Who Cast a Shadow Over the Dragon Clan's Sky Above the Azure Mystic River?

In the eastern Primordial World.

A great river stretching for tens of millions of li ran across mountains and plains. Its waters surged like dragons, gathering hundreds of tributaries along the way. Rich innate water spirit Qi rose ceaselessly with the waves, shrouding the mountains on both banks in pale cyan mist.

This river was called the Azure Mystic River, an immensely important innate water vein in the east.

Ever since the Dragon Clan had gradually taken control of the eastern waters, the Azure Mystic River had fallen under its rule. Dragon generals routinely led aquatic troops on patrol, preventing the fierce beasts of the north from heading south along the river and harassing the living beings on its banks.

At this moment, a cyan dragon thousands of li long swam among the clouds above the Azure Mystic River.

Her scales were like jade and her horns were crystalline, while rich water spirit Qi swirled around her. Wherever she passed, waves naturally rippled across the river below. Dozens of flood dragons and thousands of aquatic soldiers followed close behind.

The cyan dragon was named Ao Lan. A Taiyi Golden Immortal, she was responsible for patrolling the waters around the Azure Mystic River.

"General, we've finished patrolling the stretch of river ahead. There's nothing unusual at any of the water manors for now."

A black-armored flood dragon came up beside Ao Lan and reported respectfully, lingering fatigue still visible in his eyes.

Ao Lan nodded lightly and asked casually, "How is that patch of turbid Sha downstream? Didn't they say yesterday that another set of restriction markings on the riverbed had come loose?"

The black-armored flood dragon looked somewhat helpless and replied in a low voice, "It's been reinforced, but that fierce Sha has been building up for too long. Some of it seeps out every so often. The water generals stationed there have nearly had all the temper worn out of them."

Ao Lan frowned slightly at his report.

The Azure Mystic River as a whole was abundant in water spirit Qi, but certain areas downstream had long suffered the encroachment of turbid Sha from the Northern Land. The Dragon Clan had sent numerous experts to deal with it, yet they had never managed to clear it away completely.

The matter had troubled her for many years.

"Keep it contained for now. I'll discuss it with Elder Ao Xuan the next time he comes."

No sooner had Ao Lan finished speaking than she sensed an unusually heavy presence slowly approaching from the northern horizon.

She jerked her head up.

The sky, which had been relatively clear, was darkening bit by bit.

Vast banks of clouds rolled apart to either side as an indescribably enormous dark-gold shadow slowly approached from the upper reaches of the Azure Mystic River.

Ao Lan's gaze grew grave in an instant.

"Stop!"

At her low shout, the dozens of flood dragons behind her halted at once, and the aquatic troops patrolling the river quickly formed ranks.

The black-armored flood dragon looked up, and his expression changed.

"General, what is that thing?"

Ao Lan did not answer immediately.

She had already sent out her Divine Sense to probe the dark-gold shadow.

But the more she sensed, the more shaken she became.

The thing was simply too big.

Her Divine Sense continued to stretch along the shadow, yet still failed to find its end. A rich, ancient life presence filled the entire sea of clouds, even causing the water spirit Qi above the Azure Mystic River to tremble gently.

Ao Lan's heart sank.

"What immense Qi and Blood!"

There were countless fierce beasts in the Northern Land, and reports of a giant beast appearing there had recently reached her. Naturally, she did not dare let an entity of unknown origin enter the Azure Mystic River unchecked.

The next moment, Ao Lan raised her dragon head.

"Angh—!"

A piercing dragon roar resounded through heaven and earth. The surrounding innate water spirit Qi swiftly gathered, forming a cyan wall of clouds that stretched for ten thousand li.

Ao Lan did not attack immediately. Instead, she released the pressure of her Taiyi Golden Immortal cultivation, sending a warning ahead.

"The Azure Mystic River ahead is under the Dragon Clan's rule. Whoever approaches, please stop for the moment!"

Her voice spread across the sea of clouds.

Behind her, the aquatic soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons and stared nervously at the distant shadow.

Yet several breaths passed.

The dark-gold shadow continued to grow larger.

The black-armored flood dragon gradually realized something was wrong.

He suddenly saw that the shadow he had spotted earlier seemed to be only a small part of some enormous living creature's body.

As the distance closed, a dark-gold pattern on a scale gradually came into view.

The pattern stretched for thousands of li, with silvery-white starlight faintly flowing across its surface.

The black-armored flood dragon's eyes flew wide.

"A scale?"

He instinctively flew forward some distance, hoping to get a clearer look.

The next moment, a head of incomprehensible size slowly emerged from the sea of clouds. Two golden eyes gazed through layer upon layer of white clouds, looking straight at the patrol above the Azure Mystic River.

The black-armored flood dragon went rigid.

The Law Power he had just gathered fell into evident disorder at that very moment.

"G-General!"

His voice began to tremble, and his true flood dragon form, which had been circling high in the sky, retreated beyond his control.

Several flood dragons beside him had also seen it clearly.

The dark-gold shadow spanning heaven and earth belonged to a living giant beast!

And the giant beast's body was still emerging from the depths of the sea of clouds.

Ten thousand li.

Tens of thousands of li.

Even at the distant horizon, the whole of its tail was still nowhere to be seen!

A young flood dragon stared wide-eyed, even his whiskers trembling ceaselessly.

"H-how big is it?!"

The aquatic commander beside him had likewise lost all his usual dignity. He stared up at the immense figure in the sky, his mouth hanging open for a long moment before he squeezed out a sentence.

"I'm afraid our Azure Mystic River couldn't even hold his body, could it?"

Ao Lan was just as stunned by the sight before her.

As a Taiyi Golden Immortal of the Dragon Clan, her true cyan dragon body was already thousands of li long, enough to make her a colossus before ordinary aquatic creatures.

But now.

Her true cyan dragon form, which had been her pride, did not even look as large as one of the other's eyes.

The visual impact could not help but fill Ao Lan with a sense of absurdity.

She had seen quite a few innate giant beasts.

Some ancient breeds among them could grow to tens of thousands of li upon reaching adulthood.

But the dark-gold giant whale before her was clearly far longer than the limits of an ordinary giant beast.

Even more astonishing, he carried an exceptionally vigorous life presence, with none of the sense of age that came only after the passage of long years.

Ao Lan could not help taking a deep breath.

"Just what are his origins?"

At that moment.

Lu Yuan had also noticed them.

He had been swimming east along the edge of the Northern Land when he suddenly heard a dragon roar from below and looked toward the sound.

He found a cyan dragon thousands of li long leading a sizable group of aquatic troops, blocking his path.

Lu Yuan sensed her cultivation.

Taiyi Golden Immortal.

In the present Primordial World, that already counted as a respectable level of cultivation.

Compared with Qiongqi and Shen Ni, whom he had encountered before, however, there was still a considerable gap.

Lu Yuan did not continue forward.

He drew in his enormous fins slightly, and his immense body slowly came to a stop amid the sea of clouds. The air currents his swimming had stirred up gradually subsided as well.

Seeing this, Ao Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At least he could communicate normally.

And after hearing the Dragon Clan's warning, he had indeed stopped of his own accord.

"Is this the Azure Mystic River?"

Lu Yuan spoke slowly. His deep voice came through the clouds, shaking broad ripples across the river's surface.

Ao Lan quickly steadied herself.

"It is."

She raised her dragon head and tried to keep her voice steady.

"The Azure Mystic River is part of the waters under my Dragon Clan's rule. I am Ao Lan, and I was ordered to patrol this place. May I ask where you have come from, fellow Daoist?"

Lu Yuan glanced at her.

"My name is Lu Yuan. I've just come from the Northern Land, and I'm planning to have a look around the east."

Lu Yuan?

Ao Lan's heart jolted.

She had heard that name often in recent days.

An enormous giant beast had appeared in the Northern Land.

It fed on Fierce Sha Qi.

It had fought the Heaven-Splitting Hou and Qiongqi in succession, and had even drawn the attention of Beast Emperor Shen Ni in the end.

According to the rumors, after the giant beast entered the Myriad Sha Abyss, it had even taken a portion of a Chaos Demon God's flesh and blood from Shen Ni.

Ao Lan had originally been somewhat skeptical of such rumors.

Now that she had seen the giant beast's true body, which blotted out the sky and sun, the doubts in her heart rapidly dissipated.

Especially because of the gray-gold patterns between his scales.

They clearly contained an extremely ancient presence of chaos.

This matched the reports from the Northern Land perfectly.

Ao Lan could not help asking, "Fellow Daoist, are you Lu Yuan, the Grand Void Sky Whale?"

Lu Yuan nodded lightly.

"You've heard of me?"

Upon receiving his confirmation, Ao Lan's gaze, which had gradually regained its calm, changed visibly once more.

It really is him!

The flood dragons and aquatic troops behind her had also heard their conversation.

A Golden Immortal flood dragon whipped his head around, his eyes full of disbelief.

"The Grand Void Sky Whale? Lu Yuan, the one who fought Beast Emperor Shen Ni?"

The black-armored flood dragon beside him now wore an exceedingly expressive look.

"I thought the rumors were a little exaggerated, but in person... he's actually even bigger than the rumors said!"

"Keep your voice down!"

An older flood dragon hurriedly lowered his voice, looking warily at Lu Yuan.

With an expert of such strength, they had to show sufficient respect even in ordinary conversation.

All the more so because the giant beast before them had fought Shen Ni.

Though the Dragon Clan was powerful, there was no need to provoke such an entity over a trivial matter.

Ao Lan naturally understood the weight of this even better.

She had carried some of the authority of a water patrol earlier, but when she looked at Lu Yuan again, her expression had grown much more solemn.

"So it is you, fellow Daoist Lu Yuan. I've long heard of your great name."

Ao Lan paused briefly, then continued, "You've come all the way from the Northern Land, fellow Daoist. I assume you intend to pass through the Azure Mystic River and travel deeper into the east?"

Lu Yuan nodded.

"More or less. I want to travel east and see if there's anywhere suitable for cultivation."

After hearing this, Ao Lan's gaze involuntarily fell on the river below.

Though the Azure Mystic River was broad, it seemed far too narrow compared with Lu Yuan's body, which was over a hundred thousand li long.

She considered it carefully for a moment, then finally looked up again.

"Fellow Daoist Lu Yuan, the Azure Mystic River can indeed take you east, but I'm afraid there's something I must discuss with you first."

Lu Yuan looked at her.

"What is it?"

Ao Lan gazed at the enormous whale body stretching across the horizon and said slowly, "Fellow Daoist, your true body is far too large. If you were to enter the river directly, I'm afraid the entire Azure Mystic River wouldn't be able to bear it."