After the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation, the Remnants of the Three Clans: Mo Yuan, the World-Ending Black Dragon

During the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation, wind and water mingled to form clouds, giving birth to the Primordial Ancestor Dragon. Fire and wind gave birth to the Primordial Yuanfeng, while earth, water, and fire separately gave birth to the Water and Fire Qilin.

Ancestor Dragon, Yuanfeng, and Shi Qilin led the three great divine-beast demon clans. They each commanded one of the three groups of Primordial World species—scaled creatures, birds, and beasts—and held the Primordial World in check.

As time went on, the three clans' conflicts continued without end.

The Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation was brutal. Cultivators from the clans who took part in the fighting fell one after another.

In the end, the Phoenix and Qilin clans were nearly wiped out, while fewer than one in ten of the dragons remained. The tribulation ended with the dragons retreating to the Four Seas.

The three clans withdrew, and the Wu and demon clans took the stage. Yet the three groups of survivors from the Dragon-Phoenix Great Tribulation still existed in this Primordial World.

The dragon clan especially fared better than the Phoenix and Qilin clans in both the number and cultivation of its surviving members. Phoenixes and qilins were so rare that they were said to be as scarce as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. But within the Four Seas, dragons could still be seen from time to time.

The black aura Beichen now saw came from a black dragon.

The black dragon had reached the mid-stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm. He lay hidden in the East Sea, his dragon eyes like divine lanterns as he glared covetously at the Moon Star.

He seemed to have been watching the Moon Star for a long time. For some reason, today that gaze had caused him to reveal his dragon aura!

"This divine dragon belongs to the World-Ending Black Dragon clan: the black dragon Mo Yuan! His cultivation is no weakling's. Among the entire dragon clan today, he can be considered one of its top experts!"

With the Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell's divination, Beichen learned the black dragon's identity in full.

He also learned that Mo Yuan was spying on the two Moon Star Goddesses and coveted them!

"What a black dragon! He actually dares to dream of having Xihe and Changxi? What wishful thinking!"

Beichen gripped the Mystic Turtle Shell and put it away. He now understood everything that was about to happen.

"Heh. This will give Dijun and Taiyi the chance to get together with the two Moon Star Goddesses. This black dragon will help things along!"

The World-Ending Black Dragon Mo Yuan seemed to be waiting for an opportunity. He would not make a move against the Moon Star anytime soon.

Confident that everything was under control, Beichen set the matter aside for now and paid no more attention to the black dragon aura. He focused on comprehending the restrictions of the Heaven Measuring Ruler.

Rings of primordial Dao laws churned through his mind, revealing boundless mysteries.

As Beichen focused his thoughts, the ruler, shaped like a treasured sword, suddenly became like a waterfall cascading down from the Ninth Heaven. It rolled through the endless sea of stars, growing larger and larger as it measured the infinite void.

The void abruptly turned upside down, falling under the ruler's control. All karma vanished, and countless killing intents emerged.

Beichen immersed himself in the vision. His divine sense flowed in fine, steady threads, gathering without haste. The countless mysteries of the Dao laws all entered his divine sense.

He spent a hundred years in this single session of study. With the aid of the Divine Tortoise Eyes and the Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell, he smoothly and skillfully unlocked the restrictions layer by layer, gradually mastering the ruler's Dao power.

"No wonder it's called the Heaven Measuring Ruler. It measures the empty heavens and cuts through all karma. Such power!" Though Beichen had yet to use it, he already understood its terrifying might. He gradually felt pleased with himself. "To slay without incurring karma or karmic burden—that's a rare quality even among supreme treasures!"

At that thought, Beichen abruptly stopped his study and stored the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler inside the Universe Great Dao Mystic Turtle Shell.

He had mastered every method of using the Heaven Measuring Ruler. Though he still couldn't wield it to unleash its full might, it was, after all, a Supreme Grade Innate Spirit Treasure. There would be no problem using it against a late-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

"Dijun and Taiyi should be back by now. I'll ask how they've gotten along with the two goddesses on the Moon Star over the past hundred years."

Beichen rose slightly and stood alone on a cliff on the Sun Star, waiting for Dijun and Taiyi.

Before long, Dijun and Taiyi came bounding onto the Sun Star, bickering as they went.

"Master!"

The two hurriedly bowed when they saw Beichen.

"How have things been with the two goddesses?"

Beichen didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

Dijun smiled. "Master, your plan worked! The 'cling once, pester twice, shamelessly persist three times' method works every time!"

"Oh? Tell me how it worked so well."

Dijun spoke with relish. "I followed your method. For the first thirty years, Xihe loathed me. Every day, she tried to chase me away and even attacked me."

"But I kept at it. In the middle thirty years, Xihe seemed to get used to my presence. Without me around, she would sometimes zone out."

"For the last thirty years, she kept saying she couldn't stand me, but there was already joy in her eyes. Clearly, she didn't mean it—or rather, she meant the opposite!"

"Heh. Just now, when your disciple was leaving the Moon Star, she even told me to go home and never visit the Moon Star again. But there was a hint of reluctance in her words!"

"Though I still haven't won Xihe's heart, I know I've carved myself deep into it!"

"Mm, excellent. That's just as I calculated. The two of you are only one opportunity away!"

Dijun looked at Beichen in confusion. He was about to ask what opportunity they were missing, but Beichen avoided his gaze and turned to Taiyi. "How about Changxi?"

Taiyi scratched his head. "Master, I don't quite understand either."

"Hmm?"

"I did as you taught me. Changxi asks me about all sorts of things every day. I reveal some things but keep others hidden, never telling her all my secrets. Now she still seems extremely curious about me!"

"Then you're halfway there!" Beichen chuckled.

Taiyi thought for a moment, then added, "When I was leaving the Sun Star, Changxi said, 'You silly dragon-bird, come play on the Moon Star sooner next time!'"

"Hahahaha!" Beichen roared with laughter.

Dijun was clearly a little envious. "Xihe told me to get lost and never come back."

"You know she didn't mean it, so why worry?" Beichen reassured him. "Don't worry. The four of you will soon become Dao Companions!"

"Master, what do you mean when you say we're just one opportunity away?"

Dijun seized the chance to ask.

"Look at the bottom of the East Sea! Take a good look!" Beichen prompted them.

"Is that a black dragon?" Taiyi immediately realized what was going on.

Only then did Dijun notice the black dragon staring at the Moon Star. "He actually covets the Moon Star Goddesses? He's asking for death!"

"Elder brother, we should get rid of this black dragon!"

"Master, we'll go eliminate him!" Dijun was already about to set off.

"Wait!" Beichen called the two back. "Though you have the River Map and Luo Book and the Eastern Emperor Bell, two powerful treasures, your cultivation realms are far below the black dragon's. It wouldn't be wise to go as you are."

"Hahahaha! Moon goddesses, I am Mo Yuan, the World-Ending Black Dragon. I've watched the Moon Star for a long time. Today, I'll finally ascend to it! How about becoming my two concubines?"

Just then, Mo Yuan let out a deafening roar, stirring up ten thousand zhang waves in the East Sea. The vast blue waters surged straight toward the Moon Star.