Man in the heavens, wins by lying down to prove the truth

Chapter 369 The Second Fragment of the Heavenly Dao

In an instant, a vast divine sense rippled outwards, penetrating deep into the layers of dark clouds, and discerning the dragon stirring up trouble.

With just one glance, Zhou Cheng could see the dragon's true nature, that it was undergoing its final transformation into a true dragon.

"Transforming into a dragon through water..."

Zhou Cheng understood that this was a dragon or serpent that had been cultivating in seclusion for many years, intending to take advantage of the time when the water vapor was abundant during the transition from spring to summer to perform the act of "transforming into a dragon by walking on water".

Shedding its demonic aura, it transformed from a monstrous dragon into a true dragon.

If this dragon simply drifts downstream without deliberately harming the creatures on both banks, Zhou Cheng will not interfere with this destiny.

But at this moment, he sensed that the dragon's might permeating the wind and rain carried a kind of frenzy and urgency, and the torrential rain it caused was far beyond the ordinary, having lost its rationality.

"Boom--!"

The muffled thunder rumbled like war drums rolling across the low sky. The rain intensified, showing no sign of abating.

Zhou Cheng stopped traveling and settled into a simple guest room behind Zhang Ji's mutton soup restaurant. He sat cross-legged on the couch, his mind reaching to the heavens and the earth, encompassing all directions, closely watching the wind and rain in the direction of the great river and the restless dragon's might.

In the latter half of the night, the wind and rain intensified, and the thunder became more frequent.

“Bang, bang, bang——!!!”

"The dike is breaching! The river is about to burst its banks! Men, grab your weapons and get to the dike!!!"

The shrill, urgent sound of gongs and the hoarse, desperate cries pierced through the raging wind and rain, instantly tearing apart the silence of Linhe County!
Immediately afterwards, the entire county town erupted into chaos, like an anthill thrown into boiling water. Shouts, screams, and children's cries mingled together.

Soon, lanterns and torches were lit one by one, their faint light flickering stubbornly in the torrential rain, like struggling fire dragons, converging with difficulty towards the river embankment outside the city.

"Quick! Quick! Sacks, straw mats, door panels, grab whatever you can!"

"Ergouzi, take some men to Old Li's house and move the stone mill!"

"Women and children run to higher ground, men, follow me to the embankment!"

The rough roar was intermittent in the wind and rain, and not very clear.

Linhe County is already impoverished, and the dikes have been in disrepair for years. Once the dikes break, the raging floodwaters will pour into this low-lying county town, causing catastrophic destruction in an instant.

Inside the guest room, Zhou Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

Outside the window, the torchlight flickered in the gale, illuminating countless figures rushing to the embankment. The dragon's might permeated the void, now reaching its peak, carrying a destructive power about to be unleashed.

"The fire is about to start."

The gentle, peaceful light in Zhou Cheng's eyes gradually faded, and his expression became solemn.

He stood up, pushed open the door, and stepped into the torrential rain and boundless darkness. His blue robe fluttered in the wind, yet not a single raindrop touched his body.

"If you can't wake him up, then... just kill him."

……

“Boom-ka-!!!”

A pale bolt of lightning tore through the inky sky, illuminating the murky world in a ghastly white light.

On the embankment in Linhe County, countless men carrying sandbags and holding stones were terrified by the nearby thunderclap and instinctively looked up.

In that split second, deep within the churning leaden clouds, a massive, menacing shadow covered in dark blue scales meandered past.

The massive outline of the dragon's head, with its cold, vertical pupils, even if only glimpsed briefly, is enough to be etched into the depths of one's soul, bringing a fear that originates from the very instinct of life.

"A dragon! It's a dragon!" someone screamed, their voice distorted with extreme terror.

"The River Dragon King is angry! He's going to take people away!" The old village head knelt down in the mud with a thud, his face ashen, and kowtowed repeatedly towards the direction of the river.

Panic spread like a plague among the people, and the already crumbling dam was on the verge of collapse.

However, what arrived even faster than the fear was the deafening roar, like ten thousand horses galloping and mountains collapsing.

“Rumble——!!!”

To the northwest, a waterline connecting heaven and earth, carrying the power to destroy everything, expands and advances at a visible speed.

That was no ordinary flood peak, but a turbid giant wave that was lifted high by an invisible force, forming a roaring and moving wall of water tens of meters high!

The dragon is moving through the water, it has begun!

"It's over...it's all over..." The strong man watched helplessly as the destructive wall of water pressed down on him. The straw rope he was clutching tightly slipped from his hand, and his burly body slumped limply in the cold muddy water as if his spine had been removed, his eyes vacant.

"The crops... the crops that have just sprouted ears..." The old farmer clung tightly to a tree stump protruding from the water, his turbid tears mixed with rainwater streaming down his face, his chapped lips trembling.

"Block it! Block it now!"

The county constable roared at the top of his lungs, personally carrying a bag of earth and stones as he rushed toward a newly discovered piping.

The gushing water was initially only the size of a bowl, bubbling with turbid water. But in just a few breaths, it was as if it had been torn apart by an invisible giant beast, instantly expanding to the size of a washbasin. Turbid water mixed with mud and sand gushed out, making a terrifying "hissing" sound.

Immediately afterwards, from all parts of the dam, like a sieve that had been punctured, jets of turbid water shot into the sky!

“Boom—crash!”

It was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, or like a dam that could no longer withstand the violent force coming from the bottom of the water and from within.

A section of the dike, more than ten feet long, suddenly collapsed inward, and the turbid floodwaters, carrying broken wood and stones, roared like a giant beast breaking free from its cage, pouring in with a deafening roar!
"mother--!"

“Run!”

The desperate cries and piercing screams were instantly drowned out by the deafening roar of the water.

Countless figures were mercilessly swept up and swallowed by the first torrent, like fallen leaves in a storm.

At this moment——

A powerful Daoist aura rippled outwards, and for a moment, time seemed to stand still.

The torrential rain, suspended in mid-air, formed millions of crystal-clear water droplets.

The roaring, raging floodwaters, poised to destroy everything, were strangely still, frozen in place.

Suddenly, the wind stopped and the rain ceased, and even the deafening roar disappeared.

The survivors on the dam and those trapped in the water looked around blankly.

Then, they witnessed an astonishing scene.

Before the raging flood, above the still rain curtain, a figure in a green robe stood silently in mid-air—it was Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng was not tall, his blue robe remained still in the frozen wind, and he had no dazzling radiance.

Zhou Cheng stood there, as if he had existed there since time immemorial, the only real anchor point in this false world.

All the chaos, destruction, and despair came to an end at this moment.

Zhou Cheng's gaze pierced through the solidified turbid waves, landing on the azure-scaled dragon hidden deep within the raging torrents. At this moment, the dragon's vertical pupils were crimson, filled with a violent and chaotic desire, its intelligence completely devoured by its instinct to transform into a dragon through water.

"Beast!"

Zhou Cheng's voice was not loud, but it was like a great bell resounding from the heavens: "In order to transform himself into a dragon, he has brought disaster to the lives of countless people on both sides of the strait. He should be executed!"

The frozen dragon seemed to be moved; a faint struggle flashed in its crimson vertical pupils, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a deeper madness.

A deep, destructive roar echoed out, and the massive body suddenly thrashed in the still water!
"Roar--!"

It seemed as if the frozen spacetime was forcibly shaken.

Its massive tail, covered in barbs, carrying a terrifying power capable of shattering mountains, swept relentlessly toward the figure blocking its path to becoming a dragon.

Where the dragon's tail passed, the frozen floodwaters groaned under the weight of the storm, and the boundless spiritual energy of heaven and earth was stirred up, crashing towards Zhou Cheng.

Faced with this devastating attack, Zhou Cheng remained calm. He simply raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers joined together, and gently gestured towards the churning dark clouds above.

"Edict."

He uttered a single word with an air of authority, as if it contained the law of heaven.

In an instant, countless silver snakes danced wildly and converged towards Zhou Cheng's fingertips.

Countless tiny bolts of lightning intertwined and entwined in the void, eventually coalescing into a longsword about three feet long, made entirely of pure lightning.

This sword has no sheath, and its blade is covered with purple-white plasma, where countless fine, dazzling, and incredibly complex runes are condensed.

Those were runes manifested from the rules of divine punishment, flickering and dazzlingly bright within the sword light.

The moment the sword was formed, a vast and mighty aura emanated from it!
Zhou Cheng pointed his fingers like a sword and gently slashed at the ferocious dragon tail that was sweeping towards him.

A purplish-white sword light, refined to its utmost, was slashed out silently, like the first ray of light piercing through chaos.

"Tsk-!"

The sword light made contact with the dragon's tail, which was covered in thick scales. The dragon's scales, which were harder than immortal gold and could withstand the bombardment of ordinary immortal treasures, were as fragile as rotten wood in front of this sword light that contained the power of heavenly punishment.

The sword light easily sliced ​​into flesh and blood, leaving deep, charred wounds that exposed bone. The destructive power of lightning instantly invaded its body, frantically destroying its demonic form and meridians!
"Ouch——!!!"

The dragon let out a bloodcurdling howl, its massive body convulsing and tumbling violently.

For the first time, fear appeared in its crimson vertical pupils. The power of the thunder not only brought excruciating physical pain, but also directly burned its frenzied soul.

Zhou Cheng remained indifferent, wielding the Heavenly Punishment Sword, which transformed into an incomparably swift bolt of lightning, weaving and slicing around the frantically struggling dragon!
"Sizzle! Sizzle sizzle sizzle!"

Each flash of sword light left a terrifying wound on the dragon, deep enough to expose bone, with billowing smoke rising from it.

The dragon's pride in its strength and speed appears clumsy and laughable in the face of this Heavenly Punishment Sword.

It could only writhe in vain, letting out painful roars as it retreated step by step.

In just a short while, its massive body was covered in wounds, and its aura rapidly weakened.

Zhou Cheng looked at the giant beast struggling in pain, a hint of regret in his eyes.

Heaven cherishes life, and it is not easy for dragons and chimeras to cultivate themselves. To reach the stage of transforming into a dragon is even more rare, one in ten thousand.

Its current madness is not due to its inherent evil nature, but rather because its intelligence has been completely clouded by its obsession with transforming into a dragon and some unknown influence, and it is indeed impossible to awaken it.

"So be it." Zhou Cheng sighed softly, and was about to activate the Heavenly Punishment Sword to grant it its final release.

Just as Zhou Cheng's thoughts were about to turn and his murderous intent was about to arise, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

hum!
Within Zhou Cheng's inner world, in that vast and boundless, mysterious place that seemed to contain all the stars in the heavens, a spot suddenly lit up.

It was not ordinary starlight, but a faint glimmer that had been dormant for a long time, but now suddenly burst forth with a warm and clear light. It was the star that had been transformed from the fragment of the Heavenly Dao obtained from Song Shuhang's body.

At the same time, inside the battered and dying dragon outside, as if summoned by an invisible force, a faint, almost imperceptible but essentially identical light pierced through its violent and chaotic aura and quietly emerged!

Two fragments, resonating across time!
Zhou Cheng's mind raced, and he instantly realized: "This dragon also has a fragment of the Heavenly Dao."

Then, with a slight thought, the starlight in Zhou Cheng's inner vision shone brightly, and an invisible force of attraction emanated from his body.

"call out!"

The faint light rising from the dragon's body, like a swallow returning to its nest, instantly detached from its body, ignored spatial barriers, and entered Zhou Cheng's brow, falling directly into his inner vision.

It complements the previous fragment of a star, creating a more stable and harmonious rhythm.

The moment the fragment of Heavenly Dao separated from the dragon.

"Um……"

The enormous dragon, which had been struggling wildly and driven only by destructive instincts, suddenly stopped and came to a complete halt.

Immediately afterwards, the violent and chaotic emotions receded like a tide.

The dragon's gaze swept across the heavens and earth, finally settling on the figure in green robes standing in mid-air.

"A long, weak, yet humane roar came from the dragon's mouth.

The dragon's enormous head slowly lowered, and its crimson vertical pupils regained their clarity.

An aged, weary voice, filled with endless guilt, resounded directly in Zhou Cheng's heart:

“Please, True Man, have mercy. The wicked dragon Ao Cang, as the river god of the great river, has been worshipped by the people on both banks for hundreds of years. However, he was blinded by demons and lost his true nature, almost causing a great disaster. He deserves to die ten thousand times to atone for his sins. I only beg you, True Man, to grant me death so that I may atone for the sins of the people.”

Zhou Cheng looked at the old dragon, who was barely breathing, and sighed in silence.

Then Zhou Cheng waved his hand, and the suspended Heavenly Punishment Sword turned into specks of lightning and dissipated into the world.

“Ao Cang”.

Zhou Cheng's voice was calm, containing an inexplicable Daoist charm: "Your opportunity to transform into a dragon has not yet been exhausted. At this moment, you should calm your mind, draw upon the spiritual essence of the Great Dao, and leap over the Dragon Gate by going through water and entering the sea."

"The flood disaster here will be resolved by Mr. Zhou."

Seeing the disbelief in the dragon's eyes, Zhou Cheng continued speaking.

"The only thing you need to do is to successfully transform into a dragon, govern a region, bring rain and blessings to all living beings, and atone for your past sins."

Ao Cang's enormous body trembled violently, then he lowered his dragon form and bowed to Zhou Cheng.

"The True Man is merciful... If the evil dragon can successfully transform into a dragon, he will spend the rest of his life atoning for all the things he has done today."

Zhou Cheng discerned Qing Lin's emotions, nodded slightly, and waved his hand, saying, "Go."

"hold head high--!!!"

Suddenly, a powerful dragon roar resounded through the sky!
Following the water veins, the Azure Scaled Dragon harnessed an even purer and more expansive force of heaven and earth water, hurtling towards the eastern sea, and began its transformation into a dragon once more.

(End of this chapter)