The Fire Drake No Longer Pays Attention to a Small Fry Like Su Ji

Clang!

Su Ji’s spear continued chiseling at the rocky wall.

A few sparks flew, leaving only a faint white scratch.

After a few half-hearted thrusts, Su Ji was already panting heavily, his spiritual energy nearly depleted.

He turned toward Gu Ranran’s direction and forced out a smile uglier than tears.

"Saintess, I’m afraid I can’t keep going."

The disciples of the Joyful Union Sect behind Gu Ranran wore undisguised contempt on their faces.

A mere Qi Refining trash—what did he expect?

Gu Ranran remained as cold and detached as ever. "Continue."

"Yes, yes!"

Su Ji fell silent and resumed his futile chiseling.

Amidst the gathering tension, a sudden change erupted!

Splash—!

The nearly unnoticed underground river exploded as a scorching, air-distorting streak of light burst from the water.

Carrying an overwhelming aura, it shot straight toward Su Ji’s back!

Too fast!

So fast that Gu Ranran’s pupils had barely constricted before the light had already crossed a hundred meters.

In her eyes, this Qi Refining trash was as good as dead.

Yet, in the split second before the light could pierce through Su Ji’s body—

His seemingly clumsy form suddenly snatched a small, nearly loosened piece of [Dragon’s Saliva Stone] and tucked it into his robes. Then, with a movement impossible for a Qi Refining cultivator, he sidestepped half a foot to the left.

His spear flicked in his hand as he executed a flawless backward thrust—graceful, effortless.

Only for…

Only for the spear to shatter and send him flying.

Boom!

The scorching light devoured the 'Gleaming Spear' whole.

Su Ji didn’t resist the terrifying recoil.

Instead, he let himself be flung backward.

The flames barely grazed the edge of his robes.

He could feel his hair curling from the heat.

Then, the fiery light slammed into the rock wall he had been chiseling.

The previously unyielding stone melted like tofu under its force, leaving behind a bottomless hole.

The edges of the crater glowed red, wisps of smoke curling upward.

Still midair, Su Ji glanced toward his attacker, heart pounding.

From the dark river, a massive head slowly rose, churning the water into towering waves.

A colossal beast, its body covered in crimson scales, a small protrusion on its head, and four stubby claws on its belly.

Its eyes burned with savage flames.

A flood dragon?!

Su Ji suddenly remembered.

The vision he had seen in [Heaven’s Gaze] had been set in a sea of magma.

So this was the culprit?

Time to go.

Though Su Ji couldn’t yet fly on a sword, his Qi Refining ninth-layer cultivation was close to the threshold.

A burst of spiritual energy propelled him further through the air.

When he landed, he rolled clumsily across the ground, playing the part of a helpless, battered weakling.

He quite literally rolled out of Gu Ranran and the flood dragon’s sight.

Meanwhile, the Joyful Union Sect’s attention was fully captured by the beast.

No one cared whether Su Ji lived or died.

"Hmm…?"

Gu Ranran glanced at her Heavenly Mandate.

[Heavenly Mandate: Myriad Illusions (False)]

[Rank: Purple]

[Effect: You are one of the incarnations of a certain existence, possessing cultivation talent far beyond ordinary individuals. But the price… Struggle with all your might! One day, you will either devour ‘it’ or be devoured.]

Her position as the Joyful Union Sect’s Saintess was partly a desperate gamble—if they wanted to devour her? Fine, she’d offer this incarnation to tens of thousands as their "companion in the Dao." It was, after all, a quick path to power.

But this mandate wasn’t today’s focus.

The real star was the other mandate she had obtained upon reaching Foundation Establishment.

[Heavenly Mandate: Divination of Fate]

[Rank: Orange]

[Effect: Once every three months, you may divine a 'world-shaking opportunity.' The divination will always contain minor errors but never major ones.]

[Current Divination: The Phoenix Rest Gorge’s true name is the Slumbering Dragon’s Den. A true dragon sleeps within, where you may obtain the materials to forge a Ninth-Grade Golden Core—'Dragon’s Saliva Stone.']

So…

Had her mandate miscalculated again?

Sigh.

An orange-rank mandate, after all.

To expect it to perfectly unravel the heavens’ secrets was asking too much.

A flood dragon and a true dragon…

The difference was vast.

But no matter.

As long as the Dragon’s Saliva Stone was real, it didn’t matter whether a dragon or a flood dragon slumbered here.

"ROAR—!"

The flood dragon’s deafening bellow shook the entire cavern, sending rocks tumbling from the ceiling.

Its fiery eyes locked onto Su Ji.

A puny human, daring to covet its treasure?

This was its key to ascension!

Then it saw Su Ji’s scrambling, stumbling retreat…

The magma brewing in its throat paused.

Those savage eyes slowly turned toward Gu Ranran.

The flood dragon was no fool.

Hah.

Such crude, exaggerated acting!

Trying to lure it away from the stone?

Not a chance!

If it chased Su Ji, wouldn’t these people steal all the [Dragon’s Saliva Stone]?

Ignoring the insignificant Su Ji, the flood dragon unleashed the molten fireball it had been gathering in its throat—straight at Gu Ranran and her disciples!

The fireball streaked like a falling meteor, its tail of flames scorching the air with crackling fury.

"Formation!"

Gu Ranran’s icy composure shattered as she barked the order.

If they wanted the [Dragon’s Saliva Stone], they’d have to walk over this flood dragon’s corpse.

But so be it.

A flood dragon’s body was a trove of treasures itself.

Her hands flew through a series of seals, and the twenty Joyful Union Sect disciples instantly shifted positions, forming a defensive array.

A massive shield of spiritual energy materialized before them.

BOOM—!

The fireball crashed into the shield.

The cavern trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

The shield shuddered violently, spiderweb cracks spreading across its surface—but it held.

Still, the impact sent the Joyful Union Sect disciples staggering back. Several of the weaker ones coughed up blood.

Gu Ranran’s expression darkened. "A Golden Core beast!"

Enraged by its failed strike, the flood dragon grew even more ferocious.

Its enormous body surged from the river, water cascading around it—only to sizzle into steam upon hitting the ground.

Its massive tail lashed out like a steel whip, carrying enough force to shatter stone.

"Scatter!"

Gu Ranran’s command came just in time.

The disciples barely dodged as the tail cratered the ground where they had stood, debris flying.

Chaos erupted.

But the flood dragon’s assault was relentless, leaving no room for recovery.

The Joyful Union Sect’s formation, though intricate, began to crumble under the overwhelming force.

"Gah—!"

A female disciple failed to evade in time. The tail struck her, sending her crashing into the wall like a broken puppet. Blood sprayed from her lips—her fate sealed.

The situation grew grimmer by the second.

Su Ji hid in the shadows, watching with great relish.

The only thing he regretted was not having any spirit fruits in hand to munch on with satisfying crunches.