Douro Continent

Chapter 291 The King of the Earth Beneath the Crimson Dragon's Feet (Part 2)

As soon as Tang San stepped out of the tent, he saw Dai Mubai running rapidly towards him from not far away. Behind him, a flame shot into the sky, almost scorching his back. Dai Mubai leaped back to the camp, his face showing no sign of panic, but rather a look of joy.

"A suitable one has come knocking. Little San, your medicine doesn't seem to be working on it. It's at least a soul beast that's around four thousand years old."

Before Dai Mubai finished speaking, Tang San had already seen the soul beast he was talking about.

It was an enormous scorpion, its body no smaller than the Human-Faced Demon Spider Tang San had killed, and perhaps even larger. Strangely, this giant scorpion was entirely white, its joints radiating a powerful killing intent. Its pale body slithered close to the ground at incredible speed. A tail formed from nine coccyx segments was held high, connected to a fiery red stinger.

Just as Tang San spotted it, a pillar of fire shot out from its tail, heading straight for Dai Mubai.

"Hey," Dai Mubai exhaled, "Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

The White Tiger Martial Soul instantly possessed him, with four spirit rings—two yellow and two purple—appearing simultaneously. With the spirit possessed, his physique became even more robust than before. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and his first spirit ring skill, White Tiger Protective Barrier, was activated.

With a loud bang, flames shot out in front of Dai Mubai, and he staggered back three steps before regaining his footing.

By this time, Tang San had already identified the type of spirit beast. Judging from its appearance, he could determine that it was a King of the Earth, a fire-attribute spirit beast.

This scorpion, known as the King of the Earth, is extremely domineering and bloodthirsty. Although its venom isn't as terrifying to spirit beasts as that of the Human-Faced Demon Spider, few spirit beasts of the same level dare to provoke it; it is definitely a high-grade fire-type spirit beast. Its nine-segmented tailbone indicates that the King of the Earth's cultivation level is around 4,500 years. This is because its tailbone grows one segment every 500 years.

The Earth King comes in three colors. The red Earth King represents those with less than a thousand years of cultivation, with each tailbone equivalent to fifty years of cultivation. When its cultivation reaches a thousand years, its enormous body will revert to its original state, shrinking back to its original size, but its color will change from red to white. Only when its cultivation evolves to the level of ten thousand years will it change color again, at which point its color will become deep blue.

Tang San immediately and accurately judged its strength from its color and the number of segments in its tailbone. Indeed, this soul beast was perfect for their current level 40 soul power needs.

Just as Tang San was preparing to cooperate with Dai Mubai, and the rest of the Shrek Seven Devils emerged from their tents, a figure suddenly flew out of another tent. It was none other than Liu Erlong, her hair disheveled.

At this moment, Liu Erlong's clothes were still somewhat disheveled, but she seemed to have gone mad, rushing out of the tent. She immediately spotted the Earth King, who possessed over four thousand years of cultivation, and with a fierce roar, charged directly at it. Not only were her movements incredibly fast, but the explosive momentum she exuded startled Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others. Because their attention was entirely focused on Liu Erlong, they didn't even see the gruesome sight of Zhao Wuji being kicked out of the tent by Flander.

"You ruined my plans! I'll fight you to the death!" Liu Erlong cursed as she unleashed her Martial Soul, the Fire Dragon, and charged forward without pause.

It was unfortunate that this Earth King was like this. With its cultivation level, it might have had a chance to escape if it faced Tang San and the others. But its appearance was really untimely. It completely enraged Liu Erlong and had no chance left.

Upon suddenly seeing a human rushing towards him, the Earth King's first reaction was to spew fire from its tail hook, just like when it attacked Dai Mubai earlier, sending a pillar of fire straight towards Liu Erlong's chest.

But Liu Erlong was not Dai Mubai. She didn't even dodge. Her whole body was engulfed in flames. The next moment, Tang San and the others clearly saw that Liu Erlong's body was flashing with fire. Her seventh spirit ring shone brightly. Her clothes disappeared instantly, and her skin was covered with scales. A terrifying dragon roar echoed in the air.

Tang San stared blankly and said, "Just dealing with a thousand-year-old soul beast, it seems Teacher Erlong doesn't need to unleash her seventh soul skill, Crimson Dragon True Body. Didn't Dean Flander say we should deal with the soul beast ourselves? Why is Teacher Erlong going in herself?"

Dai Mubai's evil eyes were also blank. "I always thought that tigresses were the fiercest, but now I know that dragons are even more terrifying than tigresses."

"Dai Mubai, who is this 'tigress' you're talking about?"

"Of course it's my Zhuqing... uh... no, Zhuqing, listen to me, I'm not talking about you..." Dai Mubai subconsciously answered before realizing that it was Zhu Zhuqing who had asked him the question.

At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing was no longer cold and aloof; instead, her beautiful face was full of smiles. She was already extremely beautiful, but her smile was even more captivating. However, Dai Mubai looked terrified.

Soul beasts have very keen senses, and the higher their cultivation level, the more sensitive they are. This Earth King, whose cultivation level was close to five thousand years, had already sensed something was wrong when Liu Erlong unleashed her Crimson Dragon True Form. Seeing the huge dragon wings that spread out behind Liu Erlong, it knew that it couldn't run away even if it wanted to, and that only by fighting to the death could it have a chance to escape.

In an instant, the King of the Earth burst forth with red light. Centered on its body, the air within a radius of tens of square meters completely distorted, and the ground beneath it instantly cracked. Its two enormous front claws slammed into the ground, generating a powerful shockwave in the distorted air.

Even Liu Erlong, who had unleashed her Crimson Dragon form, was momentarily stunned by the tremor. Just then, with a deafening roar, a pillar of crimson fire shot skyward from the cracked ground beneath the Earth King.

The pillar of fire was two meters in diameter, covering the very center of the distorted air. This was also the moment when Liu Erlong's body momentarily froze in mid-air.

Tang San had heard Grandmaster explain this skill in detail; it was the Earth King's innate skill, and also its most powerful one, growing stronger with increasing cultivation. It was called Magma Earth-Splitting Strike. What was most terrifying wasn't its formidable attack power, but the distorted, semi-circular light that enveloped the area before the attack was unleashed.

Within the range of that distorted, shimmering air, enemies can be stunned, the duration of which depends on the difference in power between the Earth King and its opponent. Once the opponent's body is pinned down, the next moment, a pillar of intense heat, comparable to magma, will erupt and deliver a fatal blow.

At this moment, Tang San and his companions were far from the main battlefield. Even if they were closer, they wouldn't have any good way to withstand the Earth King's attack. When Grandmaster taught Tang San how to deal with this kind of spirit beast, he told him never to get close to the Earth King's body. As long as he was more than twenty meters away, he wouldn't need to fear its terrifying skill. And for a ten-thousand-year-old Earth King, that distance would increase to fifty meters.

Enraged, Liu Erlong had no concept of combat, watching helplessly as its massive dragon body was slammed into its chest by the pillar of fire.

At this moment, Flanders and the master also emerged from the tent. Of course, the master's face was very ugly, while Flanders looked completely innocent.

They naturally witnessed the magma explosion. The master merely frowned, while Flander clutched his heart and muttered, "Poor Earth King."

Yes, the King of the Earth is truly pitiful. The next moment, Liu Erlong provided the answer.

Under the impact of that enormous pillar of fire, a strange scene unfolded. Liu Erlong's body, which was suspended in mid-air, was not knocked away by the pillar of fire. Instead, it seemed as if she was bathed in the pillar of fire. The huge pillar of fire, like magma, instantly spread over her entire body. The crimson scales on her body, baked by the flames, were as dazzling as if they were carved from rubies.

The King of the Earth had a massive body, but its eyes were small. If anyone could discern the expression in its eyes at that moment, they would surely read terror within them.

The next moment, Liu Erlong's body descended from the sky without any fancy moves or skills. She simply retracted her wings and landed, her dragon claws slamming heavily onto the back of the Earth King with a deafening roar, burying most of the Desert King's body beneath the ground.

The King of Earth let out a sharp, mournful cry, its two front claws flailing wildly, yet it couldn't even touch Liu Erlong's body.

How enormous was Liu Erlong's body when she unleashed her true form as the Crimson Dragon? How terrifying was her weight? She simply descended from the sky and stomped directly on the King of the Earth. Although she didn't kill it outright, she nearly did.

"That's too violent." Dai Mubai was too shocked by Liu Erlong's actions to even comfort Zhu Zhuqing.

Ma Hongjun's eyes sparkled. "I've decided, from now on, Teacher Erlong will be my idol. Is this the legendary aesthetics of violence?"

The Earth King struggled violently beneath Liu Erlong, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not break free from the terrifying dragon claws. If this Earth King possessed human intelligence, it would soon regret why it hadn't been stomped to death by Liu Erlong.

(End of this chapter)