The Heavenly Merchant Dynasty.
Human dynasties likewise had cultivators among them.
However, most of them styled themselves qi refiners.
Yet cultivators were few; martial artists were far more numerous.
Qi refiners were more often drawn by the dragon fortune of human dynasties.
That was why those mountain sects and reclusive great sects were willing to descend from the mountains.
The Demon-Slaying Bureau, however, was a true sharp sword in the heart of the imperial court.
Its relationship with those reclusive sects was rather subtle as well.
Perhaps they stood on the same side in certain major matters.
But amid countless minor details, there were also many interests that needed to be tugged against and balanced.
Yet where great demons were concerned, countless eyes from those mountain gates were likewise fixed upon the eastern prefectural road.
Cloud Lake—the vast expanse of cold, deep, ink-black waters.
It was called Cloud Lake only because this great marsh and lake was shrouded in dark clouds all year round.
But those familiar with it knew that this was a phenomenon condensed from the aura of the black flood dragon great demon.
For this Dragon Gate Leap, the stirring of winds and waves, the riding of clouds and mist—all that could be set aside for now.
Yet the water veins winding through the forests and mountains in every direction, the great rivers and waterways near the east, all gave off an endless mist of moisture beneath the fortune of those dark clouds, leaving the air drenched with dampness.
The water levels also continued to rise.
In some places, surging waves crashed against the banks.
"This demon flood dragon has lain dormant and cultivated for ten years. I fear it has completely expunged the sword intent left behind by the Imperial Preceptor. Its strength has advanced again."