CHAPTER 1586: CHAPTER 1586: THE PRICE

"You think you can trap me like this? How naive!"

After Spirit Serpent Venerable left, Fang Bai dispersed his Divine Sense, saw that Spirit Serpent Venerable had moved far away, gathered the Spiritual Energy within his Qi Sea, and forcibly broke through the seal left by Spirit Serpent Venerable, leaping up.

"This old scoundrel, where did he loot so many rare herbs from?"

After easily breaking through the Defensive Array set up by Spirit Serpent Venerable outside the cave, Fang Bai turned and re-entered the cave. Seeing it filled with many herbs, he collected them all into his Space Ring without hesitation.

Then, Fang Bai smashed the large alchemical cauldron in the cave with his palm and released a burst of Fire Spirit Energy, burning everything in the cave clean.

"Old scoundrel, this is the price for provoking me!"

Looking at the cave engulfed in flames and thick smoke, Fang Bai coldly laughed, summoned the Blood-Drinking Mad Blade, and flew out, heading straight into the sky.

He flew back to a dense forest near Golden City and let out a long whistle.

A few breaths later, the Wind Roc responded with a screech, then flew out from the dense leaves of a towering tree, landing beside Fang Bai.

"Wind Roc, I’m going to Dragon Lake and will return before sunset. Wait for me here!"

As Fang Bai spoke, he patted the Wind Roc’s body and transformed into a streak of light, vanishing.

By the shore of Dragon Lake, it was quiet and serene, as if even the wind was still.

But few knew that at this moment, forces were lurking around Dragon Lake.

Among them, the Golden City Lord Sikong Changjian and his eighteen generals were the strongest.

All these forces were here for the Golden Flood Dragon lurking within Dragon Lake.

Like Sikong Changjian, the other lurking forces also hoped to hunt the Golden Flood Dragon and had set up Slaughter Arrays around Dragon Lake. As soon as the Golden Flood Dragon entered their formation, they would swarm and attack with full force.

On the surface, it seemed there weren’t many experts intending to hunt the Golden Flood Dragon, but in the shadows, countless experts were on edge.

After all, the Golden Flood Dragon was said to be a descendant of the Golden Dragon that ascended to the Immortal Realm. Consuming its flesh, blood, and sinews would greatly benefit Martial Artists’ cultivation.

Fang Bai masked his aura, sneaked into a mountain peak ten li from Dragon Lake and took a vantage point to observe the surroundings, using Divine Sense to probe which individuals were around Dragon Lake within ten li.

Soon, Fang Bai discovered that besides the Golden City Lord Sikong Changjian and his eighteen generals, at least three or four forces of comparable strength were lurking at a distance, waiting for an opportunity. "Hmm? Isn’t that old scoundrel supposed to be harvesting Jade Redheart Grass? Why is he here too?"

Among the forces lurking around Dragon Lake, Fang Bai sensed the presence of the Spirit Serpent Venerable, unexpectedly finding him back here, probably having heard about the Golden Flood Dragon, wanting a share of the spoils.

"It seems if the Golden Flood Dragon appears, a fierce battle will ensue here. For now, I’ll lurk here, waiting to reap the fisherman’s profit! I won’t harm the Golden Flood Dragon, but I won’t spare the cultivation resources on those human Martial Artists."

Fang Bai thought internally.

Although Fang Bai had never seen a Golden Flood Dragon, he had once encountered a Golden Dragon in the Immortal Realm, knowing it was a formidable member of the Immortal Realm Dragon Clan. If the Golden Flood Dragon in Dragon Lake were indeed its progeny, he felt somewhat connected, and if it were in danger, he would help if he could.

More than two hours passed, and the smooth-as-mirror surface of Dragon Lake suddenly started rippling without wind.

"The Golden Flood Dragon is stirring!"

All the experts intensely monitoring Dragon Lake, including Fang Bai, were suddenly tense, fully alert.

The ripples on the lake became larger and more intense, waves upon waves crashing in succession.

At the center of Dragon Lake, a vortex suddenly appeared, its spinning speed increasing rapidly, extending across a large area, forming a vast, deep hole spanning a hundred meters and reaching the lake’s bottom.

"Boom!"

With a water explosion, a ten-zhang-long golden single-horned flood dragon burst from the deep hole in the lake, creating a massive wave and hovering a hundred meters in the air.

The golden-horned flood dragon circled in the air for several breaths, preparing to fly to the distant mountains to hunt, when suddenly, a dark green net a hundred meters wide descended from the clouds.

Simultaneously, nearly a hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts charged from all directions around Dragon Lake, wielding their Spiritual Artifacts, flying swiftly close, tightly gripping the edges of the dark green net, attempting to close it and subdue the Golden Flood Dragon within.

"Naive! If the Golden Flood Dragon could be subdued so easily, I wouldn’t have wasted ten years and immense effort to set up that Slaughter Array!"

The Golden City Lord Sikong Changjian, hidden in the grass on the south side of Dragon Lake, coldly watched the nearly hundred Nascent Soul Realm experts attempting to capture the Golden Flood Dragon with the net, with a hint of sarcasm on his face.

In his view, the Golden Flood Dragon was massive, immensely powerful, and its cultivation level surpassed his own. If even he wasn’t fully confident of capturing it, what chance did those mere hundred Nascent Soul experts have?

Sikong Changjian remained still, as did the other forces, all coldly observing the situation, ready to act when the time was right.

As expected by Sikong Changjian, after the Golden Flood Dragon was ensnared by the dark green net, it let out an enraged roar and fiercely swung its tail several times, shattering the net, rendering it powerless to restrain it.

The nearly hundred Nascent Soul experts holding the net were sent flying by the immense force of the dragon’s tail, with a dozen bodies smashing hard against each other with a dull thud, falling into the lake below.

Within Dragon Lake, along with the Golden Flood Dragon, were hundreds of Golden Scales Crocodiles. Although these creatures were only at the Nascent Soul Realm, their underwater attack power was incredibly formidable. The experts who fell into the lake were quickly surrounded by the Golden Scales Crocodiles, which bit off limbs, dragging them underwater, directly devouring them.

The remaining dozens of Nascent Soul experts, seeing the shattered net and the Golden Flood Dragon’s ferocity, shouted and scattered in retreat.

The Golden Flood Dragon rarely lost its temper, but once angered, its retaliation was fierce. How could it let those Nascent Soul experts escape easily?

It opened its maw, spewing strands of golden beams condensed from Gold Spirit Energy, each beam like a gold sword, piercing through several fleeing Nascent Soul experts.

In the blink of an eye, under the continuous golden beam attacks from the Golden Flood Dragon, more than half of the dozens of fleeing Nascent Soul experts fell, while the rest, though escaping by chance, were left with a terrifying shadow in their hearts, never daring to return lightly.