Chapter 495 - 470: A True Dao Level 3 Expert

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Zhaang Ye had already made up his mind, but he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he took out the Blade Tip and unleashed several immense Sword Gangs into the city. The ferocious Sword Gangs obliterated the city walls, and the floodwaters inside immediately surged out through the breach.

The floodwaters spewed by the Flood Dragon had instantly submerged the city, drowning an unknown number of civilians. Faced with such massive casualties, even with his high Cultivation, Zhaang Ye couldn’t help many. The most he could do was channel the water out of the city, giving those who had been lucky enough to survive a chance to live.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Not long after Zhaang Ye had unleashed the Sword Gangs, a dozen or so figures flew out from the city. These people were the city’s experts, every one of them at the Martial Arts Ninth Layer of Cultivation. Their Cultivation was extremely high; while the torrential flood from the Flood Dragon could drown ordinary Martial Artists, it couldn’t kill them.

These people had just witnessed Zhaang Ye’s divine might as he beat a Flood Dragon to death, and they knew he must be a True Dao Expert. They flew below Zhaang Ye and bowed respectfully. A pale-bearded old man stepped forward and said to Zhaang Ye, "I am Fang Dashi, the City Lord of Giant Wood City. Thank you, Daoist Master, for taking action and slaying this vile dragon."

Zhaang Ye waved his hand. "It was nothing, just a casual kill. Besides, Giant Wood City is part of the Wei Kingdom, isn’t it? I am also from the Wei Kingdom, so slaying this vile dragon was my duty."

"Someone from the Wei Kingdom!"

The dozen or so Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts were all stunned. They had no idea when the Wei Kingdom had produced such a great True Dao expert.

Zhaang Ye couldn’t be bothered with them and asked casually, "As far as I know, this Flood Dragon has always stayed within the Python Marsh. Why did it leave the Python Marsh and come out here to slaughter a city?"

Fang Dashi gave a wry smile. "Daoist Master, I don’t know either. However, a while ago, I received some news. I heard that an extremely powerful figure came to the Python Marsh, seemingly in search of something. This Flood Dragon was likely beaten and chased out of the Python Marsh by this person."

Zhaang Ye’s heart skipped a beat. He had a faint feeling that this expert who had suddenly appeared in the Python Marsh was also likely after the World Stone. A sense of urgency welled up inside him, and he said in a low voice, "Someone is in the Python Marsh looking for something? When did this happen? Tell me everything."

Fang Dashi felt an immense aura suddenly erupt from Zhaang Ye. Just a tiny fraction of it leaking out was utterly terrifying. He struggled to withstand Zhaang Ye’s aura as he quickly explained, "This happened three days ago. This powerful figure arrived in the Python Marsh and fought a great battle with the Flood Dragon. It seems now that the Flood Dragon was no match for this person, so it had no choice but to flee the Python Marsh..."

Zhaang Ye asked a few more questions before finally waving his hand. "Alright. Your city has many people waiting to be rescued. Go back and take care of things. I have urgent business and must be going."

With that said, Zhaang Ye put away the Blade Tip and vanished without a trace.

A long while after Zhaang Ye had left, the dozen or so experts from Giant Wood City let out a collective sigh of relief. A Martial Arts Ninth Level Middle Stage expert said in astonishment, "Who on earth is this Daoist Master? When did our Wei Kingdom produce such a powerful expert?"

"Exactly! It’s been a very long time since a True Dao Expert has appeared in our Land of Divine Abandonment. For one to suddenly show up now is truly strange!"

"Heh, in my opinion, he must have broken through to the True Dao outside our lands. To be able to reach the True Dao, he must be a once-in-a-millennium genius. Let me think... which geniuses have appeared in our Wei Kingdom True Hall in the last hundred years..."

At that moment, Fang Dashi said slowly, "There’s no need to think. That person just now must be the genius Zhaang Ye, who left the Wei Kingdom several years ago to join the Green Cloud Sect."

The dozen or so Martial Arts Ninth-Layer Experts cried out, "Zhaang Ye? That’s impossible!"

Although Zhaang Ye was a peerless, once-in-a-generation genius in the entire Wei Kingdom, and even the whole Land of Divine Abandonment, the time he had spent in Cultivation was simply too short. Zhaang Ye was not yet thirty when he left the Wei Kingdom, and he had only been in the Green Cloud Sect for a mere two years. Advancing to the True Dao in such a short amount of time was something no one could believe.

Fang Dashi said calmly, "I can’t believe it either. But I’ve heard that Zhaang Ye has always dressed in green robes, and his weapon is a mysterious Blade Tip that unleashes golden Sword Qi. The Daoist Master just now matched Zhaang Ye’s description perfectly, and the Sword Gang he unleashed was also golden. Therefore, I am certain that man was Zhaang Ye."

HISS!

Everyone was dumbfounded. They had cultivated painstakingly their entire lives only to reach the Martial Arts Ninth Layer. A thirty-year-old True Dao Expert was simply beyond their imagination!

...

Zhaang Ye transformed into a streak of green light and flew nonstop through the void, soon arriving at Python City. The city was in ruins, filled with incessant screams. Walls and buildings had collapsed everywhere, and many areas were still submerged in water. Zhaang Ye took one look and knew immediately that Python City had also been attacked by the Flood Dragon.

Knowing that someone was searching for something in the Python Marsh, Zhaang Ye felt anxious and had no desire to linger. He glanced at Python City, let out a sigh, and casually unleashed a Thousand-foot Blade Gang. The Thousand-foot Blade Gang swept out, splitting the city wall and allowing the floodwaters inside to surge out.

Zhaang Ye shook his head and continued toward the depths of the Python Marsh without pausing.

When the Little World had exploded, it blasted a massive crater hundreds of li wide. This huge pit had slowly filled to become an enormous lake.

But when Zhaang Ye reached the depths of the Python Marsh, he did not see this lake. What he saw was a world of ice and snow. Zhaang Ye discovered that in the depths of the Python Marsh, all the lakes and swamps had frozen into thick sheets of ice. For hundreds of li, the cold wind howled and snowflakes drifted down, as if he had entered a world of glaciers.

Looking at this world of ice, Zhaang Ye felt that something was wrong. ’Strange, very strange,’ he muttered to himself. ’Why would an area hundreds of li across be so cold?’

The Fire Spirit flew over at that moment and said, "This land of ice and snow wasn’t formed naturally. If I’m not mistaken, it was forcefully created by someone using a Cultivation Technique."

Zhaang Ye’s expression turned grim. This world of ice and snow spanned six to seven hundred li. To completely freeze such a vast area would require the Cultivation of at least the True Dao Third Layer.

In other words, the person who created this frozen world was at least a True Dao Third Layer expert.

The True Dao Third Layer and the True Dao Second Layer were completely different matters. When one’s Cultivation reached the True Dao Third Layer, they would condense three flower petals to form a complete flower. This was known as "Little Perfection" in the True Dao. The combat power of a True Dao Third Layer expert far surpassed that of someone at the Peak of the Second Layer of the True Dao. It could be said that one True Dao Third Layer expert could easily defeat five experts at the Peak of the Second Layer of the True Dao.

After understanding his opponent’s strength, Zhaang Ye immediately became cautious. He said to the Fire Spirit, "Your Spiritual Sense is much stronger than mine. Can you find the other person’s location?"

The Fire Spirit replied, "I should be able to. Huh? Someone’s coming. I’ll hide first. When you need me to act, just tell me in your mind, and I’ll come out."

With that said, the Fire Spirit abruptly entered the Small Space. After the Fire Spirit’s soul connected with Zhaang Ye’s, it could freely enter and exit the Small Space, which was much more convenient.

The Fire Spirit had just entered the Small Space when Zhaang Ye felt a cold wind blow from the distance, followed by a chilling voice, "Who are you? Get the hell out of here, now!"

Before the voice had even faded, a figure completely white in appearance abruptly materialized in front of Zhaang Ye. His clothes were snow-white, his hair was snow-white, his skin was snow-white, and even his eyeballs were a grayish-white. A bone-chilling cold emanated from his entire being. His appearance was so terrifying that an ordinary person would likely have nightmares from a single glance.

Zhaang Ye sensed the man’s aura and confirmed that he was indeed a True Dao Third Layer expert. His Cultivation was a full two Small Tiers higher than Zhaang Ye’s. Even more frightening, the Cultivation Technique he practiced seemed different from ordinary ones; even with his own powerful Spiritual Sense, Zhaang Ye couldn’t fathom the man’s true depth.

Zhaang Ye sensed that his opponent was unfathomable, but he had no intention of backing down. He had rushed all the way to the depths of the Python Marsh for the sole purpose of finding the World Stone. How could he possibly leave now, before he had it in hand? Sweeping his gaze over the white figure, Zhaang Ye said impassively, "And who might you be? Anyone can come here. You have no right to tell me to get lost."

The white figure grinned sinisterly, raising a finger to point at Zhaang Ye. He cackled, "Brat, your Cultivation is merely at the True Dao First Layer, yet you dare act so insolently before me, Jiangqian Mountain! I’ve changed my mind. I won’t let you get lost. I’m going to kill you with my own two hands!"

’His surname is Jiang, and he excels at this kind of Ice Technique... Could he be from the Jiang Family of the Barbaric World?’

A thought flickered in Zhaang Ye’s mind before he dismissed it and laughed loudly. "Such big talk! We’ll see if you kill me, or if I kill you!"

After successfully cultivating the Celestial River Righteous Qi, Zhaang Ye had become increasingly domineering and self-confident. Even facing a True Dao Third Layer expert, he was not the least bit afraid!

When Jiangqian Mountain saw that Zhaang Ye was not only unafraid but was even provoking him, a savage look flashed across his icy face. He stared sinisterly at Zhaang Ye and was about to speak when a flash of gold appeared before his eyes. A golden streak of light suddenly shattered the void, lashing straight toward him!

It turned out Zhaang Ye knew a great battle was inevitable and couldn’t be bothered to waste words with Jiangqian Mountain. He had taken out the Punishment Whip and lashed it straight at him!

--- (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote with Recommendation Tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)