Chapter 361: Chapter 82: A Dog Bites Lu Dongbin?
Gale winds had intensified, swirling raindrops, as two streams of Qi completely locked onto Jiang Li’s position, pressing in with each step.
A red hue had developed on the large dog, its fur darkened to a dull red. As the red glow flamed up, rainwater that got near instantly vaporized into mist, while the gale winds howled and swirled around it.
"Besides the Heavenly Dog, it has accommodated Dao Fruits related to wind and fire..."
Jiang Li’s sensitivity to the natural elements surpassed even that of a fifth-rank practitioner. He had detected the anomaly in the wind and fire energies as the situation progressed on the large dog. He even sensed a familiar presence within it, a strand of Innate Qi.
Previously, Jiang Li had triggered an explosion in the woods, from which the big dog had emerged unscathed by absorbing flames to protect itself. It seemed unafraid of the blast because it could consume flames, allowing it to effortlessly escape the explosion and pursue Jiang Li.
It appeared capable of extracting the power from the consumed flames to augment its own abilities.
The combined effects of the Heavenly Dog bloodline and the accommodated Dao Fruits meant that although the dog was younger than Jiang Li, its strength was comparable to those seasoned fifth-rank practitioners. It was certainly not inferior.
A classic case of ’man being inferior to dog.’
Jiang Li had previously used a deceptive strategy, circumventing this big dog, which had given him the chance to push Bu Yusheng into peril, forcing Su Nu to act. Now that Bu Yusheng had already stumbled once, it would be difficult to replicate that scenario.
As Jiang Li weighed his options, the dark red Heavenly Dog gradually approached with a predator’s stance, while Bu Yusheng stood ready, enveloped in Red Cloud, evidently opting for defense.
The previous encounter had made her recognize the gap in strength between herself and Jiang Li. Even though he was confined to a wheelchair and unable to fully exert his strength, he was still superior to her.
Bu Yusheng had decided to focus on defense and restraint, allowing the Red Dog, Huo’er, to take the lead.
As the Red Dog closed in, it suddenly darted forward, with both wind and fire converging. A fierce aura charged with disaster descended with a howl.
The speed was that of a shooting star, incomparably fast, a velocity even the Divine Travel Grand Protector couldn’t match.
Mysterious runes appeared in Jiang Li’s eyes as he closed off his nose and mouth to perceptions, enhancing his other senses—Star Battle, Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, Eight Trigrams—these three symbols intersected in his vision. His Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, refined to a microscopic level with his enhanced eye power, captured the moving red shadow.
"Cliff Sword."
Jiang Li pressed down his palm, and a rudimentary giant sword appeared beside him, its tip planted into the ground. A suppressive air instantly descended, and the illusion of a massive stone tablet enveloped the surroundings. Within a three hundred zhang radius, gravity surged dramatically.
The fast-moving red shadow abruptly halted; the dark red large dog, burning with violent flames, materialized a zhang away with its paws pressing deep grooves into the ground.
This sword had come from the hands of Heir of King Lu, Ji Chengye, and it was imbued with the Overlord Dao Fruit. Its primary power was to greatly increase gravity within a certain range, particularly targeting anything in flight—its spite for flight was turned up to the maximum.
Initially, Ji Chengye had used this sword to constrain Jiang Li’s speed. Now, Jiang Li was using it to limit the speed of the Heavenly Dog.
The Heavenly Dog symbolized a shooting star, and apart from being a harbinger of martial calamity, its defining trait was the speed of a meteor. Wan Dingtian, as the Deputy of the Southern Heavenly Department with profound cultivation, couldn’t match the Red Dog’s pace, and Jiang Li was naturally slower.
But that was alright.
If he couldn’t match the opponent’s speed, he could use his methods to bring the opponent down to his level and then defeat it with his rich experience.
The Cliff Sword, being a fifth-grade Dao Artifact, couldn’t completely suppress the fifth-rank Red Dog, but it could no longer fly.
Before the cliff, the sky was prohibited.
Jiang Li didn’t fully understand the specifics of the Overlord Dao Fruit’s divine powers, but he had come to grasp the might of the Cliff Sword in the time since he had acquired it.
Apart from the unbreakable sword body, the extraordinary aspects of the Cliff Sword lay in its ability to prohibit flight and suppress.
If the meteor couldn’t fly, its speed would undoubtedly be greatly reduced.
The flying needles around Bu Yusheng plummeted, the Red Cloud dissipated. These needles were also targeted by the Cliff Sword.
The dark red dog fell from the air, its hind legs kicking out searing marks on the ground as it surged forward, its speed still fast but now within Jiang Li’s acceptable range.
The Cliff Sword flashed with an earthen yellow luster as Jiang Li connected with the ground through the sword, channeling Primordial Earth Qi directly into the earth. In an instant, giant rocks burst forth.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous roar, rock pillars resembling swords burst from the ground, positioning themselves beside Jiang Li.
The dark red dog slammed against these stone swords, unleashing a powerful blaze as it did so, causing an explosion of fiery light that shattered the rock swords, sweeping the flames toward Jiang Li.
However, in that moment, the wheelchair had already begun to drift, carrying Jiang Li with it, moving erratically. Shadows burst forth as sword-like rock pillars continuously broke through the ground, interlocking and layering, blocking the sweeping intense red light.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
As the stone swords continued to break, the dark red dog stepped on the broken lower half, lunging forward, unstoppable in its path.
But Jiang Li’s figure became increasingly elusive, navigating amidst the towering rock swords, always maintaining a certain distance from the dog. Meanwhile, the intact or fragmented rock swords also began to shift, connecting with the expanding Qi veins of Jiang Li.
"He’s setting up an array," observed Bu Yusheng from the outside.
Setting up an array normally required careful deduction based on the surrounding environment, prior setup, or the creation of an Array Map to make an effective formation.
But the Wind Queen’s Strange Gate from the Dinghu Sect could erect an array at any time, using Qi veins to form the pattern, covering as far as the footsteps could reach.
If Jiang Li managed to set up the formation, he could use it as an opportunity to escape, freeing himself from the siege of Bu Yusheng and the Heavenly Dog.
This wasn’t a fight to the death where Jiang Li had to risk everything; he didn’t need to defeat the enemy. He just needed to leave, and that would be his victory.
Jiang Li didn’t need to outfight the big dog.
Realizing Jiang Li’s intention, Bu Yusheng acted decisively. Her white golden energy transformed into blades, slicing through the rising rock pillars, causing dirt and stone to shatter and scatter.
"Huo’er, destroy all stone swords," Bu Yusheng didn’t forget to give the command.
Then, an identical voice echoed from within the stone formation.
"Huo’er, withdraw."
Indistinguishable from Bu Yusheng’s voice, at least as far as the big dog was concerned, there was not the slightest difference.
The two conflicting commands appeared one after the other.
Bu Yusheng was immediately dumbfounded.
"Despicable!" she scolded loudly.
The stone formation blocked Bu Yusheng and the Red Dog, and the voice was erratic, making it hard to pinpoint its origin, which could lead to misjudgment by the big dog.
A simple but incredibly effective response.
"Shameless! You dare to impersonate me?" Another voice rang out, turning the tables.
Bu Yusheng felt a surge of blood rushing to her head, her anger boiling over.
She had never seen anyone so despicable and shameless!
The Red Dog, which had been charging forward within the stone formation, suddenly halted, letting out a confused whimper, unsure of what to do.
But in the moment it stopped, rocks like giant swords jutted out wildly, forming a forest of stones, and squeezed towards the big dog.
It didn’t need further instructions now; it knew what to do.
"Woof~"
The dark red big dog’s form swelled again, resembling a calf, as sharp claws emerged from its paws, flashing with a cold glint.
It violently raised its front claws, and crimson cyclones formed around it, shaking down as the paws struck, cracking the earth. Fiery red fissures rapidly spread out from beneath it in all directions.
The earth rumbled, and furious, blazing torrent of flames spread along the crevices, shattering the sharp stone swords, the wild Qi Force sweeping across the landscape, turning a hundred yards into scorched earth.
In an instant, the stone array was violently destroyed by the dark red big dog.
Crushed rocks and gravel melted by the intense flames, a violent surge of disaster Qi spreading wildly.
Jiang Li’s position was exposed, with the blaze and disaster Qi forming a crimson storm that raged in all directions, naturally including Jiang Li.
"Kun Earth."
Jiang Li still sat in his wheelchair, Qi Veins spreading out beneath it, creating an Array Plate. He swung the Cliff Sword around him, and the Stone Tablet Illusion that shrouded him became substantial, shielding him from the storm.
"Boom!"
Like waves crashing against the shore, the storm collided with the stone tablet, instantly staining it red. The Stone Tablet Illusion cracked continuously.
But it was also continuously solidifying.
Fire births earth; by borrowing its fire, I create my earth—such was the exquisite use of the Wind Queen’s Strange Gate.
The stone tablet was crushed, yet it absorbed the fire Qi, with Jiang Li drawing on the Innate Fire Qi from afar, continually stabilizing his defenses.
"Huo’er, bite him."
Bu Yusheng forced her way ahead under the pressure, simultaneously creating a Platinum Air Blade with Xin Metal Energy in her hand.
The calf-like big dog finally discerned its master’s command, charging across the charred ground, leaping fiercely, the violent red light blasting onto the Stone Tablet Illusion.
"Thud!"
The tremor of the immense force striking the stone tablet shattered it into fragments. A head-on collision with a fifth-grade impact was too much for Jiang Li to endure.
Though he had now opened the Nine Springs and his power was profound, being unmatched among the Sixth Rank, he was merely close to the power of the fifth rank, not on par, let alone surpassing it. Jiang Li could not withstand a frontal assault from a fifth-rank.
As the Stone Tablet Illusion shattered, the Cliff Sword also seemed to be heavily struck, retreating wildly with the wheelchair.
The big dog opened its gaping maw, inhaled, and the stone fragments flew into its mouth, as if entering a bottomless abyss.
It landed, leaving deep claw marks, leapt forward, and its sharp teeth and snout aimed directly at Jiang Li.
’If it bites me, I fear I’ll be missing a few parts...’
In the flash of an instant, a thought raced through Jiang Li’s mind, and then he abandoned the plan to let the dog bite him on purpose.
From its performance, it was apparent that the big dog lacked the Heavenly Dog’s sun-and-moon-devouring ability; its mouth was only so big, unable to swallow an entire mountain.
But it was still a fifth-rank, still monstrously powerful, its sheer strength above Jiang Li’s.
So...
"Awoo—"
A low dragon roar erupted, Innate Qi enveloping Jiang Li and the shadow, a Divine Dragon opened its jaws to face the attack of the dark red canine, engulfing the dog’s head in its mouth, biting down on the upper half of the Sky Dog’s body.