The surging tides crashed against the bow of the boat, but were blocked by the formation.
Ji Yutang lowered her eyes, pushing those “shameless couple” out of her mind.
She turned to Lin Heng beside her and asked, “Daoist Lin, can this little boat cross the Xuanming Yin Region?” Lin Heng heard her and immediately turned to look at Ji Yutang.
He scratched his head and said, “No.” After a pause, he added, “The boat is conjured from magic.
Once I complete my heart-painting and reach the Golden Core stage, I’ll be able to do it—assuming we don’t run into those drifting giant icebergs.”
Ji Yutang let out an “oh,” her interest in Langhuan Fairyland’s art path piqued.
Seeing her so intrigued, Lin Heng patiently explained further, and finally said, “Daoist Friend Ji, you don’t have a master yet, right? With your talent, why not join our Langhuan Fairyland?” Li Jingyu had been quietly listening, but as soon as Lin Heng said this, she couldn’t help but shoot him a look.
Even though she’d already set foot on the cultivation path, Ji Yutang was self-aware.
She wasn’t following the qi path advocated by the Eight Great Immortal Sects—even if she wanted to, she couldn’t.
Joining the Eight Great Immortal Sects would only make her a laughingstock.
She gave Lin Heng a warm smile and shook her head in polite refusal.
Lin Heng was a bit disappointed.
If Ji Yutang could be his junior sister, he’d never have to worry about finding someone to play Dao Chess with again.
Still, he kept praising the wonders of Langhuan Fairyland.
As he rambled on, the little boat suddenly stopped.
The sea had calmed, sunlight reflecting off the surface in dazzling, shimmering lines.
A faint dragon’s might swept in all directions—no fish swam in the water, no gulls flew above.
“We’re here.” Ji Yutang was the first to stand.
She shot Li Jingyu a look, as if to prove something, and was the first to leap into the sea.
Li Jingyu crossed her arms, her eyelid twitching, and followed right after Ji Yutang.
The magnificent Dragon Palace city lay underwater, shining like a brilliant sun.
The seawater was suppressed by dragon might, not a ripple in sight.
Normally, there would be dragonkin and fish monsters patrolling around Dragon Palace city, but as the four of them dove deeper, they never encountered any.
The sea was eerily quiet, making a strange, creeping fear rise in their hearts.
“It’s a bit dead down here.” Li Jingyu’s eyes flickered as she murmured.
Qin Ruoshui nodded, his voice low.
“Everyone, be careful.”
This deathly silence was broken when they reached Dragon Palace city.
As soon as they set foot on the crystal arch bridge, countless streams of water gathered into icy cold arrows, shooting at them from all directions, as if to wipe out any intruders.
The dragon scale Qin Ruoshui carried could block dragon might, but not these hidden arrows.
He frowned, but his power wasn’t diminished by being underwater.
Invisible sword qi slashed out in all directions, deflecting every arrow.
“These hidden arrows aren’t a true dragon’s style.” Lin Heng had just spoken when a deep, rumbling roar sounded.
A ten-zhang-long, ferocious sea beast burst out from Dragon Palace city, baring its huge, sharp teeth.
Dragon Palace city was the holy land of the dragon clan—no one but true dragons should be able to enter.
But now, even mindless sea beasts could roam freely inside.
Things were worse than they’d imagined.
If a true dragon were here, would they fear this? Where had all the true dragons gone? The sea beast looked terrifying, but it was actually the weakest kind of sea monster.
Even if it reached the Foundation Establishment stage, it wouldn’t have the power of that realm—let alone this one, which was only at the Mortal Shedding Stage.
Qin Ruoshui drew his magic sword, and with a single slash, cut the beast in two.
The foul-smelling blood mixed with the seawater, instantly staining everything around them.
“Let’s keep going.” Qin Ruoshui took a deep breath, his face grave, sword in hand as he led the way.
The deeper they went into Dragon Palace city, the more sea beasts they encountered.
Sea beasts might lack intelligence, but they had instincts, and would swim toward places rich in spiritual energy.
With its barriers gone, Dragon Palace city was like a treasure trove on the sea floor.
Suddenly, several huge, pale skeletons appeared ahead, each about forty zhang long.
Ji Yutang’s eyelid twitched as she suppressed the restless divine dragon in her Mind Palace, exclaiming, “Dragon bones?” This wasn’t a dragon tomb—if dragon bones appeared here, there was only one explanation: they’d been slaughtered and suppressed by an even stronger force, leaving not even flesh behind.
The dragon scale in Qin Ruoshui’s sleeve suddenly trembled.
He stared at the skeletons ahead, then tossed the dragon scale from his sleeve.
The scale seemed to sense something, landing on one of the pale skeletons.
A faint dragon’s cry sounded, growing more majestic and terrifying.
The scale, which still held a trace of its master’s aura, now attached to the skeleton, summoning the shattered remnant of its soul.
“Is that… Senior Yuan Yunzi?” Qin Ruoshui stared in shock at the gradually manifesting phantom, muttering to himself.
This senior’s cultivation was on par with his own master—a Nascent Soul powerhouse.
How had he ended up a corpse? What had happened to Dragon Palace city? The manifested soul wasn’t Yuan Yunzi himself, but a phantom pieced together from lingering consciousness.
It turned its head blankly, and under the group’s astonished gaze, turned into a golden light that shot into Ji Yutang.
As a true dragon, it sensed the divine dragon’s aura in Ji Yutang and mistook her for kin.
As the golden light faded, Li Jingyu and the others immediately turned to Ji Yutang.
Li Jingyu at least knew the reason, but Lin Heng and Qin Ruoshui were completely confused.
After a long silence, Qin Ruoshui finally asked, “Daoist Friend Ji, did you receive any information?”
“True dragons and dragonkin—” Ji Yutang had just started to speak when a chilling dragon’s roar cut her off.
A hornless giant dragon swam out from the depths of Dragon Palace city, stirring up deep whirlpools.
This hornless Chi Dragon took on human form before them—tall and imposing, but with a lingering evil in his eyes.
The pearls behind him lit up the sea, casting a long, fierce shadow like a Demon God.
Just standing there, he radiated an indescribable ferocity.
“Chi Dragon Lihui.” Lin Heng’s expression changed.
As soon as he spoke, everyone remembered this dragon’s identity.
But according to the records in Xuanming City, wasn’t he supposed to be at the Foundation Establishment stage? How did he now seem to have condensed a dragon core and achieved the Human Immortal fruit? Did he cultivate by devouring true dragon flesh and blood?
Ji Yutang calmly looked at Chi Dragon.
She didn’t sense any resonance with the Dragon Transformation Sutra.
Turning to her three companions, she summed up the message from the golden light in one sentence: “Dragonkin have turned on the true dragons.”
Author’s note: Tomorrow the novel goes VIP, so updates will be unstable for the next few days.
I’ll decide later whether to update at 6pm or 9pm after going VIP.
