Slaying the Flood Dragon for Its Soul

Wuya Valley. Qin Sang entered the valley alone, revisiting an old haunt. Wuya Valley was vast and boundless; the areas where cultivators roamed were in truth merely an insignificant fraction of it. Having tempered himself in Wuya Valley for over twenty years, Qin Sang knew the place like the back of his hand. With magic treasures at his disposal, he could venture into perilous grounds that others dared not breach, reaping substantial gains. However, most of what he gained had been spent on purchasing spiritual materials for artifact crafting to raise his proficiency, even going so far as to exhaust his supply of cold metal to forcibly build up his artifact crafting skills. After smoothly entering the second layer of Wuya Valley and crossing the White Stone Wilderness, a barren wasteland came into Qin Sang's view. It was a sea of gray stone, densely packed with boulders that grew larger the further in one went. The boulders in the deepest recesses were truly colossal, some comparable to great mountains. Along the periphery of the stone sea, numerous demonic packs could still be seen. But once inside the innermost depths, not a single trace of a demon beast remained. The interior seemed to be a forbidden zone where none dared step foot across the line. Such places were not uncommon in Wuya Valley; virtually all harbored the lair of a great demon. This black flood dragon's territory was actually not very large, as it was only at the peak of the Demon Spirit stage. Concealing his form and suppressing his breath, Qin Sang dashed silently through the stone sea. Finally, he scaled a mountain-high boulder and peered down. Two massive rocks stood so close they almost touched, leaving only a narrow, elongated fissure between them. At the bottom of this fissure lay a subterranean abyss, inside of which the black flood dragon concealed itself. The dark abyss showed no soaring demon qi, nor any bizarre glow or dense fog; it appeared utterly unremarkable. "It couldn't have been so coincidental as to break through to the Demon Core stage, could it?" Qin Sang muttered under his breath as he stared down at the abyss. He opened the corpse puppet pouch, and in the next instant, a dark shadow materialized silently by his side—it was none other than the Flying Yaksha. Its speed was astonishing; the naked eye could not perceive how it had appeared, eerie beyond measure. Now, the Flying Yaksha had completely fused with the corpse core within its abdomen, its strength reaching its pinnacle. The black flood dragon would serve as the perfect touchstone for it. "Go!" Qin Sang issued a low command. The Flying Yaksha bowed its head, its black pupils flickering with a profound gleam as though possessed of sentience—an exceptionally eerie sight. Immediately after, its figure vanished into thin air. Qin Sang himself did not descend. Instead, he sat cross-legged, brought out the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, and quietly laid down a grand formation, also retrieving his magic treasures. Naturally, the most important of all was the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. The secret talisman surfaced in Qin Sang's palm, the dragon soul within sending over fawning, ingratiating thoughts. Clasping the talisman, Qin Sang stared down into the abyss, waiting to see how events unfolded. Inside the dark abyss, it was pitch-black, and ancient restrictions lay in dense clusters. The Flying Yaksha rapidly dove downward. Qin Sang was not as familiar with the restrictions here as the black flood dragon was, and the Flying Yaksha inevitably tripped some hidden ancient restrictions, swiftly giving away its presence. "Roar!" A furious roar bellowed from deep within the abyss. *Splash!* The river water down there was bone-chillingly cold. Amidst the tranquil subterranean river, water suddenly sprayed in all directions. Immediately following, a colossal dark shadow breached the surface—a long, slender form, the portion emerging from the water alone spanning well over a hundred feet. The upper half of the black flood dragon reared up upright, its triangular serpentine head held high. A crimson serpent tongue flickered in and out, and its pair of vertical slit pupils radiated murderous intent, appearing chillingly cold in the gloom of the abyss. Unlike the flood dragons Qin Sang had seen before, a bulge swelled between this black flood dragon's brows, as though horns were on the verge of sprouting. The pitch-black scales covering its body were fine and dense, firmer than iron or bronze, glinting with a peculiar sheen that looked extraordinarily lustrous. As the black flood dragon surfaced, river water sloughed rapidly off its hide. Its warning proved futile; the intruder advanced brazenly, moving faster and faster. Soaring fury erupted in the black flood dragon's eyes. *Crash!* Huge waves surged in the subterranean river as a long dragon tail shot abruptly out from the riverbed, whipping up a black whirlwind that gave off a pungent, foul stench. This whirlwind was exceptionally freezing. The surface of the subterranean river froze into a thick layer of ice at a speed visible to the naked eye. The splashing waves likewise turned into icicles in an instant. These icicles were far from ordinary, gleaming with blue light and razor-sharp. The wind was demon wind, and the ice was black ice; whirlwind and icicles mingled together, hurtling toward the intruder at breathtaking speed with a savage flick of the dragon's tail. Just as the Flying Yaksha seemed about to be engulfed by the overwhelming onslaught, Qin Sang, sitting cross-legged on the stone above, smiled faintly. The Flying Yaksha stared coldly at the oncoming gale. A ghostly light flickered in its eyes, and it threw a sudden punch. Before the massive vortex, the Flying Yaksha appeared minuscule. Yet this punch carried heaven-shaking might. *Boom!* The terrifying force of the fist punched a gaping hole straight through the vortex. The Flying Yaksha passed through the tempest completely unscathed. This shocking sight made the black flood dragon's eyes bulge. All the vicious ferocity within them was blasted away by that single punch, replaced by sheer terror. That terrifying fist enlarged rapidly in the black flood dragon's vision, and it only had time to tilt its head slightly. *Bang!* The black flood dragon took the punch directly. Its colossal body was flung back like a tattered rag, slamming violently against the side wall of the abyss. Before the black flood dragon could finish its wretched shriek, it was cut short by the Flying Yaksha. At some unknown moment, the Flying Yaksha had eerily appeared behind the black flood dragon; its ghostly claws punctured the dragon's scales with ease, ripping away a large swath of flesh and blood. With a howl of agony, the black flood dragon scurried away in terror. Nevertheless, the black flood dragon was ultimately a great demon at the peak of the Demon Spirit stage. Though battered and wretched, it was not entirely defenseless. Chaos immediately erupted within the abyss, the silhouettes of humanoid and dragon flying everywhere in violent disorder. Qin Sang sat steadily outside the dark abyss, listening to the shrieks that echoed up from time to time. Connected in mind with the Flying Yaksha, he monitored every shift in the battle. He did not want the Flying Yaksha to kill the black flood dragon outright, but rather to force it out while blocking off other escape routes, driving it to flee toward the surface. The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman required extracting the flood dragon's spirit soul alive. The commotion inside the abyss grew increasingly frantic, and Qin Sang could feel the massive boulder beneath him trembling violently. Suddenly, a dense surge of demon qi soared skyward. Qin Sang's expression shifted, his gaze flickering as he fixed his eyes on the abyss. A moment later, he saw the silhouette of a flood dragon stumble haphazardly out of the depths. Beneath the dragon, the Flying Yaksha pursued fiercely and relentlessly. At this moment, the black flood dragon was utterly disheveled, completely stripped of the majestic bearing of a peak Demon Spirit great demon. Its appearance was pitiful in the extreme—riddled with several deep gashes that went to the bone, dripping with blood. Even one of its eyes had been gouged out by the Flying Yaksha, leaving a long, ragged gash across its head. After this brutal clash, the black flood dragon possessed not the slightest will to fight, driven solely by the desire to flee for its life. Seeing the black flood dragon driven out, Qin Sang waved his hand. The Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, prepared long in advance, unfurled with a rustle, the ghost banners forming a formation that tightly sealed the exit of the abyss, blocking the flood dragon's escape route. *Whoosh... whoosh...* Endless ghost fire swarmed out, descending like a cage from above and forming a pincer attack with the Flying Yaksha below. Even with wings, the black flood dragon could not escape!