The Blackflame Dragon in the Mist

The dense black mist surrounding them made it impossible for Dongzi Qi and his companions to see far. If the mist were to vanish, they would be horrified to discover… a massive, pitch-black dragon, over ten li in length, coiled around the entire Oxhorn Mountain, its head gazing directly at them.

Fortunately, they could not see it. This was precisely the reason Ji Jiuhuo had deployed the Black Mist Illusion Formation.

“Come on. Come on.” Ji Jiuhuo stared intently into the distance. Through the black mist, he could faintly condense the shapes of twelve human figures—these were the positions and approximate distances he was conveying to Ji Liuzhen.

Ji Liuzhen himself was situated within the enormous black dragon’s head.

The Yuan power of the five cultivators, transformed by the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation, generated a vast and surging dragon force. As the central hub of the head node, Ji Liuzhen naturally drew upon this power, feeling his own strength skyrocket.

“Liuzhen, wait a little longer. Don’t rush.” A voice sounded in his ear.

Ji Liuzhen nodded.

The multiple layers of formations within the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation were all controlled by the clan leader. Only the clan leader could easily transmit his voice; everyone else, Ji Ning included, could not see far with their naked eyes and had to rely on the clan leader’s guidance.

…

Ji Jiuhuo was situated on the mountainside, within the belly of the enormous black dragon. He had a clear view of everything within the formation; the black mist served as his eyes.

“They are being very cautious,” Ji Jiuhuo said to himself, staring intently. “Twelve Zifu Disciples from the same sect. They are sure to have a method of joint attack… A sneak attack now would yield little result. Once they realize this Black Mist Illusion Formation is not particularly profound, they are bound to relax a little. And when they do… the might of the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation will make them pay dearly.”

Ji Jiuhuo possessed ample patience. He waited for the opportune moment to bare his fangs.

…

Dongzi Qi and the other eleven Zifu Disciples had indeed been extremely cautious upon first entering the formation. They all remained within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, their Yuan power surging as they prepared to execute their joint-formation techniques at any moment.

“This Black Mist Illusion Formation is not very profound. I have already discovered some of its mysteries!” an old black-haired man among them spoke up.

“I have also detected some traces. Senior Apprentice-Brother Cha is stronger than me in formations, so he will surely be able to break it in even less time,” said a silver-haired cultivator with a smile. As cultivators—especially Zifu Disciples, the most foundational rank—they were stuck at this level without hope of breakthrough, so they devoted themselves to studying other means.

Formations? Poisons? Puppetry? Anything that could increase combat power was worth researching. Most old-timers who had lived for three or four hundred years were proficient in several fields.

These Zifu Disciples, who had left the sect to establish branches, were almost all those who had despaired of making further breakthroughs. Most of them had some formation knowledge. Some were even stronger than Ji Jiuhuo in this regard! However… laying a formation was easy; breaking one was hard. Since Ji Jiuhuo had set it up, they couldn’t be entirely confident in breaking it.

Still, they could break certain formations—just not as easily as Nong Zidao.

“I can break this formation in the time it takes to burn an incense stick,” said the black-haired elder with a faint smile.

“Please do so, Senior Apprentice-Brother Cha.”

“Let us break this Illusion Formation first. There’s no need to trouble Senior Apprentice-Brother Nong Zidao; we can handle it ourselves.” The group of Zifu Disciples visibly relaxed. Not being able to see far in the Black Mist Illusion Formation had made them wary, but learning that the formation was easy to break filled them with confidence.

The black-haired elder nodded. “I will study the formation. Please remain vigilant.”

“Leave it to us. Senior Apprentice-Brother Cha, focus on breaking the formation.” Dongzi Qi and the others responded.

A moment later.

“Just ahead.” The black-haired elder’s eyes lit up, full of confidence. “I have seen through this formation.”

“Excellent!” Everyone was excited.

Dongzi Qi maintained the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation as the group of Zifu Disciples pressed forward quickly. The black mist ahead seemed to thin slightly, and they could see a formation flag stuck in the ground not far away. The flag was gray with a black pattern upon it.

“The formation flag!” Everyone showed joy.

…

“Liuzhen, wait here in silence,” Ji Jiuhuo transmitted. “Soon, the Snowdragon Mountain Zifu Disciples will come to you. When I give the order, strike to kill.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time.” Ji Liuzhen’s eyes glinted coldly.

“Good. Await my command.” Ji Jiuhuo’s anticipation was palpable.

…

When Dongzi Qi and the twelve Zifu Disciples saw the formation flag in the distance, they failed to notice a massive dragon head lurking just a hundred zhang away, watching them intently.

“The formation flag!”

All twelve Zifu Disciples were ecstatic, and the black-haired elder could not help but show a trace of pride.

And then—

“Attack!” Ji Liuzhen, who had been coiled nearby, heard the clan leader’s voice.

Whoosh!

The Zifu Disciples had just seen the flag and were in the midst of their euphoria when, without warning, a colossal dragon head burst out of the thick black mist beside them. The head was enormous—they could only glimpse a few whiskers and scales in the dark—and the Blackflame Dragon’s maw opened wide, lunging straight at them.

“Watch out!” Dongzi Qi, controlling the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, sensed it first and shouted in terror.

Too late!

It was too fast!

Within the black mist, their range of sight was too short. This Blackflame Dragon was over ten li long; its head was immense. The head shot forward at a speed more than ten times that of a Zifu Disciple, crashing into the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation with a thunderous boom. Crack! Boom! Bang! Amidst screams and furious roars, the Blackflame Dragon’s head tore straight through.

In that instant.

Ji Liuzhen was inside the dragon’s mouth. As the dragon bit down, he went berserk, and the nine sharp awls suspended before him shot out with a piercing shriek, infused with the transformed dragon force. The awls were terrifyingly fast, targeting the three Zifu Disciples who had been knocked off balance by the dragon’s frontal impact.

Empowered by the formation, Ji Liuzhen’s strength now exceeded that of an ordinary Zifu Perfection cultivator.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Too fast! Two of the Zifu Disciples had their chests pierced through by the awls, their bodies swallowed directly into the dragon’s maw. The third, upon being attacked, tapped his foot and flashed with green light, instantly retreating tens of zhang.

In a single ambush, two Zifu Disciples were dead. The sheer power of the Blackflame Dragon Prison Formation was immense; with five sub-formations each anchored by a Zifu Disciple, this Blackflame Dragon moved as if it had a soul, its might terrifying.

“Strike while the iron is hot!” Ji Liuzhen immediately gave chase to the two remaining Zifu Disciples who had been separated from their comrades.

“Kill!”

The awls shrieked!

The black dragon head was a nightmare.

“Form the formation!”

“Form the formation!” Dongzi Qi and the others howled. They knew better than to stray too far from their companions. In an illusion formation, getting separated meant being picked off one by one.

But it wasn’t that they had wandered apart—the dragon’s charge had sent some of them flying!

The impact of the Blackflame Dragon was devastating!

“Form the formation!”

White light surged, swirling around each cultivator. Soon, a massive white Eight Trigrams appeared in the air, with eight Zifu Disciples stationed at its cardinal points. According to Snowdragon Mountain’s teachings, even six Zifu Disciples were enough to activate the formation.

“Where is Senior Apprentice-Brother Cha?”

“Where is Junior Apprentice-Brother Fang?”

The eight, including Dongzi Qi, hastily formed the formation. To their shock, of the original twelve, only eight remained. The other four were nowhere to be found.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother Cha!”

They called out loudly, their voices carrying through the formation. If any of the four were still alive, they should have responded.

“They’re dead. All four of them are dead.” Dongzi Qi clenched his teeth.

“It’s too terrifying. Too strong.” The silver-haired cultivator looked incredulous. “Earlier, I saw scales. It was an enormous dragon… How could the Ji Clan have such a powerful method? Could it really be a dragon?”

“It can’t be a real dragon. A real dragon would have been detected long ago. And how could a real dragon be this huge? It must be a formation!”

“Then how can a formation-born dragon be this powerful?”

These Zifu Disciples were shaken by the sheer might of the attack. True, they had let their guard slip when they saw the flag, but they had still maintained the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation and remained cautious. Yet one ambush had shattered their ranks, sent them reeling, and killed four of them.

“I can’t see the formation flag anymore.” Dongzi Qi scanned the surroundings. The flag was gone. “We were attacked by that black dragon and pushed back. We’ve lost the flag.”

“The illusion formation is a minor problem. That black dragon is the real threat.”

“We must call for Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu and Nong Zidao.” The silver-haired cultivator flipped his hand, revealing a jade talisman—the one Nong Zidao had given him. He crushed it. Snap! The talisman shattered.

…

Outside, Tongyu, Nong Zidao, and the other seven Zifu Disciples were waiting, not yet entering the formation.

“What tricks could a small tribe like this have?” Tongyu laughed. “Twelve of our Snowdragon Mountain disciples went in together. With our joint formation, we can crush them utterly.”

“Indeed. A minor tribe’s formations won’t be anything too impressive. Some of our junior apprentice-brothers and sisters also study formations; they can break it.” Nong Zidao was equally relaxed. In their view, twelve fellow disciples working together could sweep a small tribe without difficulty.

Suddenly, Nong Zidao’s expression changed.

“What’s wrong?” Tongyu asked quickly.

“The jade talisman I gave them,” Nong Zidao said softly. “One has been crushed. They must be in danger to have called for help.”

“This tiny Ji Clan forced them to call for help?” Tongyu found it hard to believe. Nong Zidao had given them the talismans as a standard precaution among sect disciples; they never expected them to be used.

“Let’s go. We’re entering the formation.” Nong Zidao spoke.

The other five Zifu Disciples were already shocked. The twelve who had entered had been forced to crush a talisman? But glancing at Tongyu and Nong Zidao beside them, they regained confidence.

“Wait here. If any of our Snowdragon Mountain fellow disciples arrive, tell them we have entered the formation.” Nong Zidao flipped his hand, and a wooden puppet appeared beside him. The puppet’s eyes glowed green. It nodded obediently. “Yes, Master.”

“Let’s move.” Nong Zidao said.

With Tongyu and Nong Zidao leading, the seven Zifu Disciples and two Zifu spirit-beasts entered the black mist beneath Oxhorn Mountain.