Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 165 Dragon King of the East China Sea
Hearing a thunderous sound from the sky, everyone was terrified and their souls nearly left their bodies. Coupled with the fierce wind and rain, the windboat became unstable in mid-air, swaying left and right, and everyone staggered, causing chaos in an instant.

"Quick! Back up the boat! Launch it!"

Xu Boyang was shocked for a moment, then shouted in a low voice.

Sun Ru was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to her senses and understood Xu Boyang's intention. She quickly cast a spell to stabilize the wind boat and put away the flying artifact. The dozen or so people fell down in a hurry.

Faced with such terrifying pressure, attempting to escape by using a magical artifact would be tantamount to suicide.

"thump!"

"thump!"

Everyone sank to the bottom of the water, each casting a "water-avoiding spell" and a "breath-concealing spell," huddled together, and looked upwards, not daring to breathe.

Suddenly, a loud bang came from the water, the earth shook, the waves surged, and a powerful spiritual energy, like a tidal wave, swept in from the water, instantly scattering the people underwater.

In the darkness, this wave surged powerfully, like a raging sea. Xu Boyang tried his best to steady himself, but still couldn't stop the backward momentum. Seeing the light emanating from Lü Yangxian's hand, he tried to resist and hurriedly used his spiritual sense to say:

"Lu Yangxian, don't use magic, you'll be discovered!"

Sun Shangli exerted all his spiritual sense to say:
"Fellow disciples, please do not use magical artifacts or spells, otherwise the fluctuations in spiritual energy will surely be detected."

Yu Qingmei responded in shock:
"Everyone goes with the flow, and we slowly retreat with the tide."

The group was swept dozens of miles away by a powerful wave of spiritual energy. They only gradually calmed down and regrouped after the wave subsided. They stared in disbelief at the dark, looming Huai Mountain in the distance, with its clouds churning endlessly.

Sun Rushi was horrified and muttered to herself:

"This is the Dragon King of the East Sea... This must be the Dragon King of the East Sea! That giant wave just now... Judging from this, he has already broken through the Yu Chuan Purple Mansion Formation!"

Yu Qingmei, recalling the sudden change in the weather, turned pale and asked:

"What is he doing here?"

After she asked the question, there was silence all around, because it was a pointless question to ask, as no one could answer it.

Sun Shangli's face darkened, and he sighed deeply:
"This Dragon King came from the west. Crossing Huai Mountain to the west leads to Dongke Town in Nanhuai. It seems... our home is no longer safe..."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the cultivators from Nanhuai all turned gloomy and they hung their heads in silence. Although they were unwilling to admit it, they had actually tacitly accepted Sun Shangli's conjecture.

Upon hearing this, Fei Wenyu was stunned and two tears streamed down her face.

"Never give up until the very last moment."

Xu Boyang gazed at the distant Huai Mountain and said in a deep voice,
"After all, no one knows whether the situation outside is good or bad without seeing it with their own eyes."

"Not bad!"

Fei Wenlong rarely spoke; his eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke.

"Since we have chosen to give up the opportunity to follow the Taoist priests, it is because we want to reunite with our families. Even if there is bitterness in the future, at least we will have our flesh and blood relatives by our side. Gentlemen, with Nanhuai in sight, we cannot give up easily."

"Yes, that's very true."

Yu Qingmei nodded in agreement.
"Fellow disciples, don't panic. If it really doesn't work, we can go around from another place."

"Making it even more difficult."

Sun Ru gave a bitter laugh and slowly said,

“Going south of Huai Mountain is the shortest and least risky route to Nanhuai. If Feng Qing goes south, there is Taihe Town, which is right next to Nanwu. That place is probably more dangerous than here. Otherwise, you have to go north to Jinguang Town in Yunfu, then go around Qiumu Mountain, a branch of Huai Mountain, to the south bank of Xinyue Lake, and then go south to reach Nanhuai.”

"But is it possible to go to Yunfu?"

"Don't rush to change course; it's better to observe the situation first before making a decision."

Xu Boyang shook his head and said something, his eyes flashing with fire as he stared intently at the dark clouds that shrouded Huai Mountain in the distance.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared amidst the dark clouds. As the waves at the foot of Huai Mountain gradually subsided, the dark clouds churned even more violently.

"They've appeared!"

Xu Boyang's eyes lit up, and he let out a low shout.

The cultivators looked in that direction and immediately opened their eyes in terror, their mouths agape and their faces drained of color.

Under the moonlight, a huge shadow appeared before Huai Mountain. When the shadow appeared, it was accompanied by countless dark clouds. As the clouds surged, a violent storm arose.

This enormous shadow was even taller than Huai Shan.

Suddenly, an enormous, three-toed claw covered in black scales emerged from the clouds. The claw shimmered in the moonlight, each scale emitting a faint glow. Its long, curved toenails spread out, resembling three giant scimitars made of black jade.

The claw reached out and grabbed a mountain peak on Huai Mountain!
Zhang Guanzhi was terrified, his soul almost leaving his body, and he stammered in a low voice:

"Three-toed dragon claw!"

Sun Rushi's face was stiff, and her voice trembled:

"It's a dragon! It's Ao Shenchang, the Dragon King of the East Sea!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the three-toed dragon claw slammed down on the mountain peak. In an instant, the mountain collapsed and the earth cracked, the dark rocks on the peak shattered into countless boulders that rolled down the mountainside.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The boulder rolled into the water, creating countless waves.

With this single grab, an entire mountain peak on Huai Mountain vanished.

Everyone stared in disbelief, completely stunned. Xu Boyang hadn't expected the dragon to be so enormous; these mortal cultivators were probably no more than ants in its presence.

Ants are probably similar.

"Is this the dragon?"

Xu Boyang was shocked on the spot, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead, and he thought to himself:
"It's true that you can't know without comparison. Just this little bit of it is no less than the Red-Headed Demon. If the Red-Headed Demon stood in front of it, it would probably be like an infant in swaddling clothes."

Fortunately, the group was swept dozens of miles away by the giant wave. Otherwise, if they were still at the foot of Huai Mountain, the appearance of the East Sea Dragon King would have killed them, if not crushed by its claws, but crushed by the boulders rolling down from Huai Mountain.

After all, these boulders are as big as houses and probably weigh thousands of kilograms. Even if one has supernatural powers to protect oneself and uses magical artifacts to break one or two pieces, it would probably not be able to stop these rolling stones from falling like rain.

Just then, another dragon claw emerged from the dark clouds and grabbed at Huai Mountain once more. Another mountain peak vanished, and countless rocks fell into the water.

"What...is it doing?"

Xie Shuge frowned, a look of surprise on her face.

"Yes!"

Fei Wenyu asked curiously, "Why is it grabbing this Huai Shan?"

"This beast drowned so many people; he must be trying to cover his tracks!"

Xu Boyang gritted his teeth, watching helplessly as the giant dragon hidden in the clouds stretched out its claws and ripped off countless rocks, burying the entire Fengqing Town in a matter of moments, while he was powerless to stop it.

But as soon as he said this, Xu Boyang himself felt it was irrelevant. However, he was filled with resentment but powerless to do anything about it, so he could only spit out a curse in anger.

“My son…” A muffled thunderous voice echoed through the heavens and earth, reaching everyone’s ears. The voice had become much softer and was almost inaudible, but the sharp aura it contained still made their ears ache.

Sun Shangli's expression changed drastically: "What did he say?"

Yu Qingmei asked in surprise and doubt: "It said...my son?"

Everyone was quite surprised, exchanging bewildered glances, unsure of the meaning, yet daring not to discuss it further, lest the giant dragon overhear. Xu Boyang felt a chill run down his spine, pondered for a moment, and whispered:

"I'll go up and listen. Don't worry about me, everyone. Just be careful!"

After saying that, he flashed and quietly leaped forward across the water.

"It seems Brother Xu is a busybody. Wait for me."

Xie Shuge smiled, her black clothes fluttering, and followed after him, stepping on the water.

"You two..."

Sun Rushi was shocked by the audacity of these two men. She was frantic and wanted to stop them, but before she could finish speaking, they had already vanished into the mist stirred up by the waves. She could only say dejectedly:
"...It's practically suicide."

Seeing that the two dared to eavesdrop on the Dragon King's words, Yu Qingmei was truly audacious and immediately shouted coldly:
"We, the cultivators of Nanhuai, shall remain where we are and await orders. We shall not act rashly."

Xu Boyang noticed that Xie Shuge was moving like a rabbit and had followed. He didn't say anything. The two of them walked silently for more than ten miles. As they got closer, they felt that the dragon was so huge that it was simply unbelievable.

"My son... I'm finally able to come see you..."

Another earth-shattering voice came from the sky. The two of them felt their ears ringing and their vision blurring. Their minds were in turmoil, and they dared not get any closer. They stopped and hid in front of a rock.

"Five hundred years... a full five hundred years..."

The giant dragon hidden in the clouds kept grabbing at the rocks of Huai Mountain. In no time, it had completely shattered the southern part of Huai Mountain on the Fengqing Town side. The huge southern part of Huai Mountain was broken into pieces in the blink of an eye.

As the claws gradually increased their speed, countless rocks were no longer simply rolling down, but were thrown out and fell into the water.

The scene was like a meteor shower falling from the sky, with water splashing everywhere and loud noises echoing continuously.

Xie Shuge said softly:

"Could it be that a dragon is buried beneath Mount Huai?"

"Judging from what it says, it's most likely true."

As Xu Boyang watched it dig deeper and deeper, he wondered to himself. He had grown up at the foot of Huai Mountain since he was a child and had never heard of the legend of a dragon corpse on Huai Mountain.

“My son…where are your remains? This group of beastly Daoists must have torn your bones and tendons to make magic weapons. Otherwise, why have I been searching for you all this time, from north to south, and still haven’t found any trace of you?”

"My son... I'm so sorry..."

As he spoke, he suddenly choked, and said in a trembling voice,
"My son, is that you?"

Xu Boyang's expression changed slightly. He saw the enormous three-toed dragon claw raised high, its three curved nails gripping a small, crescent-shaped, shimmering white scale. Then he heard Xie Shuge quietly ask:
"Brother Xu, can you see clearly what that is?"

Xie Shuge's cultivation level was only at the ninth level of the Qi Condensation stage, so he couldn't learn more powerful pupil techniques. The object on the dragon's claw was too small and too fine, so he couldn't see it very clearly. He only felt that it was a spiritual object that was shimmering with a faint white light.

But Xu Boyang was different; he had sharp eyes and saw everything clearly!
"This must be the dragon's reverse scale!"

Xu Boyang clearly remembered what Su Yanlu, also known as Pei Yansu, said when describing Ni Lin. He couldn't help but gasp. He hadn't expected that there was really a dragon corpse buried on Huai Mountain. Judging from the tone of the East Sea Dragon King, it must be his dragon son, who had been buried for five hundred years.

With such a massive size and such formidable strength, who could possibly kill this dragon here?

"Could this Huai Mountain be the transformed corpse of a dragon?"

Xie Shuge couldn't help but exclaim softly in amazement.

Xu Boyang pondered for a moment and said:

"Impossible. Dragons are treasures from head to toe, and they can't turn into rocks unless..."

Xie Shuge was taken aback: "Unless what?"

Xu Boyang sighed softly:
"Unless someone uses great supernatural powers to move mountains and peaks and suppress this dragon here, everything can be explained."

"Move mountains and shift peaks!"

Xie Shuge's expression changed upon hearing this; she clearly found it hard to believe and shook her head.

"Impossible. How high must one's cultivation and strength be to unleash such a divine power? Brother Xu, what you're saying is rather shocking."

“My son… truly my son, this is my son’s Achilles’ heel… this is my son’s Achilles’ heel!”

Before the two could finish their conversation, the Dragon King of the East Sea suddenly burst out with a shout after muttering to himself!
This sudden, deafening roar was like thunder in the night sky, its power spreading in all directions, as if the entire Qing Shen was enveloped by it!

"Xu Fengbai! Qi Fuyao! You two treacherous Daoist disciples! For the sake of your Daoist sect's revival, you actually used my son as a spiritual vein to suppress him here for five hundred years, using his remains to allow your disciples and grand-disciples to drain his marrow day and night!"

"I hate it so much! I hate it so much!"

"Xu Fengbai! Back then, you forced me to flee everywhere, and I only managed to escape your clutches by hiding in the 'Earthly Soul Embracing Heaven' at the bottom of the Endless Sea. But I never imagined that when I emerged, I would find you already dead!"

"Qi Fuyao! You think you've reached the late stage of the Purple Mansion realm and are invincible in this world, but little do you know you're like a frog in a well, ignorant of the vastness of the world. I've been plotting for three hundred years, finally leading you into the abyss! Hahaha..."

"Today, I, the King, will flood Qingshen to avenge the blood and tears of my Qiulong clan over the past thousand years, and to avenge the injustice suffered by my son over the past five hundred years!"

The two were struck dumb, their faces changing drastically, and they both cried out at the same time:
"Not good! Let's go!"

The two figures retreated rapidly from behind the rocks. Suddenly, the clouds and mist churned, obscuring the sky and moon in the blink of an eye. It was pitch black all around, so dark that one could not see their own hand in front of their face, and the water in all directions surged wildly.

Xu Boyang looked back and saw that the cloud had disappeared without a trace. Through his pupil technique, he pierced through the cloud and his face turned as pale as paper.

A massive black dragon with scaly scales and fur swam its body, flew above the clouds, stared with eyes as large as the moon, and spat out a dark, black bead.

As soon as the bead flew out, it emitted a ghostly light, and the surrounding clouds gathered wildly, accompanied by continuous lightning and thunder.

In an instant, the water below seemed to come alive, and towering waves surged around the shattered Huai Mountain!
"Get out!"

Seeing the giant waves pile up higher and higher, eventually forming a mountain-like shape, Xu Boyang and Xie Shuge quickly retreated, shouting loudly to the people of Nanhua ahead.

It wasn't until the cultivators of Nanhuai saw the two figures that they could clearly see the towering waves surging behind them in the pitch-black night!

"Master Sun, the dragon is in the sky, there's no need to conceal our presence. Use the Wind Boat at full speed!"

Xu Boyang shouted urgently.

Seeing the colossal wave, as large as a mountain, Sun Rushi was terrified. She dared not be careless and immediately summoned her magic boat, [Wu Chui Feng], shouting:
"Come up quickly!"

As everyone hurriedly boarded the wind-blown boat, the giant wave was already upon them, accompanied by a violent storm that swept across the land. Sun Rushi cried out in despair:
"Oops!"

Just as the giant wave was about to engulf everyone on the boat in the endless marshland, at this critical moment, golden rays of light suddenly burst forth from the dark clouds in the sky.

These golden rays, like the light of heaven, tore through the dark clouds, forming pillars of light that shone upon the earth.

"Amitabha…"

(End of this chapter)