Chapter Twenty: The Fiery Dragon Slash Against the Pack of Wolves

"Fire, come!"

Jiang Sheng shouted clearly, his long sword drawing an arc from bottom to top. The flames burning in the front courtyard were instantly stirred by his aura, swaying and spiraling upward.

A vast and pure surge of spiritual energy poured from Jiang Sheng's Dantian. Nourished by this energy, the flames grew increasingly vigorous and expansive.

The Eight Wolves of Dongjun knew immediately from the overwhelming power radiating from the fire that this move was extraordinary. Not daring to let Jiang Sheng complete it, they channeled their spiritual power into their artifact, a venomous snake. The ten-zhang-long artifact gathered its strength and lunged directly at Jiang Sheng.

The hideous, blood-colored serpent opened its maw wide, its fangs—fashioned from spear tips—glinting with a chilling, lethal light. Even the falling snow dissolved into toxic mist upon nearing the creature. An ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would not even be able to muster the thought of resistance before such a Zifu-level beast; the foul aura alone was enough to hinder movement and suppress the circulation of spiritual energy. In the face of this Zifu-level snake, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator would be nothing more than a lamb for the slaughter.

Jiang Sheng now truly believed that the Eight Wolves possessed the strength to slay a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Yet, even as the serpent’s gaping maw threatened to swallow him whole, he remained calm.

With a flick of his wrist, his sword trembled, tracing several patterns in the air. Jiang Sheng shifted his stance and swung his blade: "River Flow!"

In an instant, it was as if a great river surged eastward, its waves crashing with unstoppable force. A cyan sword aura, resembling a rushing torrent, slammed into the blood-colored serpent, forcing it down and pinning it back to the ground.

Watching from the far end of the back courtyard, Tian Mingan’s eyes were wide, fixed on the spectacular clash. He dared not even blink for fear of missing a single detail. Whether it was the previous exchange of sword-nets and spells or this current display, Tian Mingan finally understood what a true cultivator was, and why the Qi Kingdom was governed by them.

In the face of such terrifying power, what could an army of mortals do? Even tens of catties of gunpowder detonated would be no more effective than a simple fireball spell cast by a Qi Condensation practitioner, let alone the battle of high-level cultivators.

The spectacle was breathtaking. First, Jiang Sheng appeared to be on the verge of being swallowed by the monstrous snake, only to then unleash a river of cyan light that crushed the beast back to earth. Tian Mingan watched with longing, wishing he, too, could become such a free and graceful cultivator.

If Tian Mingan was filled with admiration, the Eight Wolves were filled with utter horror. That artifact chain was forged with their entire life’s savings—a terrifying weapon capable of corrupting a cultivator’s body, poisoning their spiritual energy, and sealing their Dantian. Eight iron chains linked together were enough to give even a Zifu cultivator pause, yet this Jiang Sheng, who was only in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, was suppressing their artifact with such ease.

The serpent artifact fell, emitting a hoarse, dry shriek. Most of its hideous barbs were shattered, and even its venomous fangs were snapped.

Jiang Sheng quietly regulated his breath while once again drawing the flames toward himself. The sky was filled with roaring fire, illuminating the surrounding miles as bright as day. The intense heat even turned the snow falling over the Qingxuan Temple into rain.

In the dead of winter, amidst a flurry of heavy snow, warm rain fell over the temple. As the droplets touched Tian Mingan’s face, he reached up to wipe them away, feeling their warmth. He looked up at the figure in cyan robes standing amidst the sea of flames and whispered, "This... is the power of the Daoist..."

Even the Eight Wolves of Dongjun, seasoned in evil and demonic arts, looked at the blazing sky with terror. Could such strength truly belong to a middle-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? Was this Jiang Sheng really just a Foundation Establishment priest?

Jiang Sheng’s clear voice rang out once more: "There are three methods of Foundation Establishment. Whether one uses the Foundation Establishment Pill or not, the 'Mortal Path' established by force is what you practice."

"Those who use the Earthly Sha to temper themselves are of the 'Earthly Path'—the same late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator you are so proud of having killed."

"As for me, I sought the Dao at eight, learned to read at twelve, practiced the arts for six years, and grasped the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Sha to achieve 'Heavenly Path' Foundation Establishment, condensing my Dantian into a Dao Terrace."

"Do you know what a Dao Foundation truly is?"

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng slowly drew an arc with his sword, finally pointing the tip toward the heavens.

"Dragon, come!"

Jiang Sheng let out a mighty shout. Tian Mingan and the Eight Wolves looked up in awe at the sea of flames, where a creature was slowly taking shape. It had the antlers of a deer, the head of a camel, the eyes of a rabbit, the neck of a snake, the belly of a clam, the scales of a fish, the claws of an eagle, the palms of a tiger, and the ears of a cow—with a dragon’s spine, a golden tail, and outstretched talons.

It was a True Dragon! A sacred creature favored by the heavens. Jiang Sheng had used the sky-filling flames to condense a fire dragon, complete with scales and claws!

"ROAR!"

The ten-zhang-long fire dragon coiled in the sky, illuminated by the surrounding clouds of flame. It raised its head and emitted a dragon’s roar that shook the heavens and terrified all evil, its sound like thunder. The roar dispersed the falling snow for three hundred zhang, echoing across the Qingping Mountains for over a hundred miles.

The majestic fire dragon then coiled behind Jiang Sheng, its massive head resting near his shoulder. Its dragon eyes stared down at the struggling, writhing blood-colored snake in the temple courtyard as if it were nothing more than a squirming earthworm.

"A pack of evil cultivators on the Mortal Path, daring to come and disturb me! You are truly seeking your own deaths!" Jiang Sheng’s voice echoed throughout the temple.

The Eight Wolves were now completely aghast. Heavenly Path Foundation Establishment! This priest was actually a Heavenly Path Foundation Establishment cultivator! Tian Mingan was equally shaken; he had never known there were so many ways to establish a foundation. No wonder the Daoist was so powerful!

"Brothers, we fight to the end!" The head wolf screamed, his eyes bloodshot as he poured every ounce of his spiritual power into the blood-colored snake. The other seven followed suit, funneling their energy and even most of their life force into the artifact.

The previously withered blood-colored snake regained its spirit. Its cold, venomous eyes locked onto Jiang Sheng, who stood surrounded by the fire dragon like a god. Its fangs sharpened, and its aura climbed once more!

"Kill!" Driven by the Eight Wolves, the blood-colored snake tightened its body and shot upward like a streak of crimson lightning.

Jiang Sheng’s expression did not change. He channeled his spiritual power madly into the fire dragon. With a flick of his sword, the dragon roared, spewing flames as it lunged at the oncoming serpent.

Tian Mingan watched in a trance. Above the Qingxuan Temple, the flaming dragon and the blood-colored serpent were locked in a fierce struggle. The terrifying power radiated by these two behemoths awakened countless hibernating creatures in the wild.

Dragon roars and serpent hisses filled the air. Violent ripples of spiritual energy swept outward, clearing all the snow within a thousand zhang of the temple and flattening groves of pine and bamboo.

The Eight Wolves watched helplessly as their artifact was slowly torn apart, piece by piece, by the fire dragon. If this artifact were destroyed, they would have no hope of survival.

The youngest of the wolves acted with desperation, striking his own chest and sacrificing his vital essence: "Big Brother, you must survive!"

"Eighth Brother!" The head wolf gritted his teeth. This was their youngest brother! One after another, the seventh, sixth, and fifth brothers also sacrificed their vital essence to blood-sacrifice the snake.

The head wolf watched his own brothers die one by one, a monstrous hatred burning in his heart. It reminded him of the time they had slaughtered a Qi-practicing family, seeing the unwillingness, rage, and regret in the eyes of that family’s head. They had always been the ones to treat others as toys, but now, half of his brothers were already dead.

Suddenly, with another roar, the fourth, third, and second brothers also sacrificed their blood, causing the serpent’s aura to swell once more!

"Second brother! Third brother! Fourth brother!" The head wolf clenched his fists so tightly his nails pierced his palms, but he felt no pain—only the feeling of his heart bleeding.

"Big Brother, you must live! We leave our revenge to you!"

Hearing his brothers' final words, the head wolf let out a hideous howl: "AAAAAH! Jiang Sheng! I will have you die with me!"

He drove the surging serpent toward Jiang Sheng, clearly intending to drag him into the grave. The thirty-zhang-long snake loomed like a nightmare, its maw open to devour him.

Jiang Sheng merely shifted his sword tip, and the ten-zhang fire dragon coiled back to shield him. With the dragon protecting his body, Jiang Sheng raised his right hand. A cyan lotus bloomed upon his three-foot blade, emitting an incredibly dangerous aura.

"You want me dead? You lack the strength!"

"Sever!"

In an instant, the clear light transformed into shadows, and the sword lunged like a dragon!

In the deep winter of the 39,825th year of the Shanhe Calendar, heavy snow fell in Dongjun. That night, all the people of Qingping Town heard the roar of a dragon in the mountains!