Buying...

These are the Nine Sons of the Ancestral Dragon, all born of primordial gods and devils. Using them as avatars should be fine, right?

Jiang Yuan thought so, but reality proved him wrong. The problem wasn't about his stance, but the immense difficulty in condensing their avatars, far greater than that of Fierce Beasts.

Jiang Yuan's method for condensing avatars primarily involved devouring the essence and blood of corresponding divine beasts. But while he could kill Fierce Beasts with impunity, could he do the same to the descendants of the Nine Sons of the Ancestral Dragon?

Clearly not!

Firstly, the Dragon Race was not to be trifled with. Although the Nine Sons of the Ancestral Dragon did not possess dragon forms, their descendants were still considered true dragons. Anyone who killed them would have to prepare for retaliation from the Dragon Race.

Secondly, the Dragon Race was too close to the Human Race. If they were farther away, killing them would be a simple matter, and he could just flee. The Primordial World was vast, and the Dragon Race was no longer what it once was; how could they possibly catch up?

But the Dragon Race was right on the Human Race's doorstep. After killing them, there would be nowhere to run. Not to mention, the descendants of the Nine Sons were relatives of Jiang Yuan.

They were true relatives! From a maternal bloodline perspective, Jiang Yuan was also a descendant of the Ancestral Dragon, sharing the same ancestor as the descendants of the Nine Sons. Of course, they were relatives.

Of course, it wasn't entirely impossible to kill them. With so many dragons, there were bound to be traitors. Over countless years, the Dragon Race had produced many traitors, known as Evil Dragons.

Killing them would not only avoid retaliation from the Dragon Race but would also earn their gratitude. After deciding to condense avatars of the Nine Sons of the Ancestral Dragon, Jiang Yuan set his sights on the Evil Dragons.

He obviously couldn't go out and hunt them himself. Instead, he offered bounties, with various precious resources as rewards, encouraging those who desperately needed them to hunt Evil Dragons throughout the Primordial World.

This method was quite effective, but the number of Evil Dragons was too small, and most of them had defected to the Demon Race.

This resulted in only a meager amount of essence and blood from the Nine Sons' descendants being acquired even after forty years since Jiang Yuan posted his bounty.

To address this, Jiang Yuan devised a new plan: to spend money to buy blood from the Nine Sons' descendants.

The Dragon Race was indeed wealthy, but that referred to the Dragon Race as a whole, not every single dragon. There were always some descendants of the Nine Sons who weren't doing well, living miserable lives, unable to even gather enough cultivation resources.

Jiang Yuan targeted them, hoping to tempt them with various precious resources into selling him some of their essence and blood.

This way, they would obtain the resources needed to continue their cultivation, and Jiang Yuan would get enough essence and blood to condense the Nine Sons' avatars. It was a win-win situation.

This idea was good, but to make it work, he needed someone with enough prestige to lead and vouch for him. Otherwise, why would any of the Nine Sons' descendants trust Jiang Yuan?

They were poor, not foolish; they wouldn't believe just anyone.

Where could he find such a person?

As it happened, Jiang Yuan did have a suitable candidate: the old ancestor Xuanshan Clan, who had brought him back from the Dragon Tamer Earl.

Xuanshan Clan had cultivated in the Dragon Palace for a period in his early years and had many connections there.

Asking for his help would not only allow him to contact the impoverished descendants of the Nine Sons but also gain their trust, saving Jiang Yuan the trouble of proving himself.

With this thought in mind, after completing his historical writings, Jiang Yuan hurried to Xuanshan Clan's residence.

It was a palace made of white jade, filled with the style of the Dragon Palace. It was evident that he had indeed studied in the Dragon Palace and left a deep impression.

"Why are you looking for me instead of cultivating properly?"

Sensing Jiang Yuan's arrival, Xuanshan Clan welcomed him in while asking curiously.

What is the passage of time? This is it. It hasn't been long, and the descendant he once protected now held a higher status in the Human Race than he did.

To protect Jiang Yuan, although the Third Ancestor had not revealed his identity, Xuanshan Clan was not foolish. Seeing such significant changes in the Human Race, how could he not connect them to Jiang Yuan?

Because of this, he often lamented that he had misjudged. The true dragon was right before him, yet he hadn't recognized it.

"Naturally, I have good news for Old Ancestor. I have a business venture here that I wish to collaborate with Old Ancestor on."

Jiang Yuan said with a smile. The word "business" was a new term that had appeared in recent years, representing profit.

"Stop beating around the bush and say what you have to say directly."

Xuanshan Clan was not swayed by this. He was certain that Jiang Yuan was seeking his help; otherwise, given Jiang Yuan's status in the Human Race, what could he possibly want that the Third Ancestor wouldn't grant him?

"Seventy years ago, I already reached the peak of Void Refinement, and now I am on the verge of breaking through to Heavenly Immortal. However, to achieve Heavenly Immortal, I require a large amount of essence and blood from the Nine Sons."

"It's clearly impossible to meet my needs through normal means, so I've come to ask for Old Ancestor's help."

Jiang Yuan stated his case concisely.

"You want to slaughter dragons? Or slaughter dragons on a large scale? I can't help you with that. If it were just hunting a few true dragons, I might be able to help you cover it up."

"But for a large-scale slaughter of true dragons, you'll have to ask the Dragon Mother for help."

Xuanshan Clan immediately shook his head upon hearing this.

His abilities were limited, and he couldn't help Jiang Yuan with such a significant matter. This task required seeking out the Dragon Mother, who was the Wife of Ancestor Sui.

She was the Dragon Emperor's own sister. Even though she had married into the Human Race, she still held considerable influence within the Dragon Race. As long as Jiang Yuan didn't kill a few Primordial Unity Golden Immortals of the Dragon Race, she could handle any major mess.

"Old Ancestor, you misunderstand. I am such a kind person, how could I possibly harm my relatives? What I mean is, I wish to ask you to act as an intermediary to help me contact some descendants of the Nine Sons who are in dire need of cultivation resources."

"Then, I will use their desperately needed cultivation resources to exchange for their essence and blood for my cultivation."

Jiang Yuan explained his idea.

"Can that work?"

"The Dragon Race has always been arrogant; they shouldn't do such a thing."

Xuanshan Clan was stunned. He had never imagined such a method could be employed.

"You haven't even tried, how do you know it won't work? Besides, we only need their vital blood, not their lives. What's not to like?"

"Furthermore, dignity isn't spoken into existence, it's earned through strength. How can you defend your dignity if you don't become stronger?"

Jiang Yuan retorted. Selling blood wasn't shameful. What was shameful was not only not paying, but also failing to keep promises.

Moreover, vital blood could regenerate. As long as it wasn't depleted too much at once, it wouldn't damage one's foundation. At most, one would be weak for a period, but could recover with a century of careful recuperation.

Exchanging a century of weakness for urgently needed cultivation resources was entirely worthwhile. If lower-tier cultivators couldn't grasp this, they didn't understand sacrifice and had no future.

"Fine, I'll ask for you."

Xuanshan Clan could only agree to help Jiang Yuan. Of course, he wasn't helping for free; Jiang Yuan would pay him a brokerage fee.

"Is Daoist friend Xuanshan here?"

Just as their conversation ended and Xuanshan Clan was about to act, a voice Jiang Yuan found slightly familiar suddenly came from outside the door.