Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 301: Chapter 298: Ink Flood Dragon

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He looked at Xiao Ruoling, smiled, and said, ”Have you never encountered this kind of demon beast before?”

Xiao Ruoling shook her head.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, ”Not even once?”

”Not even once did we encounter such a transforming demon beast... Could it be because our cultivation is too low?”

”I haven’t encountered it either,” Shen Hanyue quickly said. ”It’s not that our cultivation is low, these demon beasts are just rare, right?”

Chu Zhiyuan said nothing.

From the perspective and memory of ancient trees, he knew that there were many demon beasts over a hundred years old.

It’s just that demon beasts over a hundred years old have more spirituality and do not easily attack indiscriminately.

Those that attack intruders on their territory or appear weak are mostly lesser demon beasts.

These lesser demon beasts are wild and hard to tame, like young men full of vigor, aggressive and reckless.

But those over a hundred-year-old demon beasts hide throughout the world, and if they don’t make a move, it’s difficult for others to find them.

But Chu Zhiyuan wasn’t prepared to say much about this.

After all, he couldn’t explain how he knew, especially since Shen Hanyue, the argumentative one, was beside him.

Once he spoke, she would surely rebut and counter-question.

Moreover, if he really said it, it would only increase the pressure.

Shen Hanyue was itching to move: ”This snake surely contains a demon crystal. If we don’t extract it, it would be a waste, and the snakeskin, gall, and meat are all good things. ... Senior sister, how about we send it out first?!”

Xiao Ruoling hesitated and looked towards Chu Zhiyuan.

If they didn’t send it out quickly, she knew it would soon be wiped out by other demon beasts.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, ”Then let’s head out first.”

Xiao Ruoling nodded.

Shen Hanyue snorted.

When she spoke, the senior sister didn’t listen, but as soon as Chu Zhiyuan spoke, the senior sister immediately listened.

This was simply...

Chu Zhiyuan grabbed the tail of the giant snake and took a step forward.

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue hurriedly followed him out.

The exit was here, but the entrance might not be, which was the wondrous aspect of the Secret Land.

Their appearance with the snake attracted Yun Qiuhua’s attention.

She was sitting cross-legged on a mat, and upon seeing the giant snake, her expression changed slightly, and she flashed to appear before the three of them.

Her expression grave, she scrutinized the giant snake and grunted, ”You have such luck, encountering this big guy as soon as you entered?”

She glanced at Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue, then at Chu Zhiyuan. ”Are you hurt?”

Shen Hanyue quickly said, ”Elder, when we saw it, it was only this long, but after dying, it became this long.”

She gestured with her small hands, her face full of amazement.

Yun Qiuhua asked, ”How did you kill it?”

Her gaze shifted to the seven-inch point on the giant snake, recognizing it as the fatal wound.

It appeared to be a sword cut, yet somewhat different.

Xiao Ruoling said, ”The princely heir’s flying knife shot it.”

Yun Qiuhua said, ”For a demon beast over a hundred years old, getting hit without dying would heavily injure you.”

Demon beasts over a hundred years old have the ability to transform, which is a qualitative difference from those under a hundred years.

The difference is akin to humans stepping from the Innate to the Grandmaster realm.

Anyone below a Great Grandmaster must be extra cautious when encountering these century-old demon beasts.

Shen Hanyue exclaimed, ”So formidable?”

Yun Qiuhua snorted, ”A hundred to two hundred years old, equivalent to a Grandmaster of the Third or Fourth Layer Heaven, two hundred to three hundred years old, Fifth and Sixth Layer Heaven... In short, encountering them is troublesome. If you can escape, do so. If not, immediately send a signal.”

Shen Hanyue glanced at Chu Zhiyuan.

Xiao Ruoling asked, ”Why don’t we usually see them?”

Yun Qiuhua said, ”Once they reach this level, either they’re too lazy to bother with outsiders or avoiding confrontation, they rarely take action.”

”That’s a relief...” Shen Hanyue breathed a sigh of relief.

If they were truly that formidable, who would dare to enter the Secret Land?

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”We’ll leave the snake to the elder for handling; we’ll continue to explore.”

Yun Qiuhua waved her hand: ”Rest assured, it will be handled properly, without wasting anything.”

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fist in thanks, taking Xiao Ruoling’s jade-like hand.

Shen Hanyue quickly grabbed her other jade-like hand.

The three entered the Secret Realm once more.

In a flash, they found themselves in front of a surging great river, completely different from the lush forest before.

Chu Zhiyuan’s Insight covered a radius of five hundred meters, and he frowned.

Xiao Ruoling softly asked, ”Is something wrong?”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”It’s best to stay away from this river, there’s something in it.”

Shen Hanyue asked, ”What kind of thing, isn’t it just fish?”

”There’s a flood dragon,” Chu Zhiyuan said.

Shen Hanyue widened her bright eyes and looked at the surging river.

The river, nearly two to three hundred meters wide, flowed rapidly and turbulently downwards.

The great river originated from two massive mountain ranges, flowing towards distant woods.

Chu Zhiyuan, holding Xiao Ruoling’s hand, turned and started walking away from the river.

Shen Hanyue, pulled back by Xiao Ruoling, kept turning her head to look at the great river as they retreated.

Just then, Chu Zhiyuan suddenly stopped, his eyes flashing coldly, as a white light shot from his sleeve.

The white light flashed in mid-air, colliding with a small snake emerging from the river.

The snake, palm-sized with a jet-black body, its scales gleaming, had antler-like horns on its forehead.

The small horns were as crystalline and smooth as if carved from jade.

The little snake bore some resemblance to the previous jade snake but was even more exquisitely beautiful.

”Clang...” The small snake flicked its head, using its horns to deflect the flying knife.

Another white light flew from Chu Zhiyuan’s sleeve.

The white light was again deflected by the small snake’s horns, already out of the river.

With a grave expression, Chu Zhiyuan extended his right hand out of his sleeve, holding a flying knife, watching the small black snake coming at him.

When it was a hundred meters away, about to leave the sky above the river, the knife ”whooshed” out, instantly appearing at the small snake’s seven-inch point.

Under the intense gaze of the two women, the snake deftly twisted, elegantly dodging.

At a critical moment, the knife was about to miss the snake, but suddenly swerved, hitting its seven-inch spot.

”Clang...” The knife bounced off with a clear ring.

Its scales could actually withstand the Breaking Gang Flying Blade.

Though it blocked it, the force from the knife knocked it away, tumbling mid-air before falling back into the river.

Chu Zhiyuan’s expression grew somber.

Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue sensed something amiss.

The two women quickly gripped their signal devices, ready to fire into the sky at any moment.

But the surging river remained calm, as if the little snake had died.

The two women knew it wasn’t dead at all.

Chu Zhiyuan took Xiao Ruoling’s hand, ”Let’s go.”

”What about it...?”

”It has retreated,” Chu Zhiyuan beckoned, and both flying knives flew back into his hand.

This caught Shen Hanyue’s fiery eyes.

The flying knife was truly formidable.

”It’s not dead, is it?” Shen Hanyue asked.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”It’s far from dead.”

Shen Hanyue sighed with regret, ”It’s a pity we didn’t kill it; it surely has treasures.”

”It’s not that easy to kill,” Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. ”It’s probably at least five hundred years old, much tougher than the snake earlier.”

As he spoke with Xiao Ruoling and Shen Hanyue, he moved towards a distant ancient verdant forest.

Suddenly, Xiao Ruoling sensed his body tense then relax, and she quickly grasped his hand, turning to look at him.

She saw his face was pale, like someone not yet recovered from a severe illness. Unable to help herself, she asked, ”What happened?”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Let’s see the effect of this knife.”

Xiao Ruoling immediately understood.

He just shot another silent, invisible blade.

”Senior sister!”

Shen Hanyue suddenly pulled her, eyes wide.

Behind them, across the surging great river, a colossal beast hovered in the air, as if freed from the earth’s gravitational pull, floating.

The colossal beast had a circumference that required two people to embrace completely, its length nearly a hundred meters, floating above the great river.

It was an Ink Flood Dragon.

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