Chapter 425 The Flood Dragon

He was older than the Elder of Taicang and had been more favored by the previous sect master of the Cangqing Immortal Sect. Yet, he had ruined everything in his pursuit of forging a Mid-Grade Golden Core.

"Without the Yang-Returning Calamity-Dispelling Pill, Silas might have ultimately found his lifespan insufficient to advance further due to this path."

Eldrin's thoughts flickered, but in the end he shook his head once more. There were no "what ifs" in this world—success was simply success.

At 2 100 and 80 years of age, Chen Silas (Person Name) forged a mid-grade Golden Core, marking him as genuine Nascent Soul material. From this point onward, he had at least a 30 to 40 percent chance of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.

Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Eldrin looked at Taiwu Zhenren and said, "Rest assured. As long as I remain in this world, the Verdant Azure Immortal Sect will always be under my watch."

"Many thanks."

Taiwu Zhenren smiled faintly, feeling somewhat relieved in his heart. With nearly 2 100 years of camaraderie between them, he could be considered quite familiar with Eldrin (Person Name).

He was a peerless prodigy with immense potential to break through to the Nascent Soul realm. With even the slightest guidance from him, the Verdant Azure Immortal Sect would surely be spared from the brink of extinction.

After Eldrin and Lyra arrived, they personally assisted the Taiwu True Master in setting up the formation.

Soon after, the Azure Cyan Array Disk was set in place. A group of Golden Core cultivators gathered together, making their final preparations before the battle.

Lyra gazed at the assembly and spoke first, "Honored colleagues, according to our intelligence, there are at least 5 Golden Core demonic cultivators within the Demonic Ape Mountains."

Among them were 3 Demon Ape Kings of the Mo Yuan tribe, along with the Blood Ape and Black Ape Demon Kings. They had all descended into the demonic path, particularly the Demon Ape King, whose current cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core.

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions turned grave. The Demonic Ape King had already reached the Golden Core, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm) over 1 100 years ago. Now, having descended into demonic cultivation, his power had surged dramatically, making him an exceedingly formidable figure.

Lyra paused briefly before continuing, "Aside from the Demonic Ape King, I suspect that Blackfire True Person—disciple of the Black Fiend Patriarch—along with the Devil's Cavern Master are also hiding within the Demonic Ape Mountains."

"Is that truly the case?"

Sect Leader Qian of the Azure Sky Sword Sect couldn't help but slightly change his expression upon hearing this.

Both Blackflame True Person and the Cave Master of the Demon Cavern were cultivators at the Golden Core, Late Stage, with Blackflame True Person having even reached the Great Perfection of the Golden Core. Given his cultivation realm and strength, even all of you present here would find him troublesome.

Eldrin (Person Name) wore a serene expression as he spoke calmly, "There is no need for concern. The Cave Lord of the Demon Abyss has had his physical form destroyed twice within 1 100 years. Even if he has now reconstructed his body, it remains impossible for him to break through to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core."

"Approximately 30-8 years ago, the Black Flame Old Demon had his physical form destroyed by my wife and I. It is likely he has yet to fully succeed in reconstructing his body to this day."

Hearing his words, the assembled crowd let out a slight sigh of relief.

The Darkflame Ancient Fiend possessed extraordinary methods, yet in less than 40 years, the physical body he reconstructed was undoubtedly extremely frail. His current strength was likely only at the seventh level of the Golden Core stage.

The gap between the seventh level of the Golden Core and the Great Perfection of the Golden Core was immense. True Master Qian had only recently broken through to the seventh level, yet he felt that even 2 versions of himself combined could barely contend against a Golden Core at Great Perfection.

Seeing the group’s fighting spirit ignite, Eldrin spoke again, “5 Golden Core demonic cultivators—their strength is not to be underestimated. To avoid repeating the tragedy of the Demon Cave from years past, I ask that every 1 of you give this battle your all.”

"We understand."

Everyone nodded and immediately set about attacking the Demon Ape Mountain.

Instantly, tens of thousands of cultivators joined forces, channeling the power of the Cyan Azure Array Disk to activate the formation, relentlessly compressing the Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) barrier enveloping the Demon Ape Mountain.

After the formation had exerted pressure for 3 days, Lyra and Eldrin personally activated the war treasure ship, unleashing its barrier-breaking divine ability to assault the Demonic Fiend Qi barrier.

The current Celestial Ruins Alliance now possessed a full 4 fourth-grade war treasure ships. With their full power unleashed, they consecutively unleashed 20-some strikes of the 7 Stars Demon-Slaying Sword Qi, finally managing to forcibly shatter this Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) barrier.

"Let's begin."

Seeing the Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) barrier shattered, Lyra (Person Name) gave the command and charged in first, with Eldrin (Person Name) close behind. The remaining dozen or so Golden Core cultivators surged forward together.

"Clang—"

No sooner had Eldrin (Person Name) landed than he sensed a brilliant sword radiance slashing toward him. Raising his hand, he summoned a divine thunderbolt, forcibly repelling the incoming immortal sword.

After completing this step, Eldrin finally surveyed his surroundings and realized the 1 who had betrayed him was none other than Old Ghost Deng.

"So it was you?"

Eldrin's gaze turned icy. He never expected that after several decades, this old ghost Deng hadn't yet exhausted his lifespan, and had even managed to reconstruct his physical form.

At this moment, Old Man Deng's eyes brimmed with icy killing intent. Years ago, Eldrin had destroyed his physical body, leaving him with no way out but to join the Demonic Ape Mountain.

Thereafter, he turned to cultivating demonic arts, selling his soul to an eldritch god from beyond the celestial realm to extend his lifespan by 60 years. Through the power of a demonic spring, he reforged his physical form.

The grade betrayed the soul's price for the demonic boon, yet Old Man Deng's cultivation finally advanced another step, reaching the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm. It seemed he still had 1 chance to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with fury. Old Man Deng’s gaze burned with frenzied killing intent as he sneered, "It is I. Today, the karma between us shall be settled."

Old Ghost Deng spoke, transforming into a crimson streak as he lunged forward.

At the same time, Blackflame True Person, Demon Cavern Master, and the Demonic Ape King struck in unison, unleashing overwhelming power as they besieged Eldrin (Person Name).

"Insolence."

Beside them, Lyra soared into the heavens, summoning the Heavenly Ruins Immortal-Slaying Sword to join Eldrin in battle against their foe.

The great battle erupted into a white-hot frenzy from the very start, as countless demonic cultivators and human practitioners clashed together, making it impossible to determine victory or defeat this day.

"The Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) here is astonishing. We must not prolong this battle." Steering the Sky-Piercing Immortal Sword to strike a formidable foe, Patriarch Qian declared with a grave expression, "This old man shall go suppress the Demonic Spring."

Lyra nodded and said, "Senior, please lend him a hand as well."

"Bzzz—"

In an instant, the void grew subtly still.

A brilliant, dazzling white light bathed heaven and earth as an illusory treasure mirror soared into the sky, flying deep into the Ink Spring.

In that very instant, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from the depths of Demon Ape Mountain. Patriarch Qian, clutching the Firmament Immortal Sword, was sent flying back, blood spraying from his lips.

"Who goes there?"

Eldrin's gaze turned grave as he finally noticed the depths of the Demonic Ape Mountain. A sapphire-scaled flood dragon soared into the heavens, its claws bared and fangs gleaming as it surged through the skies with unparalleled majesty.

It was a flood dragon of overwhelming majesty, with a pair of dragon horns crowning its head and scales that radiated a glacial luminescence. Each scale seemed forged from azure gold, carrying an astonishingly sharp chill.

"It's the 1!"

Everyone’s pupils contracted as they recognized the origin of this fiend.

A flood dragon and a true dragon are entirely different. Take the former Black Flood Dragon (Demon Beast) Demon King, for instance—it was merely a vicious flood dragon, not a true dragon.

The Blue Flood Dragon Demon King had originally been a peak demon king at the False Infant stage. Yet in just over 30 years, it had actually transformed into a true flood dragon form—such talent was in no way inferior to that of a human cultivator with a superior-grade Golden Core.