"What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think I wouldn't save you?" Ning Beichen said angrily.
"I don't want to harm you." Although scolded by Ning Beichen, Luo Yingying felt a surge of joy within her.
"Say that again, and I'll spank your bottom. Wait for me obediently, I'll be there soon." Ning Beichen descended rapidly, as fast as lightning, and soon reached the bottom of the abyss. However, the scene before him stunned him. The bottom of the abyss was a vast, black river, yet he still couldn't find Luo Yingying.
"Yingying... Yingying, are you there?" Ning Beichen called out loudly. This time, there was no response from Luo Yingying, which made Ning Beichen anxious. He hovered on his sword above the black river, trying to deduce Luo Yingying's current situation and location.
From the moment she was pulled into the black mist, it was impossible for her to have gone further or been pulled upwards, as Luo Yingying had clearly informed him of her predicament earlier. According to Ning Beichen's last conversation with her, she mentioned feeling as if she had stepped onto a layer of clouds, the ground beneath her feet was soft and seemed to be moving. So, where could she be?
Ning Beichen considered the possibilities: upper, middle, or lower. Not the upper, not the lower, so the middle position was the most likely. However, even if Ning Beichen knew this, it was useless. The surroundings were entirely shrouded in black mist, making it impossible to see anything or find Luo Yingying.
"No, I have to think of a way," Ning Beichen was extremely anxious. As he thought, a wild idea struck him. "If I can't find Luo Yingying, perhaps she can find me?"
With this thought, Ning Beichen acted immediately without further hesitation. If Luo Yingying were to find him, Ning Beichen's plan was simple: cause destruction and create a massive disturbance as a signal. Since Luo Yingying's cultivation was superior to his, no matter what danger she faced, as long as it wasn't annihilation, Ning Beichen believed she could handle it with her strength.
"Sword Devouring Mountains!" After a rapid ascent, Ning Beichen immediately swung his sword at the black river. A hundred-meter-long sword dragon roared out of the black mist, charging directly at the black river. A thunderous boom echoed from the river, and a water column shot up hundreds of meters high.
However, Ning Beichen did not stop. He continued to unleash sword strikes at the black river, creating a massive commotion. Ning Beichen's actions were also a warning to whatever was lurking there, telling it not to push him, or it would also suffer.
Meanwhile, Luo Yingying was trapped in a pitch-black area, facing a colossal dragon head. The size of this dragon head was, to put it mildly, like half a mountain. It would be no effort at all for it to swallow Luo Yingying whole, perhaps like chewing a bean. The immense pressure emanating from this dragon head pinned Luo Yingying, making her unable to move. She never imagined that a dragon would be hidden at the bottom of this abyss. The dangerous presence she had sensed earlier, lurking and observing her, was this very dragon.
Therefore, Luo Yingying now wished that Ning Beichen wouldn't come looking for her, but rather would stay far, far away. However, she had underestimated Ning Beichen's determination to find her. He continued to cause destruction, creating a massive disturbance. The black river outside was like the site of a massive explosion, causing the dark waters to churn and surge, naturally affecting the black dragon hidden within.
"Ning Beichen, it must be him." A look of excitement appeared on Luo Yingying's face. Although she desperately wanted to rush towards Ning Beichen's location, she was immobilized by the dragon's pressure. The black dragon, also agitated by the commotion, felt its dignity challenged and furiously rushed back towards the source of the disturbance. Just as Luo Yingying thought she had escaped, she found herself passively being pulled onto the dragon's head. It then moved at breakneck speed through the black mist.
"Stop!" Just as Ning Beichen was furiously bombarding the black river, a deafening roar echoed from afar, causing Ning Beichen's ears to bleed. As Ning Beichen felt a chill of fear, a massive snake-like head, no, a dragon-like head, emerged from the black mist.
"Ning Beichen, be careful, it's a black dragon!" Then, Ning Beichen heard Luo Yingying's voice. Ning Beichen looked up and saw Luo Yingying on the black dragon's head, his face lighting up with joy.
"Yingying, are you alright? Are you hurt?" Ning Beichen called out urgently.
"Roar!" However, his answer was not from Luo Yingying, but a roar that shook him to his core.
"Human, you have angered me!" The dragon spoke with a human voice, as if yelling into Ning Beichen's ear through a loudspeaker. Blood began to seep from Ning Beichen's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, leaving him looking quite battered.
"You captured my companion first!" Ning Beichen said, his face covered in blood but refusing to back down.
"Humble human, you are not in a position to negotiate with me!" Under the black dragon's colossal body, Ning Beichen was indeed like a tiny ant.
"Beast, *you* are the humble one, your whole family is humble!" Ning Beichen was not known for his good temper. How could he tolerate a beast acting so arrogantly in front of him?
"Human, you court death." The black dragon roared in fury and then inhaled deeply, a powerful suction drawing Ning Beichen towards it. Although Ning Beichen tried to steady himself, the black dragon's suction was too strong, making it impossible for him to escape. Since escape was impossible, Ning Beichen decided to go all out. Given the black dragon's attitude, even if he surrendered, it wouldn't end well.
"Beast! You forced me into this." Ning Beichen, suspended in the air, held his bronze ancient sword and unleashed a slash towards the dragon. A hundred-zhang sword light pierced the black mist, striking directly at the black dragon's head. This was Ning Beichen's most powerful sword technique, and it wasn't just its power, but also the energy from his cultivation of crossing the sea of suffering. The black dragon was initially relaxed. What did a hundred-zhang sword light matter? It wasn't that bigger sword light was stronger, but rather that bigger sword light was weaker. The logic was simple: the larger the sword light, the more dispersed the power, making it less effective than a smaller, more concentrated sword light.
To be precise, the black dragon's reasoning was not wrong, but Ning Beichen was not using an ordinary sword light. He was employing the Songshan Sword Art. Ning Beichen himself did not know the origin of this Songshan Sword Art. It seemed to be an ancient sword technique, originating from a higher plane. The black dragon confidently extended its claw, intending to shatter Ning Beichen's sword light.