441: Chapter 341 441: Chapter 341 As the seal loosened more and more, he felt he was about to walk out of this place.
The nightly howls were not cries of physical pain.
Perhaps it was a psychological effect, intended to draw attention, to lure the curious.
It afforded him something to eat and gave him a tool to vent his emotions, and there was a greater chance he would be rescued.
After being trapped here for myriad years, suppressed for far too long, he no longer knew what the outside world was like.
In the past, when he was sealed here, he could not control the mountains within hundreds of miles.
Later, as the seal gradually weakened, he gained control over these mountains.
Out of his distorted heart, those who stayed overnight on the mountain were brought to a cave to accompany him in death.
He did not eat those people; rather, they died of sheer fright, falling from such high caves.
If they did not die, they would become disabled.
To these ordinary people, death was just death.
However, later on, due to his fearful cries, no one dared to appear on the mountain at night.
The Shadow felt even lonelier.
Then, he thought of a method: during the day, he would create illusions of peach trees to attract many monkeys to pick fruit on the mountain.
At that moment, without any howls from the Shadow, the monkeys weren’t scared away.
Day by day, year by year, some cultivators flying high above noticed that this place did not abound in spiritual energy.
Enough to make those cultivators curious to stay there, the Shadow wanted to body snatch someone but couldn’t find anyone.
He was not willing to remain in a monkey-like body, not fully human nor ghost.
Eryao was locked in a fierce battle with its opponent, unable to determine the winner for a while, and it got impatient and started cursing at Green Ox:
“Green Ox, you are such trash.
You can’t even handle a vine whip, dilly-dallying.
When will you ever finish the job?”
Green Ox was also anxious, but the vine whip was just too tricky, endlessly spawning offspring vines.
It could not subdue them right away to carry Eryao to the cave’s entrance.
The vine whip, which seemed irritated at that moment, was originally bare and leafless.
Although it had sprouted many vines, its actions were somewhat simplistic and no trouble for the Ox.
Thus in its anger, the originally bare vines grew many thick thorns.
These thorns, glimmering with a green sheen, emitted a faint glisten and a stench.
“Jiang Tang, the vine whip is poisonous.”
Tang Yanhong, a girl from a noble clan skilled with poison, realized at a glance that the vine whip was poisonous.
Everyone guessed from the smell emitted by the vines that they carried intense poison.
The girls also shared their opinions one after another; they were quite fond of the two pets on the plank road, Jiang Tang’s possessions, which would belong to one of them in the future.
Perhaps they would become a pet for all of them.
The girls already regarded Jiang Tang as part of their own, and anything on him as their personal belongings.
“Well, this won’t be difficult for them…”
Jiang Tang wasn’t aware of what spells Green Ox could use, but he had seen what Eryao was capable of.
This pet, like a Flood Dragon, was naturally immune to poison.
At that moment, without showing his hand, he was just letting Green Ox stretch his limbs.
When it was his turn to take action, the vine whip was no match for him.
After all, Eryao was an Ancient Divine Beast, and though the vine whip had grown over thousands of years and had boundless mana, it also had the vulnerabilities inherent to plants.
Jiang Tang didn’t know much about plants, only that all things possess a spirit, and there’s mutual generation and inhibition.
The vine whip needed the Essence of the Sun and Moon and also required water.
Therefore, Eryao just had to exploit the vine’s weaknesses, either by drying it up or cutting off its water source, or by striking it with a Thunderstrike or something similar.
Jiang Tang, as the master, thought it through, and Eryao immediately executed it.
When Green Ox saw the toxic vines and was dumbfounded, Eryao leaped into the sky.
Its small, silvery body grew immense as it soared high.
People witnessed a marvelous sight as the small, silver Flood Dragon, which had just been like a kitten, grew so massive.
Just moments before, the sky adorned with stars and the moon began to flash with lightning at the waving of the paws of this huge silver dragon, signaling an approaching storm.
Those flying high in the sky were dumbstruck, realizing that this pet could summon winds and rain.
Indeed, the Flood Dragon, just like a true Celestial Dragon, had the spell to call winds and command the rain.
Dark clouds from the sky drifted over, and amidst the flashing lightning and rumbling thunder, the arrows did not fall.
They hung in the sky like a building, unaffected by the storm.
The Flying Treasure automatically defended against rain and all external factors; thus, the changing weather didn’t affect it, and those within were unaffected as well.
When Green Ox saw its companion displaying its prowess and retreated from the battle position, it knew that if it stayed, it would surely be turned to ash by Eryao’s thunder and lightning.
As Eryao unleashed lightning and thunder, its dragon claws moved, and a pillar-sized lightning bolt struck down on the Vine Whip.
A tremendous booming sound erupted in midair, and the Vine Whip recognized the danger.
Its previously aggressive and menacing manner changed immediately upon encountering the lightning, and it burrowed into the cave mouth, covering itself with soil to protect the entrance.
The Vine Whip’s submission didn’t mean Eryao would let it off easily.
The initial display of thunder and lightning had merely been a warning to intimidate the Vine Whip, and of course, more moves followed.
“I’ll show you for daring to block my path, for daring to spit poison at me.
It’s too late to play the grandson now,” Eryao said with a crackling voice, angered by the Vine Whip’s previous arrogance and determined to teach it a lesson.
“Jiang Tang, this dragon is so adorable, look at its cute demeanor!
Where did you find it?” Xuanyuan Mengting’s eyes were fixated on Eryao, finding the dragon utterly charming.
The other eight girls also chimed in with their thoughts.
Many girls adore pets, especially those who keep insects and venoms as their companions.
Tang Yanhong and Dugu Yan’er watched the imposing Flood Dragon with bright eyes, clearly impressed with its prowess.
Jiang Tang’s lips curled into a slight smile; he would never reveal how he came by his pet.
It was a secret shared between him and Sister Yan; moreover, the origins and functions of his pet were not something to be disclosed to many.
“Jiang Tang, do you have any other Magical Treasures that you haven’t used yet?” asked the Dugu brothers, eyes gleaming as they observed the Flood Dragon.
With such a pet by their side, they imagined they wouldn’t fear being bullied anywhere they went.
Having such a pet to clear the way must make everything so much more enjoyable!
They all knew that such pets were not given away to just anyone, except if the person were a fool; powerful pets were likely to have been contracted.
As Eryao went about its task, its ears also caught the owner and the people around discussing.
Hearing them say it was powerful made its heart swell with pride.
Internally sneering, it thought its abilities were beyond comparison to that ailing Green Ox.
At that moment, the clumsy Green Ox could only watch from the side, utterly useless in lending a hand when Eryao took action.
Eryao had previously used Thunderstrike, but now it hurled one fireball after another at the very same cave mouth, igniting the weeds there.
Wherever the fireballs landed, the soil blackened.
The Vine Whip, previously afraid of lightning, now sought refuge from the fireballs and thick smoke by burrowing deeper into the cave mouth.
This fire, akin to an elemental flame, was feared not just by the Vine Whip but also by the Shadow that was sealed within.
“Ah, what’s going on?
Is the Old Dragon here?
Are you trying to burn me to death?
Just wait until I get out; I’ll wipe out this Old Dragon!” cried out the Vine Whip, afraid of the fireballs raining down and crashing near it, retracting toward its main body.
The Vine Whip, which could once extend endlessly from the cave mouth, for the first time felt overwhelmed, and produced one green water ball after another, hoping they would extinguish the fireballs.
The Shadow, resembling a monkey and having already admitted to being one, had its vision blurred by the smoke and fire, unable to clearly see the Flood Dragon launching fireballs at the cave mouth.
The monkey’s threatening voice carried little menace as it was immobile, its eyes irritated by the smoke, leaving it with only its mouth to speak, which was now choked by the smoke.
While Eryao was showcasing its abilities, it took notice of the little monkey’s threats.
It realized the monkey was sealed and wondered what terrible acts it must have committed to warrant such containment.
The spell used to seal the monkey was no ordinary magic; it was indeed the work of a Daoist spell—no, the emanation of golden light from the seal indicated it was the work of a Buddhist Seal.