The undersea Dragon Palace was magnificent, with crystal floors, golden pillars, and jade steps.
Pearl curtains hung down, making a soft rustling sound in the water.
Fish swam freely among the coral, looking lively and carefree, but in the blink of an eye, they would bare their fierce fangs and bite at their companions, leaving behind waves of blood with a strong, fishy stench.
The divine dragon in the Mind Palace had finally quieted down.
Ji Yutang, trusting her instincts, picked a direction and moved swiftly.
After turning through several crystal corridors, the sea beasts were nowhere to be seen, replaced by groups of dragonkin—each revealing their dragon forms, evolving toward true dragons within the Dragon Palace city.
“All the dragonkin of the North Sea are gathered here?” Ji Yutang was a bit surprised.
Even though she had a talisman to conceal her presence, she still felt uneasy.
As she hesitated about whether to move forward, a dispute suddenly broke out among the dragonkin.
A Dragon Carp revealed his human form, summoned a gleaming magic sword, and charged at the other dragonkin! The dragonkin were startled at first and scattered in all directions, but after a few moments, they came to their senses, transformed into human form, and shouted angrily at the Dragon Carp, “Li Bai, are you betraying the ancestor?”
The young man who was the Dragon Carp sneered, “What ancestor? You think those inside are worthy?” Carp first transform into Dragon Carp, then leap over the Dragon Gate to become true dragonkin.
He prided himself on being a “true dragon bloodline” and would never stoop to betraying the dragon clan! The only reason he mixed with these traitors was to find a chance to wipe them all out! This Dragon Carp was a Golden Core cultivator, and though a few of the dragonkin were on his level, they were quickly beaten back as soon as they fought him.
Even surrounded by a group of dragonkin, the Dragon Carp didn’t fall behind at all.
“The Dragon Carp’s combat power is actually this fierce?” Ji Yutang said in surprise, not daring to move forward for fear of being caught in the crossfire.
“Those dragonkin must have been drugged and can’t use their full strength,” Li Jingyu explained.
Sure enough, after being beaten back, the other dragonkin noticed something wrong with themselves.
They glared at Li Bai, as if they wanted to tear a piece of flesh from him.
“Shameless traitor, you drugged us?” Li Bai wiped the blood from his sword and said calmly, “Just giving you a taste of your own medicine.” The banquet in Dragon Palace city was a feast for the dragonkin.
At this time, anyone with dragon blood could enter the Dragon Palace to seek enlightenment and get closer to becoming a true dragon.
But these beasts betrayed the trust of the true dragons, drugging the food at the Dragon Palace banquet and causing the true dragons to lose their powers.
Several unyielding true dragons had already been killed by the traitors, and the rest were imprisoned somewhere in a formation.
Since Li Bai was dragonkin, he had to find a way to rescue the true dragons.
It was a one-sided slaughter.
Li Bai, at the Golden Core stage, had already mastered the “Heaven and Earth Lockdown” divine ability, and none of the dragonkin inside could escape.
“The higher-level dragonkin haven’t shown up.
Are they being held up by something?” A strange light flashed in Ji Yutang’s eyes.
She thought of a possibility and instinctively looked to Li Jingyu for confirmation.
“Very likely,” Li Jingyu nodded slowly in response.
The Dragon Carp had been heading deeper into the Dragon Palace city with his sword, but suddenly, as if sensing something, his sharp eyes shot toward where Ji Yutang and Li Jingyu were hiding.
“Who’s there?!” he shouted, and his sword light fell like a shooting star, slashing toward them.
Ji Yutang’s eyelid twitched.
She didn’t dare take Li Bai’s sword head-on.
First, his cultivation was at the Golden Core stage, and second, the concealment talisman would fail if she fought! She quickly dodged to the side, but to her surprise, Li Bai could sense her movement, and the sword light shifted to follow her.
Li Jingyu sighed, removed her concealment talisman, and revealed herself first.
Li Bai’s attack stopped, but his brows were still furrowed with hostility.
“Human cultivators? What are you doing in my Dragon Palace?” he demanded.
“We heard that Dragon Palace city is working with the Demon Sect, so as disciples of Taiyuan Palace, we came to investigate,” Li Jingyu replied calmly.
Li Bai stared at Li Jingyu and snorted coldly, “There’s another one.”
A strange light flashed in Li Jingyu’s eyes.
Even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t see through the Taiyuan Xuanqing Concealment Talisman, yet this Golden Core Dragon Carp could sense her? She glanced at Ji Yutang and gave her a look.
Since they’d been discovered, there was no point in hiding.
Luckily, this man wasn’t on the same side as the other dragonkin—maybe they could work together.
When Ji Yutang revealed herself, Li Bai’s expression eased a bit.
Though he was a demon cultivator, his clan had top-tier qi cultivation techniques, and he also walked the path of qi.
The technique he practiced, “If Not Me, Then Other,” rejected all foreign powers—his path was unique.
He pressed his sword down and looked over Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang, finally fixing his gaze on Ji Yutang.
“You practice dragon arts?” he asked in a deep voice.
Ji Yutang nodded.
Li Bai didn’t dwell on the topic.
After a pause, he sneered, “The matter in Dragon Palace city involves Nascent Soul experts.
I’m afraid you two aren’t up to the task.” Taiyuan Dao Palace hadn’t sent any Nascent Soul cultivators, just a few Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining disciples.
In his eyes, they were just here for show, to display the style of Tai Shang’s direct disciples.
He wasn’t sure what these two wanted, but since they weren’t on the dragonkin’s side, he didn’t plan to interfere.
Just as he turned to leave, transforming into a several-zhang-long Dragon Carp, Li Jingyu’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Senior, do you know what’s happened in Dragon Palace city?” Li Jingyu asked.
The Dragon Carp turned his head, his eyes glowing blood-red.
He said coldly, “That’s none of your business.”
Li Jingyu’s eyelid twitched, and she continued, “Earlier in the Sea Abyss, we ran into Tianhai Demon Sect disciples.
They were collecting Taiyin Fiend for someone, apparently to use against the true dragons.”
“Taiyin Fiend?” The Dragon Carp, who was about to leave, stopped at her words.
He stared at Li Jingyu and demanded, “What else do you know?”
Li Jingyu looked at the Dragon Carp and didn’t hide anything.
“True Dragon Transformation Array.”
“What?” The Dragon Carp was shocked.
He immediately sealed off the area and looked at Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang.
“Tell me everything you know.
Right now, those Nascent Soul ancestors are busy suppressing the true dragons and don’t have time to care about this place.”
Li Jingyu had wanted to recruit this Dragon Carp as an ally, so she exaggerated the details about Taiyin Fiend, the North Sea Demon God Pillar, and so on.
The Dragon Carp, in turn, told them about the true dragons being trapped in Dragon Palace city.
After a stick of incense’s time, both sides had gotten the information they wanted.
Before leaving, the Dragon Carp pointed Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang in the right direction.
He hadn’t been involved with the Immortal Sect cultivators, but he did know where their prisoners were being held.
After the Dragon Carp left, Ji Yutang turned to Li Jingyu, frowning.
“He’s going to rescue the true dragons by himself?”
“No idea,” Li Jingyu answered crisply, shaking her head.
“I don’t think he’s reckless.
He’s been hiding in Dragon Palace city for a while—he must have his own plan.”
Ji Yutang hummed in agreement, lowering her lashes.
“Let’s go find the others.”
Li Jingyu crossed her arms and smiled.
“Whatever you say.”
They’d gotten information from the Dragon Carp, and as a Taiyuan Palace true disciple, Qin Ruoshui had her own ways of finding people.
Outside the prison, those who’d chosen different directions all met up here.
“Junior Sister Ran, Daoist Friend Ji, you’re just in time,” Qin Ruoshui said, a hint of joy in her eyes.
Now that they’d found the prison, a fight with the dragonkin was inevitable.
Li Jingyu listened to Qin Ruoshui’s plan and nodded calmly.
Ji Yutang couldn’t help glancing at Li Jingyu a few more times.
Why didn’t she mention meeting the Dragon Carp when she saw Qin Ruoshui? That information was closely tied to the changes in Dragon Palace city.
Was she trying to “avoid suspicion” in front of her? But what was the point of that now? After thinking for a moment, seeing that Li Jingyu really didn’t plan to speak, Ji Yutang took the initiative to bring up the “Dragon Carp” and explained everything.
She added, “The Nascent Soul dragonkin among them must be tied up elsewhere.
We still have a chance.”
“The dragonkin drugged the food at the Dragon Palace banquet? With the demon clan’s alchemy skills, that shouldn’t be possible.
There must be demonic cultivators involved,” Qin Ruoshui said, her face darkening, her hatred and anger toward the demonic cultivators growing even stronger.
“If the True Dragon Transformation Array fails, they’ll probably try something even crazier.
We have to stop them!”
“Let’s rescue our fellow cultivators first, then contact Daoist Friend Lin,” Ji Yutang said.
Qin Ruoshui agreed with a “Got it.”
A group of demon cultivators guarded the water prison where the Immortal Sect cultivators were held.
They were ill-tempered and would start fighting over the slightest disturbance.
Using concealment talismans, the group first quietly stole a treasure from one demon cultivator, then hid it on another.
As expected, when one demon found his treasure had been “stolen” by another, he flew into a rage and started a fight.
Qin Ruoshui said, “Their cultivation must have been boosted by some external force, like the Chi Dragon, so it’s not solid.” After watching for a while, she added, “This external force that lets them manifest dragon forms must be from the flesh and blood of those true dragons.
Demon cultivators who take this path have a lot of flaws.”
Ji Yutang frowned at her words.
She also had to use external medicine, which in a way made her similar to these demon cultivators.
Would she end up like them? Then what was the point of practicing the Dragon Transformation Sutra?
“They’re flawed in temperament and just recklessly take medicine.
That’s not real strength cultivation,” Li Jingyu said gently, noticing Ji Yutang’s expression.
“But strength cultivation draws on Primordial Qi from heaven and earth.
The burden is much greater than for us qi cultivators.
If you can’t break free, you’ll merge with the world.
This path isn’t the true way,” Qin Ruoshui said quietly.
Li Jingyu countered, “The Dao is one, but the ways to reach it are countless.
There’s no such thing as a true or false path.”
Qin Ruoshui turned to Li Jingyu.
He didn’t agree with her, but didn’t argue further.
After a long pause, he said softly, “Junior Sister Ran, you’re really different from before.”
Li Jingyu’s expression didn’t change, as if she hadn’t heard.
Ji Yutang also felt that Li Jingyu was a bit different from the “fiancée” she remembered, but her own memories were so vague that she couldn’t be sure.
Pushing aside her messy thoughts, she broke the awkward silence between the three of them.
“They’re fighting now.
It’s a good chance.”
