CHAPTER 20: WIND DRAGON

The voice from earlier called out again, "You're finally here, come help me."

Lu Chen responded, "Who are you? Where are you?"

"Look up. You'll see a dragon. That's me. I am Wind Dragon. I can't control myself anymore, but I sense a familiar aura from you. I need your help."

The voice fluctuated between loud and soft, but Lu Chen could feel its urgency clearly.

He shouted, "How can I help you?"

Wind Dragon's voice was growing weak. "Do you see the sword stuck in my head? I need you to pull it out. That sword has been controlling me for a long time. I can't control the power of the wind anymore, and that's why this valley is in such a state."

"You must hurry. I don't know how much longer I can hold on. If I completely lose control, this entire secret realm will be destroyed."

Lu Chen explained, "My cultivation level is too low. I'm only at the Qi Absorption Realm; I can't reach you."

"Believe in yourself. I can sense your bloodline. Wind belongs to the wood element. Release the power of your original blood. The wind won't harm you."[1]

Lu Chen took in the dragon's words, then channeled his spirit qi to stir his blood. It surged through him, boiling with intensity. Deep within him, the Green Sovereign Divine Tree began to grow rapidly. Branches stretched out into the surrounding space, forming a barrier to shield him from the storm.

Wind Dragon noticed the vines weaving around Lu Chen. "Try sending those into this area. They'll be safe."

Lu Chen nodded slightly. "I'll give it a try."

At his command, thin vines sprouted from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, slowly extending toward the plaza.

Rather than being shredded by the wind, the vines absorbed the wind energy. Just as before with other elemental forces, the tree now began to assimilate the wind element. Bit by bit, wind and lightning intertwined, growing stronger together.

Lu Chen watched as the tree gained yet another attribute. The howling winds in the plaza no longer affected the vines.

Stepping out of the cave, he relied on the tree's branches for support and forced himself forward against the gale.

The moment he entered the plaza, the dense wind elemental energy rushed toward him. The wind energy inside his body began accumulating at an incredible pace.

Within the Heavenly Pool, a windstorm laced with lightning swept through the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, converging at its crown where the energy gathered and churned like a brewing tempest.

The tree now held the attributes of Water, Fire, Wind, and Lightning. As it absorbed spirit qi from the Heavenly Pool, it continued to convert it into spirit liquid. Droplets trickled from its branches into the pit below.

Each elemental force now occupied its proper region. Wind and lightning, both wood-aligned, resided in the east and southeast; the Yin Ocean Pearl, representing water, sat in the north, while the Yang Ocean Pearl, symbolizing fire, rested in the south.

Lu Chen looked up at Wind Dragon. "What do I do now?"

"I'll lower my head. Climb onto my back, then make your way up to my head and pull the sword out."

"That's all?"

"That's all. But I don't know what might happen once you do. Be careful."

"Understood. I'll be careful. Go ahead."

Wind Dragon lowered his head. Lu Chen climbed onto the dragon's body and carefully made his way to the top of his head. He warned, "I'm going to start now. Brace yourself."

He grabbed the hilt of the greatsword with both hands and pulled with all his strength. But despite his effort, the sword didn't budge an inch.

"Roar!"

Wind Dragon suddenly let out a thunderous roar. His eyes turned crimson as he soared upward, carrying Lu Chen high into the air. The entire secret realm could see him.

Elsewhere in the realm, the Jun Clan had regrouped and were combing the area while awaiting Lu Chen's arrival.

Jun Laoye spotted the dragon in the sky and shouted, "Second Uncle, look! What is that? A dragon-shaped creature just flew into the sky!"

Jun Wudi responded, "Don't get distracted. The Green Emperor's secret realm is bound to have powerful beasts guarding it. All we need is to find the Yuanyang Heaven-Union Herb. We shouldn't stay here for too long. I fear disturbing whatever lies deeper within the realm."

Just then, he coughed up blood.

The people from the Heavenly Mandate Hall quickly gathered around him. They were all men Jun Wudi had brought from the Jun Clan specifically to search for the Green Emperor's secret realm in the Jianghai Region.

Jun Laoye gently rubbed Jun Wudi's back and said, "Second Uncle, is your illness getting worse? Please, hold on a little longer. Once we find the herb, we'll cure you. And once you break into the Core Breakthrough Realm and transcend mortality, you'll be able to save Second Aunt."[2]

Jun Wudi gave a faint smile. "It's nothing. I can still hold on. Let's keep looking for the Yuanyang Heaven-Union Herb." He then motioned for everyone to spread out again.

By now, Wind Dragon had vanished from the sky, but Nantian Yijian continued to stare upward with narrowed eyes. He was already familiar with Lu Chen and could tell that the one riding atop the dragon just moments ago was none other than Lu Chen himself.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen was still being tossed around on Wind Dragon's head.

"Wind Dragon, what's wrong?" Lu Chen asked urgently.

Wind Dragon roared, struggling to speak, "I don't know either... When you touched the sword, I felt a violent force surge into my mind... I can't control myself anymore."

"Then what now? Shall we keep going or stop?"

"Try again. I've waited too many years. If the sword isn't removed, I fear it'll eventually grind away the last of my consciousness."

"Roar..."

"Alright, let's try again. If this doesn't work, we'll have to come up with another plan."

With that, Lu Chen enveloped his hand in spirit qi and reached out once more to grasp the massive sword, putting all his strength into pulling it out.

"Hah!"

This time, the sword moved by just a centimeter, but it was enough for Lu Chen to sense a sharp drop in Wind Dragon's life force. He quickly released the sword. As Wind Dragon settled back into place, his life force gradually stabilized.

"Wind Dragon, this won't work. Every time the sword moves, even just a little, your life force drops along with it."

"No! Even if I die, I won't let that sword erase my mind! I am the spirit beast of Lord Beast King, the Sixth Ancestral Avatar of the Green Emperor! This is the dignity of our kind!"

Wind Dragon let out a pained roar toward the sky. "If only Lord Seventh[3] were here... He had the deepest understanding of enchanted artifacts. He would've known how to remove this sword. But it's been too long. Lord Beast King is gone, and Lord Seventh might be lost too. Please, help me. You share the Green Emperor's bloodline. If anyone can do this, it's you."

"The Sixth Ancestral Avatar... and the Seventh..."

Lu Chen suddenly recalled that Feng Tiancheng was the Green Emperor's Seventh Ancestral Avatar.

He said to Wind Dragon, "I know the Seventh Ancestral Avatar. He's inside my body."

Wind Dragon was visibly shocked. "What? The Seventh Ancestral Avatar is inside you?"

"Yes. He is my first master. But after passing his memories on to me, he fell into a deep sleep and hasn't awakened since."

"Is that true? Search his memories and see if there's a way to resolve this!"

Lu Chen began digging through Feng Tiancheng's memories, searching for anything that could help with an enchanted artifact invading the mind.

He combed through them again and again, and just as he was about to give up, he stumbled upon a manual titled "On the Coexistence of Spirit Treasures and the Human Body."

It documented an incident where Feng Tiancheng had encountered a dying person and transformed that person into a spirit residing within a weapon. The man survived, but he could only exist as a tool spirit from that point on. Even so, Lu Chen thought this might be a solution worth considering.

"Wind Dragon, are you willing to become a spirit within a weapon? That way, you can avoid having your mind corrupted. But you'll lose your freedom and exist solely as a weapon spirit."

Wind Dragon urged Lu Chen again, "I'll do it as long as I can break free of this sword! Hurry! I can feel my mind on the verge of collapse!"

Time was running out for him.

"Hang on, I'll prepare the materials."

Lu Chen followed the memory in his mind, swiftly preparing everything needed. However, he soon realized that apart from the Twin-Fish Medallion, he had no treasure suitable to house Wind Dragon's spirit.

"Roar... Hurry... My mind..."

As he tried to think of a solution, the last traces of Wind Dragon's consciousness began to fade. The wind around them turned savage, crashing Lu Chen against the nearby mountain peaks with relentless force.

Just then, his hands brushed against the massive sword embedded in Wind Dragon's forehead.

"This sword... It's a powerful weapon. If it can torment Wind Dragon like this, it should also be able to withstand his strength. He's suffered under it long enough. It's time for him to be the one to take control."

Lu Chen gripped the sword with his left hand and quickly used a drop of his blood to draw a formation from Feng Tiancheng's memory onto the blade with his right.

"Spirit Seal Formation! Activate!"

As soon as the formation was complete, countless fine threads burst from the formation, binding Wind Dragon to the giant sword. The sword's corrosive force halted immediately.

Seeing this, Lu Chen knew the ritual was nearly complete. All that remained was to wait for Wind Dragon to fully merge with the weapon and become its spirit.

Wind Dragon's aura slowly entwined with the sword, twisting and merging with it.

After enduring the sword's torment for so long, Wind Dragon was now determined to seize control. He poured all his strength into subduing the violent aura within the blade. But this sword was no ordinary weapon. Its raging power was vast and endless. Before long, Wind Dragon began to falter.

Lu Chen's expression turned grave. The violent aura was growing, and Wind Dragon's presence was rapidly diminishing.

Boom!

A thunderous roar erupted. Wind Dragon separated from the sword and was flung away, while the violent aura, now revealing itself as red-black in color, took the shape of a black dragon. The giant sword kept radiating its violent aura and attacked Wind Dragon with it, determined to devour the dragon completely.

***

At the summit of Wind Valley, the youthful-looking Blindman Lu stood quietly with another figure beside him. Together, they watched the scene unfolding far in the distance.

The man said, "My lord, the young master may be in danger. This sword wasn't part of our original plan. Should we intervene?"

Blindman Lu shook his head. "Not yet. This is part of his journey. Unless it's a life-or-death situation, none of you should step in. Just ensure his safety from the shadows. Also... this sword doesn't seem like it came from this continent. Look into its origins. We can't let it disrupt the plan."

"Yes, my lord. I'll look into it immediately."

1. In Chinese traditional philosophy, wind belongs to the Wood element because, like Wood, it embodies growth, movement, and the spreading of energy. ☜

2. In chapter 19, it's mentioned that forming the Dantian is known as the Sunken Core Realm. The Core Breakthrough Realm is what comes after the Sunken Core Realm. It is the stage of breaking through the Three Dantian Fields and Three Meridian Gates, shedding mortality and ascending toward immortality. ☜

3. Term of address for the Seventh Ancestral Avatar ☜