The Demon Lord's Invasion

Chapter 3: Earth Dragon

Li Yishang was like a dazzling meteor, still blindingly bright even amidst the swirling yellow sand. “Boom!” Like a meteor striking the surface of a lake, it instantly sent countless sprays of yellow sand flying. Yet the sand particles within a zhang of Li Yishang’s body seemed to stand still, with wind and sand constantly swirling around him. From a distance, it looked as if a giant glass sphere were shielding him from the wind and sand. “Roar!” The Earth Dragon, which had been hunting the Fierce Wind Horse, seemed to sense danger and let out a piercing roar. Through the haze, the shadow of a massive serpent—eight zhang long and as wide as a door panel—soared from the sandy ground and charged ferociously toward Li Yishang. The yellow sand raged, and sword light flashed repeatedly; the clanging of metal pierced Jiang Tang’s eardrums with pain. “Is that the Qi-Martial Realm?” a voice from Dongfang reached Jiang Tang’s ears. “Yes. At the Qi-Martial Realm, every pore in the body opens, allowing one to absorb Primordial Energy at any time. One can also project Yuan Power outward to form a protective aura. That’s why he’s glowing—it’s due to the latter,” Jiang Tang explained. “If Yuan Power can emit light, what about Primordial Qi?” Dongfang asked again. “It does. Places where primordial energy is dense resemble the starry sky and the Milky Way, with speckles of light,” Jiang Tang nodded. “Then it must be an element composed of some kind of particles. Perhaps it contains photons. Is Primordial Energy made up of atoms or molecules? There must be gravitational and repulsive forces at work.” Dongfang’s words left Jiang Tang speechless. “Does it matter whether they do or not?” “Of course. Atoms and molecules can form ‘qi,’ and they can also form…” “Enough, enough, enough! First figure out what the heck you are yourself.” Jiang Tang couldn’t take it anymore. What on earth was going on? Here he was, a researcher, talking to a former shut-in like me about particles and atoms—he must be out of his mind. While they were talking, Li Yishang had already clashed with the Earth Dragon countless times. Even the fiery woman had joined the battle, though she didn’t engage the Earth Dragon head-on. Instead, she danced gracefully around the fray. Using some unknown secret technique, she caused the Earth Dragon’s body—which was locked in combat with Li Yishang—to stiffen intermittently, giving Li Yishang openings to strike at its weak points. Jiang Tang hurried over, and upon seeing it up close, he couldn’t help but stare in astonishment. The Earth Dragon looked like a snake clad in centipede armor. The hundred legs on either side of its back weren’t particularly robust, yet they could be as soft as fur one moment and as hard as iron the next. Most terrifying of all were its mouth full of sharp teeth, flanked by two tusks as massive as those of a giant elephant. Combined with its enormous size, it exuded an overwhelming sense of intimidation. A flash of sword light suddenly shot from Li Yishang’s hand, slashing downward. Just as the Earth Dragon was about to move, its entire body froze, and in the blink of an eye, three of its legs were severed. “Roar!” The Earth Dragon lashed out with its tail toward the fiery woman, but she dodged it with ease. The Earth Dragon showed no intention of pursuing her; as it twisted, it resembled a catapulted sword, its hundreds of legs on either side slicing through Li Yishang’s surrounding aura like saw teeth. In an instant, the aura burst like a water balloon, sending crystalline sparks flying in all directions and revealing Li Yishang’s stern, chiseled face. The Earth Dragon suddenly snapped its head back, opening its blood-red maw as if to swallow Li Yishang whole. Facing the colossal Earth Dragon, Li Yishang showed no trace of fear. He raised his long sword and clashed head-on with the Earth Dragon’s fangs. In an instant, he was hurled backward like a cannonball, crashing far away into a pile of yellow sand. Jiang Tang, however, didn’t even glance at him; instead, he stared at the Earth Dragon’s three severed legs and swallowed hard. “Hurry up and distract it!” the fiery woman snapped, her movements growing increasingly erratic as she formed hand seals—black threads coiling around her fingers—as if she were preparing a lethal strike! Upon hearing this, Jiang Tang reluctantly tore his gaze away, leaped up suddenly, took a deep breath, and launched a verbal attack at the Earth Dragon. With a “ding,” a white mark appeared on the Earth Dragon’s glossy black back armor. The sultry woman looked at Jiang Tang with a blank expression. “I know my moves left you breathless, but don’t give me that look—as long as I can draw its attention, that’s all that matters.” Jiang Tang didn’t even dare to glance at the fiery woman. He tightened his belt, wiped the back of his hand across the tip of his nose, and braced himself to face the Earth Dragon’s wrath. However, the Earth Dragon completely ignored him—a puny kid with such weak Yuan Power—and turned to pounce on the sultry woman. “Oh, wait…” “Hurry up and help!” The sultry woman was absolutely livid. Jiang Tang’s eyes suddenly sharpened. He stomped his bare foot hard on the sand, sending a cloud of yellow sand flying. Jiang Tang vanished from where he stood in an instant and reappeared behind the Earth Dragon in the blink of an eye. He grabbed the Earth Dragon’s tail—as thick as an arm—and with a crisp “crack,” the final segment of the Earth Dragon’s tail armor was crushed to pieces under Jiang Tang’s terrifying grip. Blood spattered everywhere. In agony, the Earth Dragon whipped its head around, its four fist-sized, glossy black eyes fixed intently on Jiang Tang. It opened its gaping maw and, with a roar, lunged at him. Jiang Tang shook off the earth dragon’s tail and met it head-on with both hands. “Boom!” Like a mighty dragon plunging into the sea, the earth dragon buried its head deep into the sand. After a moment of stillness, neither the earth dragon nor Jiang Tang could be seen. “Oh no!” the fiery-tempered woman cried out in alarm. “Leave it to me,” said Li Yishang, whose tight-fitting robe was slightly torn. Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Yishang appeared like lightning on a patch of sand; his long sword flashed brilliantly before vanishing into the sand in an instant. “Roar!” After a furious bellow, the Earth Dragon shot out of the sand not far from Li Yishang, as if a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate. In an instant, both the fiery woman and Li Yishang saw that, in front of the Earth Dragon’s head, Jiang Tang’s hands were still clenched tightly around its fangs. The surrounding Yuan Qi surged madly into the Earth Dragon’s massive maw, and a terrifying aura of power suddenly descended upon the three of them. Jiang Tang bore the brunt of it; he could already see the terrifying Yuan Qi brewing within the Earth Dragon’s mouth! “Watch out,” Li Yishang warned, pointing his sword toward the sky as his entire body shot upward like a sharp blade. Jiang Tang understood immediately. He spun around and kicked the Earth Dragon’s lower jaw, using the momentum to flip through the air and crash down onto the sandy ground. At the same moment, the fiery woman who had been floating nearby finally came to a stop. As she steadied herself, she formed a hand seal with all ten fingers. Instantly, strings of black light shot from her hands, swirling around the Earth Dragon in midair and coalescing into a phantom figure no different in size from an ordinary person. The ten phantoms moved in unison, each flicking their wrists to send a black beam that transformed into a chain, wrapping around the Earth Dragon and actually restraining the beast’s massive body mid-air. “Five breaths!” the fiery-tempered woman reminded him, her forehead covered in sweat. “That’s enough!” Li Yishang said, having already appeared above the Earth Dragon’s head; the blinding white light emanating from the long sword in his hand was so intense it was impossible to look at. “Die.” In an instant, all the radiant light coalesced into a straight beam nearly a zhang long, slashing down from head to tail across the Earth Dragon’s belly. However, the scene of spurting blood he had imagined did not materialize, nor was there the clang of steel clashing. It went smoothly—the Earth Dragon was split open. But before it was split, a smaller Earth Dragon fell to the ground. This Earth Dragon had no fangs, no legs, and even its back carapace was gray—soft, tender, and completely dull. It looked utterly frail, yet it sent a chill down the spines of all three of them! “Third-tier!” The word exploded in all three of their minds. “No, not quite,” the fiery woman said urgently, having clearly guessed something. “Although it forced its way through the breakthrough, its aura hasn’t grown stronger—it’s actually grown weaker.” “But that’s…” Just as Jiang Tang began to speak, he suddenly caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye: Li Yishang, who had been standing not far away, had vanished into thin air. “What’s going on?” Jiang Tang frantically turned his head, only to see a spike formed from grains of sand appear where Li Yishang had been standing moments ago. Li Yishang had already leaped into the air. Just as he was about to land, a series of earth spikes sprang up rapidly with a “thud, thud, thud,” like dozens of sharp swords waiting for Li Yishang to crash into them. “Is this… a spell?” Jiang Tang frowned. “No, it’s a divine ability!” The fiery-tempered woman was filled with dread as Li Yishang’s aura reappeared around him. He slammed into the ground with great force; the sand had barely begun to fly when his figure shot back into the air once more. This time, however, the sandstorm swirling around him suddenly froze. Instantly, the grains of sand suspended in midair began to coalesce. Before long, over a hundred long swords formed from sand grains slashed toward Li Yishang, who was still in the air. Seeing Li Yishang being chased by a hundred swords, both Jiang Tang and the fiery woman found it impossible to smile. After the Earth Dragon’s forced advancement, its aura had indeed weakened, but its Yuan Power had become purer, and it had unlocked its innate divine ability—how could they possibly be a match for it? “Divine ability… It managed to trigger it by a one-in-ten-thousand chance. Could it be divinely aided? A future divine beast?” As Jiang Tang recalled the rumors about divine abilities, he instantly felt the urge to retreat. Ever since the Earth Dragon had shed its shell and fallen to the ground, it had remained motionless—yet it had forced Li Yishang, who’d previously had a chance to slay it, to narrowly escape with his life. How were they supposed to fight this? “We can’t let this trip be for nothing. I’ll distract it, and you take its shell away. Then we’ll each make our own escape and meet up in Tucheng. Can you do that?” the fiery woman suddenly said. “Huh?” Only then did Jiang Tang notice the Earth Dragon’s shed shell lying nearby—presumably the result of the fiery woman’s spell moments ago. “Got it!” Jiang Tang agreed immediately. The fiery woman tossed a storage pouch to Jiang Tang, then used her footwork to charge toward the Earth Dragon. It was only because Jiang Tang’s cultivation was low and he didn’t possess any secret techniques that the fiery woman felt confident leaving him to take the spoils; had it been Li Yishang instead, the outcome would naturally have been different. Without delay, Jiang Tang took a long stride toward the three legs that Li Yishang had severed first. After sweeping them all up, he charged toward the husk. But just as he neared the husk—three zhang away—the swirling sand around him suddenly converged on him, and in the blink of an eye, it enveloped him, turning him into a sand figure. “Get lost!” Jiang Tang’s body shook as he broke free from the sand, but even more sand flew toward him. At the same time, the ground beneath his feet was sinking, forcing him to struggle forward with all his might. The swirling sand was like thick slurry; covering a distance of two zhang proved an incredibly arduous task for Jiang Tang. Compared to him, Li Yishang was already covered in wounds, his entire body stained with blood. The fiery woman wasn’t faring much better either. The illusory confinement she’d just cast had actually been stolen by the Earth Dragon—though the Earth Dragon had transformed it into a sand golem, and the black chains had become sand chains, furiously chasing and attacking the elusive fiery woman. “It seems even divine abilities aren’t all-powerful,” Jiang Tang observed. He noticed that the Earth Dragon’s primary target was Li Yishang, while it merely created obstacles for them. Of course, this was also because Li Yishang hadn’t fled and was constantly seeking opportunities to put pressure on the Earth Dragon; otherwise, if he had left, the fiery woman and Jiang Tang would have been in serious trouble. Even so, the obstacles Jiang Tang faced were growing ever greater, which showed that Di Long also valued the physical form he had shed. One zhang—just one zhang away—yet that single zhang made Jiang Tang feel as if he were at the ends of the earth. To place the item into an ordinary storage pouch, he had to get close—otherwise, his Yuan Power alone wouldn’t be enough to draw it in. “Must I really…” Jiang Tang glanced at the fiery woman and Li Yishang. Seeing that neither of them was paying him any mind, he finally gritted his teeth, pulled out another storage pouch, and channeled nearly all his Yuan Power into it. In an instant, Li Yishang froze—the sandstorm that had been hindering their pursuit had come to a sudden halt. The sultry woman also shuddered and whipped her head around to look at Jiang Tang, only to see the little guy running frantically with his bare chest exposed. Behind him, there was not the slightest trace of his physical form left—only a rapidly piling wave of sand in hot pursuit.