Chapter 920: Demon Emperor Black Dragon, Sword Slays the Dao Firmament

The atmosphere in the arena froze solid.

The Shi Ji Sheng Ling Zhen had been freed, but it momentarily lost its sense of direction.

Rao Yaoyao couldn't find where the Qi Yun Jin Long had gone, and Dao Qiong Cang was stunned that the Shen Jian Xuan Cang had managed to lose the Sheng Shen Dian Tang's centuries of accumulated fortune.

The two of them stood rigidly in place, and those nearby could sense that something was amiss.

"What happened?" Teng Shan Hai asked in confusion.

The exchange between Rao Yaoyao and Dao Qiong Cang had been conducted through telepathic transmission, so outsiders had no idea about the details of the battle.

On the ground below, the people from Dong Tian Wang Cheng and Yun Lun Shan Mai emerged from their frenzied state and erupted into collective cheers, loudly praising the power and virtues of the Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

But high in the sky, the ethereal forms of Rao Yaoyao and Dao Qiong Cang's sacred thoughts faced each other, both in a foul mood.

Teng Shan Hai's question went unanswered.

Then, suddenly, a sound rang out.

"Burp."

A satisfied belch.

It came from the Sheng Di Long Lin!

Rao Yaoyao's face changed dramatically, and she immediately turned to look at the black dragon scale.

Dao Qiong Cang felt something too, and upon turning back, even his sacred thought form began to tremble and lose its shape from the shock.

"Cackle, cackle, cackle..."

Following the belch, a sinister laugh seeped out from the Sheng Di Long Lin.

Along with it came a venomous, low sigh, laced with twelve parts admiration: "What a delightful taste. This emperor hasn't feasted so well in ages..."

The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly echoed in the hearts of all the spirit refiners within the range of the Shi Ji Sheng Ling Zhen.

The spirit refiners from Dong Tian Wang Cheng and Yun Lun Shan Mai were struck as if by lightning, falling into a collective daze.

"Who is it?" Teng Shan Hai's pupils contracted as he stared at the Sheng Di Long Lin, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

A wisp of black smoke rose from the Sheng Di Long Lin.

In an instant, it expanded to over a hundred zhang in size!

High in the sky, all the still-conscious Taixu experts watched in shock.

Within the swirling black smoke, a thick, dense mass of golden mist was bound inside.

The golden mist seemed to struggle violently, sometimes twisting into the form of a golden dragon, other times being tormented by the black smoke until it dissipated into formless vapor.

"Isn't that the Qi Yun Jin Long that Shen Jian Xuan Cang summoned earlier?" Huang Yang Zhen Ren exclaimed from the far rear, his eyes wide with disbelief.

The Qi Yun Jin Long... had been eaten?

Could something like that even be eaten?

"So it was you..." Rao Yaoyao's eyes blazed with fury.

She never imagined, nor could she fathom, that her sword strike—fueled by the Forget-Emotion Sword and the power of fortune, aimed at severing the seven emotions and six desires of all the spirit refiners on the ground—would be intercepted midway by the Mo Di Hei Long and have its fortune successfully devoured.

This made no sense at all!

"My sword strike was clearly not aimed at the dragon scale..." Rao Yaoyao stared blankly at Dao Qiong Cang, hoping to get an answer from the fellow sacred realm master of the Dao Hall.

The loss of the Qi Yun Jin Long meant the Sheng Shen Dian Tang had lost at least a century's worth of fortune.

This level of damage would be hard for even her, Rao Yaoyao, to bear afterward!

"Mo Di Hei Long..."

Dao Qiong Cang's sacred thought form spoke, his voice heavy with gravity.

No one could have imagined that the dragon scale of the Mo Di Hei Long truly contained a wisp of its original sacred emperor intent.

Activating this sacred emperor intent was incredibly difficult.

Yet, after a long roundabout, it had managed to hatch itself using the Sheng Shen Dian Tang's century of fortune.

It had slain the enemy at a cost of a thousand, but replenished itself by eight hundred.

A clear profit!

Rao Yaoyao was losing her composure; she couldn't tolerate being toyed with like this, and dark energy unconsciously appeared in her eyes.

Watching the Qi Yun Jin Long still struggling in the black smoke, she thought that if an external force attacked now, they might be able to reclaim some of the fortune belonging to the Sheng Shen Dian Tang.

Even if only a tenth, it would lighten her burden of responsibility later.

With that in mind, Rao Yaoyao hesitated no longer. She lunged forward, gripping the Shen Jian Xuan Cang, and charged.

"How dare you toy with me!"

The black smoke and dragon scale seemed startled, not daring to clash directly with the sword immortal's might, and retreated at lightspeed.

Rao Yaoyao pressed her advantage, raising the Shen Jian Xuan Cang again as more fortune power surged forth...

"Enough!"

A thunderous rebuke echoed from the clear sky, pulling Rao Yaoyao back from her frenzied state.

"Do you want to lose even more fortune power?" Dao Qiong Cang's scolding voice rang in her ears. "Look closely—the Qi Yun Jin Long has already been completely devoured. Everything you're seeing is just an illusion!"

Rao Yaoyao halted abruptly, as if enlightened.

Once she regained her senses, a cold sweat broke out on her back.

When she looked again, sure enough, the black smoke emanating from the distant dragon scale was entirely different from what she had seen before.

Where was the golden mist bound and struggling within the black smoke?

Where was the Qi Yun Jin Long that seemed ready to break free and return to the Shen Jian Xuan Cang?

The hundred-zhang black smoke had fully transformed into the shape of a ferocious, sinister, and utterly malevolent black dragon!

"So... it's already gone..." Rao Yaoyao's red lips parted in shock, her eyes wide.

She finally realized that since that belch, the Qi Yun Jin Long had been completely consumed.

Everything she had seen afterward was just an illusion created by the Mo Di Hei Long's sacred emperor shadow, meant to make her lose even more after already losing so much.

"Crack."

Rao Yaoyao's fingers gripped the hilt of the Shen Jian Xuan Cang so tightly that her knuckles cracked.

She was furious.

What a cunning and ruthless foe!

One scheme succeeded, only to be followed by another. If Dao Qiong Cang hadn't been watching and she had been influenced by the sacred emperor's power, would she have poured all the remaining fortune power from the Shen Jian Xuan Cang into this?

"Cackle, cackle, cackle..."

The shadow of the Mo Di Hei Long let out another mocking laugh, its words dripping with sarcasm: "You youngsters are really not very likable. How can you offer tribute to your elders with just the main course and no dessert?"

As its words ended, the dragon's head trembled.

"Burp."

It let out another belch...

Rao Yaoyao's heart trembled with rage.

How shameless!

It had used the Sheng Shen Dian Tang's fortune to manifest itself, yet it still wanted to devour more.

If it succeeded, she would be doomed beyond redemption!

By now, the spirit refiners from Dong Tian Wang Cheng and Yun Lun Shan Mai had recovered from the initial shock of the sacred emperor's voice. They stared up at the sky, their faces full of horror.

In the heavens above,

One was the ethereal sacred thought form of Dao Qiong Cang, shrouded in clouds and mist, towering like a pillar holding up the sky.

The other was the massive, hundred-zhang shadow of the sacred emperor, a five-clawed black dragon coiled in the void, surrounded by black smoke.

The half-sacred shadow gazed down, as if looking down on the five-clawed black dragon.

But when the five-clawed black dragon lifted its pair of blood-red dragon eyes, filled with mockery, it seemed as though it could stir clouds and rain or toy with all living beings in an instant.

—They were evenly matched!

"This, this, this..."

The spirit refiners were stunned. The half-sacred shadow alone was enough to broaden their horizons.

But what on earth was this suddenly appearing five-clawed black dragon?

From the conversation between the two sides, it seemed that even Rao Jianxian and Dao Qiong Cang's sacred thought form had been outmaneuvered by this five-clawed black dragon?

"Sacred emperor?"

Someone uttered the word in shock, then suddenly looked blank. "What exactly is this five-clawed black dragon? What realm is it?"

"Above half-sacred, at least?"

"In my view, it's definitely a sacred emperor manifestation... Uh, what was I about to say? Oh, right—it's absolutely above half-sacred level!"

Whispers spread on the ground.

Everyone was discussing the five-clawed black dragon and the half-sacred shadow.

What they witnessed today would give them plenty to talk about over tea and meals for ages.

A sacred-level confrontation was something ordinary people might never see in a lifetime!

In the heavens above,

After her lingering fear, Rao Yaoyao, who had handed the battlefield over to Dao Qiong Cang, had already retreated to the rear with Teng Shan Hai, Huang Yang Zhen Ren, and the others.

The fight that followed was clearly beyond their level.

Dao Qiong Cang's sacred thought form had only shown a brief fluctuation when the Qi Yun Jin Long was devoured, but afterward, it returned to its unflappable state.

"Mo Di Hei Long, you should know the rules of the inner island of Xu Kong Dao—the stronger your cultivation realm, the harder it is to escape."

"I don't know how much you sacrificed to send this wisp of lingering intent back to the Sheng Shen Continent, but even if you devoured the Qi Yun Jin Long, I won't need the Shi Ji Sheng Ling Zhen to deal with you..."

"How long can this wisp of yours last?"

Dao Qiong Cang shook his head as he spoke, his sacred thought form gradually solidifying into the shape of a man in white robes, with an immortal air.

He held a si nan in his left hand, as if supporting a whole world, and with his right hand, he lightly pinched a seal with his index finger and thumb, as if grasping the stars and cosmos.

The si nan's pointer rotated slightly.

With each movement, vast sacred power rippled out, completely isolating the sacred sound and the negative influence of the Mo Di Hei Long from the ordinary spirit refiners on the ground.

"Cackle, cackle, cackle!"

The five-clawed black dragon laughed sinisterly, trembling in the void, and transformed into a man in black armor with dragon scales, dragon horns on his head, faint scale patterns on his face, and flickering black lightning in his blood-red eyes.

"Indeed, even your voice is full of that smug energy..."

The Mo Di Hei Long licked his lips as he evaluated, then fixed his blood-red eyes on Dao Qiong Cang and mocked, "If my guess is right, you're the smug little Daoist he mentioned, the top young talent of the Sheng Shen Continent... what's your name again? Dao Qiong Cang?"

Dao Qiong Cang's expression remained unchanged as he calmly replied, "So, all of this wasn't your scheme, but his?"

The Mo Di Hei Long's blood-red eyes widened, and he turned his head. "What scheme? Who's he?"

"Hah."

Dao Qiong Cang chuckled softly, a look of relief on his face, and continued unhurriedly:

"Using the two eruptions of treasures from the Xu Kong Dao rift to make Hong Yi drop his guard; using Yi Zhi's death as the cause, forcing Hong Yi to rush back and forth, stretched thin."

"Then, through internal and external collusion, after figuring out the details of Hong Yi's 'Seven-Two Severed Dragon Origin Array,' sending out your dragon scale with the hidden sacred emperor lingering intent, plus the Mo Jian Wan Bing Mo Zhu, to lure Ai Cang Sheng into action."

"The Mo Jian Wan Bing Mo Zhu's sword cut through the Evil Sin Bow's arrow, forcing out my backup plan first, then squeezing out the last bit of the demon sword's power to delay the Shi Ji Sheng Ling Zhen's attack, giving the dragon scale a chance to breathe and hatch."

"Finally, using the common people as bait to force Rao Yaoyao to strike, while you had already set up an ambush, using the black dragon power hidden in the spirit refiners' bodies to divide and devour the Qi Yun Jin Long, concentrating the power in the dragon scale so the lingering intent could successfully hatch."

Dao Qiong Cang smiled faintly and said calmly, "Am I right?"

In the rear, Rao Yaoyao's mind flashed with insight, and she suddenly understood.

After all the twists and turns, the real goal was to hatch the sacred emperor lingering intent. All the successes and failures before had been feints?

So...

This was a scheme within a scheme within a scheme!

Teng Shan Hai, however, was completely baffled.

Even with Dao Qiong Cang's explanation, he couldn't process it for a moment—who was telling the truth and who was lying.

Glancing at the Mo Jian Wan Bing Mo Zhu, Teng Shan Hai vaguely remembered the demon sword letting out a wail after being sealed by the Dao Hall Master... Was that real or fake? Could a sword even cooperate?

Then he looked at Rao Yaoyao, and a shock hit his heart.

Rao Yaoyao had actively sent out the Qi Yun Jin Long, hadn't she? Was that real or fake? Wasn't she one of their own?

And what about the Dao Hall Master?

The Dao Hall Master clearly seemed to know the opponent's entire plan, so why didn't he stop it in advance and instead went along with it? What was he up to?

Was this the post-event Dao Qiong Cang?

If it wasn't the pre-event, all-knowing Dao Qiong Cang, then any explanation would be useless, right?

The Mo Di Hei Long was also stirred by Dao Qiong Cang's calm narration, feeling a wave of shock in his heart.

This smug little Daoist—wasn't he supposed to be on their side? How could he know the plan so well?

But if he wasn't on their side, could such a "tactic" be figured out just by thinking?

The Mo Di Hei Long pondered fruitlessly, his blood-red eyes narrowing with a cold glint, and concluded, "Humans—your hearts are all filthy!"

Dao Qiong Cang's lips curved up as he continued pinching his seal, saying, "Ba Zun An, call him out. If you had the brains to set up a plan like this, the inner island of Xu Kong Dao couldn't have trapped you."

The Mo Di Hei Long erupted in anger: "Are you mocking this emperor?"

"You can take it that way..." Dao Qiong Cang stepped forward, each step blooming with lotus flowers.

His fingers shifted through seals unhurriedly as he said, "You can even interpret it as disdain, mockery, contempt... Oh, I forgot your education level isn't high. Simply put—this saint looks down on you!"

"Roar—"

The Mo Di Hei Long threw back its head and roared a resounding dragon cry, black dragon breath hissing from its nostrils. Its eyes turned blood-red as it raged, "Before this emperor, there is no saint!"

With a wave of its hand,

The Mo Jian Wan Bing Mo Zhu, which had been bound by the Shi Ji Sheng Ling Zhen, suddenly burst into a clanging sword cry, shattering the light chains. The demon sword flew through the air and landed in the palm of the Mo Di Hei Long.

"One sword, and I'll cleave you!"

The Mo Di Hei Long leaped into the air, casually raising the demon sword high, ready to strike down.

All the onlookers were horrified, never expecting the battle to erupt so suddenly.

This was a sacred emperor striking at a half-saint. From the looks of it, the Dao Hall Master must have prepared in advance and wouldn't be struck down in one blow, right?

Rao Yaoyao's heart tightened as she watched.

She couldn't understand—facing the Mo Di Hei Long, renowned for its physical prowess, how could Dao Qiong Cang, whose heavenly mechanisms were world-famous but whose physical strength was relatively weak, dare to approach alone and get so close?

Even if it was just a wisp of sacred emperor lingering intent, Dao Qiong Cang shouldn't be so reckless...

As she pondered, she saw Dao Qiong Cang's sacred thought form stop pinching its seal with its right hand and gently swipe forward.

"Thud, thud."

Two crisp sounds rang out.

Everyone thought Dao Qiong Cang must have prepared some heavenly mechanism killing array, waiting for the Mo Di Hei Long's sword to fall so he could counterattack.

But to their surprise, his casual swipe only produced two bloody objects in front of him.

A heart?

And... a gallbladder?

Everyone was baffled, not understanding the meaning.

Dao Qiong Cang looked up, smiling as he waited for the Mo Di Hei Long's sword to fall, pointing to the two objects and saying calmly, "This is a 'bear's heart,' and this is a 'leopard's gallbladder.'"

He paused, watching as the demon sword descended toward his skull, then his eyes sharpened as he spoke heavily:

"This saint is giving you the bear's heart and leopard's gallbladder, betting that you won't dare to strike with this sword!"