The flame talisman illuminated the cave.
Ye Qiu looked up and saw, amidst the black blood ahead, a massive dragon corpse submerged.
To be precise, it was the corpse of a flood dragon!
The flood dragon’s body stretched dozens of zhang long, covered in pale golden scales. Its head was larger than four or five millstones combined, with two horns atop it, each over a metre in length.
Though long dead, the flood dragon still exuded a powerful aura of majesty.
This aura made even Ye Qiu feel a grave threat.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said gravely, “It seems this flood dragon had considerable cultivation in life!”
Ye Qiu said, “It was definitely beyond the peak of the King realm.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal frowned: “Strange, how could such a formidable being die here?”
“Could it be that its cultivation was too high, and the mortal world could not contain it?”
“No, if it had been eradicated by the rules of heaven and earth, it would have turned to ash, leaving no trace of its remains.”
“Little brat, you are a doctor. From a professional perspective, how many years has this flood dragon been dead?”
Ye Qiu stepped closer, examined it carefully, and said solemnly, “This flood dragon has been dead for at least a few hundred years.”
“What!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal exclaimed. “Dead for centuries, and its body is still so well preserved?”
“Little brat, you cannot have got it wrong, can you?”
“This defies reason.”
Ye Qiu said, “I heard from Fairy Hundred Flowers that in the cultivation world, some beings of high cultivation, even after death, can have their bodies preserved for many years. For saint-level powerhouses, their corpses can remain unblemished for a thousand years, even ten thousand years without decay.”
Hiss—
The Long Eyebrow Immortal sucked in a cold breath and asked, “Can you tell how this flood dragon died?”
“The exact cause of death requires further inspection,” Ye Qiu said, then walked along the flood dragon’s corpse.
He examined as he went.
He and the Long Eyebrow Immortal reached the dragon’s head, where they saw a blood hole in its lower jaw.
The hole was small, about the thickness of a pencil, surrounded by a layer of azure light, with the flood dragon’s blood continuously seeping out.
The stench was overpowering.
“This flood dragon was killed,” Ye Qiu said.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal peered at the blood hole, his expression growing increasingly grave. He said, “Little brat, the more I look at this blood hole, the more it seems like…”
“Like a finger, right?” Ye Qiu said. “Indeed, this blood hole was caused by a single finger.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “This flood dragon’s cultivation in life was above the peak of the King realm. What kind of person could have killed it?”
“A single finger took down a being beyond the peak of the King realm. That alone proves the attacker was an unparalleled master, with cultivation surely surpassing the King realm.”
“That does not add up!”
“The mortal world is bound by the rules of heaven and earth. Once cultivation exceeds the peak of the King realm, one would be eradicated by those rules, unless…”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal suddenly thought of Dugu Wudi and said in shock, “Could the attacker, like Dugu Wudi, possess saint-level cultivation and still move freely between the mortal world and the cultivation world?”
“Hard to say,” Ye Qiu replied. He knew in his heart that the one who killed the flood dragon was undoubtedly an unparalleled powerhouse, though he could not yet determine their exact cultivation level.
“Pity, this flood dragon has been dead too long, or we would have had a feast.”
“This poor Daoist has lived so long and never eaten flood dragon.”
Smack!
The Long Eyebrow Immortal suddenly struck, slamming a palm heavily onto the flood dragon’s corpse. However, its scales were extraordinarily tough, entirely undamaged.
“Why did you hit it?” Ye Qiu asked, puzzled.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “This poor Daoist found it irritating, so I wanted to hit it.”
“Childish,” Ye Qiu scoffed.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal stared at the flood dragon’s corpse, his eyes glinting as he said, “Little brat, last time at the Kunlun Divine Palace, you took that entire medicinal field. As the saying goes, those who see it get a share. Should you not give this poor Daoist some spiritual herbs?”
“Why bring this up out of nowhere?” Ye Qiu sensed the Long Eyebrow Immortal was up to no good and asked warily.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “You used thousand-year spiritual herbs to boost the cultivation of the War God and Ye Wudi. This poor Daoist also wants some thousand-year spiritual herbs to send back to Shuisheng, so he can improve his cultivation too.”
So that was it!
Ye Qiu relaxed his guard and said, “To be honest, I only have three thousand-year spiritual herbs left.”
“Damn it, over a hundred thousand-year spiritual herbs, and you only have three left? You prodigal!” the Long Eyebrow Immortal fumed. “I want two.”
“No way,” Ye Qiu said. “The last three thousand-year spiritual herbs are for refining the Eternal Youth Pill for Sister Lin and the others.”
“Then give me one thousand-year spiritual herb,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said. “Just one.”
“No matter what, before I leave, I need to leave something for Shuisheng, lest that kid curse me behind my back later.”
Ye Qiu hesitated, then decided to give the Long Eyebrow Immortal one. In truth, two thousand-year spiritual herbs were enough to refine the Eternal Youth Pill.
“Fine, you can have one.”
Ye Qiu said, opening his Qiankun Bag, only to freeze the next moment.
“Damn it!”
Ye Qiu let out an angry curse.
“What is it?” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said. “Do not tell this poor Daoist the spiritual herbs are gone.”
“The spiritual herbs are gone, not a single one left,” Ye Qiu said, his face grim. The remaining three thousand-year spiritual herbs had all been eaten by that mysterious egg.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal did not believe him: “Little brat, who are you fooling? You just said you had three, and now they are gone in the blink of an eye?”
“The spiritual herbs are indeed gone. I will explain this to you later,” Ye Qiu said. He resolved to find a chance to give that egg a thorough beating.
Ye Qiu was troubled.
“With no spiritual herbs, how am I to refine the Eternal Youth Pill for Lin Jingzhi and the others?”
“It seems, before heading to the cultivation world, I will need to find a few more thousand-year spiritual herbs.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “Little brat, since the spiritual herbs are gone, do this poor Daoist a favour.”
“What favour?” Ye Qiu asked.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal pointed at the flood dragon’s corpse and said, “Though this flood dragon is dead, its body remains intact, so its tendons must still be there. Help this poor Daoist extract the dragon tendon, and I will not ask for the spiritual herbs.”
Only then did Ye Qiu realise that the Long Eyebrow Immortal had never been after the thousand-year spiritual herbs. From the start, he had been eyeing the dragon tendon.
“If you wanted the dragon tendon, just say so. Why beat around the bush?” Ye Qiu glared at the Long Eyebrow Immortal, then drew his Xuanyuan Sword.
Clang!
The Xuanyuan Sword, peerlessly sharp, pierced the dragon scales and cut through the dragon’s back. Moments later, Ye Qiu extracted a long dragon tendon.
The tendon was only as thick as a chopstick, black as ink, like a long black rope.
“The dragon tendon is poisonous, so be careful,” Ye Qiu warned.
“No matter, this poor Daoist has his ways,” the Long Eyebrow Immortal said, taking the dragon tendon and suddenly tossing it into the air.
