"Exactly! It was me!" Beichen said cheerfully. "The two Sun Star gods are my disciples!"
At those words, wariness appeared on Mo Yuan's face.
The events that had unfolded on Moon Star six hundred years ago remained vivid in his mind, replaying again and again and filling him with lingering fear.
That was the second time he had come closest to death, and the second time he had felt its approach.
The first time had been during the Dragon-Phoenix Initial Tribulation. The Phoenix Clan had dealt him a grievous blow, nearly killing him, and he had accidentally fallen right in front of Demon Ancestor Luohu.
Fortunately, Demon Ancestor Luohu had seen the black aura swirling around him and his overwhelming demonic energy, taken him for one of his own in the Devil Dao, and given him a fragment of a black lotus. That was what had saved him.
But it had also made him feel the pain and terror of death closing in.
The second time had been on Moon Star, when the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler had shattered his dragon aura and severely wounded him. Eastern Emperor Taiyi had then caught him and struck him with the Eastern Emperor Bell, leaving him on the brink of life and death.
If not for a resonant Daoist voice, like the toll of a great bell, stopping them on Sun Star, he would have died at the hands of the brothers Dijun and Taiyi.
Mo Yuan stared at Beichen, his expression shifting as he wondered what the man was thinking.
The devastating blow from the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler just now seemed to have shown him that Beichen's command of the weapon was far more familiar and profound than Dijun's. Fear stirred in him.
Beichen continued, "Mo Yuan, by rights, I'm something of your benefactor! Six hundred years ago, if I hadn't spoken up in time, you would have died beneath my disciple Taiyi's Eastern Emperor Bell. How could you still be flaunting your dragon might now?"
"Nonsense! You're talking complete nonsense!"
Mo Yuan's gaze turned icy, a trace of hatred in it as he fixed it on Beichen and scrutinized him closely.
Even now, he couldn't tell what sort of being Beichen was or what his origins were.
Unfortunately, the moment his probing encountered the Dao Fragment laws of the Three Immortal Islands, it was scattered, leaving him unable to use it at all.
Besides, even if he could have used it, Beichen's strength and origins would have kept him from learning anything.
"Wandering cultivator, if you hadn't given Dijun the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler, how could those Two Crows and the Moon Star Goddess have been a match for me, the black dragon Mo Yuan? And you have the nerve to call yourself my benefactor?"
Mo Yuan knew that Beichen had been manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
"Do you want to argue with me?" Beichen asked with a humorless smile. "I hope you'll think it over again and make sure you understand what happened."
Beichen offered no further explanation, leaving Mo Yuan to work it out for himself.
Hearing the meaning behind Beichen's words, Mo Yuan was indeed led to think it through.
This cultivator sent his disciples to court the two Moon Star goddesses as Dao Companions. When I intervened, I spoiled their plans! As their master, he couldn't possibly have sent them into battle without giving them a magic treasure!
Dijun and Taiyi had the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler, which meant they held my life and death in their hands. Seen that way, this cultivator really did save my life by stopping the Two Crows from killing me!
Though the black dragon Mo Yuan was fierce and violent, he wasn't ungrateful. Even if Beichen had plotted all of this behind the scenes, Mo Yuan had been in the wrong first!
Beichen could have simply let Taiyi kill him and done nothing. Instead, he had chosen to save him.
Somehow, it seemed like fate had brought them together!
"Heh, I get it now!" Mo Yuan sneered. "Wandering cultivator, you were afraid your disciples would incur the karmic consequences of killing!"
"You're both Grand Unity Golden Immortals. Your disciple had no right to kill me. If he had, he would have incurred tremendous karmic sin! It would have been extremely detrimental to his cultivation. Without the Heavenly Dao's protection, his future strength would have been severely limited."
"You had them let me go, then stepped forward to play the good guy so I'd feel grateful to you. That's what this is about, isn't it?"
"Ha ha ha! That's right, Mo Yuan! You're far too clever—you hit the nail on the head!"
Beichen burst into laughter, but it was filled with mockery, leaving Mo Yuan unsettled.
"Why are you laughing like that? Why?"
Mo Yuan frowned in irritation.
"Why? Heh, Mo Yuan, you seem to have forgotten something. You really are a muddleheaded dragon!"
Beichen lightly swung the Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler in his hand, still wearing that mocking smile.
Mo Yuan suddenly understood. His divine eyes widened in shock. After a long while, he finally said in a low voice, "The Primordial Heaven-Measuring Ruler kills without incurring any karma!"
"So? Am I your benefactor or not?"
"Well..." Mo Yuan clasped his hands slightly. "Wandering cultivator, thank you for saving my life! By the way, may I ask your name?"
"I'm Beichen." Beichen glanced at Mo Yuan. "Black dragon, we're fated to meet. Since I saved your life, you needn't address me by name. Call me Master!"
"What? You want me, Mo Yuan, to become your subordinate? Impossible, absolutely impossible! I, Mo Yuan, am a mighty figure of the Dragon Clan. How could I serve a wandering cultivator?"
Mo Yuan held his head high and refused to acknowledge Beichen as his master.
"Wandering cultivator, you saved Mo Yuan's life. I'll find a way to repay you someday, but I can't become your subordinate!"
"Alas!" Beichen sighed. "You black dragon, you don't understand the will of Heaven. I'm asking you to become my subordinate to save you!"
"Save me?"
"Mm. Dijun and Taiyi have already become the husbands of Xihe and Changxi. The two of them will eventually become the leaders of all demons and the rulers of the Demon Court, far more powerful than you. If you run into them again in the prehistoric world, you should know what will happen to you!"
"On the other hand, if you join my ranks and receive my guidance, your cultivation won't fall short of theirs. And with me, your master, protecting you, my two disciples will have to put up with you and won't dare cause trouble. I've said all I need to say."
"Fellow Daoist Black Dragon, who is this cultivator? He speaks so arrogantly, and his words are mixed with what sounds like heavenly secrets. Who knows if any of it is true?"
Fire Qilin Yan Lie kept turning something over in his mind. Beichen seemed strangely familiar.
Suddenly, Yan Lie seemed to remember. "More than a thousand years ago, on Sun Star, someone triggered the Twelve-Nine Purple Firmament World-Ending Thunder Tribulation. Could it be...? Yes! He's the Golden Crow's master. He was on Sun Star back then! The commotion that day was immense, one of the rarest sights in the prehistoric world!"
Mo Yuan also came to a realization. "He's the one with the origins of an Innate Divine Demon, the one who possesses the Heaven and Earth Great Dao?"
Mo Yuan's expression shifted uncertainly. Torn, he wondered whether he should submit to Beichen.
"Three thousand Great Daos, laws forming a net—capture!"
At that moment, Beichen smiled faintly. Three thousand Imperfect Great Daos swirled around him, forming an immense golden net. It covered Mo Yuan on the spot and yanked him sharply. His divine sense shuddered as it broke through the Dao Fragment and dragged him into the Three Immortal Islands.
At almost the same time, the net caught Yan Lie too and hauled him into the Three Immortal Islands.
Bzz!
As soon as they entered the island, an innate force of restriction descended from nowhere, pressing the two of them down. They were powerless to resist and fell to their knees, their faces full of resentment.
They lifted their heads slightly and saw Beichen standing there calmly. He was the ruler of this world.
"You three remnants of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin Clans have a great karmic bond with me. It's only right that you join my ranks!"
"This will also keep the three clans from suffering further losses." Beichen smiled faintly.
"Haah! Mo Yuan can join your ranks, but I have to kill Ling Cair!"
Mo Yuan struggled to his feet and strode toward Ling Cair.
At that moment, Ling Cair seemed to sense danger. She let out a faint whimper and slowly opened her bright eyes...
Before you continue