Chapter 383: Blind Sharpshooter

This strike descended with the inherent power of the Surging River, amplified by the formidable magic and divine abilities unleashed by the blind man himself. Even before it landed, the Dragon Herder felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

"How can a mere backwater like Yankang produce so many masters?" The Dragon Herder had no time to alter his strategy. Gritting his teeth, he channeled all his magic to meet the blind man's incoming attack.

The water pillar spun with incredible speed, cutting through the air and emitting a sharp whistle.

Before the water pillar, a dragon's roar vibrated, and the highly condensed water transformed into a dragon's head, lunging towards the Dragon Herder.

"Using dragon-shaped spells against me?"

The Dragon Herder breathed a sigh of relief. With a tremor of his body, countless dragon-shaped currents of qi swarmed, forming a colossal Thousand Dragon Disk that coiled above his head.

The Dragon Herder held the Thousand Dragon Disk aloft with both hands. Countless flood dragons on the disk bared their fangs and brandished their claws, their bodies writhing in the wind. "Although this person is a master," he thought, "he has met his match. I am a deity who raises dragons; no dragon-shaped divine ability can escape my sight. This person is no threat."

No sooner had he considered this than the dragon's head began to spin. The water pillar coiled around it, transforming into an immense dragon spear. The dragon's head rested at the spear's tip, while the river water itself formed the sharpest point.

"It's not a dragon-shaped divine ability!"

The Dragon Herder's heart seized. The blind man's spear had already pierced the Thousand Dragon Disk, striking a precise point amidst the myriad dragons.

The force unleashed by this spear was unexpectedly minor, its power seemingly weak. Yet, the Thousand Dragon Disk suddenly disintegrated. A thousand flood dragons twisted and dispersed, and a gaping hole appeared in the center of the massive disk.

The Dragon Herder looked up to see the colossal dragon spear plunging down through the very center of the Thousand Dragon Disk!

"The power of this spear didn't erupt during its collision with the Thousand Dragon Disk, which means it will undoubtedly explode upon impact with my physical body. This person's technique is profound; his control over divine abilities is absolute, allowing him to perceive the weaknesses in my own powers!"

The Dragon Herder could no longer afford such distractions. Abandoning his attempt to lift the Surging River, he poured all his magic into his hands. As his palms parted, layers of barriers instantly materialized, only to be effortlessly pierced, layer by layer, by the spear, encountering virtually no resistance.

The Dragon Herder brought his hands together, gripping the descending spear tip. He grunted in pain as blood immediately streamed from his hands, the spear having pierced the dragon scales on his palms.

"His magic is inferior to mine! Break!"

The Dragon Herder's body expanded explosively, instantly towering over the river valley to a height of a hundred zhang. He forcibly lifted the spear while his colossal body spun rapidly.

Meanwhile, the descending Water Dragon Spear erupted with power, also spinning wildly. The dragon's roar intensified, becoming deafeningly loud in an instant. With the simultaneous release of their respective powers, the colossal dragon spear shattered, disintegrating into a deluge of water that cascaded downwards.

The Dragon Herder was drenched from head to toe, his hands a bloody mess and trembling. He had managed to shatter the spear because the blind man's magic was inferior to his. However, the spear's power was immense, infused with the overwhelming might of the Surging River's currents.

The Surging River pressed down from above with immense pressure, and combined with the spear's force, it injured his hands.

Before the Dragon Herder could even catch his breath, another impossibly thick dragon spear spun down from the Surging River above. He dodged it, but then yet another dragon spear materialized from the airborne river, thrusting towards him.

His form flickered repeatedly as he moved westward along the riverbed, his steps crisscrossing to evade strike after strike. When the massive dragon spears missed their targets, their power was instantly and completely withdrawn, with no energy leakage. Instead, they precisely struck the key nodes of the dragon veins, immobilizing the power of the Surging River's dragon veins.

"A master of Dao Arts!"

The Dragon Herder was secretly astonished. Each strike from the blind man's great spear precisely anchored a crucial node of the Surging River's dragon veins, preventing him from activating their power or altering their flow.

Deprived of his magical support, the airborne Surging River began to descend.

However, the Surging River was still very high, so it would take some time before it crashed into the riverbed.

"His control over Dao Arts is so exquisite, no less refined than that of the taciturn Heavenly Craftsman!"

Cold sweat beaded on the Dragon Herder's forehead. The dragon spears descending from above grew increasingly dense, making evasion impossible. He was forced to confront them directly, and numerous wounds swiftly appeared on his body.

The blind man was immobilizing more and more dragon vein nodes.

His flood dragons were currently dispersed along the upper and lower reaches of the Surging River, too far away for him to recall them to lend him their strength and magic.

As for the Flood Dragon King Deity, he had dispatched it to the front.

His previous major battle with the mute man had been a clash of titans, with both exerting their utmost to defeat the other. The Dragon Herder had suffered a significant depletion of vital energy during that fight and was later startled away by Emperor Yanfeng's cannon.

His vital energy had not yet fully recovered, and altering the Surging River's course had already consumed a considerable amount of his magic. Now, with the blind man gaining the upper hand, he was repeatedly overwhelmed and sustained continuous injuries.

Meanwhile, on the airborne Surging River, the blind man, holding his bamboo staff, raced across the water's surface atop a water dragon. Behind him, vast waters churned, and an immensely colossal phantom emerged—the spectral image of a gigantic Black Tortoise deity, so refined it was almost tangible.

This Black Tortoise deity was an elderly man with a turtle shell, entwined by a winged snake whose wings vibrated as if poised for flight.

Qin Mu found the sight familiar. This Black Tortoise deity was the blind man's primordial spirit, bearing a resemblance to the Black Tortoise deity statue in Crippled Old Village, though its facial features were slightly different. As a mischievous child, Qin Mu had urinated on all four village statues, and the Black Tortoise statue was no exception.

On the river's surface, the blind man moved with incredible speed, his bamboo staff repeatedly thrusting downwards, striking the water and engaging the Dragon Herder remotely.

This was Qin Mu's first time witnessing the blind man unleash his full power. When Qin Feiyue entered the Great Ruins via the Surging River years ago, the blind man had merely tapped the water with his staff, causing the river to pulse several times. But Qin Feiyue was only a Seven-Star realm master at the time, and the blind man had merely intended to intimidate him, not use his full might.

Now, however, the blind man was fighting with all his might, engaging the Dragon Herder across the river. Each tap of his bamboo staff sent a massive water pillar, over ten zhang thick, plunging from beneath the surface. This water then coiled frantically, transforming into a Water Dragon Spear. Every strike targeted the weaknesses in the Dragon Herder's cultivation techniques and divine abilities, leaving him utterly exhausted and struggling to respond.

The blind man possessed his own unique cultivation method for activating the Nine Heavens Eye Opening Technique, a method he had not passed on to Qin Mu. While his particular cultivation method wasn't considered top-tier within Crippled Old Village, the Nine Heavens Eye Opening Technique itself was the most powerful in the world.

What he employed against his opponent was indeed the Nine Heavens Eye Opening Technique. However, his mastery of it wasn't merely about reaching the ninth heaven; he had refined it into a "Mind-Spirit Eye."

Under the scrutiny of his Mind-Spirit Eye, even a deity like the Dragon Herder appeared riddled with weaknesses.

The blind man's magic was indeed inferior to the Dragon Herder's. Even with the Dragon Herder having expended significant magic to alter the dragon veins, the blind man still couldn't match him in magical reserves.

If the Dragon Herder were to command his flood dragons and allow them to possess him, borrowing their combined strength and magic, his magical power would multiply to several times that of the blind man. However, the blind man's most formidable weapon was his Mind-Spirit Eye, which could discern flaws in any cultivation technique or divine ability, even conjuring weaknesses where none outwardly existed under his assault.

In terms of cultivation, the blind man's magical depth was inferior to that of the Village Chief, Old Ma, Mute, and Butcher. He also couldn't compare to Granny Si during her inner demon's manifestation, surpassing only Cripple, Apothecary, and Lame.

As for the potency of his divine abilities, they were even less powerful than Cripple's paintings, and slightly inferior to those of the Village Chief, Butcher, and Old Ma.

Nevertheless, apart from the Village Chief and the unfathomable Mute, who might claim to defeat him, no one else would dare assert an advantage against the blind man.

With the Mind-Spirit Eye unleashed, his techniques became invincible. All divine abilities in the world could be shattered with a single strike of his staff!

"You river rat, why do you cower and hide instead of descending to fight me yourself?"

From the muddy riverbed below, the Dragon Herder's voice rang out. The riverbed, now saturated with water and very mucky, saw him forced to dart and hide by the blind man's spear. Yet, he could never escape the riverbed, as the blind man's spear consistently drove him back into its confines.

The water in the riverbed was now a turbid mixture of his divine blood and mud. Many loaches within the river hopped out, absorbed his divine blood, and transformed into fierce loach-dragon forms, thrashing about in the mire, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?"

The blind man bellowed, suddenly leaving Qin Mu and the others. He plunged through the river water, charging towards the Dragon Herder in the riverbed. A water dragon coiled out, scooping up Qin Mu and the others and depositing them safely onto the Dragon Qilin's back.

Qin Mu and the others had their divine treasures sealed by the blind man, leaving them without magic and unable to stand on the water. However, the Dragon Qilin retained its cultivation and could walk upon the surface.

Si Yunxiang, Ling Yuxiu, and the others were startled. Stamping their feet, they exclaimed, "How can Grandpa Blind be so reckless, falling for such a blatant provocation? How can he engage the opponent directly?"

Qin Mu was overjoyed, laughing, "The Dragon Herder will lose more than just face, even if he survives. Our Grandpa Blind isn't merely a master of divine abilities; he belongs to the combat technique school."

The two girls were greatly shocked.

"This old blind man is a combat technique master?"

"Those spear thrusts just now, how could they be from a combat technique master?"

Masters of combat techniques unleash astonishing power in close quarters, concentrating all their might into the precise moment of impact. Yet, the spears the blind man had just unleashed possessed astonishing magical power, clearly the mark of a grand master from the spell and divine ability school!

Qin Mu and the two girls leaned over the Dragon Qilin's head, looking down. Qin Mu spotted the fox spirit, reverted to her true form, still deeply asleep from drunkenness. Fearing she might fall into the water, he quickly scooped her into his arms.

The river water was transparent, allowing a clear view of the riverbed.

The river water was now drawing ever closer to the ground. Soon, the entire Surging River would plunge into the riverbed!

Within the immense riverbed of the Surging River, the blind man, despite his small stature, confronted the Dragon Herder, who towered a hundred zhang high like a mountain peak. Yet, the Dragon Herder was remarkably agile and swift. The deity and the man clashed fiercely in the mud.

The blind man flew rapidly through the air, circling the Dragon Herder, evading strike after strike. His bamboo staff repeatedly thrust forth, moving like a dragon and striking with lightning speed, stabbing the Dragon Herder's body at a velocity imperceptible to the naked eye.

At that very moment, the Surging River, plummeting from above, finally neared the ground. The colossal mass of water crashed down with a deafening roar, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The blind man tapped the Dragon Herder's brow with his staff, then swiftly retreated.

The Dragon Herder stood motionless as the deluge crashed down upon him. Explosions erupted from countless points across his body. Under the crushing force of the river, his bones shattered and tendons snapped, leaving him submerged at the bottom of the riverbed.

On the river's surface, the Dragon Qilin soared into the air, evading the terrifying impact generated by the immense river crashing down. Below them, a vast expanse of water spread, the Surging River churned violently, and colossal waves surged skyward.

By the riverbank, the blind man stood on a solitary reef, leaning on his bamboo staff. He extended the staff's tip to touch the agitated river surface, and instantly, the turbulent waters nearby calmed.