Huan Qianqian also briefly shared her view upon arrival.
She could be considered good-tempered, or at least sufficiently patient, as she never complained even when Zhouyang consistently used her as a tool, behaving harmlessly.
If Zhouyang hadn't seen her using human skin to refine a Life Substitution Spiritual Artifact and hadn't discovered some similar items in her Storage Ring, he might truly have been deceived by her appearance, thinking she was indeed harmless.
However, for Zhouyang now, worrying about this Demoness Huan Qianqian is not much of a concern.
With his cultivation surpassing hers by a small realm, even if the Possession Secret Technique had unknown drawbacks, this demoness could not retaliate against him.
The only concern necessary is to prevent this demoness from advancing her cultivation to the same realm as his.
"Recently, your performance has been quite good; as long as you don't play any tricks in the future and stay by Zhou's side honestly for the rest of your life, Zhou doesn't necessarily have to keep you inside the Dongxuan Pearl!"
Glancing at the demoness, Zhouyang tossed a carrot as a reward for her several interventions.
"Thank you, master, for your mercy. This humble one will definitely reform and start anew!"
Huan Qianqian's eyes gleamed with delight and gratitude, bowing deeply to Zhouyang, speaking graceful words.
Her charms, sadly, were wasted on Zhouyang who inherently didn't trust that such a demoness would reform, so naturally, he had little reaction to her words.
Upon hearing, he merely responded with a淡"嗯" and then waved his hand, storing her back into the Dongxuan Pearl, ensuring she had no chance to spread more fallacies.
Following this, Zhouyang, as Lan Daoist suggested, first took a drop of the Rejuvenating Immortal Dew given by his Dao Companion Xiao Ying to heal his external wounds, then forcefully suppressed his injuries and proceeded with Lan Daoist and Qin Yue'Er towards Donglai Immortal Island.
Since the battle site was already not far from Donglai Immortal Island, they smoothly entered the island without encountering further enemies.
Upon entering Donglai Immortal Island, shielded by the Tier Seven Immortal Array, even if a Tier Seven True Spirit were to attack, Zhouyang need not worry.
Within Donglai Immortal Island were two Flood Dragons subdued by Zhouyang through intimidation and inducement. When Zhouyang led people to the island and reached its main peak, these two Flood Dragons quickly sensed the commotion and came to inspect.
"Oh, less than five hundred years have passed, and you have advanced!"
On the island, looking at the Cyan Flood Dragon considerably larger than the Silver Flood Dragon, Zhouyang's eyes clearly flashed with surprise.
Back when he subdued the two Flood Dragons, Cyan Flood Dragon was a Tier Five High-Grade Demon Beast, and Silver Flood Dragon was a Tier Five Middle-Grade Demon Beast.
Unexpectedly, upon returning, he found the Cyan Flood Dragon had crossed from Tier Five to Tier Six threshold, becoming a Tier Six Lower-grade Demon King.
Even the Silver Flood Dragon had reached Tier Five High-Grade Demon Beast, seemingly close to advancing to Tier Six as well.
"Could it be that you've had some other fortuitous encounter on this island?"
Zhouyang's eyes flickered with light, as if he realized something, curiously asking his inner speculation.
Little did he know, when he was surprised by the Cyan Flood Dragon's advancement to a Tier Six Demon King, he found the dragon's cultivation advancing five levels in just a few hundred years to be even more shocking.
Originally, the Cyan Flood Dragon thought that after advancing to a Tier Six Demon King, with the powerful talent divine techniques of the Flood Dragon Race, she might be able to defeat Zhouyang and retrieve her and the Silver Flood Dragon's Lifebound Soul Tokens.
But now, apart from shock, she felt nothing but shock, her heart laden with a sense of loss and bitterness.
"What is it? Do you think that after advancing to a Tier Six Demon King, you can stand on equal footing with Zhou? Are you too arrogant to even answer Zhou's words?"
Zhouyang's eyes turned cold as he looked coldly at the Cyan Flood Dragon, who hadn't answered his words for a long time, his voice becoming icy.
"You misunderstand, my lord. Qing Luo has not seen my lord for hundreds of years and was briefly lost by the progress of my lord's cultivation, meaning absolutely no disrespect to my lord."
The Cyan Flood Dragon came to her senses, quickly transformed into a beautiful lady with dragon horns on her head, bowed gracefully to Zhouyang, and explained softly.
"As my lord has said, it is true that Qing Luo and Silver Bell Sister have greatly advanced in cultivation due to discovering a hidden secret mansion beneath the pond while cultivating underwater, gaining great benefits from refining the essence of Gui Water nurtured within the mansion."
Underwater secret mansion?
Zhouyang was momentarily stunned, showing a thoughtful expression.
The pond that Qing Luo mentioned undoubtedly referred to the lair of the Profound Armor Demon King. If there was indeed a secret mansion there, it must have been left by the Profound Armor Demon King.
After killing the Profound Armor Demon King, he had searched the area but found no secret mansion.
It seems he wasn't thorough enough in his search back then.
This gave him a reminder that since the Profound Armor Demon King could create an underwater secret mansion at the bottom of the pond, might there be other hidden treasure sites left undiscovered on this vast Immortal Island?
He considered that he might have to search the Immortal Island thoroughly in the future when he had the time.
Zhouyang thought to himself silently, with meaningful eyes looking at Qing Luo, saying, "Since you discovered the secret mansion, Zhou wouldn't seize your opportunity, but this won't be tolerated next time. Don't forget who the real master here is!"
Qing Luo immediately felt a chill in her heart, sensing that Zhouyang might have discovered something, she avoided his gaze slightly, replying respectfully, "This subordinate understands, thank you for your generosity and understanding, my lord."
"Let's go, and see what fruits your years of labor have yielded."
Zhouyang waved his hand, not dwelling on these minor matters anymore, and immediately went up the mountain to inspect the fruits of the Cyan Flood Dragon and Silver Flood Dragon's cultivation over the century.
When he left the Immortal Island, he specifically planted a batch of Blood Dragon Rice, instructing the two flood dragons to regularly bleed to cultivate them.
If the two flood dragons hadn't been lazy, a substantial amount of mature Spirit Rice should have been accumulated by now.
Arriving at the Spirit Field, Zhouyang looked around, seeing stalks of Blood Dragon Rice towering three zhang high in the Spirit Field, resembling a forest.
Each Blood Dragon Rice stalk could yield sixteen pieces of Spirit Rice, and currently, there were thirty-six stalks in the Spirit Field, totaling 576 pieces of Blood Dragon Rice.
"Very good, very good, judging by the growth of these stalks, you have not been lazy. I wonder, aside from these stalks, how much Blood Dragon Rice is stored in the warehouse?"
Zhouyang swept his Divine Sense over each stalk of Blood Dragon Rice in the Spirit Field. Soon, he had a clear understanding of their growth state, not finding any signs of malnutrition due to lack of Flood Dragon Spirit Blood nourishment, which pleased him greatly, and he did not refrain from praising the two flood dragons for their hard work.
However, the praise clearly did not impress the two flood dragons, as the Spirit Field's well-grown rice was nurtured by their drop-by-drop Spirit Blood.
Thinking that their nourished Blood Dragon Rice would ultimately belong to others, becoming food for others, they had thoughts of tearing Zhouyang apart.
Of course, they dared not express such thoughts.
Facing Zhouyang's 'praise,' Qing Luo, her expression slightly unnatural, shivered a little and responded bitterly, "The lord must see, Blood Dragon Rice cultivation is difficult, and the transformation of the Spirit Field was quite time and energy-consuming. The warehouse now stores a total of 374 pieces of Blood Dragon Rice, all sealed in premium jade boxes."
After speaking, she glanced at Zhouyang with some trepidation, fearing that he might turn hostile.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, Zhouyang looked at her with a kind smile, nodding repeatedly, "It's already very good; you have done very well."
This attitude left Qing Luo momentarily stunned, unsure if Zhouyang was genuine or just pretending.
Then, not leaving her more time for thinking, Zhouyang suddenly waved his hand, tossing several elixir bottles into her hand.
"These bottles of Essence Pill are refined from the blood and flesh essence of a Tier Six Demon King, as a reward for your diligent care of the Blood Dragon Rice."
As Zhouyang said this, he looked at her and smiled radiantly, "Next, Zhou will be cultivating on the Immortal Island for a while. Qing Luo, during this time, please bear some extra burden and store more Spirit Blood, as Zhou has other uses!"
This demon!
Qing Luo looked at the smiling face of Zhouyang with a stiff expression, furious beyond measure.
She had wondered why Zhouyang would be so kind as to reward them with the Essence Pill made from the blood and flesh of a Tier Six Demon King, and it turns out his real intention was to covet her Flood Dragon Spirit Blood!
"You damned bastard! What do you take us for? We are Flood Dragons, noble Flood Dragons, not those lowly beasts. How dare you humiliate us like this! How dare you!"
The first to explode wasn't Qing Luo, but the tempestuous and irritable Silver Flood Dragon.
They were already demeaning themselves greatly by helping Zhouyang cultivate Blood Dragon Rice due to the situation, and now Zhouyang dared to go even further, blatantly treating them as mere livestock to be raised. How could they possibly bear this?
I fear any living being with independent consciousness cannot tolerate such a thing.
And hearing the Silver Flood Dragon's words, Qing Luo's stiff expression also shook with emotion. She couldn't help but grit her teeth and said with hatred to Zhouyang: "What Silver Bell says is absolutely right. It's acceptable that you, Young Master, with your mighty power, have made us submit to you, but treating us as livestock is simply too much!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Even our Demon Race's Demon Kings wouldn't treat Tier Five Demon Beasts with opened spiritual wisdom as food, to be slaughtered and consumed at will. Yet you, Young Master, keep extracting blood from us. How is that different from a Demon Cultivator!"
"How dare you!"
Zhouyang's face darkened, and his powerful divine sense pressure instantly descended upon the two Flood Dragons.
The weaker Silver Flood Dragon was directly suppressed to the ground by the overwhelming pressure of his divine sense, unable to move an inch.
And Qing Luo, with the strength of a Tier Six Demon King, although still able to stand, also felt immense pressure, almost unable to maintain her humanoid form.
"I'm merely asking you to shed a little blood, and you refuse. If Zhou would encounter a strong enemy, and needed to command you against them, wouldn't you turn against me!"
"Must I really force myself to kill you, peel your skins, disassemble your bones, extract your souls and essence, for you to understand your own identities and recognize the situation?"
Zhouyang looked coldly at the two Flood Dragons, speaking with a sinister tone.
Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to reason with the two Flood Dragons because the bigger fist is the hard reason.
As a master, if he were to reason in everything, how could the servants still respect him, and how could the master-servant relationship be maintained?
He spoke in an icy voice, "Remember why you are still alive, and why Zhou established a millennium agreement with you, not because of your strong power, but because your living value is higher than dead!"
Having said that, he couldn't help but coldly smile at the two Flood Dragons: "If you can't even understand this, unwilling to accept this reality, uncooperative, then Zhou can only painfully kill the chicken to get its eggs!"
Having said that, he was also lazy to say more to these two Flood Dragons, immediately left the Spirit Field with Qin Yue'Er and Lan Daoist, heading to the newly rebuilt cave dwelling on Donglai Peak.
And watching the backs of Zhouyang and the other two leave, Qing Luo and Silver Bell the two Flood Dragons clenched their teeth, trembling with anger.
They understood the reasoning, yet understanding is one thing; truly doing as told is another when a fire of anger burns in their hearts.
In fact, they dared to confront Zhouyang like this, also because they knew their uniqueness, knew Zhouyang would not easily kill them for blatant slaughter.
But as Zhouyang ruthlessly tore away that veneer of respect, they were cornered.
The two dragons did not doubt, if they continued to stubbornly refuse and be uncooperative, Zhouyang would indeed carry out those threats.
"Damn it! Do we really have to endure his threats, being suckled dry by him forever?"
The voice of the Silver Flood Dragon, filled with unwillingness and resentment, echoed with Zhouyang's figure fading from view.
But upon hearing this, Qing Luo remained silent.
Seeing this, the Silver Flood Dragon felt more distressed, shouting out loudly: "Sister, speak up, are you really willing? You are a Demon King now, even within the Flood Dragon Race, a Demon King ruling a territory of the sea!"
"What can unwillingness do? You can't imagine his strength. If he wants to kill us, we cannot resist at all!"
Qing Luo sighed, her face full of helplessness.
Then her eyes softened as she looked at the Silver Flood Dragon, earnestly advising, "Silver Bell, please moderate your temper in the future. He has openly expressed his real intentions this time. If you offend him again, he surely will not spare you anymore!"
"We have endured humiliation for centuries, and in a few more centuries, we will achieve the thousand-year agreement, then we will leave here and never be bullied by him again!"
Upon hearing this, the Silver Flood Dragon spoke resentfully, "But he is so ruthless. After the thousand-year period, will he really let us go willingly?"
This time, Qing Luo fell into silence again.
After a long while, she, filled with confusion, mumbled to herself, "I don't know, but this is our only chance to break free!"
