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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
When Lu Ye entered the great hall, Ye Yang of the Green Feather Mountain was already waiting for him. The old man greeted him with a chuckle when he saw him, “You work fast, young friend.”
“I’m just impatient.”
Lu Ye walked to a corner of a great hall. Last he recalled, it was where the entrance to the underground passage lay. Right now though, it was like the entrance never existed in the first place. Clearly, it had been hidden using some sort of enhancement or other methods.
Lu Ye watched for a moment but couldn’t find anything. He then applied Insight to his eyes and checked again.
He did not know if the Tai Luo Clan or the Qin Family’s elders would show up. If they decided that it was too risky to appear in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, then he would have to open the Dragon Spring himself.
If there was one thing he was confident at, it would be his skill in breaching wards and enhancements.
Unfortunately, he had overestimated himself this time. Despite his vision being empowered by Insight, he still could barely spot anything that was out of the ordinary, much less breach the enhancement.
“Elder Ye, did this enhancement already exist before the sects were founded?” Lu Ye asked suddenly.
Ye Yang nodded. “That is correct.”
“How did the Green Feather Mountain and the other two sects learn how to open it then?”
Ye Yang chuckled. “In fact, we did not know how to unlock it at the beginning. It was all thanks to a Control Jade that our ancestors found at this place. According to the records, the Green Feather Mountain and Tai Luo Clan were initially drawn to this place by a strange phenomenon. A great battle later, they discovered the Control Jade and gave it a try. That was how they discovered the Dragon Spring.
“Since neither sect was strong enough to overpower the other, we ultimately decided to split the Control Jade in two and share the Dragon Spring. When it was time, we brought the split Control Jade together and opened the passage. Later, the Tai Luo Clan realized they were falling behind our sect and recruited the Qin Family’s aid. That was how they were able to maintain the balance to this day.
“In order to recruit the Qin Family, they split the half of the Control Jade in their possession in half and gave one half to the Qin Family. That is why it takes three sects to open the passage today.”
“I see!”
“Did you notice anything, young friend?” Ye Yang asked. The Green Feather Mountain had researched the Dragon Spring a lot as a matter of course, but they weren’t able to find out much despite their best efforts.
Lu Ye shook his head. “Not really. All I can tell is that whoever laid down this enhancement must be an extraordinary master.”
Suddenly, Lu Ye turned toward the exit. Two old men walked into the great hall at the same time. They were most likely the elders of the Tai Luo Clan and the Qin Family.
Ye Yang raised his eyebrows in surprise before joking, “I thought the two of you had died long ago!”
The old man to the left replied, “How can we die when you’re still alive?”
They had fought against one another at the Spirit Creek Battlefield. However, after they ascended to the Cloud River Realm, they rarely ran into each other since their headquarters were extremely far apart.
It had been over a century since they were Spirit Creek Realm cultivators roaming the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They had all lost their youth and drive. Although they were enemies, they could not help but think about the old days fondly.
“I’m assuming that this young friend here is the infamous Lu Yi Ye?” The old man to the left asked while staring at Lu Ye.
Ye Yang ignored him. “Young friend, this bullshitter here is Zhao Xin of the Tai Luo Clan, and that mute to the right is Qin Ming of the Qin Family.”
Qin Ming harrumphed to indicate that he was no mute.
Zhao Xin continued to stare at Lu Ye. “You must believe that you’re on top of the world, young friend. Why has the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy come to bully Outer Circle sects like us when you should be honing yourself in the Core Circle instead?”
Both Zhao Xin and Qin Ming were only Heaven Eight in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but they didn’t look afraid of Lu Ye in the slightest. It was because they knew that there was no escaping Lu Ye if he really meant them harm. The young man had literally slaughtered his way up to the champion spot after all.
Moreover, Lu Ye was only Heaven Eight when he became the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. Now that he was Heaven Nine, there truly was no one in the Spirit Creek Battlefield who was a match for him anymore.
They might really be Real Lake Realm cultivators, but here in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, they did not think they could even withstand a single attack from Lu Ye.
“I want to enter the Dragon Spring!”
Zhao Xin nodded. “I thought that might be the case.”
When Zhao Xin had received his disciple’s report, he immediately thought that Lu Ye had come for the Dragon Spring. There was no other reason the Heavens damned champion of the Scroll of Supremacy himself would visit their humble cave otherwise.
Qin Ming, the elder who had been silent all this day finally spoke up, “May I know why you’re entering the Dragon Spring, young friend? At your level, forget tempering your body with the Dragon Spring, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t do anything for you at all.”
Zhao Xin wanted to know this as well.
Lu Ye thought for a moment before asking a strange question, “Once upon a time, there was a mortal who lived to a hundred. Despite his age, he was healthy and of sound mind. Why is that?”
Zhao Xin frowned but gave his answer, “A mortal who lived to a hundred is almost at the end of their lifespan. The only way they might remain healthy is if they cultivated some sort of wellness technique.”
Lu Ye shook his head to indicate that his answer was wrong.
Qin Ming then answered, “Then he must have consumed a spirit medicine that could extend his age.”
However, Lu Ye shook his head yet again.
“What is the answer then?”
“It’s because he never meddled in other people’s business.”
It was only now Zhao Xin and Qin Ming realized what Lu Ye was trying to say. Zhao Xin argued, “How is it none of our business? The Dragon Spring tempers the body of our disciples. It is a matter that affects not just their future, but our sects as well. If you don’t give us a proper explanation, I’m afraid we cannot comply with your request.”
Lu Ye simply brushed his finger across the Inviolable’s hilt and said, “If you’re so concerned about your disciples’ future, then you should consider how many futures will be lost if I decide to swing my saber.”
Zhao Xin changed his tune instantly. “Did I say you cannot go in? If you were anyone else, then the Tai Luo Clan would not agree to this no matter what. But since it’s you, you are welcomed to come and go as you pleased. What do you say, Brother Qin?”
Qin Ming nodded. “I do not have an opinion.”
A smiling Ye Yang took a step forward and asked, “Shall we begin?”
“Sure!”
All three men took out their portion of the Control Jade and channeled their Spiritual Power into it. The split halves started shining and attracting one another until they were finally joined as one. It looked like a dragon.
The Control Jade vibrated as if it was resonating with some sort of invisible power before a rumble came from inside the mountain. Then, an entrance leading to the underground appeared on the floor just like that.
After the trio had retaken their portions of the Control Jade, Zhao Xin clasped his hand and declared, “That’s that then. Goodbye!”
He then left the place immediately.
Lu Ye looked at Ye Yang inquiringly, and Ye Yang explained, “Their presence is no longer necessary after the Dragon Spring is opened. The entrance will close on its own in a few days.”
Lu Ye nodded.
The second Zhao Xin and Qin Ming had dashed out of the great hall, they immediately brought out their flying Spirit Artifacts and vanished into the sky. They might act calm and confident in front of Lu Ye, but they would be lying if they said they weren’t nervous. If they weren’t afraid of triggering the Vanquisher of Sects, they would never make this trip no matter what.
“Please enter, young friend. I’ll guard the entrance for you.”
“Sorry for the trouble!”
Lu Ye stepped into the entrance and went underground.
Just like last time, below the entrance was a spiral staircase that led deep into the underground. He walked for a long time before he finally reached the bottom and arrived at a large bronze door.
The door was thick, ancient, and heavy. The image of a massive dragon was engraved on its surface. It looked lifelike enough to be real.
The door was already opened. Thin red mist could be seen surging behind the door.
Lu Ye felt a moment of vertigo when he set foot into the chamber. When he came to and looked around, he found himself in a chamber around ten meters in radius.
The chamber was filled with thin red mist. At the center of it was a spring.
Lu Ye tried to absorb the mist into his body, but he discovered that the blood qi contained in the mist was so thin that it was practically useless to a Heaven Nine cultivator.
This was why cultivators that had advanced beyond the Sixth or Seventh-Order rarely frequented the Dragon Spring. It was because the blood qi in the mist was too thin to improve their body.
Yi Yi flew out of Amber’s body and examined their surroundings for a bit. She asked, “Why are we here, Lu Ye?”
“To see an old friend,” Lu Ye answered carelessly.
“An old friend?” Yi Yi looked confused.
Amber hadn’t accompanied him the first time he entered the Dragon Spring. Naturally, Yi Yi hadn’t entered the Dragon spring either. That was why she didn’t know what he had encountered during his time here.
Lu Ye sat on the floor and recalled what he had experienced last time. When he was tempering his body, he had felt as if a pair of massive red eyes were watching him. There was a long time where he thought that he was just hallucinating until his cultivation grew stronger, and his understanding of the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou deepened. Now, he realized that it probably wasn’t a hallucination.
Even if it was, how could he explain the dragon scale he obtained from the Dragon Spring? He was almost certain that it belonged to a true dragon!
After he obtained the True Phoenix Flame, Lu Ye had asked his second senior sister about the Four Sacred Beasts.
They were the Azure Dragon, the Vermillion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise!
Their stories were spoken throughout Jiu Zhou as a myth, but Lu Ye knew that the Vermillion Bird was real. The True Phoenix Flame he obtained was the proof of it.
In fact, his second senior sister speculated that Amber was probably a descendant of the White Tiger. It was because there had never been a Tiger Spirit Beast who could transform an apparition into a Ghost Spirit until Amber. The fact that Amber possessed many unique talents that other Tiger Spirit Beasts did not possess supported the theory as well.
Since the Vermillion Bird and White Tiger existed, then the Azure Dragon and the Black Tortoise must exist as well.
Now, Lu Ye was certain that he had obtained a true dragon scale from the Dragon Spring. The reason the blood in the dragon scale had powerful body-tempering effects was because it contained the blood of a true dragon.
The spring before him was the Dragon Spring, and he had obtained the dragon scale from it. That was why he speculated that a true dragon laid beneath the Dragon Spring.
There was only one reason he came all the way to the One Hundred Peaks, and that was to obtain more dragon scales. The blood qi it contained was incredibly useful for him, Amber and Ju Jia.
The real question was, how should he do this?
Last time, the dragon scale had abruptly appeared in front of him. In other words, it was a gift from the true dragon who was imprisoned at this place. The blood red pupils he saw were probably its eyes.
People did not usually give you something unless they had something they wanted from you in return. Since the true dragon imprisoned in this place had given him a dragon scale for no reason whatsoever, Lu Ye was sure that it wanted something from him. That was one angle he could use.
