Chapter 11 The Nether Dragon in the Black Mist

The thick black mist around them made it impossible for Dong Zikai and the others to see far. If the black mist disappeared, they would be horrified to discover... a pitch-black dragon over ten li long coiled across the entire Oxhorn Mountain, its head staring at them.

Unfortunately, they couldn't see it. That was precisely why Ji Jiuhuo had cast the black mist maze.

"Come on, come on." Ji Liuzhen stared into the distance, where the black mist faintly coalesced into twelve humanoid shapes. These were forms shaped by Ji Jiuhuo's control of the black mist, telling Ji Liuzhen the positions and approximate distances of those people.

Ji Liuzhen himself was inside a huge black dragon's head.

The five men's primal power, transformed by the Nether Dragon Locking Heaven Formation, produced a vigorous draconic force. As the center of the dragon-head formation, he could naturally draw on this power. He felt his strength surge.

"Liuzhen, wait a bit longer. Don't rush." A voice sounded in his ear.

Ji Liuzhen nodded.

The multiple major formations within the Nether Dragon Locking Heaven Formation were all controlled by the clan leader. Only the clan leader could easily transmit sound; everyone else, including Ji Ning, could not see far with their naked eyes and needed the clan leader's guidance.

…

Ji Jiuhuo was halfway up the mountain, inside the belly of the huge nether dragon. He could see everything within the formation clearly; the black mist was like his eyes.

"They're very cautious now." Ji Jiuhuo stared. "Twelve Zifu cultivators, all from the same sect. They must have a method to join forces... A sneak attack now would likely yield little. In a while, they'll realize this black mist illusion formation isn't that profound. As soon as they let their guard down a bit, the might of the Nether Dragon Locking Heaven Formation... will make them suffer bitterly."

Ji Jiuhuo had enough patience. He was waiting, waiting for the right moment to bare his fangs.

…

Dong Zikai and the other eleven Zifu cultivators were indeed cautious upon entering the formation, each staying within the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation. Their primal power surged within, ready to deploy the formation-combining technique at any moment.

"This black mist illusion formation isn't very subtle. I've already discerned some of its mysteries!" A black-haired elder among them spoke.

"I've also found some traces, but Senior Brother Zha is stronger than me in formations; he'll surely break it in even less time." The silver-haired cultivator smiled. As cultivators—especially Zifu cultivators, the most basic tier—they were stuck at Zifu and unable to advance, so they delved into more techniques.

Formations? Poisons? Puppetry? They studied anything that could enhance combat power. Generally, old fellows who lived three or four hundred years were skilled in several areas.

These Zifu cultivators who had left the sect to form branches were almost all hopeless of breaking through, and most had some knowledge of formations. Some were even stronger than Ji Jiuhuo in formations! But... setting a formation was easy; breaking it was hard! Ji Jiuhuo set the formation, and they had to break it, so naturally they lacked full confidence.

Still, they could break some formations, just not as easily as Nong Zidao.

"I only need the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to break the formation." The black-haired elder smiled.

"We'll trouble Senior Brother Zha."

"Let's break this illusion formation first. We can handle these minor formations without Senior Brother Zidao." The Zifu cultivators were visibly more relaxed. Not being able to see far in the black mist illusion formation had made them wary, but once they understood the formation was easy to break, their confidence grew.

The black-haired elder nodded. "I'll study the formation. Please be vigilant."

"Leave it to us. Senior Brother Zha, focus on breaking the formation." Dong Zikai and the others spoke.

A moment later.

"It's right ahead." The black-haired elder's eyes lit up, full of confidence. "I've already understood this formation."

"Good." Everyone was excited.

Dong Zikai maintained the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation as the group of Zifu cultivators advanced quickly. The black mist ahead seemed to thin slightly, and Dong Zikai and the others immediately saw a formation flag stuck in the ground not far away. The flag was gray with a black pattern.

"A formation flag!" All showed joy.

…

"Liuzhen, wait here quietly." Ji Jiuhuo transmitted. "Soon the Snowdragon Mountain Zifu cultivators will come to you. When I give the order, you strike to kill."

"I've been waiting." Ji Liuzhen's eyes glinted coldly.

"Good, just follow my command." Ji Jiuhuo was also anticipating.

…

When Dong Zikai and the other eleven Zifu cultivators saw the formation flag in the distance, they did not notice that a hundred zhang away... a huge dragon head was staring at them.

"Formation flag!"

The twelve Zifu cultivators were overjoyed, and the black-haired elder couldn't help showing a hint of pride.

At that moment—

"Attack!" Ji Liuzhen, who had been lurking nearby, heard the clan leader's voice.

Whoosh!

Just as the Zifu cultivators saw the formation flag and were ecstatic, a huge dragon head suddenly emerged from the thick black mist beside them. The head was enormous; in the black mist they could only see a few whiskers and scales. The nether dragon's head opened its mouth and bit toward them.

"Watch out!" Dong Zikai, controlling the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation, was the first to notice and shouted in terror.

Too late.

Too fast!

In the black mist, the visible distance was too short. This nether dragon was over ten li long; how huge was its head? The head lunged forward... at a speed more than ten times faster than a Zifu cultivator. In an instant, the head crashed through the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation with a rumble. Crack~ Boom~ Bang~ Amid screams and roars, the nether dragon's head swept through!

In that sweeping instant,

Ji Liuzhen was inside the nether dragon's mouth. As the dragon bit down, Ji Liuzhen, frenzied, sent the nine spikes floating before him flying with a sharp whistle. The draconic force transformed by the formation poured into them, making the spikes incredibly fast, targeting the three Zifu cultivators caught off guard by the dragon's frontal impact.

With the formation's boost, Ji Liuzhen's strength was now greater than that of an average Zifu Perfection cultivator.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Too fast. Two Zifu cultivators had their chests pierced through with large holes by the spikes, their bodies swallowed directly into the dragon's mouth. The third targeted cultivator tapped his foot, a green light flashed, and he dodged several dozen zhang in an instant.

In a single surprise attack, two Zifu cultivators were killed outright. The main reason was the immense power of the Nether Dragon Locking Heaven Formation itself, and with five sub-formations each manned by a Zifu cultivator, the nether dragon seemed to have a soul, its might astonishing.

"Strike while the iron is hot!" Ji Liuzhen then pursued the other two Zifu cultivators who had been separated from their comrades.

"Kill."

The spikes whistled!

The black dragon head was like a nightmare.

"Formation!"

"Formation!" Dong Zikai and the others were already shrieking. These Zifu cultivators weren't stupid; they knew they couldn't stray too far from their companions. In the illusion formation, straying too far would surely let the Ji clan pick them off one by one.

But it wasn't that they had strayed; the dragon head's impact had sent some of them flying!

The nether dragon's impact was too powerful!

"Form formation."

"Form formation."

A white light flowed, swirling around each Zifu cultivator. Soon, a huge white eight trigram appeared out of nowhere, with eight Zifu cultivators positioned at various points. According to the techniques passed down by Snowdragon Mountain, only six Zifu cultivators were needed to form the formation.

"Where's Senior Brother Zha?"

"Where's Junior Brother Fang?"

Dong Zikai and the other eight, having formed the formation, were shocked to find that of the original twelve Zifu cultivators, only eight remained. The other four were nowhere to be found.

"Senior Brother Zha."

They called out loudly, their voices carrying through the formation. If any of the four were alive, they should have responded.

"Dead. All four are dead." Dong Zikai gritted his teeth.

"Too terrifying, too strong." The silver-haired cultivator looked incredulous. "Earlier I vaguely saw scales. It was a colossal dragon. How does the Ji clan have such a powerful method? Could it be a real dragon?"

"It can't be a real dragon. If it were, it would have been discovered long ago! And how could a real dragon be so huge? It must be a formation."

"But how can a dragon formed by a formation be so strong?"

These Zifu cultivators were all shocked by the power of the enemy's attack. Though they had relaxed slightly upon seeing the formation flag, they had maintained the Eight Trigrams Blood Dragon Formation and remained vigilant. Yet in one surprise attack, it had pierced through them, forcing them all back. Some were even knocked flying!

One attack killed four companions!

"The formation flag is gone too." Dong Zikai scanned around, unable to see the flag anymore. "We were attacked by the black dragon and fell back, moving away from the flag."

"The illusion formation is a minor issue. That black dragon is the real menace."

"We must summon Senior Brother Tong Yu and Senior Brother Nong Zidao." The silver-haired cultivator flipped his hand and produced a jade talisman, the one Nong Zidao had given them. He crushed it. Crack! The jade talisman shattered.

…

Outside, Tong Yu, Nong Zidao, and the other seven Zifu cultivators were waiting, not in a hurry to enter the formation.

"What tricks can a small tribe like this have?" Tong Yu laughed. "With twelve of our Snowdragon Mountain disciples joining forces and our formation-combining technique, we can crush them."

"Yes, a small tribe's formation can't be that strong. Our junior brothers and sisters who study formations can break it." Nong Zidao was also relaxed. In their view, twelve fellow disciples joining forces to sweep through a small tribe was no challenge.

Suddenly—

Nong Zidao's expression changed.

"What's wrong?" Tong Yu quickly asked.

"The jade talisman I gave them." Nong Zidao said softly, "One has been crushed. It seems they've encountered danger, or they wouldn't have called for help."

"This tiny Ji clan forced them to call for help?" Tong Yu couldn't believe it. Nong Zidao had given them the talismans as a routine precaution; they never thought they'd be used.

"Let's go. We enter the formation." Nong Zidao said.

The other five Zifu cultivators were already astonished. The twelve who went in had been forced to crush a talisman? But seeing Tong Yu and Nong Zidao beside them, they regained confidence.

"Wait here. If any Snowdragon Mountain disciples come, tell them we've entered the formation." Nong Zidao flipped his hand, and a wooden puppet appeared beside him. The puppet's eyes glowed green, and it nodded obediently: "Yes, master."

"Let's go." Nong Zidao said.

Led by Tong Yu and Nong Zidao, seven Zifu cultivators and two Zifu spirit beasts entered the black mist at the foot of Oxhorn Mountain.