Chapter 265: Celebration

The churning water had not yet settled when a colossal crimson shadow flashed again in the bottomless river. It burst from the water, creating astonishing ten-zhang-high waves. A gigantic crimson-scaled flood dragon, ten zhang long and resembling a small mountain, leapt onto the land!

It looked ferocious, exuding the terrifying aura of a beast king. Suddenly, its thick nostrils sniffed the air. Its head sharply turned towards the nearby mountain of crimson-scaled flood dragon corpses, and it immediately opened its massive maw, letting out an enraged roar.

The roar was deafening, causing Xie Liushu and the others intense pain in their eardrums. The horses beneath them were startled and bolted in a panicked frenzy, refusing to obey. The line of carriages, in particular, plunged into chaos as the horses panicked, running in different directions and causing the convoy to spin in place, unable to gain any speed.

The adult crimson-scaled flood dragon's dull yellow eyes quickly turned blood-red, glowing with a savage light. With a push of its legs, its seemingly clumsy and bulky body unexpectedly leapt dozens of zhang, instantly crushing more than half of the carriages beneath it. Seeing the dire situation, several Joyous Sect disciples had already abandoned their carriages and fled. The horses, meanwhile, were flattened into a pulp of flesh, and the goods being transported in the carriages were crushed to smithereens.

Xie Liushu's heart bled. All the mission items were destroyed, signifying the failure of the Class 1 mission he was in charge of. But there was no time to think about that now.

Feeling the terrifying aura of the gigantic crimson-scaled flood dragon, Xie Liushu trembled and said: "This is a demon beast at the second level of Core Formation. We must run! A beast king of this level is certainly not something we can handle. To survive its wrath would be nothing short of a miracle!"

However, the crimson-scaled flood dragon paid them no mind. Instead, it stared ferociously at Jiang Fan and the others. It had smelled the blood of many smaller crimson-scaled flood dragons on them, and the scent was strongest on Jiang Fan! This meant that they were the ones who had killed its offspring!

It immediately let out a low roar, then bounded dozens of zhang like a toad, in swift pursuit.

Jiang Fan's eyelids twitched slightly. This creature is so fierce even on land? No wonder Grand Elder Ming Youlian had an arm inadvertently bitten off.

Seeing that the carriage's speed was far inferior to the beast's and they were gradually being caught up, Jiang Fan stopped and called out, "Keep going, don't stop!" He then decisively opened the wooden box and took out the snow-white guqin.

"It's my first time using a high-grade magical artifact," he murmured softly. "I hope it doesn't disappoint me!"

Jiang Fan placed the guqin on the ground. Holding his breath and concentrating, his hands suddenly pressed down on the strings.

Xie Liushu, who had noticed this scene from afar, watched with a changed expression and exclaimed softly, "Is he mad? He actually wants to contend with a beast king of this level by himself?"

Ji Ruyue gazed at the scene without blinking. The solitary Jiang Fan and the hill-like monstrous creature formed an extreme contrast, creating a huge impact on her mind. *Is this… is this really the same Qingyun Sect disciple she once looked down upon?*

Ming Youlian, who also noticed this scene, couldn't help but frown. "He still wants to single-handedly challenge this beast? Even I had my arm inadvertently bitten off by it! Although the beast's power greatly diminished on land and its innate abilities were difficult to unleash, how could Jiang Fan, a junior, possibly handle it?"

Yi Lianxing, Qin Caihe, and Chu Xingmeng gasped in disbelief. However, with the crimson-scaled flood dragon right behind them, their mission was to protect the Thousand-Mile Eagle, and they dared not stop. They could only look back with trepidation. Jiang Fan's solitary and frail figure and the crimson-scaled flood dragon's colossal, towering body formed an extreme contrast. This scene was deeply etched in everyone's eyes, delivering a profound visual impact!

As Jiang Fan felt the strong wind on his face, he remained unmoving. He calmly calculated the distance between them. When the crimson-scaled flood dragon was only twenty zhang away and leapt into the air once more, Jiang Fan seized the opportunity and decisively activated the 'Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Art'!

Clang— After only a moment of playing, Jiang Fan realized something was off. In an instant, a full ten percent of his spiritual power was drained! This startled him. Mid-grade magical artifacts, at most, only used one percent of spiritual power, but high-grade magical artifacts consumed ten times more spiritual power! However, the power that burst forth also startled Jiang Fan!

A tiger's roar, capable of shattering mountains and splitting the earth, reverberated in all directions. The crimson-scaled flood dragon that had leapt into the air was immediately torn open by the sound waves, with blood gushing out. This was a beast king at the second level of Core Formation, whose scales were incredibly hard—even mid-grade magical artifacts would struggle to break them! Yet a single note from the guqin easily ripped its flesh open! *If unleashed with full power…* A hint of anticipation flickered in Jiang Fan's eyes.

The crimson-scaled flood dragon crashed to the ground. The blood-red color in its eyes quickly receded, turning to a dull yellow, with traces of apprehension flowing within its gaze. It sensed the danger Jiang Fan posed. But smelling the blood on Jiang Fan, it roared again and bounded towards him! It could barely withstand this kind of guqin music, and it hadn't harmed its internal organs. *As long as it killed this human within a short time, there wouldn't be a big problem!*

However, it had no idea that the previous attack was merely a test strike! Seeing it approach like Mount Tai pressing down, Jiang Fan took a deep breath. Unleashing all his spiritual power, his ten fingers played continuously, leaving a series of afterimages! At this moment, the high-grade magical artifact and the Earth-tier mid-grade cultivation technique combined as one, unleashing unprecedented power!

Wherever the sound waves passed, the ground rolled as if ploughed by an ox. The surrounding vegetation snapped and splattered with crunching sounds. Dust billowed up into the sky. This scene was far more tragic than the situation at Gong Caiyi's Sect Master Hall!

While still in the air, the crimson-scaled flood dragon suffered an unparalleled sound wave attack! Splatting and tearing sounds echoed as its scales ripped open like paper, and dense, bone-deep gashes appeared. Blood gushed out like a spring! The crimson-scaled flood dragon roared repeatedly in pain, and its eyes showed fright. Clearly, it also realized that this round of sound wave attacks was terrifyingly powerful. But Jiang Fan was right before it; as long as it crushed him, he would turn into a pulp.

However, it soon regretted it, and it was too late for regrets. Because as Jiang Fan relentlessly expended spiritual power, the sound waves became increasingly terrifying! Its body surface was no longer merely gashed but exploded inch by inch, causing the crimson-scaled flood dragon to roar continuously in pain.

Immediately after, its eyes also began to ache intensely. Frightened, it quickly closed its eyes, trying to protect this weakest part of its body with its eyelid scales. However, just a moment later, an agonizing, piercing pain emanated from its eyes. Its scales had already been blasted open, let alone its eyelids? Its two eyeballs were literally shattered by the sound waves! Moreover, the powerful sound waves traveled through its eyeballs, directly to its brain! The crimson-scaled flood dragon, which had leapt into the air, crashed heavily to the ground and rolled around in agony. Its massive body shook the ground repeatedly and kicked up dozens of zhang of dust. It was as if the earth itself was quaking and the mountains swaying. The momentum was utterly terrifying!

Jiang Fan did not stop. He continuously unleashed sound wave attacks until the crimson-scaled flood dragon gradually stopped struggling. Finally, with its belly facing upwards, its body stiffened and lay motionless. Only then did he stop.

In fact, he was too drained to continue even if he wanted to. At this moment, his face was slightly pale, and he had little spiritual power left. In merely ten breaths of time, he had completely depleted ninety-nine percent of his spiritual power. But the results were gratifying: a beast king as powerful as one at the second level of Core Formation was forcibly killed head-on!

The people around them all stopped, their faces revealing expressions of shock.

Xie Liushu subtly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He felt somewhat fortunate that this crimson-scaled flood dragon had interrupted their conflict. Otherwise…

Ji Ruyue trembled. Looking at Jiang Fan's seemingly frail figure, deep fear welled up in her eyes. She said helplessly, "Senior Brother, I…"

How could Xie Liushu still dare to protect her? He distanced himself from her and said helplessly, "You… you'll have to find a way yourself to seek Junior Brother Jiang's forgiveness. I, your Senior Brother, cannot help you."