Just looking at the crisscrossing tunnels, one couldn't truly visualize the appearance of the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon. Although he knew it must be unimaginably huge, when Feng Zikang finally saw it with his own eyes, he gasped sharply.
"Hah!"
Despite his shock, his movements were swift. Feng Zikang’s sword light slashed out, cleaving through the green saliva spewed from the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon’s maw.
The saliva was foul-smelling, clearly saturated with potent poison.
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was no mere monster.
Feng Zikang knew this rare beast was exceptionally hard to come by; it required the confluence of seven great malicious spirits to form over time, resulting in its current terrifying shape.
First, the Heavenly Fiend: the Earth Dragon must be born during the hour of a Heavenly Fiend, tempered by celestial lightning and fire before emergence.
Second, the Earthly Fiend: its dwelling place must be a supreme den of malevolence, an area so saturated with sha energy that no life grows for a hundred li, utterly devoid of vegetation.
Third, the Human Fiend: it must have slain forty-nine fierce, sha-infused individuals in its making.
The remaining Fiends—Kinship, Ghost, Qi, and Life—were equally indispensable. Only with these seven complete could an ordinary Earth Dragon transform into a Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon, becoming a uniquely formidable entity in heaven and earth.
Such opportune moments were fleeting and rare; that’s why the God-Slayer had searched for decades only to find this single Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon, which he had been utterly unable to capture, leaving him sighing endlessly in the depths of Mount Youyuan.
But this Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon, stumbled upon by Feng Zikang today, would not escape its fate.
Feng Zikang’s own profound sha energy made him a favored meal for the dragon. Moreover, he deliberately projected weakness with his profound intent, maintaining a purely defensive stance, and kept the God-Slaying Blade concealed, slowly lulling the beast’s vigilance.
It was crucial to remember that the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon had battled the God-Slayer for decades, maturing into a cunning old spirit. The moment it sensed it could not win, it would bolt. The terrain here was complex, filled with myriad interwoven tunnels, interconnected in every direction; chasing the beast here once it fled would be immensely difficult.
However, the sheer might of this particular Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was extraordinary; an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator would likely struggle to defeat it.
Feng Zikang’s swordsmanship was flawless as he slowly retreated, while the Earth Dragon attacked with mounting excitement.
It hadn't eaten a living human in ages!
Since the God-Slayer arrived to refine the God-Slaying Blade, he had sealed off Mount Youyuan, preventing easy entry. Those who recklessly trespassed were summarily decapitated and tossed outside the mountain.
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon had subsisted on birds and beasts, but they lacked the spiritual essence, and nothing compared to the savor of human flesh.
Today, a living being had finally appeared within the subterranean fungal pathways, and at this moment, the God-Slayer was deep in meditation in his stone dwelling, unable to arrive anytime soon. How could the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon not be ecstatic?
"Roar! Roar!"
This human’s cultivation was decent, but clearly no match for it. Although his defense was impenetrable, a single lapse would mean certain death beneath its fangs!
This prey was the most delicious of all!
Naturally, Feng Zikang had no intention of being eaten. His expression was calm as he parried with his sword, scattering dust and debris that his sword light cleaved apart.
Gradually, several fungal tunnels collapsed, but the space they occupied was steadily widening.
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon failed to notice this change; its entire focus was on how to devour this youth. It allocated only a sliver of its divine consciousness to monitor the God-Slayer’s movements.
Even though the subterranean area was in chaos, the God-Slayer had still not emerged from his stone house, greatly reassuring the Earth Dragon, which intensified its assault.
"Boom."
As the space expanded, the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon could unleash more of its divine abilities. After Feng Zikang deflected the lightning flashes from its eyes, its massive tail swept across, striking the circle of his defensive sword light. With a resounding crash, Feng Zikang was sent flying, smashing through several more tunnels, showering mud and dust down upon them.
This area was the core of the Earth Dragon’s territory, riddled with countless twisted and tangled paths, almost entirely hollowed out. Now, the battle between man and dragon had reduced it to utter ruin; the cavern walls burst open, slowly transforming the area into an immense, egg-shaped void.
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon fought gleefully, completely unaware that its advantage was slowly slipping away.
Originally, it was the king of the deep earth; even walls of stone and soil were nothing to it, allowing it to bore through tunnels with unpredictable ease. Within these countless subterranean paths, it held absolute familiarity, ensuring anyone opposing it underground would first suffer a terrible setback.
But now, as the subterranean space grew larger, although it felt supreme control and believed crushing this annoying insect was merely a matter of further effort, the scales of victory were quietly tipping.
Feng Zikang flipped up from the impact, a cold smile touching his lips.
The most lethal aspect of the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was the pervasive sha energy emanating from its body. In terms of raw divine abilities alone, it was nothing to fear. But that pervasive sha energy gave even its casual attacks an overwhelming inhibitory effect on others. Even with Feng Zikang’s tight defense, he felt an bone-chilling coldness penetrating through his sword light, slowly invading his body, causing his bones, muscles, and internal organs to gradually paralyze and atrophy.
"This is the complete opposite of Fairy Tianfu," he mused.
It was less accurate to say the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was the opposite of the Fairy, and more appropriate to say it was the antithesis of Fairy Tianfu. Fairy Tianfu possessed innate life force; wherever she resided, fortune flourished, and all things grew strong.
This Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon, however, carried the miasma of Death Fiends; everywhere it existed, things withered and headed toward destruction, a fate more despairing than the perpetual bad luck brought by Star Lord Tianmei.
However, a little sha energy couldn't affect Feng Zikang for long. At worst, after the battle in Lizhou, he could return to the Bamboo Forest Mystic Realm and spend time with Fairy Tianfu to completely eradicate it.
After fighting for so long, the battlefield Feng Zikang had meticulously set up was finally nearing completion.
He wasn't afraid of losing the fight; he was afraid of it running away!
If the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon escaped this time, it would be far harder to trick it again.
Feng Zikang sneered, looking around. Most of the nearby fungal tunnels had collapsed, leaving only a few exits. If he could just seal those few outlets, even with the Earth Dragon’s ability to burrow, escape wouldn't be swift!
"Hah!"
Suddenly, Feng Zikang's sword light flared, and he began to counterattack!
Hundreds of beams of sword light danced, slicing through the venomous, sha-laced saliva the Earth Dragon spat out. Unstoppable, the attack completely enveloped the beast. It roared continuously as splashes of crimson erupted across its body—in a single move, it was already riddled with injuries!
Yet, Feng Zikang showed no joy on his face. He shook his head; the thick hide of the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was even tougher than he anticipated. Even his divine ability, the Star-Light Great Annihilation Sword Technique, though effective, only resulted in superficial wounds!
"It seems that truly slaying this fellow will require the God-Slaying Blade!"
Feng Zikang recalled the equally tough Hong Kang and couldn't help but smile slightly.
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon roared defiantly. Seeing that Feng Zikang had ceased his assault after that single strike, merely standing there pale-faced, panting heavily, his protective sword light vanished—did he finally run out of strength? Was this his last desperate effort?
The Earth Dragon was actually frightened and had already considered fleeing, but seeing Feng Zikang’s apparent exhaustion, malice resurfaced. After all, this boy’s desperate effort only managed to scratch its hide; if he was now spent, slaying him was imminent!
Men die for wealth, birds die for food. The Earth Dragon was no different.
Triumphantly, it opened its monstrous jaws and lunged, aiming to bite down on Feng Zikang’s head!
Just as the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon was about to clamp down on Feng Zikang's head, Feng Zikang suddenly burst into laughter, a sharp, brilliant light flashing from his eyes!
"Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon, you’ve been fooled!"
As his shout echoed, Feng Zikang's sword light suddenly intensified, once again entangling the beast. More terrifyingly, something flashed in his hand—a blood-red blade appeared!
"The God-Slaying Blade!"
This was the very thing the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon feared most. After a century of conflict with the God-Slayer, how could it not recognize it? Immediately, it panicked, ignoring the superficial cuts inflicted by the sword light, and turned to flee!
"Hahaha! Things have come to this; where can you possibly run?"
Feng Zikang roared with laughter. From his laughter, four Divine Demons sprang forth, grasping the massive body of the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon!
The Earth Dragon thrashed violently, attempting to shake off the four Divine Demons and burrow directly into the cavern wall!
It didn't realize how viciously Feng Zikang had planned. While being battered around initially, he had already reinforced all the surrounding walls. Although they were only earth, they were now hardened harder than bedrock!
Though the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon possessed tunneling capabilities, the resistance from the hardened earth was immense. It managed to push only its head inside before the four Divine Demons fiercely yanked its tail outward. For a moment, it couldn't move forward!
With the God-Slaying Blade in hand, Feng Zikang would never waste such an opportunity. He laughed wildly, summoning the blade, and with a sweep of his hands, a faint trace of red light manifested on the tip of the God-Slaying Blade, which then cleaved downward with a roar!
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon knew it was doomed and struggled desperately, letting out a massive, mournful cry.
"Scrape!"
The red light contacted the Earth Dragon’s neck, producing a faint grating sound, yet it inflicted no actual damage, vanishing instantly.
However, at that moment, the Earth Dragon’s body stilled.
Slaying the Nascent Soul!
What the God-Slaying Blade killed was not the physical body, but the Nascent Soul!
The Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon’s physical form was tougher than refined steel; the Star-Light Great Annihilation Sword Technique couldn't harm it. Unfortunately, its Nascent Soul was as fragile as tofu beneath the God-Slaying Blade. A single strike annihilated its spirit, leaving its body stiff—utterly dead!
The four Divine Demons gave a gentle tug and pulled the carcass of the Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon out.
With a tremendous crash, the tunnels began to collapse. Feng Zikang smiled faintly, tucking the enormous Seven-Fiend Earth Dragon into his dimensional storage. It was completely full. He then realized he really should get a better Qiankun Bag. His current storage satchel, eight times larger than an ordinary one, was comparable only to a standard Qiankun Bag. Thus, he had neglected the task of forging a proper Foundation Establishment Qiankun Bag.
But as his cultivation grew, he couldn't keep using inferior tools.
Otherwise, stuffing too many good items into an inadequate space would be a terrible waste.