The Ancestral Dragon's silence made everyone at the Dragon-Suppressing Pass feel oppressed.
No one dared to speak.
Even someone like Han Jue, who was normally most prone to a hot head, kept his mouth firmly shut at this moment.
He could sense that the dialogue between the emperor and the Ancestral Dragon already involved the Primordial World's Grand Trend.
This was not a level where he could casually chime in.
Ao Lie's mind was shaken even more.
From the day he was born, the words he heard most often were that the Dragon Clan was mighty, the Ancestral Dragon was invincible, and the Four Seas should belong to the Dragon Clan.
In the Blackwater Dragon Palace, everyone firmly believed that the Dragon Clan would become the ultimate ruler of the Primordial World.
Yet right now, the emperor stated right in front of the Ancestral Dragon's Dao Thought that the three clans had reached their zenith and karma was already heavy.
What was even more crucial was that the Ancestral Dragon did not get angry.
What did this indicate?
It indicated that the Ancestral Dragon understood.
It also indicated that the Ancestral Dragon had perhaps foreseen this point long ago.
It was just that no one dared to speak it.
Or rather, the three clans had already walked to this position, and even if they saw the karma, they could not stop.
The Ancestral Dragon finally spoke.
"Fortune is like the tide; when it rises to the extreme, it naturally recedes."
"Black Tortoise, you certainly dare to speak."
Lu Chen was extremely cautious in his heart.
One could not discern the Ancestral Dragon's joy or anger from this sentence.
He did not pick up the conversation.
The Ancestral Dragon looked at him, golden light flowing slightly in his eyes.
"If the Dragon Clan recedes with the tide, will the Abyss accept the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage?"
This question was even heavier.
Outside the Dragon-Suppressing Pass, the expressions of Ao Cang and Ao Xuan both changed.
Let the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage enter the Abyss?
This was equivalent to the Ancestral Dragon personally considering a way out for the Dragon Clan.
Even if it was only a test, it was shocking enough.
Ao Lie was shaken through and through.
He looked toward the Ancestral Dragon's Dao Thought, his state of mind complicated to the extreme.
Lu Chen did not dare to answer casually either.
Accept the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage?
This was not like taking in a few weak Water Clan members.
The karma on the Dragon Clan Remnant Lineage was simply too heavy.
Yet if he didn't accept them, it would seem like he was rejecting the Ancestral Dragon.
Moreover, the system would most likely give a reward.
Lu Chen pondered for a moment before slowly speaking. "Pass through karma and obey the rules of the Abyss, and they may enter."
The Ancestral Dragon's gaze grew a bit deeper.
"What about My bloodline?"
Lu Chen's heart twitched.
The Ancestral Dragon Bloodline?
Just how massive would that karma be?
However, matters had already reached this point; he could not back down.
"The same."
"Pass through karma and obey the rules, and they may enter."
As soon as these words came out, Ao Xuan could not help but frown.
"Audacious!"
"How noble is the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline? How can it be judged alongside you petty beings of the Abyss?"
The Ancestral Dragon glanced at Ao Xuan.
Ao Xuan immediately lowered his head, cold sweat streaming down his back.
The Ancestral Dragon said, "Let him speak."
Lu Chen originally did not want to continue speaking.
Yet Ao Xuan's interjection instead made him somewhat annoyed.
The Dragon Clan bloodline was noble, so the other clans deserved to die?
If the Abyss really operated like this, it would blow up from the inside sooner or later.
Therefore, his tone also grew a fraction calmer.
"Those who enter the Abyss must first lay aside external status and nobility."
"If they are unwilling to submit to the illumination of the Book of Cause and Effect, they may not enter the Abyss."
The minds of the various clans at the Dragon-Suppressing Pass suffered a violent shock.
The emperor's words were truly uncompromising to the extreme.
Even if the Ancestral Dragon Bloodline wanted to enter the Abyss, it still had to undergo the scrutiny of the Book of Cause and Effect.
A light flashed in Ao Lie's eyes unlike anything he had ever shown before.
He suddenly felt that his punishment to guard the gate back then might truly have been a stroke of fortune.
The Ancestral Dragon did not show anger.
Instead, he laughed.
"Good."
"If that day truly comes, I would like to see whether this Book of Cause and Effect of your Abyss dares to illuminate My bloodline."
Lu Chen thought silently in his heart:
Whether it dares or not, I have no idea.
We will deal with that when the time comes.
For now, I need to steady you.
The Ancestral Dragon raised his hand.
A golden scale slowly materialized.
That scale was not large, yet it contained an extremely dense Ancestral Dragon aura.
When Ao Cang and Ao Xuan saw the scale, their expressions shifted in unison.
"Your Majesty!"
The Ancestral Dragon said indifferently, "Shut up."
The two of them immediately did not dare to say more.
The Ancestral Dragon sent that scale toward the Dragon-Suppressing Pass.
"This is half of My Reverse Scale."
"If the Dragon Clan truly faces a day when the tide recedes, this scale can protect a branch of the Dragon Clan Young Lineage in entering the Abyss."
"Of course, whether you accept them is up to the rules of your Abyss to decide."
When this sentence fell, the minds of the beings of the Abyss suffered a massive shock.
The Ancestral Dragon had actually truly left a way out for the Dragon Clan within the Abyss.
The half Reverse Scale landed above the Dragon-Suppressing Pass, not directly entering the Inner Realm of the Abyss.
Lu Chen did not collect it immediately.
He was very cautious.
The Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale sounded extremely precious, but it could also be a method of surveillance.
The system's voice chimed in right on cue.
"Half of the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale has been detected. Please make a choice."
"One: Directly refine the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale to seize the Dragon Clan's fortune. Reward: Water-Fortune Divine Power, Ten Thousand Dragons Return to the Sea Technique."
"Two: Reject the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale to avoid the Dragon Clan's karma. Reward: one Dragon-Averting Talisman."
"Three: Seal the Reverse Scale with the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell, transforming it into an escort token for the Dragon Clan Young Lineage of the Abyss. Reward: fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."
Joy surged in Lu Chen's heart.
A fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method!
This reward had to be claimed.
However, accepting the Reverse Scale directly carried high risks; fortunately, the third option had already specified sealing it with the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell.
"Choose three."
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a fragment of the fifth layer of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method."
Deep within the Abyss, the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell emitted a grayish radiance.
Above the Dragon-Suppressing Pass, a layer of greyish tortoise shell phantom wrapped around the Ancestral Dragon's Reverse Scale.
That reverse scale was sealed deep within the Dragon-Suppressing Pass, becoming the guiding token for the Dragon Clan Young Lineage to enter the Abyss.
Seeing this scene, the Ancestral Dragon's gaze narrowed slightly.
He had indeed left a sliver of perception within the reverse scale.
If the reverse scale entered the Abyss, he would be able to use it to sense a portion of the Abyss's aura.
Yet with Lu Chen sealing it using the Heaven-Deceiving Tortoise Shell, that sliver of his perception directly grew blurry.
The Ancestral Dragon actually could not see through it.
This Black Tortoise was truly cautious to the extreme.
Far from being displeased, the Ancestral Dragon felt all the more that Lu Chen was unfathomable.
The more cautious he was, the more it showed how long this Black Tortoise had lived.
The longer he had lived, the more it showed that he had witnessed far too many calamities.
The Ancestral Dragon suddenly said, "Black Tortoise."
"If the Dragon Clan ebbs, the Abyss can protect a branch of the young lineage."
"If the Abyss encounters trouble, the Dragon Clan will also remember today's pact."
Better not, Lu Chen thought to himself.
When the Abyss encountered trouble, his Dragon Clan would most likely be stuck in the quagmire as well.
On the surface, however, he only said calmly, "The Abyss has noted it."
The Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought gradually grew faint.
Before departing, he glanced at Ao Lie.
"Ao Lie."
Ao Lie immediately lowered his head.
"Your Majesty."
"Since you are willing to uphold the rules of the Abyss, then uphold them to the end."
"Do not disgrace the Dragon Clan."
Ao Lie raised his head abruptly.
There was shock within his eyes, as well as excitement.
The Ancestral Dragon did not reprimand him?
He even acknowledged him temporarily guarding the Abyss?
Ao Lie's throat moved, and he lowered his head heavily.
"Ao Lie obeys the decree!"
Finally, the Ancestral Dragon looked toward Lu Chen's dharma body.
"The Dragon-Han Tide rises, the Abyss watches the tide."
"This seat looks forward to you being able to see the end."
With those words falling,
the Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought completely dissipated.
Upon the Dragon-Suppressing Pass, everyone remained silent for a long time.
After a long while, Lan Shuang slowly knelt.
"Respectfully sending off the Ancestral Dragon."
The various clans of the Abyss also lowered their heads in follow.
Yet everyone in their hearts knew clearly.
After today, the status of the Abyss was completely different.
The Ancestral Dragon personally arrived.
The Ancestral Dragon discussed the calamity.
The Ancestral Dragon left the reverse scale.
Once these three matters spread out, no one in the Northern Sea would ever dare regard the Abyss as an ordinary place of refuge again.
Deep within the Abyss,
Lu Chen, however, had no time to care about these.
He was currently comprehending the fragmentary chapter of the fifth level of the Chaos Shell-Shedding Method.
The fifth level involved "substituting fate".
The old shell bore karma, the old shell bore heavenly fate, and the old shell substituted for the main body to enter the calamity.
The more Lu Chen looked, the more excited he became.
This was precisely the key to breaking the future Heaven-Mending Death Tribulation.
If the previous few levels merely allowed him to see hope of escape,
then the fragmentary chapter of the fifth level had already allowed him to truly touch the threshold of "the old shell props up the heavens while the main body escapes the calamity".
Lu Chen's mood was exceptionally fine.
The Ancestral Dragon really is a good person.
Just as he finished speaking, he immediately shut his mouth.
Such words could not be spoken carelessly.
Primordial World mighty figures might truly be able to sense them.
At this moment,
in the Eastern Sea Ancestral Dragon Palace,
the Ancestral Dragon Dao Thought returned.
He sat upon the dragon throne, silent for a long while.
Finally, he issued an order.
"As for the matter of the Abyss, do not act for now."
"If any young lineage of the Dragon Clan encounters calamity, they may hold the aura of the reverse scale to seek a thread of vitality in the Northern Sea."
The expressions of the various dragon gods within the hall changed drastically.
They finally understood.
The Ancestral Dragon had truly left a retreat for the Dragon Clan.
And that retreat
was in the Northern Sea Abyss.