LAVW – Chapter 77 How Are We Supposed to Fight This

Moments later, another group of monks arrived.

Only then did Shi Qian realize this wasn’t a special case—it was the norm.

The strongest-looking martial monks were all now being carried on the shoulders of the more scholarly monks, each of them visibly weakened.

Master Chan Hua gently placed down his two most severely injured junior brothers and fed them secret medicine before bowing to the others.

“Amitabha. Thank you, everyone, for your timely warning. Our Zen Sect disciples ran into a demonic cultivator and nearly all perished. Thankfully, the astonishing sounds from the sky startled the demon away.”

“Did you see the person? Were they in the late stage of tribulation?”

“We couldn’t make out their appearance. They were completely wrapped in surging demonic energy,” Chan Hua shook his head. “And we’re not sure of their cultivation level either.”

“But just one move from them left my junior brothers heavily injured, even when they joined forces. A hundred years of cultivation, gone in a flash. And some others…” Chan Hua sighed, unable to go on.

Thinking of the deep foundation of the Zen Sect, Yuheng said, “Perhaps you encountered that demonic dragon.”

“Rest for now. I have some healing medicine here.”

The major sects all interacted regularly. Unless there was past enmity, it was customary to offer help in dangerous times. Many stepped in to assist. For example, the disciples of Shenhua Valley specialized in healing techniques, and when elders from the Pill Sect arrived, they offered the most effective pills…

Shi Qian watched as the injured martial monks took medicine and began to stabilize their condition. No wonder the delicate scholar monks had been the ones carrying them—they’d all been injured.

Noticing the little spirit beast staring at the injured martial monks, Hua Qing quietly explained, “These martial monks are protectors for the scholar monks. In the Zen Sect, the scholar monks rank higher.”

“It’s actually quite common for the scholarly monk to carry the martial monk and run away,” someone said.

Shi Qian: “Squeak Squeak.”

Ah, I see.

Hei Mao was already starting to worry. He turned to his little brother and asked, “Squeak Squeak?”

Bro, can you carry me?

Shi Qian: …

He turned his head and earnestly instructed, “Squeak Squeak.”

Brother, you better stay put and listen to little sister!

Hua Qing was already starting to feel mentally exhausted. To make matters worse, Long Hu next to him even chimed in with his opinion, saying that the little fuzzball definitely couldn’t carry two and certainly wasn’t as strong as the old monk.

Shi Qian quickly slipped away, leaving Mouse Bro and Long Hu behind with Hua Qing. He ran to Elder Yuheng’s side and snuggled into the beauty’s arms.

Unfortunately, just as the beauty embraced him, they heard one of the tribulation-transcending experts who had gathered asking how exactly the information about the demon dragon had been confirmed.

Shi Qian pointed at his own dragon horn: “Squeak Squeak.”

Don’t you see? There’s half a dragon right here.

Elder Yuheng, with his surprisingly coarse hand, gently stroked the smooth, jade-like white dragon horn and said, “Can’t recognize it, Sect Master He? This disciple of our Sword Sect has dragon horns on his head—he can sense the aura of his own kind.”

Sect Master He looked closely and finally noticed that the tiny horn was indeed a dragon horn, carrying the aura of a dragon.

But it was so round and adorable, completely lacking the sharpness and ferocity of a true dragon’s horn. Even the budding antlers of a young deer might look more menacing.

“So that’s it. My eyes were deceived,” he admitted.

After the inquiry, Sect Master He couldn’t help but glance toward the black dragon currently undergoing tribulation above the Bone Forest.

Shi Qian, secretly observing, thought: You don’t believe it? Fine, but no need to act tough.

The Ascension Path was vast, but cultivators were fast travelers.

All the tribulation-transcending experts had arrived within just two incense sticks’ time. As for the remaining Nascent Soul cultivators who hadn’t arrived—some were still on the way, some hadn’t noticed the phenomenon in the sky, and others were busy with other matters. There was no time to wait for them.

The experts gathered to discuss how to deal with the demon dragon.

Shi Qian curled up in Elder Yuheng’s arms, listening to the arrangements.

A group had to stay behind to guard Long Ye during his tribulation. Since they knew he was the demon dragon’s target, they absolutely couldn’t leave him exposed.

If the demon dragon succeeded, the loss would be far greater than just Long Ye’s life—it would severely damage the righteous path’s already weakened fortune.

And since some tribulation-transcending experts were staying behind, this area would also serve as a safe zone for injured cultivators and the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who had rushed over.

Mo Sanchi’s tribulation site wasn’t far from the Bone Forest. If she succeeded, she would be an additional powerful force. So someone had to keep an eye on her progress. Once Mo Sanchi’s tribulation neared the end, a reinforcement party needed to be dispatched—since there were rare instances where someone might maliciously interrupt a tribulation.

Beyond that, the remaining issue was investigating the demon dragon’s capabilities—seeing whether they could fight back.

The team to track and counterattack the demon dragon would be led by Elder Yuheng.

At this point, Yuheng took out a Heaven-grade artifact—it was a mirror.

“This mirror can protect the body and conceal one’s presence. Unless it’s seen with the naked eye, no one can sense it,” Yuheng said.

“We must not let the demon dragon know how we’re tracking him.”

As he spoke, Yuheng shrank the mirror and hung it around Shi Qian’s neck.

Wu Chunshu also pulled out a protective ring artifact: “This ring also provides protection. With such a little fuzzball following us, I’m really afraid he’ll get hurt.”

Shi Qian wanted to protest.

He was a Nascent Soul cultivator now—he wasn’t that weak!

But on second thought, across the entire Ascension Path, he probably was the weakest.

It’s really hard to survive in the cultivation world, he thought, so I guess I’ll just rely on collecting magical treasures to get by.

Shi Qian suddenly became wealthy on the spot and felt a little embarrassed, so he handed out a big handful of spiritual melon seeds to each of the experts.

Before setting off, he had also stuffed a storage pouch into Mouse Bro’s and Long Hu’s paws—each bag filled with melon seeds and pine nuts, enough to help them pass time in boredom. He had also warned the two to behave and not cause trouble.

Seeing his younger brother adorned with magical treasures, Hei Mao accepted the situation resentfully. He wasn’t worried anymore—he wanted to go too, but little sister didn’t allow it.

Long Hu’s eyes lit up. Sensing the moment to shine, he declared: “Aoo aoo!”

Little one, don’t worry, your big bro will keep an eye on him!

Shi Qian: … Well, fair enough. Let them watch each other.

Then he turned back and followed Elder Yuheng and the others as they set off.

Squatting on Elder Yuheng’s sword, Shi Qian looked back. Under the thunderclouds, the black dragon also turned to look and let out a long roar—but it was drowned out by thunder.

Shi Qian couldn’t hear the dragon’s cry at all, nor did he know if Long Ye could see him. He could no longer make out Long Ye’s dark dragon face.

But still, he solemnly waved a paw.

“Squeak Squeak.”

Wait for our return.

The people by the Bone Forest watched their group leave.

After setting out, Shi Qian loosened his nose covering just a bit and could follow the rich, dangerous fragrance lingering at the edges of the Ascension Path to track the old dragon’s movements.

Their group didn’t travel as one unit, but was divided into two smaller teams of three.

One team led, the other followed—easier for both support and retreat.

Before the first confrontation, Shi Qian had already been stuffed into Yuheng’s sleeve, falling into the Elder’s internal sleeve-world.

Clearly, during combat, Shi Qian was more likely to get accidentally injured than be of help.

All those protective treasures were meant to prevent accidents.

If Shi Qian’s unique abilities weren’t irreplaceable, the tribulation-transcending experts likely wouldn’t have agreed to bring him at all—they simply didn’t have full confidence in his safety.

Shi Qian waited inside the sleeve-world for quite a while before being let out again.

Summing up what he saw post-battle: Their side lost—and it was a bit of a mess.

“So strong. It’s terrifyingly powerful.”

“That demon dragon used just one move. The six of us clearly weren’t a match.”

Shi Qian was confused: Six versus one? Only one move? And then you all ran away?

The subsequent conversation among the experts cleared up Shi Qian’s confusion.

“But it wasn’t a complete loss—the demon dragon was merely a soul projection!”

“We retreated decisively, no one was seriously injured. Once we figure out a method to deal with that demon dragon, it’ll be twice the result with half the effort.”

As they spoke, the group brought up a few more treasures—ones that belonged to tribulation-crossing experts who hadn’t come out yet.

So, the “heroes” who had been seen off returned in no time, either swapping places with others or borrowing magical items.

When Chan Hua the senior monk heard that the demon dragon was only a soul body, he stepped forward and said, “My Zen Sect’s Bliss Bowl is still with this humble monk. It might be useful.”

Yuheng turned his blindfolded face toward the monk and said, “I remember the Bliss Bowl wasn’t compatible, was it?”

“These days are not like the past. The Bliss Bowl has changed—it’s now compatible.”

Chan Hua gave a short explanation and brought out the gleaming golden Bliss Bowl, temporarily lending it to another expert.

Chan Hua was only at the Nascent Soul stage and couldn’t participate in a tribulation-level battle.

That the Zen Sect had declined was precisely because of this: not a single tribulation-crossing expert remained in the entire sect.

Shi Qian looked at the golden bowl, still a little reluctant.

It had almost become his bowl.

Chan Hua glanced at the slightly larger spirit beast and couldn’t help saying, “Little benefactor, stop looking. That’s a treasure of our Zen Sect.”

Shi Qian: “Squeak Squeak.”

Then he wrote—”I am fated with the Zen Sect.”

Chan Hua immediately replied, “Our Zen Sect also accepts spirit beasts as disciples. No need to shave your head—just need a few scar marks of the precepts.”

Shi Qian: ?

He immediately turned his head away, refusing to even look at the old monk.

No way was he getting branded. As for bowls, Long Ye could just buy him ten or eight more.

Little did he know, Chan Hua was actually disappointed.

The Zen Sect had already investigated thoroughly—the Bliss Bowl changed exactly because of this little spirit beast.

If it had been a human, it wouldn’t have drawn this much attention. But a spirit beast that understood worldly matters, could awaken so many people—wasn’t that the very picture of high spiritual aptitude?

Even more so, it had altered the usage of the Bliss Bowl. If that wasn’t a sign of fate with the Zen Sect, then what was?

What a pity the Sword Sect had already forcibly taken the lead.

Armed with many soul-attacking treasures, the group once again set off.

Just as Shi Qian was about to finish navigating to the destination, he was once again stuffed into a universe-in-sleeve pouch, stripped of his right to watch the action firsthand.

The second round of fighting dragged on even longer.

Shi Qian was only brought out to guide the escape route.

The weak chinchilla worked diligently, leading his defeated teammates in another retreat.

Only after a long while did they finally shake off the old dragon and widen the distance between them.

When they stopped, Shi Qian noticed that two of the tribulation experts were injured—one lightly, one seriously. The seriously injured one had to be replaced, and even the lightly injured one needed time to recuperate.

After two rounds, even exploiting the soul-form weakness, all they had managed was to inflict some minor wounds on the demon dragon.

But along the way, they had at least managed to rescue a few Nascent Soul cultivators, preventing those lucky loners from becoming dragon chow and boosting the demon dragon’s strength.

A poor start—everyone’s spirits felt heavy.

Shi Qian’s own head felt just as heavy. Maybe petting him relieved stress—everyone wanted to get in a few strokes.

In the cycle of Shi Qian being stuffed into the pouch, pulled out to navigate, then stuffed back in, over and over again—a piece of good news finally arrived:

The demon dragon’s strength had started to decline.

The earth dragon had once again escaped the despicable human cultivators’ siege.

While making his way through the Ascension Path, the earth dragon was frequently ambushed by human cultivators. His temper was already at the breaking point.

And now, upon discovering his strength was dropping significantly—it was clear he had been away from his physical body too long—the dragon rammed violently against a weak spot in the Ascension Path several times.

But even at its weakest, the Ascension Path didn’t budge. Like a mountain, it remained unmoving and unshakable.

Feeling his strength rapidly fading, the earth dragon was so furious he was about to start breathing fire out of his nose.

At this rate, he might not even be able to handle the cultivators chasing him from behind.

Something was wrong—no matter how well he hid, those cultivators always found him.

And by now, how could the earth dragon not realize? He had been set up.

That former Child of Destiny he had tamed—the one who told him about the young dragon—had clearly lured him into a trap, sent to harm him.

But how had that woman gotten the information?

Since she dared to scheme against him, she would have to pay the price.

The earth dragon spat out a gossip-shaped talisman wrapped in blood aura, and then from within the countless strands of blood energy, he found the few he had specifically left behind and swallowed them whole.

The demonic grandmaster, whom the earth dragon cursed inwardly, had been patiently hiding beneath the Ascension Path. She possessed an artifact that controlled the path, making it easy for her to remain undetected.

As the days passed, her heart grew calmer.

Everything was proceeding exactly as she had predicted—the human cultivators and the old dragon were fighting.

The old dragon would certainly devour humans, which would only increase their urgency.

Add to that their baffling sense of righteousness about eliminating evil for the sake of the world, and their instinct for self-preservation—eventually, the old dragon would be hounded to death.

That was how all her demonic followers had been hunted down—slaughtered by countless sects.

The same logic applied now.

But what the demonic grandmaster never expected was that, all of a sudden, she sensed—every single soul of her family, lovers, children from her memories… had been completely erased.

Sitting like a withered tree, she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black-red blood and fainted.

Her life force was scattered, and her fate now hung by a thread.

After who-knows-how-many times being stuffed back into the sleeve-universe, Shi Qian learned that the old dragon had finally been seriously injured—the soul-attacking magical item had severed one of its hind claws and part of its tail.

The earth dragon went mad, eyes bloodshot, lunging to tear apart the blind swordsman who had struck.

Yuheng raised his sword to block the attack. Though his movements looked calm and unhurried, they carried immense force. His sharp sword light mercilessly slashed at the demon dragon.

The earth dragon roared furiously. Even inside the sleeve-universe, Shi Qian seemed to hear that furious, deranged dragon roar.

When you’re fighting with your life on the line, how can you not go mad?

Sensing that things were taking a disastrous turn, the earth dragon, in the midst of his roar, began initiating his final, desperate path of self-rescue.

The disturbance did not begin in the Ascension Path—it started below, in the cultivation realm.

The power of the earth surged violently, madly pushing the ground upward.

Across various sects, regions, and nations, the land cracked—not by sinking, but by arching upward.

It was as if the earth underground had swelled.

Gradually, trees rooted deep in the ground toppled with a loud crash, exposing their deeply buried roots; buildings on the surface split with massive cracks and broke apart; towering peaks crumbled during the violent tremors, crashing down—only to be lifted again by the rising earth…

Countless plant-type lifeforms were crushed, while humans, beasts, and ordinary animals—anything that bled—had their blood drawn into the earth after death. That blood, infused with immense terrestrial energy, was drawn deep underground.

The entire cultivation realm trembled from the upheaval.

The major sects of the realm could only stabilize their immediate territories. They could not extend aid further afield and could only cry out in anguish to the heavens: “Why does the earth treat us so?”

Heaven and Earth—one bestows sunlight and rain, the other supports all living beings.

The world had always believed Heaven to be the Father, and Earth the Mother.

So why would a mother-like Earth treat all living beings with such cruel indifference?

Beast City.

The city was already in pieces, but compared to other places, it fared better—there were many flying beasts within, and soon the sky was filled with flying creatures carrying people and their spirit beasts.

However, trying to find a place to land and catch their breath, they discovered that the disaster was everywhere.

Clearly, every direction suffered the same torment from the tremors.

In Ice City, as the earth shook, the terrifying cold lake swelled, striking despair into all who saw it.

Thankfully, the lake wouldn’t freeze anyone to death this time, but the surrounding ice was merciless—any contact left people battered and bleeding.

In the Qiao Kingdom, outside the Frozen Wasteland—

On once fertile land, crops broke in half as the earth cracked beneath them. Some farmers, overwhelmed with despair, tried to throw themselves into the fissures, only to be dragged back by weeping loved ones.

In Luofeng Town, the tremors were comparatively mild.

The ground shaking had driven people out of their homes, gathering them in open spaces.

But moments later, the earth split again, slowly and ominously—like a yawning abyss opening beneath their feet. Panic doubled. Screams echoed in every direction…

In the Ascension Path, as the surface riots intensified, power surged into the old dragon’s body, restoring its strength.

Because the spilled blood—bound with the fate of various races—was flowing into the earth dragon’s body, dispersing the spreading curse energy, and also corroding and widening the weak points in the formation.

The earth dragon feigned weakness, allowing itself to remain encircled by the human cultivators.

Its blood-red eyes swept over them greedily and finally locked onto Yuheng.

“ROAR—”

As the demonic dragon roared in growing agitation, Yuheng and the others—though already wounded—pressed the attack.

They had sensed it: the demon dragon’s strength was waning.

But inside Yuheng’s sleeve-world, Shi Qian had just received an emergency alert from System 1958.

1958’s voice was solemn, its words rapid: [Warning! Warning! Earthquake plotline has triggered prematurely. Host Brother Qian, please be mindful of your mission objectives and personal safety. Complete the task swiftly, and be vigilant against accidents or mission failure.]

Shi Qian was stunned and hurriedly asked: [An earthquake? But can the BOSS’s soul actually receive energy feedback from it while in the Ascension Path? Isn’t that energy meant for the dragon body hidden in the earth veins?]

The moment the words left his mouth, Shi Qian knew he’d asked a pointless question.

Yuheng and the others clearly had the upper hand. If nothing had changed, why would 1958 warn him about potential mission failure?

1958 replied honestly: [It can receive a boost. The more intense the quake and the higher the casualties, the more fate energy the Earth Dragon—this world’s main antagonist—can absorb. With enough fate backing, even the soul fragment grows stronger.]

Shi Qian didn’t waste another word. He touched the mirror on his chest, braced in his full set of defensive talismans, and used the black sword to slash through Yuheng’s sleeve-world and break out.

The sudden appearance of a little spirit beast startled Yuheng mid-attack.

She fumbled her technique and failed to block the dragon breath, saturated with demonic energy. It contaminated her surroundings in an instant.

Shi Qian didn’t stop to explain. He grabbed Yuheng—the one closest to the dragon—and blinked them both away in a flash!

In that instant, the Earth Dragon’s counterattack missed, but the spike in its aura didn’t go unnoticed.

Someone shouted in warning, “The demon dragon’s power is returning!”

“It’s growing stronger again!”

Shi Qian continued teleporting, chilled to the bone. Through the small gap in his protective mask, he caught a whiff of a dangerously complex scent.

Now, both he and Long Ye were being hunted by the boss.

The situation flipped—humans became the hunted. Shi Qian led a group of tribulation-transcending cultivators fleeing throughout the Ascension Path.

But the Earth Dragon held a grudge for being hunted all these days. Its power surged again, and it gave relentless chase.

Riding clouds and mist, the Earth Dragon’s speed rivaled Yuheng’s flying sword, and every so often it would catch up to those straggling behind.

The group was forced to halt and fight back together.

But strangely, the Earth Dragon’s strength had become overwhelming—unlike them, it didn’t seem drained at all.

Before long, two more tribulation cultivators were injured—one severely.

Their most effective magical artifacts had already been studied and countered by the dragon, making it hard to find any way to break the stalemate.

Moments later, the Earth Dragon caught up again and swallowed one tribulation cultivator whole.

The surge of vital energy and blood made the dragon narrow its eyes in pleasure. Its greedy gaze turned to the others, then drifted toward the crowd near the Bone Forest, drooling with anticipation.

Shi Qian’s nerves were taut—and then his cultivation suddenly surged.

Yuheng, close by, sensed the shift in his energy. She immediately understood—Long Ye’s tribulation was complete.

They now had one more tribulation cultivator on their side.

Unfortunately, a newly advanced tribulation cultivator wasn’t enough in this situation.

But Yuheng and the others had no better option—they could only fight and retreat, sending out calls for help as they moved closer to the Bone Forest.

They desperately needed reinforcements—otherwise, they would die here.

Shi Qian’s teleportation ability was quite useful. Yuheng noticed this, and since she was the primary fighter against the demonic dragon, she entrusted Shi Qian to the care of an injured Tribulation Transcender.

One injured cultivator, one spiritual beast—their top priority was to preserve their lives and hold on until reinforcements arrived.

Shi Qian had been following along all this time, but this was his first time seeing a battle with a major boss with his own eyes.

The demonic dragon was entirely crimson, shrouded in surging demonic energy, its face fierce and malevolent. Its body was enormous and imposing.

Every simple claw swipe or tail whip triggered earth-shattering destruction. It resembled a primordial beast from ancient times. Even the mighty Tribulation Transcenders seemed weak and fragile in comparison.

In just a short time, another Tribulation Transcender was severely injured.

Fortunately, reinforcements soon arrived and joined the battle.

The demonic dragon was held off, while Shi Qian and the black sword took the two injured Tribulation Transcenders and fled toward the Bone Forest.

The goal was clear, but his heart was filled with uncertainty.

The demonic dragon was absurdly strong, as if it were cheating. Long Ye hadn’t fully grown yet, and though they had many Tribulation Transcenders on their side, they were still a full tier below the dragon—it was difficult to make up the difference with sheer numbers.

How could they possibly win?

Just then, Shi Qian saw a black dragon soaring through the sky.

The black dragon’s aura fluctuated, and the blessings of a recently passed tribulation still lingered around its body. Clearly, it had just undergone tribulation and hadn’t even had time to fully absorb the rewards before rushing over.

Shi Qian: “Squeak Squeak.”

Brother Ye, I’m over here.

“Roar roar—”

Brother Qian, are you okay?

The black dragon circled anxiously around Shi Qian.

Shi Qian shook his head: “Squeak Squeak.”

I’m not hurt.

The black dragon nodded its head. With a flick of its magnificent, multicolored tail, it was ready to charge forward.

Shi Qian, still worried, grabbed hold of Long Ye’s dazzling black tail. “Squeak Squeak!”

Wait.

Shi Qian stripped off the still-intact protective talismans from his body and even tried to hang the small mirror on Long Ye’s body.

“Roar—” came a low dragon roar.

Brother Qian, why have you forgotten what I taught you again?

Long Ye had emphasized many times—when in danger, Shi Qian must take care of himself first.

But taking care of yourself and worrying about others weren’t mutually exclusive.

Shi Qian re-hung the small mirror around his neck. “Squeak Squeak.”

Brother Ye, I won’t go near the front, don’t worry.

He might be weak, but he knew not to drag others down. That much Shi Qian understood.

“Roar roar—”

You don’t need to worry about me either.

The black dragon reached out a claw and gently tapped the little furball’s head, then soared into the sky.