The Dragon

Gu Fuyou tightly gripped her sword, Yinhen. In such a duel, there was no need for tricks; it was simply a clash of raw power.

The thunderbolt was like a spear hurled with the might of the gods from beyond the heavens, aiming to pierce through the very universe.

Gu Fuyou met the challenge head-on, ascending swiftly into the sky. As she rose, electric flashes lit up the clouds, painting the stormy sky in shades of deep red and purple. Meanwhile, a distinct radiance emanated from Gu Fuyou herself, boldly contending with the lightning’s brilliance.

The White Dragon turned to see the scene, and it was as if time froze. There stood Gu Fuyou, bravely confronting a huge lightning bolt with her sword raised. This striking scene deeply moved the dragon, making its golden eyes tremble with emotion.

There was no one more rash than Gu Fuyou, brave and fearless, seemingly naive despite her worldly experience. It wasn’t that she no longer feared death or had nothing to lose. This was simply her nature – a daring spirit, like flames burning fiercely, never to be extinguished.

Her vibrant, pulsating life was irresistibly captivating.

Yinhen clashed with the thunderbolt.

In comparison to the immense thunderbolt, which felt as if it could shatter meteors, Gu Fuyou seemed so small. As they clashed, the overwhelming force caused her arms to bend, preventing her from pushing any further.

Yet, she halted its advance. The thunderbolt couldn’t advance an inch; its tip shattered against her sword and dissipated. Gu Fuyou gritted her teeth, holding her ground against it for a moment.

The White Dragon cried out.

Gu Fuyou gathered all her spiritual energy into one final effort, screaming to exert her full strength.

With all her might, she slashed Yinhen upward, creating a wave that tore through the clouds, ripping the massive thunderbolt into countless tiny lightning bolts that flickered their last before fading away.

Gu Fuyou landed back on the White Dragon’s back. Her hairpin was broken by the stray lightning, causing her hair to fall loosely over her shoulders, then blown back by the wind.

She wasn’t an external cultivator. Having resisted such a force, her arms ached from the exertion, trembling so much that she could barely hold onto Yinhen, gasping for breath. Yet, her clear red eyes sparkled brilliantly, like shining jewels.

She looked up at the heavens and shouted defiantly, “Is that all you’ve got?” Her words echoed into the sky, followed by a burst of satisfied laughter. Memories flooded back to her – her days in Xian Luo, a mere Qi-training stage cultivator, drained of spiritual energy. She recalled being captured in the claws of a Hallow Void stage beast, yet, against all odds, she had managed to extract its core.

She defiantly yelled, “What are you compared to me!”

Qing Zhe appeared from the clouds, his hands casually clasped behind his back. He stood gracefully, almost ethereally, atop a flash of lightning, his gaze fixed on the White Dragon and Gu Fuyou. His expression was serious, reflecting the gravity of the moment he was witnessing.

He was no longer underestimating her. Grasping the void with his right hand, his spirit sword appeared, first as a long sword and then transforming into a beam of light with flickering electricity. Holding a bolt of lightning, he launched an attack, sending it straight at Gu Fuyou.

Gu Fuyou had no doubt that a direct hit would obliterate her soul.

The White Dragon gracefully coiled its body, forming a protective circle with Gu Fuyou at its core, leaving its back exposed to the outside. When it took the hit, a scorched black mark marred its snowy body, standing as a testament to the attack it endured.

Qing Zhe was also repelled by the counterforce, flying backward.

Gu Fuyou flew up, out of the dragon’s protective circle, standing atop its vulnerable spot, irritatedly saying, “You think you’re the only one who can summon lightning?” Her sword, Yinhen, glowed brilliantly, just like Qing Zhe’s lightning.

She once had grand ambitions for Yinhen. When she first forged it, her intention wasn’t just to store myriad formations within it; that was merely consolidating thousands of talismans into one. What she truly desired was for Yinhen to evolve and learn on its own.

She integrated the essence of various formations from the magical arts into Yinhen. It was like teaching Yinhen basic characters. With any combination, it could form countless words and phrases. It could also learn others’ words and phrases and replicate them perfectly.

However, though Yinhen was forged, it seemed to lack something. It appeared to possess intelligence and yet seemed devoid of it. It could mechanically deploy the formations contained within, but the capability to learn and evolve seemed unreachable.

Perhaps Gu Fuyou felt a hint of regret, but she didn’t dwell on it too much. What she wanted was not an unparalleled spiritual sword, but a lethal weapon; a sword that could avenge her family against the Zuo Family. The current Yinhen was sufficient.

Now, she sensed what Yinhen had been missing had returned. The sword in her hand began to pulsate as if a heart had started beating robustly, finally awakening from its long silence.

Qing Zhe had initiated a Thunderfall Formation. Gu Fuyou trusted Yinhen had learned it.

Releasing her grip, Yinhen obeyed her intent, soaring towards the heart of the sky. A new formation opened beneath another, and in an instant, a hundred thunderbolts struck at Qing Zhe.

Though these thunderbolts was less potent than the thunder summoned by Qing Zhe, but it was still incredibly powerful.

Even Qing Zhe was shocked, puzzled beyond belief. Given that Qing Jun’s body had a wind spirit root, it should be impossible to form such a powerful thunderstorm formation, even with a deep understanding of formation art, as she lacked a lightning spirit root.

In a moment of distraction, Qing Zhe refocused and generated another wave of lightning within the clouds, intertwining with the incoming storm. He began to reassess Gu Fuyou, attacking relentlessly with his sword art that resembled a bolt of lightning.

The cutting wind surged towards Gu Fuyou’s face, and the incoming spiritual sword seemed like an army clad in white armor, wielding long spears, charging ferociously forward.

From beneath the White Dragon, a dark shadow shot upwards, its sword energy grand, resembling a black-armored army, protecting Gu Fuyou as it clashed with Qing Zhe’s spiritual sword.

Gu Fuyou exclaimed with surprise, “Gengchen!” Looking at the White Dragon, she said, “Zhong Michu, let’s tear apart his thunderclouds!”

She was completely engulfed in excitement. Both adept in wind and water, they were confident they could handle the thunderclouds.

The White Dragon roared in agreement, generating a growing whirlwind. The entire thundercloud, controlled by Qing Zhe’s formation, was essentially his domain. Inside, their spiritual power was suppressed, and they were constantly under the threat of lightning strikes.

The thundercloud, far from ordinary, posed a challenge that wouldn’t succumb to simple dispersion. Yet, the White Dragon, with its mastery over water and adeptness in creating clouds and mist, found itself not entirely powerless. Despite the thundercloud’s resistance, it wasn’t entirely beyond their control.

Working together, they managed to create a clear patch of sky.

The White Dragon was enveloped in a layer of milky white clouds, while a shade of blue wrapped around Gu Fuyou, resembling a colored wind.

A layer of milky-white mist surrounded the White Dragon, while Gu Fuyou was enveloped in a hint of blue, like colored wind. As they gently entwined, Qing Zhe observed this, utterly captivated and forgetting his surroundings.

Seizing this opportunity, Yinhen and Gengchen turned their assault towards Qing Zhe. Caught off guard, Qing Zhe’s spiritual sword was repelled. The two swords continued their ferocious attack, resembling a tiger descending the mountain.

In a defensive scramble, Qing Zhe, though powerful, was still at a disadvantage. He managed to block the swords barehanded, but not without injury.

The two spiritual swords were sent flying back. Qing Zhe lowered his hand, blood streaming down from it. He glanced at his injured hand with a slight frown. By then, the White Dragon and Gu Fuyou had vanished, disappearing into the clouds.

The thundercloud was initially Qing Zhe’s territory. He could sense where the White Dragon and Gu Fuyou were, but the clear patch in the center wasn’t his domain. If they were in that area, he couldn’t detect them.

At this moment, the White Dragon, carrying Gu Fuyou, soared upwards. They were surrounded by dark clouds, except for a circular hole in the center, devoid of any clouds, with sunlight pouring down like ribbons of light.

As Gu Fuyou squinted against the glaring brightness, the wind whispered past her ears. High in the sky, yet the sensation was like being deep underwater – darkness enveloping everything, with only stray beams of light filtering through from above. Carried by the White Dragon, she was on the cusp of breaking through the surface. In this dangerous moment, an unexpected sense of tranquility washed over her.

Gengchen and Yinhen caught up, and the White Dragon broke through the clouds, revealing a bright, clear sky.

Holding Yinhen, Gu Fuyou said, “Zhong Michu, do you trust me?”

The White Dragon responded with a low hum, and Gu Fuyou smiled towards the sunlight.

Yinhen shifted, and in front of the White Dragon, a formation began to form.

A teleportation formation.

Teleportation formations usually required one end to be anchored to the ground, like a bridge over a river, with one end always touching the land. Moreover, no one could instantly create a teleportation formation.

Yet, the formation that Gu Fuyou initiated was undeniably a teleportation formation.

Gu Fuyou didn’t activate the teleportation formation right away for two reasons. First, Qing Zhe’s suppression kept her too busy to open it; second, even though it was a teleportation formation, it was risky.

She had always been hesitant to use it because her connection with Yinhen was only superficial, unlike the deep, soul-deep understanding between Zhong Michu and Gengchen. Gu Fuyou wasn’t sure if the formation would work perfectly. A flawed teleportation could cut a person in half, and not even gods could save them.

But just moments ago, whether it was Yinhen awakening or her own enlightenment, her synergy with Yinhen reached a new realm. She believed that this teleportation formation would safely transport them away.

As Qing Zhe caught up to them. Gu Fuyou said, “Zhong Michu, fly into it.” The White Dragon obeyed, diving into the formation.

Gu Fuyou, standing on the White Dragon’s back, turned and smiled at Qing Zhe.

In the next instant, both were entirely within the teleportation formation. A flash of spiritual light, and the formation vanished.

Qing Zhe, for the first time since advancing to Immortalization, was utterly shaken. He muttered to himself, “Qing Jun, Di Yi…”

They safely emerged in another world. It was a one-way formation, and Gu Fuyou had no idea where it would lead. Anywhere was better than being under that Qingluan’s grasp.

Only now did Gu Fuyou feel exhaustion. She leaned forward, resting her chin on the White Dragon’s head, exclaiming, “That was close, we finally escaped.”

Her eyes landed on the White Dragon’s pair of horns. Zhong Michu’s Dragon horns had fully grown, looking somewhat different from when they first emerged, and they were stunningly beautiful. Overwhelmed by their allure, Gu Fuyou found herself compelled to reach out and touch them.

Suddenly, the White Dragon began to plummet, catching Gu Fuyou completely off guard. In a swift, unexpected change, the Dragon transformed back into its human form, now unconscious and falling rapidly downwards.

Gu Fuyou’s heart tightened. She caught Zhong Michu in her arms, shouting, “Zhong Michu!”

Following the intense battle and with her spiritual energy nearly exhausted, Gu Fuyou was relieved to find they weren’t far from the ground. She soon discovered a nearby cave and carefully laid Zhong Michu down inside, noting her unnaturally pale complexion. The memory of the numerous lightning strikes Zhong Michu had endured lingered in Gu Fuyou’s mind, keeping her anxiety from easing.

She checked Zhong Michu’s pulse and found her spiritual energy flowing smoothly. Then, she felt her heartbeat, which was regular.

Still uneasy, she hoped Zhong Michu had just fainted from exhaustion.

Gu Fuyou called out to Zhong Michu a few more times, but there was no response. She observed Zhong Michu’s closed eyes and the slight furrow of her eyebrows, a sign of distress even in unconsciousness. Frantically, Gu Fuyou searched through her own belongings for any medicines or pills, only to remember that she had brought nothing but the sword Yinhen and a bell. She then checked Zhong Michu’s body for any helpful items but found nothing to aid their situation.

Growing anxious, and with that anxiety came a rising irritability, making her wish she could destroy the cave with her sword.

She took a couple of deep breaths, attempting to calm her mind and suppress the rising agitation.

Zhong Michu was injured and needed her. She couldn’t afford to act recklessly at this moment.

She stayed by Zhong Michu’s side, and after regaining some of her spiritual power, she transferred some to Zhong Michu.

But Zhong Michu remained unconscious.

Anxiety bubbled up within her, and she called out to Zhong Michu, her voice tinged with panic.

She grew impatient. Perhaps Zhong Michu was alright, but for some inexplicable reason, she felt an overwhelming fear. She couldn’t keep her mind calm and imagined the worst possible outcomes, feeling as if Zhong Michu might pass away the next moment. The torment was too much, and she couldn’t sit still.

Stepping outside the cave, Gu Fuyou found herself deep in thought. She planned to restore more of her spiritual power and then leave with Zhong Michu in search of a healer. Up until this moment, her entire focus had been on Zhong Michu, leaving her oblivious to her surroundings.

As Gu Fuyou took a closer look around, she realized they were nestled in a lush green mountain landscape. The recent rain had passed, leaving the surroundings vividly rejuvenated. She noticed raindrops delicately clinging to the tips of leaves, as if hesitating to fall.

She wondered which continent they were on.

Standing at the cave entrance, Gu Fuyou looked around. Her ears perked up when she heard a slight movement inside the cave.

Her heart leaped with joy, nearly jumping with excitement. She hurried back inside the cave and found Zhong Michu half-kneeling on the ground, leaning against the wall, attempting to stand up.

With relief, Gu Fuyou exclaimed, “Zhong Michu.”

Zhong Michu tried to stand, swaying unsteadily like a drunk, her balance off. Gu Fuyou watched her sway and hit her head hard against the cave wall.

“Um…”

Gu Fuyou: “…”

Gu Fuyou thought Zhong Michu’s movements were hindered due to her injuries. She went over to support her, saying, “You’re hurt, you should lie down and rest.”

With Gu Fuyou’s support, Zhong Michu managed to stand, but she was still wobbly. To anyone unaware of the context, Gu Fuyou would have thought she was drunk.

Zhong Michu grasped Gu Fuyou’s hand and, after hesitating for a moment as if finding her words, said, “We can’t let our guard down. That Qing Zhe won’t give up easily. You need to come back to the Eastern Sea with me.”

Facing someone at the Immortalization stage is not easy. They got lucky this time since Qing Zhe showed mercy. Next time, they might not be so fortunate.

In the world now, besides Qing Zhe, only Di Jun is at the Immortalization stage. Only Di Jun can hold back Qing Zhe and ensure Gu Fuyou’s safety. Therefore, without any delay, Zhong Michu wanted to take Gu Fuyou back to the Eastern Sea immediately.

Zhong Michu didn’t notice anything odd, but as an outsider, Gu Fuyou could hear everything clearly.

When Zhong Michu spoke, her words were slurred, as if her tongue was tied in knots. She sounded like someone drunk, mumbling heavily.

Zhong Michu struggled, “We must leave, now, now, now, go…” The word seemed to get stuck in her mouth, taking her a while to spit it out. Only then did Zhong Michu realized something was off.

Seeing the amusement in Gu Fuyou’s eyes, Zhong Michu’s face froze. A flush of red swiftly climbed up from her porcelain-white skin, her entire face blushing.

Gu Fuyou gently touched the spot on Zhong Michu’s forehead where she’d hit the cave wall earlier, wiping away the dirt. “Did you get hit on the head by lightning or something?”

Zhong Michu remained silent. She tried to pull Gu Fuyou with her, but she herself was staggering so much that she couldn’t guide anyone.

After taking just one step, she faltered. Gu Fuyou quickly caught her, and in the process, both of them ended up kneeling on the ground.

Gu Fuyou asked, “Where are you taking me?”

Zhong Michu opened her mouth, about to speak, but seemed to think better of it and held back. A mischievous grin formed on Gu Fuyou’s face. She teased, “If you don’t explain clearly, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Eastern Sea.” Zhong Michu tried her best to speak clearly, but unfortunately, it didn’t come out as she intended.

“What?”

“…”

The dignified Dragon King of the Four Seas had never been in such a pitiable and embarrassing state before.

Gu Fuyou couldn’t help but burst into laughter. It began as a suppressed chuckle, but seeing that Zhong Michu couldn’t retort, she laughed even harder and more freely, to the point where tears formed and she ended up collapsing into Zhong Michu’s arms.

Eventually, she was out of breath and exclaimed, “Ouch!” Just a short while ago, she had thought that everything would be perfect if Zhong Michu remained silent. And today, Zhong Michu was really silent.

A silent Zhong Michu was incredibly cute, yet it also filled her with a strange sense of heartache.

Zhong Michu simply ignored her, biting her lower lip and turning her head away, refusing to look at Gu Fuyou’s emerging smile. Her ears turned as red as if they were about to bleed, and she didn’t say another word.

Once Gu Fuyou caught her breath, noticing Zhong Michu’s sulky demeanor, she said with a playful smile, “I’ll stop laughing, I was wrong. Don’t be mad. I get it, we’ll go to the Eastern Sea, right now, immediately.”