The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Chapter 2192 Could there be something even more terrifying at the bottom of the lake?

The martial arts heroes who had narrowly escaped death were now like frightened birds!
They were nothing but ants in the face of the two great monsters!

The giant python's head stood alone in front, its huge and sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light, a testament to Yinglong's heaven-defying combat power!
The experts from the Kongtong Sect looked at Yinglong, who had turned back into a giant rock a hundred feet away, and exchanged bewildered glances.

"Hey guys, wanna go for it?"

"..."

"Going up there is probably a nine-out-of-ten chance of death!"

"Nine deaths and one chance? Damn it, ten deaths and no chance of survival!"

"Let's all speak frankly, are we going to go or not!"

"Going on is certain death, but not going on would be such a damn waste. What have we been striving for, enduring wind and rain and traveling thousands of miles? We've finally reached the foot of Haixin Mountain, only to turn back? I'm not willing to accept that!"

Experts from other sects in the surrounding area also gathered around, and the words of the Kongtong Sect expert resonated with everyone!
Zhou Yiwei of the Qizhou School said, "Yes, to return empty-handed like this means there's no hope of breaking through the bottleneck in this lifetime!"

Almost everyone present is an expert of the eighth realm, and breaking through to the Glazed Realm is the ultimate goal in life that they dream of!
Having finally obtained the dragon baby, we can say we're halfway to success!
Now the "Heavenly Roc Egg" is within reach, easily obtained! Once you get your hands on it, you can soar to new heights!
but……

That Yinglong was like an indestructible bronze fortress, and also like a god of death descending upon the land; anyone who touched it would surely die!
The Heavenly Roc's Colorful Egg is within reach!
But though we're so close, it feels like we're worlds apart!
A Kunlun Sect master with a mole between his eyebrows said unhappily, "Damn it, who spread this rumor, insisting that it's a roc?"

A junior brother with a lion's nose and a wide mouth said, "That's right! They're trying to kill us!"

Everyone was cursing, but no one said "give up"!
The leader of the Luofu Sect was a man in his thirties named Li Rui. He and three fellow disciples had been hiding among the crowd, remaining inconspicuous and discreet. The four of them were still lying on the ice, feigning death. Their original plan was to go with the flow. Since some people were leading the way, they just needed to follow and pick up the scraps.

They were the first to flee when the giant python suddenly appeared! This was thanks to their pre-planned tactics, always maintaining a certain distance from the main group. The python consistently targeted densely populated areas!
Now that the giant python is dead, most of the survivors have gathered together again to discuss whether to advance or retreat. Li Rui and the other three quietly looked around and then exchanged glances.

Second junior brother Ouyang Ke said, "Senior brother, shall we go over too?"

Li Rui whispered, "No! Let's wait and see!"

Wise people never act rashly. With so many people paving the way for them, why risk their lives? Just like before, if they hadn't been hiding at the back, the four brothers would have either perished in the python's jaws or been crushed by the Yinglong's steel claws!
Suddenly, a skilled member of the Quanzhou gang in the crowd said, "Why did that big guy go back to the island? Why isn't he chasing us anymore?"

The air froze instantly!
Everyone instantly became alert!
No one was concerned about whether or not to land on the island anymore. Everyone suddenly realized that the monster hadn't pressed its advantage and wiped them all out.

After a long silence, someone finally broke the silence. A Ningzhou Gang expert said, "It may have reached its physical limit."

A Tianxing Sect expert's face showed worry: "It's possible that it retreated to recover its strength. Once it regains its strength, it will chase after us again..."

A terrifying cloud hung over everyone's hearts!

A master from the Heavenly Blade Sect shook his head and said, "Not necessarily! Its reluctance to pursue us might not be due to exhaustion, but rather because it might be wary of Feng Jiuxiao and the others!"

The expert from the Iron Blood Sect was taken aback and blurted out, "It's afraid of being lured away from the mountain, so it doesn't dare to go too far from the island!"

Everyone's eyes lit up!
A master from the Kongtong Sect said, "If it's really afraid of being lured away from its mountain stronghold, then let's surround it from all sides! Everyone, split up and make it too busy to keep up and too exhausted to run for its life!"

The Diancang Sect expert frowned and said, "This is not advisable! If we split up, wouldn't it be easier for them to defeat us one by one?"

Everyone agreed, "That makes sense!"

Someone asked in bewilderment, "Damn it, I don't even know what this Yinglong is, it's so powerful!"

"Amitabha." A low and peaceful Buddhist chant, like a stone thrown into stagnant water, rippled slightly amidst suppressed breathing.

The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Master Kongzhi, the head of the Arhat Hall of Shaolin Temple. Tiny ice crystals were gathered on his snow-white eyebrows and beard, and his bright red kasaya fluttered slightly in the cold wind. His thin figure stood tall and straight like the pine and cypress trees in front of the ancient temple courtyard that had weathered the storms.

"Fellow benefactors," Kongzhi's voice was not loud, but it pierced through the cold wind with exceptional clarity, carrying a strange power to soothe people's hearts, "This old monk is not talented, but I have glimpsed some of the secrets in the fragments of the 'Tales of Longyuan' in the Shaolin Sutra Pavilion. Perhaps it can answer your questions and ease your fears."

Upon hearing this, countless dazed eyes on the icy plains instantly focused on him, filled with an eagerness for an answer and lingering fear.

Yinglong! That terrifying creature that soars through the heavens, its claws cleaving through ice, its scales indestructible, and ultimately slays the python! What exactly is it?
Master Kongzhi's gaze slowly swept over the crowd, finally landing on the distant Haixin Mountain peak, shrouded in wind and snow, its outline barely visible. It was as if he had pierced through time and space to see the bronze figure perched beside the seven-colored halo.

"The dragon is a creature imbued with the spirit of heaven and earth, the master of all scaled creatures. Its kinds are numerous, and not everyone knows them. What this old monk knows is but a drop in the ocean." His voice was calm, as if recounting an ancient myth. "One such creature is called the 'Panlong'. This dragon has no horns, dwelling in deep abysses and marshes, or lurking beneath the veins of sacred mountains. It resembles a giant python, but four claws are hidden beneath its belly. Its scales are as black as deep-sea iron, and it is particularly adept at manipulating water, often mistaken for a water god. It prefers stillness and only moves when facing great calamity." Several men from the watery regions of Jiangnan nodded subconsciously, clearly recalling the "Dragon King" lurking in deep pools in some ancient legends.

"Secondly, there is the 'Chilong'," Kongzhi continued, his withered fingers tracing lines in the air. "This dragon has no horns or feet, its entire body is azure like jade, or like glass and amber. It often coils around palaces, ornamental columns, and ancient bronze vessels, a sign of good fortune. Its figure is agile and nimble, the most serpent-like among the dragons. However, its power is not for killing and fighting, but for governing the flow of life and water between heaven and earth."

"Thirdly, there is the 'Jiaolong'." Kongzhi's voice was slightly solemn. "This dragon is born in deep abysses or lurks beneath treacherous whirlpools in rivers. Its head resembles that of an ox or horse, with no horns or only a single horn. Its body is covered with thick, dark blue scales, and its short, thick claws are as sharp as steel hooks. Jiaolong is extremely lewd and greedy, often stirring up storms, capsizing boats, and flooding fertile fields. The folk saying 'a Jiaolong transforms into a dragon' mostly refers to this type. After a thousand years of cultivation, if it undergoes a tribulation of lightning, it may have the opportunity to be reborn and transform into a true dragon. However, its malevolent nature is hard to dispel, and it is mostly a wicked dragon."

"Fourthly, it is called 'Qiulong'." Master Kongzhi's gaze seemed to sweep over the shattered corpses torn apart by dragon claws on the icy plain. "This dragon has horns, but the horns are not yet forked, and their shape resembles newly grown deer antlers. Its body is mostly coiled and knotted, its physique is incomparably strong, and its scales are as thick as mountain rocks, in a bluish-brown color. This dragon often hides in secluded valleys, cliffs, and deep mountain caves, absorbing the dragon energy of the earth's veins. Its nature is violent and fierce, and its divine power is boundless. It is especially good at using its horns to shatter mountains and split rocks, and its tail to sweep away thousands of troops. Ancient legends say that when Gonggong angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, his mount may have been a type of Qiulong." Before he finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but imagine the scene of the Yinglong's giant tail sweeping across, shattering martial arts masters like grass, and the chill intensified.

"As for what we have seen today," Kongzhi's voice suddenly rose a notch, carrying an unprecedented solemnity, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes that pierced straight to the heart, "this is one of the kings of dragons—Yinglong!"

"Yinglong?!" A suppressed gasp erupted from the crowd. The word seemed to possess some kind of magic, instantly capturing everyone's attention.

"Indeed!" Master Kongzhi said decisively. "The Yinglong has wings on its back, capable of riding wind and thunder, soaring through the heavens! Its form... you have all witnessed it." He closed his eyes slightly, as if recalling scriptures, or perhaps confirming the breathtaking scene he had just witnessed. "Its body is as massive as a mountain, its scales neither gold nor iron, but incredibly thick and tough, a bluish-brown bronze color, like armor forged from bronze by ancient master craftsmen. Ordinary swords and blades cannot harm it in the slightest! Its claws..." The old monk slightly raised his hands, forming claws, his fingertips seemingly containing the power to tear mountains apart. "Its claws are as strong as giant trees, with cold, sharp hooks at the ends, capable of severing gold and jade, shattering rocks and cracking ice in the blink of an eye! These are its weapons of conquest!"

"Master!" A trembling voice interrupted, it was Xue Chong, an elder of the Kongtong Sect. His face was deathly pale as he pointed to the battlefield on the frozen lake ahead, "That monstrous python... its scales are also indestructible, so how could Yinglong's claws..."

“Good question.” Kong Zhi nodded. “The claws of the Yinglong are not merely sharp. Their claw power contains a trace of golden energy that can destroy all laws and disintegrate the very origin, a point of innate divine sharpness condensed at the beginning of chaos! Therefore, the scales of the giant python, which are difficult to damage even with ordinary refined iron, are like rotten wood and broken leather under the claws of the Yinglong!” He paused, his voice becoming even lower and more mysterious, “What is even more wondrous is its eyes!”

Everyone held their breath, their minds involuntarily conjuring up those cold, merciless vertical pupils that looked like molten gold.

"The eyes of Yinglong are like molten gold flames, vertical pupils like abysses! They can pierce through illusions, break through clouds and mist, and see the finest details a thousand miles away! In today's battle, did any of you see the direction it attacked? It was always the surging crowds and the vital points of the giant python! Under the gaze of this eye, mortals hiding are nothing but self-deception!" Kongzhi's narration carried an almost mystical quality. "There is also a legend that in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou at Zhuolu, losing nine battles in a row. Then Yinglong descended from the sky, its wings flapping, spreading icy cold air, freezing Chiyou's army; its tail sweeping across, splitting mountains and rivers, guiding raging floods... This is the great supernatural power to control clouds and rain, and to command water and soil! What you all saw today, its wings blowing the wind, shattering ice into powder; its claws tearing through the ice, stirring up cold currents at the bottom of the lake, is a faint manifestation of this supernatural power!"

The icy plain was deathly silent, save for the howling of the cold wind. A profound tremor ran through the crowd as the figure of the bronze behemoth slowly overlapped with the image of a deity from ancient legends, bringing a suffocating sense of insignificance, like dust in the face of nothingness.

“However,” Master Kongzhi’s tone suddenly changed, with an indescribable sigh, “the Way of Heaven is impartial, and all things have their limits. Although Yinglong is strong, it also has its flaws. Its body contains vast divine power, which is too heavy. When it flaps its wings against the wind, it can only travel a hundred feet at most with each flap before it needs to use the strength of mountains and giant rocks to take off again. This is one of its shortcomings.”

His gaze fell heavily on the still-unsettled turbid whirlpool in the distant ice hole: "Secondly, and most importantly—water!"

"Water?" Everyone was taken aback.

“Exactly.” Kong Zhi’s voice was deep. “Yinglong was born from the essence of primordial fire and earth. Its scales are thick and contain hot true yang. Although it can wade through water briefly, it clashes with the source of deep and cold water! It hates water, especially deep, cold and dark abysses! Once trapped in them, it is like a dragon trapped in shallow water. Its divine power is stagnant, and its scales will be eroded by the all-pervasive yin cold and the spiritual energy of Gui water, greatly reducing its power! If the giant python hadn’t been so eager to coil around its wings and drag it into the depths of the icy lake, Yinglong might not have used that decapitation strike…”

As if to confirm Kongzhi's words, a hard, bluish-gray scale, about the size of a palm, with serrated, torn edges, was swept up by the cold wind and swirled, landing precisely on the ice surface beneath Master Kongzhi's feet.

A very slight yet incredibly crisp sound rang out.

Hundreds of eyes instantly fixed on that scale!

Its entire body presents a deep and ancient bluish-gray color, like a bronze vessel that has been weathered by countless years. The surface is not smooth, but is covered with fine, hard, natural angular patterns that present a perfect hexagonal structure. Under the dim reflection of the ice surface, it flows with a cold and hard metallic luster!

The edges and corners are exceptionally sharp, as if they were naturally sharpened!
Even more alarming is that, near the edge of the center of the scale, there is a small, shocking patch of charred and corroded marks, with barely perceptible wisps of smoke rising from the edge!

“This is the scale armor of the Yinglong!” Master Kongzhi bent down, his withered fingers carefully picking up the bluish-gray scale.

The touch from my fingertips was cold, hard, and heavy, like holding a fragment of finely forged steel, the sharp edges almost cutting through my skin. The fine lines on the scales seemed to contain ancient power, and the charred, corroded mark in the center exuded a chilling, sinister aura.

The air above the entire ice field seemed to freeze.

Hundreds of martial arts masters, whether sect leaders or江湖豪客 (jianghu heroes), were frozen in place, their breaths catching in their throats. Their gazes were fixed on the small scale on Master Kongzhi's fingertip, their eyes filled with shock, greed, realization, and a deeper fear.

So... the creature that crushed countless of their kind and tore apart the thousand-year-old giant python was called Yinglong! Even with its immense power, it had its insurmountable limits!
Just then, a figure suddenly rushed out from the crowd and pounced under the ice rock; it was none other than Tie Zhenshan, an elder of the Kunlun Sect.

His eyes were bloodshot as he pointed to the distant summit of Haixin Mountain, his voice hoarse and frantic: "Master! Since it fears water and can only fly briefly! It has just fought a fierce battle with the giant python and must be exhausted! Why don't we... why don't we seize this opportunity, prepare plenty of powerful crossbows and fire-attack weapons, and block its landing points within a hundred feet! Then we can divert the lake water to flood it..."

"Amitabha!" Master Kongzhi shouted suddenly, his voice like the wrath of a Vajra, silencing Tie Zhenshan abruptly. An unprecedentedly sharp light flashed in the old monk's cloudy eyes, piercing Tie Zhenshan's gaze with a compassionate insight into human nature and an unyielding, inviolable majesty.

"Benefactor Tie! Have the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance clouded your mind to this extent?!" His voice boomed like a great bell, shaking the hearts of everyone present. "Does the Yinglong fear mortal fire? Lake water? It only needs to flap its wings and rise a hundred feet high. How can your mortal bodies withstand its thunderous strike? How can you resist its heaven-splitting claws? The bloodshed at the icy lake is still fresh in our minds! Your lives are all due to sheer luck!" He swept his gaze over those whose eyes had been rekindled with a flicker of madness because of Tie Zhenshan's words, and said sternly, "Even dragons have fears, fears that lie in the abyss! But how can their divine might be coveted by ants? What it protects is not something ordinary mortals can touch! Is this calamity not enough of a warning?!"

He suddenly raised the cold, bluish-gray Yinglong scale high in his hand, his voice like an icefall cascading from the heavens, freezing the last vestiges of everyone's delusion: "Don't forget! Yinglong fears water, so what terrifying being could make it lie dormant in this bitterly cold land of Qinghai?!"

The last sentence struck everyone's hearts like an invisible hammer. Involuntarily, everyone followed Master Kongzhi's gaze to the enormous icy vortex that had devoured the giant python's corpse, shimmering with a chilling black light and murky blood... A chill more biting than the cold wind instantly shot from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads!
Could there be something even more terrifying beneath the surface of this lake?