I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 42: Fighting the Ink Dragon Alone! The Harvest Time Has Arrived!

Immediately afterwards, a vast, ancient, and vibrant dazzling azure divine light, like a primordial beast awakening, suddenly burst forth from inside the passage, sweeping through it like a surging tide!

Wherever the blue light passed, the originally solid blue stone passage walls seemed to come alive, frantically squeezing and closing inwards!

In the blink of an eye, the passage, several meters high and wide enough for several people to walk side by side, vanished without a trace in the blue light, leaving the rock walls smooth as ever, as if the passage had never existed.

The ancient "Minor Five Elements Sumeru Restriction" was completely triggered, utterly sealing off the only "path to survival" connecting this underground world to the outside world!

Now, apart from Zhou Yuan and the enraged black dragon, there was no other living creature in the entire underground world, and there was no other exit.

Zhou Yuan took this risky move, putting himself in a desperate situation, precisely because his next goal was to kill this level-two black dragon, which was full of treasures, and obtain the treasure chest.

He did not want other cultivators to intrude at this crucial moment in the fierce battle and reap the benefits.

While demonic beasts are powerful, they are relatively simple-minded (or foolish), whereas cultivators are often more dangerous and unpredictable.

Above ground, in the stone hall.

Having just escaped death and still in shock, Nangong Wan and the surviving disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect were about to breathe a sigh of relief when they suddenly sensed a violent tremor coming from the direction of the passage behind them, along with the chilling fluctuations of an ancient restriction.

"This is—a Lesser Five Elements Sumeru Restriction?"

Nangong Wan sensed the aura of the restriction, and a hint of confusion flashed across her beautiful face.

A wave of relief washed over them. "Luckily, we got out in time—if we had been any later, we would probably have been trapped in that underground world and had to face that terrifying level two black dragon alone."

She glanced with lingering fear at the now vanished passageway, completely blocked by rocks, shook her head, and decisively ordered, "This place is no longer safe. Leave immediately and search for medicinal herbs in other marked areas!"

The underground world, a secluded and forbidden place.

The atmosphere was frozen solid, with intense killing intent and the oppressive aura of the dragon permeating every inch of space.

-

Zhou Yuan slowly turned around, facing the snow-white ink dragon that had gone berserk because its territory and treasures had been taken away. His eyes were calm and unwavering, only his fighting spirit was rising.

The black dragon coiled in mid-air, its cold, vertical pupils fixed on the tiny yet audacious human cultivator below. A low, threatening roar, like muffled thunder, emanated from its throat, and its demonic power surged, ready to strike.

Battle is imminent!

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, his internal energy surging. The recovery speed provided by the four mid-grade spirit stones in his equipment slot kept him at full health. Without any probing, he launched a furious and relentless offensive!

"Golden Sword Technique!"

With a thought, twelve golden sword blades shot out instantly, aiming directly at the relatively vulnerable parts of the black dragon, such as its eyes and throat.

The black dragon swung its sharp claws, its demonic power surging, easily dispersing the attack.

But Zhou Yuan's second and third waves of golden swords have already followed closely behind!

This is not about severely injuring the Ink Dragon with the Golden Sword Technique, but about continuously wearing it down, harassing it, and provoking it so that it cannot attack at will, while testing its defensive weaknesses and attack patterns.

"roar!"

The black dragon was enraged by the endless golden rain of swords, which, although not powerful enough to break through its defenses, was extremely annoying.

He opened his mouth and spat out a large amount of purple liquid, which covered the area where Zhou Yuan was located like a rain curtain.

Zhou Yuan's figure flashed repeatedly, pushing his Cloud-Stepping Boots to their limit, and he passed through the gap in the elixir at the last second.

The ground where they had stood was corroded into deep pits, making a hissing sound.

While dodging nimbly, he unleashed the Golden Sword Technique in an instant without stopping.

In the underground world, golden sword lights crisscrossed, almost forming a net of light that enveloped the massive body of the black dragon.

The black dragon either spewed out elixirs, tore apart the enemy with its claws, or swept across with its tail, using its powerful physical body and demonic energy to resist the seemingly endless attacks of the golden sword.

It occasionally lunges forward, attempting to close the distance and crush Zhou Yuan with its physical strength, but Zhou Yuan always manages to dodge at crucial moments thanks to his superior agility and speed, like a slippery fish.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the fierce back-and-forth.

An hour passed —

With the frantic replenishment from the four mid-grade spirit stones, Zhou Yuan's mana remained abundant, and the frequency of his instantaneous Golden Sword Technique did not decrease in the slightest.

As the Mo Jiao's attacks continued to be consumed at a high intensity, a slight, almost imperceptible, slowdown could be seen.

The intervals between its sprays of the liquid have become longer, and the coverage area has also slightly decreased.

Two hours have passed —

Faint white marks began to appear on the black dragon's snow-white scales, the result of countless golden sword strikes.

Although it failed to truly break through the defenses, it proved the effectiveness of this "dripping water wears away the stone" tactic.

In its roar, besides rage, there was also a hint of irritability and exhaustion.

The speed at which demonic energy recovers is clearly not keeping up with such intense consumption.

In contrast, Zhou Yuan, apart from being slightly tired due to prolonged intense concentration, still possessed surging magical power.

He even had the energy to spare, occasionally taking out some captured, low-quality defensive magic artifacts from his storage bag, like discarding disposable shields, to block the powerful attacks that the black dragon occasionally launched when it broke through the golden sword net.

Those high-grade, mid-grade, and even low-grade defensive magical artifacts often instantly dissipate their spiritual light and crumble under the sharp claws or elixir of the black dragon.

But Zhou Yuan didn't care at all. He had seized hundreds of magical artifacts on this trip, many of which were "useless" items, so he could make the most of them.

They use this junk to buy their own safety and time to adjust their pace.

The number of wounds on Mo Jiao's body began to increase. Although they were not deep, they accumulated to a considerable extent.

The dragon's blood dripped down from time to time, blooming like plum blossoms on its white scales.

Its movements slowed down noticeably. The fierce glint in its eyes remained, but it lacked the initial sharpness and instead showed a sluggishness born from a sense of powerlessness.

Zhou Yuan knew that the time was approaching. He maintained a steady pace, using his Golden Sword Technique to continuously apply pressure, patiently wearing down the physical strength and demonic power of this level-two demonic beast.

Three hours, four hours —

This battle has evolved into an extreme contest of willpower and endurance.

If an ordinary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator were to cast basic high-level spells with such frequency and intensity as Zhou Yuan, their mana would probably have been exhausted several times over.

However, Zhou Yuan, this "perpetual motion machine," dragged the battle into a protracted war of attrition, which was Mo Jiao's least forte.

Five hours have passed —

The black dragon's panting was like a broken bellows, heavy and clear.

Its body was covered in wounds, old and new, and bloodstains stained its snow-white flesh. The elixir it spewed out had become thinner and less powerful. It circled at a lower altitude, as if maintaining flight had become a burden.

Zhou Yuan was also extremely exhausted. Five consecutive hours of intense combat, requiring complete concentration, had taken a heavy toll on his mental strength. But his eyes grew brighter and brighter, for he saw the dawn of victory.

The black dragon's demonic power is almost depleted!

"It's time to end this!"

A fierce glint flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes. After dodging another weak claw attack from the black dragon, he did not continue to create distance and unleash his golden sword as before.

Instead, with a thought, the seemingly clumsy and heavy dark gold broadsword appeared beside him.

He didn't use the faster and more agile talisman dagger because he knew that the unparalleled "defense-breaking" characteristic of the Gold-Piercing Sword was the ultimate weapon against such tough-skinned monsters! It was just that its speed was relatively slow, and it was easy for the Ink Dragon to dodge or intercept it before.

But now, the time is ripe!

The black dragon's demonic power was weak, its body was exhausted, and its reaction speed and defense were much worse than before.

However, under Zhou Yuan's powerful divine sense, which was comparable to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, the speed of the Broken Gold Sword was not as slow as it appeared.

It just lacks a bit of dynamism and variation.

"go!"

Zhou Yuan gave a low shout, and the Broken Gold Sword transformed into a solid, dark golden stream of light, no longer pursuing flashy designs, but rather straight and...

With unstoppable momentum, it shot towards the ink dragon's slightly open maw, which was panting! There lay the inner cavity, relatively weaker in terms of scale protection!

The black dragon sensed danger and instinctively tried to close its mouth and turn its head to avoid it.

But in that very instant—

A golden light flickered between Zhou Yuan's brows.

They unleashed the full power of the "Twelve Assassins of the Divine Court".

A highly condensed, formless, and intangible divine sense spike, ignoring physical distance, instantly traversed space and pierced fiercely into the not-so-powerful demonic spirit of the black dragon!

"Ugh—!"

The massive body of the black dragon suddenly stiffened, its half-closed maw stopping abruptly.

A moment of bewilderment and excruciating pain flashed across his cold, vertical pupils!

The souls of demonic beasts are usually not as refined as those of cultivators of the same level, so the Twelve Thorns of the Divine Court are more effective against them!

It was that fatal moment of stillness!

The dark golden sword, like a comet striking the moon, shot into the gaping maw of the black dragon without any hindrance, tracing its throat and penetrating deep into its skull!

"laugh--!"

The dull thud of a sword blade piercing flesh rang out.

The black dragon's struggles abruptly ceased, and the fierce light in its eyes quickly dimmed, replaced by a deathly gray.

Its massive body froze in mid-air for a moment, then, as if all support had been removed, it crashed down, slamming heavily into the swampy mud below, stirring up a cloud of mud.

As the dust and mud gradually settled, the once ferocious level-two ink dragon was completely lifeless, its cold, scale-like body lying across the edge of the swamp.

"call--!"

Zhou Yuan exhaled a long, slow breath.

It wasn't weakness due to a lack of magical power; on the contrary, the magical power within him was still abundant and surging.

This breath was exhaled from the extreme mental exhaustion and tension brought on by nearly six consecutive hours of high-intensity combat.

But it was all worth it.

He looked at the corpse of the black dragon, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

This level-two black dragon is a treasure from head to toe: its skin, tendons, bones, blood, eyes, and horns are all excellent materials for refining top-level magical artifacts, elixirs, and even some special talismans, and their value is immeasurable.

And there's that mysterious treasure chest over there—

Zhou Yuan did not immediately deal with the dragon's corpse.

Instead, he cautiously scanned the entire underground world with his divine sense once more.

Only after confirming that there were no other hidden threats or creatures did he step towards the corpse of the black dragon.

Next, it's harvest time.

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