Young Noble Be Monster Slaying
Chapter 931: Yield (II)

If they truly could not subdue the skeletal dragon, the Whale-Riding Immortal would have no choice but to summon Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God. However, that was far from his preferred option. Unleashing a legendary artifact so close to the Divine Ruins Monastery might alert those in the monastery.

No matter how earthshaking the current battle appeared, it had yet to disturb the monastery. The spiritual energy fluctuations remained within a manageable range. But the moment a legendary artifact was used, the scale of those fluctuations would shift drastically. To true experts, it would be as obvious as tossing a stone into still water.

"Target the ghostly flames in its eyes!" the Whale-Riding Immortal barked, launching a new wave of attacks.

He raised his right arm to the sky and summoned another divine bolt of lightning. With a twist of his hand, it formed into the shape of a long spear. Spinning in midair, he hurled the lightning-forged weapon straight into the skeletal dragon’s chest and abdomen, striking with a thunderous crash.

Although the dragon’s body was made of bones and riddled with gaps, the spear did not need to inflict damage to be effective. The impact alone was enough to halt its movement.

Drawing on the same technique, the Whale-Riding Immortal conjured twelve more lightning spears in rapid succession, driving them down and pinning the skeletal dragon in place.

"Roaaaaaaaaaar." The skeletal dragon howled in fury, thrashing with all its strength. The spears crackled under the strain, some even beginning to snap, but they temporarily restrained the dragon for two precious breaths of time, which was long enough. 

And in that brief opening, Chu Liang and the others launched a fierce assault on the ghostly flames burning in its eyes!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boooooooom!

Sword qi and divine techniques rained down like they came at no cost, yet the skeletal dragon withstood them all. It merely swung its head, enduring every blow. The ghostly flames in its eye sockets flickered faintly, but showed no sign of going out.

Then, the threads extending from its body began to writhe and spread, forming countless tendrils that snaked through the air, aiming to entangle the group.

With a wave of his hand, Chu Liang summoned crackling yang lightning that instantly repelled all the ghostly flames.

The moment he struck, the flames in the skeletal dragon’s eyes flared with intensity. Its head jerked upward, and it locked eyes with Chu Liang as it spoke for the first time.

"That is… the power of the Dragon God?"

Realizing that the creature possessed intelligence and could recognize the power of the Dragon God, Chu Liang sensed an opportunity. Perhaps this battle could be resolved through connections rather than force. After all, all dragons were followers of the Dragon God. They would be bound to show him some measure of respect.

He activated the mark on his forehead, letting its glow shine clearly as he replied, "That’s right. I am a bearer of the Dragon God’s legacy."

"Good… very good…" the skeletal dragon hissed, its voice suddenly seething with hatred. "It was the Dragon God who exiled me to the Divine Ruins long ago. That is how I ended up here. Today, I will have my revenge!"

What terrible luck.

Chu Liang couldn’t help but frown. Who could have predicted this?

The Dragon God wasn’t his esteemed teacher. In fact, mentioning his real teacher’s name usually attracted enemies. But the name of the Dragon God was different. It was a divine title that most dragons would bow to and revere without hesitation. When had it ever backfired like this?

Originally, the skeletal dragon had only been trying to block their way. But now that it knew Chu Liang was a divine envoy of the Dragon God, it erupted with full force, launching a frenzied and desperate assault.

Unfortunately, Chu Liang and the others just simply had no idea of its origin.

This skeletal dragon had once been known as the Thorn Dragon King, a member of the Thorn Dragon bloodline from the ancient Dragon Lair. The Thorn Dragons were powerful and notoriously unruly. They frequently turned on their own kind and were regarded as the most rebellious faction among the dragons.

Before the Dragon God reached the ninth realm, the Thorn Dragons ruled over the world of dragons. It was only after the Dragon God rose to power that they were finally forced into submission. Even then, their wild nature did not change. They were fierce when fighting outsiders, but just as ruthless toward their fellow dragons.

After enduring repeated punishments from the Dragon God, the Thorn Dragon King’s resentment deepened. In time, he led the other Thorn Dragons in open rebellion, breaking away from the dragon race and abandoning the Dragon Lair.

This act of dividing the dragon race drew swift and overwhelming punishment from the Dragon God. The Thorn Dragon King was exiled to the Divine Ruins, forbidden to ever leave for all eternity.

The remaining Thorn Dragons were demoted to war slaves, forced to fight on behalf of the other dragons for a thousand years before they were finally granted release. Over time, they suffered devastating losses and gradually fell into decline. Since the time the Dragon Lair itself was destroyed,the Thorn Dragons had become nearly extinct.

Even one as powerful as the Thorn Dragon King faced countless dangers in the Divine Ruins and eventually fell in battle. Yet his death did not bring peace. His lingering hatred took root, transforming him into a soulless skeletal dragon that wandered these lands for ages.

Later, someone from the Divine Ruins Monastery awakened his dormant consciousness and sealed him beneath a mountain, tasking him with guarding the outskirts of the monastery. From that moment on, this place came to be known as Dragonspike Ridge.

Roaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr!

The skeletal dragon roared toward the heavens, its colossal body rising like a tidal wave. The four of them couldn't stop it at all. Trying to bypass it wasn’t an option either. If another powerful enemy waited ahead, they would be caught between two threats.

The Whale-Riding Immortal unleashed his mountain-moving art. Dozens of nearby peaks were drawn toward him and hurled one after another at the skeletal dragon. But before they could pin it down, the creature flung them aside with ease, smashing the mountains into rubble.

"You wicked creature, stop this madness!" the Whale-Riding Immortal shouted. "If you continue, I will summon a legendary artifact and destroy you completely."

"Go ahead!" the skeletal dragon bellowed in reply, its voice rumbling like thunder. "We Thorn Dragons bow to neither heaven nor earth, to no god in life, and to no saint in death. If you think I will retreat, you are delusional!"

With that roar, the ghostly flames surged to their peak, engulfing the skeletal dragon’s entire frame in eerie green fire that gave off no heat. The surrounding hundred miles took on the atmosphere of the netherworld, saturated with deathly qi. Any weaker demonic beast caught within would have its soul incinerated in an instant.

The Whale-Riding Immortal’s brow furrowed. He was preparing to summon the Mount Shu Sect’s Vessel of God. Although he disliked resorting to a legendary artifact so soon, it had become their only choice.

At that moment, Chu Liang raised his hand. "Let me try."

Before his voice had fully faded, he turned into a streak of lightning and appeared beside the dragon’s skull. They had attacked this spot many times before, yet none had managed to extinguish the ghostly flame completely.

Unlike ordinary ghost fire, the skeletal dragon’s soul flame had been refined through sacrificial rites performed by those from the Divine Ruins Monastery. That was what gave it such extraordinary power.

Even so, Chu Liang raised Deity Pan’s Bone in his right hand and drove it directly into the dragon’s eye socket. A strange force tried to resist him, but Deity Pan’s Bone broke through it at once. The weapon pierced straight into the roaring soul flame.

The fire in the eye was massive, far larger than Chu Liang himself. He was nearly swallowed by it as he thrust forward, the fierce cyan glow of his weapon illuminating the darkness. Wherever Deity Pan’s Bone passed, the ghostly fire scattered and dissolved into drifting sparks.

"So you refuse to yield to the heavens above and the earth below? And you refuse to yield to the Dragon God too, is that it?" Chu Liang shouted.

In that critical moment, he recalled that Deity Pan’s Bone had a powerful suppressive effect on demons and malevolent spirits. The last time he had used it, it had slain the devil embryo that no one else could kill. Perhaps it could also work against this skeletal dragon, whose defenses defied reason.

As soon as he activated it, the result was immediate.

It worked wonders.

The once-defiant skeletal dragon plummeted from the sky, its proud roar turning into pitiful wails. Between its howls, it shouted in human tongue over and over, "I yield! Hey, hey, hey—I yield! I really yield!"

…

Eighteen hundred li beyond Dragonspike Ridge lay a deep gorge that stretched between heaven and earth. No bird could fly across it, and not even a feather would float upon its surface. The dark waters below reflected no light at all.

On this particular day, a palm-sized wooden figure shot up from the depths of the gorge. It was dressed in a white scholar’s robe and looked remarkably lifelike. Its brows, eyes, nose, and mouth were sculpted with uncanny precision, resembling a living person.

The little wooden figure hovered silently in the air above the gorge. As the distant roars of demonic beasts echoed through the mountains, it frowned faintly.

A young noble in cyan robes drifted up behind him and asked, "What’s wrong?"

"I don’t know," the little wooden figure replied, shaking his head. "Something’s happening near Dragonspike Ridge. I think the Thorn Dragon King might have awakened."

"Even if something is happening near Dragonspike Ridge, there’s no way anyone would come here," said the cyan-robed noble. "Once the Thorn Dragon King awakens, he’s not someone humans can handle."

"But if whoever is there now can make it past Dragonspike Ridge, it means they’re not coming with good intentions," the little wooden figure said cautiously. "I’m just afraid they might be coming for us."

"Heh, surely not," the young noble said with a chuckle. "For the things we’ve done, would they really give someone a legendary artifact and have them come after us?"

"Maybe not for you," the little wooden figure muttered, "but I nearly destroyed the Mount Shu Sect…"

"Don’t flatter yourself. You were a long shot away from destroying the Mount Shu Sect," the young noble said. "Anyway, we just need to do our job. It doesn’t matter who’s coming. Nobody gets past Devil-Slaying Ravine."

Suspended in midair, the little wooden figure bore the unmistakable face of Lu Chengchou from the Celestial Charm Sect. He was the very man who had attacked Mount Shu during the last Mount Shu Summit.

The cyan-robed young noble beside him was Young Noble Xunyang, the one who had been implicated for taking in Lu Chengchou. After being hunted by the imperial court of the Yu Dynasty, he fled into the desolate land of the demons and spent his days performing puppet shows for fox demons. In time, even he had grown weary of it.

Not long ago, Lu Chengchou had sent him a letter saying he had found a new refuge, and invited him to come along. After spending so long in the dreary lands of the demon race, Young Noble Xunyang had gladly accepted.

What he hadn’t expected… was that Lu Chengchou’s so-called "refuge" turned out to be none other than Devil-Slaying Ravine.

If the Far West, where the demon race resided, was barren to the point that even birds couldn’t be bothered to relieve themselves there, then this was a place so desolate that not even a single feather had passed through in ten thousand years.

Gazing into the distance, Young Noble Xunyang let out a quiet sigh. "At this point," he muttered, "even being captured and thrown into the Celestial Northern Prison might not be worse than staying here."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.