<h4>Chapter 1474: Let''s Split Up</h4>


    The denglongs were a famous race in the universe, and they could never stoop so low as to be someone else''s mount.


    If word that he had be Zhang Lie''s mount were to spread, he would be an embarrassment to his race, one that would be ughtered by his own kin after he left this virtual realm.


    "Then be on your way."


    Zhang Lie beheaded the denglong.


    Not far away, the woman turned to flee.


    Zhang Lie chased after the woman, who ran away at great speed. In order to escape, she even revealed her true form—a dragon-headed phoenix. Her cries resounded through the heavens as light emanated from her and Zhang Lie.


    Despite her best efforts, Zhang Lie was like a heavenly monarch, each of his punches filled with starlight. The dragon-headed phoenix was forced into passivity as she ducked and wove.


    Yang Ze struck at an opportune moment, his water-attuned gic energy exploding like the tides.


    "[The Boundless de: Dragonwhale]!"


    Thepping of waves echoed through the battlefield. They grew and grew, reaching a crescendo and rising into the sky like a tsunami, manifesting in the form of a huge whale.


    The whale''s body was long and streamlined, with long whiskers and scales patterning its body. As it flipped over, pale-blue gic energy exploded. The dragon-headed phoenix felt as though she had been crushed under the sea. She vanished in a pile of mental dust, in in a moment. Pinpricks of light flew toward the back of Zhang Lie''s palm.


    The divineke rippled, fog wafting out from its surface. It was clean and pure, and the ce looked like something out of an immortal realm.


    Zhang Lie stood atop a blue rock on theke, observing its surface as he searched for the silver-dragon lotuses.


    "Where could they have gone?"


    He frowned in surprise. Theke wasn''t particrlyrge, and he could easily see all the way into its depths. However, the silver-dragon lotuses had vanished.


    Yang Ze and the others helped search as well, but none of them could see the lotuses at all.


    "Let''s split up and search," Li Feng suggested.


    Zhang Lie nodded approvingly. "We''ll meet up here in half an hour regardless of sess."


    The cultivators scattered.


    Zhang Lie leapt into theke, towards its bottom. It was peaceful and idyllic there; there were no monsters or anything of the sort. A faint fragrance suffused the water and was absorbed into his lungs.


    "As expected of a divine nt!"


    Zhang Lie quickly found the problem. There was a hidden stream in theke leading toward another body of water entirely. He followed along the stream, unwilling to give up on such a rare nt.


    The underground river was particrly long, and the current surprisingly rapid. It too was suffused with a pleasant scent. Zhang Lie smiled at having found the trail of the silver-dragon lotuses.


    He followed the underground river for hundreds of kilometers before the current slowly petered out. Then, it began to elevate as he found himself in a giantke.


    A huge sword sh shot down toward him, barely missing him. He was incensed to have been attacked out of nowhere.


    Another blood-red sh came at him, tearing apart theke. It was a frightening attack, but the sword sh went wide.


    Zhang Lie frowned. His unknown assant was far too inurate—or could he not have been the target?


    He carefully extended his senses to discover a huge fight brewing. There were plenty of cultivators around theke engaging inrge-scale confrontation against the wild lifeforms of this realm.


    He realized his mistake now. He had appeared on a chaotic battlefield; no one was targeting him.


    "Damn it. A divine nt is exceptionally rare, and I can''t let anyone else catch sight of the silver-dragon lotuses." Zhang Lie carefully swam around theke in search of the rare nts.


    Suddenly, waves surged, and he barely avoided being flung into the air.


    The aerial battle was particrly intense, and countless attacks, runes, and explosions could be felt even below the surface of the water.


    It was exceptionally dangerous, and a moment''s carelessness could cause great peril.


    Zhang Lie cursed. His search was taking a very unfortunate turn.


    The moment someone else noticed the divine nt, he wouldn''t be able to avoid a fight. All the cultivators in the area would swoop down and attempt to snatch the treasure from him.


    "Appear!" he whispered, continuing to swim forth.


    He ducked low, close to the bottom of theke, and avoided arge-scale attack from high above.


    "I''ve found them!"


    Finally, Zhang Lie saw a few silver glows. The silver-dragon lotuses darted about at a rapid clip. Although they were each only about the length of an arm, their silver sheen made them stand out even in the turbidke.


    A huge wave surged again.


    Zhang Lie frowned. He was very displeased; if not for the divine nts, he would have been tempted to head up above the surface and join the fight. As is, he barely avoided being struck.


    The silver-dragon lotuses fled in panic.


    "Hmm?" Suddenly, he saw a figure dart underwater following the silver-dragon lotuses.


    Had someone else discovered the divine nts? Those belonged to Zhang Lie!


    A hand reached out and grabbed a silver dragon, then inspected it carefully. The figure shook in excitement, surprised and excited.


    Zhang Lie crept up to the figure, a woman with slender limbs and snowy-white skin.


    She was hidden in some high-level stealth technique that made her difficult to sense even at close range. If not for the fact that she had sought out his prey, he might not even have noticed her.


    She reached out and caught another silver dragon.


    Zhang Lie knew that he couldn''t wait any longer. He crept up to the woman and struck as fast as lightning, grabbing onto one of her legs and pulling her down. Then, he rapidly imed the silver-dragon lotuses she had acquired.


    The woman was exceptionally shocked. Her body grew taut as she radiated arge quantity of light, intending to shake off her pursuer.


    Zhang Lie was surprised by the amount of strength she possessed. Her skin gleamed with moonlight; an ordinary cultivator might have died from the intense vibrations.


    "It''s you!"


    The woman turned around to look at Zhang Lie, revealing incredible beauty. Her expressive eyes were filled with shock. She recognized Zhang Lie, having seen him not too long ago.


    Her clothes fluttered in the water, revealing snowy-white skin. Her eyes wererge, her eyebrows long, her hair trailing behind her like ck silk. She was so beautiful that Zhang Lie momentarily forgot to breathe.


    Zhang Lie recognized her as well—Feng Xian.


    "We meet again."


    Zhang Lie didn''t hesitate to strike at once.


    Feng Xian''s forehead glowed with light as frightening ripples of energy emanated from her. She invoked divine spiritual power.


    Feng Xian was strong beyond belief. She came from the Starbright Academy of the fifth realm, and was the foremost student of her cohort. She knew far more about this virtual realm than Zhang Lie did; unlike Zhang Lie, who had meandered aimlessly, Feng Xian had strengthened herself tremendously in as short a time as possible. Her mental state had undergone a transformation, and she had grown even stronger.