Chapter 279: Heaven's Will Is Hard to Defy

Four Seas Gate, East Island Long Gong.

Misty clouds flowed along the steps before the hall, and thunderous breathing echoed within, as if a colossal creature rested inside.

Only upon entering the hall did they realize it was not a giant object.

Rather, it was a handsome youth in white robes, with a refined and scholarly appearance, leaning by the window, holding a book of alchemy, reading with great interest.

Just then, a woman entered the great hall.

The woman was plump, with a cinnabar dot on her brow; her face was even more clear and elegant, and in her every gesture she possessed both nobility and a touch of spoiled wildness.

Seeing her enter the hall and spot the youth by the window, she immediately shouted loudly:

"Eldest Brother! What time is this, and you are still reading here? If this continues, I fear our Four Seas Gate will have lost all face for the Dragon Clan!"

Hearing this, the youth helplessly raised his head and glanced at the woman: "Little Sister, have you forgotten the oral decree passed down by Father King? He ordered us to seclude ourselves and not go out, silently reciting the Dao scriptures. This is surely a calamity approaching. If we do not go out, Father King can still protect us; if we go out, who knows what will happen?"

"But Sui Ying is dead!"

The woman shook her head, bared a mouth of sharp teeth, and said in hatred: "Sui Ying was a Dragon King, yet he was killed by someone; how can we simply ignore it?"

Sui Ying had been a notable figure in the Long Gong during his lifetime.

Especially close to the woman, for the two were born of the same mother; the woman's name was Sui Ling, and strictly speaking, she was Sui Ying's own younger sister.

Now that her own brother was dead, how could she not hate?

Yet compared to her, the youth remained utterly calm: "So what? Sui Ying died in the inland lands; do you intend to pursue and kill him there?"

"Give up, Little Sister."

The youth's name was Tian Qiu, the second son of the Dragon Lord, who had long ago reached the peak of Foundation Establishment with the cultivation of a Great True Person, and was also the Dragon Lord's capable assistant.

Therefore, compared to the young and impulsive Sui Ling, he was far more calm; he immediately shook his head: "This calamity, I fear, is the inland lands sweeping the overseas again; I doubt we can resist. We can only hide. Hiding in the Long Gong means nothing will happen; going out means nine times out of ten we will perish and our Dao will vanish."

"How can it be so..."

Hearing this, Sui Ling immediately gritted her teeth, but soon seemed to think of something, and shouted loudly: "Then what if I lure that person into the Long Gong?"

Hearing this, Tian Qiu raised an eyebrow: "Lure him into the Long Gong... if you can truly do that, then naturally there is no problem; even the Great Lords in the heavens would have nothing to say."

A True Lord sets the strategy; a True Person plays the piece.

The former focuses only on the grand situation, while the latter controls the details; whoever wins or loses depends on their own skill; this is the unspoken understanding between True Lords.

"Then good!"

Seeing this, Sui Ling immediately rubbed her fists together: "I previously asked a friend from the Black Turtle Clan to calculate for me; that person's journey happens to bring him to the overseas lands!"

"The cause and effect shows his target is the Primordial Magnetism Shenshan that Eldest Brother you valued before. Little Sister requests Eldest Brother to move that Shenshan into our Long Gong territory. This way, he must either force his way into our Long Gong or give up improving his cultivation; either outcome will vent this grievance for Little Sister!"

"Primordial Magnetism Shenshan..."

Upon Sui Ling's words, Tian Qiu frowned, bitterly thinking in his heart: 'Truly a True Lord; strike the snake at its vital point, leaving me no chance to hide!'

Why did he value the Primordial Magnetism Shenshan?

Naturally, like Suo Huan, he also saw that this Shenshan was formed from a fragment of a Cave Heaven left behind after a True Lord's fall, which would be of immense benefit to his ascent and quest for Gold!

If it were an ordinary thing, yielding it would be fine.

But this Shenshan, yielding is impossible!

But if you do not yield, you must form a karmic bond with the other party; this back-and-forth means the calamity strikes directly, and a life-or-death peril is now right before your eyes!

"Father King..."

Tian Qiu raised his head to look toward the deepest part of the Long Gong, as if he could feel a pair of golden eyes as large as mountains watching him, and a pressure surged toward him.

'... Yes. Father King calculated the cause and effect; how could he not know the full story? Knowing this yet ordering me to seclude myself and silently recite the Dao scriptures means he wants me to give up. But the Primordial Magnetism Shenshan is a Cave Heaven fragment! If I obtain it, my hope of seeking Gold increases greatly; how can I just give it up?'

For a moment, Tian Qiu's expression struggled.

After a long while, he finally calmed his mind, then turned to look at Sui Ling: "The Shenshan has not yet fully grown; moving it into the Long Gong now would only be a waste."

"Little Sister, you go first."

"Summon many hands to guard the Shenshan for me. If that inland cultivator who killed Sui Ying truly intends to plot against the Shenshan... then I will act."

"Little Sister accepts the order!"

Hearing this, Sui Ling was immediately overjoyed, then left with light steps, leaving only Tian Qiu sitting in the hall with an uncertain expression, the Dao scripture in his hand already closed.

"Heaven's will is hard to defy... Heaven's will is hard to defy!"

"Boom!"

Lei Ting accompanied by a searing white flash streaked across the sky, manifesting the anger of the one behind the scenes, yet was forcibly covered over by heavy dark clouds.

"You all... have insulted me too greatly!"

The suppressed voice stirred the heavens and earth to howl, instantly causing waves overseas to surge, giving birth to countless natural disasters out of thin air, on the verge of becoming towering giant waves.

However, the next second, three mighty forces equally sprang forth, steadily pressing down, like an invisible giant hand directly crushing ten thousand waves; all natural disasters vanished before they could truly form, causing that voice which had been howling through heaven and earth to suddenly drop much lower.

"Amitabha, why must the Dragon Lord be so anxious?"

"Those below are ultimately those below. In chess, there are wins and losses; accepting the outcome of a gamble with dignity is proper; getting angry means your perspective is too small!"

"I..."

The Dragon Lord gritted his teeth. In chess, there are indeed wins and losses, but you damn well have no chess ethics! Three people play against me; I make one move, you make three!

This was not the first time such a thing happened. Think of our True Dragon Clan; once we were the noblest of heaven and earth, needing no cultivation, reaching Foundation Establishment upon adulthood. Four Dragon Lords divided the rivers, lakes, and seas; what majesty was that? But since we fled overseas, the noblest of heaven and earth became mere humans, and everything changed.

When we fled overseas back then, the Dragon Clan was left with only one Dragon Lord.

Yet now, after countless years, the Dragon Clan still has only one Dragon Lord!

'Every so often, a cleansing and harvest is launched against the overseas; this is raising the demon race like livestock! I am merely the appointed herding dog!'

Whenever a demon creature cultivates to the peak of Foundation Establishment, nearing the quest for Gold, a "cleansing" is triggered.

Even the methods never change; nothing more than tossing out a "opportunity to seek Gold," then baiting the target out, saying whether one succeeds depends entirely on each family's skill.

—Sounds good.

In reality, over all these years, the demon race has never won once. The four great powers join hands, erasing every variable; how can such a thing be lightly opposed?

Unless

The next second, Dragon Lord immediately withdrew his divine sense, ceased his standoff with the three great powers from the unknown, returned to his true form in the Long Gong, and opened a pair of golden eyes.

Under the radiance of his gaze, the invisible barrier was lifted.

In an instant, a tall figure with a leisurely demeanor appeared before Dragon Lord's eyes, smiling: "It seems Dragon Lord has made up his mind?"

"Agreed."

Dragon Lord said in a deep voice: "As long as 【Chen Tianhe】 you can help my Dragon Clan produce another Dragon Lord who attains the 【Chen River Water】, I will let him go to your Netherworld!"

(End of this chapter)