Long Xiaoxuan was eager to fight, but his job was to bait these men, not engage them.

He was confident in his ability to go against every one of them except the demigod forefather. However, if all of them charged at him together, he’d have no choice but to flee.

Thus, he wasn’t going to make a move now.

Dragons weren’t the fastest species, but that was relative to the fastest races of the heavenly planes. Compared to humans, dragons held a great advantage.

When Long Xiaoxuan traveled at his peak speed, only Forefather Goldenbell was able to surpass him. The other seven men were having difficulty catching up.

The forefather was surprised by the dragon’s reaction. It’d clearly noticed them.

“It’s discovered us. After it!” He was a little antsy. They’d alerted their prey before even reaching their spots, which would undoubtedly make capturing the dragon more difficult.

Fortunately, he was fast and could overtake the dragon by a small margin.

He took the lead while his seven companions struggled to keep up. Their plan depended on them catching up with the forefather and getting at least a few hits in. He wouldn’t have to honor his oath if they didn’t help at all.

Their hearts raced anxiously, worried that they wouldn’t get anything in the end.

Long Xiaoxuan had drawn up a detailed plan with Jiang Chen and the Vermilion Bird beforehand. He turned to see that the forefather was indeed on his own. The other seven were lagging far behind.

The time was about right.

He suddenly dove for the ground. Forefather Goldenbell cackled and raised his arms. Suddenly, an enormous golden bell materialized behind him and flew at the dragon with tremendous might and speed. It radiated terrifying power and threatened to burn the air as it fell.

Long Xiaoxuan started. The forefather was indeed extraordinary.

Even he felt his blood boil under the bell’s might. If it’d been a little closer, the bell could’ve trapped him successfully.

The bell was the forefather’s most prized treasure. The magical item could devour the air and consume heaven and earth. Its power was terrifying.

The dragon didn’t dare get careless. With a flash, he transformed himself into the size of a mustard seed and vanished from thin air.

This concealment method was unique to dragons, but the bell was very powerful. Although he’d turned himself infinitely smaller, it was still able to detect him and chase him doggedly.

The forefather broke into a feral grin, impressed by the dragon’s ability. This is indeed a descendent of the true dragons. What an amazing technique of stealth! However, that’s not enough for it to lose me. I’ll trap and overpower it!

The forefather was eager to capture the dragon before the others caught up. Then the oath would be rendered obsolete.

His rewards were only promised to those who helped. If he captured the dragon on his own, he didn’t have to give them a single stone.

“Surrender! No matter how you try to hide, you can’t escape.” The forefather strengthened his consciousness further, tapping into the full tracking power of the bell.

It rang and made a series of ear-piercing notes, threatening to cover the entire area.

Suddenly, something registered on the forefather’s consciousness, a trace of apprehension flashed through his mind. He steadied himself, surveying his surroundings cautiously.

Unexpectedly, the area around him burst into flames, as if the air was filled with oil. An ocean of fire circled around him.

The forefather started, caught off guard by the unnatural phenomenon. How could the air combust on its own?!

“What’s going on?” His hackles raised.

As he anxiously scan for dangers, the air cracked and out came an enormous claw. It slashed at the forefather’s face aggressively.

Its destructive power reached the forefather in the blink of an eye.

“Piss off!” The forefather threw two punches, sending strong torrents of boxing air at the enormous claw.

He’d thought his full might would be able to knock the strange claw awry, but to his shock, the claw wasn’t even delayed for long before it came at him again.

The next hit was even more powerful than the last.

The forefather broke into a cold sweat. He hadn’t expected the bizarre claw to contain such terrifying power!

He threw many more punches trying to deter it, but every attempt ended in disappointment. Despite the great force he put into the punches, he couldn’t knock the claw off its trajectory at all.

To make things worse, another claw split through the air and slashed at him with enough might to destroy heaven and earth.

The slashes from both directions left him with no way to escape. Even he lost his composure in the face of such relentless attacks.

From the blazing sea of fire emerged the Vermilion Bird. It rose from the flames, radiating the might of its bloodline.

The forefather’s heart sank and he sweated so profusely that he drenched his clothes. Could it be a vermilion bird?!

He was experienced enough to readily recognize the burning divine spirit as the mythical vermilion bird.

Among the four divine beasts, he’d seen both a true dragon and vermilion bird today. Naturally he was more than a little shocked.

More importantly, the Vermilion Bird wasn’t an unknown quantity.

He immediately recalled the rumors about Eternal Divine Nation and how their sacred land had emerged victorious. Was this the divine beast that had helped them turn the tide?