Chapter 186: The Seven Stars Array

　　Yunxiao said with a calm face, “The smell of raw snake grass juice is the most alluring for snakes and flood dragons, so it’s the perfect bait to lure them out of their lairs. However, this Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon is already a half-dragon, and since the smell is diluted by seawater, it may not be attracted. I think Lord Ma should have a backup plan, right?”

　　Ma Wendi was really shocked by now, and he seemed to perceive something in Yunxiao’s young face that made the latter seem different from other teenagers. With his eyes flickering, he smiled to Duan Yue and said, “Your little brother is indeed gifted!”

　　Duan Yue’s nostrils flared, but there was nothing he could do now to clear his name. So, he just laughed dryly and shot a venomous look at Yunxiao.

　　Meanwhile, the six disciples of Flying Sword Sect, who stood separately in the distance, threw away the small bottles in their hands and began to perform incantation gestures. Dark incantation seals kept flying out of their fingertips, and they were soon enveloped by light masses and became blurred.

　　As the light masses grew larger and larger, several light beams shot out of them and connected them together, forming a huge six-pointed star. Then, strange tadpole-liked characters emerged around the huge star and fell into the sea.

　　The crowd looked astonished. Obviously, it was the first time they saw this kind of an array, and they thought that Flying Sword Sect was indeed a large sect with extraordinary strength.

　　Ma Wendi saw everyone’s expression, and he felt a pang of satisfaction. Yunxiao was the only one with a calm face and a faint smile as he observed, so the former asked suspiciously, “Do you know about this array, Young Master Yun?”

　　The smile on the corners of Yunxiao’s mouth remained unchanged, preventing others from learning his thoughts. “I don’t know. Can you please explain it to me, Lord Ma?”

　　Ma Wendi smiled and said proudly, “This is an array handed down from the ancient times in Flying Sword Sect, which can detect all kinds of life aura within a radius of thousands of miles. We call it the cloud array. As long as the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon is still here, it will not escape its detection.”

　　‘Handed down from the ancient times my ass! This is one of the rudimentary arrays in the Eight Hundred Dao of Array! F*ck! You can fool these bumpkins but not me!’ Yunxiao cursed in his heart. In those years, for the purpose of seeking stronger Dao of Alchemy, he, as a ninth-tier alchemist, had once consulted Martial Sovereign Throne, Teng Guang, about the Dao of Array. They chatted for seven days and both benefited greatly from each other.

　　There were twelve rudimentary arrays in Teng Guang’s Eight Hundred Dao of Array, and this cloud array was one of them. The reason he told Ma Wendi that he did not know about it was that he did not want to attract too much attention.

　　The rest of the people were silent and deep in thought as they watched the grand array in operation. The strength of a sect was reflected in its comprehensive strength, and their sects were obviously inferior to the Flying Sword Sect.

　　When Ma Wendi finished speaking, he looked at the thoughtful faces of the crowd and felt elated. The only thing that vexed him was that Yunxiao was still so nonchalant, as if he did not listen to him at all.

　　Suddenly, waves began to gradually appear across the calm sea surface, and the array also began to become unstable under the waves. Everyone’s face fell, and each felt tense while staring unblinkingly at the sea.

　　Meanwhile, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky, from which came a faint rumble of thunder, and the seawater churned fiercer while the waves rose higher and higher. Then, an ancient demonic aura gradually rose from the bottom of the sea, striking fear into the hearts of those who sensed it.

　　The seawater seemed to have boiled in an instant, as a large amount of water vapor rose into the air, blurring the whole sea surface and obscuring everyone’s vision.

　　Yunxiao narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Mount the clouds and ride the mist…It is indeed a flood dragon!”

　　Although Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragons were only seventh-tier sea beasts, this kind of a demon beast with the bloodline of an ancient true spirit had always been extremely precious.

　　The crowd was startled as they suddenly found a huge water pillar rise from the sea. It was surrounded by white mist, with something purple vaguely visible within.

　　“It’s out! Let’s do it!” Ma Wendi shouted nervously and became the first to rush out. In his hand he held a sword, which he swung rapidly, sending rings of dazzling white light out around him.

　　The other six people flew out of the chariot after him. “Drive the chariot farther away and hide! This is not a battle you can watch!” Duan Yue said in a deep voice. Although he always wanted to beat Yunxiao to death, he was worried about the latter at this moment, fearing that the shockwaves from the battle would hurt him.

　　Yunxiao smiled, and then he saw seven figures appear around the water pillar, standing at their respective positions with serious faces and performing incantation gestures.

　　The Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon in the water pillar seemed to have discovered something. A thunderous roar rang out, and a huge purple shadow slithered out of the water, revealing a large head with a pair of milky-white horns, which slammed toward Ma Wendi.

　　Taken aback, Ma Wendi hastened the movement of his hands and brought down his sword in a wild slash, sending out a sword beam that was as bright as the sun.

　　Facing it, there was a hint of disdain in the flood dragon’s huge eyes. Instead of dodging, it rushed over and effortlessly smashed the sword beam into pieces as if it were just a bubble. Then, it abruptly opened its huge mouth and swooped down.

　　Meanwhile, Lord Coldcrow flew at top speed up around the water pillar as he locked his hands into an incantation gesture. Then, he threw it up over his head and roared, “Open now, the seven stars!”

　　The incantation seal expanded from his palms and shot up into the sky. Suddenly, a gap was ripped in the dark clouds that veiled the sky, from which, a shaft of golden light slanted through, shining on Lord Coldcrow. His hands flashed in incantation gestures, and the golden light immediately radiated out, enveloping the other six people.

　　Ma Wendi felt relieved instantly. With a sneer, he grabbed a sheet of golden light with both hands and gently pushed it out.

　　RUMBLE!

　　The flood dragon, who was rushing toward him, crashed into a huge golden barrier and roared furiously while withdrawing its massive body into the water pillar. As if that were a humiliation, it wheeled even faster in the water.

　　Gradually, the water pillar towering into the sky grew slimmer. As the flood dragon kept wheeling, a large amount of seawater began to gather in the air, forming into a colossal water ball, the color of which was pale purple. Rings of strange patterns could be seen spreading across its surface, and faint rumbles of thunder could be heard ringing out from within.

　　The seven people who stood at different positions had become the nodes that linked up to form a great sheet of golden light, which trapped the Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon inside. The dazzling golden light and the bright sun in the sky complemented each other while power kept being drawn down from the sky.

　　“Everyone, be careful! This big fellow is about to use its innate divine ability, the Water Dragon Lightning!” Ma Wendi’s face grew very tense, and he shouted seriously, “We’ve cut off its access to the seawater, so as long as we can withstand three attacks, it will surely die!”

　　Lord Coldcrow roared mightily as well, “Don’t worry! No matter how strong it is, it cannot be stronger than the Six Directions realm! And since we’ve trapped it in the array, we can kill it once it has exhausted its power!”

　　The seven of them were all Martial Grandmasters, and with the help of the array, they believed they could withstand three attacks from a mere sea beast. Besides, as the water-element resource the flood dragon could muster was limited, its attacks would surely become weaker and weaker.

　　Many disciples of the Flying Sword Sect, including the six Martial Lords who went out to lure the flood dragon, watched nervously from the Tigerking chariot in the distance. It was an astonishing battle that they might not have another chance to witness in their lives.

　　Yunxiao stared at the colossal water ball produced by the purple flood dragon. It was hundreds of meters in diameter, surrounded by countless electric arcs, and the flood dragon itself was slithering inside. Evidently, a very powerful attack was taking shape.

　　‘Is that a Water Dragon Lightning? I can’t believe it has awakened its innate divine ability. If it survives this time, it should be able to make a breakthrough to the seventh-tier. Can they withstand it?’ Yunxiao frowned. He did not feel confident, and he thought it would not be so easy.

　　“It’s coming! Be careful!” Duan Yue’s pupils constricted suddenly, and all his blood vessels expanded in an instant as a terrible aura pervaded the array. Even before the attack approached, the array had begun to wobble.

　　“What’s going on? Hold on everyone, we can’t afford to be thrown into confusion!” Ma Wendi screamed in shock. The strength of Purple Nine Neonate Flood Dragon’s attack was beyond his imagination.

　　All of a sudden, the colossal water ball, which was hundreds of meters at its widest part, exploded, filling the whole array with the dazzling light of purple and blue hues. Shockingly, countless streams of blue seawater condensed into numerous water dragons, rushing out in all directions under the flash of purple lightning.

　　“Roar!”

　　Meanwhile, the purple lightning gathered around the flood dragon as it soared into the sky and then swooped down toward Lord Coldcrow, who led the formation of the array.

　　All of them gaped and felt chills rush up from the soles of their feet to their backs. The overwhelming attack of water, lightning, and dragons was an extremely shocking visual impact. Trembling with fear, they desperately poured Primordial Qi into their hands, draining the golden sunlight as much and as fast as they could to strengthen the array’s defense.

　　Lord Coldcrow’s face turned ashen as he frantically performed incantation gestures with both hands, throwing out one incantation seal after another and causing the sun in the sky to burst into greater golden light, which sprinkled down like rain.

　　The whole sea flashed with a golden light, which was pierced by purple and blue; the attacks transformed from the countless water dragons thrust into the golden light, devouring the golden sunlight inch by inch, while the purple flood dragon itself crashed into Lord Coldcrow with the power of lightning.

　　RUMBLE!

　　The whole sky turned into a chaotic mixture of various lights.

　　The people on the Tigerking chariot in the distance were seized with panic. They widened their eyes, trying to have a better look at the situation, but what they saw was only a blur.

　　One of the Flying Sword Sect’s disciples swallowed hard, and then he suddenly cried out in shock, “Where did Senior Duan’s little brother go?”

　　Another disciple also recovered slightly from the shock. He glanced around and snorted coldly as he said, “How could he run about in such a dangerous place? Does he think he is a Martial Grandmaster? Leave him alone! It’s none of our business even if he falls into the sea and dies.”

　　All kinds of violent auras pervaded the air filled with rocking water vapor.

　　The array had been destroyed. The huge flood dragon rode on clouds and mist, searching for the traces of its enemies with a pair of bright eyes.