"Qinglian?!"
Lin Li was taken aback!
As he gazed at the glowing lotus dancing alongside the dragon in the air, he found it strangely familiar.
Could it be...
"Celestial Maiden Qinglian?!"
Just as Lin Li made his deduction, the flood dragon let out another series of resounding roars.
Now that he was closer, Lin Li could also hear a fierce yet oddly pleasant female voice, "You beast! We've been fighting for three days and nights, and you must be at your limit by now, haha!"
"This time, once I kill you, I'll gain your dragon sinew, dragon blood, dragon flesh, dragon scales, and even your flood dragon's inner core! Reaching the later stage of the Core Formation realm is within my grasp!"
"Curse you!"
The flood dragon, no longer roaring, spoke in a low, rumbling voice, "You humans! I have cultivated in peace here for 3,000 years, evolving from a serpent to a flood dragon. In another 5,000 years, I might return to my ancestral form and transform into a true dragon, ascending to the immortal realm! Now, in the early Core Formation stage, I am bullied by you, a human cultivator at the mid-Core Formation stage. It infuriates me!"
"Hmph! Who told you to be such a treasure trove? Killing you will save me from 200 years of hard cultivation!"
"This voice... it's definitely Celestial Maiden Qinglian!"
Lin Li stared up at the battle between the celestial maiden and the flood dragon, locked in fierce combat, equally matched.
With a gathering of spiritual energy in his eyes, Lin Li was able to make out Celestial Maiden Qinglian's graceful figure in the sky.
Even in the heat of battle, her elegance remained undeniable.
During the fight, she frequently conjured a pill from thin air and consumed it.
As for the flood dragon, while demonic beasts are generally stronger than human cultivators—flood dragons, especially, being among the elite of demonic beasts—its early Core Formation stage was still enough to contend with Celestial Maiden Qinglian, who was in the mid-Core Formation stage.
However, after three days and nights of fighting, the flood dragon couldn't replenish its strength with pills as Qinglian could.
Finally, under the pressure of suppressed cultivation and the constant supply of pills, Celestial Maiden Qinglian summoned a precious bead that pierced through the flood dragon's body!
"Roar!!!"
The flood dragon let out a thunderous, earth-shaking roar of agony!
The vast underground space trembled violently from the sound.
Lin Li, caught within it, felt as though his internal organs had been shaken apart by the roar.
"Argh!"
Unable to hold it back, Lin Li spat out a mouthful of blood!
At the same time, his eardrums ruptured from the soundwaves, and his eyes, nose, mouth—all began to bleed.
Just from a single dragon's roar, Lin Li was bleeding from his seven orifices!
"Too powerful!"
Gritting his teeth, Lin Li quickly took out a small healing pill, swallowing five in one go, finally halting the damage to his internal organs.
Meanwhile, the flood dragon launched its final, desperate counterattack before death!
It expelled a dazzling golden demonic core from its mouth, which shot directly at Celestial Maiden Qinglian, striking her and causing her to cough up blood as she plummeted to the ground!
Boom!
She crashed into the ground, forming a massive crater.
At that moment, the flood dragon, too, dived from the air, charging straight toward her.
In response, a shower of lotus flowers appeared, blocking the flood dragon's advance.
Though severely weakened, Celestial Maiden Qinglian managed to crawl out of the crater.
And her escape route—was headed straight for Lin Li!
"!!"
Lin Li panicked. "The dragon's roar almost tore me apart! If this flood dragon rushes over, and I get caught in the battle's aftershocks, I'll be in mortal danger!"
He quickly stepped out from behind the rock where he had been hiding, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Celestial Maiden Qinglian, don't come this way!"
"??!"
Qinglian was also surprised when she saw Lin Li.
At this moment, the flood dragon had broken through the magical lotus defense and was closing in to finish her off.
Without hesitation, Qinglian produced another large healing pill, swallowed it, and her expression grew steely with resolve.
"I had planned to drag this out a little longer. But with a sect junior here unexpectedly, if I let this fight continue, Lin Li might die as collateral damage."
"Enough! I'll finish you off right here!"
She once again unleashed the precious bead!
It transformed into a lotus flower!
The lotus petals scattered, turning into beams of light that pierced through the flood dragon!
"Roar!!!"
A roar louder than ever before echoed through the space.
This time, it completely shattered Lin Li's internal organs!
Blood gushed from his seven orifices even more profusely!
In his mind, Lin Li lamented, "I'm finished! I never thought I'd end up getting killed by a dragon's roar!"
Just then...
That mysterious force, which had saved Lin Li twice before, appeared once again.
It drained all the spiritual energy from Lin Li's dantian, protecting his internal organs while healing his ruptured eardrums.
As the flood dragon entered its final death throes, it lashed out violently!
It expelled a pink-hued demonic core!
But as the light sword pierced through the demonic core...
The flood dragon let out one final, blood-curdling wail before its body went limp and crashed to the ground.
"Ugh!"
Celestial Maiden Qinglian spat out blood, falling to one knee.
"Finally... I killed it! If this had gone on any longer, I might have died as well!"
"This injury... I'll need at least three years of closed-door cultivation to recover."
"Still, it was worth it! With this gain, once I recover, refining this flood dragon will save me 200 years of cultivation, and I'll surely break through to the late Core Formation stage!"
As she muttered to herself, Celestial Maiden Qinglian turned to look back. "Lin Li has remarkable talent, but the impact from that dragon's roar is far beyond what any Qi Refining stage cultivator could endure. Alas, when I killed the dragon, I had exhausted all my strength and couldn't protect him from the aftermath... He's probably dead by now."
But when she turned around, she saw Lin Li, his face streaked with blood, walking toward her.
"??!"
Shocked, Celestial Maiden Qinglian exclaimed, "You're still alive?!"
"Celestial Maiden Qinglian, do I seem that easy to kill?" Lin Li replied with a bitter smile.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that the flood dragon's roar was immensely powerful. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have been injured by it. For you, at the peak of Qi Refining, surviving this is... impossible."
"I had some large healing pills on hand."
Naturally, Lin Li couldn't reveal the mysterious power within his body that had saved him for the third time. So, he offered a plausible excuse instead.
"Large healing pills!"
Celestial Maiden Qinglian nodded in realization. "Ah, I forgot. You received a reward of those at the sect's grand assembly..."
Just as the two were speaking...
The pink demonic core that Celestial Maiden Qinglian had shattered began emitting a pink mist.
The mist slowly spread, and both Qinglian and Lin Li inhaled it.
For some reason...
Lin Li suddenly felt that Celestial Maiden Qinglian, already beautiful, appeared even more stunning and enticing.
At the same time, Qinglian's breathing became erratic, her face gradually flushing red.
"Mmm..."
Celestial Maiden Qinglian's gaze grew hazy, and as she attempted to speak, what escaped her lips was a soft, seductive moan.
Hearing this, Lin Li felt his pulse race, and an uncontrollable urge surged within him.
"What... what's happening?!"
Qinglian exclaimed, her voice now laced with uncharacteristic sultriness, as if she were a shy maiden speaking to her lover.