Chapter 718: Chapter 718

Aside from that, Shen Long also saved over two thousand years of arduous cultivation, and his mana advanced significantly. However, he was still in the early stage of Void Refinement, a good distance from the middle stage.

Reaching the Void Refinement phase, it was not easy to ascend even a minor realm.

Generally speaking, a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage could live up to twelve thousand five hundred years, and if they consumed miracle elixirs that extended their lifespan, they could live even longer.

Shen Long had long since learned that Mo Bingbing, Qin Yan, Li Dong, Nangong Ming, Qin Ting, and others had their Life-Bound Spirit Beasts and Life-Bound Spirit Birds advance to the sixth rank, and they only saved a little over a thousand years of cultivation.

The higher the purity of a Life-Bound Spirit Beast or Spirit Bird’s bloodline, the more mana they could feed back to the cultivator when advancing a major boundary. This was a major reason why cultivators valued the purity of the bloodlines of their Life-Bound Spirit Beasts and Birds.

Shen Peng had been cultivating for over a thousand years; his cultivation speed was especially fast. Ordinary Spirit Birds cultivating for over a thousand years were still at the fourth rank with mediocre divine skills.

Shen Long used Thousand Beast Incense to lure and kill sixth rank Monster Beasts. Most of their bloodline purity was only at level four, with a few at level five, which illustrated how difficult it was to raise the purity of bloodlines.

He was well aware that Shen Peng’s rapid growth was not only due to resources but also owed much to the Myriad Beasts Tower.

The Life-Bound Spirit Beasts and Birds of the long-standing Void Refining Cultivators of Qianling Sect generally took over two thousand years to advance to the sixth rank.

"It seems that there is no Essence Blood of a sixth-rank Flood Dragon with True Dragon Bloodline in the Outer Sea. Should we turn to the Mainland instead?"

"I have sent Shen Lang to deliver something to Fairy Chu and to inquire about the Essence Blood of a sixth-rank Flood Dragon with True Dragon Bloodline on the Mainland. If there’s news, it won’t be too late for us to head to the Mainland."

Having just established his reputation in the Qinglian Archipelago, collecting cultivation resources was much more convenient. Hastily running off to the Mainland might not guarantee finding the Essence Blood of a sixth-rank Flood Dragon with True Dragon Bloodline.

He took out a red Messaging Conch, input a spell, and a delighted male voice sounded: "Taoist Friend Shen, I have news. In the southwest of Qinglian Archipelago, a sixth-rank early-stage Wind Flood Dragon that can speak human language has been spotted. This Flood Dragon has killed three Void Refining Cultivators, and one Cultivator’s Nascent Soul narrowly escaped."

"Taoist Friend Xu, this news hasn’t spread throughout Qinglian Marketplace yet, has it?"

Shen Long asked with a frown.

"Not for now, but it might be different later."

A resonant male voice responded.

"Does that Wind Flood Dragon have True Dragon Bloodline? Can its Dharma Nature be discerned?"

Shen Long inquired further.

"It does not possess True Dragon Bloodline; its Dharma Nature is still that of a Flood Dragon. If it had True Dragon Bloodline, its Dharma Nature would be that of a True Dragon. Since there’s a sixth-rank Flood Dragon showing up, I had to let you know."

Shen Long replied, stowing away the Messaging Conch, and said to Shen Peng, "Let’s go! A trip doesn’t hurt, for every part of a sixth-rank Flood Dragon is a treasure. Even without True Dragon Bloodline, we’ll strike without error."

Transforming into a beam of silver light, Shen Peng flew into the Spirit Beast Bracelet, and Shen Long stepped outside.

After leaving the marketplace, Shen Long turned into a yellow Escape Light, breaking through the sky. Before long, he appeared over a desolate island of about a hundred miles in circumference and entered a secluded cave.

Using the Shape-Shifting Lock, Shen Long altered his appearance. With a flick of his wrist, Shen Peng flew out from the Spirit Beast Bracelet.

Shen Peng’s body shone with great Spiritual Light, merging with Shen Long.

A golden thunder light lit up Shen Long’s back, and a pair of enormous golden wings appeared, their surface covered with golden lightning arcs.

With a light flap of the golden wings, Shen Long turned into a streak of golden thunder light and vanished.

In the next instant, he appeared over two thousand miles away.

The early-stage sixth-rank Thunder Roc merged with Shen Long, displaying the Thunder Escape Technique, instantaneously moving over two thousand miles—quite a terrifying feat considering that a Void Refining early-stage cultivator’s Divine Sense only extended two thousand miles.

Shen Long’s golden wings flapped once again, and he turned into another streak of golden thunder light and disappeared.

Qinglian Marketplace, Cloud Sea Garden.

Xu Yingying and Xu Xu sat in a cyan stone pavilion, talking about something.

"Can’t contact Taoist Friend Wang and Fairy Wang? Where have they gone?"

Xu Yingying frowned and asked.

"Junior Sister Li saw them leave the marketplace with her own eyes, but where they went after that, we’re not sure,"

Xu Xu replied truthfully.

"Forget it, with their strength, as long as they don’t run into a Unity Cultivator, they should be able to escape."

Xu Xu nodded and said, "Right, Madam Lin is hosting a gathering and has invited quite a few Taoist friends to attend. Would you like to go?"

"Since there’s nothing else going on, I might as well..."

Before Xu Yingying could finish her sentence, the sound of tumultuous waves erupted from her, and she took out a blue light, constantly rotating Messaging Conch. She input a spell, and a delighted male voice rang out, "Senior Sister Xu, a sixth-order Flood Dragon has appeared in the southwest of the Qinglian Archipelago. This dragon has already gained the ability to speak, has slain three Void Refining Cultivators, and one of the Void Refining Cultivator’s Nascent Souls has escaped."

"A sixth-order Flood Dragon?"

Xu Yingying was incredibly surprised and quickly said, "Notify Master Uncle Liu and Master Aunt Wang immediately."

"Master Uncle Liu is out, and Master Aunt Wang entered closed-door cultivation not long ago. Senior Brother Lin has already led a team to rush over,"

Xu Yingying replied, terminating the connection.

"Our cultivation is too low; even if we went, we wouldn’t be of much help. Senior Brother Lin is at the Hollow Phasing Late Stage of cultivation, and he possesses a mid-grade Sky-Reaching Spiritual Treasure for flying. As long as he finds that sixth-order Flood Dragon, he should be able to eliminate it,"

Xu Yingying nodded and said, "Senior Brother Lin is skilled in the Sword Control Technique, and even if the sixth-order Flood Dragon is trapped by his Sword Formation, it won’t stand a chance of escaping unless the dragon possesses a True Dragon Bloodline."

"If that sixth-order Flood Dragon has a True Dragon Bloodline, the chances of leaving a living witness are slim,"

Xu Yingying nodded, something occurring to her, and said, "Speaking of which, Taoist Friend Wang and Fairy Wang leaving the marketplace, could it be related to this sixth-order Flood Dragon?"

"That’s a possibility! It all depends on whether Senior Brother Lin can get there before them,"

An expanse of boundless azure, the sea breeze blew in gusts, and the sky was clear for thousands of miles.

The Cloud Sea Boat flew in from the distant horizon, came to a stop with a flash, and Shen Long and Shen Peng stood on top of the Cloud Sea Boat. The Hundred Eyes Cicada’s eyes shone with a blinding golden light, scouring the surroundings, while the Four-Tailed Spirit Fox searched for the scent of the Flood Dragon.

Shen Long and Shen Peng, having fused together, hurried to the scene of the incident at top speed. The Hundred Eyes Cicada found a scale dropped by the Wind Flood Dragon on a desolate island, allowing the Four-Tailed Spirit Fox to track its scent all the way here.

"We’ve found it, master. It’s inside a cavern at the bottom of the sea,"

the Hundred Eyes Cicada spoke.

Shen Long nodded, his body emitting a bright blue light as he transformed into a thousand-zhang-long Blue Giant Dragon, its scales bristling menacingly.

The Blue Giant Dragon swung its head and its tail in the air, diving into the sea, causing a massive surge of waves.

Shen Peng remained on the Cloud Sea Boat above, ready to provide support for Shen Long.