Chapter 248: Jiao's Attack

Hao Ren stared blankly in the direction Lu Ye had departed, his mind somewhat muddled. The situation had changed too quickly for him to keep up.

"Brother," Hao Qing asked, unable to comprehend, "if the Immemorial Dragon was in a bad mood, why would it run towards the Skysplit Sect's stronghold?"

"Perhaps someone from the Skysplit Sect provoked it before?"

"I see!" Hao Qing nodded, enlightened.

"My foolish sister..." Hao Ren said, exasperated. "Brother Yi Ye clearly lured that Immemorial Dragon over; it has nothing to do with its mood."

Hao Qing was utterly astonished. "How did he lure it?"

Hao Ren thought to himself, 'How would I know?' But it must have been Lu Yi Ye's doing. There was no reason for the Immemorial Dragon, which had never shown itself before, to act so strangely today.

He quickly sent a message: "The Immemorial Dragon has appeared, seemingly lured by Lu Yi Ye, and is heading towards the Skysplit Sect's stronghold."

On the large spirit boat, which carried hundreds of cultivators from Silverlight Isle, Luo Fu was contemplating whether to continue forward or return the way they came. He had expected the Skysplit Sect to react to the attack on their ore vein, but the Skysplit Sect remained inactive, which frustrated him greatly.

He had brought out hundreds of people, hoping to seize the opportunity for a major strike, but the Skysplit Sect offered no such chance.

Once dawn broke, the Skysplit Sect would certainly investigate the situation at the ore vein. However, with daylight, their large group wouldn't be able to stay hidden. If discovered, the Skysplit Sect would undoubtedly retreat into their stronghold, making their trip fruitless.

Just as Luo Fu was looking troubled, he suddenly received a message from Hao Ren.

He quickly scanned it, and his expression gradually turned to surprise. He recognized every word in the message, but combined, they made no sense to him.

What did "the Immemorial Dragon has appeared" mean? Wasn't that creature a legendary monster? How could it have been lured to the Skysplit Sect's stronghold by Lu Yi Ye? Could Lu Yi Ye possess such abilities?

'He's probably trying to trick me, isn't he?'

After thinking it over, he sent a message: "Junior Brother Hao, honestly, have you been abducted by the Skysplit Sect?"

"Senior Brother Luo, I'm telling you the truth! I couldn't believe it either, but I saw it with my own eyes, so I have to believe it! Let me tell you, that Immemorial Dragon is twenty zhang long, as thick as a water vat, with eyes like lanterns, and a fleshy horn on its head. It's incredibly fierce!"

"Has Hao Qing been abducted then?"

By the lakeside, Hao Ren was getting frantic. After a moment's thought, he sent another message: "Hao Ren, a disciple of Silverlight Isle, and his sister Hao Qing, have not been abducted by the Skysplit Sect or anyone else. If anything I have just told Senior Brother Luo Fu is false, may I be struck by lightning and die a terrible death. I humbly ask the Heavenly Secret to bear witness!"

After a moment, a message came back from Luo Fu: "Still alive?"

"Senior Brother Luo, believe me!"

"I believe you!"

With a Heavenly Secret Vow made, how could Luo Fu not believe him?

The legendary Immemorial Dragon truly existed, and it had even been led to the Skysplit Sect's stronghold by Lu Yi Ye! This was simply a heaven-sent opportunity.

On the deck of the large boat, Luo Fu, invigorated, gave an order: "Full speed ahead!"

The large boat, which had been crawling like a turtle, quickly vibrated with a hum. Enveloped in shimmering spiritual light, it rapidly sped towards the Skysplit Sect's stronghold.

At the Skysplit Sect's stronghold, on the Heavenly Secret Hall plaza, hundreds of cultivators, led by Guard Master Zou Qi and Deputy Master Yu Hongbao, gathered with a palpable air of hostility.

At that moment, several pale-faced cultivators stood before Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao, reporting their recent experiences.

They had all escaped from the ore vein. Although Lu Ye and the Hao siblings had stormed the ore vein, its labyrinthine tunnels made it impossible to kill every Skysplit Sect cultivator; naturally, some had slipped through.

These escapees weren't entirely clear about what had happened. They only knew the ore vein had been attacked and many people had died. Who attacked, or how many attackers there were, remained unknown to them; they only knew the number of attackers was small.

After questioning them, Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao didn't get much useful information. They could only tell the survivors to fall into formation.

"What do you make of this?" Zou Qi asked Yu Hongbao.

"These dozen or so people escaped and weren't ambushed. Either there's no ambush outside the stronghold, or the people ambushing us have a large appetite."

Zou Qi nodded; he had thought the same.

Normally, if there had been an ambush outside the stronghold, these dozen people couldn't possibly have escaped. Now that they had returned safely, it meant the enemy was playing a long game, trying to catch bigger fish.

At this point, they had to remain composed. Rashly sending out more cultivators would surely lead to heavy casualties.

"Let's wait for dawn. It's already the hour of Mao (5-7 AM); it will be light soon!" As Zou Qi spoke, he turned to glance at the dark night sky, as if he could perceive the boundless killing intent hidden within the darkness.

It wasn't surprising that Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao thought this way. The main reason was that the three Ninth-stage cultivators guarding the ore vein hadn't managed to send back a single message before their deaths. And Senior Brother Yuan Guang had also died, no one knew how.

This gave them the misconception that the force attacking the Skysplit Sect had deployed a large number of powerful individuals. Otherwise, there was no way four Ninth-stage cultivators would have died so mysteriously. It was possible that two nearby Haotian Alliance forces had joined hands.

While they were engaged in a battle of wits with thin air, they were unaware that danger was approaching from another direction.

Led by Yi Yi, the Immemorial Dragon approached the Skysplit Sect's stronghold with astonishing momentum. Behind the Immemorial Dragon, Lu Ye was riding Amber in pursuit.

Time passed, the darkness slowly receded, and dawn began to break in the sky.

Hundreds of Skysplit Sect cultivators, who had been preparing for a long time, only awaited Zou Qi's command to charge out of the stronghold and show the attackers what they were made of.

"What's that sound?"

Zou Qi suddenly frowned. He faintly felt the ground vibrating, and there seemed to be a rumbling noise.

Yu Hongbao immediately knelt down, pressed his ear to the ground, and listened carefully. His expression gradually turned solemn. "Something very large is rapidly approaching this way!"

"The Immemorial Dragon!" Zou Qi's voice trembled.

"What?" Yu Hongbao looked up at Zou Qi, seeing his gaze fixed on one direction, his eyelids twitching incessantly.

He quickly stood up, followed Zou Qi's gaze, and was stunned.

Throughout the entire Skysplit Sect stronghold, hundreds of cultivators stood dumbfounded. Because in that direction, a massive, twenty-zhang-long snake demon was writhing its body, thundering forward, and by its trajectory, it was heading directly for the Skysplit Sect's stronghold.

The lake where the Immemorial Dragon lived was within the Skysplit Sect's territory. The Skysplit Sect undoubtedly knew more about this fierce creature. Outsiders believed the Immemorial Dragon was just a myth, but the Skysplit Sect knew it truly existed. Decades ago, elder cultivators of the Skysplit Sect had seen the Immemorial Dragon at night, absorbing the essence of the moon.

Over the years, the Skysplit Sect had considered subduing this ferocious beast to make it their protective sect beast. However, they had never succeeded. After several attempts and significant losses, they had given up.

No one expected this ferocious beast to charge towards the Skysplit Sect's stronghold today. Judging by its aggressive demeanor, it clearly meant trouble!

What was going on?

Zou Qi's first thought was that this must be the work of Silverlight Isle. But he immediately dismissed the idea. If Silverlight Isle truly possessed such ability, they would have shattered the Skysplit Sect long ago, not waited until today.

There was no time to ponder how this elusive beast had left its lake. Zou Qi simultaneously shouted for his disciples to increase the power of the protective formation, while secretly praying that the beast was just passing by and would soon leave!

However, prayers were useless. The Immemorial Dragon did not change its direction in the slightest. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Skysplit Sect cultivators, it crashed head-on into the light barrier of the protective formation at an astonishing speed.

*Boom...*

A huge roar erupted. From the point of impact, visible shockwaves swept in all directions. The light barrier of the protective formation dimmed drastically, and ripples spread outwards.

The dimmed light barrier brightened again. This was due to the Skysplit Sect cultivators frantically channeling power into the formation.

Inside the formation, the hearts of the Skysplit Sect cultivators pounded fiercely with each impact. Many cultivators instinctively crouched down. The violent tremors caused some buildings within the stronghold to creak and rattle.

Outside the formation's light barrier, the twenty-zhang-long body of the Immemorial Dragon stood upright for the most part. Its head was held high, its tongue flicked in and out of its mouth. Its emerald-green pupils reflected the panicked faces of the cultivators.

Its body leaned back slightly, its serpentine form appearing like a drawn longbow.

Upon seeing this posture, Zou Qi knew something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Sure enough, the Immemorial Dragon violently crashed down again.

*Boom...*

The ground shook once more. This impact was even more forceful than the last. The previous crash had been the Immemorial Dragon running into it with momentum, without much deliberate intent. But this time, it was an active assault, and the force was entirely different.

The light barrier of the protective sect formation dimmed considerably again before brightening once more.

*Boom, boom, boom...*

Continuous, deafening impacts followed. The entire Skysplit Sect stronghold immediately fell into chaos. The cultivators' spirits rose and fell with the fluctuating brightness of the protective formation's light barrier.

The Immemorial Dragon was hitting the protective formation as if it had gone mad. No one knew why it was doing this. The protective formation could hold for a short time, but given enough time, it would surely be broken. And these hundreds of cultivators present would be utterly unable to withstand the Immemorial Dragon's rampage.

Zou Qi and Yu Hongbao were already asking if anyone in the sect had recently provoked this fierce beast. They received no useful clues.

The only one who knew the truth was currently behind a slope five li away, peering in that direction. Lu Ye had rushed over, following the Immemorial Dragon's tracks. He immediately saw the Immemorial Dragon smashing into their protective formation, acting as if it held a deep grudge against the Skysplit Sect.

All good!

Lu Ye sent a message to Yi Yi, asking about her situation. Learning she was fine, he felt relieved.

At first glance, the protective sect formation appeared to be a hemispherical light barrier covering the stronghold. But in reality, it was spherical, with half above ground and half below. This was to prevent attacks from underground.

So, even if Yi Yi could travel underground, she couldn't bring the scales into the Skysplit Sect's stronghold. But she didn't need to bring them in; she only needed to hide somewhere underground.

For the Immemorial Dragon, desperate for the scales' blood essence, anything that dared to obstruct it was an enemy. If the Skysplit Sect's protective formation stood in its way, then it would smash through it!