A thousand ages of mountains and rivers, countless heroes. Wind and rain battered them, yet the Nine Provinces remained a painted landscape.
Star Continent, one of the Nine Provinces, was surrounded by vast, surging waves beneath a boundless sky. Islands dotted the sea like pearls. Its people and culture flourished, and no matter how the raging waves surged or the ages flowed by, they could never wash away the endless succession of heroes.
Among those heroes, the weathered Sea Dragon King Jiang Bo stood supreme. He ruled the seas and looked down upon the world. As he lay dying, he lamented that there was no one to succeed him. So he established a hidden treasure vault, the Star Sea Dragon Palace, and left it for someone fated to find it, to inherit his legacy.
The news caused an uproar. Countless people threw themselves into the search, spending their youth and every ounce of effort in hopes of finding the Star Sea Dragon Palace and becoming the next Sea Dragon King.
Chu Yun was one of them.
"The mysteries of heaven and earth lie hidden beneath the sea; the stars guide the way with countless beams of light. The Sea Dragon King Jiang Bo left behind only this clue. Countless people have racked their brains over it, some even bankrupting themselves and destroying their families in their search for treasure. Yet for more than a hundred and thirty years, the Star Sea Dragon Palace has remained elusive. But today! I, Chu Yun, have finally found it!"
The deep blue water surged around him. Light rippled and flowed, dreamlike and illusory. Through the clear water, coral trees formed a forest amid the snowy white seabed, like swaths of golden flames and colored clouds.
Chu Yun stood before the Dragon Palace gates, his heart stirred.
He looked around and understood: these coral trees had been arranged by the Sea Dragon King Jiang Bo into a gigantic maze. To pass through, one had to wait for a night when the cold moon had vanished and the stars shone brilliantly, then follow the patterns of light the starlight cast upon the sea's surface.
This enormous maze had been designed with supernatural skill and an abundance of Daoist resonance. It showed not a trace of human handiwork, blending perfectly with nature.
The Coral Forest was breathtakingly beautiful and brilliantly colorful, stretching over a vast, seemingly endless area. It was renowned as one of Star Continent's Eight Great Wonders. Every year, great numbers of tourists came to admire its magnificent scenery.
"Who would have thought the fabled Star Sea Dragon Palace was right under everyone's noses? The more people focus on the beauty of these coral forests, the more deeply the maze ensnares them. Only by giving up the scenery and wandering through the forest, using the starlight shining down from the sea above to guide them, can they cross the maze and reach its heart. Ah, if only I'd discovered this secret more than ten years ago!"
Chu Yun couldn't help sighing inwardly. Though only thirty-six, his temples were already gray, his features gaunt, and his left foot was missing, replaced by a prosthetic. He looked less like a vigorous man in his prime than a man of sixty or seventy.
His body was covered in scars, and he suffered from numerous internal injuries. They were all traces left by years of exploring hidden places and seeking out treasures in ruins, tombs, dangerous lands, sunken ships, and other places, where he had faced traps, formations, strange beasts, and powerful enemies.
Chu Yun loved adventure and freedom and refused to settle for an ordinary life. His nature had made him a renowned Relic Explorer in Star Continent, with no small reputation.
But Chu Yun knew that his achievements in life would probably end there.
He knew his physical condition all too well. His vitality had been completely drained; the only reason he had survived until now was the force of his will.
On land, he couldn't walk for even half an hour before needing to sit down and rest. In cold, damp weather, every joint in his body chilled and ached. Sometimes, he slept for a day and a night, drifting in and out of consciousness, plagued by nightmares.
When he saw people his own age striding briskly past him, Chu Yun felt envious, but he had no regrets.
For someone of his humble standing, with little influence or authority, to compete with the heaven's favored—those born into powerful families and backed by immense forces that supported their cultivation—he had no choice but to take desperate risks, venturing out again and again in search of the rewards that came with great danger. That was how he had supported his cultivation.
But things had not gone as he'd hoped. He could hardly call his present state a success.
The Star Sea Dragon Palace was only one of the many goals he had pursued. Drawing on his years of experience, he had collected every account of Jiang Bo's life, boldly formed hypotheses based on his actions in his later years, and carefully tested them.
It had taken him only three years to find this place.
The Star Sea Dragon Palace, the place where the Sea Dragon King had left his legacy!
More than an hour later, Chu Yun finally struggled into the Dragon Palace.
The palace's buildings were magnificent and majestic. Its pavilions, towers, corridors, courtyards, and halls were arranged with exquisite elegance. Flowers, birds, insects, and fish mingled with arched bridges and flowing water, brimming with life.
Deep beneath the sea, some great power had carved out this Peach Blossom Spring, a Heaven on earth.
In his final days, the Sea Dragon King had lived here. This was where a king of his generation had spent his last days...
Chu Yun was secretly astonished—the tests he had expected never appeared.
By rights, the Star Sea Dragon Palace was the place where the Sea Dragon King Jiang Bo had left his legacy. He should have designed at least a few trials to test whoever came to inherit it.
But then he thought of Jiang Bo's reputation for being easygoing, magnanimous, and bold and unrestrained. Chu Yun understood.
He had only just entered the main hall when the sight inside left him stunned.
Two small mountains stood piled up in the spacious hall, each several zhang high. The one on the left gleamed with a glossy black light and was made entirely of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins. The one on the right was a little shorter, shining with a white glow, and was made entirely of Heaven-Stellar Stone Coins.
Earth-Fiend Stone Coins and Heaven-Stellar Stone Coins were currencies used throughout the Nine Provinces. These two mountains represented an enormous fortune!
Chu Yun estimated their value. The mountain of Earth-Fiend Stone Coins alone could buy a town-sized island and establish a solid foundation that would endure for generations. And that was nothing compared to the far more valuable mountain of Heaven-Stellar Stone Coins.
"The Sea Dragon King Jiang Bo was the overlord of his region, the king of the seas. By rights, his fortune should have far exceeded these coins. But he often spent lavishly and gave generously to others. It makes sense that he left behind only this much wealth."
Chu Yun was briefly astonished, then quickly calmed himself. If he had come here ten years younger, this wealth could have been his starting capital. But now, he was old and frail, with almost no vitality left. No matter how much wealth he had, there was no point if he couldn't live to enjoy it.
He passed through the main hall and entered the central hall.
Thirty jade tables stood in the central hall. An object rested on each one, with ten paces between them.
Chu Yun swept his gaze across them. Some tables held pill bottles, others had jade slips inscribed with Daoist techniques, and still others held demon beast eggs.
Only then did his emotions begin to surge, filling him with anticipation and eagerness.
There were only a few ways to heal his body. One was the renowned Vitality Creation Pill. The other was the Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Dragon, famed for its longevity.
Jiang Bo had traversed the world. Surely his legacy might include one of these two things. If Chu Yun found a Vitality Creation Pill here, or if an egg containing a Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Dragon hatched, he could transform himself and be reborn.
"Not this one, and not this one... That one, either..."
The greater the hope, the deeper the disappointment. The thirty jade tables held rare treasures, any one of which, if it fell into the outside world, could make people fight tooth and nail and unleash bloody storms. But there was neither a Vitality Creation Pill nor an egg containing a Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Dragon.
The three jade tables at the very back held the most valuable treasures.
On one lay a treasured flute: Jiang Bo's renowned weapon, the Azure Sea Tide-Rising Flute.
On another lay a beast-taming art, Laughing at the Vast Sea.
The last held a jade slip recording a betrothal agreement. Whoever inherited the Sea Dragon King's legacy could take it to King Yubo on Mermaid Island and ask for his daughter's hand in marriage.
These three treasures, together with the two mountains of coins in the main hall, offered money, a beauty, and power. They were the things countless people dreamed of and pursued with all their might.
"Too bad they're useless to me." Chu Yun smiled bitterly at himself. He had burned through his life, exhausted his vitality, and had little time left. What use did he have for these things?
"If only I'd found this place ten or twenty years ago!" He slowly shook his head and sighed in regret. He didn't take anything from the jade tables, but instead headed toward the rear hall.
In the rear hall lay a dragon!
What an enormous dragon!
Its horns were as magnificent as coral, its scales a deep, You blue. Its body coiled through the rear hall, stretching dozens of zhang! Its powerful body was as thick as a giant pillar. Its fearsome claws gleamed with cold light.
"This is... this really is Jiang Bo's demon beast, the Azure Sea Dragon!" Chu Yun stammered, his voice full of astonishment.
The sea dragon slowly opened its eyes. Its pupils were as deep as wells, yet filled with the air of twilight.
"I finally waited for an heir, but what a pity, what a shame—you came too late..." The sea dragon's low voice lingered in the rear hall.
"That's right. I came twenty years too late!" Chu Yun nodded with a bitter smile. He pointed at the sea dragon, then at himself. "You're going to die, and so am I..."
His smile held regret, self-mockery, acceptance, and relief.
If he had come twenty years earlier, their meeting would surely have become a fine tale. But where in this world could one find an "if"?
"Back then, my master and I both fell to the Qin Emperor. I was gravely wounded, but there was still a sliver of hope of saving me. My master, however, was beyond saving..."
After waiting for more than a hundred years, with his own death now close at hand, the sea dragon had finally met someone. He began to ramble on, recounting the events of the past.
"My master planned everything with painstaking care. Before he died, he established the Star Sea Dragon Palace for his successor. He thought of me and set no trials or tests. He wanted me to choose my second master..."
So the Star Sea Dragon Palace hadn't been without a test after all. The only true test was winning the Azure Sea Dragon's approval.
"But after waiting for more than a hundred years, my wounds became so severe that I was beyond recovery. I can no longer roam the seas or gallop across the world..."
The old Azure Sea Dragon still dreamed of galloping a thousand li, but his strength no longer matched his ambitions. His heart was willing, but his strength was not.
These words stirred Chu Yun's feelings and struck a chord within him.
He was the same. He had the ambitions of any ordinary man. But fate had not favored him. He had wanted to roam the world, yet now he was already nearing the end of his life.
The Star Sea Dragon Palace was his final gamble. Unfortunately, he hadn't found what he needed.
Two wanderers adrift in the world—why should they need to have known each other before meeting?
Man and dragon naturally became bosom friends.
In their remaining days, one would often listen while the other spoke. The sea dragon recounted the days when he had fought fiercely alongside Jiang Bo, roaming the vast oceans. Chu Yun told him of his own perilous adventures exploring hidden places.
They showed each other their scars and laughed as they talked of life and death.
At last, one day, the sea dragon said to Chu Yun with deep meaning, "I'm not going to make it. After I die, please bury my Demon Crystal beneath the great tree in the middle of the garden."
With that, his eyes closed, and he passed away. His flesh, scales, horns, claws, and other vital parts condensed into an amber-colored Demon Crystal the size of a millstone.
Chu Yun sighed quietly, gritted his teeth, and struggled with all his might. After going through countless hardships, he finally dragged the Demon Crystal into the garden.
He buried the Demon Crystal in the soil beneath the great tree's roots. Then he could no longer get back up. Completely exhausted, he leaned against the tree, his eyes half-closed as he calmly awaited death.
But little by little, his thoughts grew confused again.
In the past, he had also been the heir to an island, only to have his enemies seize it by force, taking away the foundation he had built. He had also once possessed a peerless demon beast, no less extraordinary than the Azure Sea Dragon or the Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Dragon. But a villain had ambushed him, leaving him with deep regret.
He looked back on his life, as if immersed in a stirring piece of music. The melody was brief but intense, its notes rising and falling as it recounted the vicissitudes of human life.
But he failed to notice the astonishing transformation taking place in the great tree behind him as it absorbed the power of the sea dragon's Demon Crystal.
Its branches and leaves unfurled like five-colored clouds, beautiful as a dream. When the radiance faded, a fruit appeared on the tree.
With a soft thud, the fruit ripened and fell, landing squarely in Chu Yun's hand.
Chu Yun finally sensed that something was wrong. He laboriously lifted his eyelids and saw the fruit in his hand radiating five-colored light.
"So the sea dragon had another reason for telling me to bury the Demon Crystal here. He wanted me to eat this fruit? But I don't have even a shred of strength left..."
He let out a deep sigh. The strange fruit was enveloped in dazzling colors and gave off a delicate fragrance. It lay in Chu Yun's hand, close enough to touch, yet impossibly far away.
"What a pity... If only I could return to twenty-three years ago and start over..."
With one final sigh, Chu Yun could no longer hold on and closed his eyes.
He died.
Boom!
The instant he died, the strange fruit in his hand suddenly burst into blinding light, illuminating the entire Dragon Palace.
The earth trembled, and the sea roared.
Light erupted from the seabed like a majestic pillar of heaven, shooting straight into the highest reaches of the sky.
The Nine Provinces trembled, and space and time changed color!