Dance Of The Dragons
Chapter 313 : Succession To The Throne (8)

Chapter 313: Chapter 313 : Succession To The Throne (8)

A smirk hushed over the First Demon King’s face.

"Now that is rather interesting," he said. "Finally, a worthy opponent."

A series of cracking sounds was heard, and the First Demon King’s body underwent a drastic transformation.

The demon’s body began to convulse, his muscles spasming and twisting like snakes beneath his skin. His bones creaked and groaned as they stretched and deformed. His flesh bubbled and melted, revealing the pulsating veins and sinews beneath.

His eyes, once bright and intelligent, glazed over and turned a bloodshot red. His mouth twisted into a grotesque leer, revealing rows of jagged teeth. His long black hair turned silvery white, his scalp becoming raw and inflamed.

The two long horns on his forehead disappeared, replaced by six shorter horns that grew on top of his head.

His limbs elongated and fused together, forming powerful, clawed legs. His head swelled and transformed into a gaping maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. His skin turned a sickly shade of green. Thick, coarse fur sprouted out of the green skin before it hardened into a thick, impenetrable shell.

With an earsplitting roar into the sky, the ravenous beast completed its transformation.

Zhang Fengxi stared at the monstrous creature. The First Demon King’s true form was a Corrupted Taotie*. No wonder he remained undefeatable for hundreds of years. The other demon kings were practically food under his mighty legs.

Zhang Fengxi took a deep breath. He held Three Realm Spear in his hand and muttered under his breath, "Thousand-Legged Centipede, come forth."

A different aura oozed out of the spear, forming the same gigantic Centipede that Zhang Fengxi and Xie Jianyu defeated together in their youth.

All three beasts roared at each other, their bloodlust permeated the air like potent poison.

Zhang Fengxi, a general of the Heavenly Realm, raised his Three Realm Spear high above his head and charged at the corrupted Taotie with a battle cry that echoed through the heavens. The Corrupted Taotie, a ravenous beast with a hunger that could never be satiated, opened its gaping maw and charged ahead, its four sets of claws gleaming in the sunlight.

They met in the center of the battlefield, their weapons colliding with a deafening clang. Zhang Fengxi’s spear was a force to be reckoned with, but the Taotie’s claws were even more deadly.

Thankfully, Zhang Fengxi never expected to win with just brute force.

While the Crimson Judgment Spear Art’s fiery attacks rained down on his opponent like a merciless storm, the ice dragon unleashed a blizzard of icy shrapnel from the left flank, and the gigantic centipede spewed a venomous mist from the right.

The battlefield was a chaotic symphony of destruction, with the three elemental forces clashing together in a dazzling display of power.

The Corrupted Taotie was a powerful and agile creature, but even it was no match for the combined attacks of Zhang Fengxi, the ice dragon, and the gigantic centipede. No matter how fast it moved, how powerful its blows were, or how skillfully it dodged, it was impossible to avoid all of their attacks at the same time.

It was like fighting three opponents at once, each of them more powerful than the last. Zhang Fengxi’s spear pierced its flesh, the ice dragon’s shards lacerated its skin, and the gigantic centipede’s venom seeped into its wounds.

With every agonizing bellow that echoed from the Corrupted Taotie’s maw, Zhang Fengxi’s victory became more and more assured.

But then the general doubled over and spat a mouthful of blood.

He barely had enough spiritual power left to prevent himself from falling into the water beneath his feet for the second time.

Despite his cultivation level and the rigorous training he went through in order to reach this level, he was still very young.

His body had yet to mature in order to wield the Three Realm Spear with two of its three slots filled with two powerful spiritual cores.

The weapon in Zhang Fengxi’s hands was now almost as strong as its original form, the Realm Splitting Spear.

Unfortunately, Zhang Fengxi was far beneath Li Guang, the God of War and Destruction, the original owner of the Realm Splitting Spear.

Sensing Zhang Fengxi’s weakness, the Corrupted Taotie wasted no time. It lunged at him with lightning speed, its four sets of claws extended and aimed for his throat.

Zhang Fengxi raised his spear to block the Taotie’s claws, but his two hands and one weapon were no match for the beast’s razor-sharp talons.

For a fraction of a second, a flurry of images flashed before his eyes.

Xie Jianyu, the love of his life. His wife. His mate.

His two unborn children.

His aged parents.

"I am so sorry."

These were the last thoughts that raced through his mind before the Corrupted Taotie’s claws raked across his throat.

Or to be exact, almost raked across his throat.

A flash of azure light streaked through the air and enveloped Zhang Fengxi in a spherical barrier of shimmering ice.

The Corrupted Taotie, its claws embedded in the icy barrier surrounding Zhang Fengxi, recoiled in surprise. The frigid cold of the barrier had instantly frozen the tips of its claws, and ice crystals were rapidly forming around its talons.

The beast snarled in pain and fury, its eyes flashing with hatred as it tried to free itself. But the ice barrier held firm, its icy grip unbreakable. The Corrupted Taotie struggled and thrashed, but its efforts were futile.

Zhang Fengxi’s mind went numb when he saw the scene unfolding before him.

And then, to his greatest horror, he heard Xie Jianyu’s voice.

"Azure Dragon Annihilation, Fifth Form...!!!"

The Crown Prince flew across the sky with one hand clutching his pregnant belly and his other hand clasped around his sword, Winter Frost.

The sword aura that surrounded Winter Frost condensed into a thousand icy blades, each one sharp enough to cut through steel. The blades shot forward in a whirlwind of ice, stabbing at the Corrupted Taotie from all sides.

Practically chained to the ice barrier that extended between him and Zhang Fengxi, the beast was unable to avoid the attack at all...

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Author’s note :

*Taotie is one of the Four Evil Creatures in ancient Chinese mythology. It is often depicted as a gluttonous beast with endless appetite, thus a lot of illustrations show him with a huge, gaping mouth and two rows of sharp teeth.