Chapter Ninety-Two: The Black Dragon Rises Again, Humanity Faces Calamity

In the beginning, when the ancient ancestor Gonggong crashed into Buzhou Mountain, the innate turbid energy beneath the earth erupted, giving birth to an evil black dragon. In the end, this black dragon caused the death of the Holy Mother Taiyuan, prompting the emergence of the Elder of the South Pole and the Holy Mother Wudang. It was only the Dao Ancestor who finally subdued this black dragon, which had committed countless atrocities.

After thousands of years of recuperation, the black dragon could no longer resist its restless heart. Deep beneath Buzhou Mountain, it roared and surged, sending waves of innate turbid energy toward the golden Dao Talisman that radiated dazzling light. Over millennia, the persistent assault gradually weakened the talisman's suppression, allowing the black dragon to break free from its shackles and soar once more above the heavens, commanding the surging innate turbid energy in a grand assault upon the sacred mountain of humanity.

Humanity, favored by the heavens, possessed many mysteries within themselves. The souls of the dead played a significant role upon the innate turbid energy, so the black dragon set its gaze upon the gathering place of the humans—the sacred mountain. As guardians of this primordial world, the sages felt for the first time the challenge to their dignity by a creature who, though not yet a sage, possessed the cultivation of one. The black dragon roared at the sky, venting its indignation.

Far away at the eastern shore, Tongtian hastily notified the other sages of the primordial world, urging them to save humanity. Yet in this moment of crisis, Taishang Laojun, Yuanshi Tianzun, and the Western sages Jieyin and Zhunti remained silent. Only Lady Nuwa replied, “Rest assured, fellow Daoist. I shall handle this myself.”

Ignoring all else, Tongtian summoned his four disciples and arrived at Buzhou Mountain, wielding the treasured Qingping Sword of his sect, while each disciple held a celestial sword, the murderous aura of which soared skyward, making even the black dragon beside them feel a twinge of fear.

“You’d best return,” Tongtian declared, seeing his disciples’ formation complete, knowing a single word would set the Immortal Slaying Formation in motion.

“Three thousand years! Three thousand years! I have endured enough loneliness and isolation. I shall unify the primordial world!” The black dragon, shrouded in black mist, controlled the endless innate turbid energy, sending column after column of water to attack Tongtian.

“Deploy the formation!” Knowing the danger of innate turbid energy, Tongtian quickly ordered his four disciples to activate the formation, hoping to absorb the energy’s impact and contain its spread.

The black dragon, seemingly aware of Tongtian’s intent, directed the summoned waters and the drifting innate turbid energy to break through the encirclement ahead of time, surging toward the sacred mountain of humanity.

This was no ordinary water; the black dragon called it “Black Dragon Water,” signifying only it could wield and summon such a substance. Bred within innate turbid energy and fused with three thousand streams of Weak Water it had absorbed, a single drop could draw spiritual energy from the earth, spawning billions of droplets to form a catastrophic flood.

Tongtian’s formation held the black dragon, but what of the flood? Tongtian immediately called on Lady Nuwa for aid, and soon received her response. A vessel appeared above Buzhou Mountain. By now, the mountain was nothing but a vast lake, the land itself submerged.

This vessel was the famed “Demon-Summoning Jar,” whose utility was immense. Within it lay another treasure: the “Demon-Summoning Banner,” which controlled the fate of the demon race. Crafted by Dijun and Taiyi, it contained a portion of the essence and spirit of all demon beasts in the world, designed to unite the demon race.

The jar’s original name was the “Demon-Refining Jar,” and anything belonging to the demon race could be refined within it, returning a strand of primordial energy to the world. It was far more powerful than Taishang Laojun’s Eight Trigram Furnace.

Before confronting the black dragon, Nuwa had prepared everything. She had already retrieved the Demon-Summoning Banner from the jar. Yet the Demon-Refining Jar was not a match for the Black Dragon Water, for the three thousand streams of Weak Water originated from the ancestral witches, and with the added power of innate turbid energy, it was even less likely to prevail.

Still, Lady Nuwa paid no mind, pouring the flood relentlessly into her treasured jar. The black dragon, encircled by the formation, burst out laughing, “Your treasure is vanishing just like that! What a pity!”

“Hmph, you’ll see soon enough,” Lady Nuwa retorted, intensifying her output of magical power. But the jar did not react as the black dragon had predicted, leaving it astonished.

“Hmph, since you still have time to talk, let me show you the might of my sect’s formation!” Tongtian directed his four disciples to work in tandem, while he sat atop the Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram, overseeing the formation.

The four celestial swords spun ceaselessly above the black dragon’s head, absorbing the turbid energy from its body.

The black dragon was not about to cooperate; at this critical moment, it could not afford to neglect its own survival. It twisted through the clouds, repeatedly launching Black Dragon Water at the five.

“If you are so incorrigible, then—” Tongtian’s demeanor changed suddenly from a gentlemanly sage to a fierce combatant. The formation diagram transformed into a stream of light, rushing toward the black dragon.

Aware of the formation’s sword energies, the black dragon kept dodging, but as the moment of breakthrough arrived, it reached out to grab the diagram. Yet the diagram evaded its grasp, wrapping tightly around it.

Moments later, the black dragon vanished miraculously, while Tongtian nodded, looking westward and thinking, “This time, the predecessor’s cultivation should be nearly restored.”

It turned out that the Immortal Slaying Formation Diagram was the skin of Luo Hou, the demon lord of the west during the first great calamity, the Dragon-Han Cataclysm. Tongtian knew this belonged to Luo Hou, so for the sake of future cooperation, he allowed the diagram to absorb the black dragon’s essence and spirit and transmit it to Luo Hou beneath the western Spirit Mountain.

Today, the sages of the primordial world finally opened their eyes, realizing that the power of the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation lay not only in its swords, but even the diagram inspired awe.

The two Western sages, Jieyin and Zhunti, were even more baffled. What was the origin of the black energy beneath their Spirit Mountain? Upon investigation, they were shocked to discover a mighty being dwelling there, previously unknown to them. As they tried to probe further, the Dao Ancestor’s warning rang out: “Just cultivate diligently. Do not fret. I have arranged everything.”

Jieyin and Zhunti frowned deeply, sighing in secret.

Meanwhile, at the sacred mountain of humanity, the land had become a vast expanse of water. All ordinary humans dwelling at Buzhou Mountain were drowned by the flood. Tongtian stood stunned—what had happened?!!!