Chapter 184: The Spatial Bone Dragon
The three of them considered the situation carefully. It was clear that whatever lay beneath the cliff was not an ordinary spirit beast, but an immensely powerful one.
As they crept down to the base of the cliff, they caught sight of a nest, where a massive spirit beast was sleeping. The beast was colossal, about forty meters in length, and it looked strange compared to typical spirit beasts. Its entire body was covered in a thick layer of bone, giving it the appearance of a skeleton rather than flesh and skin. Its structure radiated strength, hinting at a defense level that was likely unmatched.
Sensing something unusual, the beast stirred, sniffing the air and snorting in alertness. The trio quickly retreated to regroup and discuss their next move.
Yang Wushuang, Yang Potian's second grandfather, spoke up with a serious expression. "This appears to be a Spatial Bone Dragon, and one that has likely reached the hundred-thousand-year level. Taking it down will be an enormous challenge, even with all three of us."
Indeed, they were facing a Spatial Bone Dragon, a creature even more formidable than the Bone Dragon spirit of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Bone Douluo. This beast was over forty meters in length, with terrifying physical strength and a bone structure thicker than any known creature. Its defense rivaled the best of spirit beasts, likely surpassing even the Diamond Mammoth and the Plated Giant Rhino.
More concerning was the Spatial Bone Dragon's command over spatial powers, a rare attribute that few spirit beasts possessed. Potian's own spatial abilities, like teleportation, only allowed him to access a sliver of such power. This dragon, however, could manipulate space on a far greater scale, giving it the advantage of unparalleled speed in both attack and retreat. This hundred-thousand-year spirit beast was undoubtedly a match for even the Azure Bull Python.
After a long deliberation, Yang Potian finally broke the silence. "Second Grandpa, this Spatial Bone Dragon would be an ideal spirit ring for my primary martial spirit. A direct confrontation is dangerous, but if we can poison it, we might have a chance."
Wushuang nodded, "Poisoning is indeed our best shot, but we only have one chance. If the dragon detects us or escapes, there's no way we'll be able to catch it."
Yang Zhentian and Potian agreed. For the next few days, they quietly observed the Spatial Bone Dragon's behavior, carefully noting its habits, especially its feeding patterns. To their surprise, the dragon was lethargic, rarely leaving its nest except once every ten days to hunt nearby spirit beasts. It didn't seem particular about its prey, consuming anything close to its lair.
After two weeks of watching and strategizing, they were ready to make their move.
They captured a two-thousand-year-old black bear spirit beast, one of the Spatial Bone Dragon's preferred meals, having observed the dragon consume this type of prey twice. Once they had subdued the bear, they prepared two powerful toxins: the iridescent Venom of Seven Colors and the blood-red Bloody Mary. Both poisons were amplified by the addition of Snowy Swan Kiss, making them thousands of times deadlier.
To conceal the toxins, they encased them in a thick layer of solidified fat, preventing any trace of poison from leaking out. They then placed the toxic capsules into the black bear's mouth and woke it up, using their soul power to make it appear as if the bear had accidentally fallen from the cliff.
Confused and disoriented, the bear looked around in bewilderment, but upon seeing the terrifying Spatial Bone Dragon, it froze. Realizing it was in mortal danger, the bear tried to run, but the dragon simply observed it with a hint of curiosity.
The Spatial Bone Dragon was cautious. Instead of immediately devouring the bear, it released an intimidating aura to test its reaction. After a few moments, convinced that the bear posed no threat, the dragon opened its jaws wide, swallowing the entire five-meter-tall black bear in a single gulp, then resumed its nap.
The trio watched, astonished by the dragon's sheer power, as the bear was effortlessly devoured. For several days, they waited, hoping the poison would take effect. The dragon's behavior began to change—it seemed less inclined to sleep and increasingly irritable.
Eventually, the enraged Spatial Bone Dragon burst out of its nest, venting its frustration by tearing through a nearby forest, devouring several large spirit beasts and leveling an entire area in its rampage. Despite this destruction, it did not return to its lair, appearing as if it intended to leave entirely.
Realizing the danger, Potian shouted, "This is bad. The dragon must have sensed it's been poisoned. It's trying to escape!"
Yang Wushuang was skeptical. "Could it really be that intelligent?"
Potian's expression hardened. "Whatever the case, we can't let it escape. We'll have to attack now."
Seeing no other option, the three launched a full assault, closing the distance to fifty meters before unleashing their martial spirits and summoning their spirit rings. Each wielding a Soul-Breaking Spear, they attacked the dragon from three directions.
But the Spatial Bone Dragon reacted with astounding speed, roaring as it swung its enormous tail, blocking all three spears. To their amazement, the dragon's tail only bore a few deep scratches from the attack, with no visible bleeding. Its defenses were even stronger than they had anticipated.
Realizing the difficulty of their task, the three activated their seventh spirit rings, invoking their Martial Soul Avatars. Three towering figures wielded equally enormous spears, each poised to tear the Spatial Bone Dragon apart.
To their surprise, the dragon bellowed in anger and, incredibly, spoke. "Humans, how dare you ambush me?"
Just then, a black hole appeared in front of the dragon, sucking in their combined attack and rendering it harmless. Moments later, powerful explosions resounded in the distance.
Yang Potian quickly shouted, "Be careful with that black hole! It can redirect our attacks. Let's hit it from different directions so it can't deflect everything at once."
Yang Wushuang and Yang Zhentian nodded, and the three coordinated their attacks. Yang Wushuang aimed his Soul-Breaking Spear at the dragon's head, Yang Zhentian targeted its torso, while Yang Potian struck toward its tail.
To their surprise, none of their attacks landed. The space where the dragon had stood was empty, and the dragon itself had reappeared hundreds of meters away.
"Spatial displacement!" Potian exclaimed. "This beast has even more terrifying powers than we imagined."
Wasting no time, the three of them pursued the dragon with lightning speed. To a Titled Douluo, crossing a few hundred meters was a matter of seconds. But as they closed in, the Spatial Bone Dragon grew even more enraged, and its attacks turned ferociously violent.
The dragon swung its tail around, forcibly absorbing attacks from Potian and Zhentian, and lunged forward, its powerful claws slashing directly at Yang Wushuang. It seemed determined to take one of them down first.
Their attacks left yet another deep gash on the dragon's body, and this time, it even bled a little. However, Wushuang was in trouble. The dragon's massive black claw clashed with his Soul-Breaking Spear, sending him reeling backward with a grimace of pain. Clearly, the dragon's attack power and sheer strength were formidable.
Gritting his teeth, Yang Potian unleashed his sixth spirit ability, Golden Lion's Roar, summoning a massive golden lion's head, which lunged toward the dragon as though to tear it apart.
The Spatial Bone Dragon roared in response, and a black hole materialized in front of it, with a second one appearing nearby. Potian's golden attack entered the black hole and then shot out of the second one, hurtling toward Yang Zhentian.
Caught off guard, Zhentian dodged hastily, but the golden beam was too fast. Left with no choice, he activated his eighth spirit ability to block it, only to be thrown backward, a thin trickle of blood running from his mouth.
"You little brat!" Zhentian shouted furiously. "Trying to kill your own father with that overpowered move?"
Potian responded quickly, "That's the Spatial Bone Dragon's ability—it redirects ranged attacks. Close combat is our only option!"
He activated his first and third abilities, Might of a Thousand, and Golden Power, amplifying both his strength and the weight of his attacks significantly. With the addition of his Martial Soul Avatar, his assault power surged severalfold. His Soul-Breaking Spear now weighed an astounding four thousand kilograms; even a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast would struggle to withstand it unscathed.
Potian also deployed his Slaughter God Domain, causing the dragon's movements to slow, and the range of its spatial shifts to reduce noticeably. The domain's suppressive effect on spirit abilities made it harder for the dragon to use its spatial powers freely.
Wushuang and Zhentian quickly adjusted, pressing their assault against the dragon. The Spatial Bone Dragon, while immensely strong, was repeatedly forced to use spatial displacement to escape their attacks. Its shifting distances, however, were limited to a few hundred meters, as its disoriented mental state prevented it from teleporting further.
After a relentless onslaught, the dragon's body was covered in wounds, its once-formidable defenses visibly weakening. Its physical resilience was formidable, but its mental defenses faltered under Potian's repeated use of his Soul-Breaking Nine Slashes: Fourth Slash, Bloody Rain and Fury. Combining mental energy, his Slaughter God Domain, and the power of his spear, he struck a direct blow at the dragon's mind, bypassing its physical defenses.
Repeatedly assaulted, the dragon's mental state frayed, causing it to lash out even more violently. Even ten-thousand-year spirit beasts had limited mental fortitude compared to a human of equal rank, and this was proving to be its downfall.
At last, with one final, weakened roar, the Spatial Bone Dragon collapsed, breathing faintly, its life hanging by a thread. The three were equally battered, with many wounds across their bodies, while Potian, having overexerted his mental energy, appeared especially drained.
Summoning his last reserves, Potian struck the fatal blow, and from the dragon's corpse, a blood-red spirit ring emerged, its powerful aura suppressing everything in its vicinity—a true one-hundred-thousand-year spirit ring.
Potian immediately retrieved the Life Spirit Gold, Dragon Ginseng Leaf, and numerous healing elixirs. The three of them consumed the elixirs and ginseng leaf while absorbing the Life Spirit Gold's energy, and within half an hour, they had recovered most of their strength. This Life Spirit Gold was indeed an invaluable treasure for life-force recovery, even aiding mental recuperation.
Zhentian looked at Potian with concern. "Potian, you expended a great deal of energy during that fight. Are you sure you're ready to absorb this spirit ring?"
Potian nodded confidently. "Thanks to the Life Spirit Gold, I'm already almost fully recovered. Absorbing this hundred-thousand-year spirit ring should be fine, especially now that I'm much stronger than I was when I absorbed the Titan Python's ring."
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