Ancestral Dragon

Ancestral Dragon

Chen Qiye left Phoenix Cry Tavern carrying Little Nannan. She seemed to have suffered from malnutrition for a long time. Though she was already ten years old, her body was still like that of a six- or seven-year-old, thin as a rake. They entered a tailor shop, and Chen Qiye wanted to buy Little Nannan a clean set of clothes.

The tailor shop had a complete selection of clothing—men's, women's, old, young, every style imaginable. The workmanship was exquisite, and naturally, the prices were not cheap.

However, Chen Qiye's pockets were still fairly well-lined. After the commotion at Phoenix Cry Tavern, he had even saved on the food and wine bill, and no one dared ask him for money.

Little Nannan watched Chen Qiye pick out clothes for her with her bright, lively eyes. To her, the prices of these clothes were terrifyingly expensive.

Every time Chen Qiye picked one out, she shook her head.

"Uncle has money!" Knowing how sensible Little Nannan was, Chen Qiye lightly patted her little head and said irritably, "Pick for yourself. Choose what you like."

Little Nannan's big eyes rolled around. Her little feet went patter, patter, patter as she ran to a corner of the tailor shop and picked out the cheapest set of linen clothes. They did not fit very well and were a little too big. Then she took the cheapest pair of cloth shoes, embroidered at the front with a budding orchid.

"Uncle, can I have these shoes?" Little Nannan asked cautiously, pinching the cloth shoes between two fingers.

Chen Qiye put the shoes on for her. Little Nannan smiled happily, her big eyes curving into crescents. A hint of color appeared on her pale cheeks as she tugged Chen Qiye's little finger. "Thank you, Uncle."

Looking at the satisfied expression on Little Nannan's tender little face, Chen Qiye could not help sighing inwardly. Who could have imagined that such a lovely little girl would become someone who attained the Dao in this era?

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"Chen Qiye, you're letting the little girl wear this shabby linen?"

He turned around and saw Purple Phoenix Fairy Su Manman glaring at him with puffed cheeks.

"As long as she likes it." Chen Qiye smiled.

Naturally, he knew Little Nannan did not want him to spend too much money. It was only normal. Though she was young, she had experienced far too much injustice from fate. Chen Qiye believed some things should be allowed to take their natural course rather than deliberately forced upon Little Nannan. As long as she liked it, that was enough.

"What a coincidence!" Another familiar voice sounded from outside.

Bai Ningbing!

Su Manman shot Bai Ningbing a glance. "Bai Ningbing, are you following me?"

"Purple Phoenix Fairy, my family has a share in this tailor shop..."

Bai Ningbing shrugged with a smile. He walked toward Chen Qiye, grinned to reveal a mouthful of white teeth, and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. Bai Ningbing of the White Family. Brother Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"It seems Brother Bai's family has quite a substantial fortune." Chen Qiye smiled. "Brother Bai, you did not come here to make Chen compensate for the losses, did you?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" Bai Ningbing immediately burst into laughter. "Even if Brother Chen tore down Phoenix Cry Tavern, that would be the Li Family's business."

"Then why has Brother Bai come?" Chen Qiye picked up Little Nannan, who had changed into her new clothes, and asked with a smile.

"After witnessing the power of Brother Chen's sword, Ningbing was utterly amazed and wishes to invite Brother Chen to Dragon Transformation Pool." Bai Ningbing's smile faded as his expression turned serious. "Brother Chen must have come to Phoenix Cry Town for the Southern Isle Sect's selection, correct? The Southern Isle Sect has eighteen slots for Dragon Transformation Pool, while my White Family has six..."

"Moreover, Brother Ye will be going with us as well!"

Bai Ningbing glanced at Su Manman before adding, "If Purple Phoenix Fairy is willing, Ningbing can give up one slot."

Su Manman was somewhat surprised. "Your White Family actually has six slots?" After a brief pause, she immediately understood. "I never expected him to still be alive!"

Bai Ningbing merely smiled without confirming or denying it. "Naturally."

Chen Qiye frowned slightly. "You two, what are this Southern Isle Sect selection and Dragon Transformation Pool?"

Huh?

The moment he said that, Su Manman and Bai Ningbing froze on the spot, looking at Chen Qiye as if he were some kind of monster.

"Brother Chen doesn't know?" Bai Ningbing asked blankly.

"Should I?" Chen Qiye remained perfectly calm.

Su Manman rubbed between her brows and rolled her beautiful eyes. "Big brother, what forbidden zone did you crawl out of, you monster?"

"No, that's not right. Even monsters from forbidden zones should know about Dragon Transformation Pool!"

Su Manman slapped her forehead and put on a look of sudden realization. "You must have come from another starfield!"

"Uncle isn't a monster. You're the monster!" Little Nannan pouted and interjected, making Bai Ningbing burst into laughter.

"You little girl!" Su Manman wrinkled her nose at Little Nannan and made a face.

Chen Qiye gently patted Little Nannan's head and said softly, "Could Brother Bai explain in detail?"

"Of course..." Bai Ningbing agreed with a smile. "How about we talk as we walk? I imagine Brother Chen and Miss Su have nowhere to stay in Phoenix Cry Town for the time being. My family also has a share in Fengming Orchid Pavilion. Why not let Ningbing play the host?"

"Your family has a share in Fengming Orchid Pavilion too?" Su Manman stared at Bai Ningbing in astonishment.

"Naturally." Bai Ningbing smiled.

"Very well. Lead the way, Brother Bai."

After considering it, Chen Qiye agreed. He had come here without any particular goal. Though he needed to break through to Martial Saint, there was only one way to do so. Rather than wander aimlessly, he might as well see what this Dragon Transformation Pool Bai Ningbing spoke of really was.

For him, the altered timeline had cast him into the unknown.

Unlike more than two million years later, that was Ye Fan's era, and he was familiar with how the plot unfolded.

Not to mention Little Nannan...

Seated in a spacious warm-jade carriage, they traveled beneath the gentle breeze of early spring, carrying a faint warmth within its chill.

Little Nannan leaned against the white jade and fell deeply asleep. Yet there was none of the peace a child should have on her face. Instead, she clenched her teeth tightly, as if even her nightmares were filled with pain and hatred.

Chen Qiye's arrival seemed to have brought her a trace of warmth, but it could not erase the resentment buried in her heart.

This stubborn little girl, filled with obsession, would eventually rise against heaven and sweep across the nine heavens and ten lands.

"She has so many things hidden in her heart."

Su Manman looked at the sleeping Little Nannan, pity appearing on her face. She walked over and sat in front of Little Nannan, shielding her from the blowing wind. Her silver hair drifted in the breeze, giving her an ethereal air.

Chen Qiye shook his head without speaking. He roughly knew some of Little Nannan's experiences.

When she was three or four, her family had died in a plague. She had finally met an older brother, yet before she could enjoy much warmth from him, the youth was taken away by the Evolving Immortal Dynasty. All she had left was the bronze ring on her finger.

"Who doesn't have things hidden in their heart?" Bai Ningbing seemed thoughtful. After glancing at Chen Qiye, he said, "Brother Chen should know of Yuhua Emperor, right?"

"I do." Chen Qiye glanced at the sleeping Little Nannan. "Yuhua Emperor attained the Dao and became an emperor before the Desolate Ancient Era, establishing the Evolving Immortal Dynasty. It is now the foremost sacred land."

Unfortunately, they had sacrificed Little Nannan's brother to the starry skies, ultimately bringing about the dynasty's destruction. Even though the divine fetus survived and returned against heaven after the Sacred Spirit reached perfection, attaining the Dao and becoming an emperor once more, he was so frightened by the Ruthless Great Emperor that he hid on the Evolving Immortal Ancient Star for the rest of his life, never daring to take a single step outside.

"Could this Dragon Transformation Pool be related to Yuhua Emperor?" Chen Qiye's bright eyes shifted as he asked. Bai Ningbing nodded.

"According to legend, Dragon Transformation Pool was formed from the Ancestral Dragon."

"The Ancestral Dragon was born in the starry skies, and it was said that nine sacred dragons were born alongside it..."

"Before the Desolate Ancient Era, Yuhua Emperor had already attained the Dao and become an emperor. He would dominate an entire hundred thousand years, leaving no one else able to claim the imperial throne. The Ancestral Dragon arose in response to fate, reached the eighth level of the Immortal Platform, and battled Yuhua Emperor in the boundless starry skies, attempting to slay the emperor and attain the Dao..."

Bai Ningbing spoke slowly, his eyes shining with reverence and longing.

"Unfortunately, the Ancestral Dragon was ultimately defeated and died." Su Manman let out a long sigh. "How could imperial majesty be so easily offended? The Ancestral Dragon was slain by Yuhua Emperor, and its dragon blood scattered among the stars of the heavens, forming countless Dragon Transformation Pools..."

"What about the nine sacred dragons?" Chen Qiye asked. Su Manman and Bai Ningbing both shook their heads.

"The sacred dragons born alongside it were only at the Saint King realm. Before an emperor, they were nothing more than ants. Of course, this is only a legend. More than a hundred thousand years have passed, so we have no way of knowing whether it is true." After thinking for a moment, Bai Ningbing explained, "But Dragon Transformation Pool truly contains mysterious power. In the past, a cultivator of the Wheel and Sea realm entered a Dragon Transformation Pool to cultivate and broke through three realms in one night, entering the Dragon Transformation secret realm..."

"What are these slots about?" Chen Qiye asked again.

"To enter Dragon Transformation Pool, one must use Heavenblood Dragon Scales, and a single Heavenblood Dragon Scale can only protect one person." Bai Ningbing explained unhurriedly. "There are thirty-six Heavenblood Dragon Scales in the three thousand li around Phoenix Cry, and most are in the Southern Isle Sect's hands. Due to certain special reasons, my White Family traded for six Heavenblood Dragon Scales from Northern Azure Grotto-Heaven."

"So that's how it is." Chen Qiye nodded with a look of realization.

The Ancestral Dragon was a quasi-emperor from before the Desolate Ancient Era, nearly from the same era as Yuhua Emperor. The nine sacred dragons born alongside it should not be the nine dragon corpses pulling the coffin. The timelines simply do not match at all.

He shook his head and stopped thinking further. I'm merely a Wheel and Sea cultivator. Even with the Heavenly Sword Art, I'm only slightly stronger than those at the Dao Palace realm. There are secrets that even emperors, perhaps even mortal immortals, cannot truly fathom. Why trouble myself for nothing?

With that thought, Chen Qiye entered the system.

Host: Chen Qiye

Realm: Third-Stage Martial Spirit (Wheel and Sea, Other Shore)

Experience: 12000/250000

Cultivation Arts: Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, Heavenly Sword Art

Master Value: 180

Master Level: Two Stars

Current Plane: Shrouding the Heavens Plane

Plane Disciples: None

Current Items: Soul-Calming Card, Nameless Immortal Sword

Current Mission: Master Advancement

Chen Qiye looked at the steadily increasing emotion points. Most of the income came from the Battle Through the Heavens plane, but it was clearly declining. Since arriving in the Shrouding the Heavens plane, the emotion points he could generate had generally been low, with only a few exceeding 500+.

That was perfectly normal. On one hand, cultivators had less emotional fluctuation than fighters. On the other, his strength as a Battle Spirit had been powerful and terrifying in Wutan City. But at the Other Shore of the Wheel and Sea realm, within the three thousand li around Phoenix Cry, he could only be considered average—not even decent, let alone a prodigy.

People like Su Manman and Li Xianyun had already opened the five treasures of the Dao Palace long ago. Only young powerhouses like Ye Guxue, who had entered the Dragon Transformation secret realm, could be called true prodigies.

Against the younger generation, I might be able to win easily and kill my enemies. But against the older generation, things could be dangerous. Chen Qiye assessed his current strength. In Wutan City, Ling Ying was the only Battle Emperor expert, and as long as he did not touch Xiao Xun'er, he would face no danger at all.

This place was clearly different.

"The unknown is always the most terrifying."

Chen Qiye shook his head. "Only by raising my strength as quickly as possible can I get to the root of the matter."

Thinking this, he immediately asked, "Brother Bai, will many people participate in the Southern Isle Sect's selection?"

"Naturally!" Though Bai Ningbing did not understand why he was asking, he still explained in detail. "Within the three thousand li around Phoenix Cry, only the Southern Isle Sect and Northern Azure Grotto-Heaven select young cultivators to enter Dragon Transformation Pool. Compared to Northern Azure Grotto-Heaven, the Southern Isle Sect has a few more slots, but the competition is far more intense. Conservatively speaking, tens of thousands of people will participate in the first round!"

"That many?"

A sharp gleam flashed in Chen Qiye's eyes. "What are the requirements for participating in the Southern Isle Sect's selection?"

"What do you mean, Brother Chen? Don't tell me you want to..."

Bai Ningbing asked in surprise, "My White Family has Heavenblood Dragon Scales. Why would Brother Chen..."

"Nothing more than wanting to test my own capabilities." Chen Qiye smiled faintly.

(End of Chapter)