Wen Yangxi’s flesh was destroyed, but the Clawed Flood Dragon remained!
Its massive body was coiled firmly around Jingfeng, its four claws pinning down the latter’s wings. It was just like that scene from the battle in Chu State—the one where the Little Chick had paraded through the city carrying two Clawed Flood Dragons.
Chen Che slowly rose to his feet and glanced at the Sword Pill in his hand.
The Sword Pill was known as the ultimate weapon for a Sword Cultivator precisely because it possessed a degree of self-repairing capability. But in this battle alone, over fifty percent of it had been destroyed. It likely wouldn’t recover anytime soon.
Smoke still lingered over the battlefield that stretched for miles. Beyond its borders, a dead silence reigned.
No one could predict what would happen next.
"Haha! Your Sword Pill is destroyed, your Spirit Pet is captured, and your Gourd is suppressed! Chief Chen, what tricks do you have left?" the Clawed Flood Dragon boomed in a human voice. Its laughter shook the heavens, filled with an unspeakable glee. "I have won this battle!"
But that was Wen Yangxi’s voice!
Within the Clawed Flood Dragon’s four eyes, the ethereal image of Wen Yangxi’s soul flickered.
"So that’s how it is."
A look of realization flashed across Chen Che’s face, followed by a faint, wry smile. "We’ll see about that..."
Wen Yangxi’s laughter died, replaced by a surge of anger.
He applied a bit more pressure with his claws.
THUMP—
A tremendous crash echoed.
The struggling Little Chick was slammed deep into the solid rock. A dense web of cracks spread out from beneath the massive claw.
"You’re out of trump cards, but I’m still at my peak!" Wen Yangxi sneered. His body shuddered as if shaking off water, and his countless scales bristled. At the same time, his towering form grew even more erect.
An immense and terrifying Evil Qi radiated from its serpentine body.
Gill-like organs fanned with each breath, releasing a thick, misty vapor. Its four lowered eyes gleamed with a dangerous light, and a long, forked tongue flickered in and out from a maw bristling with fangs. The Evil Qi it radiated carried a suffocating sense of danger.
"What’s going on? Wasn’t his body already destroyed?"
A wave of disbelieving cries erupted from the ranks of the Star-Picking Sect and the Primordial Sect.
"He poured his Divine Soul into his Spirit Pet!"
Meng Qianxun’s gaze was fixed on the Clawed Flood Dragon’s body, her eyes filled with an unconcealable mix of dread, astonishment, and apprehension.
How to best utilize a Spirit Pet in combat was a challenge every Beast Master had to face.
In many battles, the moment a Beast Master was killed, any Demon Beasts they had summoned would immediately scatter. If the master had ever mistreated their Spirit Pet, the creature might even turn on its master’s family after their death.
The most extreme method to ensure a Spirit Pet could continue fighting after its Beast Master fell was for the master’s Soul to possess the Spirit Pet’s body and carry on the battle.
Of course.
This was not something an ordinary Beast Master could accomplish. Years ago, True Master Chilong himself had researched this very subject. However, housing two souls in a single body was like trying to shove two large feet into one boot... rejection was inevitable.
True Master Chilong’s old journals documented his multiple attempts, but all had ultimately ended in failure.
Yet now, Wen Yangxi was demonstrating this very technique. After sacrificing his own body to cripple Chen Che’s Sword Pill, he was continuing the fight through the Clawed Flood Dragon. Never mind how long it could last—this was Wen Yangxi’s true ace in the hole!
WHOOSH—
Many of the Beast Masters from the Star-Picking Sect also figured out what was happening. Just as they finished explaining it to those around them, they noticed that the cultivators of Mist Rain Tower had, at some point, all taken a unified step forward.
It was a warning, to prevent them from interfering in the battle.
However, many people could already see that Chen Che had lost the battle.
"At your peak? You don’t even have your own body anymore! You’re just a squatter in your Spirit Pet, and you dare say you’re still at your peak?"
Chen Che lifted his head, spat out a mouthful of blood, and stared fearlessly at the Clawed Flood Dragon. "If your Spirit Pet hadn’t been there, my last strike would have annihilated both your body and soul!"
"Haha, it seems you still can’t accept it. But for beings such as us, we’d never admit defeat unless we were utterly annihilated, body and soul."
Wen Yangxi, now inhabiting the Clawed Flood Dragon, seemed to feel no discomfort in his new body, nor did he show the slightest sign of rejection. His four eyes narrowed, the killing intent within them intensifying.
"In that case, I will grant you your wish!"
It was as if Wen Yangxi had truly become the Clawed Flood Dragon. Its tail snapped upward as it beat its four wings and shot forward in a sudden burst of speed.
Facing the giant claw that came crashing down like a mountain, Chen Che made a gesture with his fingers. The Sword Pill broke apart, instantly expanding to over a hundred feet long, a streak of light spanning the sky. It shot upward in a brilliant flash of silver, rocketing fiercely toward its opponent.
Over half of the Sword Pill was already gone, and its light was much dimmer than before, but blocking one of Wen Yangxi’s claws was still no problem.
However, possessing a Divine Soul was about more than just that. Demon Beasts focused on controlling their physical bodies, but Cultivators were masters of manipulating True Essence and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. As the claw was blocked, Wen Yangxi’s massive maw split into a grin.
"Rise!"
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The ground erupted as if being torn apart from within. Massive, sharp pillars of rock shot skyward like interlocking fangs, weaving together and, in the blink of an eye, forming a perfectly sealed, thousand-foot-wide sphere of stone.
Everyone who witnessed this had the distinct illusion that the very earth had been awakened by Wen Yangxi, transforming into a Fierce Beast to swallow Chen Che whole!
"Converge!"
Wen Yangxi brought his four claws together, cradling the stone sphere.
Countless boulders continued to roll toward it, but instead of growing larger, the sphere began to shrink at a terrifying rate. In the blink of an eye, it was compressed down to a diameter of just over a hundred feet. Clearly, Wen Yangxi was using his immense Demon Essence to compress it—