The next day, within Qingyun Province.
Luo City was anything but peaceful now. What had happened outside the city last night had been too earthshaking, like a star hurled into a tranquil lake, sending ripples far beyond anything anyone had imagined.
A Primordial Ancient Emperor Weapon had shocked the world, a suspected ancient divine maiden had emerged from Divine Source, four imperial weapons had confronted one another...
Those terrifying scenes, worthy of being recorded in Qingyun Province's annals, spread through every channel like wildfire across the entire Eastern Wasteland.
Everywhere the news reached, towering waves of shock followed. The great Holy Lands, Desolate Ancient Families, and supreme sects of the Eastern Wasteland were all shaken. Countless eyes turned toward that seemingly peaceful stretch of the Northern Region, where fierce currents churned beneath the surface.
Even from the distant Buddhist lands of the Western Desert and the divine dynasties of the vast Central Plains, people crossed the boundless void to come.
Even Luo Yue, that monstrous Source Arts prodigy who had only just made her debut, found the news of her uncovering a peerless Medicine King overshadowed by these explosive revelations.
This is just as well. I shouldn't be showing all my sharp edges right now anyway. It'll save me from having people covet what I have all day, Luo Yue thought.
At that moment,
She had already traveled aboard a Miniature Warship engraved with the Jiang Family's cloud patterns, crossing hundreds of thousands of miles without incident before finally arriving at the Desolate Ancient Jiang Family's ancient Divine Island, a place like an immortal paradise beyond the mortal world.
As she once again set foot on the Jiang Family Divine Island, the spiritual essence of heaven and earth washed over her, so dense it seemed impossible to disperse, countless times richer than in Luo City.
At the island's center,
The ancient Divine City that housed the Jiang Family's supreme reserves towered majestically, appearing and disappearing amid swirling clouds and mist, radiating a vast grandeur capable of suppressing the ages.
Deeper within, an imperial might as boundless as a sea of stars and as scorching as the blazing sun lay like a sleeping dragon. Though concealed and unreleased, it was enough to chill the heart of anyone harboring ill intentions. There lay the core of the Jiang Family's Emperor Formation and its hidden reserves, the true sea-steadying pillar of the Jiang Family.
Back within this all but absolutely secure fortress, Luo Yue finally let her taut nerves relax.
The dangers of the Luo River Ancient Mine, the crushing pressure of the Primordial Ancient Emperor Weapon... all these shocks required time to settle and digest.
More importantly, the second fragment of the Heaven-Mending Stone she had unexpectedly acquired, now tucked against her chest, and the meaningful glance the divine maiden had given her before leaving both sent wave after wave surging through Luo Yue's heart.
She needed to quiet her mind and take stock of what she had gained.
Thus, rather than rushing to explore Divine Island's scenery or pay respects to the Jiang Family's elders, Luo Yue told Jiang Wei that she intended to spend some time letting everything settle first.
"That's just as well. Your Divine King Body is a closely guarded secret even within the family. The fewer people who know, the better." Jiang Wei nodded, then pointed toward a Divine Island and said,
"From today onward, that Divine Island belongs to you. Its name is Cangming."
"No one has lived there for tens of thousands of years. It was the former residence of a peerless female Divine King of our Jiang Family twenty thousand years ago. The inscriptions she left behind are still there for our younger disciples to study. Perhaps they'll help you."
When Luo Yue and the others arrived at Cangming Divine Island and set foot upon it, an aura utterly different from that of the Jiang Family Divine Island's main island washed over them.
There was none of the main island's majestic, expansive solar true meaning here. Instead, a unique resonance of the Dao permeated the air, deep and still, yet brimming with vitality.
This floating Divine Island stretched several hundred miles across. It was not particularly large by the Jiang Family's standards, but it was renowned.
Jagged rocks dotted the island, streams murmured through its wetlands, ancient trees towered skyward, and deep pools lay everywhere. Some ancient halls stood half-hidden among clouds, mist, and waterways, as though they had slumbered for ten thousand years.
"Cangming... a mist-shrouded azure sea? The island really does live up to its name." Luo Yue looked thoughtful.
She could sense the island's distinctive, cold and secluded Dao resonance. Perhaps the path that peerless female Divine King had followed back then had something to do with it.
"Such a big island feels awfully lonely to live on. Little Yue, should we bring more people over?"
Luo Qingluan glanced around and spoke in utter boredom.
As Luo Yue's paternal aunt, she had been ordered by Old Master Luo to live with Luo Yue at the Jiang Family from now on, mainly so that Luo Yue would have someone to talk to and would not feel too lonely.
Naturally, Luo Yue had no objection to this arrangement.
After all,
Her position within the Jiang Family was rather unusual, and there were far too many things she could not conveniently handle herself.
There were also things Luo Yue could not say personally. Often, she needed someone to serve as her mouthpiece, and awkward matters had to be entrusted to someone she trusted...
Beside her, Luo Qingluan surveyed the mist-wreathed island, filled with waterways yet somewhat too secluded. Her delicate brows drew together, and she could not help saying to Jiang Wei,
"Jiang Wei, everything about your Jiang Family's Cangming Divine Island is wonderful, except that it's really too deserted."
She had grown familiar with Jiang Wei over this period and was no longer as formally polite to him as she had been at first.
"Auntie, having too many servants isn't good either. I don't really like being waited on. A little peace and quiet is nice," Luo Yue said.
Luo Qingluan clicked her tongue softly at that. Though she was not quite used to the idea, she could only let it go.
Originally, she had planned to select several hundred servants from the Luo Family to bring over. But since her little niece did not seem to like keeping a large retinue, Luo Qingluan could only bring a dozen or so trusted attendants to look after their daily needs and run errands when necessary.
"But this island doesn't even have a single lively immortal crane. Which of the other islands doesn't have flocks of immortal cranes, like a blessed immortal realm, with auspicious beasts roaming about? That's what gives a place the proper air of an immortal abode."
"Little Yue might not like crowds, but surely we can keep a few immortal birds to brighten things up?"
Clearly, Luo Qingluan wanted to spruce up the cold, quiet surroundings and find herself something to do.
But scarcely had her words fallen...
Splash-!!!
Suddenly, deep within the island, a bottomless Cold Pool shrouded in dense water vapor erupted.
A wave rose into the sky like a small mountain, scattering icy pool water in a torrential downpour. A savage head the size of a house broke through the surface, its cold scales gleaming like pitch-black iron in the sunlight piercing the mist.
A thick neck and a body covered in heavy scales slowly rose from the deep pool, shedding streams of water like miniature waterfalls. Two thick, gnarled dragon horns curved toward the sky, while enormous golden slit pupils swept coldly over the people on the shore.
"Oh my goodness, what is that?!"
Luo Qingluan was struck dumb with fright by the colossal creature's sudden appearance and cried out instinctively.
She had never imagined that one little complaint about the surroundings would bring out something like this.
Could I really have a crow's mouth?
Luo Yue was startled too. She raised her little face in astonishment and stared at the enormous creature.
Seeing this, Jiang Wei's expression
Showed no tension whatsoever. Instead, a gentle smile appeared as he explained,
"This is Senior Nether Flood Dragon. Her ancestor was a direct descendant of the flood dragon kept by that peerless female Divine King ancestor all those years ago."
"Their lineage has guarded this island's peace for generations. Their duty is to protect its master and drive out outside evils. The only way to earn the Nether Flood Dragon clan's recognition is through your own strength."
As Jiang Wei spoke,
He cast a rather meaningful glance toward Luo Yue.
The cold flood dragon named Nether Flood Dragon seemed to understand Jiang Wei's words. Her immense body stirred the pool, and her breathing rumbled like muffled thunder. She watched everyone without showing any intent to attack; instead, there was a kind of tranquil beauty about her.
At the sight, Luo Yue seemed to understand why no one had come to live on this Divine Island in twenty thousand years.
She looked up at Jiang Wei in his cloud-patterned robe beside her, only to find him smiling back at her.
Luo Yue suddenly felt her teeth ache.
What does this mean? Am I supposed to fight this thing one-on-one and win before I pass?
Are you kidding me... I'm supposed to fight her?
Something that enormous...