Heavenly Vein Dragon
After the meal.
Everyone rested contentedly, cleaned up the trash, moved out of the tents, and prepared to camp again, hoping to enjoy the sunrise the next morning.
A long-haired man in a gray overcoat slowly walked down the mountain. Upon seeing Frieren and Dugu Qing, his eyes lit up, and he approached them.
"Nice to meet you, adventurers. I'm a herbalist from a nearby village, and I'd like to ask you for a favor. I wonder if that's alright?"
Just as Stark finished setting up his tent, he heard about the mission again, and his hands trembled slightly.
Even if we're adventurers, we can't just accept quests whenever we want! Can't you see we're already getting ready to rest?
Dugu Qing, thinking about the sunrise the next morning, nodded slightly.
"That's right, we're already closed."
Frieren glanced at the understanding between Dugu Qing and Stark, shrugged slightly, and continued laying the carpet.
"I see! That's a real shame."
The herbalist's task was to investigate tree fruits, not to confront a life-or-death crisis. Seeing that no one was responding, he swallowed his unfinished words and left helplessly.
Fern felt that Dugu Qing and Stark's actions were somewhat impolite, but the herbalist left too quickly, so she could only swallow her words.
The four of them spent a relaxing night on the mountaintop.
At dawn the next day, the darkness of night faded from the horizon, and the morning sun slowly rose from the horizon, full of vitality and a magnificent sight.
Dugu Qing slept soundly through the night, and now, gazing at the sunrise, he felt refreshed and his inspiration flowed freely.
Many of the difficulties surrounding the Divine Heavenly Might Magic crumbled and became understandable.
Fern slowly walked out of the tent and came up behind Dugu Qing.
Dugu Qing was captivated by the beautiful sunrise, but Fern's eyes were only on Dugu Qing.
The two stood one behind the other, looking at the sun on the horizon, but the world they saw was completely different.
A moment later, the sunlight became dazzling, falling on the skin and feeling slightly warm.
Dugu Qing came to her senses, started a fire to cook, boiled some potatoes, and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.
Stark and Frieren woke up one after the other and had a simple meal.
The group crossed the mountain peaks and headed towards the empire.
In the azure sky, without a single cloud, a giant dragon spreads its wings and flies across the sky, shaking the world.
Dugu Qing, Fern, Stark all looked up when they heard the sound.
Frieren looked at the dragon, activated her Detection Magic, and amusement appeared on her face.
"This is the world's largest dragon, the Heavenly Vein Dragon. Legend has it that its body is as large as an island, and it has a gentle nature and dislikes fighting. Would you like to go see it?"
"This is free Disney! Of course we have to go!"
Without a word, Dugu Qing summoned the Clear Radiance Sword, jumped onto it, and flew towards the giant dragon with lightning speed.
"Me! Take me with you!"
Stark quickly followed, leaping high into the air, as if afraid that Dugu Qing would forget him.
Dugu Qing said it was troublesome, but quickly turned back, picked up Stark, and placed him in front of her.
"Stark, he got off too easy."
Seeing that Stark was able to ride the sword alongside Dugu Qing, Fern let out a soft snort, took up his magic wand, and followed behind Dugu Qing, quickly taking flight.
Frieren started the slowest, sitting on her wand, but she was the fastest, overtaking Fern in the blink of an eye and passing over Dugu Qing's head.
The four of them soared into the sky, leaving the ground, and rapidly approached the Heavenly Vein Dragon.
The Heavenly Vein Dragon was enormous, its back stretching for dozens of miles, its spine forming a world of its own, covered with dense forests, clear streams, and deep lakes, evolving into an independent ecosystem.
From a distance, it looks like land floating in the air, which is extremely spectacular.
"Wow, it's huge! I can't believe the legends are true!"
Looking down at the self-contained dragon's back, a hint of amazement flashed across Frieren's round face.
"I wish I had a Heavenly Vein Dragon pet."
Compared to the Heavenly Vein Dragon, Stark felt that the mansion he had always longed for suddenly seemed less appealing.
There's probably nothing cooler than a castle that flies in the sky and moves freely!
"Just wait! I'll definitely research a magic spell someday and create a flying city, stuffing all my favorite things inside, with only a few of us allowed to come and go freely."
Dugu Qing landed on the ground, admiring the rare and exotic trees in the forest, picking many berries, taking a bite, and enjoying their sweet taste.
Frieren went to the lake, dived to the bottom, caught several large fish, and laid them on the beach.
Fern, Stark, prepare the fish, start a fire to grill it, sprinkle with cumin and chili, and brush with sesame oil.
Smoke curled from the dragon's back, soon filling the air with an enticing aroma.
The Heavenly Vein Dragon suddenly trembled in its chest and spoke in human language.
"Adventurers, could you share some of the fish with me?"
The Heavenly Vein Dragon had already lowered its voice to the extreme, but because of its enormous and boundless size, when it exhaled its breath, the wind and clouds changed color, lightning crackled and appeared, altering the climate of an entire region.
To everyone else, the sky appeared overcast, as if it were about to rain.
"Who? Who? Who's speaking!"
The sounds came from all directions. Stark was terrified and hid behind Dugu Qing, trembling with fear.
"Is it Heavenly Vein Dragon?"
Dugu Qing sensed the aura of the Heavenly Vein Dragon and vaguely guessed the cause and effect.
"This is my life, the life of the Heavenly Vein Dragon. Although I possess a near-eternal life, I have always flown high in the sky. When I'm hungry, I can only eat small birds; when I'm thirsty, I can only inhale the moisture from the clouds. I rarely get to enjoy delicious food, so..."
At this point, Heavenly Vein Dragon swallowed hard and shut his mouth in embarrassment.
Upon hearing this, Dugu Qing readily grabbed most of the meat skewers, making a gesture as if he were about to fly away.
Stark grabbed Dugu Qing and stuck out his tongue.
"Don't go! What if it's a scam? They might lure you in, then swallow you whole... and you'll be dead, dead, dead!"
When Heavenly Vein Dragon heard Stark say such things about him, his chest swelled with anger. He exhaled a breath that landed on the ground, instantly stirring up a sandstorm that covered the sky and blotted out the sun.
"I think we can trust it this once."
Dugu Qing felt that the Heavenly Vein Dragon had no reason to lie to her, so she flew to the dragon's mouth and placed the fish pieces one by one onto the Heavenly Vein Dragon's tongue.
Heavenly Vein Dragon gently crushes the fish meat, quietly savoring its delicate aroma and the numbing spiciness of the chili peppers, then closes his eyes in bliss.
After it finished eating one skewer, Dugu Qing handed it another.
The Heavenly Vein Dragon is like Dugu Qing's pet, gentle, obedient, honest, and kind.
A few moments later, dozens of skewers of fish meat had been fed to the animals.
Dugu Qing waved his hand and turned to leave.
"Young man, you're a really good person. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, you can come to this area to find me, and I will definitely do my best to help you."
The Heavenly Vein Dragon exhaled gently, and surging air currents churned within its vast mouth, sweeping in all directions.
Dugu Qing was almost blown away by the strong wind. After fixing her hair, she nodded gently.
"Okay, we'll meet again someday."
Dugu Qing flew out of the dragon's mouth and found Fern.
Fern had already grilled dozens of skewers of fish and placed them on the table.
Stark and Frieren, holding skewers of grilled meat, ate heartily, their mouths dripping with oil.
"They didn't even wait for me, that's really too much."
Dugu Qing picked up a skewer of fish and began to eat it in large bites.
The group enjoyed a special lunch, extinguished the fire, waved goodbye to the Heavenly Vein Dragon, and flew to the ground.