Qing Xuan's Choice

Yinglong looked at Qing Xuan and Qing Yi, then spoke as well:

"Though the Fierce Beast Tribulation has passed, the waters of the Primordial World still run deep. It is far from a time of true peace."

"You two have only just attained the Dao. Traveling this vast world alone may be carefree and unfettered, but when great calamities strike, you will inevitably find yourselves outnumbered and unsupported."

"If you join the Dragon Race, you will have the boundless Fate Aura of the Dragon Race to shelter you. Nor will you need to roam everywhere for ordinary cultivation opportunities, risking your lives in battle with others."

His words were earnest and sincere. Though not forceful, they naturally carried the pride and confidence of a supreme overlord.

In Yinglong's view, no independent Great Luo in the Primordial World could refuse such an invitation.

Yet after hearing these dazzling promises, Qing Xuan's expression remained largely unchanged.

Instead, he gave Qiuniu a long look and suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question:

"Fellow Daoist Qiuniu, the Dragon Race has been sparing no effort in recruiting Innate Divine Beings everywhere these past years... Surely it is not merely for the sake of inviting the two of us?"

Qiuniu was slightly taken aback, then nodded frankly. "Indeed. Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, your insight is keen."

"Though the Dragon Race won the war against the fierce beasts, we also lost quite a few powerful members of our clan."

"Even now, countless shattered water veins throughout the Primordial World need repair, and the surviving remnants of the fierce beasts must be purged."

"With only the bloodline clansmen currently within the Dragon Race, it is difficult to attend to the entirety of this vast Primordial World in a short time."

"Therefore, any innate lifeform willing to walk alongside the Dragon Race, regardless of lineage or origin, may enter our East Sea and receive the Dragon Race's protection."

Qing Xuan continued to stare into his eyes as he pursued the question in a lingering tone:

"Is it really... only to make up for the losses of the Fierce Beast Tribulation and to restore the water veins?"

Qiuniu heard the hidden sharpness in those words.

Looking into Qing Xuan's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through the river of time itself, he pondered briefly before ultimately choosing honesty.

"Not entirely."

Qiuniu sighed and looked toward the south of the Primordial World and the Central Lands.

"Before the great fierce beast calamity, the three clans had Shen Ni as their common mortal enemy. Naturally, they could share the same hatred and fight side by side."

"But now, Shen Ni has fallen, and the Beast Dynasty has vanished into ash. The Dragon Race rules the Four Seas, the Phoenix Clan occupies the Undying Volcano in the south, while the Qilin Tribe is constantly gathering the myriad beast clans across the Central Lands."

"The territories of the three clans are expanding without end, and the boundaries between them... are becoming ever more blurred."

Qiuniu did not deliberately conceal the undercurrents beneath the present prosperity. "Over these dozen or so Epoch Cycles, the three clans have appeared to coexist peacefully on the surface. But in the border regions, they have in fact clashed several times over heavenly treasures, spiritual mountains, and blessed lands."

"The Phoenix Clan and the Qilin Tribe are likewise frantically gathering living beings of the Primordial World. Recently, envoys between those two clans have been traveling back and forth far more often than before."

"For now, these are merely conflicts at the lower levels, still far from the point where Great Luos personally enter battle."

"But... all three clans are desperately strengthening themselves. As the lord of the Four Seas, the Dragon Race must naturally make preparations early and be ready for any contingency."

After hearing this, Qing Xuan nodded lightly.

The answer was already clear enough.

The Dragon Race had offered such an astronomical price not because they wanted to invite a few grandfathers back to worship.

It was to stockpile a few heavyweight Great Luo pieces for the future struggle among the three clans.

"Fellow Daoist Qiuniu's candor is admirable, and we appreciate the Dragon Race's generous goodwill."

"However, Qing Yi and I have no intention of joining the Dragon Race."

For an instant, the air seemed to freeze solid.

The smile on Qiuniu's face completely stiffened. He seemed unable to imagine that after he had already laid everything out so plainly, the other side would still refuse so cleanly and decisively.

"Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan..." Qiuniu frowned slightly. "Will you not reconsider? That is the Fate Aura of the Four Seas, and Ancestor Dragon himself would come..."

"There is no need."

Qing Xuan interrupted him, his tone still as calm as water. "If it is merely to visit friends and discuss the Dao in our leisure time, then should fate permit, Qing Yi and I will naturally visit the East Sea someday and sample its immortal tea."

"But if it means binding our own Fate Aura tightly to the Dragon Race and participating in the struggle among the three clans... then there is no need for that."

At that moment, Yinglong's pale-gold eyes narrowed dangerously. The pressure of a Great Luo war general flickered faintly around him.

"Fellow Daoist Qing Xuan, in today's Primordial World, countless innate lifeforms seek a single promise from the Dragon Race."

"A ladder to heaven such as this is not always available. Once you miss it, there will be no room for regret."

Qing Xuan met Yinglong's gaze without yielding in the slightest. The corners of his lips even curved into an extremely faint smile.

"Then leave this ladder to heaven for those who truly need to climb it. We do not."

Their gazes collided fiercely in midair. Though no arcane power surged, their invisible confrontation made even the surrounding sea of clouds grow heavy.

Yinglong did not unleash all his pressure, nor did he continue pressing them.

He merely stared at Qing Xuan and Qing Yi for a while before slowly withdrawing his aura.

"...What a pity."

Yinglong spat out those two words coldly.

He truly did find it a pity.

Two Great Luos with such heaven-defying origins and such profound Daos.

If they could join the Dragon Race, the Dragon Race's foundation for dominating the Primordial World would surely grow even stronger.

But since the other side had already closed off all room for discussion, he would not resort to force here merely to recruit two newly ascended Great Luos.

The more heaven-defying an Innate Divine Being's origin, the greater the karmic ties of the Dao it carried. They were ultimately not like the Fierce Beast Tribe, against whom one could act freely.

Moreover, they were two Great Luos, not ordinary ants to be handled at will. Once a deadly feud was formed, the future consequences would be endless.

Seeing this, Qiuniu felt regret, but he did not force the matter either.

As the son of a king, he had his own pride.

"Each person has their own Dao. Forced fruit is never sweet. Since you two fellow Daoists have made up your minds, Qiuniu will not waste any more breath."

Qiuniu resumed his gentle demeanor and cupped his hands. "However, the Dragon Race's promise today will always stand. Should you two travel to the East Sea in the future, Qiuniu will welcome you with swept mats and an open door."

"Thank you. Farewell."

Both sides exchanged courtesies once more.

This time, Qing Xuan and Qing Yi did not hear that ominous remark again.

The azure lotus beneath their feet flashed, and the two figures became streaks of light, vanishing completely beyond the eastern horizon.

Silence returned to the Golden Dragon Boat.

Qiuniu stood alone at the prow, gazing at the void where the two had disappeared. He remained silent for a long while.

"Senior Yinglong."

"What is it?"

Qiuniu turned around. His face, usually so gentle and wise, was now filled with bewilderment he could not comprehend.

"Why do I keep feeling... that those two fellow Daoists seemed to have been desperately avoiding us from the very beginning?"

Yinglong stared expressionlessly ahead and said coldly, "No need to say 'seemed.' They were."

The confusion on Qiuniu's face deepened. "But before we formally made the invitation and offered those terms, they should not yet have known our intentions. Why did they want to run before even hearing us out?"

Even Yinglong's domineering dragon eyes now held deep confusion.

"That is why I too would like to know... What exactly were they running from?!"

For a time, a deathly silence descended upon the dragon boat.

After the Dragon Race had roamed the Primordial World for so many Epoch Cycles, this was the first time they had encountered something so strange: they had rushed to offer opportunities, yet the other side avoided them as though they were the plague.