71: Chapter 71 The Dragon Clan's Wrath

Inside the Crystal Palace, the water flowed gently. Dragon King Ao Guang sat upon a coral throne, his face masked in frost. Grand Elder Ao Gu was perched on a jade pillar carved with dragons, his whiskers drooping.

Below him knelt an elderly man with a tortoise shell, his entire body trembling like a sieve.

"Is the news certain?" Ao Gu spoke, his voice vibrating so strongly that the surrounding aquatic plants flattened against the ground.

"Reporting to the Grand Elder, it is absolutely certain. Chu Kuangren of the Penglai Sword Sect personally spread the word. An auction will be held at the Haiyue Inn in Tianshui City in half a month. The grand finale item... is three drops of Pure-blooded True Dragon Essence Blood."

"Absurd!" Ao Guang slammed his palm onto the table, turning the Ten-thousand-year-old Cold Jade into powder.

Handing over three Soul Transformation Stage Silver Flood Dragons previously was a concession made after the Dragon Clan weighed the pros and cons. With the Golden Great Era approaching and the Laws of the Heavenly Dao still unstable, the Dragon Clan did not wish to fight to the death with a Hidden Family of unknown origin too early. A step back leads to a wider horizon.

Who would have thought that Ye Yuan would actually dare to auction off the essence blood he had forcibly extracted from him?

This was no longer just a provocation; this was like ripping off the reverse scale of the East Sea Dragon Clan and hanging it on a city wall for sale.

"The Ye Family has bullied the dragons too much." Ao Gu opened his eyes, killing intent overflowing within his vertical pupils. "If the True Dragon Essence Blood falls into the hands of outsiders, the Dragon Clan's prestige will be swept away. In the future, who among the sea tribes of the Eastern Region will still acknowledge Guixu as their master?"

Ao Guang clenched his fists. "The Grand Elder is absolutely right. But that Ye Yuan possesses an Ancient Desolate Magic Body, and his combat power far exceeds those of the same rank. Moreover, since he dares to hold an auction with such fanfare, he must have something to rely on."

"Something to rely on?" Ao Gu snorted coldly. "It's nothing more than banking on the fact that Saints are suppressed by the Heavenly Dao and cannot emerge. Send down the order to activate the ancestral altar. Invite the Fifth Ancestor to come out of seclusion."

Hearing this, Ao Guang gasped. The Fifth Ancestor was an ancient being at the half-step Saint stage who had been slumbering for ten thousand years. Once he woke up, he would inevitably consume a massive amount of his Lifespan.

"To disturb the Second Ancestor for just three drops of essence blood..."

"Fool." Ao Gu interrupted him. "This concerns the Dragon Clan's Luck. Since the Ye Family wants to establish their prestige by stepping on the Dragon Clan, we will use his head to tell those rats hiding in the gutters of the Eastern Region that Guixu is still the overlord of the Eastern Region."

Eastern Region, Tianshui City.

Haiyue Inn.

The news was like a gale sweeping through, blanketing the entire Eastern Region in just three days.

Pure-blooded True Dragon Essence Blood. These six words were enough to drive any Cultivator into a frenzy. Body Refiners could undergo a complete transformation, the Yao Race could purify their Bloodlines, and even those who practiced magic could use it to comprehend a trace of the True Dragon Great Dao.

Tianshui City was overcrowded. Every major inn was full, and even the dilapidated temples outside the city were packed with Loose Cultivators who had come upon hearing the news.

Yet the Haiyue Inn was deserted.

It wasn't that no one coveted it, but rather that no one dared to approach.

The inn's main gate was wide open. Nie Xiao held that rust-covered broken saber, standing within the threshold like a piece of withered wood.

Two days ago, three Middle Stage Soul Transformation Loose Cultivators, relying on a secret concealment technique, tried to sneak into the inn's backyard under the cover of night.

Nie Xiao did not even draw his saber.

He merely raised his single arm and used his thumb to push the tsuba open by an inch.

A streak of black light flashed. The three Soul Transformation Cultivators didn't even have time to let out a scream before they turned into a rain of blood. The terrifying Saber Intent continued unabated, carving a hundred-zhang-long gap into Tianshui City's indestructible defensive array.

That single strike severed everyone's greed.

Half-Saint.

A living Half-Saint.

When the news spread, the Eastern Region was shaken. Those Hidden Sects that had originally intended to watch from the sidelines could finally no longer sit still.

Elegant seating on the second floor.

Chu Kuangren stood by the table, his back drenched in sweat. He was now completely tied to the Ye Family's war chariot.

"Young Lord, the Dragon Clan is getting serious." Chu Kuangren lowered his voice. "Scouts report that the waters of the Guixu sea area are flowing backward, and an extremely ancient aura is awakening. Dragon King Ao Guang is personally leading an army of a hundred thousand sea tribe members and is approaching Tianshui City."

Ye Yuan toyed with a white jade wine cup, his expression relaxed.

"A hundred thousand sea tribe members? Quite the spectacle." He drained the wine in his cup. "What about that beggar? Any news?"

"None. That living fossil from the Lingxu Pavilion has seemingly vanished into thin air since he left that day. However, someone saw a red paper umbrella in a wine shop in the south of the city."

Ye Yuan's eyelids flickered.

Yanyu Pavilion.

"Excellent." Ye Yuan slammed the wine cup onto the table. "The stage is set, and the lead actors have finally all arrived. Send down the orders: the auction will proceed as scheduled. If anyone dares to cause trouble in the city, let Uncle Nie teach them the rules."

Chu Kuangren took his orders and withdrew.

Ye Yuan looked at Nie Xiao outside the door.

"Uncle Nie, that old loach from the Dragon Clan is all yours."

Nie Xiao didn't look back; he only let out a low "Mm" from his throat.

The border between the Central Continent and the Western Barrens.

The purple-gold flying boat broke through the clouds.

Gu Sheng reclined on a soft couch, checking the System panel.

[destiny points are continuously increasing... Currently available: 850,000.]

The Dragon Clan's breakdown, combined with the movements of various forces in the Eastern Region, provided him with a steady stream of income.

"The emotional value provided by these old fogies is quite high." Gu Sheng closed the panel.

Luo Qingxue sat opposite him, looking down as she wiped the nine nether soul-suppressing zither. The extreme cold Qi emanating from the zither was precisely controlled by her within a three-foot radius.

"The Western Barrens are just ahead." Gu Sheng pointed out the window with his folding fan.

As far as the eye could see, there were thousands of miles of scorched earth. Sand and wind swirled across the ground, with no greenery in sight.

A faint Sanskrit chanting echoed between heaven and earth, making one feel irritable.

Luo Qingxue's brow furrowed slightly. She cultivated the Lunar Origin and was naturally repelled by this kind of conversion power.

"Conceal your aura completely." Gu Sheng reminded her. "Those bald donkeys from the Buddhist Sect are most sensitive to Yin Qi. The Protector Vajras of the Great Leiyin Temple are not to be trifled with; don't get suppressed as a demon the moment we land."

Luo Qingxue pressed her fingers against the strings, and a layer of invisible frost covered her body, completely locking in all her aura.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Brahma City." Gu Sheng controlled the flying boat to descend. "The Ten Thousand Buddha Dharma Assembly won't start for a few more days. Let's scout the outskirts first. Since the Buddhist Sect has opened its gates wide, there will definitely be many people trying to fish in these troubled waters."

Brahma City had no city walls.

Within the city, Buddhist pagodas stood in clusters, and the streets were filled with monks in kasayas and devotees performing full-body prostrations. The scent of incense mixed with the sour smell of sweat, hitting the nose directly.

To avoid drawing attention, Gu Sheng put away the flying boat a hundred miles outside the city, and the two of them entered the city on foot.

Just as they stepped onto the main street, a group of warrior monks holding Demon-Subduing Pestles approached them.

The leading monk was burly with wide-open eyes; his gaze lingered on the zither case on Luo Qingxue's back for a moment.

"Amitabha." The monk blocked their path. "From where do the two patrons come?"

With a flick of his wrist, Gu Sheng presented the gold-stamped invitation.

Seeing the Swastika mark on the invitation, the monk's expression softened, and he pressed his palms together. "So it is the Master of Tianji Pavilion. The Abbot Junior Martial Uncle had already given instructions that if the Pavilion Master arrived, he should be invited directly to the guest rooms of the Great Leiyin Temple to rest."

"No need to trouble you." Gu Sheng took back the invitation. "After traveling through wind and sand, we will find an inn in the city to rest for two days and will visit in due time."

The monk did not insist and stepped aside to let them pass.

After walking a distance, Luo Qingxue spoke in a low voice, "Why not go to the Great Leiyin Temple?"

"Once we go in, we have to follow their rules. Out here, we set the rules ourselves." Gu Sheng sat down at a roadside tea stall.

He tossed a Low-Grade Spirit Stone to the tea stall owner.

"Boss, I'd like to ask something. Have there been any new faces in the city these past few days?"

The owner tucked the Spirit Stone into his sleeve and lowered his voice. "You've asked the right person, guest. Brahma City has been very lively lately. I heard that several great Yao Kings from deep within the Western Barrens have transformed and snuck in. Yesterday, I even saw a few young people carrying sword cases; looking at their attire, they seemed to be from the Wan Jian Holy Land of the Central Continent."

Gu Sheng gave a light scoff.

Wan Jian Holy Land? It seemed that the incident of the Taichu Holy Land's gates being smashed had made these immortal legacies unable to sit still, and they wanted to come to the Western Barrens to test the Buddhist Sect's depth.

In his mind, the System's mechanical voice sounded.

[Detected that the Child of Destiny Su Qianxue has entered the Western Barrens region. Current location: Outskirts of the Sword Burial Abyss.]

Gu Sheng's movements paused slightly.

He had almost forgotten about this. Su Qianxue had taken the intelligence and run off alone to save her father.

During the Ten Thousand Buddha Dharma Assembly, the Buddhist Sect would surely strengthen its patrols of various Forbidden Grounds in the Western Barrens. As an Early Stage Soul Transformation Cultivator, her going to a perilous place like the Sword Burial Abyss was no different from walking into a tiger's den.

"Truly a troublesome employee." Gu Sheng shook his head.

If the Destined Daughter were to perish in the Western Barrens, all his early investments would go down the drain.

"Finish this cup of tea, then we leave the city." Gu Sheng stood up.

"Where are we going?" Luo Qingxue asked.

"To fish someone out." Gu Sheng unfurled his folding fan. "And while we're at it, let's add a little extra flair to the Buddhist Sect's Ten Thousand Buddha Dharma Assembly."