The Emergence of the Divine Dragon

What defines a true powerhouse? The scene unfolding before us offered the best explanation. The National Teacher, wielding an ancient blood-red sword, needed just one stroke to sever the arm of the demon ape on the brink of ascending to the Return to Immortal realm. In this moment, the old man, usually unassuming like an elderly sage at the end of his days, exuded an overwhelming aura.

"One sword in hand, stirring the clouds in all directions, who in the world dares to contend?" This was the true representation of the old man at this moment.

Tianfan, observing this scene, felt immense respect. Although he had never cultivated, he understood the formidable power of that single sword strike, capable of annihilating all tangible matter.

Even Long Aotian, aware of the National Teacher's strength, was left dumbfounded. The aura emanating from the demon ape was no weaker than his own, perhaps even stronger, yet it was effortlessly subdued by the old man's single sword stroke.

Long Yueying's mouth formed an 'O' shape, followed by an expression of admiration, her eyes twinkling with stars. "The old man is truly powerful!"

The demon ape, its snow-white fur stained with blood from its severed right arm, wore a ferocious expression. White smoke billowed from its nostrils, a clear indication of its fury.

With a thunderous roar, it hammered its muscular chest with its remaining arm, covered in black fur. The scene, comical in nature, caused Long Yueying to burst out laughing. "Ha ha, this guy is hilarious..."

Hearing Long Yueying's words, the demon ape became utterly enraged. It roared and charged directly at her. The black light on its lone arm surged, filled with intense corrosive energy, clearly intent on ending the "despicable" woman in one blow.

"Dare to attack my beloved daughter, you beast!" Long Aotian bellowed, his body erupting in golden light. A dragon made of light emerged from within him, circling around before wrapping its golden radiance around Long Aotian's right hand.

With a long howl, Long Aotian, swinging his fist, smashed it directly towards the charging demon ape. The two forces collided, the ape's black demonic light and the golden divine radiance clashing, creating a blinding brilliance.

"Bang..." A massive explosion erupted between their fists, propelling Long Aotian three meters back, his hand trembling slightly.

"So powerful, this ape's cultivation is even higher than mine!" Long Aotian thought, shocked, yet his expression remained unchanged.

Compared to him, the demon ape was also repelled five meters back, having already suffered significant damage from the old man's devastating sword strike.

"It's not easy for you to have cultivated to this level, and you still have a chance to retreat. I won't make it difficult for you," the National Teacher said calmly, appearing three meters in front of the demon ape in a single step.

The demon ape, stunned by the sudden appearance of this human and the old man's speed, showed fear on its black face as it looked at the ancient blood-red sword.

Hesitatingly, the ape took a step back, eyeing the sword and its severed arm. After a moment's contemplation, it roared and stood up again.

"Roar..." At this moment, the ape's muscles began to swell exponentially, a suppressed aura emanating from it, sending ripples of energy in all directions and kicking up dust. Long Aotian's expression changed, ready to intervene, fearing for the National Teacher's safety.

Unperturbed by the ape's display of might, the National Teacher slowly raised his right hand, the ancient sword glowing with a red brilliance. A powerful aura, not inferior to the ape's, burst forth.

The clash of their external forces emitted a sizzling sound, with tiny arcs of electricity dancing between them. The intensity of their powers caused the very space around them to warp. This was no longer a mere contest, but a supreme confrontation at the Return to Immortal realm.

Individuals at the Return to Immortal realm were rare on the Shenwu Continent, each dominating their own territory. Such powerful beings rarely acted recklessly, as their strength, once unleashed, could turn the world upside down, bringing calamity to all living beings.

After forcefully activating its internal power, the demon ape had temporarily ascended to the early stage of the Return to Immortal realm, but this came at a grave cost. Even if it could defeat its opponents, its cultivation would regress significantly, falling back to the early stage of the Mixed Yuan realm. It was uncertain how many years it would take to return to the peak of Mixed Yuan.

Under normal circumstances, the ape would never have taken such a drastic step, but the old man's sword strike, which had severed its arm, had inflicted significant damage. However, if it could defeat the humans before it and consume the jiao, which had already awakened a significant portion of its dragon bloodline, it would break through to the Return to Immortal realm, transform into a humanoid form, and regenerate its severed arm.

Faced with such a tantalizing opportunity, the ape found it impossible to retreat. It chose this desperate strategy, hoping the temporary yet immense power gained by sacrificing its cultivation would enable it to defeat its foes.

"Roar..." Facing the sky, the demon ape let out an angry roar, its body radiating a black light that transformed it into a massive, light-formed ancestral ape. It charged fiercely at the National Teacher.

The National Teacher, facing the onrushing mass of energy, pointed his ancient sword directly at the ape, forming a mysterious hand seal with his left hand. A golden orb appeared in his left hand, which he then gently pushed forward, transforming the orb into a brilliant golden beam that collided head-on with the incoming light-formed ancestral ape.

"Boom..." The collision of the two massive energies resulted in a thunderous explosion. The fierce air currents burst forth, creating a whirlwind that pushed the princes back by a meter, their bodies emitting a faint golden light. If not for Long Yuyun's support, Tianfan might have been blown away.

Long Yueying, standing behind her father Long Aotian, appeared the most relaxed. Her father's cultivation was more than sufficient to withstand the energy backlash, making it a trivial matter for her.

Witnessing its powerful attack unable to harm the diminutive human, the demon ape was filled with uncontrollable rage. It abruptly withdrew its immense aura, then transformed into a beam of black, ape-shaped light. The condensed power was now twice as formidable as before. It let out a thunderous roar and charged at the National Teacher.

Long Aotian was stunned, fear evident on his face, knowing he could not withstand such a technique. The princes struggled to withstand the overwhelming aura.

Long Yuyun, in particular, bore a heavier burden to protect those behind him. Sweat appeared on his forehead as he endured the strain. Tianfan, witnessing all this, felt deeply moved by their efforts.

The jiao, too, looked on with concern, its future hanging in the balance.

"Sword without Shadow, Chaos Returning to Origin..." The National Teacher spoke for the first time during the confrontation. Raising his right hand high, the ancient blood-red sword pointed straight upward, its blade emitting a chilling light that captivated the soul. A heavenly sword light burst forth from the blade, the National Teacher's aura skyrocketing, suppressing the ape's raging energy wave, bringing sudden relief to everyone.

"Cut!" The National Teacher uttered softly. A dazzling sword radiance descended from the sky, landing directly on the demon ape. The ape, with its hands raised to the sky, conjured a black light shield in a desperate attempt to resist, but ultimately, it couldn't withstand the decisive strike. It let out a final, unwilling howl before disappearing without a trace under the brilliant sword light.

Such a powerful strike descended from the heavens, obliterating the ape's body and annihilating its spirit.

"Heaven may forgive those who sin against it, but one who sins against oneself cannot live..." The National Teacher's words resonated, as a being comparable to the early stage of the Return to Immortal realm met its end under his sword.

The Magical Forest, perennially shrouded in white fog, was a realm of mystery in the eyes of the world, home to numerous formidable creatures. Those who ventured too deep, encountering such powerful beings, rarely left alive. In such an environment, human cultivators of the same level found it difficult to defeat these demons.

Yet now, a demon ape that had reached the early stage of the Return to Immortal realm had been slain by the sword, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

"How powerful are you, old man? Could you be at the peak of the Return to Immortal realm?" Long Yueying, still immersed in the shock of that heavenly sword strike, jumped out from behind Long Aotian and ran to the National Teacher, looking at him with wide eyes as if he were a curious object.

"Now, Brother Jiao, begin your ascension to the Dragon Realm. We will not go back on our word," the National Teacher said once again to the jiao.

The jiao, gazing at the old man, pondered for a moment, then nodded its massive head and lay flat on the ground, its body emitting a faint light. Having witnessed the old man's formidable strength, it fully believed in him. With his power, slaying and refining the jiao would not be a difficult task.

"Alright, Aotian, you and the princes do as I have instructed, to prevent the jiao's ascent to the Dragon Realm from attracting even more powerful demons. I am now going to set up the 'Heavens-Sealing Divine Array' to seal off the aura here," the National Teacher said solemnly to Long Aotian after watching the jiao begin its transformation. Long Yueying, due to her lower cultivation level, did not participate in this, and Tianfan, of course, was essentially a mortal at this point.

Thus, the National Teacher began to arrange the formation. Long Aotian and the three princes each took up a position, forming a pentagram with the old man, enclosing the jiao at the center.

Once everyone was in position, the National Teacher nodded in approval and then threw a small flag towards each of the five points of the pentagram, embedding them into the ground. The flags fluttered in the wind, each bearing strange runes.

With a serious expression, the old man slowly raised his hands, forming mysterious and intricate hand seals that resonated with the small flags. The flags emitted a mysterious cyan light, and a pentagram slowly emerged from the ground, rising into the air and stopping three meters above their heads. It rotated slowly, casting down strands of cyan light, completely isolating the aura of those within.

At this point, Long Yueying could not feel a trace of the others' aura. If it weren't for her being able to see their figures, she might have thought they had disappeared. As for Tianfan, well, he felt nothing at all.

"Alright, now all you need to do is stay in your positions and channel your vital energy into the flags below you. The rest is up to it," the National Teacher instructed the group, looking at the jiao at the center of the pentagram.

Within the formation, the jiao's body began to emit a faint golden light. Those within the pentagram could feel its power steadily rising.

The jiao's aura grew stronger, its outer golden glow intensifying. Its scales began to fall off, with blood slowly oozing down its enormous body. The entire creature was in a state of bloody disarray, letting out pained moans.

Gradually, all of the jiao's scales fell off, leaving its body completely bare and fleshy. Next, the antler-like formations on its head broke off, turning to ash before even hitting the ground. Its long tail also started to decay, adding to the jiao's immense agony.

Finally, the jiao's body exploded, leaving behind a mass of flesh and blood.

"Has it ultimately failed?" The National Teacher looked at the mass of flesh with a disappointed expression, and Long Aotian and the others also looked upset.

In the pentagram, the jiao's aura slowly faded. What was once a massive jiao had now become a mere pile of flesh, a sight that filled them with sorrow. Tianfan, looking at the central mass of flesh, felt a sense of injustice on its behalf.

Just as the National Teacher was about to dismantle the pentagram, the mass of flesh began to move slowly, a faint aura emerging and then gradually strengthening. In a matter of moments, an immense and unparalleled aura began to spread, the central mass of flesh erupting in a dazzling golden light, hurting the eyes of those watching, who involuntarily closed their eyes.

The pentagram in the air started to tremble, as countless strands of vital energy from the heavens and the earth rushed in, transforming into white mist that penetrated the pentagram and infused into the golden light. Suddenly, the aura became even more powerful, surpassing even the National Teacher's Mixed Yuan sword strike.

The pentagram, seemingly unable to withstand such a massive surge of energy, began to crack. The National Teacher decisively retracted the five small flags, sensing that the jiao's transformation into the dragon bloodline was successful.

"Roar..." At the same time, a tremendous dragon's roar emitted from the center, shaking the heavens and stirring the netherworld. The golden light dissipated, revealing an incredibly sacred and majestic creature. Huge antlers stood upright on its head, its large serpentine body covered in golden scales, and its four sturdy dragon legs each adorned with five sharp claws, seemingly capable of tearing through the void.

It was a true divine dragon!

Long Aotian trembled slightly, overwhelmed with excitement, murmuring, "A dragon, a real dragon. I never imagined I, Long Aotian, would witness a divine dragon in my lifetime!"

Even the National Teacher, despite his immense power, was deeply moved by the sight of this mythical dragon.

The golden dragon lowered its head towards the people on the ground, showing a kind expression, then instantly appeared in the high heavens. It looked up at the sky and let out another tremendous dragon's roar.

"Roar..." Inside the Magical Forest, numerous powerful creatures in the great mountains trembled in fear at the sensation of this aura Certainly, continuing from where we left off:

The creatures displayed fear on their faces, shivering uncontrollably. All of them prostrated on the ground, devoutly worshipping in the direction of this overwhelming presence. The emergence of the divine dragon commanded reverence from all directions, subjugating every beast in awe.

However, at this very moment, an even more terrifying force erupted from an unknown location within the Magical Forest. A wave of death swept across the sky, and a gigantic pitch-black hand emerged from the depths of the forest, soaring into the heavens and reaching towards the divine dragon in the sky...