Translated by: Sarah
Edited by: Ea
The Dragon God laughed, saying, “This is what you and Dao Zu agreed on from the beginning?”
Yan Tianhen said, “That’s right. If he didn’t give me some sweets to taste, how can I, such a despicable and selfish person, do such things as sacrificing myself for others?”
The Dragon God still chuckled and replied in a low voice, “You know yourself very well, so you don’t need me to say anything more.”
Yan Tianhen said, “It’s a pity that you don’t know much about yourself. I still remember that someone often prides himself on being a gentleman, but always secretly peeps at people taking a bath. He also had a very bad temper, and he would eat people if they didn’t agree with them.”
Dragon God, “…”
Zhan Fengting, “…”
The Dragon God became angry from embarrassment. He glanced at his descendant, then glared at Yan Tianhen. “Did you come here today to fight?”
“No,” Yan Tianhen said.
Before the Dragon God spoke again, Yan Tianhen added, “You are just a soul. I can beat you to dust with a single punch. What’s the point of a one-sided battle?”
Dragon God, “…So you really came to fight.”
Yan Tianhen smiled.
The name of the Dragon God was Longyao. Later, the surname of the Longyao clan was changed in memory of him.
Longyao was a real dragon that fell into the Nine Lands from somewhere. Although he always kept saying that he would leave this barren and backwards Nine Lands one day, he still stayed in this place which he despised verbally for the rest of his life.
As the only real dragon, he was entrenched in the north of the Nine Lands. From birth to death, he lived a life of calling the wind and rain. The clans that were similar to dragons, the sea clans, and the snake clan all bowed to him.
He was the real Dragon Emperor.
Old friends finally met again, but Yan Tianhen didn’t have much time to exchange greetings and tease each other.
He looked at Longyao. “When are you going to leave?”
Longyao said, “If I wasn’t waiting for my old friend to arrive, I would’ve left hundreds of years ago. I made a bet with you before and lost miserably. That was the only reason I promised you that I would guard this place for ten thousand years. Otherwise, why would I make life hard for myself and give up all the beautiful scenery outside to just become a guardian dragon here?”
Yan Tianhen replied, “Don’t look down on guardian animals. They are very cheap to sell, but they can guard against ghosts every day and night, and they also have the effect of calming the nerves and soul. They are essential for traveling cultivators.”
Longyao, “…”
What to do? He couldn’t resist his itching impulse to beat someone.
If Longyao had any doubts about Yan Tianhen’s identity before, then after these few words, he had thoroughly recognized the nature of this person. Apart from this fellow, Youshan Lingyu, there was no one else he wanted to punch so badly.
Yan Tianhen seemed to see Longyao’s plan and immediately said, “What did you see when you guarded this place for ten thousand years? Why did you ask the Dragon Emperor to come here to find you and say those prophetic words?”
Dragons were natural spirits. Although they were not the prophet family, they could sometimes experience premonitions of the bad things that will happen in the future.
Longyao rubbed his neck. “I saw a lot of things. For example, Heaven and Earth will die, an old friend will return, evil Qi cultivators will reappear in the world, and the seal of the Dragon Tomb will be broken. Moreover, the demons and evil spirits will collude together and make a comeback, and the Great Immortal Demon War from ten thousand years ago will be reenacted. I saw the fall of the North Land first. The evil spirits then spread to the east, west, and then went south at the same time. Finally, the South Land became occupied by the army of evil spirits, and the Nine Lands completely turned into a graveyard.”
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help but click his tongue. “Isn’t this too terrifying? Even ten thousand years ago, when Dao Zu divined the future of the Nine Lands, it was never so scary. Did you read it wrong?”
Longyao smiled lightly and looked at Yan Tianhen. “Ten thousand years ago, someone took the lead and was willing to shoulder the world’s blame, turning himself into an evil spirit, killing his own kind, and finally gathering all the evil Qi in his body to die. In exchange, all the evil spirits of Heaven and Earth would be sealed up — but after so many years, will you become Youshan Lingyu again?”
Yan Tianhen shook his head. “No.”
Of course he wouldn’t. Back then, Youshan Lingyu was forced to help because he’d been backed into a corner. He had already said that he was a selfish person, and he just wanted to love his loved ones and do what he wanted.
In the beginning, he agreed to Dao Zu’s request because it was indeed profitable. Dao Zu gave him three kinds of treasures, one of which was the Reincarnation Pill, which made him fascinated and tempted.
Second, he owed a lot to Dao Zu and also to his Shixiong. Therefore, he had to repay all his debts in the end. If he wanted to reincarnate into this life with peace of mind, he must not owe any debts from a previous life.
Third, he was backstabbed while guarding Youshan. His body was once on the verge of death, but in the end, he cultivated evil Qi. In this world, no one was more suitable than him to blend in among evil Qi cultivators and become a true spy.
However, in this life, why should he sacrifice himself?
Longyao smiled. “Neither will I. I’m leaving the Nine Lands, and I’m going to find my lover.”
Yan Tianhen glanced at him. “The South Sovereign?”
Longyao replied, “Who else is there besides him?”
Yan Tianhen asked, “Do you know where he went?”
Longyao sighed lightly. “I made an agreement with him. If we couldn’t find each other, we would try every means to go to the world where I was born. I gave him the dragon scale in front of my heart. If he takes the scale and activates spells, he will be able to leave the Nine Lands and go to the Boundless Continent in the upper world. Thinking about it, he will probably wait for me there.”
Yan Tianhen naturally had heard of this Boundless Continent.
It was said that in that continent, Sky Realm cultivators were everywhere and Earth Realm cultivation was as good as dog shit. There were numerous sects and great powers, and all kinds of strange animals in the early days of primordial chaos before the great seal could be easily found in the Boundless Continent.
There were people in the Nine Lands who advanced to Sky Realm before and found a way to ascend to the Boundless Continent. However, after the great war, the sacred Jianmu tree collapsed, and the road to the Nine Lands was closed. Similarly, the people inside could no longer break through their shackles and go to another world.
Yan Tianhen said, “No one has ascended in tens of thousands years. Are you sure that your dragon scale can really get him out of here?”
Longyao said confidently, “Naturally. When have I ever made a mistake?”
Yan Tianhen responded, “It’s not impossible for you to leave. After all, when I made an agreement with you back then, it was for you to guard this place on my behalf for ten thousand years. Now that ten thousand years have passed, the promise between you and I has ended.”
Longyao uttered a happy dragon cry, and the entire Dragon Tomb seemed to tremble.
Yan Tianhen went on to say, “However, before you leave, you must at least settle your affairs. Now the whole Dragon Tomb is bubbling with evil spirits. Is your seal broken, or is there something wrong with the Dragon Tomb? What other good solutions do you have?”
This was his biggest concern. As for Longyao’s intentions, where he wanted to run, or who he wanted to find, all of these were not of Yan Tianhen’s concern.
Longyao’s eyes fell on Zhan Fengting.
Zhan Fengting had a feeling of being stared at, but he didn’t step back. Instead, he asked, “What can I do for Ancestor?”
Longyao was very pleased. “This is the successor I found. His blood was the closest to us true dragons, and I have already handed over the inheritance to him. After I leave, if he guards this Dragon Tomb, it isn’t impossible to maintain the seal.”
Yan Tianhen’s eyes widened. “Are you going to let Zhan Shixiong support the array with his body and never set foot outside the Dragon Tomb?”
“Smart. You and I think the same.“ Longyao was very relieved.
Yan Tianhen said angrily, “Who thinks the same as you? Because you can’t do it yourself, you have to find someone else to suffer for you. Can you even call yourself a dragon?”
Longyao smiled leisurely. “Don’t be angry. Back in those days, you were the one who said that if humans aren’t selfish, then Heaven and Earth will die. Besides, my cause and effect with you have been settled clearly. I owe you a Resurrection Pill, so I stayed within the Nine Lands as promised and guarded this place for ten thousand years. Now, ten thousand years of this Venerable’s life should equal that Resurrection Pill, right?”
Yan Tianhen clenched his fist. “I don’t care. I can’t let my Shixiong’s good years be wasted in this place.”
Longyao stared at Yan Tianhen, his pale golden eyes bright and threatening.
“Youshan, you have changed a lot.” Longyao said, “If this were in the past, you couldn’t wait for other people to rush forward and throw away their lives while you hid behind them with much schadenfreude.”
Yan Tianhen was embarrassed. “You are talking nonsense!”
“I mean it.” Longyao replied, “Dao Zu always said in those days that among all his disciples, only you were a demon who could not learn to sympathize with human misery. In your philosophy, there were never two words: softhearted and sympathetic, but now, I think you understand.”
At that time, because Lingyu was too indifferent, Dao Zu took him down the mountain to taste the sufferings of the mortal world.
First, they went to a lonely town after being burned and plundered by the demon clan, where corpses strewed the fields, and many of them were innocent people. The soldiers who arrived late were treating the corpses for these villagers, and the scene was both gloomy and sorrowful.
Dao Zu pointed to the corpses and said, “Look, these people were still fresh lives yesterday, but today they have become corpses that can’t move or talk. Yesterday they were a neat family, but now they are dust in the air. Do you feel sad?”
Lingyu, who was standing high, looked at the city that was full of smoke and said, “Yesterday they were neat and tidy, and today they are also neat and tidy. It’s a complete success for the entire family to reincarnate together. Through natural selection, the strong survive. The demon clan has lived in the seven regions for years, but most of the seven regions lack spiritual Qi. If they want to become stronger and live longer, they naturally have to plunder — it’s just like how tigers eat people and how demonic beasts eat ordinary beasts.”
He never felt that there was anything sad about death. Moreover, human beings still had the chance to be reincarnated, but demons like them died for real. Their souls would fade away, turn into a wisp of demonic Qi, and disperse between Heaven and Earth so that there was no longer any trace of them in the world.
By comparison, it was clear at a glance who was more tragic.
Dao Zu went to the mortal world with Lingyu again.
That year, the mortal world had suffered a drought that only occurred once in a hundred years. The burning sun scorched the earth, the ground was cracked, the rivers dried up, everything withered, and nothing grew. Famine caused the whole city to be hungry and everywhere, people were as thin as sticks, with lifeless eyes. It seemed that they would die soon.
Children would cry because they were hungry. Some people cut their own flesh to feed it to their mothers. Some people ate their children for food. How could the word “wretched” even begin to describe these conditions?
Dao Zu asked, “Do you want to save them?”
