Qi Yuan's voice was calm, tinged with mockery.
This completely stunned all the gods present.
They could not fathom where Qi Yuan's confidence came from.
This was the North Sea God Eye, the stronghold of the North Sea Dragon Clan.
Provoking them like this was no different from courting death.
Jin Jiao glared at Qi Yuan, eyes spitting fire. "Even if your father were a Great Venerable, you'd still die here today!"
He was genuinely enraged.
No matter what, he was going to make Qi Yuan stay here forever.
Behind Qi Yuan, the six True Gods showed no fear in the face of strong enemies.
A clash was imminent.
At this moment, an elder at Step Two Sky Treading stepped in as a mediator. "Fellow cultivators, everyone here is an Ancient God. Now that foreign enemies press from without, we should not lightly spark conflict. Harmony is paramount!"
This Step Two Sky Treading elder was known as a chronic peacemaker.
Hearing his words, Jin Jiao's expression softened slightly. He glared at Qi Yuan. "Hand over that woman, and this matter will be dropped."
When Qi Yuan heard this, he was instantly displeased. This fellow was putting on far too much of an act.
"Leave behind the divine spiritual power of you seven, and I will spare the North Sea Dragon Clan's lives," Qi Yuan said in a chilly tone.
If Jin Jiao's words still held an offer of compromise, Qi Yuan's words held none whatsoever.
To any uninformed onlooker, it would look as though Qi Yuan were the ultimate villain.
Beside him, Ye Liuyun grew anxious, frantically sending voice transmissions. "Brother Qi, you're being too impulsive! Why don't we just make a run for it?"
Hearing this, Qi Yuan did not care in the slightest. He transmitted back, "Is he a Yang God? No? Then wouldn't running away make me lose immense face?"
At that moment, Venerable Huanghun also sent a voice transmission: "Origin Celestial Venerable, if things turn dire, this old man can step in and help hold off Jin Jiao."
Venerable Huanghun had made this decision with great resolve.
Doing so would completely offend the North Sea Dragon Clan.
Yet when he thought of how Origin Celestial Venerable had created twenty-one Legendaries in a single breath, offending the North Sea Dragon Clan seemed insignificant by comparison.
In fact, if he made that achievement public, at least half of the Ancient Gods present would likely volunteer to aid Qi Yuan.
He assumed this was where Origin Celestial Venerable's confidence lay.
"Thank you for the kind offer, but it won't be necessary for now," Qi Yuan replied.
Facing Jin Jiao, he was neither anxious nor afraid.
Palace Master Qionghua's face was grim. She wanted to intervene, but both sides were bent on fighting, leaving her powerless to stop them.
In the end, she could only sigh. "If you must fight, please proceed to the North Sea Ancient Battlefield. Do not destroy these waters."
Before the Evil Gods had descended upon this world, whenever True Gods fought, they generally chose to battle within an ancient battlefield to avoid harming mortals.
After the arrival of the Evil Gods, however, such courtesy had vanished; they cared nothing about slaughtering mortals or shattering landscapes.
"Fine!" Jin Jiao gritted his teeth, fury blazing in his eyes.
Qi Yuan nodded as well. "Let's go."
The massive group marched toward the ancient battlefield.
The Ancient Gods present each harbored their own thoughts.
Palace Master Qionghua felt utterly helpless. This Hundred Flowers Gathering was going to end on a dismal note once again.
Great Venerable Qionghua could not be awakened.
The future of Qionghua Palace was bleak.
Soon, the group arrived at the ancient battlefield.
The space within the ancient battlefield was exceptionally stable—far more stable than that of the Mortal Heart Realm at large.
It was entirely unlike the empty Void Realm of the Canglan Realm.
Upon entering the ancient battlefield, a hint of surprise surfaced in Qi Yuan's eyes.
[Ancient Battlefield: the birthplace of the Mortal Heart Realm's heaven and earth, where innate gods and demons emerged from chaos.]
The ancient battlefield was the origin of the Mortal Heart Realm?
This caught Qi Yuan slightly off guard.
Meanwhile, the Ancient Gods watching from a distance wore varying expressions.
"This Origin Celestial Venerable is far too reckless!"
"A spoiled dandy is a spoiled dandy after all."
"Alas, we Ancient Gods are already in decline. Why must we engage in internal strife?"
"One side has a Step Two Sky Treading expert and six at peak Step One Sky Treading, while the other side only has six at early Step One Sky Treading. How could they possibly win?"
None of the Ancient Gods present favored Qi Yuan.
After all, the gap in strength was simply too vast.
Venerable Huanghun kept a close eye on the distance, prepared to intervene at any moment to rescue Origin Celestial Venerable.
Offering help in times of need was always far better than adding flowers to a carpet.
Having stepped into the ancient battlefield, Jin Jiao finally restrained himself no longer.
"To humiliate me like this in Qionghua Palace—you court death!"
Jin Jiao roared, and the six True Gods behind him instantly revealed their true forms.
In an instant, six massive flood dragons soared into the clouds, baring fangs and brandishing claws as they wound around one another. The auras of True Gods permeated the air, peerlessly formidable.
"Our Dragon Clan is the head of the Water Clan! Here in the North Sea, we are natural-born kings!" Jin Jiao bellowed, brimming with arrogance. "To kill the likes of you, why would this Venerable need to lift a finger personally?!"
At his command, the massive flood dragons soaring in the sky fixed their gazes intently upon Qi Yuan. Their lantern-sized, monstrous eyes looked chillingly sinister.
Qi Yuan remained unmoved. "I don't have Nezha, but I have the Dragon Subduing Arhat."
Having said that, Qi Yuan glanced sideways at Zhao Zun. "Weren't you hungry? Today I grant you permission: you may break your precepts and eat meat."
The deity Zhao Zun visualized was the Dragon Subduing Arhat.
In certain mythologies and legends, Jigong was an incarnation of the Dragon Subduing Arhat. Thus, in a sense, breaking precepts... was not truly breaking them.
Hearing this, Zhao Zun took a sudden stride forward. His physique resembled bronze, and the very ground began to tremble.
Seeing this scene, the other Ancient Gods wore strange expressions.
"Purple Mansion perfection?"
"A Purple Mansion perfection facing a True God? Even the Holy Mother of Inedia couldn't pull that off!"
"Is he throwing away his life?"
None of these True Gods could understand why, with six True Gods on his side, Qi Yuan would send out a mere Purple Mansion perfection.
Standing among the crowd, Ye Liuyun felt an inexplicable dread well up in his heart the moment he looked at Zhao Zun, who made no effort to conceal his aura.
However, because his own cultivation remained intact, that fear was not overwhelmingly intense.
Jin Jiao naturally felt it as well.
Yet relying on his superior strength, he remained full of confidence.
"A measly Purple Mansion dares step forward!"
Right at that moment, a voice called out.
"Brother, I'll lend you a hand!" the Happy Arhat shouted.
He was one of the only two True Gods among the Arhats.
"Long Eyebrow will join too," the Long Eyebrow Arhat said.
The two placed their hands on Zhao Zun's shoulders.
Divine spiritual power poured frantically into Zhao Zun's body.
Instantly, an illusory divine aperture was forged within Zhao Zun's form.
Seeing this, the surrounding Ancient Gods were visibly moved.
"What technique is that?"
"How can someone lend their own power to another?"
"How can a Purple Mansion's body even bear divine spiritual power?!"
These Ancient Gods were utterly baffled. Today's events defied their common sense.
Yet even with the borrowed strength of two True Gods, Zhao Zun's cultivation was still far beneath that of Jin Jiao's faction.
Watching Zhao Zun, the fear in Ye Liuyun's heart spread uncontrollably.
He could not comprehend it.
Why was he afraid of a stranger?
Moreover, a stranger who was clearly weaker than him!
Jin Jiao's expression darkened as well. An uncanny terror crept into his heart for reasons he could not fathom.
"Just what kind of monster are you!" he snarled at Zhao Zun, bewildered. "No matter what you are, die!"
The massive bodies of the six flood dragons surged forward. Anyone suffering from megalophobia would have been frozen in terror, unable to even open their eyes.
At that moment, Zhao Zun took a step forward. Glaring at the dragons, his voice boomed with majestic grandeur:
"Divine Dragon of Heaven!"
Behind Zhao Zun, the phantom of a divine dragon abruptly materialized.
Its length was boundless, its entire form pure gold, bearing five claws!
Yet that phantom was a corpse—its scales shattered, its body torn in two!
Staring at that dragon phantom, Ye Liuyun's heart jolted violently. *A Great Venerable—no, a Step Seven Sky Treading true dragon!*
In the Mortal Heart Realm, the Dragon Clan was not exceptionally strong. Even in ancient times, they had possessed fewer than twenty Great Venerables.
The strongest had merely been the Dragon Ancestor at Step Six Sky Treading!
Now, the mutilated corpse of a Step Seven Sky Treading true dragon had actually appeared before his eyes. How could he not be shocked, not be terrified?!
The other Ancient Gods widened their eyes as well, overcome with inexplicable awe.
They could not discern that it was a Step Seven dragon, but they knew beyond doubt that this true dragon was terrifyingly supreme!
Jin Jiao gritted his teeth. "Impossible!"
Zhao Zun took another step forward.
"Flood Dragon of Earth, Poison Dragon of Man!"
Instantly, two more terrifying dragon phantoms appeared, both mangled and unmistakably dead.
Behind these dreadful phantoms lay a dense mass of countless dragon corpses.
Some had their dragon livers hollowed out; others had their tendons ripped free.
Clearly, all these dragons had been suppressed and slain by the True God Zhao Zun visualized.
Looking at the six flood dragons, a golden gleam flashed across Zhao Zun's eyes.
"Those who yield shall submit; those captured shall comply; those called shall arrive; manifesting form when summoned!"
"By command and decree of the Celestial Venerable, I have specially come to subdue dragons!"
As Zhao Zun's chant echoed, golden radiance erupted across his form, radiating boundless, liberating Buddhist light.
His entire being seemed to transform into an invincible god of war.
He charged straight toward the six flood dragons.
The six flood dragons, which had appeared peerlessly formidable just moments ago, were now trembling like mice facing a cat, devoid of any fighting spirit.
"Die!"
With a violent rip, Zhao Zun tore one flood dragon in two, eliciting a bloodcurdling shriek.
An Arhat Fist struck out, directly shattering the flood dragon's divine aperture.
Seeing this, Jin Jiao's body trembled violently. He roared, "Kill him!"
Despite their overwhelming terror, the remaining flood dragons lunged toward Zhao Zun.
"Beneath the Dragon Subduing Incantation, even five-clawed golden dragons must submit! You lot are nothing but mud loaches!"
Zhao Zun bellowed, charging into the remaining flood dragons.
How could these flood dragons possibly match Zhao Zun? Even though they had opened ten more divine apertures than he had, they were countered to the utmost by the Dragon Subduing Incantation and stood no chance against him.
In merely a few breaths, all six flood dragons were torn to shreds by Zhao Zun.
The ground was drenched in boundless blood, mutilated dragon corpses spanning the horizon in a gruesome display.
Behind Zhao Zun, six more flood dragons joined the phantoms, taking their place at the very tail end of the line.
Jin Jiao was covered head to toe in dragon blood, blurring his vision.
"You... monster! Die!"
"I am at Step Two Sky Treading, with pure dragon blood! Why would I fear you?!"
With a resounding dragon roar, Jin Jiao transformed into a massive flood dragon and pounced toward Zhao Zun.
The aura rolling off him was more than ten times stronger than that of the six flood dragons combined!
Zhao Zun looked at Jin Jiao, his battle intent soaring. "I have seen the world-creating Yinglong; does a tiny loach dare boast of purity?!"
Zhao Zun's massive hand lashed out, scooping up Jin Jiao's gargantuan body by the waist.
Jin Jiao struggled wildly in Zhao Zun's grip, erupting with divine spiritual power.
Yet he could not break free at all.
Empowered by the Dragon Subduing Incantation, Zhao Zun held an overwhelming advantage over any member of the dragon race.
"A mere flood dragon is nothing more than table meat for immortals—dragon livers and phoenix marrow! How dare you act so insolent?!"
Zhao Zun's hand thrust forward, plunging directly into Jin Jiao's draconic torso.
With a wrenching pull, a dragon liver appeared in his grasp.
Jin Jiao let out an agonizing screech.
Zhao Zun sneered disdainfully. "The lowest grade of dragon liver, unworthy to even be served at a banquet."
Exerting brute force, he seized Jin Jiao's head and slammed it into the earth.
With a sickening crunch, Jin Jiao's head burst apart.
Zhao Zun then crushed the divine apertures inside his body one by one.
Before the Dragon Subduing Incantation, Jin Jiao had no power to resist.
After all, he was facing the accumulated heritage of an entire terrifying universe alone.
Having torn Jin Jiao to pieces, Zhao Zun stood covered in blood, surrounded by remnants of dragon flesh.
The other Ancient Gods looked at him with profound shock and an inexplicable terror taking root in their hearts.
They simply could not understand what had transpired today.
At that moment, Zhao Zun swept his cold gaze across the crowd.
"My Dharma title was bestowed by the Celestial Venerable."
"I am the Dragon Subduing Arhat!"
His voice boomed like rolling thunder, sweeping across all directions.
The aura on Zhao Zun's body began to recede, dropping all the way back to the Purple Mansion realm.
Everyone watching was shaken to the core.
Ye Liuyun's eyes widened in disbelief. "The Dragon Subduing Arhat!"
Venerable Huanghun looked equally stunned. "Daring to take 'Dragon Subduing' as a title... this god must be terrifying beyond measure!"
After all, adopting such a name meant offending every creature of dragon blood under heaven.
While the dragons of the Mortal Heart Realm were not the absolute strongest, neither were they so weak that an ordinary Great Venerable could casually humiliate them.
"Who on earth was the Dragon Subduing Arhat back in ancient times?"
The crowd was dumbfounded, their minds reeling.
In particular, when the Dragon Subduing Arhat invoked the Dragon Subduing Incantation, the five-clawed golden dragon that materialized behind him had clearly been a true dragon at the Great Venerable level.
They could not discern its exact cultivation.
Yet as a fellow member of the dragon race, Ye Liuyun knew with certainty: that had been a dragon at Step Seven Sky Treading!
Even their Dragon Ancestor had only reached Step Six Sky Treading, yet a Step Seven dragon had died at the hands of the Dragon Subduing Arhat! The shock in his heart was impossible to quell.
Above all, he had heard the Dragon Subduing Arhat mention the world-creating Yinglong and dragon livers served as food for immortals.
Terror consumed him. Were all those claims true?
It sounded far too terrifying.
Looking at the Dragon Subduing Arhat, deep dread took hold of him.
Toward Qi Yuan, he felt an even greater sense of unfathomable mystery.
He recalled how Qi Yuan had previously mentioned the Azure Dragon and Torch Dragon.
Could it be... that those were not mongrel dragons?
Was he himself the mongrel dragon?
Among the phantoms behind the Dragon Subduing Arhat, he had indeed seen numerous true dragons whose bloodlines were far more terrifying than his own.
*I must inform the ancestor of this!* Ye Liuyun knew this matter was of paramount importance.
Meanwhile, the Ancient Gods remained frozen, still lost in the aftermath of the battle.
Qi Yuan looked at the dragon liver in Zhao Zun's hand with clear disgust. "I don't eat livers from creatures that have taken human form. It's not anything good anyway—throw it away."
With Zhao Zun slaughtering seven flood dragons, Qi Yuan had harvested seven portions of divine spiritual power.
It was safely the richest haul he had secured since arriving in this world.
He was in quite a good mood.
These dragons truly were benevolent givers.
Thinking of something, he turned toward the Ancient Gods. "Does anyone else here covet my goddaughter? Step forward and speak up!"
Hearing this, the Ancient Gods all took a step back, feeling completely bewildered. "We wouldn't dare!"
Qi Qi's heart swelled with delight upon hearing his words.
She believed her godfather was standing up for her.
A sweet warmth filled her chest. Ever since the collapse of Tianfu and the death of her clan, this was the first time someone had treated her so well.
He was overbearing, yet immensely powerful.
Naturally, Qi Yuan had no idea what was running through his goddaughter's mind, and he felt a bit disappointed.
He hadn't brought a taunting face to this Hundred Flowers Gathering, but his goddaughter had one. It was remarkably effective, though unfortunately, it had only worked once.
"Now that the people are dead, let's head back and continue the Hundred Flowers Gathering."
With that, Qi Yuan led the Four Heavenly Kings and Eighteen Arhats away.
The Ancient Gods stared at Zhao Zun's back, their minds in turmoil.
They were also consumed by boundless curiosity regarding Qi Yuan's true identity.
Just which great deity from ancient times was this?
When everyone returned to the Hundred Flowers Gathering, the ripples of shock lingered long after.
Few people still had their minds on the gathering itself.
"Origin Celestial Venerable, the North Sea Dragon Clan holds dominion here after all. Now that you've killed Jin Jiao, it would be best for you to leave quickly," Palace Master Qionghua advised.
Beside her, the middle-aged woman also stared at Qi Yuan with a bizarre expression.
Originally, she had only agreed to let Qi Yuan attend as a favor to a friend.
Who would have guessed that far from being a mere village-level guardian god, he was a peerless hegemon!
"The Hundred Flowers Gathering isn't over yet. How could I leave?" Qi Yuan naturally had no intention of rushing off.
Seven members of the North Sea Dragon Clan were dead.
Would the remaining dragons dare cause him trouble?
Even if they did, Qi Yuan feared nothing.
"I'm still hoping to see if I can obtain some supreme treasures. Alas, I have too many subordinates, all waiting to consume supreme treasures." Qi Yuan looked at the Eighteen Arhats with a helpless sigh.
Aside from Dragon Subduing, Tiger Subduing, and the two who had already advanced to True God, the rest all lacked supreme treasures to make the breakthrough.
Seeing this, Palace Master Qionghua had nothing more to say and pressed no further.
By now, more than half of the Hundred Flowers Gathering had elapsed.
Many resumed their efforts to awaken the floral buds.
However, their results were dismal.
A third of the flowers here remained unbloomed.
Standing off to the side, Qi Yuan felt rather bored.
"Sigh, being too handsome is truly a curse. If only I had a taunting face, some blind fool would surely come over to mock me and demand that I visualize a deity to awaken a flower," Qi Yuan lamented.
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun was left utterly speechless.
He dearly wanted to say: *With your terrifying strength, who on earth would be blind enough to mock you?!*
"Amidst everyone's insults and doubts, I'd visualize a deity and shock the entire crowd—that would certainly be fun," Qi Yuan remarked casually.
As he spoke, he shot continuous winks at Venerable Huanghun, who stood not far away.
Chapter 192