Firmament Sword

Xu Luo opened the Bronze Divine Hall and let out Su Qianqian. As soon as Su Qianqian emerged, she was immediately captivated by the scene before her and exclaimed, ”That snake is about to die!”

”You’re the snake! Your whole family are snakes!” The Jiao Long over there flew into a rage, roaring at Su Qianqian, ”Have you ever seen a snake with wings?”

Terrified, Su Qianqian hid behind Xu Luo, peering out with only half her face. She asked fearfully, ”Is that a Flying Snake?”

”...” The Jiao Long was so furious it was practically fuming, but it no longer had the energy to bother with these ignorant country bumpkins.

The giant bird’s attacks were exceptionally fierce. Its sharp claws flashed up and down, tearing scales from the Jiao Long’s body. Blood sprayed out, falling like rain.

The Jiao Long roared, its long, whip-like tail lashing viciously at the great bird. The bird, in turn, let out pained cries.

Brightly colored feathers filled the sky...

But in the end, the Jiao Long was no match for the great bird. Soon, it was brutally torn in two.

The giant bird let out a high, piercing cry, as if gloating.

At that moment, a Golden Flood Dragon only a few meters long flew out from the belly of the larger Jiao Long. It moved with incredible speed, like a streak of golden light.

The moment it emerged, it swiftly tore through the void and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The great bird let out an angry shriek and gave chase, flapping its wings. It too soon disappeared into the sky above.

Xu Luo took a deep breath and murmured, ”So... this is the Divine Domain!”

As he spoke, he glanced at Su Qianqian behind him and Master Mao in his pocket, then said softly, ”Let’s go.”

Master Mao, looking a little disappointed, pulled his head back in. His voice drifted out of Xu Luo’s pocket, ”I was hoping to eat some bird meat or Jiao Long meat. Now it looks like that wish... is going to fall through.”

”Those two creatures both have the strength of a Holy Beast, and not even an Initial Stage Saint Beast at that. Are you sure you could have beaten them?” Xu Luo asked doubtfully.

Master Mao scoffed, ”Who said anything about fighting them? Weren’t they going at it pretty fiercely? It would’ve been best if they both ended up grievously injured. Then Master Mao could have just reaped the rewards without lifting a finger!”

”That’s just being opportunistic,” Xu Luo said, a little speechless.

”So what if I am? If I weren’t opportunistic, how could I possibly be a match for those two?” Master Mao said self-righteously, not feeling the least bit ashamed.

”Is Jiao Long meat tasty?” Su Qianqian asked timidly from the side, a hint of shyness on her delicate little face.

”Of course it’s delicious! It’s one of the best restorative tonics in the world!” said Master Mao.

Xu Luo sneered from the side. ”If we cooked you in a dish with it, that would be ’Dragon-Tiger-Fight’...”

”AAAAAH, I’ll kill you!” Master Mao roared in fury, lunging forward with his claws out.

Just then, a cold voice drifted over from not far away. ”Insolent little things, courting death! You dare have designs on me?”

Following the voice, a figure in gold emerged from the shadows.

It was a young man dressed in a golden robe. He was exceptionally handsome, almost unnaturally so, but there was a chilling aura about him that could make one’s blood run cold.

Xu Luo stopped in his tracks, his gaze cold as he watched the young man in the golden robe. He felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

’But on second thought, that’s nearly impossible. I’ve only just set foot in the Divine Domain, and I’ve seen, at most, only two of its inhabitants.’

A Jiao Long and a great bird...

”Who are you? And who’s had ’designs’ on you?” Xu Luo asked coldly.

”Weren’t you just talking about eating ’Dragon-Tiger-Fight’? How could you forget me so quickly?” the young man in the golden robe said coldly.

A flash of realization struck Xu Luo. He said in disbelief, ”You’re... the Golden Flood Dragon that just escaped?”

”You’re courting death!” The young man’s expression changed drastically. With a cold shout at Xu Luo, he raised his hand and thrust a palm at Xu Luo’s forehead.

Xu Luo’s body flashed to the side, dodging the golden-robed young man’s palm strike. He said coldly, ”Even if you are that snake from before, there’s no enmity between us. Why are you looking for trouble with me?”

”No enmity? How naive! The enmity between us is huge!” The golden-robed young man said with a cold, arrogant expression, ”If it weren’t for you little insects distracting me just now, how could I have let that damned Heaven-Sundering Sparrow destroy my true body?”

”That was your own stupidity!” Xu Luo rolled his eyes and said, ”By the time we saw you, you were already about to be torn to shreds! What? You can’t beat that big sparrow, so you want to regain your confidence by picking on us? You’re going to be disappointed!” Xu Luo stated flatly.

”I won’t be disappointed once I’ve killed you!” The young man’s golden robe fluttered as his entire body tilted at a strange angle, not at all like a normal human.

His upper body bent backward while his legs remained firmly planted on the ground. One foot shot out, kicking viciously toward Xu Luo’s shin. At the same time, his bent-over torso twisted directly toward Xu Luo...

Like a nimble snake!

In each of the golden-robed young man’s hands was a short, white dagger that glinted with a cold light.

The daggers were only the size of his palm, yet they shimmered with a sharp light and radiated a bone-chilling aura!

It was unnerving.

’So he really is a snake...’ Xu Luo sneered, his own kick meeting the young man’s with a dull THUD.

At the same time, the Beidou Sword... appeared in Xu Luo’s hand, and he slashed at both of the young man’s arms simultaneously!

The golden-robed young man’s arms retracted and extended like lightning, moving with incredible speed!

DING... DING!

The two white daggers in the golden-robed young man’s hands struck Xu Luo’s Beidou Sword one after the other, producing two crisp, clear sounds.

Then, his expression changed slightly as he discovered that the two sharp daggers in his hands had, at that very moment... shattered!

”Ah! Those were my two strongest fangs! How could they just shatter like that? This is impossible!” the golden-robed young man roared.

SWISH!

A wave of cold washed over him as the utterly frigid Beidou Sword slashed directly at the golden-robed young man’s neck!

POOF!

With a soft sound, the golden-robed young man’s body transformed directly into a Golden Flood Dragon. It unfurled a pair of golden wings and, with a single flap, prepared to tear through the void and escape.

”MEOW! Think you can run? Stay right where you are! Aaaah!”

A roar came from above as Master Mao dove down from on high, viciously swiping a paw across the Golden Flood Dragon’s body.

The Golden Flood Dragon let out a shrill hiss, its shimmering golden body trembling violently as if in extreme pain.

WHOOSH!

A puff of smoke suddenly shot from the Golden Flood Dragon’s mouth, aimed directly at Master Mao.

”Miaomiao, fall back!” Xu Luo yelled sharply.

At the same time, he activated the Shaking Light Step and viciously slashed his sword at the Golden Flood Dragon’s head.

Miaomiao’s reaction was also extremely fast. In an instant, it sensed the danger and retreated. However, a tiny wisp of the smoke still entered its mouth, and its body immediately lost balance in mid-air and began to fall.

”Don’t kill me... or it won’t live either!”

Just as Xu Luo’s Beidou Sword was a hair’s breadth from striking its head, the Golden Flood Dragon pleaded for its life. ”Spare me... and I’ll save it!”

”Pah!” Master Mao, having fallen to the ground, roared, ”Kill it... Xu Luo, don’t listen to it! It’s just a little worm, and it dares to threaten your Master Mao? It’s just a bit of snake venom, right? After we kill you, I can find the antidote in your body anyway!”

A cold light flashed in Xu Luo’s eyes, and a wave of chilling killing intent instantly erupted from the Beidou Sword.

”Ah... I surrender! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me!” the Golden Flood Dragon begged loudly. ”As long as you don’t kill me, I’ll do anything you ask!”

”Weren’t you so impressive just now? Calling yourself ’this venerable one’? Pah! You’re just a little worm. This master has seen and eaten countless like you. ’Venerable,’ my ass!”

Master Mao dragged his half-numb body over slowly, his eyes fixed on the Golden Flood Dragon. He clicked his tongue and said, ”This meat should be quite delicious!”

The Golden Flood Dragon was furious but dared not retort. After all, that peerless weapon was still hovering above its head. If it made the slightest move, the blade would surely fall without mercy.

”Master, great master, please say it... Whatever it takes for you to spare me, I’ll agree to it!” Having reverted to its true form, the Golden Flood Dragon seemed to have abandoned all its pride as it begged Xu Luo pitifully.

Xu Luo frowned slightly. ’Truth be told, it’s just a Jiao Long Saint Beast with an impure bloodline, nothing at all compared to the White Flood Dragon Saint Beast.’

’Whether to kill it or spare it, I don’t really care. But we’ve just entered the Divine Domain and know nothing about this place. If we kill this fellow outright, there’s no guarantee it won’t cause future trouble. Besides, we could use a guide.’

However... Xu Luo had his doubts about letting a cold-blooded snake serve as their guide.

Miaomiao, having been with Xu Luo for many years, could already read his thoughts. Its eyes darted, and it said, ”If you’re willing to make a soul offering and become this master’s servant, then... letting you live might not be out of the question.”

”In your dreams!” the Golden Flood Dragon roared. ”I am a dignified member of the Golden Winged Jiao Clan! How could I become someone’s pet, let alone the pet of a mere cat! I would rather die... than agree to your terms!”

”How tough you sound!” Master Mao sneered. ”Xu Luo, kill it!”

The Golden Flood Dragon immediately shrieked, ”There are other ways! Don’t kill me!”

”So afraid of death, yet you still put on such a tough act. Truly pathetic!” Master Mao jeered from the side.

The Golden Flood Dragon ignored him and spoke directly to Xu Luo. ”I can swear an oath to become your servant for three years. After three years, you will grant me my freedom! But I will absolutely not become this cat’s pet... Absolutely not!”

”Xu Luo... why don’t we just agree to its terms,” Master Mao said from the side. Although it really disliked this snake, it decided to prioritize the bigger picture for Xu Luo’s sake.

Xu Luo, however, ignored Master Mao and said coolly, ”A cat? Heh. He’s no mere cat. The blood that flows in his veins is a hundred, a thousand times nobler than yours! Only a blind fool like you would see him as just a cat. Besides, even if he really were just a cat, he’s still infinitely more important to me than you are!”

Master Mao froze, a flicker of emotion showing in his eyes.

Xu Luo continued, ”So, you have only two paths before you: become his servant, or die.”

”I choose...” A cold, cunning glint flashed in the Golden Flood Dragon’s eyes.

An icy killing intent suddenly bloomed above its head.