In the gray and fading world, a black dragon coiled, its broken body, though far less stunning than when it first appeared, still emitted a suffocating pressure.
Ji Hongli stood in the void, her black skirt fluttering as burning battle intent ignited in her eyes.
With a graceful lift of her jade hand, a three-foot azure blade pierced the void—the blade, like autumn frost, shimmered with a hazy, cold light.
This famed demonic sword exuded an ancient and terrifying aura.
Ji Hongli took a step forward, her form as swift as lightning, charging straight at the black dragon!
The Tiancongyun Sword swung out, its swordlight like snow, carving a dazzling white streak across the gray-white world.
The black dragon roared, its claws swatting down to clash with the swordlight, erupting in a deafening clang of metal!
Ji Hongli's sword momentum was like a rainbow, each strike precisely aimed at the dragon's wounds. Her movement was ghostly, leaving afterimages in the void as swordlight fell like rain, enveloping the black dragon!
The black dragon opened its maw, and world-destroying black flames erupted!
After two rounds of battle and one self-detonation, it no longer bothered with pleasantries, wanting only to crush the last ant before it into powder as quickly as possible.
Ji Hongli sneered. With a horizontal sweep of the Tiancongyun Sword, demonic flames erupted from the blade, colliding with the black flames!
The two fires intertwined, exploding into an endless sea of fire, dyeing half the sky a crimson-black!
At the height of the battle, Ji Hongli suddenly retracted her sword and retreated sharply.
Then, she hurled the sword toward the black dragon.
The Tiancongyun Sword became a streak of white light, stabbing directly at the dragon's single eye! The black dragon roared and swatted the blade away, only to see Ji Hongli already forming hand seals, her body undergoing astonishing changes!
Fine black dragon scales surfaced on her skin, her pupils became vertical slits, and her aura skyrocketed wildly! Her black skirt shattered inch by inch, replaced by a layer of pitch-black dragon scale armor. Her body elongated, ultimately transforming into a giant dragon of pure black!
Compared to the black dragon, however, she was rather small, yet brimming with vitality.
In truth, after touching upon the laws beyond the Saint Realm, her true form had already undergone a metamorphosis, even skipping the stage of becoming a flood-dragon, now existing in a strange half-flood-dragon, half-dragon state!
"Roar—!"
The black dragon that was Ji Hongli let out a long sky-shaking roar! Though smaller than the Heavenly Dao Black Dragon, its dragon's presence was no weaker. Each scale shimmered with a dark luster, its eyes like blood, emitting a heart-stopping pressure.
The two black dragons tangled madly in the sky! Claws tore, tails lashed, and every collision caused space to collapse!
Ji Hongli's dragon body was as agile as lightning, focusing on the Heavenly Dao Black Dragon's wounds. Her jaws clamped around its neck, her claws tore at its reverse scales, forcing the Heavenly Dao Black Dragon to roar in fury!
The Heavenly Dao Black Dragon flew into a rage and once again summoned its dragon pearl, the terrifying suction warping space! But Ji Hongli was prepared. She opened her jaws and spat out a crimson-red dragon pearl of her own!
The pearl was no bigger than a fist, yet it contained an endless sea of fire—her innate dragon pearl!
The two pearls collided mid-air, erupting in a world-destroying shockwave! Seizing the opportunity, Ji Hongli lashed her tail, striking the Heavenly Dao Black Dragon toward the ground!
"Boom—!"
A hundred miles of mountains and rivers collapsed, dust soaring into the air! The Heavenly Dao Black Dragon struggled to rise, but was pinned to the ground by one of Ji Hongli's claws!
—Devour the Great Dao!
Ji Hongli's jaws gaped wide, a terrifying devouring force erupting!
Her throat seemed to connect to the endless void, as if she would swallow the Heavenly Dao Black Dragon whole!
"No—!" The Heavenly Dao Black Dragon roared in terror and anger, its body struggling frantically, yet unable to break free from the devouring force! Its form began to distort, turning into streams of pitch-black light, all of which were swallowed by Ji Hongli!
"Gulp."
As the last trace of Heavenly Dao power was devoured, Ji Hongli's dragon body suddenly expanded, her scales growing even darker, her dragon's presence surging! She let out a sky-shaking roar, the soundwave shattering the solidified time for a thousand miles around.
The pitch-black dragon body began to contract, finally returning to human form.
Ji Hongli stood in the air, enveloped in a faint dragon's presence.
Her black skirt was long gone, replaced by a black dragon scale battle dress that outlined her graceful figure.
Most striking of all, two tiny dragon horns had grown on her forehead, crystalline like jade, impossible to hide!
After absorbing the black dragon, she had finally completed her dragon transformation, becoming a true dragoness.
Moreover, her own aura began to rise steadily, climbing higher and higher.
"Beyond the Saint Realm... so that's how it is..."
She felt the surging power within her, her cultivation finally breaking through the final barrier, just one step away from proving the Dao and becoming an Immortal Venerable!
However, she did not intend to complete this step here.
Ji Hongli glanced up at the gradually collapsing secret realm, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Time to go out."
Her form flashed into a streak of black light as she shot out of the secret realm.
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