Chapter 221: Ironclad Support – The Divine Dragon of the Great Desert Appears

Liu Yi didn’t know why he was talking to a monster, but once the words were out, he could only watch how the monster reacted. Out of desperation, his voice was very loud. After Liu Yi finished speaking, the giant black monster seemed stunned, as if it had understood what he said.

At that moment, the grayish-white giant snake let out a loud cry, enduring the pain to open its massive mouth once again and bite at the black monster’s throat. But this time, the black monster didn’t foolishly wait to be bitten. The huge barbs on its right arm suddenly stood upright, and taking advantage of this, it quickly freed its right claw from the snake’s grip. Then, its iron-hard claw turned into a fist, which it used to punch at the snake’s open mouth.

With a “bang,” a loud impact sound was heard. The fist still struck the snake’s teeth, while its massive mouth froze mid-air. Its dark green eyes widened even more than usual, resembling a human’s expression of disbelief at what had happened.

Liu Yi was also puzzled—why were both monsters motionless? Just as he tried to figure out the answer, reality gave him one. The black monster quickly brought its fist back to its ugly mouth and blew hard, seemingly hitting something extremely hard. It was using the cool wind from its mouth to relieve the pain, looking quite comical.

As for the giant snake, it seemed to be in worse shape. With its mouth closed, its green eyes glowed intensely, followed by a crackling sound. Its stark white teeth fell to the ground, and in an instant, the snake became toothless, with green blood flowing from the corners of its mouth. The intense pain made it let out a pitiful cry.

The snake wouldn’t give up. Now injured, it wrapped itself even tighter, seemingly determined to strangle the black monster to death. The black monster also stopped treating its right arm. The barbs on its left arm were extremely sharp and quickly stood upright at its command. Although the snake’s body was incredibly tough, it was cut by those barbs.

Seizing this opportunity, the black monster stretched out its left arm as well. At that moment, the snake, in pain, flapped its wings violently, wrapping the black monster’s body in them and tightening its grip even more. Seeing this, Liu Yi thought, “No good—if this continues, that fool will definitely be strangled by the snake. But… I’m in trouble myself right now. Saving this guy will surely get me into trouble.” Liu Yi didn’t know why he wanted to save the monster—maybe it had helped him when that strange snake attacked him.

But things didn’t go as Liu Yi expected. Although most of the black monster’s body was covered by those fleshy wings, hiding the struggle inside, the strange snake kept letting out agonized cries. Liu Yi wondered, “What on earth is going on?”

Just as Liu Yi was about to get an answer, there was a tearing sound, and green liquid flew everywhere. The black giant beast was also freed from the embrace of those fleshy wings. What was even more astonishing was that its left claw and right claw were each holding half of the snake’s body, with green blood dripping down from the snake’s body. The upper half of the giant snake was completely motionless, seemingly dead.

The black giant beast casually flung the now-separated snake parts to the ground. Liu Yi thought to himself, “What incredible strength—it managed to break the snake’s body.” Although he hadn’t seen what happened, seeing the result, he could guess most of it. It turned out that when the strange snake wrapped itself around the black giant beast with its fleshy wings, its body became tighter, thinner, and more taut. Given the giant beast’s immense strength, it used both hands to grab half of the snake’s body and pulled hard in opposite directions.

The beast only wanted to buy itself a chance to breathe; by pulling apart, it would feel better. But it used too much force and ended up breaking the snake’s body. Thanks to this accident, the beast saved its life—otherwise, it would have been strangled by the snake in no time.

Watching this fierce battle, Liu Yi felt he had learned a lot. But after seeing the strange snake die, he suddenly realized he still had things to do. Looking at the sun above, it was already noon. If he didn’t hurry, he wouldn’t be able to return to Wulue City the next day. Besides, he still needed to find that “Scorpion Bird.”

Just as Liu Yi was about to turn around, he heard the black giant beast roar loudly, its voice shaking the heavens and earth. Liu Yi couldn’t help but look at the beast and thought, “Could it still want to attack me?” While pondering, the black giant beast’s body made crackling sounds. Listening carefully, Liu Yi felt those sounds resembled those of moving joints. At the same time those sounds came, something strange happened.

There was no longer any black giant beast in sight. In its place was a small black creature that looked like a monkey, but with upright ears and two horns on its head. It wasn’t quite a monkey. Liu Yi became interested in this little creature. It could grow as big as a mountain just now and now shrink to the size of four or five fists—truly amazing.

That little monkey-like creature quickly crawled into the upper half of the strange snake. Liu Yi didn’t know what it was doing. He slowly walked over and stood under the snake’s body, watching what would happen next. In the blink of an eye, the little monkey came out wobbling, holding a yellow light ball the size of an egg.

Seeing the little monkey’s funny behavior, Liu Yi blurted out, “So it’s just a little monkey.”

As soon as he said that, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the little monkey had jumped onto his shoulder and said in unskilled words, “You’re the monkey.”

Liu Yi looked around, thinking he must have heard wrong. But soon, he realized there was nothing around. The only one who could have spoken just now was the little monkey on his shoulder. But how was that possible? How could a monkey speak human language? Liu Yi turned to look at the little monkey on his shoulder with disbelief and asked, “Are you talking to me?”

“As long as one is determined to strive for self-improvement and constantly cultivates oneself, even foxes, cats, and dogs can become demons. Not to mention us. I’ve lived here for over a thousand years; it’s just that no one has ever talked to me,” the little monkey on Liu Yi’s shoulder explained in its unskilled speech.

Liu Yi shook his head, still in disbelief. “You really can talk.”

The little monkey fixed its red eyes on Liu Yi and then said with its ugly big mouth, “So what if I can talk? Just now, that ‘Silver-Scaled Serpent’ scratched my paw with its fangs. I guess I’m poisoned and won’t live much longer.”

Only then did Liu Yi notice that the little monkey’s right paw was slowly turning blue-black and swollen. Clearly, it had been hit by the snake’s fangs and was now poisoned. Liu Yi asked curiously, “What is the ‘Silver-Scaled Serpent’?”

“The ‘Silver-Scaled Serpent’? You don’t even know it? It’s a terrifying beast in the Great Desolation Mountains. I usually don’t admit its existence. Last night, that thing tried to harm you, so I helped you out. Who would have thought it would be so stubborn and refuse to leave no matter how hard I hit it?”

Liu Yi thought for a moment. So the little monkey had fought against the ‘Silver-Scaled Serpent’ to save him. He said, “You’re really kind-hearted, you little monkey.”

The little monkey seemed a bit angry. It growled and said in its unskilled speech, “I already said I’m not a monkey.”

Liu Yi, holding back a laugh at its ridiculous expression, asked, “Then what are you?”

The little monkey replied immediately, “I’m not an ‘thing’. I’m… I don’t even know what I am. Anyway, I’m not a monkey.”

Liu Yi nodded and looked at it, then said, “Just now, I saw you knock over so many trees without getting a single scratch. You’re really as tough as iron. How about I call you Tie Shi?”

The little monkey repeated the name Tie Shi and said, “Mm, it’s good to have a name. Then call me Tie Shi from now on. Here, take this.” With that, Tie Shi handed the egg-sized yellow light object to Liu Yi.

Liu Yi looked at it and asked, “What is this? Is it the inner core of that ‘Silver-Scaled Serpent’?”

Tie Shi shook his head. “The inner core is essential for cultivation, but since it’s dead now, its inner core has disappeared too. But its power hasn’t vanished. Its cultivation during its lifetime condensed into this True Essence Pill. If you humans eat this, your cultivation speed will increase several times over—more effective than ten years of cultivation.”

Liu Yi glanced at the yellow True Essence Pill but shook his head, thinking to himself, “I can’t eat this. My True Essence energy is already prone to turning hostile at any moment. If I eat it, my True Essence energy will become even more unstable. Won’t it be instantly consumed by the desire to kill?” With that thought, he handed the object back to Tie Shi.

Tie Shi looked at Liu Yi and asked, “Why not eat it?”

Liu Yi shook his head. “If I eat it, I’ll die. Here, it’s back to you.”

Tieshi looked at the yellow True Essence Pill and shook his head. “I won’t eat this. The True Essence Pills of divine beasts are different from those of our spiritual beasts. It’s useless for me. Keep it; eat it whenever you want.”

Liu Yi glanced at Tieshi. He found that this little creature spoke like a human yet sounded very worldly. Shaking his head, he casually put the True Essence Pill in his bosom. Suddenly, he said, “Oh no! I’ve been talking to you and forgotten my real task.”

Tieshi looked at Liu Yi and asked, “What task? You see I’m dying, yet you don’t spend more time talking to me.”

Liu Yi looked at Tieshi and found that this monkey-like creature that spoke human language was actually quite cute. After all, it had been poisoned to protect itself, and now, on its deathbed, it wanted to talk to him more. He wondered if this monkey was stupid or foolish. Without further thought, Liu Yi flipped his left hand and forced out a drop of black blood with his True Essence energy. It seeped into his black glove and, with a snap, entered Tieshi’s mouth and disappeared.

Tieshi felt sweetness in his throat, then nothing else. He quickly asked, “What did you give me to eat?”

Liu Yi replied, “My blood.”

Tieshi asked, “Why give me your blood?”

Liu Yi answered, “I heard that Blood of Fury can dispel any toxin. I don’t know if it can cure your poison, but I want to give it a try.”

Tieshi was an beast, and as such, he both loved and feared Blood of Fury, so he naturally knew its properties. After hearing Liu Yi’s words, he immediately raised his small black paw. After taking a look, he jumped onto Liu Yi’s shoulder and cheerfully said, “It’s gone! It’s gone! It’s okay now.” Although his words were unclear, Liu Yi understood that this fake monkey was safe now.

After dealing with these trivial matters, Liu Yi said, “I still have things to do. Let’s part ways here.”

Upon hearing this, Tieshi stopped jumping and sat back on Liu Yi’s shoulder. He asked, “What’s so urgent? Tell me, and see if I can help.” In just a short while, Tieshi’s speech had become fluent—seems having a big mouth has its advantages.

Liu Yi thought for a moment and thought to himself, “He’s an beast, and having lived here for so long, he must know something about this Great Desolation Mountain.” With that in mind, he said, “A friend is in danger, so I came here to lead some beasts to help.”

Tieshi nodded. Though he didn’t fully understand, he asked, “Then how do you plan to do that?”

Liu Yi looked at Tieshi and replied, “As you saw just now, I have Blood of Fury. I plan to use it to lure the beasts here to the place I need to go.”

Upon hearing this, Tieshi immediately stood up, shook his head, and said, “No. Blood of Fury will attract everything that shouldn’t be brought here.”

Liu Yi was shocked. What could possibly be attracted that shouldn’t? Was there something terrifying else in this Great Desolation Mountain? With that thought, he turned to Tieshi and asked, “What things shouldn’t be brought here?”

Tieshi quickly replied, “Dragons.”

Liu Yi suddenly realized it—yes, that was right. How could he have forgotten this? And then there was that ice dragon. If the Blood of Fury spread here, the ice dragon would definitely appear. If they really managed to lure that ice dragon out, it would be troublesome. Although the ice dragon wasn’t very powerful, its special abilities were stronger than any dragon Liu Yi had seen before. By then, it wouldn’t just be Ye Luoxiong who would suffer; likely the entire City of No Tears would freeze over.

After thinking this through, Liu Yi walked forward while talking to himself, “But if we can’t do this without the Blood of Fury, and I don’t have much time left with such a long distance to cover, what should I do?”

Tieshi also seemed stuck. Sitting on Liu Yi’s shoulder, with his two little black paws resting on his chin, he casually said, “If we want to use the Blood of Fury, we have to avoid luring that dragon out. But once we use it, the dragon will definitely appear. Hmm… it would be great if that dragon died.”

Hearing this, Liu Yi’s eyes lit up. He turned to Tieshi and said, “Then that’s what we’ll do. You and I will go together to subdue that ice dragon, and then use the Blood of Fury to lure those monsters.”

Upon hearing this, Tieshi’s red eyes blinked. Standing on Liu Yi’s shoulder, he tapped Liu Yi’s head with his little black paw and continued, “Hey, is your head strong enough? Before we even subdue that dragon, this guy might move away.” Although he had lived in the mountains for so long, his speech was still clear and straightforward.

Liu Yi shook his head, shaking off Tieshi’s tapping, and said, “As long as you help me, we’ll definitely succeed.” At this moment, Liu Yi was full of confidence. Even though he had run fast last night, with Tieshi’s help, he could find a chance to subdue the ice dragon. Moreover, Tieshi was extremely powerful after transforming, so going together would pose no danger at all.

Tieshi seemed to think about something for a moment but quickly made up his mind. Nodding, he said, “Okay.”

Liu Yi said, “Good. Then let’s go now. We don’t have much time. We must act quickly. I still need to find that ‘Scorpion Bird’.” As he walked fast ahead, Liu Yi thought of possible backup plans. Although he wasn’t sure if the Scorpion Bird was still there, he still had to look for it. Otherwise, with just him running on land, how could he possibly lure those monsters back to City of No Tears?

Tieshi sat on Liu Yi’s shoulder, leisurely swinging his feet, and said, “Why are you looking for the Scorpion Bird? Don’t tell me you plan to ride that clumsy thing to lure away all the divine and spiritual beasts here. I’m afraid before it even gets there, it’ll lose all its feathers.”

As he walked, Liu Yi asked, “Why do you say that?”

Tieshi replied, “The ‘Scorpion Bird’ is the lowest-grade beast. How could its speed compare to that of spiritual or divine beasts? I’m afraid before it even takes off, it’ll already be eaten by someone.”

Hearing this, Liu Yi thought to himself, “That’s right. The beasts here are so powerful. How could the Scorpion Bird’s speed be enough to lure them back? If we encounter something like the ‘Silver-Scaled Wire’, it might be bitten to death before it even takes off. Then, with a swarm of beasts attacking, there might not even be a feather left.”

As he continued walking, Liu Yi asked, “So what do you suggest we do?”

Tieshi shook his head and said, “You’re really stupid. With me around, one step of mine is enough to make them chase after me for half a day. With one jump of mine, they’ll probably lose sight of me.”

The problem in Liu Yi’s mind was solved so easily that he happily praised, “Monkey, you’re really amazing.” Hearing this, Tieshi grabbed Liu Yi’s ears with his tiny paws and roared, “I told you, I’m not a monkey. Call me Tieshi from now on.” Liu Yi shook his head, seemingly more resigned, but he didn’t say much and continued walking forward. Although he didn’t know how far he had run the previous night, relying on his speed and intuition, Liu Yi was sure that the ice dragon’s lair was still far away. Without saying another word, he channeled his vital energy and leaped forward in search. When he felt the distance was about right, he slowed down, carefully observing his surroundings while looking for the frozen lake. Sure enough, not long after, with the help of the sunlight, Liu Yi easily found the lake. The ancient trees surrounding the lake were still covered in ice. Though the sunlight was strong, it couldn’t penetrate the cold atmosphere here. The white ice on the lake surface, like pure crystals, reflected the sunlight, making the surroundings even brighter and more dazzling. Liu Yi then said to Tieshi on his shoulder, “This is it. That dragon has powerful special abilities. You need to be careful.” Tieshi jumped off Liu Yi’s shoulder, nodded, and said, “You too, be careful.” Then he quickly climbed up an ancient tree and waited for the next moment to arrive. The moment Tieshi left Liu Yi’s shoulder, gray clouds appeared in the sky. Just like at night, the clouds surrounded the sun without blocking it. At that moment, under the sunlight, the ice on the lake surface emitted an even more dazzling light. Liu Yi instinctively gripped the sword in his hand. He had learned from a past experience and knew clearly that this was a precursor to the ice dragon’s appearance. Indeed, under the sunlight, the ice on the lake became even brighter. As the ripples moved, the white ice began to gather slowly toward the center. At the same time, a cold aura spread out from the center, rushing toward Liu Yi. Having experienced this before, Liu Yi knew well how dangerous that cold aura was. He didn’t dare neglect it. His vital energy instantly condensed and flowed into the black hilt of the sword, using his own power to summon a fire dragon to empower the sword. Meanwhile, the purplish-red light dispelled the cold aura around Liu Yi, bringing him a sense of warmth…