Jiuxiao's Dragon Might!

Screeech!!! A fierce, shrill screech suddenly pierced the air! Almost by instinct, Li Guanqi started to raise his hand. Yet before he could strike, Jiuxiao leaped from his wrist, abruptly expanding into a hundred-foot-long dragon, and thrust a claw clean through the skull of a great leopard demon. Plucking out its beast core, he shoved it into his maw and chewed down voraciously. Li Guanqi frowned. Looking out, he found they were surrounded by vast, mist-shrouded mountain ranges. Glancing down at the leopard demon's corpse, however, he noticed it was skin and bones, covered head to toe in ghastly wounds. Aside from the beast that had just ambushed them, the entire forest was eerily, frighteningly silent. Mountain mist swirled through the withered, decaying ancient trees—a far cry from the vibrant life they had imagined. Meng Wanshu's beautiful eyes shone with solemn concern. Closing her eyes to focus her senses, she said softly, "Something isn't right. There's no end in sight to this forest, and flight is suppressed here. Aside from this demon beast, I can't detect any signs of life." Pengluo twitched his nose and frowned. "What a foul, rotting stench. This domain is nearing the very end of its lifespan." Li Guanqi furrowed his brows, suddenly feeling that this domain was quite different from what he had pictured. He had originally thought this place merely housed a Qilin Soul. Now, though, even if he wanted to ask Xuan Lin, he couldn't; the space within this domain could not transmit any messages outward at all. Li Guanqi's eyes flickered, and he said in a heavy voice, "Come, let's head in and take a look." They descended to the ground, and Jiuxiao coiled back around Li Guanqi's wrist. Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu flitted forward to the forest entrance, where a faint path led inward. Beside the entrance stood a colossal stone stele carved with four large characters: 'Illusory Forest.' Li Guanqi gazed at the words with a tight frown, unsure what they meant. Meng Wanshu frowned as well, reaching out to brush away the thick dust coating the stone. Channeling her primal energy, she soon discovered a line of smaller script carved near the base: "A solemn warning to those who follow: do not, under any circumstances, take a detour!" The strokes were bold and forceful, evidently carved with the tip of a blade by a mighty cultivator to warn those who came after. Taking a deep breath, Li Guanqi looked up at the mist-wreathed woods and said, "Let's go in." Pengluo piped up, "Are you really going to believe what this person wrote? Wouldn't it be easier if we just dashed straight across?" Li Guanqi smiled. "I believe it, and I don't. That's why we'll walk in first and see." With that, Li Guanqi plucked Pengluo down and said gently, "You, don't always be so full of 'I think this' and 'I think that.' Having an independent mind is a good thing, but don't always stay on guard against everyone and everything either. Take that warning on the stone stele—maybe it was left with good intentions. While maintaining our own judgment, we can still weigh whether to heed another's counsel." Dangling by the green leaves atop his head, Pengluo crossed his little arms and pondered for a long time, brows furrowed. "That actually makes sense... Let me think on it a bit more..." Both Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu chuckled. Li Guanqi casually set him on his shoulder and paid him no more mind. Inhaling deeply, Li Guanqi gripped Red Lotus tightly and stepped into the forest. Meng Wanshu followed closely behind, walking side by side with him into the trees. Boom!!! Roaaar!!! Roar! Howl!!! The moment they set foot into the forest, a cacophony of beast roars and shrieks blasted Li Guanqi's ears! The ground trembled violently as ancient trees collapsed one after another! Colossal beasts charged at the two from every direction! Several massive blasts of breath and fiery torrents surged forward, engulfing the ground where they stood. Whoosh!! Li Guanqi moved to teleport, only to find the surrounding space as unyielding as an iron bastion, making spatial traversal utterly impossible. He leaped into the air, but flight was forbidden, leaving him reliant entirely on his physical strength and movement techniques. "Azure Dragon Serpents, Frost Bears, Blueflame Lions, Scarlet Horn Bulls, Sun-Crested Sky Deer, Demonic Night Leopards..." Pengluo's eyes went wide as he rattled off the names of the towering figures appearing one after another. Yet his voice was filled mostly with disbelief. The reason was simple: in the outside world, almost every single one of these great demon beasts had gone extinct. Even Pengluo felt a twinge of pity, but Meng Wanshu had already struck. Her longsword flashed, her form drifting with the ethereal grace of a celestial dancer. Afterimages dissolved as every stroke drove the demon beasts into a frenzy. These great demon beasts were generally at the sixth or seventh rank, posing little real threat to the two of them. Yet there were simply too many—a boundless horde stretching as far as the eye could see, charging down upon them like a beast tide. The earth shook violently beneath the relentless thunder of thudding hooves and paws. Suddenly! Just as Li Guanqi severed the head of a demon beast with a sweep of his sword, Jiuxiao's eyes snapped open!! Hostility blazed within his golden dragon eyes. Coiling upward around Li Guanqi, his massive body unfurled to blot out the sky!! The colossal dragon head slowly lowered, looking down upon the endless sea of demon beasts across the forest!! Roaaar!!! A deep, majestic dragon roar suddenly reverberated throughout the entire mountain range! The dragon might was vast and overbearing, suppressing heaven and earth like divine wrath. In an instant, every demon beast in the Illusory Forest dropped to the ground, paralyzed! The bloodline suppression of an ancient true dragon caused many sixth-rank demon beasts to roll their eyes back and faint on the spot, puddles spreading beneath them. Even the seventh-rank demon beasts prostrated themselves like groveling subjects, not daring to lift their heads. Yet among them, a Frost Giant Ape bared its blood-red eyes with feral ferocity. Standing over thirty zhang tall, the colossal ape rose with a roar, beating its chest and glaring furiously up at Jiuxiao. A cold flash of murderous intent flickered in Jiuxiao's eyes, and he unleashed a deafening roar. Darting forward, his colossal claws lunged toward the ape! Yet this giant ape's cultivation was already nearing the peak of the seventh rank. Swaying its massive body, it grabbed an ancient tree and swung aside, moving with startling agility. Only to be met by a massive dragon tail!! Cold glints flashed across the scales of the dragon tail as boundless lightning power surged around Jiuxiao's body. Under the sweeping lash of the tail carrying ferocious dragon might, ancient trees across a hundred zhang were leveled to the ground! The bodies of several sixth-rank demon beasts exploded the moment they were struck by the sweep! Jiuxiao twisted his body, bringing the tail's full power to bear. Bang!!! Terrifying force erupted in an instant. Though the giant ape crossed its arms to block, they shattered abruptly as the dragon tail slammed into its chest. Its ribcage caved in, its fur soaked in blood, and its massive body was hurled straight into the air! In that fraction of a second, the giant ape's eyes glazed over. Before it could react, Jiuxiao's claws seized its head as he let loose a thunderous roar! Roaaar!!!!! Jiuxiao's vertical dragon slits gleamed with cold light. Under his roar, not a single demon beast dared lift its head to meet his gaze. His claws clamped tight, crushing the giant ape's skull with a sickening crack, and he opened his maw to blast a plume of dragon breath! Half of the giant ape's body was disintegrated into nothingness by the torrent of dragon breath. Standing off to the side, Li Guanqi and Meng Wanshu watched the spectacle, their hearts trembling in awe. For the first time, Li Guanqi felt with stark clarity the sovereign majesty Jiuxiao held over all demon beasts as a true dragon.