<<Previous Chapter Index Next Chapter>>
Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Shui Yuan knew that Lu Ye had a dragon scale because she had seen him tempering his body with its blood qi before. He did not hide anything when she asked him about its origin. After listening to his story, she deduced that a secret or an opportunity lay beneath the Dragon Spring.
Lu Ye had made up his mind to visit the One Hundred Peaks after he reached the pinnacle of Spirit Creek Realm a long time ago. He wanted to obtain more dragon scales.
He was certain that the Green Feather Mountain, Tai Luo Clan and Qin Family did not know about this despite having owned the Dragon Spring for years. If they did, they would have explored it a long time ago.
In other words, Lu Ye might be the only person ever to obtain a dragon scale from the Dragon Spring.
If his assumption was true, and a true dragon really was imprisoned beneath the Dragon Spring, why would it give him a dragon scale for no reason?
It couldn’t be because he was lucky or because the true dragon found him likable. There had to be a deeper reason.
Perhaps he possessed some sort of quality that other cultivators did not possess!
Lu Ye had a vague idea what the answer was as he recalled his experience in the Dragon Spring.
In the chamber, Lu Ye channeled his Spiritual Power and began constructing his Glyphs.
Sharp Edge, Protection, Gathering Spirits…
Bloodrage, Radiance, Reinforcement, Windwalk, Gravity Well…
Burster, Conceal Presence, Insight…
Record Sound, Record Image, Spirit Storage, Aquatic Lungs, Explosion, Invisibility…
Golden Arc, Invoke Lightning, Soar…
Besides Fire Phoenix, he constructed every Glyph he had mastered until now.
He then repeated it all another two times!
The entire process was as smooth as butter. Even a Master Glyphweaver like Lady Yun would have been stunned by his display.
Even at her level, there was no way she could construct this many complicated Glyphs in such a short time, much less go from one Glyph to another without making a single mistake.
Thanks to the Tree of Glyphs, it was no problem at all for Lu Ye.
Nothing happened, however. Lu Ye could not help but frown and wonder if he was mistaken after all. If he was, then all this was just a waste of time.
He did not regret the lost time too much though. To be fair, he had come here based on an assumption. His understanding of the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou wasn’t so deep that he was arrogant enough to believe he knew everything, so it was inevitable that he would make a mistake once in a while.
He rose to his feet and strode toward the exit. He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly felt a pair of eyes staring at his back and freezing him in place. His muscles tensed, and his skin pricked like he was being stabbed by a million needles. It was more painful than he expected.
On his shoulder, Amber puffed up its fur like a startled cat and leaped to the ground. It then began growling menacingly.
Lu Ye gripped the Inviolable as large beads of sweat poured down his forehead. He slowly turned around like he was wading through mud water before meeting the blood red pupils that had gazed at him last time!
The pupils were filled with indifference and aloofness. He felt as small as an ant before them.
He was right after all. He wasn’t hallucinating, and the owner of the pupils could very well be a true dragon.
Right now, a dragon’s head made purely out of blood qi was suspended above the chamber. It was covered in scales and had a pair of horns on its head. Hair flapped beneath its chin even though there was no wind in the chamber. Its pressure was so heavy that Lu Ye was bending a little, and his breathing felt constricted. He felt as if a mountain was sitting on its shoulders, and he could not shake it off even if he pushed with all his might.
“Roar!”
Amber let out a mighty roar that sent shockwaves rippling across the chamber. At the same time, the Fire Phoenix on the Tree of Glyphs suddenly let out a clear phoenix cry as if it was alive.
Surprise replaced the indifference in the dragon’s eyes. The next moment, Lu Ye unsheathed the Inviolable, shoved his vitality into his right arm, and swung down on the head.
Flash!
The attack could’ve killed even a Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator in a single strike, but it did no damage to the dragon’s head whatsoever. It wasn’t a physical presence after all. It was just a manifestation of blood qi.
Despite this, Lu Ye felt like he had severed something. The heavy pressure pressing down on his shoulders abruptly disappeared.
Lu Ye let out a sigh of relief and looked at the dragon’s head. He asked, “Did you choose me because you want me to save you?”
If he was only guessing before, now he was certain that that was the case. Lu Ye might not know why the dragon was imprisoned in this place, but he knew that it wanted to be free if at all possible. Naturally, it would try to find a suitable candidate.
Most of the cultivators who came to the Dragon Spring were not up to the dragon’s standards. However, Lu Ye was a different story. His talent in the Way of Glyphs was one of a kind.
That was why it had given him a dragon scale when he was at Fifth-Order.
The dragon was quite a bit stronger than he expected though. If it could manifest this much power when it was imprisoned, Heavens only know how strong it really was when it was released.
“You are a very smart, young man,” the dragon said suddenly.
“This is not how you beg someone for help,” Lu Ye said with his eyes narrowed. First, the dragon had waited until the last moment to show up. Then, it tried to bring him low and nearly succeeded in bringing him to his knees. It was clearly not a good-natured dragon.
“You are too weak as you are.”
“Then give me something that can make me stronger. I wouldn’t mind eighty or a hundred dragon scales for starters.”
The dragon abruptly burst out laughing. It was so loud that the chamber shook a little.
Its head gradually disappeared, and Lu Ye frowned in puzzlement. Before he could voice his doubts, the Dragon Spring suddenly stirred violently. A dragon scale appeared, followed by the second, third and fourth. It didn’t stop until it had spat out five dragon scales in total.
“Keep cultivating, young man. Come and find me again when you’ve figured out most of the truths of this world. I look forward to our next meeting!” The voice entered his ears, but he could not find the source.
For whatever reason, the dragon seemed certain that Lu Ye was going to seek it out again!
Lu Ye muttered, “Stingy,” under his breath before he picked up the five dragon scales. They were only the size of a palm just like the first dragon scale he had ever gotten, but Lu Ye could tell that the vitality within these dragon scales was much richer. The difference was practically night and day.
Despite his comment, Lu Ye was more than happy to add the five dragon scales to his Storage Bag. At the same time, he replayed the dragon’s obviously meaningful words in his head.
[The truths of the world, is it? I’m just a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator though. It’s probably going to take a long time before I discover anything.]
The second he put the last dragon scale into the Storage Bag, he abruptly felt some sort of power pushing him toward the exit. The next thing he knew, he was standing outside the bronze door once more.
As the door slowly closed, Lu Ye examined the picture of the dragon etched on its surface. He discovered that the head of the dragon was almost the same as the one he saw in the chamber.
Who would’ve thought that the Dragon Spring would be imprisoning a true dragon?
When Lu Ye returned to the great hall, he saw that Ye Yang was still waiting for him. The old man looked surprised to see him because he had only been gone for less than half a day. That was way sooner than he had expected.
“Are you done with your business, young friend?”
Lu Ye nodded and shook his head. Although he had gotten what he wanted, the situation was more complicated than he had initially expected.
Ye Yang did not ask any more questions because some questions should not be asked, and it was unnecessary.
“Thank you for your help. This junior will be taking his leave now.”
Ye Yang offered, “I’m sure your next visit will be a long time away. Would you like to enjoy our hospitality before you leave?”
“Thank you for the offer, but my second senior sister asked me to return sooner than later.”
Ye Yang nodded. “Very well. May your journey be smooth and pleasant, young friend.”
“Goodbye!”
Lu Ye summoned his Spirit Boat and hopped onto it. He then vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
It had taken him nearly ten days to come to the One Hundred Peaks. It had taken him almost ten days to return to the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost as well.
He didn’t waste his time though. Lu Ye spent his free time studying the blade technique insights he had extorted from the Raving Bladesmen. With Yi Yi by his side, he didn’t need to worry about losing his way or straying off the right path.
Ten days later, when he finally returned to the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Beaky was standing guard at a Spirit Peak.
At the same time, he heard someone saying, “Brother Yi Ye is back!”
Lu Ye looked. To his surprise, it was the Legate of the Three Sages School, Situ Han. He was accompanied by a few Three Sages School disciples.
“Brother Situ!” Lu Ye greeted him cordially. “Fellow cultivators! You’re a long way from home. Did something happen to the Three Sages School?”
“No, no.” Situ Han chuckled good-naturedly. “After the damage you wrought to the Mystic Green Palace and the Waning Moon Pavilion, the Three Sages School has never been better. We’ve come today to witness your ascension to the Cloud River Realm.”
Lu Ye laughed. “This is too much! I’m just ascending to the Cloud River Realm, not the Real Lake Realm!”
Situ Han’s expression grew puzzled. “You don’t know?”
“Excuse me?” Lu Ye was confused by his reaction.
Situ Han laughed. “You really don’t know! That’s fine. You’ll figure it out in a moment.”
Lu Ye was going to press further when more people came over to greet him. Not only did he recognize them all as the cultivators of the Core Circle, they were all led by their Legate or a prolegate.
Everyone here had heard of Lu Ye to a certain extent. Even the most ignorant of them were aware that he was the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy. On the other hand, Lu Ye only recognized a handful of them. They had all come to witness his ascension.
Lu Ye was seriously confused. He was just ascending to the Cloud River Realm, so why was it looking like they had come to attend a grand event? He might be one of a kind, but he did not think that his ascension warranted the presence of the Legates and prolegates of the Core Circle sects. It was to the point where he thought something had happened to his Outpost at the beginning.
Right now, the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost was jam-packed with people. Their disciples might only number a couple hundred, but nearly two thousand people had traveled all the way from the Core Circle to visit them. Duan Yi had no choice but to spend some Contribution Points and enlarge their territory after asking for permission from his second senior sister.
That wasn’t all. He noticed that a platform had been built at the Sanctum of Providence. According to the people around him, that was where he was expected to break through to the Cloud River Realm!
As the platform was forty meters high, it was guaranteed that everyone would have a clear view of him.
Lu Ye was completely confused at this point. He had left for only twenty days at most, so why did it feel like he had returned to a different reality?
