260: Chapter 260 Master Chengye Displays His Power, An Ominous Premonition!

However, a few years of stability did not mean a complete cessation of conflict. In fact, over these three years, minor and major conflicts had never ceased; they were simply kept under the level of Foundation Establishment.

There was no outbreak of Golden Core level confrontations, and even at the Foundation Establishment level, deaths and casualties were rare.

Sun Chengzhu had a clear calculation regarding the current situation.

As long as the Poison Flood Dragon King did not move, he would not take the initiative to poke the hornet's nest. The longer the time dragged on, the more favorable it was for White Cloud Temple.

The Human Race Cultivators could continuously draw resources from Ming Prefecture, and their supply lines were uninterrupted—something the Poison Flood Dragon King could not achieve.

No matter how strong the Dragon Python Clan was, they were ultimately trapped beasts.

Finally, at the end of this year, over a large river in the Southern Region, the second Golden Core battle since the development of the Evil Water Marsh erupted.

The cause was trivial.

A team of White Cloud Temple Foundation Establishment Cultivators had gone deep into the border of the Southern Region to collect Spiritual Plants when they were surrounded and attacked by lurking water flood dragons.

This resulted in four deaths and two injuries—the most severe casualties in recent years.

The very day the news reached Fengshui City, Sun Chengzhu flew southward.

He traveled south alone on his sword!

With thirty-six Flying Swords circling his body, the dark golden Sword Qi carved a long rainbow across the water surface, rushing straight toward the Southern Region water system!

His target was clear: it was the Red-scaled Flood Dragon whose tail tip had been sliced off by Shi Yin back then. Now that the bastard had recovered from his injuries, his courage had grown as well.

The situation had been stable and improving, yet this bastard insisted on looking for trouble.

Upon arriving above a shallow shoal, Sun Chengzhu didn't say a word before all thirty-six Flying Swords plunged into the water.

The Sword Qi pierced through the river abyss, churning the mud and sand into chaos.

The Red-scaled Flood Dragon was forced out of its lair, roaring as it charged onto the water surface. The massive flood dragon bellowed and roared, pouncing toward Sun Chengzhu!

Two Golden Core level existences erupted into a great battle at the border of the Southern Region.

Sun Chengzhu was a Sword Cultivator and was not skilled in water combat.

But the Red-scaled Flood Dragon didn't fare any better. Although its strength was not weak, Sun Chengzhu was, after all, a Sword Cultivator; the two were evenly matched.

However, relying on his fierce sword techniques, Sun Chengzhu moved his thirty-six natal Flying Swords at will, instantly setting up a sword formation!

With supreme lethality, he forcibly severed half of the Red-scaled Flood Dragon's body.

In the end, the Red-scaled Flood Dragon was covered in wounds and its Origin was damaged; it ultimately escaped the blockade of the sword formation at the cost of heavy injuries.

Sun Chengzhu was also injured in this battle; his Physical Body was nearly shattered by a tail swipe from the flood dragon.

Sun Chengzhu didn't gain much of an advantage.

But he ultimately won. Fighting a level-five flood dragon alone and beating it into a desperate flight—this achievement was quite remarkable!

After the news reached Fengshui City, the Cultivators who had been on edge all those days finally set their hearts at ease.

It turned out that behind them, there was more than just Old Ancestor Shi Jian.

The sharp sword that was Immortal Master Chengye was equally sharp, and his reputation spread far and wide, causing many Cultivators to take note.

After this battle, the Southern Region obviously restrained itself quite a bit.

The Red-scaled Flood Dragon never appeared near the border again, and even the Foundation Establishment water flood dragons under its command retreated a significant distance.

But everyone knew that this was merely the calm before the storm.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Jian had been in seclusion for nearly ten years.

He had digested most of the essence from the Bee Queen's remains. Although his cultivation had not broken through to the Late Stage of Golden Core, he was already on the threshold...

All that was missing was an opportunity.

And this opportunity might just lie with that Poison Flood Dragon in the Southern Region.

A level-seven Yao General's Yao Core...

If he could obtain it, it would be the final piece of the puzzle to break through the Bottleneck.

Not long after, Shi Jian came out of seclusion.

On this day, the temperature around Fengshui Lake rose by three degrees. A thin layer of mist rose from the lake surface, and even the Spirit Beasts in the lake sank to the bottom, not daring to breathe loudly.

Golden Crocodile lay in its own water territory, casting a sidelong glance with its vertical pupils toward the direction of the lake island in the west.

That bear's aura was deeper and more restrained than it had been a few years ago, yet it possessed an extra layer of indescribable sharpness.

It was like a sheathed blade; although the edge was invisible, that sense of oppression could be felt even across dozens of miles of water.

"It has become stronger again."

Golden Crocodile snorted, rested its head back on its claws, and closed its eyes, ignoring it.

It was already used to it.

The longer it spent with this bear, the more it felt that its own four hundred and seventy years had been lived in vain. The more it knew about Shi Jian's past, the more it realized what a piece of trash it was.

One had to know that Yao were not like the Human Race; Shi Jian was not even three hundred years old yet, and he was already at a level capable of rivaling a level-seven Yao General.

This left it behind by several streets, and that was not even counting all those messy trump cards.

The old crocodile became more annoyed the more it thought about it.

Afterward, it stopped thinking about it. In the future, it would just honestly be a strong and stupid crocodile thug. The future of the Yao Race...

Still depended on such a Prodigy as Shi Jian, who was rarely seen in the Yao Race in thousands of years!

After Shi Jian came out of seclusion, he was in no hurry to trouble the Poison Flood Dragon King.

Upon learning that Shi Pan had achieved a Breakthrough to Golden Core, he specifically returned to White Cloud Temple to visit Panshi Peak and see Shi Pan.

There was no firelight on Panshi Peak; the entire mountain was shrouded in a Restriction, and even the Spiritual Qi fluctuations were completely concealed.

If not for Shi Jian's Divine Sense being able to penetrate the Restriction, he might not have been able to find where Shi Pan was hiding.

"Come out. Stop pretending."

Shi Jian's voice passed through the Restriction and into the depths of the mountain.

A moment later, a crack opened in the rock face halfway up Panshi Peak, and a giant brown bear crawled out. Its size was more than a circle larger than in Shi Jian's memory.

It was Shi Pan.

His Golden Core aura was extremely well-restrained; if Shi Jian hadn't deliberately sensed it, he wouldn't have been able to detect it at all, as if he had merged with the mountain rocks.

"Old Ancestor, you are back."

Shi Pan lowered his head, his voice still in that muffled tone.

Shi Jian circled him, looking him up and down.

"The aura is not bad; the Golden Core is solid. It seems you haven't been lazy these past few years."

"I wouldn't dare."

Shi Jian nodded, feeling a bit more gratified. Of the three bears he had watched grow up, two were now Golden Core level.

He was deeply gratified; he had experienced the difficulty of Core Formation himself.

To have two succeed was already beyond expectations.

"I have returned this time to discuss something with you."

The two giant bears walked side by side, strolling on the summit of Panshi Peak. The moonlight shone on them, one white and one yellow, particularly striking.

Just like two hundred years ago, it was as if a pair of father and son were truly spending time together.

"In the Southern Region of the Evil Water Marsh, there is still a level-seven Poison Flood Dragon that has not been dealt with. I intend to take action within the next year or two."

"Does the Old Ancestor want me to assist in the battle?"

"No, you stay in the Sect."

"You have done well. The news of your Breakthrough has not spread, and with Daoist Yun Du deliberately covering it up and releasing false information, as long as you don't expose yourself, it won't be confirmed."

Shi Pan didn't speak, waiting for what followed.

Afterward, Shi Jian pondered for a moment before speaking slowly:

"I do not know why, but I have felt restless these past few days. I keep feeling that something big is going to happen, yet I cannot find the reason..."

Shi Pan frowned and was silent for a few breaths.

"Does the Old Ancestor think someone will make a move?"

"Currently, the Shangqing Sect has internal factors with Shi Yin, and it has even actively submitted to Shangqing, serving as its guardian Spirit Beast. Shangqing has no reason to take action against us..."

"And White Cloud Temple is currently powerful. On the surface, there are Daoist Yun Du and Chengzhu, and with you, Old Ancestor, sitting in command, the situation is excellent."

"With the internal situation cleared, no one should easily make a move against White Cloud Temple..."

"Could it be from the outside?"

Hearing this, Shi Jian was lost in thought. In the end, he couldn't figure out the reason and could only sigh slightly, leaving it to fate...