Recaps

Xiao Mingxue weighed the poor Dragon Transformation choices they had found against Chen Qing’s lead to a Fire Kun, whose potential and success rate made the risk worthwhile. Meanwhile, Ziyue and the others pursued Chen Qing through the Dragon Palace until he finally stopped beside a spatial rift, apparently ready to face the monster chasing them.

• Shen Laowu asked Xiao Mingxue whether Chen Qing’s intelligence was reliable, and she admitted she did not know for sure.
• Xiao Mingxue rejected the Fire Centipede and Dragon Whisker Octopus because she disliked their forms and doubted their potential, while the Dragon Palace’s original masters could revive within three days.
• After learning that Chen Qing had mentioned a Fire Kun, Xiao Mingxue chose to gamble on finding it, and Shen Laowu and Prince Consort Fei agreed.
• Prince Consort Fei secretly relished the prospect of combining Xiao Mingxue’s Golden Crow Flame, his son’s Vermilion Bird Technique, and the Fire Kun’s Dragon Transformation.
• Ziyue warned Murong that Chen Qing’s pursuer had grown immensely by devouring creatures, and she feared it could overwhelm the jiaolong if it escaped.
• After pursuing Chen Qing through dozens of spaces and exhausting much of their strength, Ziyue and the others saw him stop beside a spatial rift instead of continuing to flee.

Chen Qing fought the giant Heavenly Ghost Octopus to keep it away from a hidden creature, while Ziyue, Murong, and Baiyu discovered that the creature was a Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale that could help transport the region’s jade. The chapter ended with Chen Qing racing toward them as the octopus’s tentacles pursued him, and Murong realized he was getting anxious.

• Chen Qing used the Divine Wind Spell to dodge the Heavenly Ghost Octopus, while Murong, Ziyue, and Baiyu discussed his growing strength and Murong theorized that he could use the abilities of people under his command.
• Chen Qing secretly checked the area behind him, and Ziyue detected his mental probe and realized he was protecting the monster hidden there from the octopus.
• Ziyue led Murong and Baiyu deeper into the space, where they struck the jade wall with spell energy and revealed the creature’s name: Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale.
• Baiyu and Ziyue concluded that the Dragon Whale could swallow the jade and help Chen Qing transport the trove of resources.
• Chen Qing charged toward the group with the Heavenly Ghost Octopus’s tentacles close behind, and Murong recognized that Chen Qing was getting anxious.

Ziyue and Murong fled from Chen Qing while trying to lead him toward the Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale, and Ziyue used the chase to force him into surrendering his secrets and forces. Chen Qing instead trapped Ziyue with an Anti-Magic Array and revealed that the Dragon Whale’s enormous maw was about to swallow them all.

• Ziyue and Murong escaped Chen Qing and searched for the Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale, while Murong countered Chen Qing’s wind blades.
• Chen Qing proposed an alliance, but Ziyue refused and mocked him until he burned his blood essence to pursue them.
• Ziyue outran Chen Qing and offered to spare him if he revealed the Dragon Palace secrets, transferred his Jiangnan forces, and taught her the Divine Path Style.
• Chen Qing accepted Ziyue’s terms, seized her hands, and activated an Anti-Magic Array that briefly suppressed her spells.
• Murong warned Ziyue to look below, where the Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale opened its gigantic maw around Ziyue, Chen Qing, and the pursuing Heavenly Ghost Octopus.

Chen Qing lured Ziyue into the Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale’s attack, sacrificing a clone to trap her while the creature wounded the Heavenly Ghost Octopus. After Chen Qing reappeared, Murong questioned who he was, and he challenged Murong to ask who Murong herself was.

• Chen Qing used the Heaven-Devouring Dragon Whale as bait and lured Ziyue into its swallowing range, revealing that he had anticipated her ability to detect spiritual probes.
• Ziyue realized Chen Qing had used himself as bait and asked about his knowledge of her origins and the magic-sealing formation before the whale swallowed them both.
• Murong dragged Baiyu out of the whale’s attack, while the creature bit away more than half of the Heavenly Ghost Octopus and forced it to retreat.
• Baiyu demanded that Murong find Ziyue, then nearly attacked Murong when she questioned Baiyu’s reaction.
• Chen Qing appeared beside Murong and Baiyu unharmed, explained that the whale had bought them time, and told Murong to ask who Murong herself was.

Chen Qing tried to make Murong Yunji question her memories and her bond with Baiyu, arguing that the Thousand-Faced Fox had fabricated their sisterly attachment. Murong turned against Baiyu and prepared to fight, while Baiyu realized her suspicions had been exposed.

• Chen Qing questioned whether Murong Yunji had ever suspected that her memories were altered, while Baiyu accused him of using a psychological ploy to hide his exhaustion.
• Chen Qing reminded Murong of her closeness to Shen Qi and explained that the Thousand-Faced Fox had exploited her longing for family affection to fabricate her bond with Baiyu.
• Murong ordered Baiyu to let Chen Qing continue and began to doubt that two Ancient Insects could truly have become devoted sisters.
• Murong confronted Baiyu over her killing intent when Murong dismissed Ziyue as unworthy, then unleashed the Divine Wind Spell and demanded Baiyu explain herself.
• Baiyu recognized that Murong's anger came from the memory of her elder sister A Li's death, the very memory A Li had warned must never be touched.

Murong Yunji attacked Baiyu after realizing Baiyu had prepared a targeted defensive spell, then unleashed the Murong Family’s forbidden Azure Heaven technique to trap her. Chen Qing refused Baiyu’s offer to cooperate and waited for her trump card as the tornado closed in.

• Murong Yunji beheaded Baiyu, who re-formed from mist, and concluded that Baiyu had been guarding against her.
• Baiyu turned into mist and tried to flee, but Murong Yunji transformed into wind and trapped her in the Divine Wind Final Form: Azure Heaven.
• Chen Qing let the tornado pull him in, confident Murong Yunji was deliberately avoiding him and reflecting that he needed to conserve his Power of Faith.
• Baiyu realized Murong Yunji had used a forbidden technique that could prevent her from returning to human form, and lamented that she had provoked her.
• Baiyu urged Chen Qing to cooperate, but he refused, saying he preferred Senior Ziyue’s view that a stupid fish could not break a tattered net.
• Baiyu threatened that Chen Qing would regret his choice, while he smiled and waited for her trump card.

The Duke of Wei gambled on a dangerous Dragon Transformation rite as fresh water flowed into the Four Seas Dragon Palaces. Meanwhile, Baiyu unleashed her final trump card, a resurrected Yuchi Feihong, who nearly killed Murong Yunji, but Chen Qing remained unnervingly calm.

• The Duke of Wei rejected his youngest son's offer and chose to gamble on a Dragon Transformation other than the safer Baxia rite, ordering him to flee north if the attempt failed.
• Baiyu used Shen Laosan's Heavenly Water technique to pour fresh water into the Dragon Palace Mystic Realm despite its spatial formation.
• Baiyu opened one of her corpse-nurturing shells and revealed Yuchi Feihong, whose power shocked Murong Yunji.
• Baiyu ordered Yuchi Feihong to kill Murong and capture Chen Qing, and his punch shattered Murong's tornado and blasted away half her body.
• Chen Qing caught the wounded Murong Yunji with a technique, while Baiyu wondered why he still seemed to expect everything.

Chen Qing negotiated with Baiyu to secure Yuchi Feihong and the Blood Jade Shell Mother, then reunited with Yuchi and brought the gravely wounded Murong Yunji to the shell for treatment. He began explaining the shell and Baiyu’s origins as they prepared to use it.

• Chen Qing pointed out that Yuchi Feihong’s body could not withstand the Blood Jade Shell Mother’s power, forcing Baiyu to negotiate rather than risk a final battle.
• Chen Qing offered Baiyu a chance to leave the space in exchange for Yuchi Feihong and the shell nurturing him, and Baiyu demanded half the surrounding jade before accepting a contract.
• A thousand miles away, Yuchi Feihong thanked Chen Qing for fulfilling their agreement and pledged to serve him.
• Chen Qing explained that he had recognized Baiyu as the one who implanted an insect in Yuchi and had sought to use the shell to improve their chances with the Dragon Transformation Technique.
• Chen Qing carried the badly injured Murong Yunji toward the Blood Jade Shell Mother, and she objected to becoming a monster.
• Chen Qing began explaining Baiyu’s title and origins by asking what “white jade” meant.

Chen Qing explained Baiyu’s origins and revealed that the dragons had used her to raise a Blood Jade Shell Mother, which could produce precious jade and strengthen warriors. As the Heavenly Ghost Octopus neared its return and the formation collapsed, Chen Qing anticipated a coming struggle involving Baiyu and the Dragon Palace.

• Chen Qing explained that dragons used jade to store magical abilities and had forced island nations to supply it while concealing their history.
• Chen Qing revealed that the dragons had destroyed records and killed most people capable of reading and writing before the Dragon Palace closed.
• Chen Qing told Yuchi Feihong and Murong Yunji that Baiyu had been chosen to raise a Blood Jade Shell Mother for the dragons’ return.
• Chen Qing explained that Baiyu had kept two blood corpses in shells to preserve their strength and their chances of transforming into Corpse Dragons.
• Chen Qing noted that the Heavenly Ghost Octopus would return soon as the great formation collapsed, and anticipated a struggle involving two Corpse Dragons and the eldest princess’s Dragon Kun.

The Duke of Wei's youngest son and the northern spellcasters waited deep in the North Sea Dragon Palace while discussing the north's poor results in Jiangnan's entrance examination. Dugu Yifang revealed that the Lu Household had opened Ten Thousand Snakes Valley and that earth snakes were reviving as a mysterious force collected blood essence, leaving the north in grave danger.

• The Duke of Wei's youngest son waited anxiously underwater until spellcasters reminded him to conserve spiritual power.
• The spellcasters compared the northern families' weak Jiangnan examination results with those of the imperial court and the Kingdom of Beihuang, and considered reforming their family system.
• Dugu Yifang announced that the Lu Household had opened Ten Thousand Snakes Valley, which held the evil god Earth Mother and sleeping earth snakes.
• Dugu Yifang said earth snakes were beginning to revive and that a mysterious force was assassinating high-level martial warriors to collect blood essence.
• Dugu Yifang revealed that the heir had been attacked and badly injured, while Bai Sang feared the north was heading into chaos without another King of Qin.

Xu Hu and Tian Heng responded to a northern invasion by giant pythons and venomous snakes, tracing it to the Lu Household and the seal at Ten Thousand Snakes Valley. Chen Qing concluded that Madam Lu was connected to the Heavenly Python Palace as its gatekeeper, leaving the ancient realm’s awakening as the looming threat.

• A Fighter commandant reported that giant snakes had destroyed ships in the north and venomous snakes had killed soldiers, so Xu Hu raised the alarm and activated the Blazing Yang Grand Formation.
• The young spellcaster warned Xu Hu that the formation could stop monsters below second grade but would last only three days, and Xu Hu ordered it maintained while they sought a solution.
• Tian Heng arrived and told Xu Hu that the Lu Household was involved, explaining that the King of Qin had sealed the Earth Mother in Ten Thousand Snakes Valley with a secret technique entrusted to the Lu Household.
• Tian Heng relayed that Chen Qing believed Madam Lu was connected to the crisis, and Chen Qing told Yuchi Feihong that she came from Earth Dragon Cave and was likely a gatekeeper.
• Chen Qing identified Madam Lu as the gatekeeper of the ancient realm called Heavenly Python Palace.

Chen Qing explained that Heavenly Python Palace offered snakes a destructive path toward immortality and that the Lu Household had once been tasked with guarding its seal. He suspected the emperor had deliberately sent the Lu Household north, leaving the reason unclear as he feared what awaited the capital.

• Chen Qing told Yuchi Feihong that snake priests served the Earth Mothers and that Heavenly Python Palace offered snakes endless growth through shedding.
• Chen Qing explained that ancient snake warlocks had sealed Heavenly Python Palace to prevent its pythons from devouring the world, and that Madam Lu had been chosen to watch over the seal.
• Chen Qing suspected Earth Dragon Cave had originally monitored Southern Barbarian snake spirits before the Lu Household turned it into an assassination organization.
• Yuchi Feihong wondered whether Chen Qing was descended from the King of Qin, but turned his attention to the danger of Heavenly Python Palace.
• Chen Qing argued that the emperor likely remained in control and had arranged for the Lu Household to go north, then feared the capital might become inaccessible if his suspicion was right.

The emperor learned that the Lu Household had opened Ten Thousand Snakes Valley and discussed his plans to exploit the ancient powers while protecting only the Duke of Wei’s descendants. In Cloud City, the awakened heir ordered his forces to reclaim North Sea City and contact Jiangnan, declaring it the Northern Frontier’s only way out.

• The purple-robed sorcerer told the emperor that the Lu Household had opened Ten Thousand Snakes Valley and that the Earth Serpent had awakened, while the Earth Mother remained dormant.
• The emperor explained that the Duke of Wei would oppose his dealings with ancient powers, then ordered his covert agents to preserve the Duke’s eldest grandson and a trace of the family bloodline.
• The empress told the emperor that Heavenly Pythons could grow large enough to encircle the world and said they would become delicacies.
• The awakened heir learned that the Seven Cities of Youyun had fallen and North Sea City was surrounded by giant serpents.
• The heir ordered his men to contact Jiangnan and retake North Sea City as the only way to save the Northern Frontier.

Xu Hu urged Jiangnan’s leaders to rescue the besieged north, but they feared the cost to their own people and forces. The debate stalled when Shen San revealed that Chen Qing could not be contacted amid turmoil at the Dragon Palace.

• At the North Sea checkpoint, wounded northern envoys asked to see Xu Hu, while Jiangnan’s soldiers delayed them and medical spellcasters treated their snake venom.
• On a warship, Xu Hu and Jiangnan’s leaders gathered to discuss the worsening northern crisis; Master Shen San said Wei Gongcheng and Seventh Brother could not attend because of a serious incident in Liuzhou.
• Xu Hu reported that seven cities of Youyun had fallen and only three northern cities remained, with food running short and over a billion refugees facing danger.
• Xu Hu said the north wanted Jiangnan to open a route through North Sea City so its soldiers and refugees could withdraw, but Second Master Shen and Shen San opposed risking Jiangnan’s forces and resources.
• Xu Hu and Second Master Shen argued over whether Jiangnan should help, until Shen Shiyi asked why they did not consult Chen Qing.
• Master Shen San revealed that Chen Qing had not replied since the flood dragons at the Dragon Palace grew restless that morning.

Xu Hu argued for rescuing the northerners, but Chen Qing ordered everyone to wait until he returned and judged the rescue plan too risky. As Chen Qing and Yuchi Feihong escaped the collapsing jade wall, he hinted that saving the north might depend on the Duke of Wei, while monsters began awakening in the Dragon Palace.

• Xu Hu proposed flying ships with wind jade to rescue the northerners, but Shen Laosan and Second Master Shen opposed the costly, dangerous plan.
• Tian Heng received Chen Qing's order to postpone all decisions about the north until he returned, and Xu Hu was left troubled by the order.
• Chen Qing told Yuchi Feihong that the north was nearly impossible to save and questioned whether the Duke of Wei would sacrifice himself for its people.
• The jade wall began to shatter as the Ten Thousand Jiaolong Grand Formation completed and monsters in the Dragon Palace started waking.
• Chen Qing took Yuchi Feihong into a mother-of-pearl shell as the collapsing formation unleashed a torrent, and he warned that the monsters would soon feast on one another.

Chen Qing revealed that he had broken the formation to lure the Dragon Palace’s Blood Guards into carrying them toward the nobles as they evacuated from the out-of-control Heavenly Ghost Octopus. He planned to use the evacuation to reach the Dragon Palace’s higher-ups and seize the white jade they would not leave behind.

• Yuchi Feihong and Murong Yunji watched Blood Guards drain a giant shark and learned from Chen Qing that they were human blood sorcerers transformed to collect blood essence for the Dragon Palace.
• Chen Qing told Yuchi to close the mother shell, explaining that Blood Guards would transport it to their superiors because it might contain valuable Baiyu Essence.
• Murong Yunji grew suspicious of Chen Qing’s knowledge and wondered whether he served the Ancient Ones or the Dragon Palace.
• Chen Qing explained that the Dragon Palace nobles would evacuate because the Heavenly Ghost Octopus was out of control and the top dragons could not yet awaken.
• Yuchi realized Chen Qing meant to hitch a ride with the Blood Guards, and Murong understood that he had also broken the formation to claim the Dragon Palace’s white jade.

Chen Qing and Yuchi Feihong discovered that the Blood Guards were bringing Blood Essence Stones to revive a small Turtle Chancellor, whose divination could guide the Dragon Palace forces to safety. Chen Qing told Yuchi to prepare to seize it before it could calculate their location.

• Yuchi Feihong used the giant clam's vision to report that the Blood Guards were carrying giant clams and white jade into the abyss.
• The group sensed a powerful yaksha, and Chen Qing explained that the Blood Guards were escorting dormant Dragon Palace elites rather than reviving them all.
• Yuchi saw that the Blood Guards were sending most of their Blood Essence Stones deeper into the abyss, where more than a thousand yakshas lay frozen.
• At the seabed, Yuchi saw the Blood Guards feeding most of the stones to a small, translucent sea turtle beneath enormous icebergs.
• Chen Qing identified the turtle as a Turtle Chancellor, whose shell enabled divination and whose predictions could help the Dragon Palace forces retreat safely.
• Chen Qing declared that seizing the Turtle Chancellor was their chance to gain an advantage and told Yuchi to wait for his signal.

A Bao, a young Heavenly Mystic Turtle, was tasked with guiding the Heavenly Dragon Palace’s evacuation and divined that the North Sea offered the best chance of survival. Before the Blood Guards could act on his advice, Chen Qing attacked, seized A Bao, and revealed that he had released the Heavenly Ghost Octopus.

• A Bao recovered with Blood Essence Stones and learned that the Dragon Palace had entrusted him with guiding its lords to safety.
• A Bao confirmed that his divination favored the North Sea, and the Blood Guards agreed to follow his recommendation.
• A Bao dismissed the Blood Guard leader, but a sudden attack blasted the leader into fragments.
• Chen Qing seized A Bao with a Divine Wind Spell as Blood Guards surrounded him.
• Chen Qing refused the Blood Guards’ threats and announced that he had released the Heavenly Ghost Octopus.

Chen Qing used the Divine Fire Spell to force the Blood Guards and a restored yaksha to negotiate, then demanded to speak with Ao Xin. The yaksha did not dare attack while A Bao remained in danger.

• The Blood Guards accused Chen Qing of releasing the Heavenly Ghost Octopus, and Chen Qing retorted that they had forgotten their ancestors.
• Yuchi Feihong prepared to defend Chen Qing, but the Blood Guards revealed that his borrowed ancient-level strength would not last.
• Chen Qing surrounded himself and Yuchi Feihong with the South Sea Dragon Palace's Divine Fire Spell and threatened A Bao with it.
• Chen Qing demanded a negotiator, but when the Blood Guards offered their lord, he called out a hidden yaksha instead.
• The yaksha emerged and challenged Chen Qing, who kept burning A Bao and demanded to speak with the Third Prince of the West Sea, Ao Xin.

Chen Qing persuaded the yaksha guards to bring him before West Sea Third Prince Ao Xin, whose whereabouts had been closely concealed. Upon seeing Ao Xin frozen inside a vast iceberg, Chen Qing recognized the face of a former coworker from his past life, though he doubted the prince was really the person he remembered.

• A yaksha questioned Chen Qing about how he knew the hidden details of Ao Xin's identity and whereabouts.
• Another yaksha arrived with a jade token and said Ao Xin had ordered Chen Qing brought before him.
• Chen Qing and Yuchi Feihong followed the yakshas through the frozen nobles of the Heavenly Dragon Palace, with Chen Qing keeping the Divine Fire Spell around the Mystic Turtle.
• The yakshas led Chen Qing to the largest iceberg, where he saw the human face of the frozen Third Prince Ao Xin.
• Ao Xin asked Chen Qing in a gentle voice whether they knew each other, and Chen Qing wondered if he could truly be his former coworker Qi Xiaosheng.

Chen Qing confronted Ao Xin over the white jade and revealed that he knew the other Dragon Palaces’ royal scions had died in a secret incident. He left Ao Xin weighing whether to comply or risk his group’s survival, while Chen Qing released A Bao and challenged the two yakshas to stop him.

• Chen Qing recognized Ao Xin’s appearance as resembling his former assistant Qi Xiaosheng and dismissed the yakshas’ objections.
• Chen Qing demanded that Ao Xin send thirty flood dragons to deliver half the white jade and withdraw within six hours, threatening to burn A Bao if he refused.
• Chen Qing argued that Ao Xin could safely return only to the West Sea Dragon Palace and questioned why the other Dragon Palaces’ royal scions had not evacuated.
• Chen Qing named Ao Bing, Ao Yun, and Ao Zhuo, then asserted that the other royal scions were dead and that Ao Bing had died to the north.
• Chen Qing accused Ao Xin of using a Blood Essence Stone to revive his consciousness and relying on A Bao’s divination to justify leading the group west.
• Ao Xin threatened to kill Chen Qing, but Chen Qing released A Bao and challenged Ao Xin to risk traveling the abyss without him.

Chen Qing used the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley core to force Ao Xin into giving him a quarter of the Dragon Palace’s white jade, while the old Dragon Palaces began to awaken and threaten the factions undergoing Dragon Transformation. At the East Sea Dragon Palace, Chen Baifeng confronted Blood Guards who were waiting to see whether the outsiders would succeed.

• Chen Qing reclaimed A Bao with the Nine Heavens Mirror Valley’s power and made Ao Xin agree to give him a quarter of the white jade in exchange for safe passage.
• Ao Xin ordered Ying Yi to transport the cloud shells, and Chen Qing released A Bao to divine a safer route.
• As the Ten Thousand Jiaolong Grand Formation shook, the ancient Dragon Palaces began awakening and the factions undergoing Dragon Transformation drew their attention.
• At the East Sea Dragon Palace, Chen Baifeng and Pang Xingyun faced Blood Guards who had surrounded their group without attacking.
• Chen Baifeng accused the Blood Guards of waiting to see whether the Dragon Transformation succeeded, and the guards’ fear of losing their lives kept them from risking an attack.

Hong Yue failed his Dragon Transformation and died horribly, leaving Chen Baifeng’s group at the mercy of the Blood Guards. Yaksha intervened before they could attack and revealed that the Dragon Palace needed their help because a danger was approaching and it lacked the Blood Essence Stones to revive its dragons.

• Hong Yue’s failed Dragon Transformation killed him and several Yin-Yang Academy sorcerers, while the Blood Guards consumed his remains for Blood Essence Stones.
• The Blood Guards prepared to attack Chen Baifeng’s group, but Yaksha arrived and killed their leading guard for threatening someone undergoing Dragon Transformation.
• Yaksha apologized to Chen Baifeng and explained that a divination had revealed trouble at the Heavenly Dragon Palace and an approaching danger.
• Yaksha told the group that the Dragon Palace lacked enough Blood Essence Stones to revive its dragons and would rely on them, offering successful candidates the position of East Sea Dragon Palace masters.

Yaksha explained that the Dragon Palace had awakened early because the Earth Spirits were beginning to revive, but its reserve resources had been destroyed and a growing monster threatened its survival. He offered the humans a chance to command the Dragon Palace if they completed Dragon Transformation, then revealed the crisis was in the Heavenly Dragon Palace, prompting Chen Baifeng and Pang Xingde to suspect Chen Qing was responsible.

• Pang Xingde questioned Yaksha's offer, and Yaksha explained that ancient forces needed vast amounts of blood essence to recover from their hibernation.
• Yaksha told Chen Baifeng and Pang Xingde that the Earth Spirits were beginning to revive and that ancient forces had awakened early to seize resources before their rivals.
• Yaksha offered successful Dragon Transformation candidates authority over the Dragon Palace until its elders revived, exciting the spellcasters while Pang Xingde remained wary.
• Yaksha revealed that the Dragon Palace's reserve resources had been destroyed and an out-of-control monster was rapidly growing in the Heavenly Dragon Palace.
• Chen Baifeng and Pang Xingde realized Yaksha might mean the central Dragon Palace they had entered and suspected Chen Qing was the monster.

Chen Qing refused the West Sea Dragon Palace’s offer of Dragon Transformation, exposing its need for human factions and the brutal role humans once held under demon rule. He warned Ao Xin that the Ancient Insect was heading for the West Sea Dragon Palace, leaving its fate in immediate danger.

• In the North Sea, a yaksha persuaded the Duke of Wei’s youngest son and other leaders to consider becoming lesser dragons, while Bai Sang and Xiang Tianyu questioned the offer.
• At the Heavenly Dragon Palace, Chen Qing explained to Yuchi Feihong that the Dragon Palace needed human factions for resources, intelligence, and labor, and described how humans had been exploited in the past.
• Ao Xin offered noble status to humans who underwent Dragon Transformation, but Chen Qing rejected the offer and challenged the Dragon Palace’s assumptions about cooperation.
• Ao Xin revealed that most of Chen Qing’s companions had accepted the agreement and threatened that Chen Qing would not leave after taking Dragon Palace supplies.
• Chen Qing warned Ao Xin that the Ancient Insect was approaching the West Sea Dragon Palace, the same biological weapon the dragons had once refused to let enter Nine Heavens Mirror Valley.