dognovel Chapter 401 Cherishing one's life is a natural instinct.
Chapter 401 Cherishing one's life is a natural instinct.
"Boom!"
Yan Xuan crashed heavily onto a piece of floating ice.
The ice surface couldn't withstand the impact and made a crisp 'crack' sound before sinking halfway in, creating ripples.
He knelt on one knee on the ice floe, his once exquisite hair bun now somewhat loose, his left hand tightly gripping the black sword stuck in the ice to support his body.
Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the pristine white ice surface, where it was particularly striking.
Yan Xuan's chest heaved as he gasped for breath. He raised his head, his eyes fixed on Long Chuqing, who was standing on another ice floe, his deep gaze filled with complex and indescribable emotions.
Is the difference... really that obvious?
A voice roared in Yanheng's heart.
Why?
He had undergone thousands of years of arduous cultivation and endured many hardships to transform into this enormous and powerful dragon. Yet, even so, he still could not defeat this dragon that appeared weaker than himself.
He was extremely unwilling, spat out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes shone even brighter with ferocity as he transformed into a giant dragon once more.
"Roar--"
The black dragon roared to the sky, gathering its power, and spewed a jet of water containing deadly poison at Long Chuqing.
Long Chuqing neither dodged nor evaded, instantly transforming into a dragon with its mouth wide open, spewing out a stream of silver dragon breath.
"Kakaka-"
The column of poisonous water solidified into ice at a speed visible to the naked eye. A dragon's roar rang out, and the dragon's claws slammed heavily onto the ice pillar, shattering it into countless ice shards that fell to the ground.
The black dragon witnessed this scene, its huge pupils contracted violently. It was stunned at first, and then disbelief appeared in its eyes.
At this moment, Yanheng's original arrogance vanished. It quickly realized that it was in a dangerous situation, and a sense of threat of death surged into its heart.
The situation that was originally in its favor has long since changed.
In a flash, the instinct for survival instantly brought it to its senses: escape... escape from here, leave quickly, or its thousand years of cultivation might be destroyed today.
It cannot die, it cannot die yet.
It suddenly changed direction and fled, its huge body showing signs of panic.
But would Long Chuqing give it a chance to escape?
This guy was just trying to swallow her whole, and now he wants to escape? Not so easy.
"Want to run? It's too late."
Long Chuqing flashed and instantly blocked the black dragon's path.
"Wait, I admit defeat..." With his path blocked, Yan Heng spoke up to show weakness: "If you like it, you can have this Heavenly Pool. I'll leave."
The muscles beneath its scales were taut; in its mind, preserving its life was paramount, and leaving to save itself was the priority.
Upon hearing this, Long Chuqing sneered, "Admit defeat? This battle was a life-or-death struggle from the very beginning. Do you think it's some kind of friendly match?"
"It's a misunderstanding. We can talk about it, or I..."
Long Chuqing didn't waste words with it. His dragon claws, sharp as blades, carried powerful spiritual energy and went straight for the black dragon's vitals.
The black dragon could only fight back in a panic, opening its mouth wide, its sharp teeth gleaming coldly as it lunged at Long Chuqing.
She nimbly dodged, and the dragon's tail, carrying immense power, lashed out at the black dragon's side.
"Boom-"
The black dragon's massive body trembled violently, and cracks began to appear on the originally indestructible black scales on its tail.
The Phoenix Feather Sword attacked from the other side. This time, with the support of spiritual power, the blade was able to break through the hard scales and pierce into the black dragon's back, cutting a long and hideous wound on its back.
"Roar--!"
Yan Xuan let out a painful roar that echoed through the valley.
He writhed violently in pain, trying to get rid of the Phoenix Feather Sword on his back, but in the struggle he bled even more.
A large amount of blood gushed out and dripped into the Heavenly Pool, blooming into a dazzling crimson in the water.
Although Long Chuqing temporarily gained powerful spiritual energy, she knew that this power would not last long.
It must be resolved quickly!
A resolute glint flashed in her eyes, and her dragon claws rose high once more, slashing down at the black dragon with a world-destroying force...
"Pfft..."
The dragon claw precisely probed into the black dragon's body and pulled out its blue dragon core.
"Bang! Crash—"
As the dragon core was forcibly removed from its body, the black dragon let out a final, mournful roar, and its huge, broken body collapsed into the water as if deflated, splashing water everywhere.
Long Chuqing flicked his long whip and plunged it into the water, instantly binding the black dragon's body tightly.
Although it lost its inner core, the black dragon will not perish, but its cultivation will decline rapidly. First, it will degenerate from a dragon to a python, then to a serpent, and finally it will soon revert to its original snake form.
Yan Xuan transformed back into human form and was dragged ashore by Long Chuqing. At this moment, he was trembling all over, his eyes filled with despair and fear.
Long Chuqing looked down at him, his pupils reflecting the other's trembling figure, and said indifferently, "The path of cultivation is not easy, and a thousand years of arduous cultivation is even more so, but you harbor murderous intent and want to take my life, so I cannot spare you."
"Wait...wait a minute."
The excruciating pain and fear brought him to his senses completely. Under the shadow of death, Yan Heng no longer cared about dignity or face.
Even if the inner core is lost, one can still cultivate again, but if one perishes here today, everything will be for naught.
He pleaded, "I was wrong, I was wrong. Now that I have lost my inner core and my cultivation is completely destroyed, I no longer pose any threat to you. Please, please spare me and take my life."
He endured the excruciating pain, staggered to his feet, supported himself with his hands on the ground, and kowtowed to Long Chuqing, admitting his mistake with an unprecedented panic and pleading in his voice.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"It was my foolishness! It was my ignorance! It was my overestimation of my abilities! I shouldn't have looked down on you, I shouldn't have been greedy towards you, I shouldn't have laid a hand on you. Please spare my life, please give me a way out, I beg you..."
He looked up at Long Chuqing, his voice panicked: "Long...Long Zun! Yes, Long Zun, as long as you spare my life, I am willing to serve you as your master, to be your servant, to be at your beck and call, and to never betray you."
He hunched over, his head bowed to the ice again, his voice growing increasingly humble, all traces of his previous arrogance gone.
He had previously fantasized about Long Chuqing begging for mercy in front of him, but now it was playing out in his own life in this way.
Dragon Lord?
Upon hearing this, Long Chuqing's lips twitched involuntarily, and a hint of speechlessness flashed in his eyes: Where did his previous backbone and arrogance go?
She would rather see him remain humble and dignified from beginning to end, even if it meant dying a heroic death, than see him like this now.
Long Chuqing sighed inwardly: At least that way, he was still a worthy opponent.
However, she could understand that valuing one's life is a natural instinct.
Feng Yu transmitted her voice secretly: "Qingqing, you must not believe what he says. You must nip it in the bud. You can't leave a hidden enemy for yourself."
“Yes.” Fei Feng agreed, “Although he said all sorts of things to beg for mercy, you dug out his inner core today, causing him to lose a thousand years of cultivation. He must be wishing he could tear you apart and skin you alive. How could he be willing to be a slave? If we let him go, he will definitely come back for revenge when he has the chance.”
"Don't worry, I'm not so kind and foolish as to give the enemy a second chance to hurt me."
Long Chuqing raised her palm, and pale golden spiritual energy condensed into a dazzling ball of light in her hand.
Without saying anything more, she flipped her palm and sent her spiritual energy towards Yan Heng.
"Do not--"
Yan Xuan's physical body dissipated into the cold water with a final, desperate scream.
At the same time, Long Chuqing's spiritual power was also exhausted, and the backlash from forcibly extracting the spiritual power of the Yuan Pearl came like a tidal wave.
"puff……"
She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body swaying precariously. Finally, unable to support herself any longer, she transformed back into her dragon form and collapsed onto the ice.
The silvery-white dragon scales were covered with scars from the battle, and several wounds were still oozing blood, staining the surrounding ice surface a dazzling crimson.
Beside her lay a blue dragon core and two phoenix feathers, one of which emitted a faint golden light. The golden light slowly drifted toward Long Chuqing and gently covered her wounded dragon body.
Long Chuqing's dragon eyes were half-closed, her vision gradually blurred, and her faint breaths carried the sweet, metallic taste of blood. Her consciousness slowly sank into darkness.
Only the blue dragon pill reflected light in the sunlight.