Splash!
Gu Hai jumped into the water, chasing Li Qinghe’s snake-covered head.
On the other side, Venerable Liu Nian seemed to have been embarrassed by Gu Hai’s words. He no longer messed about, turning serious. His eighteen Buddhist prayer beads became like eighteen stars surrounding him.
“The Dragon Fixing Hoop? Hahaha! Song Pingsheng, what a good scheme!” the fighting flood dragon shouted with a furious glare.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Song Pingsheng used the golden hoop in his hand to block the Buddhist prayer beads’ attacks.
“Fu Xue, this is not the time to argue. We’ll speak again after we take down this old baldy, Liu Nian!” Song Pingsheng said anxiously.
“Humph! Song Pingsheng, I wondered why you were so generous, letting me refine all the First Song Sect disciples. How could you have been so generous? So, this is what you were waiting for! You were waiting for me to grasp the dragon vein before using the Dragon Fixing Hoop against me?” the flood dragon roared.
“It is not what you are thinking!” Song Pingsheng protested anxiously.
“It is not what I am thinking? The Dragon Fixing Hoop? That comes from the Innate Puzzle World, one of the enchanted treasures that Old Mister Guan Qi forged to suppress and trap those of the false dragon races, like me! Excellent! Excellent! Very excellent! Song Pingsheng, you are indeed shrewd!” the flood dragon ranted anxiously.
“What is there to argue about whether I am plotting against you or not? Take down this old baldy first. Otherwise, neither of us can flee!” Song Pingsheng roared anxiously.
“Humph!” the flood dragon snorted coldly, turning its head to face Venerable Liu Nian once more.
“Immeasurable Great Sea, Ten Thousand Rivers Surging!” the flood dragon shouted.
Boom!
All the water surged up, crashing towards Venerable Liu Nian.
“Nine Star Alignment!” Venerable Liu Nian extended his hand and pressed down.
Rumble…!
Suddenly, nine Buddhist prayer beads became like nine stars falling from the sky towards the flood dragon. When the water crashed into the prayer beads, the water exploded.
“What?” The flood dragon’s expression changed.
Rumble…!
The nine Buddhist prayer beads pressed on the flood dragon’s body.
Roar!
When the immense force pressed down, it instantly rendered the flood dragon immobile.
“Old baldy, what enchanted treasure is this?! What exactly is this?!” the flood dragon howled in startlement.
At this moment, the Buddhist prayer beads suppressed the flood dragon. As long as it vented its anger, the Buddhist prayer beads would immediately press down harder. Even the flood dragon found the immense force nigh unbearable.
The flood dragon’s expression changed dramatically. However, Venerable Liu Nian ignored it. Instead, he controlled the remaining Buddhist prayer beads to press towards the Dragon Fixing Hoop.
Boom!
The Dragon Fixing Hoop sent out a manifested net like a huge shield, blocking the Buddhist prayer beads. However, Song Pingsheng, who was controlling the Dragon Fixing Hoop from behind, paled. It looked like he could not hold on for much longer.
“The Dragon Fixing Hoop lives up to being an enchanted treasure that Old Mister Guan Qi forged. Unfortunately, you have yet to refine it completely. This Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array came from the Dragon Fixing Hoop, right?”
“How did you know?” Song Pingsheng exclaimed in shock.
“Humph! How did I know? There are records of Old Mister Guan Qi using this Dragon Fixing Hoop to bring out a gold armor ritual array. This ritual array possessed extraordinary might and was very similar to your Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array. However, you seem to be unable to bring out that ritual array?” Venerable Liu Nian said coldly. As he spoke, he extended his hand and pressed down.
Blargh! Song Pingsheng vomited a mouthful of blood.
“Venerable Liu Nian, please spare me if you can; we all make mistakes. I only followed Fu Xue’s instructions!” Song Pingsheng cried out in pain.
“Where is the hall master? Did you hurt the hall master?” Venerable Liu Nian asked coldly.
“We did not! We did not! How could we dare to! We definitely don’t. Should the hall master’s grandfather find out, only death awaits us even if we obtained ten dragon veins. We do not dare hurt the hall master at all, really! Not even a single hair!” Song Pingsheng immediately yelled.
“Humph! I believe that you do not dare to harm the hall master. Even so, how bold of you!” Venerable Liu Nian said coldly.
“We did not harm her. We only wanted to find out what happened twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, the previous hall master already found the dragon vein and seemed to have obtained something. I asked Long Wanqing, but she did not say anything. Even so, we did not dare do anything to her, only her servants. However, her servants are still alive. We really did not do anything!” Song Pingsheng explained anxiously.
Just at this moment, three figures slowly walked out of the Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array’s entrance. They were Long Wanqing’s three servants.
“Look! Look! They are still alive! They are still alive!” Song Pingsheng said anxiously.
“Venerable, you finally returned!” The three servants immediately greeted Venerable Liu Nian from afar.
“Where’s the hall master?”
“We don’t know. It seems like she is not in the First Song Sect!” the three servants said anxiously.
Whoosh!
Venerable Liu Nian’s expression turned cold as he turned his head to look at Song Pingsheng.
“Where is the hall master?” Venerable Liu Nian asked again coldly.
“Venerable Liu Nian, we really did not dare hurt the hall master. We handed the hall master to Division Master Ding. She’s with Division Master Ding!” Song Pingsheng replied anxiously.
“Elite Hall’s Fire Division Master, Ding Rui?” Venerable Liu Nian frowned.
“Yes! Yes! We handed the hall master to Ding Rui. Given this, this is Elite Hall’s internal problem. It has nothing to do with us. We did not harm the hall master. At best…at best, we only captured her three servants. With that, the hall master’s maternal grandfather won’t pursue us for responsibility just because of these insignificant servants! He definitely won’t!” Song Pingsheng insisted anxiously.
“Hahahaha! Song Pingsheng, what a scheme! Do you think that no one will pursue you for responsibility just because of that?! Humph!” Venerable Liu Nian laughed coldly.
“Ding Rui knows it as well. She knows what we want to do. She did not object. In fact, we followed her instructions!” Song Pingsheng protested anxiously.
“Ding Rui?” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed.
“Ding Rui? She is disrespecting her superiors with this. Is she mutinying?” the three servants in the distance said in shock.
Venerable Liu Nian’s expression turned cold. “Song Pingsheng, where is Ding Rui now?”
“I...I…I…!” Song Pingsheng now seemed to realize that he was in deep trouble. He asked anxiously, “Venerable, if I tell you, this counts as offsetting my offense with contributions, right?”
“Speak!” Venerable Liu Nian shouted while glowering.
Now, Venerable Liu Nian gained confirmation that the situation had indeed gone out of his control. It was as Gu Hai said; the what-if had happened.
Had the flood dragon and Song Pingsheng merely captured Long Wanqing and imprisoned her, Venerable Liu Nian would not have been this worried. After all, her maternal grandfather’s reputation was too terrifying.
However, it was Ding Rui who held the hall master now. Has something happened internally in Elite Hall?
Ding Rui even dared to make a move on Long Wanqing despite clearly understanding Long Wanqing’s maternal grandfather well. There had to be some secret hidden behind all this, a secret that could prompt Ding Rui to go after it regardless of everything else. Perhaps this secret had something to do with the death of Long Wanqing’s mother back then.
Long Wanqing was in danger!
“Speak! Where is Ding Rui?!” Venerable Liu Nian shouted while glaring.
“I’ll…I’ll speak. She’s…she’s at—” Song Pingsheng stammered.
Whoosh!
The sound of rushing wind came from the distance. Then, a golden beam of light shot over from afar.
“Huh?” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed as he turned to look.
That was a golden arrow shot from far away and instantly arriving.
“No!” Venerable Liu Nian’s expression changed dramatically as he tried to stop it.
However, the golden arrow moved too swiftly. It brushed by Venerable Liu Nian, streaking towards Song Pingsheng. It passed between the nine Buddhist prayer beads and charged at the Dragon Fixing Hoop.
The Dragon Fixing Hoop’s golden manifested net could not stop the golden arrow at all. The arrow instantly broke the defense and stabbed the center of the Dragon Fixing Hoop.
“No!” Song Pingsheng shouted in terror.
Boom!
The golden arrow exploded Song Pingsheng, making him vanish in the blink of an eye.
Then, the golden arrow continued on its path and crashed into the Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array.
Boom!
Countless cracks instantly appeared in the Gold Armor Water Crystal Ritual Array. It looked like it would shatter at any moment.
The golden arrow stabbed into the ritual array buzzed softly as it quivered.
Boom!
The nine Buddhist prayer beads fell into the water.
Roar!
On the other side, the flood dragon roared, appearing to be drawing out its full strength as it knocked away the other nine Buddhist prayer beads.
Boom!
The flood dragon shot forward in another direction.
“Beast! Stay still!” Venerable Liu Nian bellowed in startled fury.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a flying ship sped over from a distance. It was the Divine Strategy Battalion’s ship. The Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, Li Haoran, stood at the bow of the flying ship, holding a bow. Clearly, he was the archer who exploded Song Pingsheng.
“Venerable Liu Nian, I just returned from the Clear River Sect and found it leveled. Did something happen? Where is Long Wanqing?” Li Haoran asked with a frown.
Venerable Liu Nian grabbed the Dragon Fixing Hoop with his right hand. Then, he turned his head and coldly eyed Li Haoran. “Li Haoran, you! Humph!”
Whoosh!
Venerable Liu Nian grabbed the eighteen Buddhist prayer beads, which had shrunk back to their original size. Then, he quickly chased after the flood dragon. Since Long Wanqing was missing, he needed to know Ding Rui’s location. As for Li Haoran, did he do that on purpose?
Boom!
In the blink of an eye, Venerable Liu Nian had already reached the horizon. As he chased after the flood dragon, he brought out a flying ship with a flip of his hand. After he stepped onto the flying ship, he sped up.
When the flood dragon dived into the river, Venerable Liu Nian grew increasingly anxious.
Seeing Venerable Liu Nian chase after the flood dragon, Li Haoran revealed a cold smile.
“Battalion Commander, Ding Rui’s information was truly timely. We were nearly too late,” one of Li Haoran’s subordinates whispered at the side.
Li Haoran nodded.
Gu Hai chased after Li Qinghe’s snake-covered head. They crossed the waters, and Li Qinghe’s head soon entered the forest.
“Where are you running to?!” Gu Hai continued his relentless pursuit.
“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”
The many snakes suddenly grew longer and spat out venom.
“Chop!” The Life Ender Saber chopped down, sending over surging black energy.
Boom!
The tiny skulls in the black energy consumed all the venom in the blink of an eye.
Li Qinghe’s snake-covered head suddenly changed its expression.
Bang!
The head turned around, no longer dealing with Gu Hai as it resumed fleeing through the forest.
“Gu Hai, you are incessant! If not for me, would you have your current achievements?” the snake-covered head in front shouted.
“I have my current achievements because of Long Wanqing. However, you did play a part. Originally, I did not plan on doing anything to you despite your demonic body. However, you tried to kill me in the Clear River Sect. Am I wrong? If not for my ritual array, I would have died already. Furthermore, if you don’t die, my three thousand subordinates will remain as stone statues.” Gu Hai snorted coldly as he continued chasing.
Now, Li Qinghe no longer had his body. He apparently did not have much strength left since he did not fly high or fast. When pursuing at full speed, Gu Hai could even catch up.
One head and one man—one in front and one behind—rushed through the forest.