Bing Meilu grit her teeth, clutching onto the smooth, gelatinous surface of Zhang's lion with intense fervour. The sharp stinging of her broken eardrums and the intense beating of her heart permeated her being. Furtively glancing backwards, Bing Meilu could see the gigantic dragon slowly gaining on them. Its red eyes shone with such brightness she could clearly make them out, even amongst the fog ridden air. Blasts of black acid shot from the dragon's mouth repeatedly, though Zhang's lion was quick to dodge them.

'It's faster than Zhang,' Bing Meilu thought. 'Unless he has some hidden trump card, we won't be able to escape from the dragon! Furthermore, based on how quickly it defeated the caravan head, its strength should be equivalent to a Half Step Nascent Soul. Meaning Zhang wouldn't be able to defeat it, let alone when he is protecting us.'

Closing her eyes, Bing Meilu thought deeply. Perhaps she could somehow instruct Zhang in one of the powerful Battle Skills she knew? With a strong enough technique, it was possible to defeat even those with higher cultivation. However, to properly learn a battle skill, one had to train for months or even years. Unless Zhang was secretly a top-genius, he would never be able to learn fast enough.

'Forbidden arts are easier to use,' Bing Meilu noted.

'Forbidden' art simply referred to a Battle Skill that harmed the user in return for allowing them to unleash higher than normal power. Generally, such techniques were far easier to learn and unleash than ordinary battle skills. That was because while an ordinary technique required one to learn complex Qi manipulations, comprehend profound truths or slowly refine special Qi, a forbidden technique usually just required the user to sacrifice blood, a limb and other such things.

For example, the battle formation that Bing Meilu had used to save her village, the Blood of Heaven-Earth-Man was a form of forbidden art. It only required spilt blood to be activated and even mortals could use it without much training.

Bing Meilu's mind raced, searching through the forbidden techniques she knew for one that met her criteria. She needed a technique that could be used even by someone in core formation, did not require any time-consuming preparations and was strong enough to allow Zhang to kill the dragon. Quickly Bing Meilu landed upon one such technique.

Bing Meilu had learnt the Frozen Meridian Eruption after becoming an Elder of the Moon Crying Swan Palace. It was one of the few techniques from the lower worlds that had remained useful to Bing Meilu long after she had left them.

"Zhang, I don't suppose you know any powerful forbidden techniques you can use to kill that dragon?" Bing Meilu questioned loudly.

Though she could not hear her own voice, she knew Zhang could. Through the transparent lion, Bing Meilu could see him shake his head negatively.

That made sense. The escort caravan was clearly poor, unable to even afford a good storage item! It would be more surprising if Zhang had any powerful forbidden arts.

"Are you able to use ice Qi?" Bing Meilu further asked. "You don't have to be good at it, just capable."

Zhang nodded, and Bing Meilu let out a sigh of relief.

"Then, I am now going to instruct you in the activation of a powerful forbidden technique from the Moon Crying Swan Palace!" Bing Meilu shouted. "Follow my instruction carefully!"

A slightly taken aback expression appeared on Zhang's face. A Core Formation cultivator like himself would usually never lower themselves to the point of being instructed by someone in Qi Condensation, but Zhang was willing to give Bing Meilu's suggestion a chance. Who knew what powerful techniques a disciple of the Moon Crying Swan Palace had access to?

"Great! Now, begin to collect ice Qi within your seventy-second, thirty-third and twelfth Apertures!" Bing Meilu shouted, upon seeing Zhang nod. "Once they are fully frozen, begin to circulate Qi as fast as you can!"

Zhang frowned but followed the girl's instructions. Icy white light blossomed atop Zhang's skin. A pained look appeared on his face as the Frozen Meridian Eruption began.

"The moment you feel your Meridians shatter, unleash all of your power into an attack," Bing Meilu shouted.

What Zhang had done was essentially turn his own Meridian System into a bomb. By freezing three specific Apertures, the Qi in his body would not be able to circulate properly. Instead, it would all gather into a single point. With every passing moment, the Qi would become more and more volatile, until it shattered through the frozen meridians. At that moment, Zhang could unleash the Qi to release an attack far stronger than he would normally be capable of.

With a sudden pop, Zhang's lion of golden light shattered. Bing Meilu and Xia Xuefeng fell, slamming into the flesh of the ground. Zhang's tall body floated in the air, turning to face the dragon. Within seconds it had arrived upon the immobile Zhang, mouth opening wide to reveal razor-sharp teeth.

Then, brightly glowing liquid metal began to pour from his skin, forming a long lance of glowing molten steel.

The red eyes of the black dragon narrowed. A river of black liquid gushed forth from its maw towards the floating man. With an almost casual gesture, Zhang swiped his hand. The spear of metal danced across the sky, trailed by a river of red light. It sliced through the dragon's attack, the sheer heat of the spear instantly turning the black water into steam.

The spear slammed into the dragon's face, exploding to unleash a massive beam of roaring red light.

Bing Meilu shut her eyes, turning away from the crimson glare. Tremendous shockwaves shook the ground beneath her, like a mighty earthquake.

After several seconds the red light faded and Bing Meilu opened her eyes. Where the dragon had once stood menacing was a massive channel that cut through the ground, resembling a dried river. Plumes of smoke and ash slowly rose from the gouge, along with the overpowering scent of burnt flesh.

Bing Meilu watched in fascination as the flesh of the ground began to wriggle and twitch. Tendons of meat extended from the sides of the deep gorge, dripping with fresh blood. Slowly, the cut in the ground was healing.

Coughing slightly, Bing Meilu stood up. Next to her, Xia Xuefeng lay, breathing deeply with a pained look on her face.

'She must have injured herself in the fall,' Bing Meilu thought, sighing.

Several feet away, Zhang sat on the floor, eyes closed. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, running down his clammy skin.

Reaching down, Bing Meilu grabbed Xia Xuefeng. Pouring Qi to reinforce her limbs, she lifted the teen girl over her shoulders like a sack of rice. Bing Meilu trotted over to Zhang, staring at the still man.

After several moments, his closed eyes opened, gazing up at the girl. His mouth moved, saying something. Bing Meilu shook her head, pointing a finger at her ears.

"My eardrums are ruptured," the girl said.

Zhang frowned, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the Shrinkage Box Bing Meilu had seen him use earlier. Opening it, he retrieved a small jade bottle. A herbal scent wafted from the bottle, covering the stench of burnt meat.

Zhang uncrewed the lid of the bottle, revealing a half-dozen tiny pellets. Bing Meilu sighed but reached into the jar, grabbing two pills. One she popped into her mouth, swallowing the small green pellet. Instantly a cold feeling washed over her. A tingling sensation filled her ears as they healed.

Full Healing pills were trashy and cheap, but they were better than nothing.

Slowly, Bing Meilu set Xia Xuefeng down, taking care not to jostle her. She pushed the pill into the girl's lips, grimacing slightly. A groan came from Xia Xuefeng as the pill worked through her body. After a few moments, she stood up.

"What happened?" the girl questioned, coughing into her bloodstained sleeve.

"I happen to know a few forbidden arts," Bing Meilu shrugged. "I taught one such art to Zhang and thankfully it seems to have been enough to kill that dragon."

"I thank you for that," commented the sitting Zhang, his voice weak and quiet. "I know it's not an easy thing, to teach an outsider one of your sect's secret arts."

"Don't mention it," Bing Meilu said.

"But-"

"I mean, seriously. Do not mention it. If my sect finds out they'll execute me," Bing Meilu forcefully interjected.

"I see..." Zhang replied, blinking slowly.

Indeed, the secret techniques of a sect were exactly that. Secret. No sect would ever allow them to leak to outsiders. Often, such techniques weren't even taught to regular disciples, reserved only for geniuses and those with high status. Entire wars had been started over the stealing of such things.

If the Moon Crying Swan Palace knew she had taught Zhang the Frozen Meridian Eruption, even if it was to save her own life, they would kill Bing Meilu.

"That goes for you too," Bing Meilu continued. "If you ever let anyone know that you've learnt one of the Moon Crying Swan Palace's forbidden techniques, you will be killed as well."

"I understand," Zhang nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly.

He slowly stood up, coughing into his palm.

"I think now I'll be escorting you the rest of the way," Zhang said. "We're fairly close to our destination."

"Excellent," Bing Meilu replied."You've been a wonderful guard. Once I make it back to my sect, I'll make sure you are healed and rewarded well."

Zhang nodded, a slight smile covering his face.

"The young mistress is generous!" he commented. "Now, let's head off."

---

Hundreds of kilometres away from the three, a charred black dragon lay at the bottom of a deep ravine. Slowly the creature began to twitch. From its mouth crawled a single small serpent, eyes blazing with ruby light.

'This isn't over yet!'