No one expected Shen Yi to be the first to strike.
He gripped his ceremonial blade tightly, the dark light on the blade quickly fading, transforming into a soul-piercing black.
This was his first full-powered attack since reaching the peak of the Jade Liquid Realm.
The perfected Greedy Wolf Evil-Slaying technique, bolstered by his profound cultivation, displayed an unprecedented sharpness.
Clang!
The ceremonial blade slashed down without the grand momentum of previous sword auras.
It was silent, pure, and razor-sharp.
The Alligator Dragon, already on guard in its anger, couldn't muster much caution against such a blade.
But as the dark blade approached, a chill shot up from its feet to its head.
Its expression changed, and it stomped the ground, smashing its scaled elbow toward the blade.
Flesh against steel!
Crack, crack!
No sound of slicing flesh, no clang of metal.
Instead, the scales on the Alligator Dragon's arm stood up like curved blades.
The ceremonial blade didn't cut into its flesh but scraped off a layer of scales.
Seizing the moment, the Alligator Dragon spun around, its broad robe flaring as a thick, powerful tail whipped out, as if forged from solid steel, slamming toward Shen Yi's arm.
Facing the demon's hidden killing move, Shen Yi's eyes turned cold.
His perfected blade technique allowed him to strike again in an instant.
Just as the blade was about to connect, the steel-hard tail suddenly became soft and flexible.
The earlier ferocity was just a feint.
It didn't clash with the blade but instead wrapped around Shen Yi's arm.
In the next moment, the scales on the tail also stood up.
Rip!
In a single spin, three killing moves were hidden.
The silk sleeve tore, stained with dark red.
The Alligator Dragon's expression darkened.
Its scales, nurtured for a thousand years, weren't just ordinary scales but a treasure armor that could both attack and defend.
It was its most prized possession.
Yet, in just one exchange, dozens of scales had been shaved off by that strange black blade.
The pain in its heart was far greater than the minor injury Shen Yi had suffered.
The Alligator Dragon's eyes flared with ferocity.
It exerted more force, aiming to crush Shen Yi's entire arm in one go.
But then, it noticed Shen Yi opening his palm, his fingers tightly gripping its tail.
"You, a mere martial artist, dare to wrestle with me?"
The Alligator Dragon found the idea both amusing and infuriating.
If martial artists could match the physical strength of naturally born demons, there would be no need for martial techniques.
Before this thought could fade, everything in its vision suddenly flipped.
Shen Yi, gripping the alligator tail, swung it into the air and slammed it down without resistance!
Boom!
The Alligator Dragon tumbled out, its rough claws digging into the stone ground like rakes.
It shook its flat head, its bulging eyes dazed.
Then, as if realizing something, it raised its head, excitement written all over its face.
It had thought Shen Yi had only absorbed a trace of the dragon's bloodline from the dragon core.
But now... it seemed he had absorbed it perfectly!
"Roar!"
Its eyes turned blood-red as it let out a roar.
The sharp, piercing sound of excitement caught the attention of others.
Just as Shen Yi made his move, over twenty Golden Eagle Captains quickly threw out their chains, trapping the Furious Sword Elder.
The so-called Demon-Suppressing Formation wasn't purely a martial technique.
Besides the method, the chains' material was key, greatly hindering the flow of energy.
But only if they could lock onto their target.
The formation's core, originally meant for Zhao Kanglin, was now occupied by Hong Lei.
The coordination was clumsy, almost like each fighting on their own.
The outer camp captains were in a similar state.
Unaccustomed to joint attacks, and having been temporarily reassigned from different lieutenants, they had only a few days to adjust.
They barely knew their comrades' strengths.
Under these circumstances, a group of initial-stage martial artists couldn't even get close, and some even risked causing more harm.
Amidst all this, the elder wielded a five-foot-long sword like a tiger among sheep.
Fortunately, Hong Lei had a solid foundation.
Though he didn't know how to coordinate the Demon-Suppressing Formation, he at least knew the elder feared the chains.
Using this advantage, he could barely hold on for a short while.
The elder was clearly using a secret technique to burn his life force, briefly returning to his peak.
But even the technique wasn't fully effective, and his aura was visibly weakening.
If they could just hold out for three incense sticks' worth of time... they wouldn't even need to fight; the elder would die on his own.
But the question was, how many more would die in those three incense sticks?
And more importantly, behind them was a peak Jade Liquid Realm demon.
No matter how strong Shen Yi was, how long could he hold out?
The silver-haired elder casually swung his sword, releasing powerful sword auras.
Hong Lei could dodge, but the Golden Eagle Captains holding the chains couldn't.
He couldn't just watch the formation fall apart, so he gritted his teeth and took the hits.
Countless poisoned darts and arrows flew toward the elder.
He didn't dodge, letting them pierce his skin before casually brushing them off.
Deadly poison meant nothing to a man already on the brink of death.
Even the Alligator Dragon's roar was more attention-grabbing.
The elder turned to look.
The demon's blue robe was in tatters, clearly enraged.
With each step, the ground trembled slightly.
Opposite it, Shen Yi slowly sheathed his ceremonial blade.
"Hmm?"
The elder's cloudy eyes showed confusion.
To him, the young man's aura was still strong, far from exhaustion.
Why was he putting away his blade?
Then, Shen Yi answered his question with action.
With a gentle lift of his hand, the quiet night suddenly filled with eerie crimson dots.
A murderous aura spread, turning the area into a hellish landscape.
The elder tightened his grip on his sword, his calm heart finally stirring.
He had seen something similar before.
It was a technique the Qingzhou Commander had used in his youth, called the Four Harmonies True Aura.
It had earned him great fame across Qingzhou.
Among the five supreme techniques, mastering just one was said to allow one to dominate peers.
But even the Commander's aura back then wasn't as dense, as bone-chillingly murderous, or as crimson and demonic as this.
He couldn't imagine how he would feel standing under this rain of blood-red aura.
"Roar!"
The aura rain poured down, each drop accurately hitting the Alligator Dragon.
The thousand-year-old demon from the Yangchun River was forced back, its treasured armor engulfed in demonic flames, almost instantly consumed.
The only sound left was a heart-wrenching wail.
At that moment, the young man, standing with his hands at his sides, suddenly looked over.
Then, he raised his hand again.
"..."
The Furious Sword Elder looked up at the crimson dots forming above him, ready to strike.
His cloudy eyes grew dimmer.
His hand went limp, and the five-foot-long sword fell to the ground with a crisp clang.
It wasn't fear.
It was just that everything had lost its meaning.
Under this aura rain, the three incense sticks' worth of time he had fought so hard to gain now seemed utterly pointless.
Author's Note:
Failed.
I wanted to reach 200,000 words before the official release, but my brain is fried.
I'll try to break 10,000 words a day next time.
Oh no, I messed up Chapter 75! I accidentally posted the draft version before editing.
I've already reposted the corrected version.
(End of Chapter)