Quinn Shepherd finally shook off Victor Yuan, then immediately checked the surroundings. The treasure-ship had been riddled with holes by countless flying swords, battered and leaking air on all sides.
Victor Yuan of the Ape Duke Sword Sect was nimble and fierce, leaping and stabbing with a sword style both sharp and strange. Luckily, the ship’s hull was forged from black iron and remained sturdy enough to withstand the attacks of this sword master.
Still, the cabin was leaking air, slowing the treasure-ship down.
On top of that, the prow had slammed into a giant ice sword, slicing open a huge gash. When flying at full speed, wind poured into the ship’s body, making it much slower than at its peak.
"If I could stop for half a day, I’d have it fixed. But these people won’t give me that much time. At least we’re not far from the Great Ruins now."
Just as he thought this, Lina the Spirit Fox’s voice rang out: “Young master, the bronze beast under the ship has lost its head—does that matter?”
Quinn paused, then replied, “No problem. It’ll just be a bit bumpy when we land.”
“How bumpy?” The little fox poked her head out of the cabin, blinking curiously.
Quinn was puzzled. “Why are you asking?”
“We’re out of medicine stones.”
Lina said crisply, “Didn’t you notice, young master? Our ship is falling. We’ll be landing soon.”
Sure enough, Quinn saw that although the treasure-ship was still flying forward, it was already beginning to sink slowly toward the cloud sea below.
Quinn said decisively, “Lina, wake up the pig—it’s his turn to work!”
The Nethervault Demon King flared up: “Who are you calling a pig, brat? I’ve been working!”
Lina shot him a look. “I wasn’t talking about you—don’t flatter yourself. Young master meant Dragon-Qilin. Dragon-Qilin, get up! Stop sleeping, we’re about to land. Young master says it’ll be a bit bumpy!”
Dragon-Qilin slowly stood up, crawling out of the cabin with his belly dragging along the floor. He sounded unhappy, grumbling, “Just a few days ago, everyone called me Dragon Lord…”
“Can this guy even fly anymore?”
Quinn, a bit worried, quickly swept up the remaining New Year supplies in the cabin, stuffing them into the Glutton Dragon Pouch. He then pinned down the Nethervault Demon King and tried to stuff him in as well.
The pouch’s mouth was small—he could barely fit one of the Demon King’s legs inside.
Quinn was about to start dismantling the demon god’s body when the Nethervault Demon King snapped, “What are you doing? Don’t take me apart! My consciousness is scattered through this body—if you dismantle it, you’ll tear my mind to pieces… Don’t you know how to use the pouch? Infuse yuanqi and light up the Glutton Dragon’s mouth!”
Quinn’s eyes lit up. He surged yuanqi, lighting the Glutton Dragon pattern on the pouch. Instantly, the pouch’s mouth expanded into a giant maw—six or seven zhang wide—and swallowed the Nethervault Demon King whole.
Much handier this way.
Quinn, delighted and astonished, fastened the pouch at his waist, then leapt onto Dragon-Qilin’s back with Lina. He shouted, 'Abandon ship—go!'
Fiery clouds billowed beneath Dragon-Qilin’s feet as he rose from the ship. The vessel had already plunged below the clouds, beginning its descent.
Dragon-Qilin grumbled, 'Cult Master, Sister Lina, you’ve both gotten heavier, haven’t you? Much heavier than before.'
You’re the fat one!
The little fox huffed, 'Look how fat you’ve gotten! The grown-ups at young master’s house are fierce. If you keep getting fatter, you’ll be eaten for New Year!'
As they spoke, the treasure-ship crashed into a mountain with a thunderous boom, shattering into pieces. Three alchemical furnaces exploded in succession, sending shards of black iron and bronze flying everywhere. The violent blast destroyed swathes of forest, mushroom clouds billowing overhead, turning the sky pitch black.
Lina jumped in fright and looked at Quinn. 'Young master, you said landing would be a bit bumpy?'
Mm.
Quinn nodded and shouted, 'Dragon Fatty, if you don’t run faster, you’ll be eaten before New Year!'
Dragon-Qilin shivered and dashed off, fire clouds churning under his feet, boosting his speed. But after running just over ten li, he was panting heavily from exhaustion.
At that moment, more than ten mirrors suddenly rose up around Dragon-Qilin.
These mirrors rose from the mountain peaks below, each one octagonal, whistling as they encircled the group. The mirrors expanded in the wind, each spanning a zhang or so, and hovered about a hundred zhang away from them.
Sensing danger, Dragon-Qilin tried to sink lower, but another mirror flew up from below, blocking his path.
Dragon-Qilin tried to run upward, but another mirror hung inverted above them.
A sword beam shot out from the mountains, striking one of the mirrors with a clang. The mirror reflected the sword-light onto another mirror.
Then the mirrors reflected each other, while more sword beams shot up from the mountain peaks below, bouncing off the mirrors. The sword-light multiplied, weaving into a dense net!
More sword beams kept flying from the mountain peaks, shooting toward the mirrors.
What a bizarre formation!
Quinn felt a chill run down his spine. This was a sword formation—using mirrors to set the array, bouncing sword-light until it formed a nearly lossless, ever-thickening web!
But breaking this sword formation is simple—just smash the mirrors.
Quinn raised a finger. The Grand Guardian’s Sword slashed toward one of the mirrors, but suddenly countless sword-lights struck the blade with explosive clangs, knocking it down!
The sword wobbled, tumbling down into the forest below.
Their cultivation is way above mine—probably Six Directions or even Seven Stars Realm.
Quinn’s heart sank. He drew the scabbard, preparing to recall the Grand Guardian’s Sword. Dragon-Qilin’s room to maneuver was shrinking fast. Suddenly, he shook his head and let out a thunderous roar—the sound like ten thousand thunders exploding at once! The mirrors overhead shattered with a crash!
With their supports gone, the dense sword-net vanished instantly.
A surprised voice called out from the mountains below: 'What a fearsome beast! Such power!'
Dragon-Qilin bristled at being called a beast and, furious, spat a ball of fire toward the mountain. The sword-light there dodged aside, the swordsman merging with his blade to evade the attack.
The mountain exploded, fire clouds sweeping out in all directions, blasting the sword-light apart and separating man from sword, sending both tumbling into the forest below.
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But the man wasn’t dead—he sprang back into the air, a mirror floating before him. Its light shone, and a pillar of sword-energy swept toward them.
Dragon-Qilin bolted, leaving the sword-light behind.
But the sword-light was faster than Dragon-Qilin. It closed in, but Dragon-Qilin’s body swelled, revealing his true form—a colossal beast over forty zhang long. His massive tail swept back, smashing the sword beam to pieces.
'What a huge beast!' the swordsman blurted out, stunned.
Dragon-Qilin, enraged, turned and opened his mouth, flames roaring. A blazing pillar shot out. The swordsman realized the danger and shot up into the clouds to dodge, but the pillar sliced the clouds open with a whoosh.
A scream echoed from the sky, the swordsman’s fate unknown, and sunlight poured through the gap in the clouds.
'Dragon Fatty is amazing!' Lina cheered.
Quinn gazed at the split clouds, worry on his face.
Of all those chasing them, the strongest were Drake Dandy and the frost-faced woman from Leaving-Love Palace—both Seven Stars Realm experts. Next came the monk, the scholar, and the rest, likely in the Six Directions to Seven Stars Realm.
These people were all advance scouts—their job was to probe, to test whether Quinn Shepherd had powerful protectors by his side.
After all, Quinn Shepherd was the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult—surely he’d have bodyguards or other powerful allies.
Now, Dragon-Qilin’s strength had been revealed.
With that display, Drake Dandy and the others were no longer enough—they’d have to send even stronger experts.
Quinn had always kept fleeing, refusing to stop and fight Drake Dandy and the rest. His goal was to keep the hidden experts guessing whether he had backup, so they’d only dare send advance parties, giving him a better shot at reaching the Great Ruins.
That approach was actually the safest.
But now that Dragon-Qilin had made his move, that window of safety was gone.
Quinn had sent all the Heavenly Demon Cult experts out to do disaster relief—he had no bodyguards with him.
'Less than a thousand li to the Great Ruins—run!'
Quinn exhaled, voice heavy: 'The closer to the Great Ruins, the safer.'
Dragon-Qilin’s massive head surged forward, speed greatly increased. Though still heavy and panting, he ran like a shadow skimming the clouds.
It didn’t take long for the enormous beast to cover over a hundred li beneath the clouds, without encountering any pursuit. Suddenly, Quinn said, 'Stop—descend into the mountains below.'
Dragon-Qilin halted, shrinking his body and dropping into the mountain range below. They arrived at a valley buried in snow, the ice and snow several zhang deep, cliffs white and desolate on all sides, not a village or inn in sight.
Quinn’s flames blazed around him, melting the valley’s deep snow. Skeletons lay everywhere at the bottom of the valley.
This must be an ancient battlefield—a massacre site. Just now, using the Azure Firmament Heaven-Eye, he’d seen the place saturated with resentment, which was why he stopped here.
'Here’s where I’ll face these hunters as the Cult Master of the Heavenly Demon Cult—let’s see exactly what makes them stronger than me!'
Quinn’s heart hardened. Yuanqi surged, and countless bones flew up, piling together until they formed four towering white bone altars.
He took out the four demon god idols from the Glutton Dragon Pouch, placing them on the altars, then produced the Sigil-Cube talisman treasure and began the ritual atop the altar.
Redcrest Mountain Sect’s Spirit Command Seals for ghosts and gods!
These four statues were Nethervault demon god idols. The Nethervault Demon King had told him to carve five, to punish disobedient demon gods. Quinn had only ever summoned one before—the other four had never been used.
'Brat, if you summon my true body, I could help you wipe them all out!' came the Nethervault Demon King’s vicious voice from the pouch.
Quinn ignored him, chanting guttural demonic syllables. The sigil-cube spun, and more and more runes lit up on the first demon god idol. Gradually, Quinn established a link with a demon god in another world, using himself as the bridge to channel the Nethervault gods.
'So it really is the demonic Dao, hiding here to summon demons.'
An old, cold voice rang out: 'You always say you’re not a demonic sect, but how is this any different from devilry?'
An elderly Daoist appeared, carrying only a horsetail whisk and a single sword on his back.
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