Chapter 226: Drive Away Evil and Bind Demons

Many villagers, especially those from the Great Threshing Ground area, didn't have time to flee back to their homes and instead hid in the nearest available shelters. Often, more than seven or eight people were crammed into a single room.

Although the dense fog gradually dispersed after the heavy rain began, visibility remained poor due to the intensity of the downpour. Nevertheless, villagers continued to peer out, gazing towards the Great Threshing Ground from afar.

Something had just fallen, causing an earth-shattering commotion that could be heard and felt throughout Double Arch Bridge Village. Those who were closer were particularly shaken.

"Moo... Moo..."

The old ox's mournful cries were very faint, easily drowned out by the sound of the rain if one didn't listen carefully. However, with their heightened concentration, the villagers could clearly hear them.

"Was that someone's ox that got hit?"

"No way, there weren't any oxen tied up at the Great Threshing Ground... but those large sieves and vegetables must have been ruined, right?"

"What on earth fell from the sky? We can't see clearly from here!"

"Yeah, there's a lot of heavy smoke over there... but it looks like something huge... could it be a star that fell?"

An elderly man, one of the household heads, also stood at the doorway, gazing towards the Great Threshing Ground. He frowned deeply and remained silent. Only after the others had chattered amongst themselves for a while did he suddenly speak.

"I've heard... that the sound of a dragon's cry sometimes resembles an old ox's moo..."

All surrounding chatter immediately ceased as everyone turned their heads to look at the old man.

"Uncle... please don't scare us..."

"Yes, Uncle... are you saying a dragon fell from the sky?"

"But this storm truly arrived eerily... perhaps what Uncle Zhao said..."

"Don't we have generations of legends about a dragon in Guangdong Lake..."

"A gasp... no, it can't be..."

Those nearby began to tremble with apprehension.

"Moo..."

As the mournful cry echoed from a distance, people instinctively retreated further inside their homes, no longer daring to stand by the doorways.

While dragons are rich in mythical lore, some depictions also portray them as demonic. Though stories of divine dragons bringing rain are widespread, there are also numerous tales of dragons sweeping away houses with their tails, tornadoes devastating villages and fields, and even dragons consuming people.

Just as the idiom "Lord Ye's love of dragons" suggests, people usually spoke enthusiastically about dragons, but at a moment like this, only terrifying thoughts came to mind.

"Hey... look at the mist over there, its shape really does resemble something..."

"No, no... don't scare me..."

"Oh dear, if that mist contains a whole one, how big must it be? All of us in this room wouldn't be enough for two bites, would we?"

"Hey, hey, hey, stop talking, it's really scary!"

"Rumble..."

Another bright flash of lightning illuminated the village as if it were daylight. Many people saw the enormous dark silhouette in the distance, and for a moment, the village fell completely silent.

When Ji Yuan and the Lishun Prefecture City God flew over Double Arch Bridge Village, the village was engulfed in a rainstorm far heavier than elsewhere, and no villager dared to venture out from their hiding places.

Protected by a water-repelling spell, Ji Yuan and City God Li remained untouched by the flowing water as they surveyed the ground and surroundings from a height of several dozen *zhang*.

"Rumble..."

Under the glare of lightning, the ground of Double Arch Bridge Village was momentarily illuminated. A winding black dragon lay sprawled at the village entrance, its head and nearly half of its body resting on the Great Threshing Ground, while its latter half and tail extended towards the village outskirts. It was approximately forty to fifty *zhang* long, with varying body thickness. Even drenched by the pouring rain, a continuous stream of mist still emanated from its body surface.

Ji Yuan gazed at Guangdong Lake a little further away, noting that the huge lake was only about twenty to thirty *li* from here. Despite the massive commotion caused by the fallen dragon, there was no reaction from Guangdong Lake.

"It seems this flood dragon must be Lord Mo from Guangdong Lake."

City God Li frowned deeply and said this to Mister Ji beside him, but he saw no reaction on the latter's profile.

Ji Yuan's pale eyes focused on the flood dragon below. With his spiritual sight activated, he could see that the black flood dragon was severely leaking spiritual energy and aquatic essence, indicating its extremely poor physical condition.

At its mid-spine, there was a patch of ice crystals, clearly frozen water vapor covering a wound.

'Caused by a fight!'

This was the shared thought of Ji Yuan and City God Li.

Ji Yuan remained silent. After a moment of hesitation, he was the first to descend from the sky, and City God Li immediately followed suit as expected.

The man and the deity descended at a steady pace, their movements extremely gentle. They sought not to provoke the black flood dragon, as even such a demonic creature, like a wild beast, could be more dangerous when severely wounded.

"Plip..."

Ji Yuan's feet touched the ground, splashing slight amounts of water, while the City God landed silently.

"Moo... Hrr..."

The black flood dragon, exhausted, opened its eyes slightly. It saw the City God in his dark robe, whose divine light was not deliberately concealed, and the other person beside him, though unremarkable in appearance, was clearly no mortal either.

"I am Li Baotian, the City God of Lishun Prefecture. I witnessed a dragon falling in the distance and came to investigate, only to discover it is Lord Mo of Guangdong Lake. May I ask what has brought you to this plight?"

"Moo..."

The black flood dragon let out a mournful cry, only making a sound like an ox's bellow, unable to speak in a human voice.

"Splash..."

Rain continued to wash over the flood dragon's body. Its four dragon claws struggled to support it, and its black body slowly lifted from the ground, but after a tremble, it collapsed back to the ground with a thud.

"Whoosh..."

Due to the dragon's movement, large amounts of muddy water were churned up, splashing like waves towards the City God and Ji Yuan. However, neither dodged nor used any spells, so as not to provoke the black flood dragon further.

The muddy water stuck to the City God's divine body and was slowly washed off by the rain. However, on Ji Yuan's body, the mud and water quickly separated, though at that moment, no one else was paying attention.

Ji Yuan had not spoken until now. With his spiritual sight fully open, he saw more clearly than City God Li, understanding the immense pain the black flood dragon was enduring, and sensing a peculiar disharmony in its body.

Seeing its struggle, he finally spoke.

"Black flood dragon, you reside in one of Dazhen's Four Great Lakes and should be under the protection of a Dragon Lord. Who dared to extract your dragon's sinew?"

Ji Yuan's voice was impartial, deep, and calm, yet the words he spoke were utterly shocking. City God Li looked at Mister Ji in horror, a storm brewing in his mind.

The black flood dragon also mustered its remaining strength and widened its eyes to look at the person next to the City God.

Ji Yuan looked up at the dark rain clouds, observing the continuous flashes of lightning. His gaze seemed to penetrate the clouds and pierce through the gale-force winds. The commotion of the black flood dragon's sinew being extracted would certainly not have been small, suggesting it likely did not happen within Dazhen's borders.

City God Li's gaze roamed over the dragon's body, finally settling on the patch of ice crystals on the black flood dragon's back.

'This must be the spot. Since Mister Ji spoke, it must be correct. That means "Lord Mo" of Guangdong Lake really had his dragon's sinew extracted? No wonder his aquatic essence is leaking so profusely!'

Ji Yuan slowly walked across the muddy ground, steadily approaching the black flood dragon's head, his gaze fixed on its eyes.

The muddy water on the ground automatically parted the moment his shoes touched it, leaving only clear water. This peculiar phenomenon was finally noticed by the City God and also by the black flood dragon, who was watching Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan's spiritual sight was not omnipotent; he had only glimpsed a subtle clue. At this moment, he solemnly cupped his hands and tentatively spoke.

"I am Ji Yuan. I am an old acquaintance of the Dragon Lord of Tongtian River. Your dragon's sinew has been extracted, and you are gravely wounded; you cannot last much longer. Tell me what happened, and I will explain it to the Dragon Lord. If you do not trust me, I will immediately go and invite the Dragon Lord here."

"Moo..."

The black flood dragon's eyes moved a few times. It opened its mouth for a long while but only managed to utter that single sound.

At this, not only Ji Yuan but also City God Li sensed something was amiss.

Ji Yuan's eyes flickered. He carefully approached the black flood dragon, looking at its eyes and nodding slightly. In the flood dragon's amber eyes, its pupils slowly contracted into vertical slits, allowing Ji Yuan to reach out and touch one of its whiskers.

At this moment, Ji Yuan's body and spirit became one, and his spiritual realm faintly manifested as he rapidly performed a divination. At a certain point, he stopped and looked at the dragon's eyes again. The flood dragon's pupils slowly opened again, seemingly forming a silent communication with Ji Yuan.

It was also at this moment that Ji Yuan slowly retreated a few steps. With a sweep of his sleeve, vast sheets of rain were drawn into it. The sound of a magical incantation remained unuttered in his mouth, and within his body, magical energy manifested and sublimated, making his form appear as if condensing into mist and then smoke to the unseen eye.

Then, with another flick of his sleeve, large swathes of water light flew out, forming several giant characters glowing with water essence, hovering about three to four *zhang* above the black dragon's body.

City God Li was no ordinary person. Seeing this, he immediately knew there was another anomaly. His divine light manifested, resembling a rainbow on his back, and his wide, dark robe billowed, ready for him to strike with full force at any moment.

The Green Vine Sword behind Ji Yuan slowly rose, flying to hover horizontally above his head in front of him.

He looked up at the sky, where lightning flashed and thunder roared continuously—a perfect moment. Although his lightning control technique was subpar, his command spells had been steadily improving, and he had even developed infinite variations.

Seeing that everything was ready, the Profound Yellow Qi surged forth from Ji Yuan's spiritual realm, and the command in his mouth suddenly erupted:

"By decree, banish evil and bind spirits!"

The four large water characters above the dragon's body instantly transformed from glowing white water light into brilliant golden light. At the same moment, Ji Yuan clutched his forehead with his left hand, and a small pit blasted open beneath his feet. Due to the massive loss of magical energy, he simply erupted with brute force, causing his body to rapidly retreat. The City God on the side also leaped backward upon seeing this.

"Rumble..." "Rumble..."

"Crack... Crack... Crack..."

More bolts of lightning struck from the sky, converging within the golden characters. Then, the golden characters, now imbued with lightning, violently pressed down.

"Roar!"

The black flood dragon let out a furious roar.

"Ah... Ah..."

As the golden characters embedded themselves into the dragon's body, strange, piercing sounds erupted from within the black flood dragon. A shadowy, corrupted figure twisted continuously amidst the flashing golden light and thunder. The lightning seemed to transform into dancing, silver-snake-like chains, constantly coiling around it.

"Roar..."

Amidst its roars, the black flood dragon opened its mouth wide, spewing large quantities of black, ink-like filth. The shadowy figure, like smoke tendrils, continuously seeped from its nostrils, eyes, and mouth, then re-coalesced above the dragon's back into a distorted silhouette, which was firmly bound by the golden electric light.

"Sever."

A calm, soft voice emanated from Ji Yuan's lips. The next moment, the Green Vine Immortal Sword slid from its sheath.

"Clang!"

The sword light flared with the hum of the blade, and a sword qi, imbued with potent sword intent, diagonally sliced across the dragon's body.

"Ah..."

The sharp, strange shriek abruptly ceased, transforming into a puff of black smoke that dissipated.

"Phew..."

Ji Yuan relaxed his stance, then with a flick of his sleeve, he drew the glowing, electrified characters from the dragon's body back into his sleeve, unwilling to let the expended magical energy and Profound Yellow Qi simply dissipate and be wasted.