He sprang into the air and threw another punch!

The enormous Jiao head seemed to sense it and abruptly retracted back into the ancient mountain.

In the next moment, the world seemed to turn upside down. A fierce gale howled within a thousand-zhang radius, Gang Sha winds exploded, and the towering peak of Dragonhead Mountain was violently ground down and flattened!

When the roiling dust and smoke settled, Ji Fuyao’s imperial cloak fluttered down. He fell limply, cracks faintly visible on his violet-gold soft armor as his figure blurred.

The sliver of time containing the Emperor’s dragon-slaying moment had been all but worn away.

His body disintegrated like dust and smoke, leaving only a pair of eyes that seemed to hold the sun and moon.

Suddenly, a gentle, intermittent voice spoke:

"So it’s the Daoist Jiang... successor to [Shao Yang]... Interesting, most interesting."

Jiang Yi withdrew his fist and stood still, his expression calm, showing no surprise.

Ji Fuyao was a True Monarch who had long since ascended. He would surely have sensed it when the trace of his Qi Mechanism branded into [Dragon Taming Abyss] was severed.

He said nothing, quietly watching as the specks of golden light vanished into nothingness.

’First in Qi Cultivation across all of history... I’ve finally lived up to that boast.’

...

...

Windswept and shrouded in mist, the Qi Sea was vast.

On one of the islands in a chain scattered like pearls, the green Jiao Rain Concubine, Cang Chi, and Yun Chi each occupied a position. They continuously poured their Magical Power into the Array’s core, maintaining the operation of the [Two-Phase Illusory Cloudscape Grand Array].

This Array was not designed to kill or trap enemies. Its sole purpose was to lure out a person’s deepest desires, creating layered illusions and a dreamscape where reality and fantasy were inverted.

At the center of the Grand Array, the Thick Eyebrow Daoist sat unmoving, his chin propped on one hand.

He was an Immortal Master from an Upper Sect at the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer. The Jiao and two Chi knew they were no match for him, so they had resorted to this mediocre Array to hold him in place.

This had been the plan they’d made with that white Jiao: they only needed to delay the Thick Eyebrow Daoist for three to five days, and the Daoist would personally arrive to eliminate him.

"It’s the fifth day."

Rain Concubine’s voice was tense, her eyes filled with anxiety.

"Why hasn’t the Daoist appeared yet?"

Cang Chi and Yun Chi exchanged a look, both seeing the fear in the other’s eyes.

For the past five days, they had exhausted their Magical Power to sustain the Array. Every moment felt like treading on thin ice, terrified the Daoist would suddenly awaken.

"Just a little longer..."

Cang Chi forced himself to remain calm, but before the words had left his mouth, the Thick Eyebrow Daoist, sitting on the rosewood chair, snapped his eyes open!

"What a deep sleep."

His eyes were clear, and a cold sneer played on his lips.

"I have long known that you horned and furred beasts harbored treacherous thoughts. Did you truly believe you could trap me with this Array? You’re like a frog in a well, utterly laughable!"

The Thick Eyebrow Daoist raised his hand and formed a seal. True Qi surged from the crown of his head like a tide, transforming into a cyan Profound Light that easily blew the residence around him to pieces.

He then rose to his full height, shaking his sleeve and scattering thirty-six heavy drops of Ren Water.

The entire island rumbled and shook, on the verge of collapse.

Ren Water is yang, embodying the vastness of the ocean. Thirty-six drops were like thirty-six raging rivers, instantly throwing the Grand Array into chaos.

"Who bewitched you into using such a trick against me?"

the Thick Eyebrow Daoist asked coldly.

"Confess everything, and I may spare you this once."

With the Array broken, Rain Concubine’s face went deathly pale. She knew there was no escape.

Immortal Masters from the Upper Sect were known for their cruelty. Even if he spared them now, he would surely settle the score later.

This Dragon King of the Bo Sea had a swift change of heart. Gritting her teeth, she summoned the Profound Mirage Pearl. The treasured pearl spun, spewing streams of white smoke that transformed into thousands of phantoms—yakshas, Rakshasa, water ghouls, and giant Mang serpents—that lunged at the Daoist.

"A cornered beast fighting back. You’re courting death!"

The Daoist formed a seal. The thirty-six drops of Ren Water whirled and whistled, enveloping the surrounding space.

Nine of the drops plummeted, surrounding the Mirage Pearl.

He spat out a beam of blue-green Profound Light. The nine drops of Ren Water instantly swelled to a hundred zhang, surging like rushing rivers that immediately washed away the illusory phantoms.

"You dare use such crude methods in Magical Combat?"

The Daoist pointed a finger, and the remaining Ren Water split into thousands of crystalline raindrops. Propelled by his Magical Power, they condensed into a dense shower of arrows, encircling Cang Chi and Yun Chi to prevent their escape.

This Spell was called the "Water Cloud Annihilation Arrows," relying on the endlessly replenishing nature of Ren Water and the versatility of Magical Power.

If they weren’t all destroyed at once, they would only multiply, becoming unstoppable.

Facing the storm-like volley of arrows, Rain Concubine was soon overwhelmed and began to show signs of exhaustion.

Cang Chi and Yun Chi fared no better. Whether they unleashed Profound Light or erupted with Killing Power, the rain of arrows only intensified.

Even when the two Chi revealed their true forms, stirring up boundless waves and churning torrents several zhang high in an attempt to engulf the Thick Eyebrow Daoist...

...the man remained composed, a disdainful look on his face. He stood steadily high in the air, unleashing his Ren Water Magical Power like a bursting dam. Instead of being engulfed, he battered Cang Chi and Yun Chi until they were bruised and bleeding, sending them tumbling far away.

Immediately after, thousands more Water Cloud Annihilation Arrows followed, clinging to them like a plague that gnaws at the bone!

The two Chi descendants were subjected to a torture like ten thousand arrows piercing their hearts, pinned alive to the reef.

If the Thick Eyebrow Daoist hadn’t shown mercy, intending to interrogate them for information about the Daoist, they would have been finished long ago.

"You wretched beasts! Still haven’t come to your senses?"

Having subdued the two Chi descendants, the Thick Eyebrow Daoist bellowed and channeled even more Magical Power.

The green Jiao, Rain Concubine, was already struggling to hold on. Now, the pressure on her doubled. Tens of thousands of Water Cloud Annihilation Arrows descended menacingly, pattering like rain on banana leaves, and directly shattered the Profound Mirage Pearl!

PFFT!

Rain Concubine vomited a mouthful of Essence blood. The Magical Artifact was tied to her life force; its damage injured the very foundation of her Merit.

The Dragon King of the Bo Sea weakly reverted to her true form, crushed to the ground by the surging water light. She threw back her head and let out a mournful cry.

"The Daoist must have lost his mind, having you lot lay a siege for me. He doesn’t seem to realize that creatures from a minor world like this can at best contend with Disciples from a Branch Sect. How could you possibly stand against..."

The Thick Eyebrow Daoist was smug. He had never expected to rely on the power of the Raging Jiao Palace or the True Chi Palace. He had only ordered the green Jiao around to have her search for the Daoist’s whereabouts.

Having reached the Qi Cultivation Twelfth Layer himself, he didn’t even give much thought to the True Spirits of this minor world, trapped within the two ancient mountains of Dragonhead and Leopard Transformation.

"If you don’t confess, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

The Thick Eyebrow Daoist’s gaze swept over the Jiao and two Chi. Deciding there were too many of them, he was about to flick a heavy drop of Ren Water to shatter the Primordial Spirit of the still-resisting green Jiao.

But just as he raised his hand, his eyebrows shot up. He whipped his head around to look at the horizon.

It was as if rumbling thunder and flashing lightning were rapidly approaching. The weather across a hundred-li radius of the sea changed drastically, kicking up monstrous white waves dozens of zhang high.

Amidst the sky-rending howl, a hurricane and torrential rain swept in!

Even the long chain of islands beneath the Thick Eyebrow Daoist began to shake violently, solid rock and hard reefs shattering and flying apart!

A great roar filled the sky. The Thick Eyebrow Daoist’s expression gradually turned grave as he saw a vast, magnificent rosy glow, spreading for several li, rise up and dye half the Qi Sea red.

In an instant, a figure in a water-blue Daoist Robe arrived, treading on the clouds. The young man had a serene expression, one hand clasped behind his back.

"Were you looking for me?"

Jiang Yi glanced down and saw the Thick Eyebrow Daoist. His body was wreathed in coalesced Gang Sha, his form obscured by water and clouds. One look was all it took to know he was from an Ancestral Sect.

"Greetings, Daoist."

The Thick Eyebrow Daoist’s breath caught in his throat. His face tightened as he calmed his Heart Spirit and performed a Daoist salute.

"I have been ordered to take the Daoist’s life."

Jiang Yi showed no anger, only a faint smile.

"If you want to kill me, then show me what you’ve really got."

He had no desire to say more. He simply released his True Qi—a supreme-grade current that erupted outwards like a five-colored splendor, an immense, auspicious aura that shot up to envelop heaven and earth!

The entire Qi Sea sloshed like water in a bucket, threatening to overturn.

BOOM!

A thought flashed through Jiang Yi’s Divine Thought, and the five-colored splendor transformed into a colossal hand, mighty enough to shake mountains, grasp peaks, prop up the heavens, and seize the sun!

"Supreme-grade... True Qi..."

The Thick Eyebrow Daoist was horrified. He hurriedly manipulated his Magical Power, merging the thirty-six drops of Ren Water into one, which gushed forth like a surging, boundless ocean!

He strained with all his might to hold back the terrifying giant palm that parted the very air!

He had never expected the Daoist to have condensed Supreme-grade True Qi. Its magnificent power was unprecedented, completely bridging the gap in their Qi Cultivation Realms!

"You dare obey an order to obstruct my path with such crude methods?"

Jiang Yi’s gaze turned cold. The golden Daoist lotus inside him trembled slightly, and the might of his True Qi increased severalfold!

The colossal hand pressed down. With a deafening, thunderous BOOM, all thirty-six drops of Ren Water exploded.

Before the Daoist could react, the giant palm seized him, clenching him firmly in its grasp!