Chapter 1428: Subduing the Dragon
Hearing the roar, Ao Xuan’s hurt lurched, feeling afraid for some reason. He bellowed out viciously, “Piss off!”
The dragon’s cry was like a mountain-splitting axe, parting the turbulent sea of blood and producing a long, gloomy valley. The dragon moved through it.
Suddenly, with the shrill cries of wind, fifty-four skulls encircled him from all directions with strange cackles. Their eye sockets burned with fire, establishing the Skeleton Demon Formation to block Ao Xuan’s path.
Xiao An swung the Blood Sea Banner. Countless skeleton monsters burst out, swarming towards Ao Xuan like ambushing troops. They completely surrounded him.
“Kill.”
Under Ao Xuan’s furious cry, the “great valley” abruptly collapsed, swallowing him.
How long can I stop him for? Fifteen minutes? Xiao An thought as two specks of golden light flashed in the sea of blood. She raised her guard and dodged.
Whoosh!
Two beams of golden light pierced through the sea of blood, brushing past her and shooting past the rocks and frozen earth in the distance, reducing it to dust immediately.
Boom!
As the sea of blood surged, Ao Xuan took to the skies, clutching a skull in each claw and crushing them viciously as he burst out of the formation. His eyes shone with golden light. Wherever he looked, the undead monsters were all vapourised.
“Before a true dragon, you still dare to play with water?”
With a flash, a huge dragon head had arrived before Xiao An before he had even finished what he was saying. His teeth were like swords, biting down viciously.
Xiao An swung her sword at the teeth. With a clang, sparks flew.
The huge dragon shot over the sea of blood, flying towards the Xuanming dwelling. A tooth was broken off, falling into the ocean.
The golden, icy-cold eyes glanced down. Xiao An was caught in the dragon’s mouth, hanging on bitterly. She had dislodged a tooth, but there were thousands more. Even when she had attained the fruit of Srotāpanna and set off on the path of buddhahood, she still could not fend off the biting force of a fifth heavenly tribulation true dragon.
“Hmph, and I was thinking you were capable of something special. How foolish!”
Ao Xuan was just about to crush her to pieces when the Trisepultural Robes on Xiao An rose up, swelling in the air and enveloping around him like a great big wrapper.
Devoid of any expressions, her dark hair drifted through the air as her red lips opened and closed, chanting the blasphemous scripture rapidly. Black lines flowed past the robes as the Soul Stirring Bell on her waist chimed away.
Ao Xuan immediately felt mentally perturbed. He tossed and turned in the air, swinging his claws in an attempt to tear apart the Trisepultural Robes.
However, the Trisepultural Robes refused to stay put, swelling and shrinking with his movements. In a desperate flurry, he was actually unable to break free.
“You’re asking to die!”
With a crack, the dragon teeth gnashed together.
During that critical moment, Xiao An took advantage of the moment when the teeth loosened slightly to escape from his mouth. Her left arm was basically crushed at the base, suddenly turning into surging white flames and exploding in the dragon’s mouth.
Ao Xuan’s furious roar whistled out, and the sound of the bell halted. Even though he was basically unscathed, he had already become extremely furious after being stopped time and time again. His eyes shone brightly as he swelled up. With a rip, he tore apart the Trisepultural Robes like silk.
The white bone artifacts were all damaged or destroyed. With just the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand, she did not have any opportunity to pierce his scales at all. She probably could not last any longer. It was even possible for him to completely neglect her and directly make his way into the Xuanming dwelling.
However, she did not hesitate at all as she flew towards the huge dragon. Ao Xuan gazed over viciously, and a pair of golden stars twinkled. She had already become swallowed by the golden light.
At that instant, her flesh vapourised, revealing her shiny bones, which also began to soften as if they could melt away at any moment. However, the flames in her eyes remained as firm as always. She uttered softly, “Qingshan.”
At this moment, a bellow rang out, “Ao Xuan!”
The rather familiar voice made Ao Xuan look over. Rāhu Xiaoming stood atop a mountain with his slingshot drawn to the limit. His eyes reflected a black sun and a moon as endless darkness swallowed all of the light.
Ao Xuan’s left eye ached, and one of the beams of golden light abruptly vanished. He had been blinded in one eye. The remaining beam had been soon swallowed by the darkness as well.
An invisible pulling force grabbed Xiao An and brought her back into the Xuanming dwelling. She landed in Li Qingshan’s arms. Gazing at how miserable she was, he could not help but become furious. He said coldly, “Xiaoming, draw him in!”
Before he had even finished what he was saying, Rāhu Xiaoming had been beaten into the abyss as well, slamming against a wall and almost smashed to pieces. He pointed upwards. “Coming!”
The daylight dimmed, and a dragon’s head poked into the cavern. His dragon claws dug deeply into the rock as he met Li Qingshan’s scarlet eyes with his remaining eye.
Ao Xuan’s power made him almost invincible. Only Rāhu Xiaoming could truly harm him, but that only enraged him completely. Murderousness swarmed over like dark clouds. He originally wanted to lunge over immediately and kill them all, but he saw Li Qingshan extend his right arm, reaching into a bright ball of light beside him. The core of the formation was so condensed that it seemed physical.
“Who are you?”
The deep, hoarse voice was filled with blazing killing intent. His colossal body slithered into the dwelling like a snake.
Li Qingshan kissed Xiao An on the forehead gently and let go of her. He faced Ao Xuan alone and declared loudly, “The owner of this place!”
Ao Xuan said angrily, “Let go of your dirty hand! I’m the owner of this place!”
“Heh, you’re just the watchdog, yet you dare to claim you’re the owner?”
“What did you say!?” Ao Xuan’s expression became even more twisted.
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“Oh, sorry about that. Comparing you to a dog would be an insult to dogs.”
Ao Xuan suddenly lunged down. In the blink of an eye, the sharp teeth arrived just inches away.
As Li Qingshan drew his hand back from the ball of light, the ball of light began to spread as well. The entire process unfolded so quickly that time seemed to have frozen. The criss-crossing light and inscriptions vanished with the nine layers of the formation once more, except there was the imprint of an ox’s head that belonged to him in the depths of the core.
The Xuanming formation activated again. The flow of time returned to normal.
However, Ao Xuan was stuck in the middle of the air. He was no longer the owner of this place. Instead, he was a thief who had forced his way in and had been caught in the act by the owner.
As the Xuanming formation scroll had described it, “The Xuanming formation is extremely powerful. Even against Human Immortals, it can stop them momentarily.” And he was only facing a fifth heavenly tribulation Daemon Sovereign right now.
Suddenly, a foul gust of air filled his face. Ao Xuan abruptly broke free from his restraints and bit at Li Qingshan.
“Die!”
Since he was still bold enough to force his way in, he had already anticipated the worst possible situation, or he would not have hurled himself into trouble willingly. He managed to tell with a single glance that Li Qingshan was only a Yin Soul cultivator. He had just gained control over the Xuanming formation, so he definitely could not control it as he pleased.
With his power and his understanding of the Xuanming formation, it was completely possible for him to break free by force and kill Li Qingshan on the spot. The Xuanming formation would obviously return to him by then. Even though he was a disciple of the Myriad sect, Ao Xuan could not care so much anymore.
Li Qingshan sneered, which exposed his teeth. He threw a punch at Ao Xuan’s face.
The dragon’s head turned sharply, and a large part of his cheek sank in. A force of tremors spread from head to tail, basically making him tremble uncontrollably.
Ao Xuan’s remaining eye was filled with disbelief. “How is this possible!?” He was clearly just a Yin Soul cultivator. Even a Demon Sovereign could not injure him so heavily from a single strike.
When he looked at Li Qingshan again, he was no longer in human form. Ox horns grew from his head and his feet turned into hooves, transforming into the half-man, half-ox ox demon. Beneath his black skin, his muscles rose and fell like mountains and rivers, filled with endless strength.
The Ox Demon Transformation!
Li Qingshan clenched his fist firmly. The space seemed to twist and collapse inwards, such that the fist seemed enormous, filling Ao Xuan’s vision like a huge mountain.
Yes, that was a mountain. Li Qingshan clenched the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and pushed the Ox Demon Transformation to the limit.
Another uppercut!
The Ox Demon Transformation had never been renowned for its speed. The punch was extremely slow in Ao Xuan’s eyes, and he normally would have been able to dodge it. However, he was currently suppressed by the Xuanming formation, and the punch possessed a powerful suction, so he could not evade it.
Bang!
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The punch landed on Ao Xuan’s chin and several dozen teeth flew out. His head was lifted high up, pulling the rest of his body along with him. He almost flew out of the cavern.
“That’s called the Rising Dragon uppercut!”
When the dragon’s belly was exposed before him, Li Qingshan sank down and threw another straight punch!
There was nothing special about the punch at all. It was absolutely ordinary, without any fancy tricks. Even mortals who knew a little bit of martial arts could throw a punch like that with ease.
However, Ao Xuan was thrown heavily against the wall by it. His scales shattered; his organs surged. The mountain shook and rubble fell down like rain.
There was now a hint of fear within Ao Xuan’s furious roars. He wanted to launch a desperate counterattack, but the powerful force of tremors had filled his entire body, such that he could not muster any strength. On top of that, the weaker he became, the stronger the suppression from the Xuanming dwelling became. All he could do was watch helplessly as Li Qingshan threw punch after punch.
Crack! His bones shattered, and his scales fell.
Heavens, how can there be a monster like this in the world? Hold on, an ox? Kunpeng, the Heaven-stirring Great Sage, Ox! Don’t tell me?
Li Qingshan raised his ox hoof high up and stepped down on the dragon’s head.
He crossed his arms and raised them into the air. Tiny cracks actually appeared in space.
The punch seemed like the upheaval of earth, the falling of mountains. It possessed the power to crush everything.
“Go to hell!”
Ao Xuan suddenly called out, “I yield! Spare me!”
Li Qingshan hesitated for a moment before slamming down with the punch.
Boom! Ao Xuan’s eyes bulged while blood sprayed from his mouth. The sounds of his skull cracking rang out as he plunged into the abyss.
Li Qingshan raised his right hand and used the Force Field of the Earth, pulling Ao Xuan back again. “What did you say?”
Ao Xuan said feebly, “I- I yield…”
He was heavily injured and firmly suppressed by the Xuanming dwelling, so he no longer possessed any power to resist. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had held back some strength in the final moments of that punch, perhaps he would have been crushed to death in his own den already.
Li Qingshan remarked in wonder, “Are the dragons of the Human realm really so spineless? Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea, a dragon king from a painting, has much more backbone than this bastard.”
“That’s probably due to the Five Absolutes Immortal!” Xiao An was gathering the scattered scales, teeth, and blood and setting them alight to heal her damaged bones.
Li Qingshan nodded. “That’s reasonable.”
“You can kill me, but you can’t insult me. If you don’t accept my surrender, then kill me!” Ao Xuan shut his eye resolutely, except he kept a crack open so that he could still see.
Rāhu Xiaoming crossed his arms and said, “Little dragon, looks like you’ve already realised something, but are you aware that there will be no turning back if you surrender to him, where the world will be your enemy? It will lead to even more trouble for you in the future, and you’ll probably still be doomed.”
