South Sea Dragon Palace
The Dragon Palace area here is not as developed as it is in Jiangnan. In Jiangnan, disciples of the Dragon Palace Academy can visit the interior of the Dragon Palace, but not here. The unsealed Yaksha guards guard every gate of the Dragon Palace, and entry is not easy unless there is something important to discuss.
Unlike the Jiangnan, this place is more like a cooperative relationship.
But at this moment, a figure quietly entered the Dragon Palace without the notice of the many noble families.
The Yaksha General at the gate clearly saw the dark figure, but his lantern-sized eyes coldly ignored it. Everything was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Inside the Dragon Palace, the shadowy figure moved with ghostly speed and seemed to be very familiar with the various restrictions within the Dragon Palace. It skillfully avoided multiple surveillance arrays and made its way to the innermost part of the Dragon Palace.
Inside the vast Dragon Palace, a red flame illuminates the surroundings in the sea. This is a unique feature of the South Sea Dragon Palace. Dragon Palace in other seas are illuminated by luminous pearls, but the South Sea Dragon Palace uses the unique flame of its region.
It is eternal and indestructible, like the sun that never sets in the sea, a truly magnificent sight.
"Long time no see."
The shadowy figure spoke in a cold female voice, but the frozen South Sea Dragon King widened his pupils. He was about to address the other party by name, but suddenly remembered something and quickly stopped himself from doing so.
Some beings possess such immense power that even the mere mention of their names can evoke a powerful resonance. This world today cannot withstand such resonance.
Then the aged Dragon King took a deep breath, his voice filled with fear. "Your Majesty, why have you come in person?"
"The plans have changed, so I'm the only one who can come."
Upon hearing this, the Dragon King's massive dragon head trembled slightly, realizing the gravity of the situation. The opening of the Dragon Palace and the emergence of various forces seemed to be contrary to expectations, but it hadn't anticipated that this would alarm this person.
"Of the four Dragon King, you have the best aptitude, which is why we chose you. But now it seems your efficiency is quite disappointing."
"Your Excellency, please forgive me. The situation has changed too drastically, and this old servant had no time to react. Preserving Your Excellency's arrangements was already extremely difficult."
Little did it know that so many changes would occur in this Samsara.
The agreed-upon time was delayed, forcing it to use the power of the Xuanbing (mystic ice) to protect the insect eggs from starving to death due to insufficient food after waking up prematurely.
The original Baiyu was snatched away by that human Chen Qing, and then another incident occurred in the Northern Lands. Now, it is suffering from a lack of resources, forcing it to cooperate with those lowly humans, which is not what it wanted.
"I'm not here to listen to your excuses!"
"Forgive me, forgive me!" the old Dragon King cried out in fear. "I have tried my best to salvage the situation, and although progress has been slow, the artifacts have been preserved intact, and three Ancient Demon have already found hosts."
"Three?" The dark figure nodded slightly upon hearing this. "What about the prey that are growing?"
"This year, many of those lowly humans successfully Dragon Transformation, making them excellent prey."
"Hmm, that's barely enough." The shadowy figure lowered his voice and said, "Time is of the essence, a great battle is imminent, we must not make any mistakes."
"Yes, yes, please rest assured!"
It was unclear how much time had passed, but when the Dragon King raised his head again, the dark shadow had vanished, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down the old Dragon King's forehead.
In fact, one of them had already met with misfortune. It had sensed it just now that one of the Ancient Demon had been forcibly separated from its host and was on the verge of death.
If my senses are correct, it should be the one on Chen Yun's body.
What exactly happened?
Did Chen Baifeng notice?
That shouldn't be the case.
The South Sea Dragon King closed his eyes and pondered for a long time. Then, a strong figure walked into the Dragon Palace. It was a huge Yaksha.
"Your Majesty, is there anything you require of me?"
"How are the preparations going with General Dragon Whale?"
"He should recover in another two weeks."
"Half a month is too long, three days at most!"
"Three days?" The Yaksha shook his head upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, that's unlikely. We already don't have enough bloodstones. It was already a struggle for General Dragon Whale to awaken in half a month. If it's any earlier, it will not only damage his foundation but could also cost him his life."
"Use the Jiaolong!"
"Your Majesty?" The Yaksha exclaimed in shock, "No!"
The Jiaolong is a key tool for the dragon race to control water, and also the foundation for hatching young dragons.
The dragon race needs the Jiaolong to control water vapor and stabilize the waters. Moreover, the dragon race has difficulty reproducing, and 80% of newborn dragons are evolved from Jiaolong, which is the most stable new force of the dragon race. To harm the Jiaolong is to shake the foundation of the South Sea.
Moreover, once this news gets out, which alien race that has transformed into a dragon will dare to come to the South Sea Dragon Palace?
"Do as I say," the South Sea Dragon King said coldly. "Kill half of the dragons, refine the Blood Crystal Stone, and make General Dragon Whale emerge from seclusion within three days. You will do this secretly, and remember, do not let anyone, including the other Yaksha, find out."
Upon hearing this, General Yaksha froze for a long time before finally bowing and saying, "Yes, Your Majesty."
--
"Changes in the South Sea?"
Ao Zhen listened to Tian Heng and Wei Gongcheng's words with a puzzled look on her face.
"My lord has ordered me to investigate the South Sea?"
"The Lord didn't specify who should go," Wei Gongcheng honestly replied. "The Lord used Divine Path communication, which consumes a great deal of faith. He only briefly said that there was a major crisis in the South Sea and immediately sent people to investigate. Judging from the tone, it was quite urgent, so it must be no small matter. Now that a great war is imminent, given the Lord's personality, he wouldn't meddle unless there was something truly life-threatening there."
"That's true," Ao Zhen with a slight pursed lip. Chen Qing was a cunning fellow, and he didn't seem like the type to meddle in other people's business.
"Currently, in Jiangnan, we, the Lords of the Underworld, cannot leave. General Xu Hu's troops are stationed in the north and cannot be moved lightly, and General Tian Heng is in charge of the southeast and cannot be moved either. Now, the only reliable force is you."
We will send Murong Yunji with you.
"What exactly are you investigating?" Ao Zhen asked, puzzled. The South Sea is so vast, and there are two intertwined forces; surely there must be some specific objective at hand?
"My lord only mentioned the words 'Ancient Demon ' and 'Dragon King.' Do you recall them?"
" Ancient Demon?" Ao Zhen frowned. The name gave her goosebumps, but she couldn't recall what it was.
The feeling was extremely strange; her intuition told her it was something terrifying, but she had absolutely no memory of it.
Wei Gongcheng whispered, "Isn't it a feeling that something seems really creepy, but you have no memory of it?"
Ao Zhen looked at the other person with a strange expression. "You too?"
"We're all the same." Wei Gongcheng nodded. "The thing the lord is talking about must be a very troublesome existence. I've read about this in your Dragon Palace's ancient books. It says that if you have a natural fear of a certain name, but you've never actually seen it, then that means that thing must have been an extremely dangerous and deadly existence from ancient times. This fear has been implanted in your bones by your ancestors, and even after several generations, the memory of that fear will still remain in your bones."
Ao Zhen was taken aback. She seemed to have heard of this saying before, but this was the first time she had encountered it.
"Such a terrifying thing must not have been fully revealed yet, otherwise there would be more activity. I suspect that someone is planning to revive this thing, but I don't know if it's one of the powerful families in the South Sea or a local force within the South Sea Dragon Palace. Is Your Highness Ao Zhen familiar with the South Sea Dragon King?"
" The South Sea Dragon King?" Ao Zhen recalled for a moment, then frowned. "In my memory, he was a kind elder. Among the Four Dragon King, the South Sea Dragon King was the most senior in our generation. Even the East Sea Dragon King, the ruler of the Four Seas, had to address him as 'senior.' Although he wielded the Southern Brightness Li Fire, he was an extremely gentle being. I remember that the humans under the South Sea's control lived the best lives, and human sacrifices were extremely rare."
"Oh?" Wei Gongcheng was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, then frowned and said, "So, it's most likely that it was done by those powerful families in the South Sea? We wouldn't be surprised if those powerful families secretly worship some great evil god, but why did the master mention the word 'Dragon King '?"
"Kind?" Shen Er, standing to the side, scoffed. "In my experience, the more an elderly person, especially one in a high position of power, pretends to be kind, the more dangerous they often are. Princess Ao Zhen, you should be careful and not trust your preconceived notions too much."
Shen Er stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then said, "In that case, besides Murong Yunji, I'd like to recommend someone else to accompany you."
"Who?" Ao Zhen was taken aback.
" Wei Gongcheng, the younger brother of Lord Wei Gongzhan."