Chapter 92: The Great Monster

Li Zhen’s physical strength rapidly increased, but his Black Iron Body remained in the intermediate stage of the first level. He needed to cultivate the Black Iron Body technique to quickly elevate it to match the strength of his physical body.

However, in his current environment, he was unable to practice the Black Iron Body cultivation.

As he familiarized himself with his body, his heart began to race faster, causing the dragon heart to speed up as well. A trace of imperceptible dragon blood surged from the dragon heart and merged with his physical body.

Li Zhen’s face brightened with joy. While cultivating his body, he sensed its transformation once again.

Although the first level (99/100) of his body hadn’t changed numerically, his physical strength had undeniably surged.

Previously, his body was at the peak of ordinary body refinement techniques. But now, with the infusion of a thread of dragon blood, his body’s strength, speed, defense, and all other aspects had experienced a remarkable enhancement.

At the end of the day, the Black Iron Body was just an ordinary qi refining body tempering technique. What Li Zhen valued most was how well this technique complemented his own physiology—requiring only the constant consumption of metal-type spirit artifacts to advance its levels.

Even when fully cultivating the Black Iron Body to its peak, the resulting body would not be perfect.

The dragon blood thread bestowed by the dragon heart within his body would, once his physical form reached a certain strength, utilize its essence to propel him to the peak of a first-rank dragon hatchling.

The battle beyond the Heavenly Great Wall continued unabated, with monstrous beasts relentlessly charging from the rear, their sole objective being to breach the protective barrier.

The beast tide maintained an unspoken truce with the Heavenly Great Wall, refraining from deploying Foundation Establishment true cultivators or second-rank beasts.

In the command room, Brigadier General Zhang adjusted the virtual screen displays with both hands, sometimes zooming in, at other times pulling back, his brow deeply furrowed.

“Why has this beast tide taken such an odd course?” he murmured. “Monsters wouldn’t launch an attack without a cause!”

He had been observing for quite some time and had concluded that this beast tide was likely orchestrated by a third-rank great monster.

Moreover, due to its hasty initiation, it had failed to gather a significant number of powerful monsters. While the initial assault appeared formidable, the beast tide lacked the momentum to sustain itself.

Had the beast tide been meticulously planned, the Monster Kingdom would have amassed a diverse array of monsters beforehand.

This would ensure that the assault on the city escalated progressively, with each wave more intense than the last. However, as it stood, there was no discernible difference between this first wave and what one might expect in subsequent waves. It was, in essence, a war of attrition, relying solely on the sheer numbers of creatures to wear down their adversaries.

Moreover, second-stage monsters were too rational, lacking any inclination to fight to the death.

This abnormal behavior, however, reassured him somewhat. At least it wasn’t as he initially suspected—that the monster country intended to forcibly dismantle Tianchang City.

For years, the Xian Nation had steadily encroached upon the monster country’s territory.

They had learned through experience that a full-scale offensive would invite equally fierce retaliation from the monsters. This was the hard-earned wisdom gained over decades of conflict.

“Alert! Alert! Third-stage great monster!” As General Zhang pondered the situation, a urgent voice rang out from the command room.

“Immediately notify Zhenren Ding!” General Zhang commanded the soldiers guarding the spatial gateway.

He never anticipated that a third-stage great monster would strike. He could only hope that this particular monster wasn’t too powerful and that the Tianchang City’s grand formation could hold it off long enough for Zhenren Ding to arrive.

Pei Zhenxiu, Yu An, and the Qi Refinement cultivators stationed along the city walls all gazed into the distance with terror-filled eyes. They watched as an enormous figure approached from afar, the sky above it glowing with thunderous light.

Though the colossal figure seemed distant, it moved with incredible speed, closing the gap in an instant.

“Scarlet Thunder Dragon!” Pei Zhenxiu murmured barely audibly.

She recognized the origin of this great monster: a Scarlet Thunder Dragon. Any beast bearing the name “dragon” in its title had some connection to the dragon race.

The dragon race was promiscuous, having created numerous dragon beasts with only a hint of dragon lineage.

When these dragon beasts bred among themselves, they preserved their dragon lineage, albeit slowly diluting it, which resulted in powerful dragon beast species.

Some dragon beasts bred with ordinary monsters, causing their dragon lineage to further fade. Over time, these were gradually excluded from the dragon beast species.

The Scarlet Thunder Dragon was part of the robust dragon beast family, possessing innate thunder magic and incredible strength.

“All Foundation Establishment cultivators, retreat to the Inner City immediately!” Lords Pei and Yu received a military command.

“Hurry, let’s move!” Yu An said gravely.

Lord Pei hesitated, thinking of Li Zhen, who had been placed at the formation eye.

She deeply regretted that decision. If Li Zhen hadn’t been positioned at the formation eye, she could have easily taken him along with her.

“Go!” Yu An said, pulling Lord Pei. He didn’t care what Lord Pei was thinking; the most important thing now was to protect themselves.

Foundation Establishment cultivators were Tianhang City’s greatest treasures. As for Qi Refining cultivators, there was no time to worry about them.

Lord Pei inwardly sighed as she followed Yu An, retreating into the Inner City.

The Inner City’s defensive perimeter was much smaller, featuring a specialized array designed to protect the spatial rift. Coupled with other defensive measures, it could potentially buy more time.

Moreover, this period could be used to evacuate Foundation Establishment true cultivators through the spatial corridor, allowing them to return from the Demon Nation World to the Immortal Nation World.

The Scarlet Thunder Dragon extended its claw, paying no heed to the attacks striking its body.

To it, the assaults from rune spears and Qi Refining cultivators felt like mere tickles.

As the Scarlet Thunder Dragon’s claw lashed at the major array’s protective shield, electricity danced along its digits. Wherever the claw made contact, it left behind streaks of lightning that began as surface marks but swiftly penetrated the shield itself. The protective barrier quivered violently.

Before the Scarlet Thunder Dragon could unleash a second claw strike, the third-tier array’s shield was already breached.

With an imperceptible shudder, the beast released a surge of electrical energy from its body.

Noticing the Foundation Establishment cultivators’ retreat, Wang Rushi and her two companions also started moving backward. As students, their instinct upon realizing they were being sacrificed was to preserve their lives.

It wasn’t just Wang Rushi’s group; except for the military personnel, most other cultivators—some swiftly, others more gradually—chose the path of escape.

Even Foundation Establishment true cultivators had fled, proving that this third-rank great demon was beyond Tianchang City’s capacity to resist.

As the Scarlet Thunder Dragon breached the great array’s protective shield and unleashed its swarm of electrified attacks, the trio had managed to escape to the third row of buildings within the city walls.

The Scarlet Thunder Dragon’s massive electrical assaults were currently directed solely at the vicinity of the city walls.

The only defenders remaining on the city walls were a small number of ordinary cultivators and soldiers.

The soldiers had not received orders to retreat and could not take even a single step back.

Holding their weapons futilely, they charged towards the Scarlet Thunder Dragon, only to be instantly engulfed by its electric fury.

Similarly, three hundred soldiers clad in fighter armors also failed to receive any withdrawal command. They dove from the sky towards the Scarlet Thunder Dragon, determined to prevent it from penetrating deeper into the city.

However, even the defensive capabilities of military fighter armors proved insufficient against the casual discharge of electricity from the Scarlet Thunder Dragon.

Upon impact, the fighter armors instantly stiffened, succumbing to the destructive electric energy that relentlessly invaded from the outside. Within moments, the Late Qi Refining Stage cultivators inside perished.

Li Zhen watched the unfolding scene with petrifying terror. A bolt of electricity had begun to assail the formation eye where he stood, drawing ever closer.

Summoning his resolve, he activated his spatial divine ability, preparing to forcefully teleport.

At this moment, he couldn’t think of any means to escape with his life; he could only rely on spatial transcendence.

Just as he activated his space divine ability, the electrical sparks before him ceased. Then, an indescribable pressure descended upon his body.

Now, forget about using his space divine ability—even the slightest movement of any part of his body was impossible.

This is it, Li Zhen thought. I hope that after death, I can still return to Earth!

But the death he imagined did not arrive. Instead, the bolt of lightning unexpectedly extinguished.

A force enveloped his body, forcibly opening the entrance to the formation eye. His body floated out as if suspended in air.

The Scarlet Thunder Dragon Beast gazed at Li Zhen, its eyes devoid of any malice, filled only with gentleness.

Li Zhen could not describe the scene he witnessed. The third-stage great monster, the Scarlet Thunder Dragon Beast, was looking at him with a gentle gaze, one that strangely contained a hint of respect.

He had no way of knowing that when the Dragon Heart Space consumed one leg of the Unicorn Wind Wolf, it elevated his physical body to near the limits of the First Layer. In response, the Dragon Heart had then sent forth a strand of dragon blood to strengthen his fleshly body.

This unique aura, emanating solely from the dragon race, had confirmed to the Scarlet Thunder Dragon Beast that the entity the Chaos Mother Goddess Dragon sought was indeed on the city wall. It was this realization that prompted the Scarlet Thunder Dragon Beast to intervene personally.