Slaying the Black Flood Dragon and the Spoils of War

Han Li channeled his spiritual power into the Gold Brick Talisman Treasure. Within moments, the talisman manifested its true form—a foot-long golden brick that floated in midair, radiating brilliant light. The stream of mana flowing from his body into the brick was like a river bursting its banks; it would not stop. Soon, a third of his spiritual power was drained. The golden glow above his head grew so dazzling it was almost impossible to look at directly.

The young woman struggled to keep the Black Flood Dragon trapped within her rings while keeping one eye on Han Li. When she saw the golden brick appear, the doubt that had lingered in her heart finally settled. She knew he had not lied—this Talisman Treasure could indeed break through the beast’s defenses.

The Black Flood Dragon seemed to sense the shift in fortune. Its claws dug into the sides of the ring with renewed ferocity, shaking the Vermilion Bird Ring so violently that it began to tremble. The woman’s expression changed.

“Hurry! It’s about to break free!” she shouted.

Han Li did not hesitate. He pointed at the Talisman Treasure above his head. The golden brick shot toward the Black Flood Dragon with a whoosh, growing in midair until it was the size of a small hill, and slammed down with devastating force.

The still-struggling Black Flood Dragon knew it was in dire straits. Its green eyes flashed with savage light. Opening its mouth, it spat out the purple liquid essence that had so concerned Han Li, aiming it directly at the descending brick. The purple essence held the brick in place, preventing it from falling for the moment.

Both the young woman and Han Li were taken aback. Han Li, who had to concentrate on controlling the brick, could only stare helplessly. But the young woman bit her lip, pulled a yellow bead from her bosom, and flung it at the beast still locked in the stalemate with the brick.

With a soft crack, the bead struck the Black Flood Dragon’s head and burst open, releasing a cloud of yellow vapor that enveloped the creature’s skull. The Black Flood Dragon let out panicked roars, and the stream of purple essence ceased.

With no purple essence to block it—its light somewhat dimmed—the golden brick fell squarely onto the Black Flood Dragon’s head. A thunderous explosion shook the entire underground chamber. Dazzling golden light flooded every corner, then faded back to normal.

The brick, now back to its original size, transformed into a beam of golden light and returned to Han Li’s side.

Hovering in the air, the Black Flood Dragon was dying.

Half of its head was blasted into pulp. One eye had burst completely out of its socket and flown somewhere unknown. The other remained, but blood seeped from it constantly. The creature was a pitiful sight. It seemed not long for this world.

The young woman was overjoyed. She quickly fished a small crystal bottle from her storage pouch, muttered an incantation over it, and then pointed at the Black Flood Dragon. A few thin streams of black qi shot out from the bottle opening, eerily weaving around the beast’s body.

In moments, a miniature green flood dragon, identical in shape to the Black Flood Dragon, was forcibly dragged out of its body by the black qi. It struggled furiously, but was gradually pulled into the bottle.

Once the young woman capped the bottle and examined the tiny dragon inside with a few more careful looks, she could no longer hide her delight. Her whole face beamed. Then she cast a glance at the Black Flood Dragon’s corpse, now completely lifeless, and fell into thought.

Han Li understood at once: she had taken the beast’s Nascent Soul. He did not know exactly what a Black Flood Dragon’s Nascent Soul could be used for, but from the woman’s triumphant expression, he guessed it was worth a fortune.

The young woman summoned the Vermilion Bird Ring back into her body. The Black Flood Dragon’s corpse dropped from midair and landed right in front of Han Li.

“Since I took its Nascent Soul, the body is yours. After all, we killed it together,” she said, landing gracefully beside him.

Han Li glanced at her satisfied face, then down at the flood dragon’s body, and felt a quiet frustration. Easy for her to say. She gives me the body because she thinks I can’t do anything with it—we both know how tough that turtle-shell hide is. She probably wants to see me make a fool of myself.

Thinking this, a silver light flashed in Han Li’s hand. A massive silver longsword appeared—the formidable magical weapon that had once belonged to the barefoot man.

Without a word, Han Li swung the greatsword down with all his strength.

Pfft.

The silver sword sank three cun into the Black Flood Dragon’s flesh. Not much, but enough to pierce its defense. The young woman’s mouth fell open in shock, and she could not close it for a few seconds.

Seeing her expression, Han Li found it amusing. He raised the sword again to continue cutting.

“Wait—let me see that sword.”

The young woman, having recovered, stared at the silver blade with undisguised curiosity.

Han Li was taken aback.

“What are you afraid of? I’m a Core Formation cultivator. I’ve seen all kinds of treasures. That sword of yours is just a bit unusual. I’m merely curious,” she said, rolling her eyes at his hesitation.

Despite her youthful appearance, the flirtatious look she gave him sent Han Li’s heart racing uncontrollably.

“This sword has a problem. After I acquired it, I couldn’t drive it. That’s why I was so miserable against the Black Flood Dragon earlier,” Han Li said, reluctantly handing her the blade while explaining slowly.

He did not want to fall out with her—not now. Judging by her calmness even in a dead end, she likely knew how to get out of here. And the way she acted around him, without any obvious guard, suggested she understood his mind and was not afraid of him striking first.

“Tsk tsk. Just as I thought. Such a waste!” The young woman ran her fingers over the silver sword, examined it carefully, and then sighed with obvious regret.

“What’s the matter?” Han Li asked, seeing that she had indeed noticed something.

“Nothing much. The reason this sword is so sharp is that it’s mixed with Silver Essence—a material used in refining magical treasures. Quite a lot of it, too. That makes the weapon’s quality close to an ordinary magic treasure.” She returned the sword to him casually.

“Silver Essence?” Han Li blinked.

“You wouldn’t understand. It’s a material that only cultivators above Core Formation can extract from large amounts of pure silver using their true fire. Very rare. My Vermilion Bird Ring has some too.” She sounded a little impatient.

Han Li felt another wave of inner complaint. That’s exactly why I asked—I don’t know. If I already knew, I wouldn’t need to ask.

Ignoring her obvious reluctance to elaborate, Han Li pressed on: “Why could its original owner make it fly and fight, while I can’t control it at all?”

The young woman frowned slightly at his persistence but answered coldly: “The original owner used the Heart-Refining Method to bond with it. That method is extremely unorthodox. An outsider naturally cannot use it. Unless the sword is reforged from scratch, it’s useless to anyone else.”

Han Li’s face darkened. He had held high hopes for this sword. If what she said was true, those hopes were dashed.

“Useless? I seem to be using it just fine right now.” After a short silence, Han Li said coldly. Then, without ceremony, he swung the silver sword at the flood dragon’s body, hacking and slashing until the Black Flood Dragon was split open.

The young woman frowned at his crude, butcher-like behavior, stepping back to put some distance between them. Then she said in a clearer tone: “Even though this Black Flood Dragon has only just advanced to the second rank, every part of its body is valuable material. The hide can be made into excellent armor. The horns and claws are perfect for refining top-grade magical tools. The remaining liquid essence is essential for certain precious pills.”

For some reason, she explained in great detail, catching Han Li off guard. He grew wary, wondering what she was playing at.

“Too bad. If it had reached the third rank, the Monster Core inside its skull would have Core Formation cultivators fighting over it. It’s extremely useful for both alchemy and artifact refinement,” she added wistfully.

“Monster Core? What color is it? Is this it?” Han Li suddenly pulled a fist-sized red sphere from the Black Flood Dragon’s belly, holding it up for the astonished young woman to see.

“Eh? What’s that? Did you take it from the flood dragon’s body?” Greatly surprised, she leaned closer to get a better look.

“It does look a bit like one… But this Black Flood Dragon only just reached the second rank. It couldn’t have produced a Monster Core. Besides, the Black Flood Dragon is a water-attribute creature—its core should be blue. Let me touch it and see what’s going on.” After studying it for a moment, she could not help herself and took the soft sphere from Han Li’s hand, stroking it a few times.

Poof.

The sphere burst open without warning, releasing a cloud of pink mist that engulfed both the young woman and Han Li.