Li Jingyu’s words were meant for Ji Yutang, but now really wasn’t the right time, and who knew how much she’d actually take in.
She stared at Ji Yutang for a while, then let out a soft laugh.
“Not every dragonkin can use an array to ascend to true dragon.
There’s competition between them, and when they fight, they don’t hold back.”
That was the truth.
The dragonkin patrolling the area all got dragged into the mess, and none of them had the time or energy to care about this Dragon Prison.
It was possible to sneak into the Dragon Prison at this moment, but the dragonkin outside were still an obstacle.
The three of them waited for the right moment, then unleashed their power at the dragonkin.
As they did, the effect of the Concealment Talisman vanished, and their figures became visible.
The dragonkin realized something was wrong, but it was too late—they could only try to send out a warning! But the golden light they released was quickly blocked by a dazzling golden talisman—Qin Ruoshui had used another Taiyuan Talisman to seal off the area.
Lightning crackled in the water, and the sea glowed with a strange, beautiful light! In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, all the dragonkin blocking the way were slaughtered, leaving only blood swirling in the water, soon swept away by the current.
Among these dragonkin was the “external medicine” Ji Yutang needed.
Since her cultivation method was already exposed, she might as well go all out.
Calmly, she collected the usable external medicine into her sleeve, then looked up at the deep, abyss-like Dragon Prison ahead.
The outer patrols were cleared, but the Dragon Prison itself was extremely dangerous.
It was a place to imprison criminal dragons, filled with an oppressive and terrifying aura.
As the three of them stepped onto the stairs, a sudden sense of danger rose in their hearts, as if an overwhelming force had locked onto them.
Before they could react, a green light exploded in the air, turning into a rain of arrows that fell toward them! The arrows carried the aura of dragon roars, brimming with endless fury! Realizing things were bad, the three fought back together, but the arrow rain was relentless, quickly wearing down the protective energy on their robes, tearing sleeves, until they retreated out of the Dragon Prison and the arrows finally vanished.
Qin Ruoshui frowned.
“There were too many arrows, we couldn’t hold them off.”
“If I’m not mistaken, that was the Falling Moon Bow, right?” Li Jingyu’s eyes flashed as she spoke.
The Falling Moon Bow was a top-tier treasure refined by a former Dragon Maiden.
After her death, the bow disappeared—who would have thought it was hidden in the Dragon Prison? With the Falling Moon Bow as a deterrent, no wonder the guards outside were so lax.
Qin Ruoshui said, “But we’re already here.
We can’t just turn back because of the Falling Moon Bow.” He actually had plenty of magic tools and talismans, but ever since the Xuanming Yin Region incident, he’d been using them up, and now he was almost out.
As he hesitated, Ji Yutang suddenly said, “I’ll go in alone and take a look.”
Qin Ruoshui was stunned, turning his gaze to Ji Yutang’s calm face, trying to read her intentions.
Li Jingyu’s eyes darkened and she immediately refused.
“No, it’s too dangerous in there.
You alone—”
“Alone what? Why are you so sure I can’t do it?” Ji Yutang stared at Li Jingyu, quickly cutting her off.
She had no intention of listening to Li Jingyu, and stepped forward to go in.
Li Jingyu took a deep breath, about to follow, but Qin Ruoshui grabbed her sleeve.
In that brief moment, Ji Yutang slipped into the Dragon Prison.
“Senior Brother Qin, why are you stopping me?” Li Jingyu shot Qin Ruoshui a cold look, her tone suddenly icy.
Qin Ruoshui was a bit confused and lost at Li Jingyu’s sudden change in attitude.
He quickly let go of her sleeve and explained, “Daoist Friend Ji has dragon aura—maybe this is her opportunity? Since she wants to go, we should respect her choice.”
Li Jingyu said, “But what if she can’t make it? If something happens, will you take responsibility?” Qin Ruoshui didn’t answer.
Li Jingyu’s aggressive questioning made him uncomfortable.
He looked at her calmly and said, “Junior Sister Ran, before, you avoided Daoist Friend Ji at all costs.”
“The me of yesterday is not the me of today.” Li Jingyu gave Qin Ruoshui a deep look, then flicked her sleeve coldly.
Her mood gradually calmed.
Ji Yutang had received the dragon inheritance in the Dragon Mansion—maybe she really could handle the Falling Moon Bow.
Inside the Dragon Prison, as soon as Ji Yutang stepped onto the stone steps, she sensed that mysterious force locking onto her.
Deep blue light exploded before her eyes, turning into a never-ending rain of arrows.
Her expression didn’t change.
As she circulated her power, dragon scales covered her hands, shining with silvery light.
When the arrows touched the scales, their power dissipated, turning into a gentle light that wrapped affectionately around her fingertips.
Seeing this, Ji Yutang finally relaxed.
The first time she’d come in, she’d sensed something strange about the Falling Moon Bow, and now it was confirmed.
In her Mind Palace, a realm of contemplation had already formed, with a divine dragon flying through the clouds, trailing rainbow light.
With the lingering power of a true dragon predecessor, the dragon aura on Ji Yutang grew even stronger.
She moved quickly through the corridor, reaching the end before looking up at the Falling Moon Bow hanging on the wall, shaped like a tangle of dragons.
The gems on the bow were already dull and lifeless.
Without its master, the Falling Moon Bow had lost much of its power over the years, nowhere near its former might.
Otherwise, the moment they entered the Dragon Prison, they would have been killed by the bow.
Ji Yutang sighed as she looked at the bow, following a certain urge in her heart, and took it down.
Outside, Li Jingyu and Qin Ruoshui kept a close eye on the Dragon Prison.
When they sensed the oppressive threat disappear, they guessed Ji Yutang had succeeded.
“She subdued a magic weapon that fast?” Qin Ruoshui was a bit surprised.
Li Jingyu said, “Heart of the Great Dao, born with advantages.” She ignored Qin Ruoshui, flashed, and slipped into the Dragon Prison.
“Junior Sister Ran, if—” Qin Ruoshui’s eye twitched, still harboring doubts, but she clearly wasn’t going to let him finish.
He sighed and followed.
Inside the dark Dragon Prison, the Falling Moon Bow didn’t attack again.
Qin Ruoshui took out a night pearl from his sleeve, flicked it onto the wall, and its faint light illuminated the whole place—but it was empty, not a soul in sight.
“Why isn’t anyone here…” Qin Ruoshui was stunned, frowning and muttering to himself.
He was sure he’d sensed their companions’ auras here! And that Dragon Carp—was it lying too? Li Jingyu said, “Maybe they were moved.
It’s not strange for there to be arrays in the Dragon Prison.” After the incident in Dragon Palace City, what happened to the criminal dragons who were suppressed? Were they killed by dragonkin, or did they join the dragonkin? The three of them grew grim at the empty Dragon Prison.
Suddenly, a message came through the transmission talisman—it was Lin Heng, moving in another direction.
“Senior Brother Qin, come to the Dragon God Altar! I found our companions! The dragonkin are going to blood-sacrifice them!”
Qin Ruoshui tensed.
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t find the Taiyin Fiend?” Lin Heng said, “They found the Xuanming Water!” Li Jingyu, hearing “Xuanming Water,” suddenly looked fierce, a flash of killing intent in her eyes.
She’d sensed the Xuanming Water in the Sea Abyss before, but the Dragon Palace matter was more urgent, so she’d set it aside.
Who would have thought the Dragon Palace found the Xuanming Water in such a short time? This was something she absolutely needed to cultivate Primordial Abyssal Divine Water—she couldn’t let anyone else have it.
Suppressing her gloom and coldness, she urged Qin Ruoshui, “Senior Brother Qin, let’s hurry to the Dragon God Altar!” Qin Ruoshui didn’t hesitate anymore and agreed, “Alright.”
The Dragon God Altar was where generations of true dragons worshipped their ancestors.
Even dragonkin could barely breathe under the overwhelming dragon might, let alone a human cultivator like Lin Heng.
But the dragonkin had found a way to temporarily suppress the dragon might, giving Lin Heng a chance to sneak in.
The blood sacrifice was being led by a Golden Core stage dragonkin.
Beside him, along with Chi Dragon Lidi, stood a human cultivator in black, face obscured but clearly from the Tianhai Demon Sect! Lin Heng stared at the blood-red patterns in the array, his anxiety growing.
He wanted to rush in, but knew he couldn’t handle all those people alone.
Maybe Senior Brother Qin and the others could help, he thought, but he couldn’t convince himself.
News from Dragon Palace City had already spread—surely the Eight Great Immortal Sects knew, but no higher-level cultivators had arrived, probably blocked by the Tianhai Demon Sect! One by one, the blood-red lines lit up.
When the red light completely covered the altar, the blood sacrifice would be complete.
Lin Heng stared at the stage, and just as he was about to charge out, a loud crash sounded nearby.
Surging power and seabed dust and coral were swept up, as if the whole sea was being overturned! Lin Heng looked up—it was a dragonkin with dragon horns and four legs, somewhere between a true dragon and a carp.
It had to be the famous Dragon Carp! The dragonkin had set up many defenses around the altar, but the Dragon Carp’s immense power shattered the outer arrays, even breaking many of the array patterns.
The Golden Core dragonkin’s face changed, immediately transforming into a serpent to fight the Dragon Carp.
The Tianhai Demon Sect cultivator wasn’t very strong, watching from afar and occasionally using some sneaky tricks.
This turn of events made Lin Heng secretly happy.
He didn’t know if the Dragon Carp was friend or foe, but it was an opportunity.
A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes, his power surged, and a scroll of mountains and rivers floated around him.
With his movement, the beings in the scroll came to life, joining the fight against the dragonkin.
These beings could match his own power, but couldn’t last long.
Still, it was enough for now.
He leapt onto the altar and freed his bound companions! Chi Dragon Lidi roared, transformed into his true form, and swept at Lin Heng! The Chi Dragon was even stronger than before—three people had barely held him off last time, but now—Lin Heng’s pupils shrank as he saw the whip-like dragon tail coming at him, unable to dodge.
Just as he thought he was done for, countless brilliant sword lights rained down like golden water.
Lin Heng breathed a sigh of relief—Senior Brother Qin and the others had arrived.
Ji Yutang looked up at the Dragon Carp’s tail and said, “That’s the senior.”
Qin Ruoshui gripped his sword and said in a low voice, “Let’s get out of here.” They couldn’t get involved in a fight between Golden Core cultivators.
Now that they’d rescued their companions, that was one goal accomplished.
As for Dragon Palace City, without sacrifices, the dragonkin couldn’t complete their transformation, so things could be delayed—maybe until their elders arrived.
Ji Yutang said, “But the true dragons aren’t free yet.” She’d received the dragon inheritance, owed the dragons a debt, and was now tied to their fate.
If the Dragon Palace City crisis was resolved, her fortune would rise; if not, she’d be dragged down by the dragon path.
But with her current cultivation, there was only so much she could do.
“Senior Brother Qin, take our friends somewhere safe.
They’re in no shape to fight.” Li Jingyu smiled, then glanced at Ji Yutang.
“I’ll stay nearby with Yutang to observe.”
Qin Ruoshui hesitated—he wanted everyone to leave together.
But Junior Sister Ran didn’t look like she’d change her mind, and keeping the wounded here was too risky.
After a moment, he nodded.
“Alright, be careful.” With that, he and Lin Heng led the wounded away.
The Dragon Carp and serpent tangled together, blood bubbling in the water.
Seeing the Dragon Carp gaining the upper hand, the dragonkin led by Chi Dragon all rushed in, trying to wear down the Golden Core cultivator.
“Did you deliberately send Qin and the others away?” Ji Yutang looked at Li Jingyu, unsure of her intentions.
Li Jingyu smiled but didn’t answer.
She had, in fact, done so on purpose.
Ji Yutang couldn’t see it, but fellow disciple Qin Ruoshui probably could.
Li Jingyu leapt onto the altar.
The Jewel of the Rising Tides hovered above her head, radiating a strange aura.
She’d once used a Heavenly Dragon Pill to refine her Life-Bound Artifact.
Though she couldn’t fully absorb it, she’d still gained the dragon’s water-controlling power.
Her aura surged, and the water in the whole sea trembled, a faint full moon appearing above.
That was a moon drawn by Taiyin energy.
In the Primordial Abyssal Divine Water method her mother taught her, the nine lunar phases complemented it, and with the Taiyin Fiend in the moon, she could draw out the Xuanming Water! The altar was damaged, but that didn’t mean the array was destroyed.
The blood sacrifice array connected to the True Dragon Transformation Array, and the Xuanming Water on that side would also be drawn in.
Deep in the Dragon Palace.
Nine true dragons were chained to the dragon pillars, their bodies pierced by countless Dragon Locking Nails.
Dragon blood flowed from their torn wounds, instantly devoured by the array.
The true dragons’ roars never ceased—even suppressed by the Dragon Locking Nails, they still struggled madly, making the pillars shake as if they’d be uprooted.
But atop each pillar sat a Daoist, who, seeing the pillars tremble, expressionlessly reinforced the suppression.
“To be able to struggle even now—truly worthy of being true dragons,” one Daoist said coldly.
“The more they struggle, the more their flesh tears.
With the Spirit Transfer Array, we’ll benefit from it, so it’s not bad,” another white-bearded Daoist said, eyes narrowed.
They were all dragonkin who’d failed to ascend to true dragon.
Even if they’d reached the same level, they were still far inferior.
But now, the true dragons they once worshipped were prisoners, and soon the North Sea would be theirs.
“The Demon Sect is helping us—they must have their own plans,” another Daoist said.
“No rush.
Once we ascend, we won’t fear those devils,” another replied dismissively.
As they spoke, something changed in the array.
The Xuanming Water, which had been swirling in the array, suddenly shifted.
“It’s the blood sacrifice array on the other side! Something’s happened!” “Who’s stirring the waters of the four seas? That dragon aura… a Heavenly Dragon?” a Daoist exclaimed in shock.
“It can’t be a Heavenly Dragon—there’s Taiyin power in it.
Could it be—” The white-bearded Daoist thought of a possibility, and a chill crept into his heart.
In the past, a Taishi successor had come to the North Sea and stirred up trouble.
Back then, she’d just entered the Nascent Soul stage, but still suppressed the Dragon Palace’s Nascent Soul cultivators.
In the end, the Dragon Lord had to use special means to send her away.
And… wasn’t she already demonized and killed?
“Doesn’t matter who it is—quick, suppress the Xuanming Water!” a Daoist urged.
The nine Daoists activated the array, waves of power pressing down on the Xuanming Water.
But just then, a clear, cold laugh rang out, and a figure appeared in the Xuanming Water.
She simply raised her hand and brought down a sword—layer after layer of power shattered under the sword light!
“Li—Li—Li Qingxun—” the white-bearded Daoist stammered.
He’d been beaten by her before and was traumatized.
Seeing this apparition, he couldn’t keep his composure.
“Senior brother, hold steady—it’s just an apparition!” another Daoist snapped.
But as soon as he spoke, a sword light flashed across his body, and in the next moment, he turned to dust and vanished! The true dragons chained to the pillars saw their chance, and with a flash in their eyes, yanked the entire pillar free! As soon as the pillar left the ground, the array’s power binding them vanished.
The dragon transformed into human form, countless Dragon Locking Nails tearing flesh as they flew out, and hurled them at the remaining eight Daoists.
“Dragon Lord…” After thousands of years under the true dragons, these Daoists were deeply afraid of them.
Now, seeing the Dragon Lord’s golden robes stained with blood, they couldn’t help but shrink back.
The Dragon Lord ignored them, instead looking at the apparition above the Xuanming Water.
“It’s been a hundred years, and you’ve fallen so far.”
The apparition laughed softly.
“Aren’t you just as wretched? I’m taking the Xuanming Water.” With that, the apparition faded, merging into the Xuanming Water, which slowly disappeared under the pull of the altar array.
As his old friend’s apparition vanished, the Dragon Lord’s smile faded too, his tightly pressed lips betraying a hint of sorrow and regret.
Heaven’s secrets are hard to see, and the wise die young.
The Taishi successor of old was a peerless genius.
If she’d inherited Taishi Palace, the Three Supreme Veins would have united under her.
Besides her unmatched combat skills, her divination was profound.
The path she paved for her daughter ended up saving the Dragon Palace.
Or maybe she foresaw this disaster for the Dragon Palace?
“There’s only one of her, and she’s injured! Quick! Don’t let her free the other true dragons!” a Daoist’s voice suddenly turned shrill.
The Dragon Lord looked at the traitors and sighed softly.
Deep within Dragon Palace City, the Dragon Lord was locked in a fierce battle with the eight Daoists.
Outside, the Dragon Carp and that serpent had also decided their match.
The Dragon Carp barely scraped out a victory, but most of his scales had fallen off, and he was covered in blood.
His eyes were filled with a murderous aura, making his face look even more savage.
For a moment, none of the surviving dragonkin dared to challenge him.
On the altar.
Li Jingyu reached out and grabbed the ball of Xuanming Water.
After using the power of the Taiyin, her face was a bit pale.
As her fingertips brushed over the dark water, she suddenly sensed a very familiar presence, and she couldn’t help but cry out, “Mother!” But there was no response at all.
“Is it done?” Ji Yutang watched Li Jingyu step down from the altar, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
She glanced at the ball of water, only to feel a chill seep into her bones, and quickly looked away.
Li Jingyu nodded.
She looked at Li Bai and said, “Senior—” But Li Bai had no intention of replying, only raising his voice to say, “The Dragon Lord has broken free.”
Broken free? That true dragon is free again? So now, whatever happens next is Dragon Palace City’s own business, right? Li Jingyu and Ji Yutang exchanged a glance, both a little surprised.
How did he break free? Did someone help him? Dragon Carp wouldn’t lie about something like this, so they were curious, but since it was Dragon Palace City’s affair, it wasn’t their place to ask.
Li Jingyu said, “Let’s go find Senior Brother Qin and the others.”
Ji Yutang nodded and answered, “Okay.”
On the icefield, Qin Ruoshui stood atop a towering, boulder-like chunk of ice, gazing out toward the North Sea.
“Is Senior Brother Qin worried about Junior Sister Ran and Daoist Friend Ji?” Lin Heng asked.
Although the icefield was dangerous, it was still safer than the sea.
After thinking it over, the two of them had brought their companions to the shore.
But when they tried to re-enter that part of the sea, they suddenly found the area had been sealed off—even with a dragon scale, they couldn’t get in.
Qin Ruoshui said anxiously, “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let them stay over there.”
“Junior Sister Ran should be confident in herself.” Lin Heng hid the worry in his eyes and tried to comfort Qin Ruoshui, “It’s fine.
I contacted the Langhuan Painting Realm earlier, and they’ve already replied—apparently, a senior has already arrived at the Xuanming Yin Region.”
Qin Ruoshui nodded, forcing a smile as he replied, “My Tai Shang branch has also sent word back.
Things are looking up.” It was just a pity the news came a little too late.
