The Three Clans at Their Zenith, Karma Already Heavy

The Ancestral Dragon's silence weighed heavily on everyone at Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

No one dared to speak.

Even Han Jue, who was usually the quickest to get fired up, kept his mouth tightly shut.

He could sense that the conversation between the Emperor and the Ancestral Dragon had already touched upon the greater currents of the Primordial World.

This was not a level where he could casually interrupt.

Ao Lie was even more shaken.

From the day he was born, the words he heard most were that the Dragon Clan was powerful, the Ancestral Dragon invincible, and the Four Seas destined to belong to the Dragon Clan.

At Blackwater Dragon Palace, everyone believed that the Dragon Clan would become the ultimate ruler of the Primordial World.

But now, in the presence of the Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought, the Emperor had said that the three clans had reached their peak and their karma had grown heavy.

More importantly, the Ancestral Dragon had not become angry.

What did that mean?

It meant that the Ancestral Dragon understood.

It also meant that the Ancestral Dragon might have noticed this long ago.

It was simply that no one had dared to say it.

Or rather, the three clans had already reached this point. Even if they saw the karma, they could no longer stop.

The Ancestral Dragon finally spoke.

"Fortune is like the tide. Once it rises to its peak, it must recede."

"Black Tortoise, you truly dare to speak."

Lu Chen was extremely cautious.

No emotion could be heard in the Ancestral Dragon's words.

He did not respond.

The Ancestral Dragon looked at him, golden light flowing faintly in his eyes.

"If the Dragon Clan's tide recedes, will Guixu take in the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage?"

This question carried even greater weight.

Outside Dragon-Suppressing Pass, Ao Cang and Ao Xuan's expressions both changed.

Allow the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage into Guixu?

That was equivalent to the Ancestral Dragon personally considering a way out for the Dragon Clan.

Even if it was merely a test, it was shocking enough.

Ao Lie trembled all over.

He looked toward the Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought, his feelings incomparably complicated.

Lu Chen did not dare answer carelessly either.

Take in the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage?

This was not the same as taking in a few weak aquatic tribes.

The karma carried by the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage was far too heavy.

But if he refused, it would seem as though he were rejecting the Ancestral Dragon.

Besides, the system would most likely offer a reward.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen slowly said, "Those who pass through karma and abide by Guixu's rules may enter."

The Ancestral Dragon's gaze deepened slightly.

"What if they are of my bloodline?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat.

The Ancestral Dragon Bloodline?

How immense would that karma be?

But the matter had already reached this point. He could not back down.

"The same applies."

"Pass through karma and abide by the rules, then they may enter."

As soon as those words were spoken, Ao Xuan could not help frowning.

"Impudence!"

"How noble is the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline? How can it be judged alongside the petty tribes of your Guixu?"

The Ancestral Dragon glanced at Ao Xuan.

Ao Xuan immediately lowered his head, cold sweat pouring down his back.

The Ancestral Dragon said, "Let him speak."

Lu Chen had not wanted to continue.

But Ao Xuan's interruption made him somewhat displeased instead.

The Dragon Clan's bloodline was noble, so other clans deserved to die?

If Guixu truly operated that way, it would sooner or later implode from within.

Thus, his tone became even calmer.

"Those who enter Guixu must first cast aside the hierarchy of the outside world."

"If they are unwilling to be illuminated by the Book of Cause and Effect, they need not enter Guixu."

The hearts of the various clans at Dragon-Suppressing Pass shook violently.

The Emperor's words were truly forceful to the extreme.

Even descendants of the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline had to submit to the Book of Cause and Effect's examination if they wished to enter Guixu.

An unprecedented light flashed through Ao Lie's eyes.

He suddenly felt that being punished to guard the gate might truly have been a stroke of fortune.

The Ancestral Dragon did not grow angry.

Instead, he smiled.

"Good."

"If that day truly comes, I would like to see whether your Guixu Book of Cause and Effect dares to illuminate my bloodline."

Lu Chen silently thought to himself:

Whether it dares or not, I do not know.

We will deal with it when the time comes.

For now, I will stabilize you first.

The Ancestral Dragon raised his hand.

A golden scale slowly appeared.

The scale was not large, yet it contained an incomparably dense aura of the Ancestral Dragon.

When Ao Cang and Ao Xuan saw the scale, both their expressions changed.

"Your Majesty!"

The Ancestral Dragon said indifferently, "Silence."

The two immediately did not dare say another word.

The Ancestral Dragon sent the scale toward Dragon-Suppressing Pass.

"This is half of my Reverse Scale."

"If the Dragon Clan truly faces a day when its tide recedes, this scale can protect one branch of the Dragon Clan Young Lineage as they enter Guixu."

"Of course, whether to accept them will be determined by Guixu's rules."

As those words fell, the hearts of Guixu's various clans shook violently.

The Ancestral Dragon had actually left Guixu a path of retreat for the Dragon Clan.

The half Reverse Scale hovered above Dragon-Suppressing Pass and did not directly enter the Guixu Inner Realm.

Lu Chen did not accept it immediately.

He was very cautious.

The Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale sounded precious, but it could also be a means of surveillance.

The system's voice rang out at just that moment.

"Detected half of the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale. Please choose."

"First, directly refine the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale and seize the Dragon Clan's Fortune. Reward: water-transport divine ability, Ten Thousand Dragons Return to the Sea Technique."

"Second, reject the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale and avoid the Dragon Clan's karma. Reward: one Dragon-Averting Talisman."

"Third, use the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell to seal the Reverse Scale and turn it into a token to Jieyin the Dragon Clan Young Lineage into Guixu. Reward: fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."

Lu Chen was overjoyed.

A fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method!

He had to take this reward.

However, directly accepting the Reverse Scale was too risky. Fortunately, the third option already stated that he could seal it with the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell.

"Choose the third."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."

Deep within Guixu, the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell emitted a gray radiance.

Above Dragon-Suppressing Pass, a hazy phantom of a tortoise shell wrapped around the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale.

The Reverse Scale was sealed deep within Dragon-Suppressing Pass, becoming a token to Jieyin the Dragon Clan Young Lineage into Guixu.

When the Ancestral Dragon saw this, his gaze narrowed slightly.

He had indeed left behind a trace of perception within the Reverse Scale.

If the Reverse Scale entered Guixu, he would be able to use it to sense part of Guixu's aura.

But once Lu Chen sealed it with the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell, that trace of perception immediately became blurred.

The Ancestral Dragon could not see through it.

This Black Tortoise was indeed cautious to the extreme.

Not only was the Ancestral Dragon not displeased, he found Lu Chen even more unfathomable.

The more cautious he was, the more it showed that this Black Tortoise had lived a long time.

And the longer he had lived, the more it showed that he had witnessed too many calamities.

The Ancestral Dragon suddenly said, "Black Tortoise."

"If the Dragon Clan's tide recedes, Guixu may protect one branch of its young bloodline."

"If Guixu encounters trouble, the Dragon Clan will also remember today's agreement."

Lu Chen thought, It would be better if you did not.

When Guixu faced trouble, the Dragon Clan would most likely be stuck in the mire as well.

But outwardly, he merely said calmly, "Guixu will remember it."

The Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought gradually faded.

Before leaving, he glanced at Ao Lie.

"Ao Lie."

Ao Lie immediately lowered his head.

"Your Majesty."

"Since you are willing to uphold Guixu's rules, uphold them to the end."

"Do not bring shame upon the Dragon Clan."

Ao Lie abruptly raised his head.

His eyes held both shock and excitement.

The Ancestral Dragon had not rebuked him?

He had even acknowledged his temporary service in Guixu?

Ao Lie's throat moved as he bowed his head deeply.

"Ao Lie obeys!"

The Ancestral Dragon finally looked toward Lu Chen's dharma body.

"As the Dragon-Han Tide rises, Guixu watches the tide."

"I look forward to seeing whether you can witness the end."

His voice faded.

The Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought completely dissipated.

Above Dragon-Suppressing Pass, everyone remained silent for a long time.

Only after a long while did Lan Shuang slowly kneel.

"Farewell, Ancestral Dragon."

Guixu's various clans also lowered their heads.

But everyone knew in their hearts.

After today, Guixu's status would be completely different.

The Ancestral Dragon had personally arrived.

The Ancestral Dragon had discussed the calamity.

The Ancestral Dragon had left behind a Reverse Scale.

Once news of these three matters spread, no one in the Northern Sea would dare regard Guixu as an ordinary refuge again.

Deep within Guixu.

Lu Chen could not spare attention for any of this.

He was comprehending the fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method.

The fifth layer concerned "life substitution."

The Old Shell bore karma, the Old Shell bore fate, and the Old Shell entered the calamity in place of the true body.

Lu Chen grew more excited the longer he read.

This was precisely the key to breaking the future Heaven-Mending Death Tribulation.

If the previous layers had merely let him glimpse hope of escape,

then the incomplete fifth-layer passage had truly allowed him to touch upon the threshold of "using the Old Shell to hold up the heavens while the true body escaped the tribulation."

Lu Chen was in high spirits.

"Ancestral Dragon really is a good person."

The moment he said it, he immediately shut his mouth.

He could not say such things carelessly.

The great powers of the Primordial World might truly be able to sense it.

Meanwhile,

at the Eastern Sea Ancestral Dragon Palace,

Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought returned.

He sat upon the Dragon throne in silence for a long while.

In the end, he gave the order.

"Do not act on matters concerning Guixu for now."

"If any young bloodline of the Dragon Clan suffers calamity, they may follow the aura of the Reverse Scale and seek a sliver of hope in the Northern Sea."

The expressions of all the Dragon gods in the hall changed drastically.

They finally understood.

Ancestral Dragon had truly left the Dragon Clan a way out.

And that way out

lay in Northern Sea Guixu.