The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 308 Tempering the Body with Dragon Blood!

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a crimson sword light suddenly slashed from the side, accurately striking the joint of the Poison Flame Bat King's left wing!

puff!

Dark green blood gushed out.

The Flame Bat King's left wing drooped at an odd angle, clearly broken.

Jiang Yi, holding the Yanhuang Sword and covered in blood, stood on the city wall, panting heavily.

That sword strike nearly exhausted all his spiritual power; his face was as pale as paper, but his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"Good!" Tie Yan shouted as he got up from the ground.

The Poison Flame Bat King let out a mournful screech, no longer daring to linger in battle, and dragged its broken wings as it fled in panic to the west.

Under the cover of several other monsters, the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros slowly retreated into the depths of the monster horde.

The onslaught of the monster horde has finally slowed down temporarily.

Chen Jinshu put away his zither and stood up, his face pale and his forehead covered with a fine layer of sweat.

Although she only played a short section of the "Zhou Tian Xing Yue Yin - Overture" piece, it consumed a tremendous amount of her spiritual energy.

If it weren't for the Mysterious Female Furnace frantically absorbing and releasing spiritual energy within her body, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold on long ago.

She maneuvered the shuttle to land on the city wall, and as soon as she landed, she saw Sand Scorpion stumbling and walking up the steps from the inside of the city wall.

The usually impeccably dressed leader of the Sand Scorpion Alliance now had several large holes in his dark gold brocade robe.

He clutched his right shoulder with his left hand, blood seeping between his fingers, clearly indicating that he had been seriously injured by the Iron-spined Rhinoceros.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, thank you for arriving in time." Sand Scorpion's voice was hoarse, weak, and tinged with gratitude.

"If it weren't for your music suppressing that beast's soul, Flowing Sand City would probably have fallen today."

Chen Jinshu nodded slightly, his gaze falling on his wound: "The Alliance Leader's injury is not light. If it is not treated in time, it may affect his foundation."

"It's alright." Sand Scorpion waved his hand, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing him to wince and gasp for breath.

“I have already sent someone to fetch healing pills… however, there is an even more pressing problem at the moment.”

He raised his head and looked at the gray-yellow sandstorm outside the city.

Amidst the sandstorm, the figures of the demonic beasts loomed indistinctly. Although they had temporarily retreated, they still lingered in the distance, clearly showing no intention of truly leaving.

"Although the monster tide has temporarily retreated, the Iron-Spine Rhinoceros and the Poison Flame Bat King are only injured, not dead. They are waiting for reinforcements." Sand Scorpion's voice was somewhat solemn.

"My men just sent word that even more monsters are gathering deep within the Sea of ​​Death."

"How large is it?" Chen Jinshu asked.

“No less than a million.” Sand Scorpion uttered these four words, his tone as heavy as if filled with lead.

Chen Jinshu remained silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the cultivators on the city wall.

Most of them were wounded, sitting or lying down, panting against the wall. Several more seriously injured lay on the ground, surrounded by their companions, their faces pale and their breaths weak.

At the foot of the city wall lay several corpses wrapped in straw mats, clearly killed in the battle that had just taken place.

The air was filled with the stench of blood, sweat, and a pungent, eerie smell, all mixed together to make one want to vomit.

A young monk was squatting in the corner, his face pale, retching.

His companion patted his back and said in a hoarse voice, "It's okay, you'll get used to it after throwing up a few more times."

Chen Jinshu withdrew his gaze and looked at Sha Xie: "How many cultivators in Liusha City still have the strength to fight?"

Sand Scorpion shook his head with a wry smile:

"There are fewer than ten Golden Core cultivators in total, and although there are forty or fifty Foundation Establishment cultivators, most of them have been fighting for a day and a night, and their spiritual energy has been greatly depleted. Most of their decent defensive magic artifacts have also been destroyed. If another wave of attacks of the same magnitude comes, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked at Chen Jinshu, his eyes filled with earnestness:

“Fellow Daoist Chen, to be honest, I have already sent out distress talismans to the nearby ‘Raging Waves City’ and ‘Azure Waves Sect’. If they can arrive in time, Flowing Sand City may still be saved. But until the reinforcements arrive, I need you to stay here and oversee things.”

Chen Jinshu did not answer immediately.

She gazed at the churning sandstorm outside the city, her hand unconsciously stroking the well-worn opening of the storage bag.

After a moment, she nodded.

“I can stay. However, I have two conditions.”

Sand Scorpion perked up: "Fellow Daoist, please speak."

"First, the city's stockpile of spirit stones and pills should be distributed as much as possible to the cultivators participating in the battle. A cultivator who is hungry and lacks spiritual energy cannot fight."

“Of course,” Sand Scorpion replied immediately. “I will have someone open the storeroom and distribute half of the spirit stones and pills.”

"Secondly, if things become unbearable, I will not hold out to the death. I will take Jiang Yi and You Xi and evacuate. At that time, you must not stop me."

Sand Scorpion was silent for a moment, a complex expression flashing across his face, but he finally nodded slowly: "Fellow Daoist's arrival is already a timely help. If it really comes to that, I will not force you to stay and die with me."

"Then it's settled." After saying that, Chen Jinshu turned around and walked to a corner inside the city wall, sat down cross-legged, took out a purple pill, swallowed it, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Sha Xie looked at her, hesitated, and finally sighed before turning to arrange the distribution of pills and spirit stones.

As darkness deepened, the distant sandstorm carried the faint, guttural roars of demonic beasts, rising and falling like war drums echoing from the earth.

Tonight is destined to be anything but peaceful.

……

Night falls, at midnight.

"call out!"

"Senior, there's a situation on the west side!" Jiang Yi's voice reached Chen Jinshu's ears, tinged with urgency.

Chen Jinshu, who was in deep meditation, immediately opened his eyes and scanned the area with his divine sense. He saw a dark figure gliding along the ground at an astonishing speed about three miles west of the city wall.

The figure was about four zhang long, covered with palm-sized, jet-black scales that gleamed with a cold, eerie light in the firelight.

Its head resembles a dragon, with a short, sharp black horn on its head and a pair of vertical pupils that are amber in color and flash with a cold, fierce light.

"Ink-scaled Dragon." Chen Jinshu's eyes narrowed, and his tone became more serious.

"Early stage of Golden Core, with dual attributes of water and poison."

This monster was too fast; ordinary cultivators simply didn't have time to react.

In the blink of an eye, it had bypassed the defensive fortifications on the west side of the city wall, and suddenly burst out from behind a pile of collapsed rubble, heading straight for the cultivators on the city wall who were doing their best to resist the demonic beasts in front of them.

"Watch out!" Tie Yan's roar came from the middle of the city wall. He was entangled by two third-tier demonic beasts and couldn't spare any attention.

Before the three Foundation Establishment cultivators on the west side of the city wall could react, the Ink Scaled Flood Dragon opened its blood-red maw and sprayed out a stream of dark green venom like an arrow.

Chi Chi Chi!

The venom landed on the city wall, instantly corroding a large hole in the yellow sandstone.

One cultivator was unable to dodge in time and his left arm was splashed with venom. His entire arm festered at a visible speed. He screamed and fell off the city wall, instantly swallowed up by the surging tide of demonic beasts below.

"Beast!" With a furious shout, crimson sword light shot into the sky.

Jiang Yi's figure streaked across the middle of the city wall like a burning meteor.

While the person was in mid-air, the Flame Emperor Sword was already unsheathed, its blade radiating a bright red light that illuminated the surrounding night sky.

Having landed a successful attack, the Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon was about to continue its rampage against other cultivators when it sensed the sharp sword intent. It suddenly turned around, its amber vertical pupils locking onto Jiang Yi's direction, and let out a low roar.

"Well done!" Jiang Yi landed, his feet stepping on the crenellations of the city wall, his whole body like a fully drawn bow, his sword intent poised but not yet unleashed.

The old scar on his left cheek looked particularly menacing in the firelight, but his eyes were unusually bright, as if flames were burning within them.

The Ink Scale Flood Dragon clearly didn't take this late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator seriously.

It shook its head and spat out another stream of dark green venom, this time aiming straight for Jiang Yi's face.

Instead of retreating, Jiang Yi advanced, slightly lowering his body and slashing upwards with the Flame Emperor Sword in his hand.

"Nine Slashes of the Blazing Sun - First Form - Rising Sun!"

The sword light was like the rising sun; though not particularly intense, it carried an unstoppable sharpness.

The venom was cleaved in two by the sword light, turning into two wisps of dark green mist that drifted to either side.

Jiang Yi's figure emerged from the mist, and the Flame Emperor Sword was already three feet in front of the Ink Scale Dragon.

The Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon was clearly surprised that its opponent could break through its venom so cleanly and efficiently, and its vertical pupils narrowed slightly. But it was, after all, a Golden Core stage demon beast, and its reaction was extremely fast. It suddenly lowered its head, and the ink horn on its head pierced straight into Jiang Yi's chest.

clang!

The swords clashed, producing a clear and resonant metallic clang.

Jiang Yi felt a tremendous force coming from the sword, his tiger's mouth went numb, and he was shaken so badly that he slid back three steps, his feet carving two deep furrows in the yellow sandstone of the city wall.

"Such a hard horn," he muttered under his breath, gently rotating his wrist to release the remaining force.

The Ink-Scaled Dragon was also suffering.

The pure Yang sword energy on the Yanhuang Sword invaded the body of the Ink Horn along the Ink Horn, causing it to let out a painful roar, and a few strands of dark green blood seeped from the root of the Ink Horn.

"hiss--!"

The Ink-Scaled Dragon was enraged.

It swung its tail violently, and the tail, covered with thick scales, swept across like a giant black whip with a whooshing sound.

Jiang Yi's eyes sharpened, and he lightly touched the city wall with his toes, leaping into the air to avoid the sweeping attack.

But the black-scaled dragon's tail suddenly changed direction in mid-air, chasing after it like a shadow, its speed so fast that it left a trail of afterimages in the air.

Jiang Yi had nowhere to avoid it, so he simply stopped dodging.

He forcefully twisted his body in mid-air, raising the Flame Emperor Sword above his head. A violent burst of fiery spiritual power condensed on the sword, and the crimson light on the sword changed from gentle to blazing, as if a small sun was rising in his hand.

"Nine Slashes of the Blazing Sun, Second Form - Burning Heaven!"

He swung his sword down.

This sword strike had no fancy variations; it was just a simple vertical slash, yet it carried an overbearing will to burn everything in its path.

The sword light drew a crimson arc in the air and collided fiercely with the sweeping dragon tail.

laugh--!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a slight cutting sound.

Where the sword flashed, the black-scaled dragon's tail, harder than refined steel, was severed at the root.

Dark green dragon blood gushed out like a fountain, spilling a pool of dark green blood on the city wall.

The dragon's blood fell to the ground, making a sizzling, corrosive sound, and eroded small pits into the yellow sandstone.

The Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon let out a shrill howl, its massive body twisting violently, its severed tail a bloody mess, and its ink-black blood raining down.

Its amber vertical pupils were filled with pain and rage. It suddenly turned its head and opened its mouth to spew out an even more violent torrent of venom.

Just then, a clear and melodious zither tune rang out in the night sky.

"Boom--!"

This zither music was completely different from Jiang Yi's violent sword strike; it was deep and resonant like the tolling of an ancient temple bell, and as melodious as a mountain stream.

The sound wave transformed into an invisible, intangible, moon-white blade of light, which fell straight down from the sky and accurately struck the open head of the Ink Scale Dragon.

The sound of the zither entered his mind, and the body of the Ink-Scaled Dragon suddenly stiffened.

The emotions in those amber vertical pupils froze for a moment, then quickly faded, turning deathly white.

Inside its head, its soul had been completely shattered by that sonic blade.

The massive body lost its support and plummeted straight down from the sky, crashing into the city wall with a deafening roar, sending debris flying everywhere. The Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon twitched a few times before finally becoming completely still.

Chen Jinshu withdrew her hand from the strings, her face slightly pale.

Shattering the soul of a Golden Core stage demon beast with a sonic blade may seem easy, but it actually consumes a great deal of energy. In particular, the demon soul of that Ink Scale Dragon was more solid than that of an ordinary demon beast, and she used almost 70% of her divine sense power.

"Senior, what skill!" Jiang Yi sheathed his sword, looking at the enormous dragon corpse at his feet, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

He stepped forward, squatted down, and reached out to wipe the still-warm dragon's body, his fingertips stained with dark green dragon blood.

The moment the dragon blood entered his hand, a pure and domineering spiritual power burrowed into his body through the pores of his fingertips, causing him to tremble slightly.

"This dragon blood..." Jiang Yi's eyes lit up, "Such concentrated spiritual energy!"

"Although the Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon is not a descendant of a true dragon, it does possess a trace of dragon blood within it. The spiritual power contained within its blood will greatly benefit your cultivation of fire-based sword techniques." Chen Jinshu's voice came from above, tinged with fatigue, yet still steady.

"Temper your body on the spot while the dragon blood is still wet."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi no longer hesitated.

He took off his upper robe, revealing his bare chest, and sat cross-legged beside the enormous dragon corpse.

He formed hand seals and activated the "Crimson Flame Sword Technique" to refine the dragon blood that clung to his body layer by layer.

The spiritual energy in the dragon's blood was as hot as flames, and it surged wildly as soon as it entered the meridians.

Jiang Yi's skin flushed an unnatural red, veins bulged, and he looked as if he were being burned by fire.

But he gritted his teeth and remained silent, letting the violent spiritual energy surge and temper within his body, widening and strengthening his meridians inch by inch.

About an incense stick later, Jiang Yi exhaled a long breath and opened his eyes.

The flush on his body had faded, replaced by a restrained glow, as if flames were flowing beneath his skin.

He clenched his fist, feeling the spiritual power within his body noticeably increase, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

"Peak of late Foundation Establishment stage." He muttered to himself, "Just one step away from touching the threshold of Golden Core."

Chen Jinshu jumped off the flying shuttle, landed on the city wall, and walked to the corpse of the black-scaled dragon.

Jiang Yi had already refined most of the dragon's blood, but the dragon's skin, bones, tendons, demon core, and the black horn on its head were all excellent materials for refining weapons.

With a flick of her dragon bone whip, she collected the dragon's corpse into her storage bag, intending to take it back to the valley for further processing.

"Thank you for your help, senior." Jiang Yi stood up and bowed to Chen Jinshu.

"No need to thank me," Chen Jinshu waved his hand.

"You severed the dragon's tail yourself; I merely delivered the final blow. If you hadn't used 'Burning Heaven' to cut off its tail and interrupt its attack, I wouldn't have been able to kill it so easily with one strike."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi revealed a rare smile: "I comprehended the 'Burning Heaven' technique the moment the dragon blood entered my body, and its power is 30% greater than before. It seems that this dragon blood is indeed a good thing."

"Next time, I'll collect some more essence blood from high-level demonic beasts to help you break through to the Golden Core stage," Chen Jinshu said calmly, turning to look at the still surging tide of demonic beasts outside the city walls.

"But for now, we have to finish this battle first."

Jiang Yi nodded emphatically, gripped the Flame Emperor Sword tightly, and his fighting spirit intensified.

The beast tide's offensive paused briefly after the death of the Ink-Scaled Flood Dragon.

The low-level demonic beasts seemed to be stunned by the death of the Ink Scaled Dragon, and their attacks became noticeably hesitant.

But before half a cup of tea could be brewed, a deep roar came from the horde of monsters, and they went berserk again, even more ferocious than before.

"Something's not right." Tie Yan climbed out of the crater in the middle of the city wall and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"There must be someone directing these monsters."

Chen Jinshu's expression hardened slightly, and he released his divine sense with all his might, probing towards the rear of the monster horde.

A moment later, her brows furrowed.

“Three miles behind, there is the aura of a demonic cultivator. He is in the late stage of the Golden Core realm, and his bloodthirsty aura is extremely strong.”

"Bloody Hand Demon!" Tie Yan's expression changed. "That demon who put a bounty on Jiang Yi?"

“It should be him.” Chen Jinshu’s tone turned serious. “He came here, probably not just to command the beast tide to attack the city.”

Tie Yan immediately understood what she meant: "He's here for Jiang Yi!"

Chen Jinshu didn't answer, but gently patted a communication jade talisman at his waist and transmitted his voice to Jiang Yi: "Be careful, the Blood Hand Demon might be nearby. His target is you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yi tightened his grip on his sword, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "His arrival is just in time."

"Don't be impulsive." Chen Jinshu's voice was calm and unwavering. "The Blood Hand Demon is a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, a whole major realm higher than you. If you fight him head-on, you are no match for him."

"So, what you mean, senior..."

"drag."

"He is most likely the one manipulating the beast tide. As long as we hold him back, he will lose his chance to fish in troubled waters once the beast tide recedes."

Jiang Yi took a deep breath, suppressed his fighting spirit, and nodded:

"This junior understands." (End of Chapter)