No wonder the Three Pure Ones and Nan Ji were afraid. Though Ancestor Dragon had suffered no major wounds, Queen Mother of the West had left him utterly disheveled.
His entire dragon body was covered in claw marks. Even Ancestor Dragon's face was riddled with scratches, and half of one dragon whisker had been bitten off.
Those sharp claws contained Golden Metal Qi, making the wounds naturally difficult to heal.
The damage was slight, but the humiliation was immense.
"Queen Mother of the West, Queen Mother of the West, stop..."
Ancestor Dragon inwardly groaned. At his peak, crushing Queen Mother of the West would have been no harder than crushing an ant.
But after the Dragon-Phoenix Calamity, even he had been left with only a wisp of his remnant soul, while Queen Mother of the West had been personally appointed by Hongjun as the Head of Female Immortals.
Seeing that Queen Mother of the West had no intention of stopping, Ancestor Dragon cried unwillingly, "I do not know when I, Ancestor Dragon, offended you. Why must you strike so viciously?"
"Do I need a reason to beat you? Do I need to pick a date?"
At that moment, Queen Mother of the West had taken domineering and unreasonable to the extreme, leaving some of the Great Desolation's mighty experts watching with their divine senses dumbfounded.
Of course, only the Three Pure Ones understood why.
Queen Mother of the West was friends with their disciple Nan Ji. She was standing up for him.
Tongtian, meanwhile, thought, Should I just let the matter of Long-Eared Rabbit and the other seven go? If Queen Mother of the West comes knocking, who could endure that?
After a long while, Queen Mother of the West had finally had her fill and stopped. Transforming into human form, she said, "I am not an unreasonable person."
Ancestor Dragon: ...
Laozi, Yuanshi, Tongtian: ...
Nan Ji: ...
When Queen Mother of the West saw that Ancestor Dragon did not answer, she continued explaining, "Those two Ancient Sinful Dragons recklessly seized female cultivators from the East Sea. As the Head of Female Immortals of the Great Desolation appointed by the Dao Ancestor, I had no choice but to intervene."
Hearing Queen Mother of the West's explanation, Ancestor Dragon snorted out countless sprays of water. "But this person is a male cultivator. How can I not avenge my son's death?"
"Hm?"
Bang!
Seeing Ancestor Dragon spray water from his nostrils, Queen Mother of the West's delicate brows rose, and she punched him on the nose again.
"Hiss..."
The pain shooting through his snout twisted Ancestor Dragon's features.
Yet Ancestor Dragon still spoke politely. "Fellow Daoist Queen Mother of the West, I, Ancestor Dragon, only ask that this child pay with his life. Once I kill him, I will surely prepare generous gifts and deliver them to Western Kunlun."
"Oh!"
Queen Mother of the West smiled faintly, then stretched out her hand. An alms bowl appeared in her palm.
"Fellow Daoist Ancestor Dragon, feel free to make your move. I merely wish to test whether this Pure Water Alms Bowl bestowed by the Dao Ancestor can collect all Four Seas at once."
Queen Mother of the West spoke softly, yet every word was like a sharp sword stabbing at Ancestor Dragon.
"You are threatening me!"
Ancestor Dragon's dragon claw hung in midair, caught in a dilemma.
Nan Ji, however, watched the scene. Though he did not understand why Queen Mother of the West was protecting him so fiercely, he knew he had already forged a deadly enmity with Ancestor Dragon.
How could a few words of explanation possibly settle that?
And if he did not find a way today, he would be unable to sleep or eat in peace afterward.
But the grievance of losing a son... At that thought, Nan Ji's eyes suddenly lit up.
Nan Ji flew before Ancestor Dragon. First, he cupped his hands toward Queen Mother of the West and said, "Thank you for intervening, Martial Aunt Queen Mother of the West. Please leave this matter to Nan Ji."
Nan Ji was exceptionally courteous toward Queen Mother of the West.
Mainly because she had helped him more than once. At the same time, Nan Ji was afraid that if he somehow offended her... he would suffer terribly.
When Queen Mother of the West saw Nan Ji before her, her voice unexpectedly softened. "Mm."
It was as though she feared Nan Ji might notice something, so her reply was brief.
Nan Ji noticed nothing. He merely looked coldly at Ancestor Dragon and said, "Ancestor Dragon, do you dare kill me?"
Ancestor Dragon had not expected Nan Ji to fly right before him and provoke him. Hearing Queen Mother of the West agree, he glared with enormous dragon eyes. "I, Ancestor Dragon, am avenging my son. What would I not dare?"
As he spoke, a massive dragon claw reached toward Nan Ji.
"Then think carefully!"
As Nan Ji spoke, the enormous Golden Wheel of Merit instantly appeared behind his head.
In an instant, as the Golden Wheel bearing immeasurable merit appeared, countless rays of golden merit light blossomed behind Nan Ji. The sea surface glowed with blinding gold, and even the dark clouds in the sky were scattered.
"You!"
Ancestor Dragon's claw had already reached Nan Ji, but it was forced to stop.
Because Ancestor Dragon sensed that if he truly tore Nan Ji apart, the Heavenly Dao would bring down boundless calamity upon him.
Moreover, since Ancestor Dragon already bore immense karmic consequences, the Heavenly Dao's loathing would spread to the entire dragon clan.
This forced Ancestor Dragon to halt his claw.
Seeing Ancestor Dragon's stopped claw, Nan Ji inwardly thought, Just as expected.
In truth, he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared. The thickened Mysterious Yellow Qi made that clear. But even if he lost, he could not lose face. Fortunately, Nan Ji had won his gamble.
Thus, Nan Ji continued standing calmly before Ancestor Dragon and used his mana to shout, "Ancestor Dragon, think carefully. Will you let the entire dragon clan be burdened with karmic consequences for your personal vengeance? For your personal vengeance, will the dragon clan never rise again?"
If a modern person were here, they would surely accuse Nan Ji of moral coercion.
But this tactic was indeed extremely effective.
Nan Ji, now a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal, used his mana to make his voice resound across the Four Seas.
Seeing Nan Ji carrying immeasurable merit, unwillingness appeared in Ancestor Dragon's eyes, but he knew he could no longer harm the dragon clan.
Then enormous tears fell from his dragon eyes, crashing onto the sea in great drops and stirring wave after wave.
The murderer of his son stood right before him, yet he could do nothing. If he retreated now, he would become the laughingstock of other races in the future.
But Ancestor Dragon was not only the father of the two Ancient Sinful Dragons. He was also the father of countless dragons, the patriarch of the entire dragon clan.
At that moment, the pride of the former ruler of heaven and earth vanished from Ancestor Dragon's clouded eyes.
As though he had aged countless years in an instant, he spoke with difficulty. "Nan... Nan Ji, let this matter end here."
Ancestor Dragon ground out every word through clenched teeth, exhausting all his strength.
How could he have been willing? But he could not ignore the dragon clan, much less disregard the karma of the past.
When he thought of how the dragon clan might suffer such humiliation in the future...
He seemed to make up his mind and continued, "Heavenly Dao above, I, Ancestor Dragon, will no longer serve as the dragon clan's patriarch. I am willing to bear karmic consequences with my divine soul, to lessen the dragon clan's sins and guard the Four Seas forever. I now appoint Ao Guang as the Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Run as the Dragon King of the South Sea, Ao Qin as the Dragon King of the West Sea, and Ao Shun as the Dragon King of the North Sea. Let the Heavenly Dao bear witness."
As Ancestor Dragon's voice fell, Nan Ji suddenly sensed another powerful intent of the Heavenly Dao appearing above the East Sea.
"Granted."
As the voice of the Heavenly Dao ended, Ancestor Dragon felt the shackles of the Heavenly Dao around him tighten further.
Yet this also made Ancestor Dragon let out a long breath. At the very least, as Ancestor Dragon, he could still do a little more for the dragon clan.
"Roar~~~"
Feeling the pain brought by the shackles of the Heavenly Dao, Ancestor Dragon no longer wished to say anything. After releasing one final proud dragon roar, he turned and plunged into the deepest part of the East Sea.
Seeing that he had forced Ancestor Dragon, once the Great Desolation's overlord, into such a state, Nan Ji did not laugh triumphantly. Instead, he felt somewhat sorrowful.
Was Ancestor Dragon wrong?
Yet Nan Ji did not believe he had done anything wrong either.
Nan Ji gathered his emotions and said to Queen Mother of the West, "Thank you for your assistance, Martial Aunt Queen Mother of the West."
"Mm."
Queen Mother of the West nodded, put away the Plain Cloud Boundary Banner, and left directly.
It was as though Nan Ji were some terrifying existence.
Nan Ji smacked his lips and thought, Shouldn't Martial Aunt Queen Mother of the West have said that we were both from Kunlun and that I should visit when I had time?
But he did not dare say that aloud. After all, this martial aunt of his was still... far too fierce.
Zhao Gongming, who had witnessed everything, also felt his own insignificance, and his desire to grow stronger became even more intense.
But he also knew that this was all thanks to Nan Ji before him. Wanting to express his gratitude, he said, "Dao Brother Nan Ji, if you do not mind, how about accompanying me to Three Immortal Island for a visit?"
Before you continue