Tao Yaoye’s face flushed crimson as her mind raced, trying to figure out what she should do next.
What was the original script? How was she supposed to act after being rescued by Senior Brother Lu Yang?
She looked nervously into Lu Yang's eyes, only to detect a faint, barely suppressed excitement deep within his gaze.
*Could it be that Senior Brother Lu Yang claimed he was aiming for realism, but was actually panicked holding me?*
However, Lu Yang merely set her down gently on the shore, his movements tender as he tried his best to conceal the thrill in his eyes, before spinning around and sprinting toward Xiao Xinghai with jaunty strides.
"Fiend, do not run! Fight three hundred rounds with me!"
Xiao Xinghai refused to be outdone. "Who goes there, daring to spoil my grand design!"
"You are not worthy of knowing my name!"
"Since you wish to save her, you can stay behind too!"
"That depends on whether you have the skill!"
Wielding the innate treasure sword that accompanied the innate red calabash, Lu Yang drew upon natural theatrical instincts, howling a theatrical war cry as he locked in combat with Xiao Xinghai.
Lying by the shore, Tao Yaoye tilted her head to watch Lu Yang getting completely swept up in his acting. She could not help but wonder: was she completely out of scenes now?
The Feathering Immortal Grass poked out from her robes and offered a well-meaning suggestion: "Why don't you eat one of my leaves, gain several centuries of cultivation, and just take that Lu Yang guy by force?"
Tao Yaoye gave the suggestion serious consideration.
"Nine Kunpeng Transformations!"
Xiao Xinghai’s aura erupted, his form swelling several times over. Like a golden city wall, he crashed toward Lu Yang, churning up massive walls of spray!
Lu Yang retreated repeatedly. Yet under the effects of the Nine Kunpeng Transformations, Xiao Xinghai was astonishingly light and nimble despite his colossal size. Defeating him was far from a matter of simply stepping back a couple paces.
"Seven Swords of Mount Tian!"
Lu Yang struck an impressive sword-hand stance, casually inventing the name of a sword art on the spot. With a gentle flick of his blade, shadowy phantoms condensed into countless real swords, arranging themselves into a compass of true blades that intercepted Xiao Xinghai’s charge.
It was a simplified version of One Sword Into Ten Thousand Swords.
"Peng Transformation!"
Xiao Xinghai transformed into a massive peng. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yang flipped onto the bird's back. Xiao Xinghai tried to fling him off, soaring up into the azure heights and then plunging abruptly into the icy East Sea while spinning continuously. Yet Lu Yang clutched his feathers in an iron grip, refusing to let go.
Man and peng engaged in a fierce aerial struggle.
"Foul beast! You possess a thousand years of cultivation, so why do you commit such evil!"
"Heaven and earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs! What is wrong with feeding upon all living creatures!"
Xiao Xinghai grew more excited as the battle raged. He let out a long cry, his piercing avian shriek gradually turning deep and sonorous.
His form shifted once more, morphing into a golden true dragon dozens of zhang long!
"Holy crap, the Dragon Transformation Art?" Lu Yang recognized the move. This was no act—he was genuinely stunned.
In order to pose as a figure from the Ancient Heavenly Court, Lu Yang had asked the Immortal Fairy to teach him ancient divine abilities that sounded suitably famous at first glance, and the Dragon Transformation Art had been among them.
Though for various reasons, Lu Yang had not learned the Dragon Transformation Art, learning Heaven-Swallowing Earth-Devouring instead.
"You're from the Kunpeng Clan, so why are you learning the Dragon Transformation Art?"
Previously, Lu Yang had always assumed only humans cultivated it.
"To make up for our shortcomings. The Dragon Clan is simply stronger than our Kunpeng Clan, and we have to admit it," Xiao Xinghai said with an easy grin, thoroughly unbothered.
"Just look at them—the Dragon Clan has the Dragon Ancestor, a half-immortal. Word from the Demon Domain says that just like the Phoenix Ancestor, she's Immortal Kirin’s wife. She can strut around unhindered among half-immortals."
Chapter 834