Chapter 261 - 196: The Female Banished Immortal

"I am spread too thin," the Dragon Lord said, "and have little energy to spare. The East Sea’s resources are also limited. If they can achieve something under your guidance in the future, it will not tarnish the reputation of my Dragon Palace."

The races of these young demons were distinct.

Three Profound Water Pythons, as thick as bowls, with dark scales and slight bulges on their heads, showing signs of transforming into flood dragons.

Two Cyan-Scaled Chi Flood Dragons, with single horns on their heads and four claws under their bellies. Though they appeared young, their draconic might was already taking shape.

One Profound Trigram Spirit Turtle the size of a millstone, with natural trigram patterns on its Turtle Shell. It moved slowly, its eyes filled with spiritual intelligence.

There were also a few Seven-Colored Wenyao Fish, White Jade Rhinoceros Shells, and other relatively rare members of the East Sea Aquatic Race mixed in.

BOOM!

The entire grand hall erupted.

"This is... a young Royal Demon Cultivator cub? The Dragon Lord is actually willing to part with these?!"

"No, look! Each of them, to some degree, carries a trace of the Dragon Lord’s bloodline!"

Even the Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs from the various Nascent Soul-level powers couldn’t help but breathe heavily, their faces flushed and their eyes glinting with irrepressible excitement.

"Infinite potential, truly infinite potential!"

The Dragon Lord was the only Divinity Transformation True Dragon left in the world. As long as something was touched by his bloodline, even a single trace, it could eventually grow into a Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator with enough resources invested in it.

"If we can take one as a Guardian Spirit Beast or a contracted partner, it’s like adding a new Nascent Soul-level combatant, a future cornerstone for the Sect!"

The East Sea’s resources were limited and couldn’t support so many Nascent Soul cultivators, but breaking them up and distributing them to other powers was a simple matter.

The old monk from the Western Buddha Country, in particular, had an excited red glow on his face when he saw the two Cyan-Scaled Chi Flood Dragons.

He put his palms together and chanted a Buddhist proclamation, "Amitabha Buddha! This flood dragon is fated with my Buddhist Sect. It should enter my Nalanda Temple and become one of the Eight Celestial Dragons Guardians!"

The old crone from the Southern Border Gu Race was even more excited, trembling all over. She stared at the three Profound Water Pythons, a brilliant green light flaring in her eyes.

"Such fine specimens! If I raise them with the Secret Techniques of my Ten Thousand Gu Cave and refine them into ’Gu Dragons,’ my race’s strength will surely soar!"

Even the usually composed Daoist from the Four Symbols Sect looked at the Profound Trigram Spirit Turtle with fervent eyes.

"This turtle has extraordinary talent and seems to resonate with my Four Symbols Sect’s Way of the Black Tortoise Mountain Guardian. If it could enter my tutelage, it would become a celebrated tale."

Representatives from all the powers rose to their feet. The Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs, usually so high and mighty, all clamored to speak at once, and the scene briefly descended into chaos.

However, among this group of dazzling young demons with extraordinary bloodlines,

there was one tiny figure that seemed out of place, squeezed into the outermost corner.

It was a young female demon who looked like a seven or eight-year-old human girl. She wore tattered clothes, had fine golden scales on her face, and was small and scrawny. Her hair was a dull yellow, and her little face was rather grimy.

She kept her head down, nervously wringing the hem of her clothes with both hands.

The Demon Qi she emitted was extremely weak, impure and mixed, and carried the faint, earthy smell of mud.

Compared to the other young demons around her, who were brimming with aquatic spiritual energy and possessed noble bloodlines, she was a world apart.

"Wait, is this also one of Lord Long Gong’s descendants?"

Someone with a sharp Divine Sense investigated her carefully and immediately showed a strange expression.

"Strange... This little demon’s maternal line doesn’t seem to be from the East Sea. It’s from the lowest of the Demon Races, one that lives in mortal rivers and loves to roll in the mud—a yellow mud loach?"

No, it couldn’t even be considered a demon.

It was just the most ordinary yellow mud loach!

"Did His Majesty the Dragon Emperor make a mistake? How could a demon with such poor aptitude be mixed in with the others?"

"Early-stage Qi Cultivation? Her bloodline is hopelessly impure, and her intelligence seems dull... What use is she?"

For a moment, all the Nascent Soul Daoist Monarchs wore looks of confusion.

Su Xiaotai, the old monk from the Western Buddha Country, the green-robed old Daoist from the Four Symbols Sect... everyone’s gazes were focused on her.

’Could it be that Lord Long Gong is playing dumb?’

As the Vice Director of the Daqian Imperial Observatory, Su Xiaotai went so far as to burn his own Essence Blood to activate a sliver of authority from his [Celestial Fire] Position and the [Chixiao Decree].

He intended to peer through Reincarnation and see the yellow mud loach’s true form.

"Little one, what’s your name?"

Su Xiaotai asked kindly, Yin and Yang Qi swirling in his eyes.

The girl looked up blankly. "Ao Xinrou..."

RUMBLE!

Upon receiving her answer, a series of images flowed through the depths of Su Xiaotai’s eyes.

He looked back nine lifetimes, seeing her past as clear as day.

He was dumbfounded, his fingers trembling slightly. "You... you..."

PFFT!

Su Xiaotai spat out a large mouthful of golden blood, his face turning deathly pale.

It was as if a basin of cold water had been dumped over his head.

This girl was just the most ordinary yellow mud loach. The only reason she could take human form was because she had been touched by a trace of the Dragon Lord’s bloodline.

But that was the extent of her potential in this life; it was almost impossible for her to grow any stronger!

"Let me have a look."

After Su Xiaotai, the green-robed old Daoist from the Four Symbols Sect, refusing to believe it, also tried. He found nothing, and the Jade Pendant he carried shattered with a CLANG.

Next came the old monk from the Western Buddha Country, the old crone from the Southern Border Gu Race... Almost every Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch gave it a try.

But they all came to the same conclusion.

"A yellow mud loach... It really is just a yellow mud loach! Lord Long Gong, Your Highness, why must you do this to us!"

The Nascent Soul cultivators were beside themselves with frustration. Their disappointment after investigating was as immense as their initial anticipation had been.

One after another, they turned away.

One after another, overwhelming auras from the Nascent Soul cultivators washed over the area. Not even a Golden Core True Monarch could withstand them, let alone a little Qi Cultivation demon.

The little girl’s face turned pale with fright. She curled into a ball, her small shoulders trembling slightly, looking utterly helpless and pitiable.

If the Dragon Lord hadn’t been present, she would have been annihilated into nothingness by the aftershocks of Reincarnation during Su Xiaotai’s very first probe!

Qin Xuan took all of this in, feeling that something wasn’t right, though he couldn’t put his finger on it.

’Don’t tell me the Dragon Lord is just toying with them for his own amusement?’

But as Qin Xuan’s gaze swept over the isolated and rejected mud loach girl, the Crystal Pendant on his wrist suddenly grew warm, sending out an intense pulse.

’The Nameless Senior Sister wants this little demon to accompany her!’

Qin Xuan’s heart pounded. He looked at the little girl trembling in the corner, and an unbelievable thought suddenly surfaced.

It was a stroke of inspiration.

This yellow mud loach was the Third-Grade Opportunity!

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, Qin Xuan moved forward as if possessed.

Countless gazes, sharp as arrows, shot toward Qin Xuan in a SWISH.

"What is this Purple Mansion junior trying to do?"

"What a joke! You think you’re worthy of this mud loach?!"

A Nascent Soul Daoist Monarch sneered. Spiritual light flared around him, and he was just about to make a move to force Qin Xuan to back down.

If they couldn’t have her, they wouldn’t let the Demon Sect get her for cheap!

But in the next moment, ripples suddenly spread through the void.

A quaint, small pavilion appeared out of thin air, and everyone’s movements froze.

Time seemed to stand still.

Before Qin Xuan’s shocked eyes, a coolly elegant young woman, as serene and graceful as moonlight, took light, lotus-like steps and slowly walked out of the pavilion.

’Something’s wrong. This Nameless Senior Sister looks the same as the one I saw before, but her aura is completely different!’

However, in the next moment, even Qin Xuan lost consciousness.

The young woman was beautiful beyond this world. She carried a long golden sword, like a Banished Immortal who partook not of mortal food. Her eyes were ice-cold, sacred and inviolable.

She walked to the little girl’s side and slowly knelt, then looked up at the golden-robed phantom of the Dragon Lord sitting on his high seat and gently shook her head.

"Ao Wuji, after ten thousand years of Reincarnation, she has finally, with great difficulty, been reborn. She should not fall into your schemes."

CRASH!

Razor-sharp Sword Qi swept out.

The [Sword Edge Gold]: the White Emperor’s Authority, forged through a hundred refinements. Its red light shoots toward the heavens, its white blade gleams like frost and snow.

A stunning flash of sword light shot toward the sky as flecks of shattered gold flew everywhere.

If Qin Xuan were conscious right now, he would surely realize that this was the [Breaking Gold] Blood Talisman from his own body!

However, the Blood Talisman that could only sever Spiritual Power meridians in Qin Xuan’s hands could, in the hands of the Nameless Senior Sister, even sever the threads of karma and causality.

RUMBLE!

The waters of the East Sea churned, and the light of the sun and moon seemed to rise and fall.

The Dragon Lord’s golden-robed phantom trembled slightly, his pupils contracting violently. A crack had actually appeared in the [Great Sea Water] Position behind him!

"Your Excellency... you’re not dead?"

The young woman raised her sword and chuckled, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly. "So, you were hoping I was?"

"No..." A bitter smile appeared on the Dragon Lord’s aged face. He bowed and cupped his hands, his heart and soul trembling.

"Your Excellency has given an order. Wuji dares not disobey..."