Chapter 639: Dragon in the Bowl

The yellow flood dragon in the lake broke through the water's surface, straightened its body, and looked down upon the three women on the pier. This spiritual creature, hornless but scaled, was called a "Ground Grub" by northern Qi practitioners. Legend had it that it was born from the coupling of a dragon and a Kun, possessing a serpent-like body with four legs and two strands of dark yellow whiskers that swayed gently. Its two dragon eyes held emotions similar to humans, making it not to be underestimated. The great flood dragon's body, already six *zhang* (approximately 20 meters) long above the water, rested its two claws on the lake's surface. It narrowed its eyes and intermittently exhaled a faint, ethereal blue mist, seemingly mocking the Qi practitioners on the bridge for their overestimation of their own strength. Flood dragons, a type of dragon and darlings of heaven and earth, were said to possess unparalleled might. Their most precious possession was believed to be the dragon pearl they carried, though it only appeared in tales of gods and monsters, unseen by anyone. Even Qi practitioners skilled in geomancy rarely witnessed a true flood dragon in their lifetime. Most of the immortal masters of Guanyin Sect were immersed in a mix of awe and terror; this was a living, breathing flood dragon! Any talismans or artifacts associated with flood dragons were invaluable treasures. However, the Coal Girl on the pier was unsurprised. She had personally witnessed a black dragon on Difu Mountain, making this yellow flood dragon seem insignificant compared to the one that occupied the Taoist sect's foremost blessed land. Li Yu-fu, the current Wudang Sect leader who was now out of contact, had risen to fame after brilliantly slaying that dragon on Difu Mountain.

The Coal Girl quickly formed hand seals and leaped into the water, gliding gracefully over the lake's surface. She began nimble movements around the yellow flood dragon, reciting the Nine-Character Mantra: "Lín, Bīng, Dǒu, Zhě, Jiē, Zhèn, Liè, Qián, Xíng" (meaning: "May all those who are facing the warrior be arrayed before him"), accompanied by nine hand seals, including the Inner and Outer Lion Seals. Out of eighty-four flying swords, three remained still, while eighty-one formed nine smaller arrays, which then combined into a grand sword array. Each talisman sword hovered above the water at different heights, tips pointing downwards, each emitting a stream of *gangqi* (spiritual energy). Under their mutual pull, the lake surface appeared to writhe with countless water snakes, eventually forming a Vase Seal that trapped the unmoving yellow flood dragon. After forming the seals, although the sword array was completed successfully, the Coal Girl looked relaxed, muttering that she absolutely had to catch this "long worm." However, she was not truly underestimating her opponent. With a graceful slide across the lake, her delicate body tilted as one slender hand seemingly scribbled randomly on the water's surface. Then, with a soft "Rise!" she astonishingly conjured a jade *hu* (a ceremonial tablet) from the water, similar to those held by high officials during morning court in Dafeng.

The mass of lake water lifted by the Coal Girl was used as a material for crafting talismans, an unheard-of practice. She then continued to circle the yellow flood dragon in a semicircle, her expression exceptionally solemn and sacred, murmuring, "Heavenly True Emperor, let the brush fall and form a book."

The verdant water *hu* immediately shone brightly, and purple *qi* swirls began to form. The Coal Girl moved behind the yellow flood dragon, holding the tablet with both hands as if a subject paying homage to the Emperor, and intoned gravely, "Evil and defilement, disperse! Taoist *qi*, endure forever! By imperial decree, quickly!"

All profound and mysterious Taoist talismans drew their power from heaven and earth. The Coal Girl's earlier sword array, which also served as a talisman, was inspired by the dragon-locking formations found in the mountains and rivers of Shu. Her subsequent "hu-talisman" was even more ingenious. The Coal Girl suddenly raised her hands and brought them down heavily. From thin air, a colossal tablet brimming with *qi* appeared and struck swiftly at the yellow flood dragon's back.

The yellow flood dragon, previously still as a statue, finally moved. It lifted one claw, then gently pressed it onto the lake surface. The sword array hovering above the water immediately began to sway precariously, on the verge of breaking apart. Yet, by collectively distributing the force of the flood dragon's claw, none of the eighty-one swords were destroyed. The yellow flood dragon, its back to the Coal Girl, seemed to show a hint of surprise. After a moment's thought, it turned its head, bit the large *hu* formed from condensed *qi*, and tore the tablet to shreds with a single bite. The original *hu*-talisman held by the Coal Girl also developed faint cracks. The yellow flood dragon shook its head, its whiskers swaying, then suddenly widened its eyes and opened its massive maw, roaring ferociously at the tiny, ant-like woman, like a Guardian King glaring.

The Coal Girl, still holding the water *hu*, slid backwards across the lake, her dark hair flying wildly from the magnificent dragon's breath. The Coal Girl retreated several *zhang* from the shore before finally releasing the *hu* from her hand, yet it did not fall. She muttered, "How dare you spit on me! I'll make you pay!" She glanced at the sword array and began moving swiftly across the lake again, softly reciting, "With one thought, a purple canopy forms over the profound altar; with one thought, I connect with nature; with one thought, I ascend to the Grand Purity. Never forget, proclaim to the Nine Heavens!"

With each utterance of "one thought," the remaining three swords ascended rapidly into the moonlit sky, and the Coal Girl herself glowed with a purple-golden hue, appearing almost like a deity to onlookers. The yellow flood dragon gazed at the familiar aura, seemingly apprehensive at first, then consumed by towering rage. Its front claws slammed onto the lake surface, and its submerged dragon claws began to churn the depths. A cornered beast fights fiercely, let alone a semi-divine, long-lived spirit like this, almost transformed into a dragon and capable of living as long as heaven and earth. The entire lake instantly became a boiling cauldron, countless white mists rose, and the earth shook. Although the Coal Girl's three talisman swords successively pierced the lake from high above—one swept away by the dragon's tail, but two embedded in the flood dragon's back—the yellow flood dragon showed no signs of debilitating injury. Instead, it fueled its frenzied fury: its four claws repeatedly rose and fell, its head lifted, its tail slammed the water, roaring like thunder, and the lake water overflowed, drenching the shore. The Guanyin Sect Qi practitioners had all retreated, but only the Coal Girl's elder sister on the pier remained perfectly still. She no longer looked towards the mountaintop but instead watched the yellow flood dragon in the lake, whose dragon *qi* could be traced back to the plateau, with a touch of pity. She calmly commanded, "Ying Yi, gather the *qi* into the treasure vase."

The female immortal master on the swaying pier nodded. Forming hand seals, she slowly inhaled, drawing the wildly overflowing dragon's breath and dragon *qi* from the lake into her abdomen.

The yellow flood dragon, whose head was initially facing the Coal Girl, quickly sensed the "thieving" actions of the "little rascal" behind it. It slowly turned its massive head and fixed its gaze on the two Qi practitioners on the pier.

The Sect Master frowned and said, "Coal Girl, stop playing around."

The Coal Girl giggled, exclaiming, "I know, I know!" She slid a jade pendant carved with two dragons biting their tails from her sleeve, showing a pained and wronged expression, then sighed and crushed the pendant.

Her elder sister looked towards the lake shore and calmly said, "Sun Ya, command the thunder to suppress."

Hearing this, a young male Qi practitioner immediately opened the satchel at his feet, revealing a square, blue stone pedestal carved with a recumbent coiled dragon, weighing no less than a hundred *jin* (approximately 50 kilograms). Each of its six sides had a hole, within which red lightning currents pulsed and swirled. The young man lifted the pedestal, let out a furious shout, and hurled it into the lake.

The Sect Master on the pier calmly gave another command, "Qi Longzhong, form the mirror!"

Another middle-aged Qi practitioner, enduring immense pressure that almost suffocated him, swiftly swept to the lake's edge. Crouching down, he extended both arms into the water. Starting from him, the lake surface began to freeze at a visible rate.

At this moment, the Coal Girl in the lake had crushed the twin *chi* jade pendant, causing two smaller *chi* (hornless dragons), inferior in size to the yellow flood dragon, to materialize on the lake. Meanwhile, the female Qi practitioner named Ying Yi on the bridge was frantically absorbing the yellow flood dragon's dragon *qi*. After the young Qi practitioner Sun Ya threw the coiled dragon pedestal, it hovered above the lake. A bolt of heavenly lightning struck it, causing golden light to scatter. Amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder, golden threads extended across the lake, resembling a golden Dharma net symbolizing the way of heaven. And the Qi practitioner responsible for forming the mirror had already frozen the entire lake surface, which was now filled with an eerie chill.

All was well, lacking only the final touch.

The Coal Girl, who seemed to carry countless high-grade talismans, was about to bring out a hidden treasure. Just as she was about to subdue the dragon in one fell swoop, an anomaly occurred!

The yellow flood dragon vanished without a trace.

The Guanyin Sect Master also vanished from the pier instantly.

At the mountain peak, she looked at the middle-aged scholar who was gazing down into a large white bowl before him, and said grimly, "You, Xie, don't push your luck!"

The scholar looked up and smiled, "Dantai Pingjing, don't flaunt your age. A woman acting like this is not charming."

The Sect Master sneered, "You, Xie Feiyu, stood by and watched your nation fall and your family be destroyed. You have great cultivation, yet you hid and cowered, and in the end, you don't even dare to acknowledge your own daughter. Is that what makes a true man?!"

The scholar continued to smile playfully, "Women may have long hair, but their foresight is short."

The tall woman, whose true name was Dantai Pingjing, had a somber expression, clearly genuinely enraged, an unprecedented sight. Although the Guanyin Sect had always stayed out of worldly disputes, believing that prosperity and decline were divinely ordained, this man had once declared that as long as he remained outside Tai'an City, no powerful Qi practitioner from the South could cross the Guangling River by even a step. This declaration was clearly a superfluous and deliberate targeting of the Guanyin Sect.

The Confucian scholar, whose true age was indiscernible, ignored Dantai Pingjing's expression and looked down at the water bowl. Swimming within it was a small yellow flood dragon, just over an inch long. Besides it, there were also two small *chi* and one red flood dragon, all roughly the same length.

"No flood dragons remain in Shu; they are all in my bowl."

The scholar smiled and softly said, "We are all recluses who act with the flow of circumstances, knowing that the movements of heaven and earth have their own rules. If you use this flood dragon to replenish the *qi* of King Xu Fengnian of Beiliang, you will break those rules."

Dantai Pingjing retorted sarcastically, "Then your help in capturing Shu's flood dragons and *chi* for Chen Zhibao, paving his way, didn't break any rules?"

The scholar surnamed Xie shook his head, saying, "You are far from comprehending the Heavenly Dao. Although we are fellow practitioners mending the Heavenly Dao, I bear the mental burden, while you Qi practitioners merely exert effort."

Dantai Pingjing's lips curled into a smirk, her gaze filled with pity, just as she had looked at the yellow flood dragon earlier.

The scholar looked around, smiling amiably, "I know you have a backup plan, Deng Tai'a's flying swords. My fighting is indeed mediocre, but if I can't win, I can always run, right?"

Only the tall woman remained on the mountaintop, but from the peak to the Shu region, a continuous series of thunderous roars erupted.

Two men appeared beside Dantai Pingjing: an unassuming middle-aged man and a one-armed old man.

Deng Tai'a and Sui Xiegou.

She cast them an inquiring look.

Deng Tai'a, who had silently launched a sword attack of an Earth Immortal, rubbed his chin and scoffed, "Did that fellow grease his feet? He ran so fast, I couldn't catch him."

Dantai Pingjing sighed with a hint of regret and asked, "Where will you go next?"

Deng Tai'a calmly replied, "I'm going to find my disciple. I'm certainly not going to Beiliang. Having Senior Sui with you should be enough."

Sui Xiegou glanced at the tall woman and chuckled, "Little Dantai, I've been chasing you for over eighty years since I first saw you. Won't you give me a chance? If you agree, I'll teach all my knowledge to that Coal Girl."

Dantai Pingjing completely ignored the impudent old man and descended the mountain.

Sui Xiegou grimaced.

Deng Tai'a, several generations younger than the other two, joked, "Senior, chasing women isn't like practicing swordsmanship; you can't be so direct."

Sui Xiegou glared, "Aren't you a bachelor yourself? At my age, you'll still be an old bachelor!"

Deng Tai'a burst into laughter, "I'll take that auspicious blessing from you, Senior."

After his laughter subsided, Deng Tai'a mused, "That old Wu isn't entirely stubborn and archaic after all. He finally did something I find refreshing."

Sui Xiegou nodded, "Ninety-nine swords from the tomb, plus this broken sword of mine, makes exactly one hundred swords. That should be more than enough for the Northern Barbarians to handle."

Deng Tai'a hesitated, then said, "If possible, perhaps my sword should be added. But by that point, the overall situation might already be decided, and it would no longer be a matter of providing help in a dire situation or merely adding to something already beautiful."

Sui Xiegou's spirit soared as he burst into laughter, "Never mind anything else! At that time, it will be all the finest swords from the Central Plains, combined with those three hundred thousand Beiliang blades—what a sight that will be!"