Top-tier Unruly Master-Chapter 1667 - 1704: Maneuvering
At this moment, while the True Dragon wasn’t paying attention, Ding Fan hurriedly seized the time to arrange a Formation in place. Ding Fan planned to set up a high-level Eight Stars Concealment Formation. He believed that if he managed to set up such an advanced Formation, it would be quite difficult for the True Dragon to locate him.
However, Ding Fan never expected the True Dragon wouldn’t eventually find him. He merely wished to extend the duration before being discovered. Ding Fan knew deep down that he was certainly not a match for the True Dragon. Though his Frost Toad’s bloodline was in no way inferior, its strength was still far behind that of the True Dragon.
Therefore, Ding Fan could only play a game of hide and seek with the True Dragon for now. As long as he could hold out for a day and night, he would consider it a victory. Hence, Ding Fan began to work on setting up the Formation. Drawing on his proficiency, Ding Fan’s Formation setup skills were impeccable.
But at this moment, Ding Fan dared not make any major moves, opting to only maneuver his fingers. Consequently, arranging the Formation took him a bit longer, yet this did not bother Ding Fan much. He was protected by the Arctic Chill Elixir; the nearby True Dragon Flame had little effect on him.
Soon after, in the sky, the furious True Dragon had already ignited the area around where it last spotted Ding Fan with wild flames, but was still unable to locate Ding Fan. The True Dragon roared in madness, intensifying the flames and burning extensively in Ding Fan’s vicinity.
Although the True Dragon hadn’t found Ding Fan, it knew with certainty that the human must still be nearby, thus persistently applying flame to these locations, believing it couldn’t fail to smoke out the human.
Watching the raging fire surrounding himself, Ding Fan felt as if he were immersed in an ocean of flames, enveloped in layers of fire. Ding Fan believed that without the Arctic Chill of the Frost Toad, he would have already been driven out by the flames.
However, the blazing flames in Ding Fan’s proximity were temporarily beneficial for him. After all, the flames successfully concealed him better, allowing him to set up the Formation more conveniently.
Yet, for a moment, Ding Fan felt like he had realized something. After emerging from the cave, the True Dragon ceased the attack on the cave, focusing instead its assaults on him. It seemed as if Ding Fan had become more significant in the True Dragon’s eyes than the cave itself.
This made Ding Fan suddenly realize something — he suspected the True Dragon was targeting the Raw Pill he carried. After pondering, Ding Fan concluded that the item retrieved from the Sword Washing Pool must be exceptionally valuable and rare.
Although he had also acquired a martial arts manual, Guo Linn and Ah Du obtained martial arts too. Yet they didn’t experience such fierce attacks from the True Dragon. This only led to one conclusion — Ding Fan was the target, all because of those two Raw Pills.
But Ding Fan wasn’t willing to easily hand over those precious items. Even if he offered the two Raw Pills to the True Dragon, Ding Fan doubted he’d be let go, given the True Dragon’s intelligence rivaling that of humans. Thus, Ding Fan wasn’t inclined to trust the dragon that easily.
Ding Fan realized that if his assumption were correct, then the Yuan Beast he had slain at the Sword Washing Pool was likely not the pool’s Guardian Yuan Beast. The True Dragon before him might be the real Guardian Yuan Beast of the Sword Washing Pool. Ding Fan was momentarily taken aback by this thought.
This True Dragon was no ordinary being; such power befitted the Guardian Yuan Beast of an eminent being akin to the village elder’s caliber. Given the village elder’s remarkable prowess, his Guardian Yuan Beast undoubtedly couldn’t be subpar and certainly was not someone Ding Fan could confront or defeat.
After some time, Ding Fan completed setting up the advanced Eight Stars Concealment Formation. Now concealed within the Formation, Ding Fan felt relatively safe, believing the True Dragon wouldn’t quickly discover him. Ding Fan then extended his Divine Sense and found Guo Linn and Ah Du in the distance, seemingly safe at the moment.
Although the True Dragon’s flames were some distance from them, the intense heat was quite uncomfortable for them. Luckily, Guo Linn conjured some Cold Qi Spells, helping them alleviate the heat considerably.
Having set up the Formation, Ding Fan could now fully conceal himself for a while, confident the True Dragon wouldn’t locate him shortly. However, Ding Fan remained slightly concerned for Guo Linn and Ah Du. After releasing his Divine Sense to observe, Ding Fan saw that Guo Linn and Ah Du, though distant, were still relatively secure.
Ding Fan’s heart relaxed slightly, yet the True Dragon overhead was understandably upset, constantly roaring. Despite its efforts, it couldn’t locate Ding Fan, which made it anxious and led to incessant spurts of flame.
Not only did the flames around Ding Fan become more intense, but the area around the cave was also ablaze with the True Dragon’s flames. Once again, Ding Fan felt anxious for Guo Linn and Ah Du. Despite his concern for their safety, there was nothing Ding Fan could do, like a clay Buddha crossing the river, unable to protect himself let alone help others.
...
Meanwhile, Guo Linn and Ah Du had been hiding in a depression, both attempting to conceal their cultivation aura to avoid revealing their position. They now faced not only the sweltering heat from nearby flames but direct flames spewed by the True Dragon.
Fortunately, Guo Linn was skilled in conjuring Cold Qi Spells, cooling himself and Ah Du significantly. Yet, the level of flames around Ah Du couldn’t compare to Ding Fan’s Arctic Chill. Thus, Guo Linn’s Cold Qi rapidly turned into wisps of steam when faced with the True Dragon’s flames.
For the True Dragon’s flames were no ordinary flames; they were unquestionably more powerful than average flames.
In no time, Guo Linn and his companion were already struggling to hold on. By now, both were drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked through, and even their skin showing signs of burns. They knew that if this continued, they would be burned alive.
"What should we do, Brother Ah Du?"
Guo Linn looked anxiously at Ah Du beside him and asked.
At this moment, Ah Du’s expression was also quite ugly. He knew that if it weren’t for the cold qi released by Guo Linn repelling some of the flames, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand their attack either. He couldn’t help but ask Guo Linn: 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"How much longer can you hold on?"
"I fear not much longer. These flames are not ordinary. I’ve been giving it my all, but I can’t hold on for long!"
Guo Linn spoke with a hint of bitterness in his heart. He knew these True Dragon Flames were extraordinary, not something on the same level as his cold qi. While he was exerting all his cold energy, his True Qi was ultimately limited. This was just the beginning. If things continued like this, death was inevitable.
"I’ll use my True Qi to assist you, try to hold on a bit longer!"
Ah Du placed his palm on Guo Linn’s body and spoke to him. He knew that escaping now would be a dead end since he sensed the True Dragon in the sky was in a very agitated mood. Ah Du pinned his hopes on Ding Fan’s rescue.
At this point, the two could only continue persisting. Hearing Ah Du’s words and feeling the True Qi being transmitted, Guo Linn felt somewhat relieved, yet his expression remained solemn while his body released cold qi to fend off the flames outside.
Guo Linn couldn’t help but tell Ah Du:
"But we can’t just hang on like this; we won’t last much longer!"
Ah Du understood Guo Linn’s concerns. It was only after transmitting his True Qi that he realized how much True Qi Guo Linn needed to consume to release the cold qi. The consumption was far beyond what the two of them could endure. Ah Du knew continuing like this wouldn’t work for long.
Ah Du couldn’t help but say:
"Let’s use our Divine Sense to call for help and hope Ding Fan can hear us. Right now, we can only rely on Ding Fan!"
"Alright!"
Guo Linn responded, and the two immediately released their Divine Sense. However, their Divine Sense was nowhere near as strong as Ding Fan’s. After scanning the area, they found no trace of him and weren’t sure if he could sense them. Nonetheless, they had to try and quickly started sending out cries for help with their Divine Sense...
On Ding Fan’s side, things were stable for the moment. The True Dragon hadn’t discovered his location yet. But just as Ding Fan breathed a sigh of relief, he heard the distress signals from Guo Linn and Ah Du through their Divine Sense. Knowing that while he could resist the True Dragon Flames using the Arctic Chill, Guo Linn and his companion wouldn’t find it so easy.
Ding Fan felt a heaviness in his heart, immediately performing the Transcendent Strike to appear in an open area nearby. He pretended to be severely injured, knowing that the True Dragon was intelligent. If it realized he was trying to cover for Guo Linn and Ah Du, it would surely not spare them.
Roar...
The True Dragon spotted Ding Fan and let out a roar, its body spiraling in the air before charging towards him, spewing flames incessantly. The attacks were even more intense, as if the True Dragon was determined to kill this human now that it had finally spotted one, not allowing any margin for error.
But Ding Fan certainly wouldn’t let it succeed so easily. He continued running the opposite direction from Guo Linn, knowing they couldn’t withstand the True Dragon’s flames. The farther he ran, the less they would suffer from the heat.
And so, Ding Fan continuously cast the Transcendent Strike, finding a predetermined concealment spot to hide. The True Dragon, furious at the disappearance of its target, flew erratically, madly raining fire down on the ground.
