Chapter 262: The Ambitious Little White Dragon

"Lord of Lingluo, when will you finally act?"

Yuan Gao glared at the seductive woman before him.

Lady Lingluo smiled faintly.

"Elder Yuan, you know as well as I do that Jiang Lin is cautious by nature. Luring him out of Qinghe and into Wu Country won't be easy. Since we missed our chance during the last demon tide, we'll have to wait again."

The timing isn't right?

Yuan Gao didn't think so.

This woman was clearly stalling on purpose!

Since the Nine Souls Dharma King arrived at Manggu City, he's been pampered like a king—so content he's forgotten all about capturing Jiang Lin.

The Dharma King is comfortable.

But it's my job to get it done. If I still fail to capture Jiang Lin, I'll be the one who suffers.

Of course I'm eager.

Lady Lingluo's voice softened, sweet and supple: "Don't worry, Elder Yuan. Doesn't Zhu Renhe's death strike you as suspicious?"

At the mention of Zhu Renhe,

Yuan Gao's interest sparked: "You've found something?"

Zhu Renhe is dead, and the blame has been pinned on the Qi clan of the Southern Frontier. Otherwise, Yu Country wouldn't have had an excuse to launch its army, and Wu Country wouldn't be in its current state.

The Qi clan of the Southern Frontier naturally wants revenge. Lady Lingluo has been secretly sending people to investigate.

"I've found a few things."

Lady Lingluo chuckled, then suddenly proposed: "Elder Yuan, the war is easing. Why not accompany me to Qinghe City?"

Yuan Gao looked hesitant: "In Qinghe City, besides Jiang Lin, there are Elders from the Eight Great Sects—all fifth-rank. If we're discovered, our lives are in danger."

"Does my lord forget what I used to do?"

Yuan Gao froze.

In an instant, Lady Lingluo swept her brocade sleeve across her face—and suddenly, she wore a man's face!

"This is... disguise magic?"

What startled Yuan Gao even more was that now, even her martial aura was undetectable—she seemed utterly ordinary.

Lady Lingluo, now with a man's face, giggled seductively.

Her late husband's concubines numbered in the hundreds—if not a thousand—yet why did they all linger in her chambers? Because she could change her form at will, and one woman could rival all the beauties under heaven.

Then she died.

Died in bed.

Some said she was a heavenly calamity, a lone star. So she cut out their tongues and slaughtered their entire families.

But they were right: her former lord was poisoned by her—not by physical poison, but by illusionary poison.

Lady Lingluo reverted to her original appearance.

"No. It's illusion magic."

"Internalize radiance, externalize simplicity, blend with the dust, vanish into invisibility..."

Li Rui murmured the incantation softly.

Internalize spiritual radiance.

At first, martial cultivators are obvious to the eye: broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, clearly strong—and they carry a unique aura, unmistakably martial.

Once true qi is cultivated, their qi interconnects with others', making their distinction unmistakable.

Fifth-rank cultivators can see through others' cultivation levels precisely by observing qi.

This was a qi-concealing technique recorded in Tie Kuang's small booklet.

And it was ingeniously designed—not just to conceal, but to disguise.

"Got it!"

Li Rui's lips curled slightly upward.

What Tie Kuang gave him wasn't even a technique—it was merely a trick for controlling true qi leakage.

His innate talent was exceptional; he mastered it in less than two days.

Someone with lesser talent might never learn it—even in a lifetime.

According to the technique's notes, it works on anyone below the fourth rank.

What about third-rank or higher Earth Immortals?

Li Rui would avoid them entirely—concealing his qi would be meaningless.

He carefully adjusted his true qi, bit by bit.

Soon,

to any fourth-rank expert, Li Rui now appeared to be nothing more than a sixth-rank martialist who had just opened his qi sea.

"Good. Very good."

Only then did Li Rui finally relax.

He had mastered the technique.

He stepped out of his room.

Since entering Guanhai, he had visited the blacksmith's shop and reported to the Trade Office, then secluded himself until now.

He'd only met a few acquaintances—and revealed nothing about his breakthrough.

Not because he didn't trust them, but caution never hurt.

He'd expected at least ten days or half a month—but it took only two.

Li Rui had just entered the Trade Office compound

when Tan Hu said: "Chief Li, the Gluttonous Girl is looking for you."

The Gluttonous Girl?

Li Rui smiled. He knew Tan Hu meant Xia Xiaotang.

"Alright."

When Li Rui arrived at the Wu Country envoy's compound and found Xia Xiaotang, her eyes hesitated:

"Senior, the little dragon has come to Qinghe. It wants to meet you."

Outside Qinghe City,

in Shihézi Gou, deep in the forest, two giant beasts conversed.

"Three-Eyes, help me out, will you? I mean no harm—I just want to see him."

The little white dragon's face wore a human-like flattery.

The Bishui Jinjing Beast, now in its true form, glanced sideways at the little white dragon:

"What did you just call me?"

"Brother Jin."

Hearing "Brother Jin," the Bishui Jinjing Beast's expression softened: "I've told you already—the Yinglong qi was mine by chance. No one else's. Why won't you believe me?"

The little white dragon rolled its eyes.

By chance?

If it were truly by chance, why would there be another's scent?

Hmm—another person, not another beast.

"Brother Jin, if you keep hiding this from me, it's pointless. Last time, if you hadn't told me to stop, I'd never have backed down."

The Bishui Jinjing Beast looked embarrassed.

Because it knew—as the little white dragon said—the Yinglong qi wasn't its own, nor the Great Witch's. It belonged to Xia Xiaotang's friend. This matter was beyond its control.

As it pondered how to deceive the little white dragon, a voice suddenly echoed in its mind.

The Bishui Jinjing Beast's expression changed. It relented: "Fine. But you must tell me why you want him."

There was hope!

The little white dragon instantly knew it had succeeded.

It knew its brother, the Bishui Jinjing Beast, had a bonded companion—and the one possessing the Yinglong qi must be connected to that companion.

"To be honest, I want to form a bond with him."

Fifteen minutes later,

Li Rui and Xia Xiaotang appeared before the two beasts.

They stared at each other.

Li Rui knew his eyes weren't small—but before the little white dragon's enormous eyes, they certainly looked tiny.

"You're the human who possesses the Yinglong qi?"

Having finished speaking

the little white dragon turned to look at the Bishui Jinjing Beast.

Meaning:

Translate for me!

"Yes, I am."

Upon hearing the answer, the little white dragon froze, stunned, slow to react.

It had been watching the Bishui Jinjing Beast the whole time—the Bishui Jinjing Beast hadn't opened its mouth at all.

It whirled its head toward Li Rui.

If the Azure-Eyed Golden Beast hadn't spoken, then the only one speaking must be this human.

"I've seen a demon spirit—how could I understand human speech?"

Soon.

The little white dragon was certain.

It wasn't that it could understand human speech—it could understand only Li Rui's words; it still couldn't understand Xia Xiaotang's.

"You," the little white dragon's face quickly lit up with excitement.

The more extraordinary this human appeared, the more excited it became.

Li Rui spoke slowly: "You're looking for me?"

The little white dragon nodded its big head vigorously: "Yes, yes, it's you—the human bearing the dragon's form—hurry, let's form a symbiotic bond!"

He might have hesitated before, but the moment Li Rui appeared, his last doubt vanished—just a wisp of Li Rui's aura made it tremble.

Symbiosis—must be symbiosis.

Symbiosis is a unique bond.

Once formed, not only the human but also the beast gains benefits—otherwise, why do so many beasts in the Southern Frontier actively seek symbiotic humans?

Dragons give birth to nine offspring, each different.

The same goes for dragons.

Please... Your Excellency... collect_(!)

It's not just that the partner has no dietary taboos—it's because the bloodline of dragon-kind itself is powerful enough.

Look at the pair of wings on the little white dragon.

In all its years, it had never seen a second dragon with such a thing.

The old dragon toiled hard in the fields, reaping abundant fruit—its offspring numbered at least a hundred.

Why then was it so devoted to the little white dragon?

Precisely because the little white dragon carried a trace of Yinglong blood—just a trace, yet it stood out among all dragons.

This shows the uniqueness of the Yinglong.

Ancestor of ten thousand dragons—of course it's unique!

Precisely because it's unique, the little white dragon has high demands for its symbiotic partner.

The old dragon had tried finding symbiotic humans bearing the dragon's form before, but none satisfied it—until a few days ago, when it refined the Yinglong aura, it discovered someone in the world actually bore the Yinglong's form.

Thus, it traveled thousands of miles across the Ten Thousand Mountains to reach Qinghe.

All to form a symbiotic bond with Li Rui.

"Come quickly, let us unite."

"."

Li Rui understood the little white dragon's intent—his expression turned peculiar.

'Symbiosis?'

He cleared his throat: "I'm already eighty—I've missed the age for forming a symbiotic bond."

Hearing this, the little white dragon froze:

"You're eighty already?"

Symbiosis—symbiosis—must be formed while growing together.

Take Xia Xiaotang: she formed a symbiotic bond with the Azure-Eyed Golden Beast when she was barely three.

Generally, people of Wu Country seek symbiotic beasts before age twenty—after that, their forms are fully set, and the chance is gone; at eighty, like Li Rui, it's utterly impossible.

The little white dragon grew frantic:

"How can you be this old?!"

Humans see beasts one way; beasts see humans much the same.

It couldn't tell Li Rui's age at all—never imagined it had rushed here only for this?

If it could form a symbiotic bond with Li Rui, who bore the Yinglong's form, it might truly gain a chance to become a dragon.

The opportunity in hand—gone.

At this moment,

Li Rui spoke slowly: "Though we cannot form a symbiotic bond, there is another way."

"What?"

Hearing this, the little white dragon's eyes lit up again.

"I have a method to inject true qi into your body—but we must form a pact."

At these words,

the little white dragon fell silent.

What was a pact?

In plain terms, it was like the indenture Li Rui signed with the Zhu family—except this contract wasn't written on paper, but on the soul.

In an instant, symbiosis became slavery—proud as it was, the little white dragon could not accept this.

Li Rui said nothing.

He simply gazed quietly at the little white dragon, waiting for its answer.

He knew perfectly well that at eighty, symbiosis was impossible—so when he learned of this from Xia Xiaotang and came, he came specifically to form a pact.

The little white dragon carried Yinglong blood—highly beneficial to his cultivation.

And once the pact was formed, he wouldn't have to worry about the little white dragon revealing his secrets.

The little white dragon's eyes struggled.

'If I refuse, I'll never have a chance to become a dragon.'

'If I accept, won't I become a slave?'

'But if I truly become a dragon, the dragon aura will wash away the pact—then I'll regain my freedom.'

'Humans live only a hundred or two hundred years—he's already eighty, won't live long—just grit my teeth and endure it. Yes, Three-Eyes once said something about enduring hardship to achieve greatness.'

"Damn!"

"Fine, I'll form the pact with you!"

The little white dragon spoke.

The Azure-Eyed Golden Beast beside it was startled by this decision.

It asked itself:

It could form a symbiotic bond—but forming a pact was utterly out of the question.

Too humiliating.

And wasn't this like handing over its life to another?

Li Rui's eyes gleamed: "Little Dragon Brother, rest easy—I'm a kind man. After the pact, we're brothers. Humans have a saying: 'We don't have to be born in the same year, month, and day—but we'll die together.'"

The little white dragon listened, blinked, then gritted its teeth:

"Come on."

Li Rui stepped before the little white dragon and placed his palm on its body.

In an instant,

his palm radiated purple-gold light.

He didn't understand what forming a pact meant—he simply injected Xuan Qi into the little white dragon's body.

He had already tested this on three disciples.

He could weave a cage of Xuan Qi—by a single thought, he could kill the target.

The little white dragon absorbed the Xuan Qi, which it nurtured within; he would periodically take some back.

A win-win arrangement.

After a quarter-hour,

Li Rui slowly withdrew his hand.

The little white dragon was surprised: "Isn't forming a pact supposed to be painful? That's it?"

Then it closed its eyes and carefully sensed.

Indeed, within its body floated a cloud-like mass—vast Yinglong aura made it tremble.

'This is the feeling!'

Li Rui smiled faintly: "Good. From now on, we'll call each other brothers—I'll call you Little White."

The little white dragon bowed its head: "Big Brother!"

Though beasts live longer than humans, the little white dragon was only about twenty-three or twenty-four—calling Li Rui "Big Brother" was perfectly reasonable.

"Good, good."

Li Rui nodded with satisfaction.

Without effort, he gained a boon.

Truly delightful.

The little white dragon was also pleased—Li Rui hadn't turned on it the moment the pact was formed; life ahead wouldn't be too hard.

Li Rui gazed at the little white dragon's massive form.

"Little White, can you change your shape?"

The little white dragon nodded—and in the next instant, its huge body shrank into a tiny snake no longer than a thumb.

Seeing this sight.

Li Rui was even more satisfied; this way, it was far more portable and could be used as a surprise weapon.

Excellent.

The little white dragon flapped its wings and landed on Li Rui's hand.

Xia Xiaotang, seeing this, felt great envy.

"This little white dragon has such good fortune—so easily climbing onto a noble's favor; it will surely soar to great heights."

As Li Rui and Xia Xiaotang returned to Qinghe.

The little white dragon mentioned something:

"Big brother, did you offend someone? A few days ago, a human who understood beast speech was inquiring about our past."

(End of chapter)