Chapter 298: A Spring of Spiritual Energy, Ninth-Rank Floating Vines, the Void Seed Sprouts!

"Yin Xiu, isn't he supposed to be in a deep slumber? How did he actually come here?" Ye Yukong could not help but be shocked.

He had personally experienced Yin Xiu's strength; even while in a deep slumber, the mere presence of his Dragon Spirit was enough to make a peerless Second-Rank expert like him struggle to breathe.

In fact, it wasn't just him; Ji Mengjun and Tong Jin, both First-Rank Life Palace Realm experts, had also gone to trade there, and their experience was the same.

He was not to be trifled with!

Otherwise, the Great Zhou would have been considering how to plunder Yin Xiu's treasures instead of trading for them.

"Don't worry, he came to pledge his loyalty," Zhao Xing said with a smile.

"Sinful Dragons and Rebellious Dragons cannot enter the Central Dragon Court. Any dragon clan that comes here must abide by the heavenly rules set by the Dragon Court."

Now that he had unsealed the dragon clan's divine artifact, he could openly speak of information he knew from his past life.

"Pledge loyalty?" King Shenluo noticed this term, and his pupils could not help but tremble.

"Isn't it said that when a Dragon King awakens, there is a period of weakness while their strength recovers, and they stay in the Royal City to pass this period?" Jiang Chuan was also somewhat shocked.

"Yin Xiu is actually able to disregard his own safety and rush over to pledge loyalty?"

For the dragon clan, this period was not short.

Yin Xiu had rushed out the moment he awoke; according to the understanding Jiang Chuan and the others had of Dragon Kings, this was the moment Yin Xiu was at his weakest!

"He is different," Zhao Xing said. "Yin Xiu was already nearing awakening. Furthermore, he was able to receive tributes during his slumber precisely because his Dragon Spirit maintained its reading and cultivation."

"Thus, after he awakens, there will be no cost, and he can immediately exert his peak strength."

"Of course, even if there were a cost, he would still have rushed over. Because he is an absolute supporter of the Dragon Court."

"This dragon is surprisingly decent," Ye Yukong said.

"Truly a loyal subject of the dragon clan," Tong Jin evaluated.

"What other special traits does he have?" Ji Mengjun asked.

"Yin Xiu is the inheritor of the Eastern Emperor Scriptures (the Dragon Emperor is also known as the Eastern Emperor)," Zhao Xing said.

"He is a loyal supporter of the Dragon Emperor Jie, and his ambition is to fulfill the Dragon Emperor's legacy and reshape the Dragon Court."

"Now that I have inherited the Dragon Emperor Code, it is equivalent to me being the successor of the Dragon Emperor."

"That is why he took the initiative to rush over."

"In fact, without me actively summoning them, the Dragon Kings in various regions only had a vague sense, but because of this point, he rushed over."

Ji Mengjun nodded slightly, though her hand tucked into her sleeve remained tightly clenched.

Ancient Ting Royal City, the Marching Palace beside the North Sea.

The moment Dragon King Yin Xiu awoke and left the North Sea underwater Dragon Palace, the Great Zhou experts arrived at the Marching Palace to find Ji Si.

"Lord Ji, what is going on? Dragon King Yin Xiu has awakened!"

"Where did he go?"

"Can our trades still continue?"

"What exactly is happening—"

Ji Si opened his eyes, looking at the agitated experts who had come to inquire.

"Everyone, please calm down. Allow me to calculate."

Having said that, Ji Si stood up with an excited expression and went to the secret chamber.

Once inside the secret chamber, Ji Si could no longer hold it back.

"Hahahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Ji Si laughed for a long time before stopping.

He then walked over to a table.

On it lay a pile of bamboo slips.

The bamboo slips were pure white, emitting a warm, gentle glow.

【Cloud Scripture Time Slip】

This was a communication tool exclusive to First-Rank Life Officials.

*Scratch, scratch~*

Ji Si began to carve characters onto the bamboo slip.

"Year 20 of Great Governance, June 25th, my brother Tianyan must see this slip."

Currently, it was clearly December 20th of Year 3 of Great Governance, but the time Ji Si wrote was June 25th of Year 20 of Great Governance.

Why? Because this was an official document written to the future!

This was a method used by high-ranking Life Officials.

"My brother Tianyan" was the designated recipient.

"Must see this slip" was the directional focus of the spell, as well as a regulation.

The Ancient Dragon Court grounds would close in Year 20 of Great Governance, and logically, Ji Si would also leave at that time.

Meanwhile, in the outside world.

Juzi Palace, Heavenly Secret Hall.

King Tianyan, who was inside a pillar of light, suddenly moved his eyes.

He pointed his hands repeatedly, aiming at the 50-degree mark in the southeast corner of the light pillar.

An image appeared on it, reflecting exactly a Cloud Scripture Time Slip.

【—Since Zhao Xing obtained the dragon clan divine artifact 'Dragon Emperor Code', he has been researching it for over half a year. Yesterday he went to the Central Dragon Court, and today Yin Xiu awakened and headed to the Dragon Court, proving he has successfully unsealed and mastered the divine artifact—.. 】

【The unsealing imperial decree has not yet been used—····】

King Tianyan watched quietly, a look of surprise appearing on his face.

"Summoning Dragon King Yin Xiu? A true divine artifact indeed!"

Although human First-Rank experts are said to be on par with the dragon clan's Dragon King level, in reality, a First-Rank cannot defeat a Dragon King.

The main reason is that the rank is insufficient.

Great Zhou only has 4 King-level Dragon Nobles; no matter what fancy dragon clan titles others obtain, they are all one rank lower than a Dragon King.

If one commits an offense against a superior within the same kingdom, they are branded as a "Rebellious Dragon" or "Sinful Dragon" by the Dragon Court's heavenly rules.

Except for certain specific areas, without a dragon clan identity, one's strength cannot be exerted within the Dragon Court, and they would be attacked by all.

Even in different kingdoms, the conditions for a lord to challenge a Dragon King are very harsh, either under the command of another Dragon King or in the Grand Arena—in other circumstances, attacking a Dragon King from a lower rank is a grave disrespect.

One's strength would be significantly weakened.

Therefore, Bai Yunwu and the other three who obtained King-level titles were extremely precious.

Because as long as one acts alongside these four, the vast majority of actions in the Ancient Dragon Court grounds are unimpeded. Now that Zhao Xing holds the Dragon Emperor Code, he can actually command a Dragon King?

It is simply incredible!

King Tianyan was trembling with excitement!

What difference is there between this and holding the Emperor's decree within Great Zhou? One imperial decree could strip an official of their rank, reclaim their power, and reduce them to their original form!

There is a difference; the Ancient Dragon Court grounds are more strictly hierarchical, and what Zhao Xing holds is not an imperial decree, but the Dragon Emperor Code, which can mass-produce imperial decrees.

"Good lad, good lad!" King Tianyan's fingers were pinched white with excitement.

On the other end, Ji Si, who was carving, stopped, revealing a look of helplessness.

Because he sensed King Tianyan's excitement, which made his current carving more difficult; he could only stop writing and let the other party's excitement subside.

However, after half a day passed without the other party recovering, Ji Si could only offer a reminder, carving on the Cloud Slip:

"Brother, don't be so excited; I am still casting a spell here."

*Scratch, scratch~*

The sound of the carving knife entered King Tianyan's mind.

He immediately saw this line of text.

"Cough, cough—.. My apologies." King Tianyan immediately regained his composure.

*Scratch, scratch~*

Ji Si crossed out that line and continued his narration.

".. In this foolish younger brother's opinion, we should immediately suggest to Duke Yang that he commit all remaining forces to enter, taking this opportunity to defeat the enemy's conspiracy in one stroke—.. "

After finishing, Ji Si set the carving knife aside and carefully preserved the bamboo slip.

If the bamboo slip were lost during this period, or if King Tianyan died, it would result in him being unable to deliver the letter in Year 20 of Great Governance, and he would suffer a powerful backlash from the rules.

During this time, various accidents would inevitably occur, leading him to lose or forget to complete this event.

Therefore, from this moment on, Ji Si had to carry it with him at all times.

He also had no possibility of participating in combat, because if he were killed, the secrets on these bamboo slips would be known by everyone.

"I've written so many copies in half a year; I'm going to lose years off my life," Ji Si muttered.

"Why didn't the sages of old develop a 'pay-on-delivery' function? That way, it would be my brother's lifespan being deducted."

Anyway, he didn't have long to live; wouldn't it be easier to bear the cost before dying?

"I can research this method in the future." Ji Si thought to himself. Suppressing this thought for now, Ji Si continued to write the second copy.

"Year 20 of Great Governance, June 25th, your younger brother submits this to His Majesty; His Majesty must see this slip."

"As Your Majesty expected, within the ancient grounds, the West Sea aquatic tribe 'Boyi' has indeed rebelled—.. He invited Bai,

Tang, and Ao to explore the Nine-Star Fire Prison as agreed. The White Dragon King played along, and has already hidden within the Fire Prison. He has the treasure bestowed by Your Majesty and can hold out for ten years without issue."

"Since the day he was trapped, we have issued orders for rescue. Fifteen people, including Luo Guanxiu, Mou Dingbang, Lan Zhongji—.. have unclear hearts and hidden loyalties. They enjoy the blessings of the imperial court, yet they are selfish and push off their duties—"

"Marquis of Divine Might Zhao Xing has obtained the dragon clan divine artifact, named 'Dragon Emperor Code', and the social divine artifact 'Kunyuan Divine Hoe'—.. "

"There is a slight discrepancy with the time point obtained from the deduction, nearly five years early."

"The Marquis of Divine Might is heading toward the Fire Prison Plains."

Writing to the end, Ji Si suddenly brought up other trivial matters.

"Your younger brother had a sudden inspiration regarding a new method for Life Officials; if we could combine the Cloud Scripture Time Slip with the historian's spells,

perhaps we could find a new path for this method—.."

In the Juzi Palace, King Tianyan had no idea that his little brother had actually come up with such an heaven-defying idea, intending to change the cost of the Life Official's "Time Letter Slip" spell to a pay-on-delivery version.

He quickly walked out and sent a message to King Luo.

"Luo, the situation within the Ancient Dragon Court grounds has undergone a major change; we can begin preparing for a counterattack."

King Tianyan informed King Luo of the situation Ji Si had described.

King Luo frowned: "Isn't all of this too—"

King Tianyan whispered: "Luo, don't think about what you shouldn't think about. If you've guessed it, don't say it."

King Luo was silent for a moment and nodded: "I will notify Yang Xiongying."

King Tianyan put away the Earth Mirror.

Not long after, King Luo contacted the Commander of the Jinwu Guards, Duke Yang, and the Junior Minister of Works, Lu Ying, through the Earth Mirror.

"Duke Yang, a major change has occurred within the Dragon Court; you must enter immediately—"

Yang Xiongying listened to King Luo's words, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

True Dragon Royal City, teleportation array.

Following a burst of scorching seven-colored light, a dragon clan phalanx appeared above the square.

"Hum~"

Golden light rippled for a hundred miles as Dragon King Yin Xiu expanded his domain.

Behind him were five hundred Dragon King guards, all of them Jimeng lords with dragon heads and human bodies, each holding a Ninth-Rank divine weapon.

The moment Yin Xiu arrived via teleportation, Zhao Xing stopped flying and waited on the wilderness for Yin Xiu's arrival.

If he had taken the initiative to fly to the Royal City to find Yin Xiu, wouldn't that lack style? Of course, Yin Xiu had to come find him.

However, his position was not far from the True Dragon Royal City.

Soon, Yin Xiu flew to the wilderness with the dragon clan guard army.

"Roar~"

The 48 dragon clan lords on Zhao Xing's side became restless.

Because they were not under the jurisdiction of the Guting Kingdom, and Yin Xiu's pressure on them was extremely strong.

"Quiet!"

Zhao Xing flew out of the dragon ship and roared at the surrounding lords; the dragon clan lords immediately quieted down. Before long, Yin Xiu and his dragon guards flew to within three thousand meters and stopped.

Golden domains rippled like clouds, making it impossible to see their forms clearly, while the five hundred Jimeng lords stood ready beneath the clouds.

A massive dragon head poked out from the golden clouds; the dragon head was dark gold in its entirety, but there were two purple scales on the forehead, one of which was square and upright, looking like a book, while the other looked like a hiltless sword blade.

Ji Mengjun pursed her lips, the imperial decree held in her sleeve ready to be thrown out at any moment.

Tong Jin's entire body was tense, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

As for Jiang Chuan, Ye Yukong, and King Shenluo, they felt nothing at all, only the sheer scale!

At this moment, Dragon King Yin Xiu was far too strong for them; they couldn't even fathom exactly how strong he was.

Zhao Xing remained in human form, staring quietly at Yin Xiu, holding the Dragon Emperor Code in his hand.

Yin Xiu was also sizing up Zhao Xing, and a sense of familiarity welled up.

In his large dragon eyes, a trace of obvious confusion appeared.

Isn't this the "Fire" that traded with him half a year ago? What was the dragon clan's true name again?

Seemed to be called "Zhao"?

However, Zhao Xing's aura was now worlds apart from half a year ago, and Dragon King Yin Xiu dared not be certain.

But he only hesitated for a second before the dragon clouds lowered, and the dragon head prostrated itself, lowering to Zhao Xing's feet.

"Guting Yin Xiu, pays respects to the great successor of the Dragon Emperor."

What Yin Xiu spoke was the same source of dragon language Zhao Xing used when casting decrees, both being the 【Dragon Emperor Golden Script】 created by Dragon Emperor Yan.

"Yin Xiu, why have you come?" Zhao Xing asked indifferently.

"I have come to follow in your footsteps." Dragon King Yin Xiu was very respectful. "I and my vassal lords,

are willing to serve you."

Zhao Xing flew to the front of Yin Xiu's dragon head: "Guting Yin Xiu, this King accepts your loyalty."

"Your true name shall be recorded in the Code, and you shall be the first Dragon King under this King's command!"

Having said that, Zhao Xing extended a palm and pressed it onto Dragon King Yin Xiu's sword scale.

The Code held in his other hand erupted with a surging golden light, and layers of dragon shadows transformed into Yin Xiu's name, appearing on the Dragon Emperor Code.

This was an enfeoffment spell cast using the Dragon Emperor Code. Under the blessing of the Dragon Emperor Code, he was only ranked as a Great Dragon King, but did not yet have the corresponding strength; he needed to master the nine great spells to be considered to have the corresponding strength.

The enfeoffment spell he was casting on Yin Xiu now did not have much effect; at most, it was just a gesture.

Because the power remaining within the Dragon Emperor Code was not enough to enfeoff Yin Xiu as a "Great Dragon King."

Even after reclaiming a portion of power earlier, it was far from enough to enfeoff a Dragon King as a Great Dragon King.

It was enough to enfeoff a dragon clan lord as a Dragon King.

However, to achieve this, one had to first master the third page of the Dragon Emperor Code, and then cast the "Dragon King Enfeoffment Spell." The time was too short; Zhao Xing had not yet mastered one of the nine great spells, the Dragon King Enfeoffment Spell.

A Great Dragon King? That was even more impossible.

Even if he could, Zhao Xing wouldn't do it.

The Great Dragon King level required consuming massive amounts of spiritual energy to complete, and maintaining a normal state afterward also required a constant stream of spiritual energy.

This was why the Great Dragon Kings of various kingdoms would fall into a deep slumber.

It was completely passive!

Lacking massive amounts of spiritual energy to maintain their normal state, they could only slumber.

Zhao Xing himself was lacking spiritual energy; why would he create a Great Dragon King?

"Roar~"

Zhao Xing emitted a dragon roar, imprinting his voice onto Yin Xiu's reverse scale.

From then on, unless Yin Xiu was willing to abandon his dragon clan identity and become a Rebellious Dragon, he could not violate his orders.

"Thank you, my King, for the bestowal." Yin Xiu's emotions were somewhat agitated, although this power was very weak and of little help to him.

But this power was the very Dragon Emperor's might he had once felt!

With the procedure complete, Zhao Xing immediately said:

"Yin Xiu, a great battle is taking place on the Fire Prison Plains."

"This King suspects it is the work of the Heavenly Abyss and the Sinful Sea, attempting to tarnish the dignity of the dragon clan's ancestral grounds."

"You shall accompany this King to quell the rebellion!"

"Great Zhou has four humans who have obtained King-level Dragon Noble titles."

"The other forces combined have three."

"They are 'Pompeii' of the Southern Barbarian Purple Dragon Court, who took 356 years to complete the heavy trials of the Dragon Court ancestral grounds, obtained ancient Heavenly Dragon blood, proved the position of Dragon King, and is known as the 'Heavenly Dragon King'."

"The First-Rank Heavenly Shaman 'Tuoyan' of the Golden Feather Royal Court, who took 508 years, slaughtered 30, 00 Rebellious Dragons in the Sinful Sea, underwent the trials of blood and fire, obtained ancient Fire Dragon blood, proved the position of Dragon King, and is known as the 'Fire Dragon King'."

"Another comes from an ancient Eastern tribe, named 'Ichikawa', who took 534 years, obtained the Chaofeng bloodline from the Heavenly Abyss, and is known as the 'Wind Dragon King'."

Inside the dragon ship, Ji Mengjun narrated.

"The siege of the Fire Prison Plains is led by these three, who launched a sneak attack on the White Dragon King's team."

"Excluding the White Dragon King, who are the other three Dragon Kings of our dynasty?" Zhao Xing asked.

"Golden Dragon King Yang Xiongying, Ritual Dragon King Gao Feng, and Ice Dragon King Ji Ji."

Zhao Xing nodded.

It was not easy for humans to obtain the position of Dragon King after entering; the chain quests were not easy to complete.

Of course, the actual time was not as exaggerated as Ji Mengjun said.

The Dragon Court grounds were open for about 15 to 20 years; she was counting from the moment they started this series of trials, and the time spent outside was just preparation.

The sect world had no qualifications to obtain such an opportunity; the position of Dragon King was something that required the power of an entire nation, spending massive amounts of manpower, material resources, and wealth to prepare for—how could sects have a share?

"Ten thousand high-rank experts in a chaotic battle sounds exaggerated, but in reality, it is just these three Dragon Kings using their authority to mobilize dragon clan lords from various places. The actual number of 'people' participating is not many."

Zhao Xing had Yin Xiu here, plus 548 dragon clan lords!

Excluding the human Dragon Kings, no pure-blooded Dragon Kings were participating on the Fire Prison Plains.

However, Zhao Xing had several questions after looking at the latest intelligence.

Why hadn't Golden Dragon King Yang Xiongying entered after half a year?

Bai Yunwu was trapped; why were only two human Dragon Kings, Gao Feng and Ji Ji, going to rescue him?

"Having the initiative, how does the intelligence still look like a stalemate?"

Information transmission in the Ancient Dragon Court grounds was somewhat slow, and not as comprehensive as fighting in the Great Zhou army; after all, this was the Dragon Court, involving two sets of systems.

"I remember flipping through files in my past life; the final loss of Great Zhou's strong experts was a 6-4 split."

"However, now that I am in the midst of it, why does something feel wrong?" Zhao Xing closed his eyes and began to think.

"Even without me, with the current situation developing like this, could Great Zhou lose so many First-Rank experts?"

"Could it be that this matter is also part of the Jiazi Purge?" Thinking of this, Zhao Xing's expression suddenly became somewhat colorful.

"Damn it, you won't stop until you've killed everyone, right?"

Master Zhao shrank his neck, feeling that this old guy, Emperor Jing, seemed to be manipulating the Dragon Court dungeon from behind the scenes.

Great Governance, my foot; peace, my ass. You've clearly been killing all along, and it hasn't stopped at all.

"If that's the case, Bai Yunwu is simply walking into a trap voluntarily; there will definitely be no danger."

"On the surface, a Dragon King cannot escape the Nine-Star Fire Prison; once you enter, you can't get out, so it is indeed a dangerous situation. No, wait—what if the imperial court obtained the Nine-Star Fire Dragon Order? Then old Bai is just seemingly trapped inside."

Zhao Xing couldn't be sure; if Emperor Jing was setting a trap, the details would definitely be very realistic.

The only one who could oversee the whole situation was Emperor Jing; if Master Zhao hadn't read the files, he wouldn't have had any suspicions at all.

However, once suspicion arose, it couldn't be stopped.

"Wait! Damn, damn!"

"In my past life, the one trapped was clearly Tang Yinglong, but in this life, it has become Bai Yunwu!"

"My connection to Bai Yunwu is Long Xiao—could it be that the intelligence was intentionally shown to me?"

"Damn! Have I also fallen into the trap of this old bastard Emperor Jing? He even calculated me into it?!"

Under the clear sky, Zhao Xing sat on a Dragon King, still unable to stop sweating.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt the possibility was high!

"Impressive, old Jing!" Zhao Xing couldn't help but sigh; having walked cautiously all the way here,

he had ultimately entered Emperor Jing's sights.

"If this plan also circles me in, then I'm afraid it's a test."

"A test of what?"

"Loyalty! Whether I have any ulterior motives!"

"This is probably the real reason for the deaths of so many First-Rank experts in the files." Zhao Xing tried to think from Emperor Jing's perspective.

The reason he concluded it was a "test" rather than anything else was simple.

Emperor Jing certainly didn't do this because he knew his secret.

Otherwise, he would have just taken him and interrogated him—what wouldn't Emperor Jing do?

"It's not because of my memory, so it must be my talent."

"The talent I've displayed is even more terrifying than Liu Tianning's, and I have no roots, unlike Liu Tianning who has a whole family there."

"He wants to use me, or rather, leave me for the next generation of emperors to use; my loyalty must pass, otherwise, it's just increasing the burden for nothing."

"Bai Yunwu is trapped, and Long Xiao's name is on the list; is this to see my reaction?"

"Rescuing Bai Yunwu is in the interest of the imperial court, and Long Xiao is a brother of life and death who came out of the army with me; it aligns with my personal feelings."

"If I saw that intelligence and remained indifferent, then I would be done for." Looking at the problem from Emperor Jing's perspective, it was very clear.

Now there is a dangerous situation here; resolving this danger aligns with both Great Zhou's interests and your personal interests. If you remain indifferent even to this and dare not do it,

such a selfish person, no matter how talented or monstrous, what use are they to Great Zhou?

"Whether I can do it is one thing, attitude is another. Furthermore, that intelligence came to me half a year after I obtained the two divine artifacts."

"I also have the Myriad Law Clone, and even the Shang Tang Order; Emperor Jing must also know this."

"Looking at it this way, Ji Mengjun and Tong Jin must be carrying an enfeoffment imperial decree."

"If I really went, and you certainly wouldn't be willing to let me die, that imperial decree that can briefly grant First-Rank peak combat power must be in the hands of one of them."

Zhao Xing certainly knew about the temporary First-Rank peak enfeoffment decree; it had appeared several times in past Dragon Court expeditions.

"Tong Jin is too weak; it must be in Ji Mengjun's hands. Let me guess what the conditions for using it are? The guards are all dead—.. and finally, use this decree to save me?"

"To protect me, even a First-Rank can die in battle, but in the end, they save me; wouldn't I be moved to tears—.."

"Clap, clap, clap!" Zhao Xing clapped in his memory palace: "Impressive, Emperor Jing; for the sake of your successor, you have truly gone to great pains."

"It's just that now it seems Emperor Jing and the Life Official Ji Si didn't expect that the divine artifact I obtained could be this powerful."

"Even Dragon King Yin Xiu has come; the current test has no difficulty for me, unless there are other arrangements."

"What other arrangements?" Zhao Xing shook his head: "I can't think about it anymore; even if I've guessed it, I'll act as if I don't know. 'Even if I know, I will still act as if I don't.'"

"Even without these, my interests are aligned with Great Zhou; I'm not afraid of him testing me."

"Even without these, I would still go to save Long Xiao; the grace of protecting my path when I was weak, fighting side by side at Fire Dragon Pass, advancing and retreating together against the Prince of Liang, guarding the Dragon Pass for me to fight for a ranking—if I don't save him when he is in trouble? Such cold-blooded longevity is meaningless!"

"From the beginning, I never intended to pursue cold-blooded longevity, but a longevity filled with affection and righteousness!"

"If I were a cold-blooded person, I wouldn't be able to get along with Wu Di in the future; staying in the East Sea waiting for him to be born for many years would be meaningless."

Thinking of this, he suddenly became enlightened, and Zhao Xing woke up from his closed eyes.

He completely stopped thinking about those speculations and acted according to his original intention.

"Roar!"

Just then, dragon roars came from the front.

A dragon clan lord signaled:

The Fire Prison Plains, we have arrived.

The sky was black, but the earth was a sea of scarlet.

The Fire Dragon clan lord "Qi" could no longer distinguish whether it was erupting geothermal fire or blood below.

"Hiss~"

The Fire Dragon clan lord "Qi" looked up and hissed, wanting to summon the dragon generals around him, but found his voice was no longer loud, but had become hoarse.

He spat out a dragon flame powerlessly, only to find that what he spat out was just black smoke.

Looking back, the dragon generals around him had been completely submerged in a blue ocean.

His dragon scales had fallen off by fifty percent, his powerful flesh was torn, and his dragon tendons had snapped in several places.

Facing the siege of the hostile dragon clan lords, Qi was no longer able to kill his way out of the encirclement.

"Roar!"

Qi let out a final roar, spraying surging flames toward a dragon ship a thousand meters below.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

Ten dragon spears shot out from the dragon ship, passing through the heavy flames he sprayed, moving against the current.

"Puff~"

The dragon head of the Fire Dragon clan lord "Qi" was pierced, and his massive form fell like a kite with a broken string.

Falling downward.

"Roar!"

Qi's death was insignificant, because there were thousands of dragon clan lords like Qi fighting here.

Lightning and thunder intertwined; the Fire Prison Plains seemed like the prelude to the end of the world.

There were five phalanxes on the entire Fire Prison Plains, led respectively by Heavenly Dragon King "Pompeii,"

Fire Dragon King "Tuoyan,"

Wind Dragon King "Ichikawa,"

Ritual (Law) Dragon King Gao Feng,

and Ice Dragon King Ji Ji.

The five great Dragon Kings led their dragon clan lords in a fierce battle here!

No dragon clan knew that their Dragon Kings were actually transformed humans. They only knew to follow orders and kill all dragon clans marked as hostile by the magic spell!

"(Dragon Language) Dragon King offers blood, divine power is boundless!" Gao Feng stood on a 【War Order】 on the dragon ship,

activated the spell, and spat out a ball of golden blood.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~" The blood dripped into a Jimeng phalanx beneath the dragon ship.

"Roar!"

All the Jimeng lords suddenly grew a size larger, rising from fifty meters to eighty meters!

"Kill them!" Gao Feng roared to the sky, ordering the three hundred Jimeng below to charge toward Pompeii's "Heavenly Dragon" guard.

The Jimeng dragon clan was relatively smaller than the Heavenly Dragons, but they were adept at using weapons.

Each Jimeng held a trident, and the dragon scale armor on their bodies shimmered with a cold blue light.

The Jimeng dragon clan was skilled at controlling the power of water, and their close-quarters combat was also extremely fierce.

As the three hundred Jimeng phalanx moved out, a torrential rain instantly poured down from the sky, the raindrops shooting toward the enemy like arrows.

Each raindrop, upon reaching the enemy phalanx, instantly transformed into surging waves, gathering into a river of weak water,

sweeping toward the enemy.

The weak water river contained powerful corrosive force; it was rumored that the outer sea of the Sinful Sea was entirely weak water.

"Roar!" The Flying Dragon phalanx roared, whirlpools forming under their claws, actually grabbing mountain peaks from the ground and blocking them in front of the weak water river.

The heavenly rules of this place had become completely chaotic; it was common for mountains and rivers to suddenly appear in the sky.

The dragon breath exhaled by the Ice Dragon clan was laced with terrifying true intent of fire.

Ice Dragon King Ji Ji and Law Dragon King Gao Feng stared coldly ahead.

They had been attacking for a long time, but still couldn't break the encirclement of Pompeii, Ichikawa, and Tuoyan.

Gao Feng and Ji Ji didn't know this was a trap, and the current situation was very average.

Bai Yunwu's life or death was unknown, and they couldn't break in.

Reinforcements were constantly joining from all sides, but the enemy also had reinforcements.

The number of dragon clan lords who had died had accumulated to an astonishing amount over these days.

If this batch of dragon clan lords died, not only this time, but the next and the next time the Ancient Dragon Court grounds opened,

Great Zhou would be at a disadvantage.

"Ji Ji, Duke Yang hasn't arrived yet?!" Gao Feng asked via sound transmission.

They had tried several times over these days and confirmed that it was very difficult to break through the defensive line of the three Dragon Kings and rescue Bai Yunwu.

"Duke Yang will definitely arrive!" Ji Ji said in a deep voice, "Reinforcements are also on the way!"

"I'm asking when he will arrive!"

Ji Ji was silent.

When would he arrive? That wasn't something he knew; the order was just to have them come first and attempt a rescue.

"Retreat, Ji Ji; we can't break through this time." Gao Feng looked ahead, "My Jimeng guard can't kill through."

Ji Ji also had thoughts of retreating, and was just about to give the order when he noticed the Wind Dragon clan in the south attacking a distorted patch of space frantically.

A large number of dragon clans were being diverted to the south.

Gao Feng also noticed this change and immediately asked Ji Ji: "Ji Ji, what are they attacking?"

"What, Dragon King Yin Xiu of the Guting Kingdom!" Ichikawa's expression was shocked. "How could he participate in the battle? Isn't he in a deep slumber?!"

At this moment, Ichikawa stood on the Dragon King War Order, his eyes filled with immense horror.

Just a moment ago, another Dragon King had suddenly appeared on the battlefield, using an overbearing domain to sweep away the outer resistance of the Fire Prison Plains and strike directly into the combat zone at the center of the plains!

"Hum~"

Golden light rippled, and countless golden scales, like a torrent, passed through the blocking dragon clan lords, propping up a brilliant golden sky in the southeast.

"A Ninth-Rank Rule Dao Field!"

"Pompeii, Tuoyan, the situation has changed!"

"What? Dragon King Yin Xiu has joined the battle?" Pompeii, who had transformed into a Heavenly Dragon form in another direction, was also shocked. "How is this possible?!"

"A Ninth-Rank Rule Dao Field? Pompeii, Ichikawa, and I only have Sixth-Rank ones." Tuoyan was also stunned.

Although Dragon King Yin Xiu only brought five hundred or so dragon clan lords, the collision of the Dao Fields immediately showed who was superior.

They couldn't block it at all, which led to the dragon clan lords under their command also being severely suppressed.

As one rose and the other fell, Dragon King Yin Xiu was like a sharp knife, piercing directly through the defensive line organized by the three of them.

"Dragon King Reverse Scale? Sword? Heavens, Yin Xiu is also carrying the Guting Kingdom's divine artifact; save me!" Ichikawa was scared out of his wits; he only had a Sixth-Rank Rule Dao Field and couldn't possibly collide with Yin Xiu. Not to mention Yin Xiu was carrying the Guting Kingdom's divine artifact, this was completely crushing pressure.

But when he wanted to run, it was already too late.

Dragon King Yin Xiu was very clever; he only released his aura and unleashed his killing move when he was very close.

When he spat out the Dragon King Sword forged from tens of thousands of Dragon King reverse scales, he had already completely locked onto Ichikawa.

"Whoosh~"

The dragon scales unfolded, and the tens-of-meters-long sword quickly became thousands of meters long.

Ichikawa's body was only ten thousand meters long; when he wanted to use his Wind Dao Field to run, the Dragon King Sword pierced through his Dao Field's defense.

In that cyan space, a very distinct golden light appeared!

"No, no!"

Ichikawa roared, frantically manipulating his Rule Dao Field to resist.

He used all his skills, including transforming into human form or throwing out magic treasures to attract attention.

Numerous methods were all useless!

"The Dragon King Reverse Scale Sword is known as the 'Lock-Head Divine Artifact'." Zhao Xing watched quietly from afar. "The sword must pierce the reverse scale when drawn; every time it kills, the sword grows larger. I don't know how many generations it has been passed down; it can be ranked first among treasure-level dragon clan divine artifacts."

"In my past life, Dragon King Yin Xiu had the strength to conquer nine kingdoms; he had many treasures, every one of which was a powerful divine artifact."

"If he hadn't been too impatient, not yet having advanced to Great Dragon King, and gone to the Sinful Sea and Heavenly Abyss to try and take back the Code, he might have actually had a chance of success."

"Puff!"

The Dragon King Reverse Scale Sword split Ichikawa in two.

Golden light flashed, and the cyan world instantly shattered.

"What?!"

Pompeii and Tuoyan fled frantically.

As for the other humans, they couldn't care about orders and ran away together.

"!"

However, just as they intended to run, they heard a voice that seemed to come from the ancient primordial era.

Immediately after, a golden carved plate fell above them.

【Divine Court Decree, True Words as Order!】

【In the name of the Dragon Emperor's successor, I strip 'Pompeii' and 'Tuoyan' of their Dragon King positions! Immediately go to the Dragon Prison to be punished for a thousand years!】

"Hum~"

The golden stone tablet instantly generated a powerful suction force.

The Dragon Emperor Golden Script transformed into golden light, piercing through Pompeii's Heavenly Dragon body and Tuoyan's Fire Dragon King body.

Then it sank into the Dragon Emperor Code.

"Boom~"

The two could no longer maintain their respective dragon forms and transformed directly into human form.

"This, this is impossible!" Pompeii widened his eyes, looking toward the direction of the voice.

There was a five-clawed golden dragon staring at him coldly.

"No!" Tuoyan roared, discovering that his clear perception was rapidly fading.

Originally, as a Dragon King, he had bonuses in the Dragon Court for both his Dao Field realm and spells.

But now, it was as if a layer of gray mist had covered it, making his perception become incredibly blurry. Originally, he could look down on other First-Rank Dragon Kings, but now he was just a normal First-Rank human.

It was slightly different from those enemies of the Bone Sect.

Tuoyan and Pompeii had a certain degree of resistance; they had undergone the heavy trials of the Dragon Court to prove their Dragon King positions, and their bodies were already semi-dragonized.

So the True Word Decree Zhao Xing issued was to imprison them first.

If the two resisted this order, they would become Rebellious Dragons, and then he could issue an execution order.

Pompeii and Tuoyan had no idea what was going on; naturally, they fled—how could they obey the order?

Imprisonment for a thousand years was no different from death.

Therefore, their act of fleeing became the basis for Zhao Xing's second decree.

"In the name of the Dragon Emperor's successor, I command all dragons to execute the Rebellious Dragons!"

And so, these two also encountered the same treatment as Bone Two.

The dragon clan lords who had originally obeyed them all pounced on them.

However, these two still had some foundation and immediately threw out two sets of Ninth-Rank magic treasures to block, then quickly ran away.

Zhao Xing didn't pursue; without learning the nine great spells, he had no ability to pursue people, nor could he kill these two First-Rank experts.

He could have let Yin Xiu pursue the two, but the situation was still unclear, and it was better to keep Yin Xiu by his side.

In any case, neither of them would be able to appear within the Dragon Court grounds again.

The only two places they could go were the Sinful Sea and the Heavenly Abyss.

If they really went there, that would be even better.

With the current strength of those two places, going there would be suicide.

"This..."

Gao Feng and Ji Ji, watching from afar, were completely stunned.

Who exactly was this sacred person? To actually have such ability!

"Dragon Emperor successor? Should I—.. kneel?"

"How would I know?"

Ji Ji and Gao Feng watched the groups of dragon clan lords prostrating themselves.

"Maybe we should kneel; the status is clearly different from ours."

"Makes sense."

Ji Ji and Gao Feng immediately knelt down.

"You two are on our side, no need to kneel." Zhao Xing's voice came, this time using the Great Zhou language. "Quickly go and pursue the Southern Barbarian remnants!"

On our side?

Ji Ji and Gao Feng looked at each other, filled with curiosity.

But now was indeed not a good time for discussion; they should expand the combat results.

"Yes!"

Ji Ji and Gao Feng quickly pursued.

One of the three Dragon Kings had been cut down by Yin Xiu, and two had fled.

But those who fled would likely die anyway.

Zhao Xing didn't know if this had interfered with Emperor Jing's plan, but he couldn't care about so much.

After swallowing the Code back into his stomach, he flew toward the entrance of the Nine-Star Fire Prison.

"Yin Xiu, you stay here on guard; only allow exit, no entry."

"I uphold your will."

Yin Xiu landed respectfully on the plains.

The entrance to the Nine-Star Fire Prison stood at the eastern end of the Fire Prison Plains.

It looked like the sky had been torn into four cracks, forming the shape of a door.

It belonged to a world within a world.

"There is spiritual energy in the Nine-Star Fire Prison."

"I must hurry in and scavenge some."

Zhao Xing thought to himself.

He was just scavenging as much as he could now; who knew if Emperor Jing would arrange some other task or test for him later.

Working under Emperor Jing was not easy, and brushing up his favorability was even harder.

Now that he had mastered a powerful weapon like the Dragon Emperor Code, he figured there must be too many things to do later.

"If I can't afford to offend, can't I afford to hide?"

"I'll enter the Nine-Star Fire Prison, then secretly go out through another entrance, and scavenge the benefits first."

"By the time I reappear, it will be when the entrance is about to close."

The Dragon Court Code is soul-bound; unless he dies, it cannot be dropped or handed over to others.

He wasn't worried about Emperor Jing forcing him to hand it over; he was afraid of Emperor Jing giving him an imperial decree to "Unify the Dragon Court."

That would be the end of it; who would dare to unify at this time?

"Yin Xiu, remember, don't come looking for me; just guard here. After guarding for two years, return to the Guting Kingdom. Without my summons, you are not to come and pay respects!"

"I will strictly follow your instructions." Although Yin Xiu found it strange, two years was not long in his concept, so he didn't take it to heart.

Nine-Star Fire Prison, surrounded by darkness.

The world here seemed to have no light, only dark, heavy fire.

As soon as Zhao Xing entered, he saw a piece of land floating in the darkness, with massive chains formed by flames,

locking a dragon skeleton thirty thousand meters long.

"The dragon is dead, but the seal remains; I don't know how many years have passed." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

The Nine-Star Fire Prison is a place for imprisoning dragon clan criminals.

It is different from the Sinful Sea; theoretically, the Sinful Sea is a place for suppressing death-row inmates, while the Dragon Prison has opportunities for serving one's sentence and returning to the Dragon Court.

A prison at the Nine-Star level could even imprison a Dragon King.

"Swish, swish~"

As soon as Zhao Xing entered, chains condensed from flames tried to bind him.

However, after Zhao Xing spat out the Dragon Emperor Code, these chains quickly dissipated.

"White Dragon King! Where is the White Dragon King!"

Zhao Xing followed the depths of the prison, shouting loudly.

On a piece of land ten thousand miles away.

"Hmm?"

9

A white dragon suddenly opened its cyan eyes.

Long Xiao and Bai Yang, who were sleeping beside him, were startled awake.

"Grandfather, what's wrong?"

"I heard a shout; the voice sounds a bit like Zhao Xing?"

"How is that possible." Bai Yang didn't believe it. "How could Zhao Xing appear in the Nine-Star Fire Prison and call for you, Grandfather?"

"Even if he really entered, he would be locked up immediately."

"Others might be like that, but Zhao Xing might not be." Long Xiao said. "Anything can happen to him."

"Grandfather, why don't you go over and take a look?"

Bai Yunwu shook his head: "No, the act must be complete; Pompeii and the others saw me being locked up with their own eyes, how could I go out now?"

If he really wanted to go out, he would have gone out long ago.

Staying here was to coordinate from the inside and outside, and suddenly kill his way out at the agreed time.

Here, there were not only him, but also Tang Yinglong, Ao Guang, and nearly a hundred other high-rank experts, including ten First and Second-Rank humans and dragons combined.

He didn't go out to look, but the voice became clearer and clearer.

Zhao Xing searched for traces and found his way over.

"Flash~"

A five-clawed golden dragon appeared above the prison land where Bai Yunwu was.

"Hmm?" Bai Yunwu, Tang Yinglong, and Ao Guang were immediately startled and prostrated themselves directly.

Because the aura Zhao Xing emitted was of too high a status!

To travel through the Nine-Star Fire Prison, Zhao Xing had activated the full power of the Code.

The dragons beside them were even more limp, like worms.

Long Xiao felt nothing because he was not a dragon clan member.

"You all are—.."

"Long Xiao."

Zhao Xing's voice came, and at the same time, he transformed into human form.

"Damn, it really is you!" Long Xiao was immediately overjoyed. "Grandfather, it really is Zhao Xing—? Why are you all prostrating?"

"Good question." Bai Yunwu struggled to say, "I just want to kneel."

Long Xiao: "???"

Tang Yinglong:

Ao Guang:

Bai Yang:

"Cough, cough, sorry." Zhao Xing immediately restrained the power of the Code.

Bai Yunwu and the others finally stood up.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing directly used the Code to remove the fire-red chains from their bodies.

He was playing the act to the end, pretending not to know that Bai Yunwu had the Nine-Star Fire Prison Order.

"Zhao Xing, how did you get here?" Long Xiao asked.

"I obtained a dragon clan divine artifact, the Dragon Emperor Code." Zhao Xing smiled. "Hearing that the White Dragon King was trapped, I rushed over to support."

Zhao Xing briefly explained the process of obtaining and unsealing the dragon clan divine artifact.

Bai Yunwu looked surprised: "There really is a Dragon Emperor Code, and it was in Yin Xiu's treasury?"

"There is such a thing." Tang Yinglong and Ao Guang were also stunned: "You used the treasure Yin Xiu gave you to summon Yin Xiu?"

It sounded like a fantasy!

"Dragon King Yin Xiu even helped you kill Ichikawa?"

"What? Dragon King Reverse Scale Sword? Hiss!"

While a group of people were shocked.

Bai Yunwu was thinking about a serious problem.

"We must get out quickly! Pursue the remnants!"

"This battle must defeat the enemy outside the borders in one stroke and restore the face lost in the past!"

"Then I will send you out, old man." Zhao Xing said.

"Aren't you coming out with us?" Long Xiao asked.

"I sensed the fluctuation of a divine artifact within the Nine-Star Fire Prison; now that I have the authority, I want to explore." Zhao Xing said.

"Won't you be in danger? I'll go with you!" Long Xiao said.

"What use is it for you to stay here?" Bai Yunwu shouted, "You don't have the authority; staying here is a burden."

Long Xiao touched his sword, feeling depressed.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing sent a secret sound transmission: "Long Xiao, after you and the White Dragon King go out, take over the dragon ship I left outside."

"I left a letter on it; you and the White Dragon King sail it back to the Guting Royal City and find the Life Official Ji Si;

he will know what to do."

Since Emperor Jing wanted to test his loyalty, he couldn't keep the Infinite Sword Embryo and the Giant God Soldier.

But he also left a letter for Ji Si, suggesting that Long Xiao inherit the Infinite Sword Embryo, because Long Xiao was more suitable.

As for Xia Jing, he was a Qi-sect practitioner; from the beginning, he used martial arts like fists and fingers.

He also left a suggestion for the Giant God Soldier, which could be given to King Shenluo.

If Ji Si didn't accept the suggestion, no matter what, the users who got the divine artifacts would owe him a favor.

There were plenty of divine artifacts for other professions; he had originally intended to use them to build good karma. If Long Xiao didn't use them, he could find another one later.

He carried the Kunyuan Divine Hoe with him, so that couldn't be handed over; he wanted to break through to Second-Rank here in the Dragon Court and use it himself.

"Okay, I understand." Long Xiao nodded. "You be careful."

"Don't worry, I have a sense of proportion." Zhao Xing nodded.

After parting ways with the others, Zhao Xing began to explore the Dragon Prison.

"The Nine-Star Fire Prison is only a part of the Dragon Prison. It is very large, and to maintain the operation of the Dragon Prison,

spiritual energy is indispensable."

"Among them, the most important are the various springs of heavenly spiritual energy."

"The springs of heavenly spiritual energy are distributed in three places: the Dragon Prison, the Young Dragon Ace Royal City, and the Palace of Misa."

The spiritual energy springs in the Dragon Prison were mainly to keep the imprisoned Dragon Kings alive.

Spiritual energy, which was relatively common in ancient times, was forged into springs to maintain the survival of the sinful dragons.

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing flew for a while and had a sudden inspiration.

Soon he saw a miniature piece of land; unlike the desolate land where Bai Yunwu and the others were, that land ahead still had a trace of greenery.

In the center of the land, there were many secret pattern chains locking a dragon well.

"Good luck, I've run into one." Zhao Xing was overjoyed and flew over quickly.

"Whoosh~"

Flying closer, Zhao Xing realized this was a piece of land fifty kilometers in radius.

The dragon well in the center had a radius of over a hundred meters just at the wellhead.

"This is it." Zhao Xing rushed over quickly.

"The secret pattern chains here are just for show."

"That's right; it seems the precious spiritual energy spring was common in ancient times; who would seal a water-drawing dragon spring so tightly?"

Zhao Xing pulled the chains away as easily as lifting a well cover.

"Boom~"

A massive amount of spiritual energy erupted from within.

Due to the characteristics of spiritual energy, a small portion of it dropped in level the moment it appeared, turning into dense primordial energy.

"Pure Primordial Projection!"

Zhao Xing hadn't expected it to erupt so violently; he immediately enveloped it, wrapping the spiritual energy to prevent it from dissipating, effectively replacing the well cover to seal the spiritual energy.

"Hiss~" Zhao Xing greedily absorbed the spiritual energy, lying by the well, his eyes shining.

"Too much! As expected, the Dragon Court is a good place; the density of spiritual energy here is already close to a liquefied state! It's not comparable to the wisps I had before!"

"Hahahaha, it's all mine; absorb for me!"

Zhao Xing immediately jumped into the dragon well and began to devour the spiritual energy frantically.

"Boom, boom~~"

The pure primordial soil expanded frantically!

The floating vine at the center directly broke through from the peak of the Seventh-Rank to the Eighth-Rank—the peak of the Eighth-Rank, and soon reached the Ninth-Rank, and was still transforming!

"Hmm?" Zhao Xing's gaze lingered on the floating vine for a moment before falling onto that mysterious void seed.

At this moment, a trace of green also appeared on the surface of the void seed.

"The void seed, it has finally sprouted!"