Chapter 52 — The Fire Dragon

The three-colored radiance of their artifacts blazed brightly to protect their masters, but the fire dragon's might was simply too great; by comparison, the halos of the artifacts were immediately pressed down. Zhang Qingyue and the other two were almost simultaneously thrust backward by the immense fiery waves, and a moment later—"bang, bang, bang"—they crashed against the cliff wall.

The fire dragon shot straight upward with terrifying momentum. Zhang Qingyue's back struck the hard rock, and the pain made his vision go black. Still, he was the lucky one; after a moment's composure, he saw that Shi Tou's massive frame had, by sheer chance, crashed squarely into a cave—and most unfortunately, roars of savage beasts soon issued from within.

Zhang Qingyue was greatly alarmed and was about to rush over to help, when amid Shi Tou's great shouts there came a series of "bang, bang" sounds from the cave. Then a golden light flashed and vanished, and a huge body was hurled out—another strange and bizarre beast, which by the look of it had little breath left.

Only then did Zhang Qingyue relax, thinking to himself that the man called Shi Tou was not named so without reason—he was indeed harder than stone!

Just then, the fire dragon that had shot skyward looped in a circle above, and with a furious roar, charged down again with the force of a thunderbolt.

This time, plunging from high to low, its might was even more terrifying. Zhang Qingyue gritted his teeth, gripped his staff in a firm spell-sign, and shifted a full ten feet to the side in midair, barely evading the ferocious dragon. Pointing with his right hand, the Dark Iron Staff shot through the air straight at the dragon's neck.

The fire dragon gave a dragon-cry; its flame-spewing eyes swiveled, and its huge left foreclaw rose to block the blue light of the Dark Iron Staff. Zhang Qingyue's face went pale as he felt the searing heat waves rolling toward him; he could only grit his teeth and hold on bitterly.

At that moment came a delicate cry, and above the abyss lit by the fire dragon, a water-green figure flashed—Bili, her green robes fluttering, drifting gracefully down. The Heartbreak Flower blazed with white light, filling the air with dancing petals, a bitter rain of blossoms, descending upon the fire dragon's head.

"Roar..." Amid the raging flames, the fire dragon cried out again; its right claw swept, and at once the sky full of white petals was driven back three feet. But with Zhang Qingyue and Bili joining forces, their magic power surged, and they immediately pressed the fire dragon down a full ten feet—right into Shi Tou, who had just charged out of the cave.

Shi Tou looked and saw Zhang Qingyue and Bili both straining with all their might against the giant fire dragon, their bodies enveloped in flame. Though each was protected by their artifact, both their faces were flushed bright red by the firelight.

Shi Tou's eyes went wide. He leaped into the air, and in midair shifted into a cross-legged sitting posture, both hands raising the Demon-Breaker Staff. In an instant golden light blazed forth; the entire wolf-fang club shone with gold, nearly transparent, clearly channeling all his magic power. Shi Tou himself wore an expression of solemn majesty, and from afar he looked almost like a great monk of the Buddhist faith.

Then he suddenly opened his eyes, like a demon-quelling guardian, his might pressing upon all. His body in midair became a flash of golden lightning, streaking across the sky, and with a thunderous crash, the entire Demon-Breaker Staff drove deep into the hard cliff wall. In an instant, the rock wall, hard as iron, actually caved inward over a span of nearly forty feet.

Blue veins bulged on Shi Tou's rough, bold face, almost terrifying to behold; even a faint trace of blood seemed to seep slowly from the corner of his mouth. Yet the Demon-Breaker Staff in his hands blazed with golden light too dazzling to look upon. Then, amid his great shout, all the golden radiance suddenly contracted, gathering into a single immense beam of golden light that struck the fire dragon's head.

The power of this blow was no small matter—needless to say, it was the full force of Shi Tou's magic concentrated in one strike. Mighty as the fire dragon was, struck head-on by this blow and caught in a pincer attack from above by Zhang Qingyue and Bili, crushed beneath the weight, it let out a long, shrill roar that shook the whole valley—but in the end it could not withstand them, and fell, swiftly vanishing into the darkness below.

Shi Tou's strike succeeded, but his body swayed; a flush of blood crossed his face, and he nearly lost his footing and fell as well. Fortunately, Zhang Qingyue, seeing Shi Tou's expression was wrong, immediately rushed to his side, caught up with him, and seized him—only then did Shi Tou steady himself.

But before the two could catch their breath, Bili above cried out in alarm again, her green robes fluttering as she plunged down. Zhang Qingyue caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and his soul nearly left his body: the enormous tentacle, ghastly as a demon and immeasurably huge, had charged up again—and this time it was coming straight down upon the heads of the two of them.

The wind stung their faces. Shi Tou had not yet recovered his breath, and Zhang Qingyue was caught off guard; it seemed he would perish beneath that giant tentacle—when Bili, her face pale but her form swift as lightning, flashed before him in an instant, shielding Zhang Qingyue with her body. The Heartbreak Flower in her hand instantly conjured six wondrous blossoms surrounding the central flower, each connected to it by pure white light, forming a white wheel of radiance. Seeing it, Zhang Qingyue at once recalled that day beneath the Dead Spirit Abyss, when she had resisted the Black Water Mystic Serpent—she had used this same technique then.

But clearly this unknown creature of the darkness was, like the Black Water Mystic Serpent, an exceedingly powerful being. Though not the equal of the Black Water Mystic Serpent, its single blow was such that Bili's white wheel, though it did not scatter at once as it had against the serpent that day, sent her whole body reeling violently; she was immediately struck down, on the verge of being crushed into the boundless darkness.

Zhang Qingyue's mind rang with a "buzz"; a heat surged before his eyes, and he knew not whence the strength came—nor did he think of anything at all. Releasing the now-steady Shi Tou, he plunged down with all speed, the Dark Iron Staff blazing with blue light, swiftly overtaking the giant tentacle writhing hideously in the air and the desperately struggling Bili.

Bili was enduring with all her might, feeling the pressure like a mountain, on the verge of losing control—when she suddenly saw Zhang Qingyue appear beside her. Startled, she cried out, "Get away, quickly—"

Before she finished speaking, Zhang Qingyue had already flung himself upon the Dark Iron Staff; with blue light flashing, he charged forward and struck the giant tentacle above Bili with all his force. Where the Dark Iron Staff struck, the tentacle suddenly shriveled; its originally slick skin instantly withered and died over a large area.

The tentacle seemed to feel pain and immediately withdrew. Bili's pressure eased, and seeing that Zhang Qingyue had risked life and death to come to her rescue, she felt both joy and worry—but before she could speak, her face went dead white.

In the darkness, the giant tentacle appeared once more, and this time in utter silence, charging straight up from below at Zhang Qingyue. Caught completely off guard, he felt a stab of pain as the tentacle seized him and dragged him bodily downward, vanishing into the darkness.

Bili and Shitou, who arrived at that very moment, both paled. Without another word, they leaped up and gave chase.