Chapter 27

Chapter 27

As his words fell, the room fell into an eerie silence.

A clear breeze swept through the hall, gently stirring the bead curtain, making a soft tinkling sound.

Chang Ye paused, his fingertips stilling as he lifted his eyelids to face the man before him for the first time. Seeing the greed and covetousness in his eyes, along with an unconscious, barely concealed arrogance, he slowly wiped the long sword in his hand and said bluntly, "You're overreaching."

The Black Flood Dragon was not angered. He curled the corners of his mouth and said with a hint of provocation, "Is the Immortal Lord scared, perhaps? The dragon clan is indeed powerful; it's only natural to be afraid."

Chang Ye rarely let out a cold laugh, saying nothing. His slender fingers lightly tapped the tabletop. With a dull thud, the closed doors suddenly swung open.

Chang Ye said coldly, "No need for further words. Get out."

Though he had previously wanted to kill that cursed offspring, upon learning she was carrying an unborn dragon cub, he abandoned the idea, no matter how unwilling he was.

The dragon clan fiercely protected their own and greatly valued bloodlines. With their offspring now so scarce, even he understood what this cub meant to the dragons.

Even though the dragon clan had long been silent and seldom involved themselves in worldly affairs, their past glory still respected, that did not mean he would risk angering the entire clan by foolishly attempting to kill an unborn dragon cub.

If they truly harmed the cub, the frenzy of the dragon clan would stop at nothing to hunt them down to the ends of the earth, relentless and unyielding.

No one wished to offend an enraged dragon clan, and Chang Ye was no exception.

The Black Flood Dragon glanced at the wide-open door, where the outside clamor poured into the room. His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Lu Sisi, who was leaning against the railing opposite, watching the passing disciples with a bored look, seemingly a bit dejected.

The Black Flood Dragon kept his expression neutral. He closed the door again, his smile gradually fading. Suddenly, his voice turned grave, "Those dragons are not as strong as you imagine. Their reputation far exceeds their strength. Judging from the aura, it's just an ordinary fire dragon."

"Moreover, with Lu Sisi here, the two of us working together would be enough to completely wipe him out without leaving a trace."

"You know that Lu Sisi is capable of that."

The Black Flood Dragon leisurely picked up the jade cup from the table, studying the man across from him with an unreadable expression. "Those old geezers in the dragon clan have surely already received word by now. Once they reach Chongyao Mountain, they'll do everything in their power to protect her."

"By then, you'll have no chance of taking your little disciple back."

Chang Ye was silent for a moment, lowering his gaze as he stared at the sword in his hand, his expression dark. On the hilt hung a faded red cord ornament.

For a while, Lu Yuanyin had been especially fond of making little trinkets, and the ones she didn't like would often end up with him. He had never once taken off this red cord.

Seeing that Chang Ye was not as outright dismissive as before, a flicker of darkness passed through the Black Flood Dragon's eyes, and the fervor on his face grew stronger. His voice took on a hint of temptation as his bright yellow vertical pupils fixed squarely on the man before him. He said softly, "I naturally have ways to avoid those old geezers. You only need to hold off that dragon."

"I think that should be easy for you."

Chang Ye remained silent, staring at the sword in his hand, his thin lips pressed tightly together. However, the hand on the table tightened slightly without him realizing.

The Black Flood Dragon chuckled softly, the fins under his hair twitching, his pupils narrowing and the black scales on his cheeks flaring up slightly. "You can doubt me, but I wouldn't risk my own life over this."

"Trust me, you won't regret it."

Drums thundered amidst the cheers of the crowd.

Disciples from various major sects leaped gracefully into the air, their figures landing lightly on the high platform. They struck the long tables hard, their fingertips forming hand seals as various spirit herbs flew into the furnaces, instantly consumed by roaring flames. The rich herbal scent slowly spread across the entire city.

Lu Yuanyin watched those spirited young alchemists, unable to hide a twinge of envy. She had once wanted to sign up for the Four Directions Alchemy Assembly, to leave a brilliant mark on the stone tablet alongside her parents.

Unfortunately, she had been too busy scraping by and had never found the right chance.

Her gaze swept over the crowd; she saw that the alchemists on the competition platform grew more skilled the further back you went, with Lu Yuanyin even spotting several young cultivators clad in senior alchemist robes, surrounded by a crowd as they ascended the high platform.

Yet when she recognized that the spiritual pills they were refining in their cauldrons were all ordinary Replenishing Spirit Pills, she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

Lu Yuanyin’s gaze lingered for a moment on one of them, vaguely sensing a strange sense of familiarity, but the man vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye, while she heard whispers from the crowd beside her: "Lady Chaoyao is indeed the proudest disciple of the Wandan Sect’s master; at such a young age, she can already refine spiritual pills of this grade!"

"But Rong Siyu is even more impressive. I heard he now has at least a sixty percent success rate out of ten cauldrons—a truly promising young talent!"

Lu Yuanyin: "?"

Lu Yuanyin was somewhat bewildered. Is a sixty percent success rate really impressive?

Listening to their exaggerated words, she found it hard to imagine—she had always figured out alchemy on her own, rarely interacting with other alchemists, so she naturally had no idea how they actually did.

Qing Nong beside her seemed to recall that Lu Yuanyin often stayed in her room to refine pills; he nudged her arm, pointing at one of the male cultivators with a youthful face, and asked curiously, "If you were to compete, could you beat this person?"

Lu Yuanyin thought for a moment, "If it's just comparing Replenishing Spirit Pills from the cauldron, I could probably win."

Lu Yuanyin was quiet for a moment—before her parents died, they had taught her many spiritual pills, including Replenishing Spirit Pills. Earlier, whenever she missed her parents, she would lock herself in her room and furiously refine pills day and night.

By the time she was sixteen or seventeen, she could refine seven or eight cauldrons in a single night, to the point where she could do it with her eyes closed.

Before Qing Nong could speak, a disdainful snort came from behind her. Lu Yuanyin turned around and saw a thin man sneering, his tone mocking: "So young and already good at bragging? If you're so skilled, why haven't you gone up to compete yourself?"

At this, Qing Nong’s brows shot up. He rolled up his sleeves and was about to charge at him, "Who are you talking about? Do you want to die!"

Seeing him rushing over to grab the man's clothes and about to slap him, Lu Yuanyin was startled. She quickly grabbed Qing Nong's sleeve and pulled him into a nearby alley, "You can't fight here; you'll get caught and thrown into the ice prison!"

Qing Nong frowned in displeasure but let out a loud snort at the man, "I'll let you off this time!"

Lu Yuanyin hurriedly pulled him away.

A moment later, her gaze paused as an old man with white hair brushed past them, hurrying toward the high platform. He leaned down and whispered a few words in the Wandan Sect master's ear, who had been calm and composed but now widened his eyes slightly, his expression shifting.

He didn’t even bother with the competition going on among the disciples below; he simply gave a brief instruction to a disciple beside him and followed the old man hastily into the crowd behind.

Lu Yuanyin raised her eyebrows in surprise, wondering what could have provoked such a visible reaction from the Wandan Sect master.

Other cultivators around clearly also noticed the Wandan Sect master's unusual behavior; they gathered in small groups, whispering among themselves.

Lu Yuanyin took a deep breath, inhaling the rich fragrance of the pills lingering in the air, deep in thought. Since she had little interest in the current stage of the competition, she rummaged through her storage pouch, planning to head to the back alleys to see if she could trade for some spiritual herbs she didn't have.

As they passed a small alley, Lu Yuanyin's steps faltered. She looked warily at her surroundings—flames danced on the high platform, spiritual light radiated, and the crowd below was bustling with noise. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

That strange feeling from before seemed to have been just a fleeting illusion.

The moisture in the air seemed heavier. Lu Yuanyin looked up, but the sun was bright in the sky, without a single cloud.

Qing Nong could never sit still; on any walk, he'd chatter nonstop, going on and on about Huo Wuyan, Hong Rong, and the life stories of every Dragon clan elder.

Yet today, Qing Nong seemed unusually quiet.

Lu Yuanyin tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, instinctively stepping a bit farther from the person next to her. She inconspicuously moved toward the spiritual herb stall ahead. The vendor, seeing a customer, quickly looked up with a beaming smile and warmly greeted, "Miss, take a look at what herbs you need—these are freshly delivered by the herbalists. Very fresh! If you buy them now, they're guaranteed to live!"

Lu Yuanyin crouched slightly, casually fiddling with the fresh herbs, but her peripheral vision discreetly swept over the other cultivators behind her. She saw that those who had been enthusiastically hawking their goods had now all stopped their actions, their pitch-black eyes staring directly at her.

Their brows were raised, and on their faces was an identical stiff smile, giving off an unsettling creepiness.

It's an illusion...

A chill ran down Lu Yuanyin's spine. She had no idea who could pull her into an illusion in front of so many people, right under Qing Nong's nose. Her heart trembled, but she maintained her composure, continuing to browse the spirit herbs at the stall as she casually asked, "How much for these?"

The vendor smiled and said, "Two hundred and twenty spirit stones in total. You can have them for two hundred!"

Lu Yuanyin furrowed her brow at this and gave an embarrassed smile. "That expensive? Boss, can you knock it down a bit?" She took her storage pouch from her sleeve and casually tossed it to the vendor.

"Miss, it's a small business, no profit really—this is already the cheapest I can offer..." As the vendor reached out to catch it, Lu Yuanyin's eyes flashed. She abruptly drew the longsword at her waist and thrust it straight into the vendor's chest.

A dull squelching sound followed.

The vendor instantly twisted like a deflating balloon. His face still wore that hearty smile, but his skin rapidly shriveled, and beneath him, pools of transparent liquid formed.

The moisture in the air grew denser. She could almost hear surging waves roaring as they crashed against the shore. Watching the vendor reduced to little more than a layer of skin, Lu Yuanyin's expression shifted. She quickly leaped backward, only to see the other vendors and even Qing Nong all lunging toward her with smiles on their faces.

Their mouths stretched wide, their smiles wide, but their hands and feet were gradually dissolving into salty, fishy puddles. The water accumulated faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, it transformed into a torrent of seawater that swallowed her whole.

Lu Yuanyin was swept under the waves by the massive wave. She struggled to surface, only to be slammed back down into the deep sea by another breaker. Coughing, she spat out mouthfuls of seawater, barely able to open her eyes against the stinging salt.

Drawing a deep breath, she forced her eyes open with difficulty. A pitch-black tail, resembling both a serpent and a deer's tail, shot out from the water with unstoppable force, aimed straight at her chest and belly.

The tail came too fast. Lu Yuanyin's heart jumped into her throat. Just as she thought she would be impaled through and through, a green-furred ball suddenly burst up from the seabed and flung itself in front of her.

Seeing Lu Yuanyin swept under by the waves, the green-furred ball's eyes nearly bulged with rage. He leaped into the water, trying to pull her out, but a massive Black Flood Dragon burst forth from the churning waves, stretching his body and blocking his way.

Qing Nong stared at the Black Flood Dragon blocking his path. A low growl rumbled from his throat, and he growled in human speech, "Where did this mongrel dragon get the guts to ambush someone from my dragon clan? If you so much as touch a single hair on her head, the Dragon Lord will make you pay!"

The Black Flood Dragon let out a contemptuous snort, as if he'd heard the biggest joke of all. "The Dragon Lord? Ridiculous."

Qing Nong grew even more agitated. "What's so funny? Get lost!"

The Black Flood Dragon sneered, staring fixedly at Lu Yuanyin, who was right in front of him. Thinking that soon he would cut open her belly to take the dragon fetus and shed his own broken, rotten skin, he couldn't help licking his lips. "I'm in a good mood right now. Step aside obediently, and maybe I'll let you live."

"That so-called Dragon Lord of yours could personally kill his own grandfather and slaughter so many of his clansmen—do you really think he'd care about you?"

If the Dragon Lord actually showed up, he might still defer to them. In the dragon clan, only Yinglong has ever been worthy of the title Dragon Lord, and almost every member of the Spirit Beast Clan knew that Yinglong was erratic, eccentric, and unpredictable, cold-blooded and cruel, and had never concerned himself with worldly affairs.

Even if his own father died right here, he might not lift a finger.

Let alone for a mere human woman and an unborn dragon fetus.

Author's note:

None.