Chapter 155 A Matter of Utter Importance

On the plaza of Longyuan Hall, those words fell as lightly as a sheet of paper.

"Se... Senior?!" The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor gasped sharply.

The Void Realm rippled. Layer upon layer of folds unfolded above Longyuan Hall.

A figure in white stepped out from within. Gu Heng brushed off his cuffs and slowly swept his gaze over the Dragon Emperors kneeling below, his lips curling slightly.

Behind him, ripples spread through the Void Realm once more. It wasn't just one—it was flowers of space, blooming one after another in succession.

Stepping out first was a bare foot, slender and fair, with a bright red knot tied around the ankle.

Jiang Wanyin swept a cold, indifferent gaze across the plaza, as if looking at withered leaves.

To the left, Di Shitian strode out. Behind them, Lei Wanjun, the Star Immortal Emperor, and hundreds of Immortal Emperors and Devil Emperors followed in succession, standing casually.

What made their scalps tingle even more were the two unfamiliar auras at the end of the procession, which were terrifying to the extreme.

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor looked toward the group.

"Thud." The Dragon Domain Lord abruptly dropped to one knee.

With his kneeling, the Five Great Dragon Emperors, hundreds of Elders, and tens of thousands of elites fell in unison like dominoes, gasping in shock.

"Respec... Respectfully welcome Senior's return!"

The more he performed the welcome, the more turbulent his heart became. How long had it been since he left the Dragon Domain?

After a trip to that godforsaken Original Realm, his retinue had expanded to such a Heaven-Defying level upon his return, and Senior's own aura had become unfathomable.

Gu Heng's gaze passed over the crowd and landed directly on the flower bed.

From the back of the procession, a withered figure squeezed out. Old Ancestor Qingxuan was still wearing that same Daoist robe.

He squeezed out from between the Immortal Emperors and Devil Emperors, straightening his hunched back, lifting his chin slightly, and putting on an inscrutable air.

The Green Dragon Immortal Emperor looked up, his eyes brightening. "Lord Chosen Son! You have also returned from your training with Senior!"

The Golden Dragon Immortal Emperor and the Red Dragon Immortal Emperor shook their bodies and nodded repeatedly.

In their eyes, for The Chosen Son to be able to go out for training in such a Heaven-Defying lineup was a supreme honor for the Dragon Clan. Even if he were only ranked at the very back as the most inconspicuous follower, it was thousands of times better than remaining in the Dragon Domain as some Emperor Son.

The Dragon Domain Lord scrambled forward on his hands and knees, looking up with a face full of smiles, "Lord Chosen Son, you have worked hard! I wonder, how is your cultivation of the 'Nine Transformations Dragon Art' that the clan presented to you going?"

As he spoke, he looked him up and down, as careful as an appraiser. A moment later, his brows furrowed slightly, and a trace of doubt flashed across his face.

"Strange... Lord Chosen Son, why does it feel like your aura is still the same? Still in this... ahem, this Human Race shell that has returned to simplicity? Could it be that you encountered a Bottleneck during your training?"

He spoke very tactfully. He held the words "returned to simplicity" in his mouth, afraid of saying them too heavily.

But the doubt in his eyes could not be hidden—he was like this when he left, and he was like this when he returned; his aura hadn't changed in the slightest, and his cultivation hadn't changed either. Something was wrong.

The other Dragon Emperors also cast concerned gazes. The Green Dragon tilted his head to examine the Meridians, the Golden Dragon narrowed his eyes to observe the Bloodline, and the Red Dragon released a trace of Divine Thought to probe cautiously.

The smugness on Old Ancestor Qingxuan's face instantly froze. He recalled that the 'Nine Transformations Dragon Art' required "using the Dragon Pulse as the Foundation and the Dragon Soul as the guide" at the very beginning. His head buzzed. He was a pure Human Race; how the hell was he supposed to Cultivate that!

His lips twitched, his eyes darted around, looking left and right, but he dared not meet the Dragon Domain Lord's eyes. In the end, he could only look awkwardly at Gu Heng.

Gu Heng turned his head, glanced at him, and a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes.

This small interaction, in the eyes of the Dragon Emperors, became a different interpretation. The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor slapped his thigh.

"Ah! We were reckless!"

"Lord Chosen Son is now serving by Senior's side; what kind of Opportunity is this? A mere 'Nine Transformations Dragon Art' is nothing compared to Senior's Dao! The things we Dragon Clan members hoard like treasures are ten thousand times better if Senior just gives a few casual pointers than that crappy Cultivation Technique!"

The Green Dragon Immortal Emperor's eyes reddened, and he nodded repeatedly, "Indeed! Lord Chosen Son deliberately suppressed his cultivation to maintain a Mortal body; it must be to better comprehend the Dao by Senior's side! We are trapped in this pond of the Dragon Domain, acting as kings and hegemons; how could we understand the Realm of Senior, which is above the Nine Heavens? We are frogs in a well, yet we dared to inquire about his cultivation progress. How foolish!"

The Golden Dragon Immortal Emperor stroked his beard and sighed, "Every blade of grass and tree around Senior contains the Dao. Lord Chosen Son is comprehending the Heavenly Dao with a Mortal body; how could such a Realm be something we can fathom?"

Listening to the Dragon Emperors' extremely outrageous words, Old Ancestor Qingxuan coughed twice. Taking advantage of the situation, he lifted his chin, stroked his sparse beard, and put on a profound expression.

Gu Heng shook his head, too lazy to pay attention to this bunch of drama queens. He took a step and walked toward the flower bed in the center of the altar. "Go take a look at that grass."

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Emperors scrambled up from the ground, bending over to lead the way like courtiers welcoming an emperor on a tour. The Dragon Domain Lord ran to the front, walking backward, gesturing with his hands, "This way, Senior," "Watch the steps, Senior."

The group arrived before the flower bed. As the Dragon Domain Lord passed by, he subconsciously lightened his steps. In the center of the flower bed, the dark cyan Lietian Grass swayed in the wind.

The leaves were wider than before, each one unfurled like a miniature broadsword pointing straight at the firmament.

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor stepped forward, pointing at the grass with a face full of smiles, "Senior, look! During the time you were away, we watered it every day with the top-tier spiritual spring water of the Dragon Domain. Coupled with your initial nourishment of twilight essence, Lord God-Venerable Lietian has made rapid progress!"

The Green Dragon Immortal Emperor squeezed up, cupping his hands in a salute, almost knocking the Black Dragon over, "The day before yesterday, Lord God-Venerable Lietian's Reincarnation body successfully achieved Core Formation, stepping into the Golden Core Realm! Look at this golden light, how dazzling! It has only been three hundred days, and it has crossed from a first-order Mortal grass to a Golden Core! Judging by this momentum, in a few more days, it might be able to enter the Nascent Soul Realm!"

The Dragon Emperors puffed out their chests, full of anticipation. Gu Heng nodded. His gaze lingered on the grass leaves for a moment.

Inside the golden veins, there was indeed a trace of weak but tenacious Divine Venerable Origin, like a seed buried in the soil, already beginning to take root.

The Golden Core Realm cultivation placed upon a blade of grass was incongruous, yet strangely harmonious. He nodded slightly. "Hmm, not bad. The growth is acceptable."

The tone was as plain as if he were evaluating a home-cooked dish. With just these four words, the smiles on the faces of the Five Great Dragon Emperors instantly bloomed like sunflowers.

"Senior praised us!"

"Senior said it's not bad!"

"Senior said the growth is acceptable!"

They exchanged excited glances. To receive a "not bad" was a supreme honor. From the moment Senior appeared until now, the people and things he had looked at properly could be counted on one hand.

But the next sentence was like a bucket of cold water. "Unfortunately, it is just a bit slow."

The breathing of tens of thousands of Dragon Clan members stopped abruptly. The smiles of the Five Great Dragon Emperors froze, their eyes widened larger than copper bells, their mouths still grinning.

Slo... slow!?

A wild grass with no Foundation, starting from the Mortal stage, crossing from Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment in a few hundred days, directly forming a Golden Core, and vaguely touching the Nascent Soul Realm. At this speed, let alone wild grass, even the peerless Prodigies of the Lower Realm born with the Origin of Chaos would be so ashamed they would want to crawl into a crack in the ground.

Coming from Senior's mouth, it was just "a bit slow"? And with the tone of "the weather is nice today, but the wind is a bit strong."

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor swallowed his saliva, his head buzzing, but he quickly reacted, his awe deepening.

Just as the Dragon Emperors were falling into collective self-doubt, the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor stepped back half a step. His gaze shifted back and forth between Gu Heng, Old Ancestor Qingxuan, and the altar. A look of extreme conflict and pain quietly crept onto his face.

In another twenty days, it would be the day the Dragon Clan's Divine Treasury opened. If he didn't confess now, when the Divine Treasury opened in twenty days, the Old Ancestor would want to kill The Chosen Son in front of Senior... That scene—if it displeased Senior then... their Dragon Clan would be in deep trouble.

The Old Ancestor might not be able to live, but they certainly couldn't. He, the Black Dragon Immortal Emperor, still had a wife and children, a Little Black Dragon waiting to be fed, and plenty of Lifespan.

They had Elders above and children below; who would be willing to accompany a madman and endure the wrath of two Divine Emperors? Moreover, even if this Insect Empress didn't make a move, Senior Gu's own unfathomable aura alone already made his legs go weak. To dare to touch the people he brought in front of Senior, were they tired of living?

The Black Dragon Immortal Emperor raised his head and exchanged an obscure look with the Green Dragon, the Golden Dragon, and the others. In just an instant, the Green Dragon nodded slightly, his eyes resolute. The Golden Dragon's gaze sank, and he pressed his chin down gently. Equally resolute: confess.

After taking a deep breath, the dragons suddenly took a step forward, their knees bending as they were about to kneel— "Senior, actually, regarding Lord Chosen Son, there is a matter of utmost importance that this Junior must..."