Letting Go

Inside the Misty Palace of Utopia, Yue Qianchou suddenly appeared, plopped down on the polished floor, wiping the sweat from his brow, his heart pounding wildly. He had heard of dragons in this world, but from the various ancient texts, the so-called dragons were all like the dragons of the West in his previous life, looking similar to dinosaurs, with two flying bat wings on their backs.

In that instant, a true dragon, a red dragon, a legendary supreme being worshipped by the Chinese nation for thousands of years, suddenly stood before him, its head held high. A radiant, ancient, and awe-inspiring aura, its crystalline eyes like giant lanterns, stared at him, questioning him. The sheer shock he felt was something he could never have experienced when he heard of or even met Bi Changchun, a cultivator at the late Spirit Transformation stage. No wonder he was terrified...

"Leader..." The maids of the Misty Palace gasped in surprise upon seeing Yue Qianchou in such a disheveled state, but they failed to rouse the stunned Yue Qianchou. Soon after, Bai Suzhen and the others, having heard the commotion, rushed over. Yue Changgui and his wife exchanged bewildered glances, Little Wu Chou's mouth gaped open. In their minds, Yue Qianchou was omnipotent, the number one person in this place; judging from his posture on the ground, he was clearly terrified.

Qu Ping'er looked somewhat haggard, clearly still heartbroken over her master's situation. She had initially harbored some resentment towards Yue Qianchou, but seeing him like this made her feel sorry for him.

Bai Suzhen frowned, walked over, squatted down, and shook him, asking, "What's wrong with you?"

Yue Qianchou raised his head, looked around blankly, saw familiar faces, shook his head, came to his senses, let out a long breath, and relaxed to lie down on the ground. He comforted himself with lingering fear, "I'm back, I'm back! That was terrifying, terrifying, almost scared the hell out of me..."

"Chou'er, what's wrong?" Xue Erniang also squatted down to ask. Although Yue Changgui was also worried, his male reserve prevented him from doing the same thing as the two women.

"I'm fine!" Yue Qianchou waved his hand weakly with his eyes closed, took a few deep breaths, and his face returned to its usual ease. He sprang up again, looked around at everyone, and smiled at Xue Erniang, "Mother, I'm fine! You all go back and rest. My sister and I have something to talk about."

They naturally knew that the "sister" Yue Qianchou spoke of was Bai Suzhen, the only person in Utopia besides him who could command everyone. Xue Erniang stared at her son with some worry. Yue Changgui came over and tugged at her, saying, "Alright, let's go for a walk. Our son can handle his own affairs. Let's not cause trouble here." After saying that, he pulled his younger son along, and the family of three walked out of the magnificent Misty Palace.

The maids bowed and withdrew. Qu Ping'er glanced at Yue Qianchou, her gaze lingering on Bai Suzhen for a moment, then bit her lip and silently turned away. Yue Qianchou noticed her haggard face, sighed softly, and called out, "Ping'er!"

Qu Ping'er stopped and turned her back to him. Yue Qianchou walked over, turned to face her, and looked at her earnestly, sighing, "The dead cannot be brought back to life. Don't you think there are more important people in this world besides your master who need you to live well? Am I really not as important as your master in your heart?"

Qu Ping'er's body stiffened, and she looked up, saying, "It's not what you think, it's just..."

"Enough." Yue Qianchou gently placed his hand on her red lips, stopping her from saying anything more, and smiled, "No need to say anything, I understand. Ping'er, I encountered a lot of things this time, and I almost lost my life. It's so good to see you again. I really missed you!" As he spoke, he gently embraced Qu Ping'er.

Qu Ping'er was overwhelmed with emotions in his arms. Suddenly, she started sobbing, tears streaming down her face. She choked out, "I thought you hated me and never wanted to talk to me again. I thought you would kick me out of here one day. I will lose my master and you. What will I do then? Waaah!"

Yue Qianchou stroked her hair and murmured in her ear, "How could that be? You are my dream, the first dream I had when I came into this world. I want to cherish you for a lifetime. You must live well so that I can cherish you for a lifetime."

Qu Ping'er immediately wrapped her arms around his waist, nodding repeatedly and humming in his embrace. Bai Suzhen glared at Yue Qianchou, who winked at her and said, "Sister, let's go to the back cliff." Then, she and Qu Ping'er disappeared together.

The sun shone brightly on the cliff behind the mountain, and the vast expanse of land stretched out before them, inspiring awe. Yue Qianchou pushed away Qu Ping'er, who was sobbing uncontrollably in his arms. Qu Ping'er felt a little embarrassed when she saw Bai Suzhen smiling.

"You look awful crying. Alright, wipe your face. I have something important to tell you." Yue Qianchou chuckled and pinched Qu Ping'er's delicate nose. He then said to Bai Suzhen, "Sister, arrange something for her to take charge of. Women tend to overthink when they have nothing to do." Bai Suzhen smiled and nodded in agreement. Yue Qianchou then turned back and said, "Ping'er, from now on, you need to seize the time and work hard to improve your cultivation. Use whatever you want. Your husband is very wealthy, so I'm not afraid of you squandering it. In short, you need to improve your cultivation. It's time for you to worry about me."

Then, without trying to hide it from Qu Ping'er, he recounted his experiences on this trip to the two women. Qu Ping'er was immediately stunned. Fang Ming then that she had been living in a well within the Qingguang Sect. Little did she know what it meant to have the same right to know as Bai Suzhen.

After Yue Qianchou told her about the contents of the mural in Twilight Valley, Bai Suzhen murmured, "Our Old Ancestor returned to the far north fox clan because the Divine Craftsman had already passed away."

"Sister, have you ever seen or heard of a dragon like this?" Yue Qianchou asked after recounting her final ordeal.

Bai Suzhen covered her mouth and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be that you saw the legendary dragon? How is that possible? There really is a dragon in this world?" Seeing Yue Qianchou and Qu Ping'er's puzzled looks, she explained, "My fox clan has a legend that in a time even more distant than High Antiquity times, immortals from the celestial realm would often descend to the mortal world, and divine beasts from the celestial realm would also frequently appear. The most powerful divine beast in the legend is the dragon you described, with a long body, four claws, and a ferocious head. It comes in several colors, and the red you mentioned is one of them. It is said that even ordinary immortals are no match for dragons. This legend is so ancient that it has almost been forgotten. I never expected that you would actually see the legendary dragon. It's simply unbelievable! But what I don't understand is, if what you're describing is truly a dragon, why would it hide underground and not come out?"

"Sister, now that you mention it, I remember something," Yue Qianchou said, frowning. "It seems that the red dragon's claws were locked by a golden chain."

"Locked up?" Bai Suzhen shook her head and said, "How could a divine dragon be locked up by someone? Who has the ability to lock up a divine dragon..."

The pretty Qu Ping'er opened her mouth slightly, looking in whichever direction the mouth opened, like a complete idiot. The Demon King and Ghost King of the Demon Ghost Domain alone were enough to overwhelm her, then came the legendary Spirit Transformation stage, it seemed there were many such beings in the world, then even the legendary Divine Craftsman appeared, followed by a divine dragon she'd never even heard of, and then that Three Flavored True Fire thing—it all left her completely bewildered and confused. In short, she could only listen; she had no right to interrupt. With her limited knowledge, she couldn't possibly do so. However, her previous worries vanished without a trace, replaced by other thoughts.

There was no point in continuing the discussion about the dragon, so they decided to go back and explore again when the opportunity arose, hoping to eventually figure it out. Yue Qianchou summoned the Azure Nether Sword and handed it to Bai Suzhen, saying solemnly, "Sister, those skilled in crafting treasures are also skilled in formations. Xiaoxue has followed the Divine Craftsman for many years. If this sword is indeed the Azure Nether Sword, with the formations passed down from Xiaoxue to your fox clan, you should be able to discern something. Please examine it carefully for me to see if there are any restrictions within the sword. If so, can you find a way to break them?"

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