Chapter 241: The Black Dragon's Capture
"Exalted… Exalted Goddess!" The black dragon turned towards Shen Ying. "What do we do?"
"There's no problem, let's just go in first." Shen Ying winked at him and said in a soft voice, "Nobody could tell you were a dragon just now anyway."
"Really… can we really?"
"Relax, it's simple!" Shen Ying replied confidently, then thought about it and added, "With me around, what are you scared of!"
That's right, there's still Exalted Goddess. The black dragon calmed down and stepped foot through the door.
In an instant, there was a wave of swishing sounds and dozens of spirit swords appeared in the surroundings and slashed down at the black dragon's foot, surrounding him in the middle with red glows all around his foot. At the same time, tens of millions of swords appeared above his head. The swords pierced towards him like rain.
The black dragon: "…"
Everyone: "…"
Didn't she say it would be fine?!
Σ(°△°|||)
The black dragon was a dragon after all. Although the sword array appeared abruptly, his reaction was extremely fast and he instinctively turned into his dragon form and accelerated, rushing forward, avoiding the rain of swords just in time. In an instant, a giant dragon appeared on the road planted with lotus flowers opposite them.
The gods who had just been exchanging greetings fell silent. Thousands of gazes all fell on the black dragon. He immediately had an ominous premonition.
"Dragon! It's a dragon!" All of a sudden, someone shouted and the crowd all stared at it wide-eyed like they had been lit on fire.
"Black dragon, it's a black dragon."
"It must be the one that the Supreme Divinity is looking for."
"Capture it!" Instantly, the crowd started frantically pulling out their Dharma artifacts and casting spells at it. The sea of people rushed towards the speck of black, even the nearby Ling Tai Mountain had numerous people flying out.
The black dragon could only summon lightning to strike down the Dharma artifacts in the sky. He looked at Shen Ying and asked, "What… what do we do?" Save the dragon…
"Hmm…" Shen Ying looked at the huge group of people in front of her, then let out a concise "run!" In the next moment, she zoomed off and a huge dust cloud appeared on the Lotus Stage. There were too many people, it would be too tiring to fight them off.
The black dragon: "…" What happened to protecting him?
The black dragon did not have time to feel sad for himself as he swept the person next to him away with his tail, then turned around and started running for his life!
The crowd: "…"
How fast, but… why was he running in the direction of the Supreme Divinity's Ling Tai Mountain? He was walking right into his demise.
As the two people were about to reach the foot of the Ling Tai Mountain, a golden lotus flower descended from the skies and its petals immediately wrapped the black dragon within. The black dragon could not stop himself and ran headfirst into the petals. He immediately saw stars and his power was sealed. Shen Ying, outside the lotus flower: "…" F*ck! Wrong direction.
The black dragon: "…"
Why was he always the one who was hurt? Why was it always him!
——————
Ling Tai Mountain, Fuhua Palace.
A tremendous suppression engulfed the entire palace, ten Skygods with high cultivation levels sat at both sides, all angrily looking at the black dragon that was trapped in the lotus flower.
"Impudent dragon! You destroyed the Supreme Divinity's Divine Mystic Rock and still dare to come to Ling Tai Mountain and behave atrociously. Do you admit your crimes?" A person on the right stepped forward and looked at him furiously. "What Divine Mystic Rock?" The black dragon faltered and looked at the few of them angrily. "Although it was my mistake to barge in here, don't frame me for something I didn't do!"
"You still try to lie!" The person's expression became cold and he cast a spell. A mirror of water appeared in the palace and an image appeared faintly on it. "Do you still remember this place."
The black dragon looked at it closely and realized that it looked like a forest. The greenery looked familiar indeed, especially the bunch of shattered rocks on the ground…
Wait a moment!
Wasn't that the stone that Exalted Goddess Shen slammed him into previously? He could still see his outline among the bunch of split rocks! The piece of Divine Mystic Rock that he was stuck in was that Supreme Divinity's?!
"I… I have indeed been there." The black dragon coughed and said, "But the rock was not destroyed by me." "The Divine Mystic Rock in this Bewitching Forest was placed there by Supreme Hong Yu and he personally set up an array formation to nourish it." The person humphed coldly and his tone became even more indignant. "I went there to have a look, the aura that was left among the rocks was yours. If it wasn't you, who was it?"
"It… it…" The black dragon choked. He didn't dare to say who it was!
o(>_<)o
"It was me!" Shen Ying raised her hand.
"Who?" The person was shocked and looked around the surroundings. He then noticed the woman standing next to the black dragon. "Who are you? When did you barge in?"
It was not just him, the gods in the palace were all stunned. To prevent the black dragon from escaping, there was an isolating array outside the palace to ensure that no one could come in. When did this woman appear, they completely did not sense her at all.
"Uh… I've been here all along!" Shen Ying's mouth twitched.
She had been here since they brought the black dragon in.
The person who questioned her had a glum expression as he scanned her. He realized that she did not have a trace of God Power on her. He instantly relaxed, it was no wonder he did not notice such a tiny god with such minuscule God Power. "Little girl, what did you mean by your words just now?"
"That stone…" Shen Ying pointed at the water mirror, "May… have been smashed by me."
The black dragon immediately sucked up and said, "You can't blame the Exalted Goddess, it was your stone that was too weak. The Exalted Goddess crushed it with a light punch." They still had the gall to call it a Divine Mystic Rock!
"You're saying that this lady smashed the Divine Mystic Rock?" The person's expression became even more grim and he asked the black dragon coldly. "That's right!"
"Nonsense!" The person became even more furious, slamming the table and standing up. "You shameless black dragon! First, you destroy the Supreme Divinity's Divine Mystic Rock, then you remorselessly try to blame others for it?"
"Hey hey hey, what I said was the truth!"
"Shut up! The Divine Mystic Rock is the hardest Mystic Rock in the Divine Underworld, even the phoenix clan's true flames might not be able to refine it. How can it be smashed with one punch, do you think I'm blind!"
"…" You're really blind!
The more he said, the angrier he became, looking like he wanted to beat the dragon up. Even the other gods by the side started to berate the black dragon.
"I didn't expect that the dragon clan, one of the four divine races, has such a shameless dragon."
"That's right, he's full on nonsense! To absolve himself of blame, he fabricated such a reason!"
"This little lady looks like a god that has just ascended, how could she have that much God Power."
"This is an unrepentant dragon, we must punish him severely."
"That's right, the Supreme Divinity is going to give a lecture soon. We must settle this before he returns."
The black dragon: "…" Nobody believed the truth anymore.
Shen Ying: "…" She could only do this much.
"How do our fellow Daoists think we should deal with this dragon?" The person furthest on the left stepped forward, cupping his fists and looking at the other Gods.
Chapter 242: The Black Dragon, Husband-in-waiting
The crowd looked at each other for awhile, then started to all start speaking.
"The Divine Mystic Rock was nourished by the Supreme Divinity for tens of thousands of years. This dragon's crime is extremely serious, we cannot let it off easily."
"That's right, it's a dragon. Today, we could only take it down by joining forces and using the Supreme Divinity's golden lotus. If we don't punish it now, it might continue to do evil in the future."
"But we can't injure it, why not we hand it to the Supreme Divinity?"
"We can't. The Supreme Divinity has always been soft- hearted. What if this black dragon uses flowery language to cajole the Supreme Divinity into letting it go?" The gods fell silent for awhile, their gazes full of scorn towards the black dragon.
The scapegoat dragon: "…" What has it got to do with me!
"Why not we send him to the Dragon Valley?" A person on the right suddenly suggested.
"No!" Another person on the left immediately objected. "Isn't sending him to the Dragon Valley as good as returning a tiger back to its mountain?" The dragon clan has always been arrogant, they won't bother about this matter.
"What I meant was to send him to the Dragon Abyss in the Dragon Valley!"
As his voice landed, everyone's eyes lit up and they replied, "That's a great idea!"
"That's right, that Supreme Divinity has been looking for a male dragon from the same race for thousands of years." "It's good to send this black dragon there. He has just ascended, so that Supreme Divinity will definitely be satisfied."
"That's right, that Supreme Divinity is so strong, this black dragon can do nothing under her control!"
"Since that's the case, it's decided. Let's send it off quickly, the Supreme Divinity is coming back soon to deliver his lecture, don't let this dragon affect his mood."
"Wait a minute! What are you all going to do?" The black dragon immediately had an ominous feeling and wanted to rush out, but was trapped within the golden lotus, unable to exert its strength. "Let me go!"
The other gods paid him no notice and two of them quickly walked out. Both of them cast sorcery from each side and raised the black dragon in the golden lotus and walked out.
The black dragon could not move and could only be dragged out with the golden lotus. "I'm warning you, let me go. Otherwise, when I get out, you're going to suffer!" The two of them ignored him and walked towards an array formation hurriedly. In an instant, the array lit up and the few of them had already left the Ling Tai Mountain and reached another location. The weather started to heat up and the surroundings was full of wilted greenery. The two of them dragged the black dragon and flew for awhile more before landing on a tall volcano, lava all around their feet.
The two of them threw the black dragon down from the clouds and released the golden lotus' grip on the black dragon. They then turned around and flew away rapidly, as though they were escaping from something, disappearing immediately.
The black dragon stumbled and nearly fell into the ground. Thankfully, Shen Ying had been standing beside him and grabbed him, preventing him from falling face-first.
"Thank you Exalted Goddess." The black dragon thanked her with a bitter smile. "But… Exalted Goddess could you not grab my tail in the future?" Although he had already lost half of it, it really hurt!
"Er… okay!" She was already used to grabbing it since it was so convenient. The black dragon hugged his tail and touched it tenderly. He looked at Shen Ying at his side and asked, "Exalted Goddess, why didn't you beat them up just now?" She had promised to protect him.
"Because…" Shen Ying replied with a straight face, "We were morally wrong!" No matter what, she was the one who had shattered the stone, and she added on, "I am a reasonable person!" Moreover, she was not the scapegoat.
The black dragon: "…" Why is your method of being reasonable different from mine?
o(≧口≦)o
The black dragon looked around and felt the surroundings full of dragon Qi, making him feel exceptionally comfortable. Even the wounds on his tail were automatically regenerating. He was even more curious, to a dragon, this was a good place.
"Why did they throw me here?" Wasn't this supposed to be a punishment? There was no reason to send him to such a good location!
Shen Ying shook her head. Just as she was thinking, a surprised voice sounded.
"Hey, there's a newcomer!" A wind blew by in front of them and two girls, one dressed in white and the other in green landed in front of them. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at the black dragon. "This is great! He's a male dragon, let's send him to the Dragon Palace!"
"Sure!" The other girl dressed in green replied excitedly. "The Supreme Divinity's mood hasn't been good recently, this is the perfect time to send him over."
"Yep, yep. Although he's slightly uglier and doesn't have his caudal fin." The girl in white looked at the black dragon and commented, "But the Supreme Divinity shouldn't mind."
As they said that, the two of them walked towards the black dragon. "Who are you two?" The black dragon crawled off the ground immediately and swung his tail at the two of them, roaring, "What do you want?"
"Of course, we're going to send you to the Dragon Palace to be a husband-in-waiting to the Supreme Divinity!" The lady in green replied like it was a matter-of-fact. "Didn't you enter the Dragon Abyss for this?"
Husband… husband-in-waiting!
(๑ŐдŐ)b
"What the heck is that?" The black dragon felt like his dignity had been humiliated. He berated them, "Who wants to go be a husband-in-waiting, I am a member of the dragon clan, who dares to do such a thing?"
Wait a moment!
Could it be that the group of people who had caught him had sent him here to be a d*mn husband-in-waiting? There couldn't really be a perverted Supreme Divinity who specially abducted male dragons in this Dragon Abyss!
F*uck! He didn't want to be a male slave to someone else.
"This black dragon, how can you be so unruly." The girl in green looked at his, discontented. "You're already here at the Dragon Abyss, what else can you be here for except to be a husband-in-waiting to the Supreme Divinity."
"I was abducted and sent here by others." The black dragon was infuriated and frustrated. "Your Supreme Divinity must definitely be too ugly, that's why she can't marry anyone. I'll marry her over my dead body!" I'll sell my skills, but not my body!
"How audacious!" The two girls became angry and pointed at him, shouting, "You dare to be rude to the Supreme Divinity!"
The black dragon was also enraged. "Get out of my way! Otherwise, I'll eat you two!" He stretched out his claws towards the two of them.
The two of them had grim expressions and their bodies moved. In the next moment, they had turned into two giant dragons, one green and one white, they looked even larger than the black dragon.
Huh?
They were dragons too!
The black dragon was stunned and could not react. He was pinned down by the two dragons onto the ground.
"Where is this wild dragon from, he dares to be rude to the Supreme Divinity!"
"Humph, this crippled dragon without a tail dares to talk big of marrying the Supreme Divinity. He's daydreaming!" "It's his fortune from past generations to become a husband- in-waiting and help the Supreme Divinity warm her bed!"
"That's right, why would the Supreme Divinity favor an inferior dragon species like you. This fellow doesn't know his own place, beat him up!"
The black dragon was grabbed and howled in agony, for the moment, his black scales flew all around the sky.
"Ouch~~ I'm going to die, to die, to die… Exalted Goddess! Exalted Goddess… save me, Exalted Goddess! They're dragons too… save me… save me please!"
Shen Ying "…" Didn't you learn your lesson the previous time?
Shen Ying sighed and turned around, grabbing both the green and white dragons by their tails. "Little girls, calm down…"
Just as she was about to pull them off the black dragon, a cold voice sounded from behind, "Why is it so noisy?"
Chapter 243: The Supreme Divinity Dragon Goddess
A burning aura charged toward them. Everything around turned a fiery red and molten lava condensed to form an inferno dragon in front of them. A girl in completely red robes stood on top of the inferno dragon's head. She had extremely long hair and all around her was bluish divine energy. She seemed to weaken on purpose. From far away, they could feel a frighteningly powerful suppression. What was most important perhaps, was that her features were extremely beautiful - she even looked a bit like a Caucasian.
Whoa! Big-Sister[1] vibes!
The black dragon paused and forgot about struggling for a moment.
"Greetings, Supreme Divinity!" The two dragons that were maniacally attacking the black dragon's scales also stopped all of a sudden. They turned back into two girls and knelt down toward the person on the inferno dragon. With a twinkle in their eyes, they said, "That was quick, Supreme Divinity!" "Yes." The woman nodded. She glanced at the both of them and walked down from the inferno dragon. Every movement of hers sent a wave of divine suppression toward the rest. The moment she landed on the ground, the inferno dragon turned back into molten lava. What happened here?
She scanned the dragon scales on the floor and frowned slightly.
"Replying to the Supreme Divinity," the green-robed girl said, "We discovered that a black dragon had invaded our territory. We were going to send him to the Dragon Palace. Yet, he kept struggling and was unwilling. It was even rude to the Supreme Divinity, that was why we…
The woman's gaze landed on the black dragon. "A black dragon?"
"…" The black dragon did not respond. It twitched slightly and stared back at the woman blankly.
So… so beautiful! "It's dragon Qi…" The woman suddenly frowned. She glanced at the spirit Qi in the black dragon's body that had not yet dissipated. "It's a little dragon that has just ascended from the lower realm."
"…"
Whatever," the woman sighed. She waved her hand and said, "I think it did not invade this place on purpose. Let it go!"
"But Supreme Divinity, according to the Dragon Abyss' rules, any dragon that comes in here must be tested…"
The green-robed girl wanted to continue, but the woman raised her hand and stopped her mid-sentence. Her tone was quite strict as she said, "I am not someone who likes to force others. If it is not willing, we will let it out of the Dragon Abyss."
Just like that, the molten lava gathered to form an inferno dragon again. The woman mounted it and together, they flew toward the temple at the bottom of the volcano. "Yes!" The two girls bowed respectfully and did not get up until the red-robed woman disappeared into the distance. They turned and glared at the black dragon, their evil intentions clear. Condescension was written all over their faces, but they did not pursue the matter further. Instead, they pointed at him and said coolly, "Hmph! Count yourself lucky!"
The green-robed girl stepped forward and stamped on the black dragon's claw as she said, "Our Supreme Divinity has the highest cultivation level amongst all the dragons. She also has the most valuable and ancient Cang Long meridians, and she's our Dragon Goddess! You're just a lowly dragon of mixed blood - how dare you criticise the Supreme Divinity?"
"Indeed, there are no good dragons out there. They can't win and so they hide behind the Supreme Divinity's back and spread all sorts of rumours about her. This time, the Supreme Divinity told us to let you go. If we ever find out that you've been disrespectful to her again, we will hit you each time we see you!"
The two of them took turns to speak and turned to point to their right when they realised the black dragon was not responding. "The exit is that way. Get out of the Dragon Abyss immediately!"
With that, they turned and flew away.
The black dragon strangely had no rebuttal and it did not even get mad. Instead, it just sat where it was, staring blankly at the spot where the girls disappeared.
"Long Worm! Are you still… alive? Long Worm!" Shen Ying shouted repeatedly. The black dragon did not respond at all. It kept looking in the direction of the volcano, as if it had been stunned.
"Hey!" Shen Ying walked toward the dragon's head and waved her hand in front of its eyes. "Wake up! Have you been beaten silly?"
"Exalted Goddess!" The black dragon suddenly jumped up. It turned into a human whose eyes were twinkling. "Tell me, do you think I'd have a chance if I agree to be her servant now?" "…" F*cking retard! Are you a masochist?
"Exalted Goddess, why not we go into the Dragon Valley and ask around? I want to know her name. Maybe she'll-"
"No!" Shen Ying objected immediately.
"Exalted Goddess…" The black dragon became listless. With tears in his eyes, he hugged Shen Ying's legs and begged, "This is the first time I've ever felt this way about a girl. If I miss this chance, I will not get it again next time. Can you bear to prevent me from getting a wife for the rest of my life?"
"I can!"
"…" Do you have to be so direct?
"Exalted Goddess, I'm going to ask now. If she doesn't accept me, I'll come back immediately." The black dragon tried his luck again. "What's more, the dragon Qi is extremely rich here. There should be many other dragons. It'll be convenient for the Exalted Goddess to ask around for directions.
"No." They were better off going back to the map they saw earlier.
"Exalted Goddess… Just allow me this once? It's obvious that the volcano is an important location for dragons. It looks scary from the outside but I'm sure that the inside is a whole different story. For all we know, there are many different valuable divine stones, mysterious plants and fruits, and delicious delicacies. Exalted Goddess, are you sure you don't… Eh? Where's she? Exalted Goddess! Exalted Goddess?"
"Why are you still standing there? Let's go!" Shen Ying waved her hand at him. Why didn't you say earlier that there would be food inside!
"…" The black dragon pursed his lips and immediately caught up with her. "Alright, Exalted Goddess! No problem, Exalted Goddess! This way, Exalted Goddess, that's the way out."
"Oh." Shen Ying turned around and headed toward the volcano. As she walked, she muttered to herself, "I intended to part ways with you and look for Chef myself. I guess we have to cooperate for a little while longer."
"…" What?
F*cker! What did he just hear?
Part ways? The Exalted Goddess wanted to set him free?!
…
No! Exalted Goddess, listen to me - it's not too late to part ways!
"And… Long Worm, I think you should change your robes? Stop using scaled clothing. The last time, only your ass was exposed. Now, your entire lower half of the body is exposed. Won't you catch a cold?" Pui…
Shen Ying saw him cough up blood from the corner of her eyes.
——————
At the top of Ling Tai Mountain, an elderly person with white hair stood by a lake. In front of him, a mirror was floating. He laughed gently and spoke.
"We have not met in ten thousand years. Why are you suddenly sending a voice transmission to me?"
"To ask about someone?" A chilling voice sounded from the mirror. Ripples appeared in the mirror, then the faint image of a white-robed man appeared.
The elderly man smiled wider. "Who's so important, that you felt the need to come personally?" "A certain black dragon," the voice answered "It just ascended recently."
"A black dragon?" The elderly man pondered for a moment. "I did hear that a black dragon invaded the Ling Tai Mountain very recently. I think it was the same dragon that destroyed my Divine Mystic Rock! But before the dharma assembly begins, the divine beings who came to listen to the sermon chased it away and punished it! Are you related to this dragon?"
The person in the mirror frowned.
"You don't have to worry - nobody else knows about this. You should know the people from the Dragon Abyss well; I think it is unlikely that they would make its life difficult!" The elderly man comforted him.. "If you have something urgent to attend to, I can send someone to get the dragon back here."
[1] The word used here is a loanword from Japanese that describes females that can be characterised as sexy and mature
Chapter 244: The Dragon Palace in the Dragon Abyss
"No need!" The person in the mirror replied. "It's just regarding some matters in the past. I only just recalled them and was curious." The image in the mirror faded and was about to disappear.
"Wait," called the elderly man, who seemed to have recalled something. "You're not still at the Thousand Feet Mountain, are you?"
"…" There was no reply from the man in the mirror. He was acknowledging this with his silence.
"Ah, why would you do this?" The elderly man sighed. "I think that Exalted God Qian Yue never meant to lie to you - he just really did not know. What's the point of staying there to talk things out with him?"
"Even if he really did not know…" The man lowered his voice and with a tinge of sadness, said, "She will surely appear." "You…" The elderly man's tone was cold by now. After awhile, he shook his head. "Whatever. I hope you find who you're looking for!"
There was no response from the other side. The mirror vibrated slightly and turned into water, falling back into the lake.
The elderly man touched his beard and sighed again.
Ah, these young people!
——————
The Dragon Palace.
The woman sat high above ground-level. She gave the reporter a strange look. "A black dragon? Is it the same little black dragon at the Dragon Abyss, who just ascended into the Divine Underworld?" "Responding to the Supreme Divinity: Yes, it indeed is him!"
"I thought he was not willing before. Why is he running back here now?" Long Zhen frowned, obviously unhappy. "Could it be that he's still afraid that I would punish him? Tell him that I will not make his life difficult and that I don't need his services."
"Yes!"
The servant girl retreated. Another girl standing by the side quickly stopped her, "Please wait!"
She turned to Long Zhen, cupped her fists and said, "Supreme Divinity! All these years, we've thought of so many ways. So many high-level dragons have tried, but the results have been dismal. Perhaps this matter with the Young Master has nothing to do with cultivation level. This black dragon has just ascended. Perhaps he would succeed. There would be no harm in trying?"
"But he just ascended after all, and he's a black dragon at that." Long Zhen was obviously hesitant. "Supreme Divinity, we can wait but the Young Master cannot!"
Her expression became sombre. Half a moment later, she sighed. Turning to the servant girl, she said, "Very well! We'll give it a shot. Bring him to the Dragon Pool. I will be there in a while."
"Yes!"
The servant girl retreated once more.
***
"She… she agreed!" The black dragon could not believe his ears. For the first time, he fell for another dragon, another girl. They had a rough beginning, and he thought that she would be irritated by him at first. He was only intending to give it a shot when he begged the Exalted Goddess to let him try, but he had no real hopes of succeeding. He could not believe that the woman actually agreed. He must be dreaming! Just thinking about the woman made him… heh heh heh!
Although he would only be serving her from a low level, at least he had the chance to get close to her. For all he knew, they would develop a good relationship and they would reach a turning point.
"Exalted… E-E-Exalted…. Exalted Goddess!" He tugged at Shen Ying's sleeve, agitated. "She agreed! Did you hear that? She agreed!"
"Oh." Shen Ying was sitting in the living area, body tilting from the force of the black dragon's tugs. She chewed her fruit and clutched the dish of fruits even tighter. She tried to shake the black dragon off." Treasure food and keep away from these relationship problems!"
When he was just a wyrm, other wyrms told him it would be extremely difficult to look for a partner and that he would have to be prepared to give all he got. From the looks of it, it was not that difficult! Heh heh heh, he was indeed a special dragon. "Please come with me to the Dragon Pool. The Supreme Divinity wants to meet you," the servant girl said.
"So quick!" The black dragon jumped. He did not think that he would have a chance to meet the woman again so soon. "Alright, alright, alright!"
He turned and wanted to shout at Shen Ying to get up, but the servant girl said, "The Supreme Divinity has something to ask of you. She only wants to see you."
"Well…" The black dragon turned to Shen Ying quickly and hesitantly asked, "Exalted Goddess… why don't you rest here while I go up?"
"Oh," Shen Ying replied. She continued chewing on her fruits.
"I'll be back very soon!" Seeing that she remained relatively unaffected, the black dragon immediately followed the servant girl. Shen Ying was not that bothered. It had been long since she had food to eat and she was starving!
Mm… The fruits are a bit sour. They're not as good as the ones at Invincible Sect.
She felt like… she missed Chef.
***
The servant girl led the black dragon toward the rear hall. They seemed to be entering totally isolated territory. The temperature began to rise so that even dragons would feel warm. When they entered an alleyway, the servant girl stopped and gestured for him to carry on.
The black dragon did not think too much of it. He thanked the servant girl uncharacteristically, then turned and walked through the alleyway. A strangely warm aura wafted past him and he felt the temperature increasing with each step he took. He could not help but feel confused. Why did the extraordinarily beautiful Supreme Divinity want to meet him in a place like that?
The next moment, he reached the end of the alleyway and entered a huge open space. It looked like the centre of the volcano. In front of him was a pool of lava. Pillars of fire shot up intermittently.
Long Zhen was standing beside the pool of lava. The black dragon noticed that she was dressed more formally than before - she was wearing a thin shirt that emphasised her exquisite figure. The black dragon glanced at her and felt his entire body flush red. His heart began to race, as if someone cast a spell on it.
So… so, so beautiful!
Some heat began to rise up his nasal pathway. The black dragon quickly looked up to control the flow of blood. He wanted to leave a good impression before his future wife. That was what he hoped to achieve, but he could not stop his gaze from going back to the woman. Speaking of that… he was here to be her servant. It was normal for him to stare at her, right? "You've arrived?" Long Zhen asked in a cold voice, glancing at him. She nodded at him like before and said, "Come over!"
"So quickly?!"
"Oh?"
"Er…" The black dragon trembled. He tried to shake all the images from his mind and said, "I mean… you were looking for me?"
The black dragon walked dazedly toward her and felt his heart speed up. He could hardly hear anything but whirring in his ear.
"Yeah." Long Zhen nodded with a stern expression. She scanned him from head to toe and asked, "I want to confirm that you really are willing to be my servant?"
"Of course!" He nodded. "If that's the case…" Long Zhen seemed to be sizing him up. A look of worry flashed past her face. "There is something I must tell you. Once you begin as my servant, you cannot back out. You must remain in the Dragon Abyss and you cannot take even one step out."
The black dragon felt a great urge to calm her down.
Instinctively, he responded, "Alright."
"I will impart to you a special set of skills. You'll train together with me and you cannot slack off! Are you willing?"
"I am."
"This set of skills is special. You must train them for at least two hours each time and you cannot rest in between. Can you handle that?"
"I can."
"While you're training, you cannot go too far from me. You must also take on your true form."
"I'll listen to you."
"Well…" She sighed and scanned him from head to toe. "Take your clothes off!"
"Alright."
A while later…
"What?!"
Σ(°△°|||)
Chapter 245: The Egg that Ran Away
The black dragon paused. Must she be so direct?
"Your robes are not made out of dragon scales. They will be of no use, so you'll have to take them off anyway!" Long Zhen said seriously.
"Oh…" The girl has already made the first move. The black dragon immediately took off all his clothes except for his pants. He stood there with his well-sculpted body exposed.
Long Zhen scanned his long pants and frowned "Take your pants off as well."
"Well… This isn't too good right?" The black dragon's face flushed red. He subconsciously held on to the top of his pants. If he took it off too, he would be completely nude.
"Alright, leave it on then!" Long Zhen saw his unwilling expression and decided not to push him further. "Let's begin!" She reached her hand out toward him.
The black dragon's entire body was red by now. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He reached out for her soft and elegant hand with his own trembling one.
Long Zhen suddenly twisted her wrist, grabbing his wrist.
Then, she gave it a strong flick.
Are?[1]
Σ(°△°|||)
The black dragon felt a gust of wind blow past his ear. He was flying out of the area. He felt a strong dragon suppression which forced him back into his dragon form. Were all dragon ladies so straightforward?
There was no time for him to respond. A wave of hot air charged toward him. He instinctively looked down and found himself floating on top of a pool of lava. It was constantly bubbling and he was headed straight for it.
"Ah!" The black dragon shouted immediately. Momentarily, his mind was empty of all the skills and magic he knew.
What's going on? He's going to die, he's going to die, he's going to die…
Just before he dropped into the pool of lava, a blinding light shone onto him. He stopped just five inches from the pool, He heard a loud crash and everything around him seemed to be vibrating. Then, he spotted something coming up toward him from the pool of lava. It was a round thing that was rising up to the height of the array, stopping just beneath his hip.
The black dragon could not react at all. He felt like he had no control over his own body as it wrapped around the ball.
"It's already late. You can familiarise yourself with its aura first." From below, Long Zhen spoke with some worry in her tone. "Tomorrow, I will teach you the incubation technique. I hope you will work hard at it and save my son as soon as possible.
"…"
Incubation? What?
He looked down and saw his tummy pressing down on something white as snow. It was round and big, and it carried within it a weak dragon Qi. On top of it, there were layers of dragon prints. Is this a… dragon egg?!
(⊙_⊙)
Something in his mind clicked. The fanatic thoughts and fantasies in his mind had all disappeared. He was starting to realise…
She accepted him as a servant just to… incubate an egg? And it was her son at that! w(゚Д゚)w
***
Two hours later, in the front hall.
"Exalted Goddess…" A figure lunged for Shen Ying, who was sitting in the chair. He was wailing and looked absolutely devastated.
Shen Ying, who had just eaten five plates of fruits, jumped in shock. She instinctively raised her leg and used her foot to kick his face away, causing it to be buried in the ground. "What the hell?"
"Ouch, ouch, ouch… Exalted Goddess, it's me! It's me!" The man on the ground shouted desperately.
"Long Worm?" Shen Ying lifted her leg up and scanned the man who was dressed in untidy robes and who was at that moment lifting his face from the ground. How did he manage to get himself in such a state in the time she spent eating fruits? She glanced down at his pants - they were in tatters once again. Was it cooling this way?
"What's the matter with you?"
The black dragon paused and suddenly remembered the heartbreaking news. He doubled over in sadness. "Exalted Goddess, Long Zhen - the Supreme Divinity - she… she… she doesn't like me in the least bit. Wah wah wah…"
"Oh." Whoever thought that she did?
The more he spoke, the sadder he got. He was almost all out of tears when he moved to hug Shen Ying's legs for comfort. She kicked him away once again.
"She accepted me as her servant, just so that… so that… so that I can incubate her egg for her!"
"Oh." "She even told me to incubate the egg for four hours each day until it's complete."
"Oh."
"I didn't expect her to have an egg already. I have no chance.
Wah wah wah… I'm heartbroken."
"Oh."
"I heard that the egg has been incubated for hundreds of thousands of years, yet it has not hatched. For all I know, I could be stuck here for tens of thousands of years - and it's not even my child!"
"Oh."
"That's not it - that egg is big and heavy and it has some kind of special dragon aura in it. I'm not even the only dragon that has incubated the egg." "Er…" Did he even care about this?
"Exalted Goddess…" The black dragon's heart sank further when he realised that Shen Ying had no words of comfort to offer him at all. "I've been gone for so long - don't you have anything to say to me at all?" He looked up in utter sadness. Pleas for comfort, care and hugs were written all over his face.
Shen Ying pursed her lips and let out a long sigh. "Long Worm."
"Yes." This is not fair, not fair, not fair.
"Are you supposed to incubate a white egg?"
"Yes!" The black dragon started.
"It's almost as big as you, and there are silver floral patterns on it?" "Yes!" How did the Exalted Goddess know this?
"Well…" Shen Ying reached out and pointed to the door. "Does it look like that egg over there?"
Huh?
The black dragon turned around and saw that there was a huge egg rolling toward them at high speed.
"Dragon… D-D-Dragon egg!" The black dragon's eyes widened. "Why is it…. Ah ya!"
Before he could finish speaking, the dragon egg hit him squarely in the chest. He was pushed out of the way as the dragon egg stopped right in front of Shen Ying.
Shen Ying scanned the egg from top to bottom. It really is a huge egg!
The problem is…
"Long Worm." She called as she knocked on the shell with her knuckles. With a straight expression, she asked, "Can this be eaten?"
This was such a familiar scene.
"…"
The black dragon took awhile to respond. He got to his feet and said, "Exalted Goddess, you must be joking."
But how did this egg get here? He looked around but could not sense that there was anybody else's aura around. "The dragon egg cannot leave the incubation pool for too long. We have to… Eh? Exalted Goddess, what are you doing? You're still thinking of eating it?" The black dragon quickly held on to Shen Ying, who was attempting to climb up the egg. He held back her two arms and said, "Exalted Goddess, I'm begging you. You can't eat this, you can't!"
Shen Ying, who was intending to knock a hole into the egg, asked, "Not even a bite?"
"Not even a bite!" This was someone else's son, not an ordinary egg. "Wait! You can't bite it, Exalted Goddess!"
Oh~
Suddenly, a familiar outraged voice sounded so that the ground vibrated.
"Who! Who stole my dragon child!"
The black dragon's heart began to pound.. We're finished! From not far away, the figure of a huge red dragon charged up into the skies, illuminating the entire sky so that it all looked like a fiery red. Shortly after, many dragons began to fly up into the sky, looking for something.
That's… Long Zhen!
We're dead, we're dead, we're dead…
O(≧口≦)O
[1] Are is Japanese for huh
Chapter 246: The Hatched Egg
The black dragon's heart tightened as he looked at the increasing number of dragons in the sky. He immediately raised his head and shouted, "Supreme Divinity, the egg is here!"
The infuriated giant dragon faltered in the air, then looked towards the front of the palace. When she saw the egg at the side, her eyes widened and she immediately recognized the person on the ground. "It's you!" She let out a dragon roar and her dragon suppression rushed towards them.
It was the black dragon's first time facing a Supreme Divinity's suppression. Instantly, blood gushed up from his heart and he nearly spewed it out. He knew that she was in the heat of anger and frantically explained, "Supreme Divinity, you've misunderstood. It wasn't me who stole the egg."
The giant dragon in the air flew down and the other dragons all started to transform into their human forms and landed in the courtyard.
"I don't know why the egg rolled here either, I was just about to send it back." The black dragon explained in a panic. "Don't worry, the dragon egg is…" Fine.
Crack!
Before he could finish, a cracking sound could be heard from behind him.
He immediately had an ominous feeling.
As he turned around, the eggshell that was white as jade had a crack from the top. In an instant, it started to spread like wildfire across the entire dragon egg. At the side, a certain foodie had the piece of eggshell at the very top of her hands.
The black dragon: "…"
Exalted Goddess… can you not get me in trouble for once?
(ಥ_ಥ) "Son!" Long Zhen let out a shrill scream and her eyes looked at the cracked egg. Immediately, she went into a fury and shouted, "I'll kill you!"
As she said that, she reverted into her dragon form. It was as though she had gone crazy in her anger and forgotten all her sorcery and potential, biting down directly on the two of them along with the palace in front of her.
"Wait a minute, Supreme Divinity!" The black dragon still wanted to say something, but it was too late. The dragon's suppression had pinned him to the ground.
Around them, there were rumbling sounds as the palace collapsed. The sharp dragon teeth pierced the roof and she descended from the heavens, looking as though she would swallow the two of them.
On the ground, Shen Ying stretched out her hand and grabbed the longest dragon tooth above her head. The entire dragon's head maintained its posture, but couldn't move. No matter how hard she tried, she could not close her mouth. She swung her hand to the side and the giant dragon was flung to the floor and she casually rested her hand on the dragon's head.
Long Zhen was stunned. She tried to struggle, but realized that the hand on her head was exceptionally heavy. Her entire body had been suppressed and she could not move.
"Calm down!" A nonchalant voice sounded from above her head with a tone of laziness. Long Zhen then looked closely at the woman in front of her and faltered. However, she noticed that the woman was not looking at her, but had turned her head to the side to look at the egg that was full of cracks.
Perhaps it was the other party's calmness, the anger of losing her son vanished and she followed her gaze towards the dragon egg.
The egg was still splitting, the numerous cracks making it look like a spider's web. Finally, tiny egg shells peeled off and a golden light emerged from the egg. As the number of falling shells increased, the golden light got brighter. Until the shell had completely fallen off, the golden light glowed in all directions and even the sky that had become red from all the lava turned a shade of golden.
"This… this is…" Long Zhen looked at the center of the golden light with an expression of disbelief. The dragon egg had successfully hatched!
At the center where the golden light was most eminent, a figure was forming. Soon, a figure that stood tall at around Shen Ying's waist appeared in the air. In the next moment, the golden light finally dimmed and Shen Ying instinctively stretched out her hand and caught the falling figure.
She lowered her head and saw a child of about six to seven years old lying in her arms with his eyes closed. His face was extremely skinny and it had even sunk inwards, evidently the nutrition from the giant egg did not reach him.
"Here, your son!" Shen Ying pushed the child towards Long Zhen. Long Zhen's reaction was extremely quick. She immediately received the figure and looked at the child in her arms with delight and anxiety. "Son… son, you have finally appeared." She hurriedly took out a robe to cover his body. She looked at the child closely and a look of suspicion appeared on her face. "He can already manifest, why is he still so weak?"
"Perhaps he's been stifled." Shen Ying suddenly replied, waving the egg shell that she had just dug out.
Long Zhen faltered, then reacted and finally understood. "I apologize! It was Long Zhen who misunderstood you!"
Her son was too weak and was unable to break out of his shell, so it could only be broken from the outside. However, the dragon clan was known for its strong physique and had never been trapped in its shell. What was strange was that her son could metamorphose to human form in the egg, but why was he unable to break out of the egg? Moreover, looking at his weak physique now, if they had been any slower in breaking the egg, he might probably…
Long Zhen did not dare to continue thinking. She looked at Shen Ying while transmitting God Power to her son. "Thank you for saving my son, how should I address his benefactor?"
"Oh, I'm Shen Ying." Shen Ying replied casually, deep in thought as she continued to look at the egg in her hand.
"Daoist Shen!" Long Zhen had a look of gratitude as she looked at the child in her arms. "If you don't dislike it, could you stay in the Dragon Palace for a few more days? I would like to thank you on behalf of my son."
"No need." She glanced at the child in Long Zhen's arms and replied, "I still have a person to look for."
"Oh, who are you searching for? Perhaps my Dragon Abyss could be of assistance."
"Oh, really?"
"Naturally!" "I'm looking for…"
"Exalted Goddess…" They had not finished speaking when the black dragon suddenly interrupted bitterly, "We're in no hurry to look for people, so can you not step on me while you two speak? I'm still on the ground!"
Shen Ying: "…"
Long Zhen: "…"
When did he lie on the ground?
The two of them then moved their legs. Long Zhen remembered her son in her hands and asked, "Fellow Daoist Shen, my son is too weak now. Allow me to carry him down to recuperate, I'll discuss the search with you in detail later on?"
"Sure!" Shen Ying nodded. Long Zhen then picked up her son and turned around, instructing the maid outside. She was about to bring her son to the back palace, but she suddenly stopped and lowered her head. Her son, who had been sleeping had opened his eyes abruptly and stretched out a hand to grab Shen Ying's sleeve.
"Son, this is…"
Shen Ying felt a tug on her sleeve and she faltered. "What?" She was about to retract her hand, but the little child grabbed on even harder. He anxiously opened his mouth, as though using all his effort to try to make a sound. After awhile, he finally managed to force out a word. "Mas… ter."
Shen Ying: "…"
Long Zhen: "…"
The black dragon: "…"
What was going on? The three of them were astonished, even Long Zhen was lost. She did not understand why her son suddenly called her Master, but she did not object against it and smiled. "It looks like my son has affinity with you, I will have to prepare a large gift."
The black dragon also mumbled, "This little fellow sure is a sweet-talker." He knew how to cozy up to someone powerful from birth.
However, Shen Ying frowned and looked closely at the skinny figure and suddenly said, "Chef?"
The child's eyes lit up, like starlight had been poured into them.
He really was!
(⊙ o ⊙)
She held him by his little hand and tilted her head. "Can you still cook?" The child who had just woken up faltered. His little face puffed up and he said in a pronounced voice, unlike his weak call of Master. "Yes!"
Great chef!
Long Zhen: "…"
The black dragon: "…"
What did she say just now, why could they not understand a word of it?
Chapter 247: Master and Disciple Reunited
Four days later.
"Chef."
"Master."
"What exactly is going on?"
"This… I don't know either, perhaps it's just like the Godfiend said. The Divine Underworld is the greatest of the Three Realms' worlds and is different from the Mortal and Immortal realms. So, some changes is to be expected."
"Is there a way to deal with it?"
"This… it might be quite difficult. This is the Divine Underworld after all, I might only be able to revert by returning to the Mortal or Immortal realms."
"Oh, then what do we do?"
"I will do my best to be like before."
"Oh, good luck then." Shen Ying nodded and patted the little child's shoulder. "The Divine World doesn't have little animals like pigs, cows and lambs. I'm not used to eating here."
"Yes, Master!" Yi Qing, who could only reach the stove by stacking two benches nodded forcefully. He held the spatula laboriously and said, "This Dragon Abyss' spirit swine has a firm texture and contains enough fat. I can definitely make it taste like pork."
"Okay, I'll leave it to you."
"Yes!" "Oh yeah, add more chili, I like my food spicy."
"Yes Master, no problem Master!" A certain someone swung the spatula with more force.
The watching black dragon: "…"
What were these two doing? Wasn't that Long Zhen's son who was still recuperating? Why did he run here the moment he could move? Why did he bring all those pots, pans and food ingredients for?
Moreover, what was with the Exalted Goddess? Not only did she not feel any shame, she was even holding a bowl and watching from the side! She was even salivating, hey! What was with that proficient commanding tone?
Look carefully! That person that is almost buried in the pot is a child, he's a child! Doesn't your conscience hurt?
"Master, it's done!" Yi Qing stopped waving the spatula and used both hands to lift up the plate that was even larger than his body.
"Okay, let's eat!" Shen Ying also stood up and picked up a few dishes who had been cooked. She was about to walk out but saw the dumbfounded black dragon standing at the door. "Long Worm, come and help us serve the dishes."
"Oh…" The black dragon instinctively responded, then walked in and picked up the other few dishes on the stove. He was about to walk out of the door when he noticed a certain child cooking dishes. The child was standing on a tall stool and looking at the distance to the ground, his face contorting into a bundle. Could he… not get down?
The black dragon hurriedly put down the dishes in his hand and waved to him, "Do you need me to help you…" get down.
He had not finished his sentence when the little hand suddenly waved and produced a hand seal. A white immortal sword appeared under his leg and he rode the sword and flew forward. In the next moment, a solemn yet soft voice sounded, "Master, try this stir-fried spirit swine!" A certain dragon who still had his hand outstretched: "…" Could the dragon clan's children sword-ride the moment they were born?
The black dragon was stunned for a moment before he finally picked up the dishes on the stove and walked into the house.
In the house, the two of them were already seated. They must have been really hungry, because Shen Ying had already started eating at lightning speed and devoured over ten dishes on the table.
Delicious, delicious, delicious…
The chef who was seated at the side was holding an empty bowl, stretching his hand out to try and reach the rice barrel. However, because of his height, no matter how hard he tried, he could not reach it. He frowned and sat down on the chair, pulling the rice barrel over to him and painstakingly filled up a bowl. He then turned around and passed it to the person next to him as though it was natural.
"Master, rice." "Oh." A certain someone shamelessly took it and started eating happily.
The black dragon: "…"
Why did this scene feel weirder the longer he saw it, wasn't it supposed to be the reverse?
Two hours later…
A certain someone who was finally satiated laid on the table.
As expected, the chef was a necessity on outdoor trips.
"This spirit swine's taste is quite good, if we can't find beef or mutton in the Divine World, we can find some seafood that we've never eaten."
"Yes Master, no problem Master!" A certain someone sitting on the chair took out a notebook and wrote the word 'seafood' on it. "Oh, that's right, there's also rabbit, chicken, duck and other small animals…"
The little child continued to note down everything she said on his little notebook!
"Don't worry, Master. Although ingredients are hard to find in the Divine World and there aren't normal animals like in the Mortal or Celestial world, I will do my best to find spirit beasts with the same taste."
"Good luck, I believe you can do it."
"Yes, Master!"
"…" The black dragon got more confused the more he heard. Wait a minute! Why did this conversation sound so weird, wasn't this child just born?
"We do!" "Huh?"
The chef stood up straight and proudly declared, "I am Master's only disciple!" He specially emphasized the word only, and after some thinking, added, "All the way since the Three Azure Realms!"
"Three Azure Realms!" The black dragon's eyes widened and he looked at him. "Stop joking." He was a natural-born dragon, how could he have gone to the lower realms.
"Let's put it this way." The child replied with a straight face, "My Dao name is Yi Qing."
"Yi… Qing? Yi Qing!" The black dragon shot up, "You're the Yi Qing that the Exalted Goddess was looking for. Isn't that the Invincible Sect's… aren't you Long Zhen's son?"
The child's little face frowned. He actually didn't know either, and he looked at the person beside him. Shen Ying then stood up from the table, looking at the chef who had shrunk several sizes. "I forgot to ask, why did you become like this?"
"This… I don't know what's going on either?" Yi Qing shook his little head. "When I was transported into the Divine World, I was already in that egg. Moreover, my body became extremely weak all of a sudden. Afterwards, I felt Master's aura, so I chased it and she let me out from the egg."
"Could it be… possession?" The black dragon's eyes widened, "Ouch!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was hit on the back of his head by Shen Ying with a chopstick.
"No."
"That's right, this is indeed my body?" Yi Qing nodded certainly. "Apart from becoming like this, my cultivation level, Spirit Root and meridians are all the same as before. This is my previous body." The black dragon: "…" Even if it wasn't, why did he have to be beat up?
"Then… what happened to Long Zhen's actual son?"
"I don't know." He shook his head. "When I was in the dragon egg, there was only one person inside and there were no other signs of anyone else."
"What's going on?" The black dragon was confused. The more he heard, the more dazed he got. "That was evidently a dragon egg!" It couldn't have been empty from the start, right?
"…" Yi Qing fell silent, he did not know what was going on either.
Shen Ying poured a cup of tea for herself, then pushed the black dragon by her side. "Long worm, go and get… whoever to come over."
"Who?" The black dragon faltered. Shen Ying pointed at the chef and said, "His mother!"
"… Oh." Indeed, if anyone would know about this issue, it would be Long Zhen.
However… even though he understood, why did those words sound like she was scolding someone?
Chapter 248: Yi Qing's True Form
Long Zhen arrived very quickly. By the time Yi Qing finished clearing the table, the black dragon brought her in.
"My child!" The moment she entered the room, Long Zhen's dull expression brightened up. She broke out into a motherly smile and appeared next to Yi Qing in an instant. She scanned him from head to toe and said, "Why are you here? You've just hatched and you're still weak. You've just regained consciousness and should not be running around. Even if you want to train as early as possible, you don't have to immediately visit your future master." She patted down his robes and hugged him. "So? Where else do you feel uncomfortable? Tell Mother."
Yi Qing stared blankly back at her and quickly retreated, putting some space between the two of them. He cupped his fists like a grown man and said, "Supreme Divinity Long Zhen…"
Long Zhen started, then grinned even wider. "You're my child indeed - so obedient!" She looked extremely proud. "But you don't have to stand on ceremony in front of your mother." "Supreme Divinity Long Zhen!" Yi Qing put on the most serious expression he could. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, his young face looked gentle. "Your humble subject… might not be your son."
Long Zhen paused. "Silly boy, what are you talking about?" She smiled kindly again and said, "Don't crack jokes like that with Mother."
"Supreme Divinity, I am not joking" Yi Qing said respectfully, "My name is Yi Qing, a disciple of the Invincible Sect from the immortal realm." He turned and glanced at Shen Ying, who was still leaning lazily on the table. "Please forgive me, Supreme Divinity. Several days ago, when I woke up, I did not have time to explain myself before I fell back into a deep sleep. Actually, I was not intending to take this woman as my master that day - she is my master, Shen Ying."
"Immortal realm! Master?"
Yi Qing explained everything once through. "We came to the divine realm to look for someone. I don't know how I got into that dragon egg either and became like that, but I am not your son." Long Zhen stared blankly at the young boy in front of her and Shen Ying, who was beside him. Surprisingly, there was no sadness or anger in her expression. Instead, she smiled at him once again.
"I see… Ah, why didn't you say so earlier, child?" Her smile grew wider and wider as she looked at him chidingly. "I was wondering why you were so cold to me the past several days, and why you disappeared the moment you could. So that's the case… You really still remember your past life?"
Now, the rest were confused. Past life? What did she mean?
"My child…" She turned and faced Yi Qing, then dropped her gaze. Her expression was complicated. She seemed to be looking right past him and did not speak for a long time. This face was clearly…
Yi Qing frowned and tried to get her attention again, saying, "Supreme Divinity Long Zhen!"
Long Zhen paused. It took a couple of seconds for her to respond. Awkwardly, she smiled and said, "There's no reason to doubt it - you are indeed my son." As if recalling something, she clenched her fists by her sides and hesitated before saying, "When you were born… you were different from others. The dragon egg's remaining dragon Qi and your dragon soul was weak. I heard that the power of Samsara could heal your dragon soul, so…"
"You sent him into Samsara?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes.
Just like the Shortie?
"That's right." Long Zhen nodded. "I sent his dragon soul into Samsara and looked for the male dragons around to nurture the dragon Qi in the dragon egg. I was intending to recall his soul when it was strong enough. I didn't think you would have an immortal body in the mortal realm, or that you would come to the divine realm on your own."
"Ordinarily, people in Samsara would forget what happened in their past lives. Even recalling your soul into the divine realm required it to go through Samsara. That was why I thought you forgot everything!" She looked at Yi Qing and something flashed in her eyes. "I didn't think that you would come back earlier, nor that you would come here through the immortal realm. Be it the dragon body in the egg or the immortal body you had before reincarnation, both are yours. It's normal for you to want them both. Perhaps because of that, your two bodies became one in the egg."
Two became one!
Shen Ying and Yi QIng exchanged a look. Neither of them ascended up here - the Godfiend sent them here.
"So you are indeed my child." Long Zhen stepped forward with a kind smile, looking at the miniature Yi Qing. Everything about her mannerism was screaming motherly love. "I was the one who sent your dragon soul into the mortal realm - I will not be mistaken."
Yi Qing paused. Probably out of habit, he stepped backward on feeling her passion.
According to her, his old body had merged with the body in the dragon egg. Was he now a human or a dragon? "Why do I still feel the immortal bones in my body, even though I look different now?" His cultivation, spirit roots and even his sword intent still felt exactly the same. "I don't feel like I have any dragon powers."
Long Zhen smiled deeply. "You've never felt dragon Qi before, have you?"
"Dragon Qi?" Yi Qing paused. Instinctively, he released his divine perception and felt a strange aura surge upward in his body. Something in his mind clicked - he seemed to have unlocked something. His body began to glow golden.
The next moment, the little boy disappeared from the ground. A golden light filled the house and a dragon appeared within it, breaking through the roof of the house. Bits and pieces of the roof dropped to the ground.
"Master!" Yi Qing immediately dove to protect Shen Ying's head, but in doing so, caused even more damage to the house. Suddenly, everything was in shambles. Everything happened so quickly. By the time he reacted, only Long Worm and Long Zhen were left on the ground, their heads covered in dust. The dragon that was now carrying Shen Ying cautiously was not as big as the black dragon or Long Zhen, but it was glowing like the sun.
"Golden… golden… golden dragon!" The black dragon regained his composure but his mouth was agape, obviously in shock on seeing the dragon in front of him.
Long Zhen was shocked too. She did not expect her son to be a golden dragon. It was no wonder… No wonder that earlier…
It was said that golden dragons were a royal race. They were more powerful than any other kind of dragon, but they only appeared in ancient times.
Yi Qing was shocked too. He regulated the immortal Qi in his body and found that it had already turned into a thicker and scarier aura. Was this God Power?
"Chef?" Shen Ying raised her head. He really was a dragon. It was only then that Yi Qing regained his composure. He tried to employ different techniques to turn himself back into human form, but he just reduced in size to become a dragon that was as tall as a human.
"Master, I'm not familiar with God Power and I don't know how to control it. I can't change back to my human form." He was not used to his dragon body and did not know how to transform. No matter how hard he tried, he could not become human again. He had no choice but to stand on two feet and act like he was walking.
"Oh." Shen Ying did not seem to mind that. She glanced at his mini claws.
"Chef?!"
"Master?"
"Can you still… cook like that?" The two dragons: "…"
All you care about is your own food!
凸(艹皿艹)
A moment later, a confident voice spoke: "Yes!"
As if to prove himself, the dragon turned and buried himself in the undestroyed kitchen. It began to grab pots and pans with its claws…
The black dragon: "…" I thought he belonged to the royal race?
Long Zhen: "…" I'm starting to doubt that he's really my son.
Chapter 249: The Ghost Immortal's Yin Qi
The son that Long Zhen had been pining for hundreds of thousands of years was finally back, and he was a legendary golden dragon. Long Zhen's heart would feel extremely full if her son had not been cooking at that time.
She watched her golden dragon son busying himself all afternoon. Long Zhen attempted to stop him - he just became a dragon afterall and needed time to recover. But she saw that he was filial toward his own master and decided to let him be.
That was how… she found herself seated at the table, eating together with Shen Ying.
-_-|||
"Master, have some tea!" Yi Qing was still a golden dragon. He poured tea for the woman who had just finished eating.
"Oh." Out of habit, Shen Ying received the tea cup. She turned to study the dragon chef seated next to her, which reminded her of cartoons. Finally, she recalled the serious business she had to tend to.
"Chef!"
"Master?"
"Can you not turn back into a human?"
Yi Qing shook his dragon head. "Not yet."
The black dragon already taught him how to turn back into a human, but he was not familiar with his own body and each adjustment to his God Power that he made resulted in a strange tiredness..
"He just hatched and his body is weak - it's normal that he can't turn back into a human just yet," Long Zhen explained. "Are dragons all so weak?" Shen Ying asked.
"Not exactly." Long Zhen frowned. "Maybe he's different."
"… Oh."
"Chef." Yi Qing suddenly recalled something and said, "I remember ever since I entered the dragon egg, I felt a strange suppressive aura. There was no way I could break out of it. And…" He frowned. "The more I fought, the weaker my body felt." Maybe that resulted in him becoming a weak child.
"There was such a thing!" Long Zhen jumped to her feet. She scanned him from head to toe for the umpteenth time. "What aura?"
Yi Qing shook his head. "I'm not sure either."
"I know," Shen Ying suddenly said. The three dragons paused, turning to look at her.
What do you mean?
Shen Ying pulled out something white and flowery from her robes. "Is it this?"
The few of them hesitated. Even Long Zhen looked curiously at the thing Shen Ying was clutching. It was the shell that was pressing down on the egg a few days ago.
"Exalted Goddess, is there an aura on that thing?" The black dragon tried to look closer at it, but it did not seem like there was much to the shell
"It's inside." She reached out and peeled the layer of skin on the shell. Just as she finished peeling off half of the layer, a strange black Qi flashed and attempted to speed out of the egg. Shen Ying reached out and grabbed it.
The next moment, a black foggy body appeared in her hand. It looked alive, struggling to escape her grip. A chilling aura let out a frightening cry intermittently. It sounded like ghostly cries. The aura seemed to lose its strength in Shen Ying's grip. Seconds later, it vanished.
"That's… the ghost immortal's Yin Qi!" Long Zhen exclaimed, eyes widened. She jumped to her feet. "How could that be… my child's dragon egg has always been under my watchful eye. How could there be ghost immortal's Yin Qi hidden inside!"
"Ghost immortal's what?" Shen Ying tilted her head.
Long Zhen frowned, her expression darkening. "Ghost immortals are deviant ghosts that train to become immortals in the Divine Underworld. Their cultivation techniques are very special and their skills are very strange. Many divine beings do not know how to handle them. The thing about them is that they're very hard to locate, and it's not easy for them to get to the divine territories."
Deviant ghosts that become immortals?! Not just Yi Qing, even the black dragon was shocked. Ghosts were ordinarily souls that were filled with grievances. They roamed the world and usually only appeared in the mortal world. Summarily, they're souls without bodies. Souls were weak - nobody ever heard of ghosts that managed to become immortals. Now, they were hearing that these ghosts could even fight divine beings!
"These ghost immortals - where are they usually found?"
"Ghost immortals need the Yin Qi from the Divine Underworld to train themselves," Long Zhen replied. "That's why they usually appear near the Yin River."
"Supreme Divinity, have you offended any ghost immortal before?" Yi Qing asked.
Long Zhen glanced at Yi Qing and momentarily thought of correcting the way he addressed her. She sighed and answered, "I don't think so. These hundreds of thousands of years, I haven't left the Dragon Abyss and I haven't met a ghost immortal." That's strange. Why would a ghost immortal leave Yin Qi in a dragon egg for no reason? What's more, the Yin Qi managed to suppress Yi Qing so that he could not hatch. If not for Shen Ying breaking the egg by force, he would probably still be stuck inside.
"My Dragon Abyss has never interacted much with people on the outside. We don't even interact much with people of the Dragon Valley. If you're talking about whether I've offended anyone, I don't…" She paused mid-sentence, as if recalling something. Suddenly, she became pale. She clenched her fists. "I just remembered something important. I'm going back to the main hall. My chi… Yi Qing, you're still weak. You should rest more."
She nodded at them and rushed out.
She left behind a confused group of people.
Shen Ying tilted her head. It looked like… Chef's home in the past life had a story. ——————
Long Zhen suddenly rushed back and they had no news of her for the next few days. It was obvious that she was looking into the ghost immortal matter.
Chef used the time to try getting used to his dragon body. Every day, he focused on two main tasks - familiarising himself with the God Power and cooking for Shen Ying. It was a good thing that he was a fast-learner. After attempting it a couple of times, he finally managed to change back into a little human. Perhaps he absorbed too much dragon Qi in the beginning - his scrawny body was now meatier. His face was so smooth that he looked a bit like a doll. His hair remained cropped short.
Dragons always depended on their blood to hand down techniques. Nobody needed to teach him any techniques - Yi Qing knew them by heart. The God Power that he possessed was frightening and he was growing at a maddening pace. In just a couple of days, he surpassed the black dragon.
The black dragon evidently did not feel good about this. Initially, it wanted to make his presence known in front of Long Zhen. It was a pity that Long Zhen had been missing in action for the past few days. That was the only reason the black dragon remained with Shen Ying - it needed her comfort. Now, Yi Qing was extremely wary of the black dragon. Almost as if he thought the black dragon was trying to rob them Each time he got too close to Shen Ying, Yi Qing looked like he wanted to smack him with a pot.
The black dragon felt almost as if the entire world despised him
Ten days later.
"Master, my cultivation level has stabilised." Yi Qing poured Shen Ying a cup of tea and climbed atop a chair. He had to lean fully over the table to hand the cup over to Shen Ying, who was seated across from him.
Shen Ying received it instinctively, took a sip and said, "Are you ready?"
"Yes." "Oh, where's the food?"
"I've prepared half a month's worth."
"Pastries?"
"Twenty over kinds."
"Fruits?"
"Two storage bags full."
"Alright!" Shen Ying supported herself on the table and stood up lazily. "Let's go!"
Yi Qing jumped down from the chair. The two of them walked out of the gates before the black dragon reacted. "Wait!" He immediately stopped them and asked, "Where are you going?"
Chapter 250: Both Parents Appear
Yi Qing frowned and looked at him with a cool gaze, saying, "The Yin River of the Underworld." Get lost little bastard!
"The Yin River?" Black Dragon paused. "What are you going there for? Since when did you decide? Why don't I know any of this?"
"We're not that close!"
Not… close?!
Black Dragon felt a pang in his chest. With tears in his eyes, he turned to Shen Ying. "Exalted Goddess…" Didn't you say I'm your little cutie?
"We're going to look for Shortie," Shen Ying explained.
"Shortie?" Who's that? Black Dragon stared blankly at her for a couple of seconds before he finally recalled. Isn't that one of the three people that Exalted Goddess was looking for earlier? "Exalted Goddess, do you know where she is?"
"Yes," Shen Ying answered, nodding. The Yin Qi in the egg was similar to the one they felt in the flower in Shortie's room.
"In the Underworld?" Black Dragon looked confused. He glanced at the young Yi Qing and said, "But… But… Long Zhen isn't back yet."
"I will send a message to her," Yi Qing responded.
"But…"
Black Dragon started to say something when a servant girl suddenly rushed toward Yi Qing and bowed, her face a mask of worry. "Young Master, I have bad news! The Supreme Divinity went to take revenge for Young Master and took a horse to Wu Qi Mountain alone."
"Wu Qi Mountain?"" Yi Qing's expression fell. "Speak clearly. What's happened?"
"Supreme Divinity said that she found out that the Yin Qi in Young Master's egg could have something to do with the phoenix clan. That's why in a fit of anger she…" The servant girl kept pacing as she spoke "The phoenix clan is known to be very unreasonable. The Supreme Divinity might be taken advantage of this time."
Yi Qing clenched his fists by his side and turned to the person beside him. "Master?"
"Let's go to that whatever Xi Mountain!"
***
Wu Qi Mountain was the main base camp of the phoenix clan. The dragon and phoenix clan never got along. Sometimes, if they met on the roads, they would even get into fights. The dragon clan hated the way the phoenixes always looked down on others, and the phoenix clan could not stand the way the dragons were made up of all types of breeds - any worm, snake or fish could become dragons.
That was why even though both were divine races, both races never interacted much. Long Zhen was not an unreasonable person, however. She certainly had a good reason for marching up to Wu Qi Mountain in a fit of rage to take revenge.
Perhaps it was because Yi Qing had become a divine being, he was much faster with flying on the sword than he was before. What's more, Long Zhen already had a transportation array that led straight to the phoenix territory. In less than an hour, they found themselves at their destination.
Before they arrived at Wu Qi Mountain, they saw flashes of lightning and heard thunder. From not far away, they saw grey clouds fill the sky, illuminated intermittently by the flashes of lightning. The sound of the thunder was deafening. Just below the dark clouds, there was a fiery red glow and flames everywhere. Hot air charged toward them.
Yi Qing conjured an isolation array to separate them from the mess around them. Then, they entered the half-stormy half- fiery land. "Little Zhen, what are you doing?" A male's voice sounded from amidst the flames on the ground and he sounded quite impatient. "When did I offend you? Why are you doing this to me?"
"Shut up!" Long Zhen was standing amidst the lightning and she looked absolutely outraged. Her voice was trembling as she said, "You dared to leave ghost immortal's Yin Qi in my son's egg. You should have expected that a day like that would come."
"Yin Qi?" The man sounded confused. A long thin figure emerged from the flames. He was dressed in blue robes but the red of his long hair was a stark contrast to it. He had a red drop stuck in the middle of his eyebrows, which resembled the flames from which he emerged. The man looked at Long Zhen with a mix of confusion and shock. "What Yi Qi? What's wrong with your precious dragon egg this time?"
"You're still acting ignorant!" Long Zhen screamed even more angrily. The lightning around her intensified as she glared at the man. "Feng San, don't think I don't know this. You were the one who sent the man who told me to make use of the power of reincarnation to save my dragon baby!" The more she spoke, the more enraged she got. It was almost as if she was shooting lasers at Feng San with her eyes. "I never thought… you would use the chance to insinuate a ghost immortal to deposit his Yin Qi in my egg - it almost sucked the life out of my son!" If Yi Qing had not returned to the Divine World in his immortal body before merging with his divine body… If his master has not broken the egg open by force… Perhaps…
The more Long Zhen thought about it, the greater she trembled. "Feng San, I admit that I let you down before. You know that the dragon baby is more important to me than anything else. Why would you hurt me like that!"
"I… I did not!" Feng San looked all the more confused. He urged, "Little Zhen, I really did not like that dragon egg. And I was the one who sent the person to tell you about the power of reincarnation. But I did not ask anyone to put Yin Qi in it!"
"You still want to deny it! Apart from your rotten and despicable phoenixes, who else has ties with ghost immortals in the Divine World?"
"I…" Feng San turned pale, as if wanting to explain something. Long Zhen obviously did not want to listen. The lightning around her turned more intense, cutting through the sky and heading straight for Feng San.
Feng San dodged the flash just in time. He set up a pillar which sheltered him from the lightning in the sky. "Little Zhen, listen to me. Why would I harm you?"
"Shut up!" Long Zhen attacked him with more gusto and with all she had.
Initially, Feng San could dodge the shots. Later, as they got more intense, he started to experience difficulty. Seeing that he was about to get hit, he set up a defensive array around him, absorbing the attacks and sending some rebounding back.
Long Zhen did not dodge the rebounded bolts in time.
"Little Zhen!" Feng San exclaimed. He had not imagined this would happen. He flew out in a panic. Long Zhen retreated and held on to the part of her body that got hit by the bolt of lightning. She gritted her teeth and tried to swallow back the blood that she felt rising up her throat. Her eyes burned with hatred. Suddenly, she summoned more lightning, forcing Feng San to retreat. Her expression hardened as she smirked. "That time… I was really blind to fall for you!"
Feng San just regained his composure when he processed what Long Zhen just said. He turned to her with eyes widened in shock. "Little Zhen, what did you… just say?"
"I thought you were different from the other phoenixes. I never thought you would be more despicable. It's fine that you're not acknowledging my dragon baby - you even tried to kill him!"
"What?!" What was she saying?
"Feng San, I Long Zhen will cut all ties with you today!"
The moment she finished speaking, she turned into a red dragon. The bolts of lightning around her turned red as well. The red lightning dragon charged downward.
"Wait! Little Zhen…"
Long Zhen sped toward the ground as the thunder roared all around her. Suddenly, the sky illuminating with red lightning.
The audience,, Shen Ying and Yi Qing: "…"
A while later…
"Chef." Shen Ying bent down to pat his little shoulder comfortingly. "It looks like… you have another father!"
Yi Qing: "…" Motherf*cker!