White jade formed the halls, and the palaces were towering. Bright radiance boiled within them like a surging ocean, obstructing a figure and isolating him outside the hall.
The person was dressed in luxurious clothing and had the appearance of a young man, looking extraordinarily heroic and martial. However, the chimu crest atop his head and the uncontrollable fierce, baleful aura in his smile completely exposed his identity. His aura lacked any trace of clarity and lightness; instead, it was like a murky cloud, covering the sky and earth. Wherever he passed, demonic winds rose from all sides.
Dragon Lord Yu Zhao.
The Dragon Lord who commanded the [Heavenly River Water], who also had some destiny with Lu Yang in his previous lives, was currently looking at the man blocking his path with exasperation and fury.
"Roar—!"
With a single dragon roar, heaven and earth abruptly closed in. Amidst the gloomy clouds and miserable mist, only a bloody maw opened wide, its upper and lower jaws snapping shut, biting down directly towards the man.
[Heaven and Earth in Harmony—Forged Dragon Fangs].
Dragon Lords cultivated the Ancestral Dragon Method and held the Five Elements Dao Fruits, having nothing to do with the Dao Arts Dao. Therefore, most only refined one or two Dao Arts, and their attainments were generally not high.
Using it now was more of a probe.
"Rumble."
The sharp dragon fangs were like an iron floodgate cutting off a torrent. The moment they closed, the man's body was sliced in two, sinking into the bright radiance surrounding him.
However, before Dragon Lord Yu Zhao could even retract his Dao Art, the man stood back up from the bright radiance. His body, which had been sliced in half at the waist, snapped back together, astonishingly restoring to its original state in an instant. All his injuries faded entirely, sinking into the ocean of light beneath his feet, and subsequently vanished without a trace.
[Mortal Dust Tribulations]!
'What a bizarre divine ability, evading disasters and tribulations.' Dragon Lord Yu Zhao frowned deeply and finally spoke: "Fellow Daoist, what is your surname and name, and which family's Dao Lineage do you belong to?"
On the other side, however, the man wore a look of nostalgia.
"It's the [Heavenly River Water]... Back then, I was suppressed by this Great Dao and every step was truly difficult. I didn't expect to meet it again today; the affairs of the world are truly mysterious and wondrous."
This person was exactly Suo Huan!
But unlike before, the current Suo Huan had long since switched to cultivating the Investiture of the Gods Method, focusing primarily on the profound wonder of [Mortal Dust Tribulations]. His spiritual power was vastly different from the past.
"My name is not important, and my Dao Lineage has no origin."
As his voice fell, Suo Huan let out a hearty laugh and said, "However, with me here, Fellow Daoist should stop right here. You must not set foot on the path ahead."
"...Just because of you?"
Dragon Lord Yu Zhao's mouth split open into a grin. The young man's body rapidly cracked open like fragile porcelain on the verge of shattering. Fierce profound wonder light surged from his seven orifices.
"No name or surname, no Dao Lineage."
"Where did this unorthodox cultivator come from, daring to show off his might before this Lord?"
In the current era, saying these words was considered the ultimate insult. Yet, falling upon Suo Huan's ears, they weren't even worth mentioning. He even had the mood to mock back:
"A stinking overseas creature, yet you dare to disdain us unorthodox cultivators?"
Boom!
In an instant, Dragon Lord Yu Zhao's humanoid form was completely torn apart, revealing the true appearance of a demon. A dragon claw with distinct scales tore through the air and grabbed at him!
And right in the center of that dragon claw, a profound wonder had long been accumulating power. It erupted with a loud boom at this moment, instantly propping up layers upon layers of cascading clouds and mist.
[Star River Immortal]!
The True Dragon exhaled mist and rose upon the clouds. Its speed was incredibly swift and fierce, almost entirely exceeding Suo Huan's divine sense lock-on. By the time he reacted, this claw had already struck him squarely like a fleeting white colt, carrying the clouds and mist, and tearing his true body into pieces in the blink of an eye.
However, it was still useless.
Not a single drop of blood leaked from the shattered true body. The mangled remains fell into that profound wonder radiance, instantly reassembling, and he walked out completely unharmed once again.
Seeing this made Dragon Lord Yu Zhao's eyes twitch uncontrollably.
'What kind of Dao Fruit is this? What profound wonder?'
It would have been fine if it was just the previous attack, after all, he had used a Dao Art. But this time, he had utilized a Dao Fruit profound wonder, yet the other party remained completely unharmed.
This was no ordinary matter.
Because to a certain extent, this indicated that the profound wonder the other party was currently displaying surpassed his [Star River Immortal] in stature; otherwise, this wouldn't be happening!
But how was this possible?
No matter what, the [Heavenly River Water] he commanded was also one of the [Five Elements], and the [Five Elements] were the indisputable number one Great Dao in the current sea of light!
If it were a cultivator of the Three Foundations, it would be understandable.
But the person before him was clearly an unorthodox cultivator. He didn't cultivate the Three Foundations, didn't cultivate the Five Heavenly Destinies, and had nothing to do with [Yin and Yang]. On what grounds could he suppress him?
This was unreasonable!
However, before Dragon Lord Yu Zhao could figure it out.
Suddenly, the re-emerging Suo Huan raised his hand, pinched a tiny bit from the profound wonder radiance behind him, and then formed a hand seal, pointing at him.
"Strike!"
Before his voice even faded, Dragon Lord Yu Zhao instantly felt his head grow heavy. Even though he hadn't detected any external force approaching, a feeling of impending doom arose unbidden.
'Not good!'
In the next second, Dragon Lord Yu Zhao rapidly retracted his profound wonder. Billowing clouds and mist swirled around him instead, lifting him to gracefully ascend and escape the mortal world upon rosy clouds.
Almost simultaneously, a flash of lightning streaked across the firmament. Wherever it passed, electric light galloped like madly dancing golden snakes. It was simply violent to the extreme. Crucially, its speed was incredibly fast. By the time Dragon Lord Yu Zhao saw it, it had already struck him dead center on his forehead, causing his towering dragon body to shatter on the spot!
"Splash..."
Clouds follow the dragon; the shattered dragon body quickly merged into the surrounding clouds and mist, abruptly blending into heaven and earth. In the blink of an eye, he broke away from the battlefield, putting distance between himself and Suo Huan.
It wasn't until he was ten thousand miles away that the clouds and mist regathered.
Dragon Lord Yu Zhao's figure re-emerged. As he moved, the sea of clouds billowed. A pair of dragon pupils, like the sun and moon within the clouds, stared deadly at Suo Huan in the distance.
At first glance, he seemed completely unharmed as well.
However, Suo Huan's line of sight pierced through the layers of profound wonder concealment, seeing a charred, bone-deep mark on that towering, mountain-like dragon head.
"Fellow Daoist, it doesn't matter if you deceive me, just don't deceive yourself."
Suo Huan's laughter rumbled over.
Dragon Lord Yu Zhao's face turned a few shades paler. With lingering fear in his heart, he didn't dare to advance for a moment, until another figure surfaced on the horizon.
"Hm? It's Eldest Sister!"
As his voice fell, the originally furious Dragon Lord Yu Zhao suddenly grew excited and shouted loudly: "Eldest Sister, come quickly, let's join forces against the enemy!"
"...Hm?"
At the same time, Suo Huan also looked over, but then his expression turned strange. He saw a mighty river surging over from afar.
And walking upon the mighty river was a woman with dragon horns on her head, wearing a battle skirt, and an aggressive aura piercing the sky from between her brows. She was pacing towards him.
Of course, this wasn't the reason for Suo Huan's strange expression.
What truly surprised him was the appearance of this female Dragon Lord. With bright eyes and white teeth, and captivating glances, her appearance was astonishingly identical to Perfected Lord Feixue!
This made Suo Huan immediately realize the other party's identity.
Although he didn't have much of a presence in the Righteous Dao Banner and was practically invisible, he had still shared joys and sorrows with Lu Yang, walking through so many lifetimes together.
Therefore, he was never lacking in intelligence.
'The Huai River Dragon Lord! The Dao Fruit she commands is the [Eternal Flowing Water].'
'...Hm?'
Thinking of this, Suo Huan suddenly frowned.
In fact, it wasn't just him; even Dragon Lord Yu Zhao, and even some Perfected Lords secretly paying attention to this place, suddenly felt a subtle sense of incongruity.
This feeling hadn't appeared previously when the Huai River Dragon Lord was mixed in among the six Dragon Lords.
Now that she acted alone, it immediately became incredibly distinct.
But, what exactly was wrong?