Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.
The "Ancestral Master" the young master respected didn't seem to have any special skills.
Zhao Shuning wasn't just putting on a brave face.
Her life creed was this:
Since she was going to die anyway,
why go to her death with false bravado?
While she was praying in her heart,
on the other side,
the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon had completely broken free from the shackles of the seabed and soared into the air.
It was quite a coincidence, actually.
When Yan Ruyu had suppressed the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon back then, he'd used seven - tenths of his power. Logically speaking, no one other than him in this world should have been able to break the seal.
But,
despite all his calculations,
he'd missed out on Zhao Shuning's appearance.
Zhao Shuning was the one Yan Ruyu held dearest in his heart. When he'd suppressed the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon, he'd borrowed the power of the Karmic Fire Red Lotus in his body.
In this world,
other than the people of the Phoenix Clan,
no one else could control this power. Unless they were willing to give the seed of the Karmic Fire Red Lotus to someone.
Coincidentally,
Zhao Shuning was the only one to whom Yan Ruyu had given the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
The Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon had been suppressed for hundreds of years. Confined to the bottomless sea, it had led a restricted life. Moreover, it was an ancient ferocious beast. Now, Zhao Shuning had accidentally alerted this ferocious beast deep in the sea when she'd used her spiritual power earlier.
This ferocious beast was smart. It knew how to take advantage of Zhao Shuning's power and break through the barriers set by Yan Ruyu.
When enemies met,
their hatred flared up.
Now, the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon circled in the sky. Its wide - open eyes and intimidating face showed its ambition to devour everything below.
"You've come,"
came the dragon's low growl,
penetrating every corner of the Wuyi Mountains.
After years of cultivation, this monster was as powerful as a divine beast and could even speak human language. However, there was still a big difference between it and a divine beast.
Deep in its heart,
there lurked killing, blood - lust, and destruction.
She should have brought the Phoenix along.
She wondered how the Phoenix was doing with its task. Facing this ferocious beast now, she had absolutely no chance of winning.
"You've changed your appearance,"
the dragon said.
"However, you've grown weaker. All of you shall die."
The dragon thrashed about, swinging its huge body, and charged straight at the protective shield set up by Zhao Shuning and the others.
Just as everyone was about to fight back with all their might,
Zhao Shuning roared,
"Stop injecting spiritual power! We can't hold it off. Withdraw your spiritual power and run to a secluded place!"
The more spiritual power was injected into this protective shield, the stronger the backlash they would suffer later.
Everyone understood and quickly scurried to the side.
But Zhao Shuning tightened her eyes slightly and suddenly increased the spiritual power in her hands.
"Ancestral Master!"
"Get out of the way. To the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon, you're just an appetizer."
The moment the protective shield shattered,
Zhao Shuning leaped several feet into the air.
Seeing this, the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon naturally wouldn't let her go easily. It changed direction and charged at her with full force.
"Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Overestimating your strength,"
the dragon sneered,
its voice echoing in the air.
Zhao Shuning couldn't help but curse in her heart.
If she hadn't died once, she would have been a ninth - rank alchemist by now and could have put up a fight against it.
The Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon attacked.
Zhao Shuning dodged with all her might.
She set up a barrier behind her, but such a powerful formation couldn't hold the dragon back for even a moment.
Time was running out.
Zhao Shuning's hands were still moving. The new formation wasn't yet complete, and she was still mumbling the mental method.
But,
the ferocious beast wouldn't give her a chance.
As soon as it broke free, it charged at Zhao Shuning again.
"Bad luck!"
There was nowhere to hide now.
Zhao Shuning had planned to take the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon's blow head - on and use all the mental methods she'd learned as a ninth - rank alchemist.
Although,
the consequence of this,
might be broken bones.
But at this moment, Zhao Shuning didn't care about all that.
She simply gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.
"Ancestral Master, get out of the way!"
Seeing through Zhao Shuning's plan, Xia Jingning quickly shouted.
However,
Zhao Shuning showed no intention of dodging.
Just as the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon was about to hit Zhao Shuning, everyone was so scared that they quickly closed their eyes. At this moment, they couldn't even run away because the entire area had been surrounded by the ferocious beast's powerful spiritual barriers from the very beginning.
With a loud "bang",
in mid - air,
a dazzling white light flashed.
This white light was actually the bright light that appeared when an extremely powerful spiritual force clashed violently with the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon.
After the white light faded,
a black figure
stood in front of the crimson - clad woman.
At this moment,
the two extremely powerful spiritual forces clashed, sweeping across the mid - air.
The confrontation between two top - level powerhouses was probably the first time these cultivators below had ever seen such a sight.
The suddenly appeared black - clothed person was also extremely powerful, and the aura was very familiar.
A real ninth - rank alchemist facing off against the second - ranked ancient ferocious beast. Such a powerful formation and the surging spiritual power directly formed an extremely powerful light wave.
The people below
were affected again.
They suddenly knelt on the ground.
The pressure on their knees was the intangible pressure of the powerhouses.
Even without looking,
Zhao Shuning knew
who was in front of her.
This person had been following her, neither too far nor too close, but had never dared to show up.
She'd never even faced Zhao Shuning directly.
But Zhao Shuning knew that under the black robe, it was still the delicate and beautiful figure from years ago. However, now she'd become much stronger and no longer needed anyone's protection.
The Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon naturally hadn't expected that two such powerful masters would appear in this small Wuyi Mountains.
Luo Qiu's appearance
undoubtedly intensified the violent factors in its body.
It didn't want to be suppressed to that bottomless, lightless sea again.
It had to win this battle.
The aura of the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon
suddenly rose several levels.
Zhao Shuning didn't hesitate either.
At this moment, her hands were still constantly changing. The formation combined with the mental method was too complicated, and her spiritual power wasn't enough to complete this ritual.
This mental method had been passed on to her by Bu Ran in her previous life, and Xiao Qiu didn't know it either.
Because she was mobilizing extremely powerful spiritual power, Zhao Shuning let out a muffled groan. A sweet, metallic taste filled her throat. She knew this was her limit.
But,
she didn't want to give up.
The Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon's rage naturally made Luo Qiu's confrontation even more difficult.
"With such abilities, why bother protecting the person behind you,"
the black - robed person's robe fluttered in the wind.
Although her body was petite, her aura was no less imposing than that of the Ice - Armored Horned Demon Dragon.
"Your strength is not enough. If you keep going, your spiritual power will be completely exhausted. Step aside. I have a blood feud with the person behind you."
"If you want to kill her, step over my corpse."