97: Chapter 97 Who said they would help you?

Eastern Domain, Tianshui City.

The ruins of Haiyue Inn had been cleared away. Ye Yuan sat under a newly built awning, wiping the wine glass in his hand.

Chu Kuangren knelt outside the awning, his clothes tattered, his body covered with wounds deep enough to show bone.

"Young Lord! Penglai Sword Sect can't hold on any longer! The Dragon Emperor's nine-claw projection has solidified, and two half-sages of the Everlong Pavilion were directly crushed into blood mist. If you don't act now, the Cultivators of the Eastern Domain will all die!" Chu Kuangren's voice was shrill.

Ye Yuan put down the wine glass.

"Wouldn't it be good if they all died?" Ye Yuan's tone was cold. "The resources of the Eastern Domain are only so much. The more people die, the more the survivors get to share."

Chu Kuangren froze, a chill running through his body.

He finally understood that this Divine Son of the hidden Ye Family didn't care at all about the lives of the Eastern Domain Cultivators.

Nie Xiao stood by the entrance, holding a broken saber, his Saber Intent restrained.

At the edge of the sky, a golden Buddhist light broke through the black clouds.

Sanskrit sounds echoed in waves.

An old monk in tattered robes, holding a purple-gold alms bowl, walked barefoot through the void. With each step, a golden lotus bloomed beneath his foot.

The Buddha's light shone everywhere, instantly purifying the lingering dragon resentment in Tianshui City.

Ye Yuan looked up at the sky.

"Here comes the main event." Ye Yuan stood up, and the demonic qi of the Primordial Demonic Body began to surge.

The old monk stopped above the Guixu, looking down at the churning seawater.

"Amitabha. This beast slaughters living beings. Today, this old monk will act on behalf of Heaven and subdue you, this Prodigy."

The old monk raised the Dragon-Subduing Bowl in his hand.

The bowl swelled in the wind, turning into the size of a small mountain. The Sanskrit characters at its bottom emitted a blinding golden light, directly covering the Dragon Emperor's projection beneath the sea.

From the depths of the Guixu came a heaven-shaking dragon roar.

"Baldy! You're asking for death!"

A ten-thousand-zhang-long nine-clawed golden dragon burst through the sea surface, charging straight at the Dragon-Subduing Bowl.

Golden light and dragon qi collided midair.

Space collapsed in large areas.

Ye Yuan walked out of the awning and pulled the broken saber from Nie Xiao's arms.

"Let's go," Ye Yuan ordered. "Go help the Buddhist Sect a bit."

Nie Xiao didn't ask why and directly followed.

Chu Kuangren slumped to the ground, watching the two figures soaring into the sky, his mind blank.

Help the Buddhist Sect?

Wasn't the Ye Family going to slay the dragon? Why help the Buddhist Sect now?

He couldn't understand.

Over the Guixu sea, a storm raised thousand-zhang waves.

The old monk stood on a golden lotus, holding the Dragon-Subduing Bowl. The Sanskrit characters at the bottom of the purple-gold bowl shone blindingly, and the golden light turned into solid chains, tightly binding the ten-thousand-zhang nine-clawed golden dragon.

The Dragon Emperor rolled in the seawater. Each struggle brought a tsunami.

The surviving Cultivators of the Everlong Pavilion and the Misty Rain Pavilion hid on a desolate island a hundred li away, not daring to breathe. They had personally seen the Dragon Emperor crush two half-sages with a single claw. If not for the sudden appearance of this old monk, the Eastern Domain would have been wiped out today.

"Amitabha." The old monk closed his eyes, moving his prayer beads. "Sinful beast, why not convert yet."

The golden light of the Dragon-Subduing Bowl intensified by another third. The chains tightened, cutting into the dragon scales. Golden dragon blood dripped down the chains.

The Dragon Emperor let out a sky-shaking roar.

"Baldy, this emperor roamed the ancient times. What are you?"

The dragon body suddenly shook, all nine claws striking out, forcibly breaking two golden chains. The old monk's body swayed, and two beads from his prayer beads snapped, the wooden beads falling into the sea.

Just as the stalemate held, a mass of black qi rapidly approached from the direction of Tianshui City.

Ye Yuan walked through the void. The demonic qi of the Primordial Demonic Body dyed half the sky black. Nie Xiao followed behind, holding the broken saber.

The old monk opened his eyes and glanced at Ye Yuan.

"Benefactor Ye, you've come just in time." The old monk pressed his palms together. "This beast is fierce. This old monk alone finds it somewhat difficult to subdue. Please lend a hand, and the Buddhist Sect will surely reward you handsomely afterward."

The Cultivators in the distance sighed in relief. That Ye Family member had even dared to kill the Second Ancestor of the dragon clan. With his help, the Dragon Emperor would have no escape today.

Ye Yuan stopped midair, examining the massive Dragon-Subduing Bowl.

"Lend a hand?" Ye Yuan spoke. "Old monk, have you misunderstood something?"

The old monk was taken aback.

Ye Yuan raised his hand, pointing at the Dragon Emperor in the sea.

"This loach, I dug it out using coordinates bought for five million high-grade spirit stones. It's the Ye Family's prey. You think you can convert and take it away with just one sentence?"

Before his words faded, Ye Yuan's form flickered, appearing directly above the Dragon-Subduing Bowl.

His right fist clenched, compressing the power of the Primordial Demonic Body to the extreme. No fancy Martial Skill, just a simple punch aimed at the rim of the purple-gold bowl.

Clang—

A loud sound echoed across the sea.

The Dragon-Subduing Bowl tilted from the punch. The Sanskrit characters at its bottom dimmed for an instant. The golden chains binding the Dragon Emperor loosened accordingly.

The old monk's throat turned sweet, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Benefactor, have you gone mad!" The old monk's eyes blazed with anger. "If you let the Dragon Emperor escape, the entire Eastern Domain will be buried with it!"

"None of my damn business." Ye Yuan shook his numb wrist. "When the Ye Family does something, it's not for some bald donkey from the Western Wasteland to meddle."

He turned to look at Nie Xiao.

"Chop that broken bowl."

Nie Xiao drew his saber. The Saber Intent of a half-sage drew a black line in midair, slashing directly at the Dragon-Subduing Bowl.

The bowl, already tilted by Ye Yuan's punch, spun wildly from the slash, its golden light completely dissipating.

Seizing the opportunity, the Dragon Emperor roared and burst through the sea surface. Its massive dragon body threw up countless splashes. It ignored the old monk and stared intently at Ye Yuan.

"Human ant!" The Dragon Emperor opened its bloody maw, spewing a golden dragon breath as thick as a bucket.

Ye Yuan advanced instead of retreating.

Activating the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, he opened his mouth and directly sucked the dragon breath—capable of melting mystic iron—into his stomach.

He let out a burp.

"Mediocre taste. Not cooked." Ye Yuan commented.

The Cultivators in the distance were all dumbfounded. Li Xiaoyao crouched on a tree on the desolate island, holding a broken wine flask, forgetting to pour wine into his mouth.

"This kid really isn't human," Li Xiaoyao muttered to himself. "Swallowing dragon breath raw—is his stomach a bottomless pit?"

The Dragon Emperor was also stunned. Having slept for sixty thousand years, it had never seen such a fighting style.

The old monk retrieved the Dragon-Subduing Bowl, wincing at the shallow saber scar on its rim.

"Benefactor Ye, since you are stubbornly deluded, don't blame this old monk for being ruthless." The old monk tossed the bowl into the air.

The Dragon-Subduing Bowl swelled in the wind. This time, it didn't target the Dragon Emperor but aimed at Ye Yuan.

"You bald donkey, you steal my prey and dare to strike first." Ye Yuan sneered.

Too lazy to waste words with the old monk, he charged straight at the bowl. Punch after punch rained down on the bowl. The sound of striking iron echoed over the Guixu.