Chapter 270: The Golden Dragon’s Struggle – Raising the Sword to Ask the Heavens

Amidst those flowers of the other shore, he seemed to see the future. Unaware of how much time had passed, he slowly gathered back those illusory and cursed flowers and took out the stone leading to the divine realm. He murmured to himself, “The time has come. Eight tears have already been shed in fate. If only I can obtain Pangu’s tear, then… the curse of those flowers can be lifted. Seven thousand years—will all this suffering finally end?” Amidst endless sorrow and countless experiences, Liu Yi began to wonder if all the suffering would truly end. No matter what the future held, as long as the Heavenly Maiden could be revived, he would be happy.

Finally, Liu Yi stopped overthinking and threw the stone in his hand, opening the gate to the divine realm. Once again, he stepped onto the path of fate. The sword remained as lonely as ever, and he remained as alone. For thousands of years, he had lived in sorrow yet found happiness, in grief yet longed for something. Was he a Nirvana being, or Unspirit Wind? Perhaps it was Liu Yi himself… None of this mattered anymore. What mattered was that his love had never changed—whether in heaven or earth, in the human world or hell, the Heavenly Maiden was his only love.

A white light flashed past him, emitting a long-absent yet familiar scent. Liu Yi couldn’t open his eyes in that light. All he could sense was emptiness and nothingness. Time seemed to pass endlessly in this space, until finally, his feet touched solid ground, as if everything had come to a halt.

Slowly, Liu Yi opened his eyes. The surroundings made him pause for a moment. Beneath his feet were endless white clouds, as if floating in midair. Countless mountains floated around him, along with white palaces. The sun cast warm rays, and beautiful phoenixes circled in the light. Occasionally, graceful white cranes flew across the sky, emitting soft cries.

Liu Yi instinctively clenched the black long sword at his waist. He was very familiar with this scene. Indeed, this was the dwelling place of the gods. Everything appeared so peaceful and beautiful, but Liu Yi knew well that all the gods here would become his enemies.

As he observed, everything seemed calm. Liu Yi silently devised a plan. He had come here mainly to find Pangu, and seeking Pangu was to obtain his tear to help the Heavenly Maiden return to the divine realm and escape the cycle of suffering. If lucky, he might also capture the seventh divine dragon along the way.

But this was just his plan. His original intention was to find Pangu first. Based on his fragmented memories, Pangu should reside in the foremost Hall of the Divine Kings. However, recent news suggested that the supreme god of the divine realm had changed—no longer Pangu, but an envoy of the Great Sage. If this was true, then… Pangu would no longer be in the Hall of the Divine Kings. So where could he be?

As Liu Yi pondered, he slowly moved forward, knowing that no matter what he thought at the moment, he first had to enter the realm where the gods resided. The spacious door ahead was the entrance to that place. Just as he planned to go in and search for Pangu, something strange happened.

The warm sunlight in the sky disappeared, replaced by dark clouds accompanied by fierce storms. Soon, white snowflakes began to fall amidst the storm. Although such changing weather was somewhat unusual, it wasn’t truly extraordinary—after all, this was the divine realm. Liu Yi knew it was the home of the gods, where it was always spring-like, with sunlight that never set, no cold, and no dark clouds.

But now, hurricanes were blowing, dark clouds were gathering, and snowflakes were falling. An ominous premonition made Liu Yi stop in his tracks as he gripped his sword tightly. The white snowflakes grew heavier, and the bitter wind seemed to freeze the air around him, rendering everything within a few yards unclear. A misty fog also appeared.

At that moment, a long howl came from the sky before disappearing. Liu Yi was shocked—the sound was both strange and familiar. Was it… a divine dragon? Yes, it couldn’t have been emitted by a human. According to the seer, there should be a divine dragon in the divine realm, but Liu Yi hadn’t expected to encounter it right after arriving.

Unlike other spaces, the divine realm wasn’t large. Judging from the situation, it must be that the people of the divine realm knew he had arrived, which was why they sent out the divine dragon. After hearing its screeching cry, Liu Yi was first surprised, then delighted. If he could capture this dragon, his strength would increase further.

But why? Some other issue seemed to prompt Liu Yi to keep thinking. If the people of the divine realm knew he had arrived, why send out such a creature? Initially, Liu Yi thought that if they discovered him, Pangu might lead the gods to kill him. But now it seemed more complicated.

Soon, some ideas crossed Liu Yi’s mind. First, the people of the divine realm might not have noticed his arrival at all, and this dragon wasn’t under their control—it might just be a guardian. Second, the dragon’s power could be extremely strong. Third, something might have gone wrong in the divine realm.

As Liu Yi pondered, the screeching sound came again. Though he guessed it was a dragon, he hadn’t seen it yet. He felt both excited and worried. If it really was the seventh dragon, its power would be terrifyingly strong. In that case, he might indeed be in trouble…

The fog around him grew thicker, turning the once idyllic scene dark and gloomy. The bitter wind blew the snowflakes down rapidly. Liu Yi gripped his sword even tighter, ready to deal with whatever might happen. Just then, a golden light flashed and vanished a few yards ahead of him.

At the same time, Liu Yi felt joy in his heart. Indeed, though the yellow light vanished in just an instant, Liu Yi saw clearly that it was a dragon—similar to the several dragons he had tamed before. The only difference was that this one was golden, with a dazzling light emanating from its body, mixed with blue-violet lightning.

The moment Liu Yi saw the dragon, a roar erupted. At the same time, clouds and mist several feet ahead suddenly rose and gradually dispersed, revealing a golden dragon before his eyes. The golden dragon rose from the ground and soared into the air, then lowered its head to look at Liu Yi.

Violent winds surrounded the golden dragon, along with blue-violet lightning. A pair of blood-red eyes stared intently at Liu Yi’s body. Seeing the sudden appearance of the golden dragon, Liu Yi’s lips twitched slightly as he said, “Great, you’ve finally appeared.” As soon as he finished speaking, the golden dragon’s head snapped open, and it spat out a blue-white ice ball. Strangely, purple-red flames surrounded the blue-white ball. As the flames pulsed, white mist spread around it. As it left the dragon’s mouth, the blue-white ball, along with the purple-red flames, shot straight toward Liu Yi’s body.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Liu Yi didn’t react otherwise. As the blue-white ball approached, there was a loud “boom”—the sound of the ball colliding with the space beneath his feet and exploding. Purple-red flames instantly spread beneath Liu Yi’s feet, continuing to explode. As the ball exploded, Liu Yi’s body was flung backward, away from the purple flames.

But it didn’t stop there. Upon impact, the blue-white ice ball instantly shattered into eight white ice arrows, which curved in different directions and angles toward Liu Yi. A cold atmosphere filled the air, and it seemed as though everything in the path of the ice arrows had frozen.

Liu Yi didn’t need to think. Clearly, the seventh dragon possessed multiple powers—not only could it control wind and thunder, but also water and fire. It seemed very difficult to tame this divine dragon this time. As soon as his body hit the ground, he quickly elevated his mental technique, “Lanerfina Qing,” to its highest level—Dark Heart—concentrating his power throughout his body while reaching for his sword hilt with his right hand.

At that moment, the eight ice arrows seemed to sense Liu Yi’s movement, as if alive and aware of the threat. As Liu Yi reached for his sword, the arrows accelerated rapidly, moving like light and drawing a perfect arc before piercing straight into Liu Yi’s body.

In an instant, Liu Yi realized that the power of this divine dragon far exceeded his imagination. It seemed this dragon combined the powers of the previous six dragons. By the time he thought this, it was already too late—the eight ice arrows, carrying a chilling aura, mercilessly pierced through Liu Yi’s body.

As those ice arrows disappeared, eight wounds appeared on Liu Yi’s body. At the same time, these wounds spread outward from the center. A freezing aura instantly surrounded Liu Yi and continued to spread. In no time, his entire body was covered with a thick layer of ice, until eventually, he was frozen solid due to the cold. A dragon roar followed, and a golden dragon stirred up a violent wind, mixed with purple lightning, swirling endlessly in the sky. At that moment, a white figure appeared on the distant horizon. The figure was clad in a white cloak, with even the head hidden beneath it, making it impossible to see their face.

Soon after, a voice came from there, speaking to Liu Yi, “It’s been a long time, my Demon Lord.” Although Liu Yi’s entire body was frozen in that thick layer of ice, his consciousness remained active; his limbs were just unable to move as he was trapped. Liu Yi replied to that person with his spiritual sense, “Who are you?” The floating figure then continued, “That’s a good question. I am the new ruler of this divine realm.” Liu Yi pressed further, “What do you want?” The white figure floating in the air paused for a moment, seemingly thinking about something, before continuing, “I am someone who loves challenges very much. As the lord of the Demon Realm, you should understand the loneliness of being a master. So much time has passed, and I thought I had found an opponent. But why… why do you disappoint me so much?” Listening to the person’s words, Liu Yi seemed to understand something and said, “Your disappointment has nothing to do with me…” Before Liu Yi could finish speaking, that person’s voice came again, stopping him from continuing, “No, no, no… My Demon Lord, you’re wrong. You must know that if I’m disappointed, you will never be able to do what you want.” Hearing the words from that distant, floating figure, Liu Yi suddenly realized something and said, “What do you mean? I want to see Pangu…” The voice paused for a moment before saying, “My Demon Lord, you must know that I am now the ruler of the divine realm. You were once my hope to end loneliness, but you have disappointed me so much. With your current strength, you can’t even defeat the Golden Dragon—how can you compete with me?” Liu Yi’s entire body was frozen, unable to show any expression, as he replied with his spiritual sense, “When did I say I wanted to compete with you?” Hearing Liu Yi’s reply, the voice said again, “Yes, you didn’t say it, but… this is fate. The two swords of destiny must cross paths. But judging by your current strength, it seems I was wrong.” Listening to the person’s words, Liu Yi asked, “What about Pangu? I want to see Pangu.” The voice continued, “Pangu will not see you.” Liu Yi pressed further, “Why?” The floating figure replied, “It’s simple. You don’t have the qualifications. As long as I don’t agree, you will never see Pangu.” Liu Yi seemed to understand what the figure wanted to convey and asked directly, “What exactly do you want me to do so that you’ll let me see Pangu?” The figure replied, “It’s very simple, my Demon Lord. As long as you make me interested in you again, if you can defeat this Golden Dragon, then I can ask Pangu to meet with you.” Hearing the figure’s words, Liu Yi paused for a moment, thinking deeply about many things. Finally, he said, “Alright. I’ll defeat this Golden Dragon as you wish. I hope that by then you’ll keep your promise and let Pangu come out.”

The shadow seemed satisfied upon hearing Liu Yi’s words and burst into loud laughter. As the laughter faded, the shadow began to slowly disappear. The falling snow carried that person’s last words: “I’m very pleased with your performance. Go ahead—as long as you can defeat the golden dragon before you, I will keep my promise and bring Pangu to face you. Haha, I hope you won’t disappoint me again.” By the time those last words were spoken, the shadow had completely vanished.

When everything returned to its original state, a sharp dragon roar echoed throughout the space. The golden dragon rose into the air, its body surrounded by swirling hurricanes mixed with purple lightning. Its head snapped upward quickly, and as the roar grew louder, white lightning flashed in the sky. As the roar faded, several streaks of white lightning struck straight down at Liu Yi’s head.

Under normal circumstances, with Liu Yi’s cultivation level, even if he didn’t dodge, such lightning wouldn’t cause much harm to him. But now it was different—his body was frozen in ice. If struck by such lightning, his body would be shattered into countless pieces.

In an instant, everything happened at a speed beyond human sight. With a loud shout, amidst the flashing lightning, countless shards of ice flew everywhere. As the sound rang out, a black sword beam pierced through the sky and earth. Then came a “clang” as Liu Yi sheathed his sword. The white lightning appeared just as Liu Yi broke free from the ice. The black sword beam cut through the air, severing the falling lightning. As the lightning disappeared, Liu Yi sheathed his sword. The series of movements seemed complex and intricate, but they all took place in the blink of an eye.

Liu Yi slowly stood upright, his left hand still gripping the long sword at his waist, as if it had never left its sheath. Looking at the golden dragon circling in the distance, a smile appeared on Liu Yi’s face once again. He said coldly to himself, “No matter how powerful you are, you can’t stop me from ending the heavenly maiden’s suffering.” At these words, his eyes emitted a blood-red glow. The Power of Darkness filled his entire body with maximum intensity. At the same time, the dark clouds in the space began to gather slowly around Liu Yi’s body before piercing through it.

With his blood-red eyes fixed on the golden dragon, Liu Yi continued, “Since you like it, I’ll play along with you.” No one knew to whom Liu Yi was speaking, as there was only his solitary figure in that space. As he finished speaking, a black hurricane swept through his white hair.

Liu Yi slowly planted the black sword upright before him. At that moment, he turned his right hand from a fist into a palm, channeling the power of the Power of Darkness into the black sword. With a loud shout of “Transform,” the black air swirled like threads toward the center where his hand and sword met.

Following that were several dragon roars. As the sounds echoed, six divine dragons of different colors shot out from Liu Yi’s body and soared into the sky. After circling several times, they transformed into six beams of light that descended, heading straight for the black sword. Finally, the six beams of light began to circle around the sword’s body…

Liu Yi slowly tightened his grip on the sword. The black sword represented his sorrow, accompanied by endless pain. The Power of Darkness revived the six divine dragons and infused strength into the sword. His blood-red eyes seemed to convey his determination—the heavenly maiden would not suffer, for that love remained unwavering.