Chapter 285: He’s Called An Lin
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Seeing this system mission, An Lin was overjoyed.
Being struck by divine lightning? He wasn’t afraid of that at all!
Moreover, if he succeeded, the reward was a cultivation method. He was very willing to undertake such missions.
“I have to kill the Holy Demon… But didn’t Shen Yin completely seal the holy demon away on this island?
“You guys failed to complete the Ten Spirits Sacrificial Formation. Can the Holy Demon still break out of the seal?” An Lin asked curiously.
An Lin was a bit puzzled by the system’s requirement. Thus, he turned his gaze toward the demonic dragon and questioned it.
The Flaming Demonic Dragon nodded. “Shen Yin’s seal is far too ancient. It’s now weak and fragile already. We only set up the Ten Spirits Sacrificial Formation in order to smoothen the Holy Demon’s resurrection and to allow it to recover its strength faster. Even without this spell formation, the Holy Demon can still draw upon the phenomenal power of heaven and earth and break out of the seal when the yang stars align!
“The only thing we can do right now is completely destroy this Ten Spirits Sacrificial Formation. That way, the Holy Demon won’t have an energy source when it awakens. It’ll be extremely weak, and that’s the best time for us to defeat it.”
Right now, the demonic dragon was already in the same boat as An Lin, so it naturally wouldn’t hide any information.
“Where’s the Holy Demon sealed?” An Lin asked in interest. “Can we take advantage of the fact that it’s still sealed and directly kill it now?”
He recalled that Shen Yin had sealed it in a purple mountain. However, that mountain was nowhere to be seen anymore.
The demonic dragon smiled helplessly. “The Holy Demon and Purple Mist Mountain both fused into the earth long ago and became part of this small island. This is also the only way that it can absorb the energy of the yang stars to the greatest extent.”
An Lin looked around the island and pinched his eyebrows. “If we can’t release the Holy Demon, then there’s nothing else we can do. We’ll kill it after it breaks out by itself.”
“There’s still three days until the yang stars align,” the demonic dragon said.
An Lin nodded. “Okay. Then let’s prepare things these three days!”
…
At this moment, at someplace deep below the East Sea, there was an extremely prosperous city. It radiated with a bright, daytime like glow, and it was alike a sole bright pearl sitting amid an endless stretch of darkness.
This city was called Dragon City, and it had a population of hundreds of millions. Most residents were members of the dragon tribe, and there were also residents who came from various tribes of the East Sea. This was an especially open and inclusive city.
Dragon Court, the number one power of the East Sea, sat above this Dragon City.
If Dragon City was said to be the brightest pearl of the East Sea, then the Dragon Court would be the most dazzling jewel embedded on top of this pearl.
The Dragon Court’s palaces were absolutely magnificent, with each and every inch of them exuding a feeling of extravagance. Even the tiles on the floor were meticulously carved by fine craftsmen.
Perhaps this was the artistic style appreciated by members of the dragon tribe. They all had the hobby of collecting and showing off treasures.
Currently, the supreme Dragon King was sitting atop his throne in the main palace. There was fury on his face as he looked toward the female kneeling on the floor before him.
The ministers and royal members stood to the sides of the palace. Some had looks of sympathy, others had looks of incomprehension. There were even those who had looks of schadenfreude.
The atmosphere within the main palace was especially solemn, so much so that it became oppressive and suffocating.
However, the kneeling female who was at the center of all this had a look of calm and indifference.
The Dragon King’s expression revealed that he had expected much more from the kneeling female. “Your talents are unsurpa.s.sed in the Dragon Court’s younger generation, and your bloodline is also the purest. Moreover, you were the prodigy who had the best chance of reaching the Dao Integration Stage.
“You… In order to save that city of pearl people and that mysterious human cultivator, you actually chose to sacrifice your bloodline?!
“If you can’t defeat your enemies, don’t you know how to escape? Forget about a single city of pearl people. Even if the entire Pearl Kingdom is destroyed, it’s still not worth having your own bloodline crippled!
“Foolis.h.!.+ Unbelievably foolis.h.!.+”
The Dragon King was trembling slightly, and his rage grew as he spoke. He never would’ve expected that his most promising child would cripple her own cultivation path.
Even though he was in front of all the high-ranking officials of the Dragon Court, he still couldn’t hold in his torrent of rage.
The female lowered her head slightly and said in a gentle and cold voice, “Bei Lian chose to do that out of her own free will. Bei Lian is willing to shoulder all the responsibility by herself.”
“Shoulder it yourself? You were entrusted with the responsibility of restoring glory to the Dragon Court! I’ve provided you with the best cultivation resources this entire time. Now, you’ve forfeited the future glory of the Dragon Court. Tell me, how are you going to a.s.sume responsibility?!” The Dragon King was absolutely furious as he looked at the silent female, and his hands started to tremble uncontrollably.
“From now on, Ao Xiaoqian is stripped of her right to represent the Dragon Court. Transfer all her cultivation resources to Ao Kong!”
“Thank you for your bestowal, father 1 !”
A red-haired male walked beside Bei Lian and gratefully knelt down in front of the Dragon King.
No one objected to this decision, and everyone bowed their heads slightly. This decision was not in any way strange. In a sense, Dragon Princess—who was once hailed as the future hope of the Dragon Court—had already lost all her power and standing.
Members of the dragon tribe relied on their bloodline to cultivate. If one’s bloodline became mottled and impure, then it was almost certain that they would never be able to raise their cultivation base again for the rest of their lives.
In other words, Bei Lian had already been reduced to a weakling who couldn’t cultivate any more. Her fate was easily predictable. She would most likely be treated as a tool and married off for the sake of marriage alliances.
The Dragon King yelled at her in rage, yet she looked as if she had already accepted her fate. She had an expression of calm indifference, and it wasn’t clear whether she was happy or angry.
Bei Lian left the main palace and arrived at Jade Lake. She was considering whether she should pluck a tree branch.
“Eleventh Sister, I didn’t expect for you to do such foolish things.” The red-haired male had a look of sympathy and pity as he walked over.
Bei Lian stood up politely. “Ninth Brother, I don’t consider my action as foolish or wrong.”
“Heh, I’ve told you before. With a personality like yours, even if you’re extremely talented, you’ll never be able to make it far.
“My words weren’t wrong, were they? Forget about the Return to Void Stage. I’m afraid you can’t even reach the Soul Formation Final Stage for the rest of your life!”
The red-haired male shook his head, and a look of ridicule appeared on his face.
He couldn’t be bothered keeping up his act any longer. Before, he had been largely ignored as Bei Lian’s talents had covered up his brilliance. Moreover, the Dragon Court had poured all of the most valuable cultivation resources toward her. For what reason? Just because her bloodline power was stronger?
And now? In order to save some pearl people and a human cultivator, Bei Lian had gone as far as to cripple her own bloodline. This was absolutely ludicrous.
“Hehe… Such an adorable little sister.” The red-haired male didn’t feel like talking to this kind of person anymore. He chuckled softly and started to leave.
Bei Lian didn’t say anything. Instead, she snapped a twig off of a tree branch. Then, she squatted down next to Jade Lake and started toying with the goldfish inside the lake.
These goldfish swam in large shoals, and they quickly scattered when she poked the twig toward them.
After a while, the goldfish converged together again.
She opened her soft, ruby-like lips and blew across the lake. The ripples once again scared away several goldfish.
“Eleventh Sister, I saw Chi Wu grinning as he pa.s.sed by here just then. Did that b*stard say anything to you?
“Father punished you far too excessively. He actually scolded you in front of so many people! He’s even depriving you of cultivation resources! Does he even view you as his daughter?!”
A pretty, white-clothed girl appeared beside Bei Lian and started ranting angrily.
Bei Lian shook her head lightly. “I understand why our father did that. He’s placed all of his hopes on his sons and daughters. He wishes that a True Dragon of the Dao Integration Stage can appear in our Dragon Court. If that eventuates, then the Dragon Court will become a first-rate power of Tai Chu Continent.”
Yin Yu pursed her lips. “Yeah, in order to realize his dream of uniting the East Sea and one hundred tribes, he’s almost become a breeding stock dragon,” she grumbled unhappily. “He has so many wives and has raised so many children. He treats relatives solely based on whether they’re useful or not useful. I heard the High Priest say that he’s thinking of betrothing you to Xia Ze. He wants to take advantage of this situation and draw him over to his camp. What the h.e.l.l is he thinking…”
Bei Lian’s slender hand trembled slightly. The twig fell into the lake and frightened all the goldfish away.
Yin Yu looked at Bei Lian anxiously. She didn’t know what to say.
Xia Ze was squad leader of the Dragon Court’s Divine Guardian Squad, and he had liked Bei Lian since long ago. Back then, however, Bei Lian was the majestic and honorable Dragon Princess. Two years ago, she had publicly refused Xia Ze’s proposal. At the time, no one said anything.
However, Bei Lian’s status had taken a dive now, so the Dragon King decided to betroth her. Even Yin Yu was alienated and bitterly disappointed by this decision.
One had to realize, Bei Lian had already lost her mother and her future in cultivation. Now, even her last shred of happiness was being stripped away from her…
Bei Lian recovered slightly. A rare look of loneliness appeared in her eyes.
She changed the topic and said, “That’s right, why did you call Chi Wu a ‘b*stard’ just then? Didn’t you two get along fairly well before?”
Yin Yu was slightly dazed upon hearing this question. She recalled how she and Chi Wu both chose to remain silent back at that time.
She remained silent to protect that male, and he remained silent to maintain his image.
Yin Yu thought for a moment and decided to confide her experiences to Bei Lian. “I’ll let you in on a secret. You can’t tell others, okay? I accidentally entered the Myriad Ghost Realm while I was wandering around the Dragon Court’s ancient battleground. Chi Wu was afraid of danger, so he abandoned me and fled by himself. If it wasn’t for a human cultivator coming to my rescue, I’m afraid I would’ve died there.”
“Such events transpired? Then… who was the human cultivator who rescued you? They saved your life! And you left just like that?” Bei Lian spoke with a sly grin.
Yin Yu’s chest tightened as she thought back to that human cultivator’s vile nature.
“Um, he’s called An Lin. He’s going to come to the Dragon Court to visit me. You’ll see him when the time comes.”
“He’s… called An Lin?”
Bei Lian was slightly dazed, and her cool voice became shaky.