Chapter 403: Pengze Immortal Island

Suddenly, the Flood Dragon's head moved. Like Mount Tai crashing down, it opened its terrifying, gaping maw and viciously snapped at Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat.

But as the Flood Dragon's head descended, Shen Daoxing had already leaped high into the air. At some point, a massive Venerable Dharma Seal had appeared on his arm.

"Venerable Arm!"

Shen Daoxing roared. His entire arm turned black and gold, flickering with arcs of black lightning. With his small frame, he swung the Venerable Dharma Seal, a weapon dozens of times his size, and brought it crashing down.

"BOOM!"

With a tremendous bang, the Flood Dragon's entire head was slammed down, embedding it deep into the lakebed.

"ROAR!"

The Flood Dragon opened its mouth and let out a furious roar, its rage palpable.

Suddenly, a tail like that of Tianze soared high and appeared before Shen Daoxing's eyes, then viciously smashed down.

Seeing this, Shen Daoxing's figure flickered. He lightly tapped his toes on the Flood Dragon's head and leaped up abruptly, dodging the attack.

The Flood Dragon's tail continued its descent, but with a THUD, it hit nothing but air, slamming hard onto its own head.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh. It clutched its belly with its paws. 'This big guy doesn't seem very bright!'

"ROAR!"

A terrifying roar echoed across the bottom of the lake.

By this time, the Flood Dragon had already raised its head indignantly.

"BOOM!"

The next moment, a blinding beam of blue light surged from its massive mouth. Everything in its path was frozen solid, not even sparing the lake water itself.

Shen Daoxing hurriedly raised the Venerable Dharma Seal to block the beam.

"HISSSSSSS!"

Bracing himself with the Venerable Dharma Seal, Shen Daoxing was pushed back for dozens of yards across the lakebed, carving a long trench before he could barely stop himself.

But in the next instant, the Flood Dragon's enormous claw descended from above, swiping down fiercely.

Shen Daoxing was fearless.

"Venerable Invincible, one serious punch."

BZZZT! BZZZT!

Arcs of black lightning flickered.

The black-and-gold light on Shen Daoxing's entire right arm flared brilliantly as he suddenly swung it upward.

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

A series of heavy impacts rang out continuously.

On the surface, Yun Meng Lake appeared calm and placid, but deep below, the water was turbulent and chaotic.

Shen Daoxing threw punch after punch, each one landing solidly. The fierce battle with the Flood Dragon was incredibly exhilarating, and he found himself growing more valiant the longer he fought.

But Shen Daoxing was, after all, only at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Transformation Realm. The depth of his Spiritual Power couldn't compare to that of the Refining Dust Realm.

After a good while, Shen Daoxing felt fatigue setting in and his body starting to give out. The Spiritual Power within him was also nearly depleted.

"BOOM!"

Shen Daoxing slammed down the Venerable Dharma Seal in his hand, a brilliant white light flaring out to block the freezing beam spat by the Flood Dragon.

Immediately, he shot up, using the force of the impact to retreat rapidly. With the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat in tow, he soon broke through the lake's surface, summoned his sword, and flew back to the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's Inner Mountain, landing on a Suspended Island.

"ROAR!"

The Flood Dragon roared in anger, burst through the surface of the lake, and took flight, about to give chase.

Suddenly, a deep, majestic, and angry shout cracked through the sky: "Insolent beast! You dare come here!"

Immediately after, a colossal Golden Body Dharma Aspect appeared above the Cyan Nether Sword Sect's Inner Mountain, accompanied by an irresistible, majestic aura.

This time, the giant Golden Dharma Aspect didn't even have to act.

The Flood Dragon's expression was already one of terror. It then looked resentfully at Shen Daoxing and the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat, only to see the rat wiggling its big butt provocatively at it.

The Flood Dragon couldn't help but let out a low growl, returning to the bottom of the lake in extreme frustration.

And then, everything returned to calm.

Shen Daoxing returned to his residence safely and submerged himself in a medicinal bath he had prepared earlier. He felt comfortable, warm currents flowing into his body, and the fatigue from just before quickly dissipated.

Recalling the details of the battle, Shen Daoxing found the memory endlessly fascinating. It seemed he had grasped something new again.

And so, Shen Daoxing spent his days practicing his punches and Body Forging in his room. Whenever he had free time, he would take the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat to Yun Meng Lake to "grind for experience" against the Flood Dragon.

Life was exceedingly pleasant.

「In the blink of an eye, another month passed.」

Through his repeated battles with the Flood Dragon, Shen Daoxing could clearly feel his Venerable Body growing tougher and more resilient. He was able to last longer and longer against it.

He even felt, in the crucible of these life-and-death struggles, that he could clearly sense the threshold of the Earth Profound Realm.

Shen Daoxing believed that if he kept this up, he might soon break through to the Earth Profound Realm.

However, the Flood Dragon under Yun Meng Lake was being tormented by Shen Daoxing to the point of misery. The poor thing couldn't even get a good night's sleep.

With his current strength, Shen Daoxing was originally no match for the Flood Dragon at all. However, whenever things started to look bad, Shen Daoxing would slip away and hide back in the Cyan Nether Sword Sect. The Flood Dragon was completely helpless against this detestable little brat.

One time, the Flood Dragon recklessly charged into the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, vowing to kill that hateful little brat, Shen Daoxing, even if it meant its own death.

But after being caught and thoroughly thrashed by that mysterious powerhouse from the Cyan Nether Sword Sect, the Flood Dragon never dared to enter the sect's grounds again.

The next day, Shen Daoxing gently pushed open his door and stepped outside. He then picked up a broom and went to the training grounds on the main island to begin sweeping.

Although the Cyan Nether Sword Sect had few restrictions on its disciples, they still had to complete their assigned duties.

While sweeping, Shen Daoxing watched the sparring matches between the Inner Sect Disciples on the training grounds.

He noticed that there were many more unfamiliar faces among the disciples in the sect these days.

These were all Inner Sect Disciples who had previously been away on sect business.

Due to the passing of Ancestor Dan Chen, the position of Pengze Immortal Island's Island Master was now vacant and a successor needed to be chosen. Many fifth and sixth-generation disciples who hadn't returned to the sect in years had now come back.

Currently, the one with the highest strength and the best chance of inheriting the position of Pengze Immortal Island's Island Master was Shi Jing, a sixth-generation disciple of the Pengze Lineage. Although not as powerful as the sixth-generation disciples of the other lineages, he was still a master at the Second Layer of the Refining Dust Realm.

However, Shi Jing had once been close to a woman from the Demon Sect, which caused some friction with the sect. He had been punished to train in the Gobi Desert of the northwest and hadn't returned to the sect for over fifty years.

Furthermore, many people within the sect had reservations about him. If he were to succeed as the Island Master, it would likely be difficult for him to win over the masses.

But there was no helping it. The talent in the Pengze Lineage had withered. Ancestor Dan Chen's most favored head disciple had died in the Cyan Nether Cataclysm over a decade ago, making Shi Jing the strongest remaining member of the Pengze Lineage.

The Cyan Nether Sword Sect had no choice but to have Shi Jing return first. By their estimates, he should be arriving soon.

However, after several days, Shi Jing had not returned. Instead, news came back that he had died on the road.

For the most promising candidate for Pengze Island Master to suddenly die on the last day of his journey back, at this critical juncture...

Anyone would think that there was something deeply suspicious about it! Things were far from simple.