Chapter 265: Is Conferring Gods Poisoned? The Heaven-Chosen

These words, once spoken, once again made the Old Dragon burn with anger, as though he had been reminded of the letters sent over before.

But after the anger, his expression was filled with wariness.

"Cannot be spoken, cannot be spoken; the moment it is spoken, disaster will follow."

He shook his head helplessly and said softly to Baichuan, full of apology.

"Is that so?"

Baichuan sighed with some regret, but since he still wanted to know more, he could not press the other directly. He thought for a moment, then spoke again: "From what you say, it seems you rather look up to the current ruler of this dynasty?"

"Indeed." Ao Qing nodded. Perhaps because of the guilt brought by that earlier untouchable matter, this time he held nothing back: "Although that one is still young, he is a truly accomplished wise lord. Since ascending the throne, he has governed with diligence; the common folk under his rule can truly be said to live and work in peace and contentment. Such prosperity is rare even in this long history of dynasties. It's just a pity…"

"A pity?" Baichuan did not understand. Logically speaking, such an accomplished wise ruler, backed by the pyramid-like power system of Conferring Gods, should have nothing that could obstruct him.

Not understanding, Baichuan simply asked directly: "Isn't that one of Dalong standing at the very peak of the entire Conferring Gods, a sovereign who holds life and death in his hands? And now the entire dynasty is thriving, united from top to bottom. Just the mobilization and deployment against the earlier disaster alone lets one glimpse the larger picture. Yet you sigh for him? Why is that?"

"Because, ah, it is precisely because of Conferring Gods that it is a pity." The Old Dragon shook his head, somewhat wistful: "Senior has slept for many years and does not know — on this great land, there have been no shortage of wise lords as accomplished as that one of Dalong. Even more dazzling talents than him have appeared. That terrifying dynasty once stepped out of Tian Gui Zhi Jie and encompassed the surrounding Nanhai and Donghai. But now? A dynasty so vast, at the height of its glory, simply collapsed and vanished."

"Could it be that Conferring Gods is… poi… soned?"

At these words, Baichuan, suddenly catching on, said hoarsely, one syllable at a time.

The Old Dragon had already said this much; if he still could not grasp the hint within, he would be nothing but a pig.

"Hush~~ speak carefully, speak carefully."

At these words, the Old Dragon shook his head with utmost wariness, indicating not to dig deeper. He then personally poured a cup of rich, fragrant fine wine, for by now all the unrelated people around had long since withdrawn. "Come, Senior, please try this fine wine unique to my residence — Drunk Dragon Chant. This is a top-grade fine wine others would beg for in vain; even we dragons cannot help but let out a dragon's hum after drinking it — a Spirit wine."

At this, even the Old Dragon could not help but show a pained expression. Such top-grade fine wine was never abundant in quantity; in the past, even when he wanted to pour himself a few cups, he would use his human form and savor it slowly and carefully.

But now this dragon elder before him was a domineering dragon who disliked the human form. Under such circumstances, to entertain the other, he had taken out half of his reserves — for if he took too little, it might not be enough for even a small sip, and that would not be hospitality but insult.

"Is that so? Then I must have a few good sips."

Although Baichuan was not much of a drinker, in his current inner elation he did not mind and accepted the Old Dragon's generous invitation.

Perhaps he had already touched upon a sliver of the true secrets of this world. He did not care about the problem of the Conferring Gods system itself — whether it was good or bad had nothing to do with him — but from it he seemed to glimpse a mysterious existence hidden behind this power.

At this moment, in a daze, Baichuan seemed to see a strange existence lurking within history, like a disgusting blood-sucking bedbug, madly and greedily devouring the fat and wealth of the people, all the power of this great land, solely to strengthen itself. Beneath it lay the wreckage of dynasties upon dynasties, some incompetent, some great.

Regarding this existence, Baichuan's intuition told him that even if it had nothing to do with the source of supernatural power between heaven and earth, there must still be threads of connection.

Perhaps it was also related to the "Main God-level" experts of this Dongfang Quyu.

"Hiss~~!"

Lost in thought, Baichuan, who had drunk a cup of fine wine, also took an involuntary sharp breath, because the sensation was too stimulating.

The fine wine entered his throat, transforming into a hot thread that flowed along his throat throughout his entire body. He then felt the energy within him seem to be nourished, wildly surging upward.

At the same time, stimulated by this, like a cat bristling or a snake flaring its scales, even Baichuan could not help but, in a sudden startle, loosen his control over his own aura for a breath.

In an instant, as the scales of the flood dragon's massive body opened and relaxed, an invisible wave of hot air burst outward centered on the flood dragon, causing the temperature of the entire Crystal Long Gong to invisibly rise several degrees. Countless ordinary pitiful fish, shrimp, and crabs outside were directly boiled alive.

"Th-this?!!"

Caught off guard, Ao Qing, being the closest to Baichuan, bore the brunt of this terrifying aura head-on.

In an instant, swept by that terrifying aura, Ao Qing felt as though he had seen the great sun!

In his shock, he could not help but retreat repeatedly. In that moment, it was as if sitting opposite him was not an elder of the dragon race with a massive body, but a dazzling, blazing fireball — a heat comparable to the great sun above Tian Gui Zhi Jie! And he was an ice stone about to be melted.

"Hoo—"

A few breaths later, having calmed down, Ao Qing could not help but slowly exhale a breath of turbid air. Looking at Baichuan, who seemed still immersed in the sensation brought by the fine wine, he felt both shock and uncertainty in his heart:

What on earth is this senior's background?

He had thought it was merely a dragon elder slightly stronger than himself by a thread, but he had not expected… Could it be that this old one has encountered some extraordinary great figure?

Such terrifying blazing aura — this old one must have guessed wrong before. This is not an aura any ordinary domineering dragon could possess. This blazing aura perhaps only the four ancestors above the heavens could possibly have. Then what is the senior's relationship with them?

But if the senior truly possesses such strength, perhaps…

At this moment, because of the terrifying aura he had sensed in that instant, Ao Qing silently made a decision — as long as it did not involve that one, he would reveal as much information to the senior as possible.

Of course, this was not him plotting against an elder of his own clan. Setting aside whether such a powerful existence was something he could scheme against, the current dragon race, already so withered, could not afford any internal strife. Having finally found a great power who could shoulder the burden, how could he be so foolish as to destroy it himself?

Over these years, as the strongest true dragon of the present age and the only true dragon, Ao Qing could be said to understand the current plight of the dragon race best. Before he had successfully transformed into a dragon and sheltered these dragon-kind beings, the dragon-kind beings throughout Dalong had almost been treated as resources.

In a daze, he seemed to recall his own magnificent journey of transforming into a dragon.

He, ah, only hoped that after this dragon elder learned more specific information, the decision the other made would benefit the prosperity of the dragon race. If so, then the dragons of his Liao He lineage would pledge themselves to this senior.

"Good, good wine!"

After carefully sensing the changes within his body, even Baichuan, who knew nothing of wine, understood how extraordinary this wine was. Because with this single cup, the Spirit Qi within him had nearly tripled.

Although the increase of this energy had nothing to do with his own strength, he also knew the use this wine had for other cultivators.

Not to mention, beyond the increase in energy, he discovered that some other unknown substance seemed to have appeared in his blood. He was not yet sure what it was, only feeling that it seemed to be something good, changing his body in a positive direction.

"Hahaha, as long as Senior likes it."

Hearing Baichuan's praise, Ao Qing could not help but laugh. This meant that the wine he had personally brewed had caught this senior's eye.

After a few light laughs, his expression hesitated several times before he slowly spoke: "Is Senior curious about those people who sent the invitations earlier?"

Hearing this, Baichuan's eyes lifted slightly, and he nodded, for he too could see that the Old Dragon seemed ready to reveal some information to him.

For other local cultivators whose strength was not great and who only wished to protect themselves, perhaps they would not choose to listen — of course, they also did not have the right. But he, Baichuan, was a dragon who could hardly wait to learn these secrets.

"Sigh, since Senior is curious, this little dragon shall tell Senior. The mastermind behind those who sent the invitations is precisely the Tianlaizhe… oh, Senior may not know what that means. It means that the mastermind is an emperor chosen by the heavens to establish a new dynasty."

"Oh~? The heavens? Could it be that the heavens themselves possess consciousness?"

"Mm, how do you…"

Yet facing Baichuan's puzzlement, the Old Dragon merely shook his head. At first Baichuan did not catch on, but upon seeing the Old Dragon, who had been speaking moments ago, fall silent repeatedly, he immediately understood and said with a light laugh: "Ah, so it's someone who likens himself to the heavens — what bold words. But to be able to influence that Conferring Gods, he cannot be called a man of empty boasts without foundation."

"But isn't Dalong still in its prime? How could an emperor preparing to establish a new dynasty already appear?"

"Indeed, that is precisely what this little dragon finds a pity." Hearing Baichuan's question, which could almost be called drawing inferences and hitting straight at the key point, Ao Qing was inwardly very satisfied. He had feared meeting the kind of blunt person who had to get to the bottom of everything without seeking true understanding. "This fine dynasty, only just entering its prime, is about to be overthrown and collapse for some reason. It is truly a pity."

Hearing this, Baichuan finally understood the surface situation of this Dongfang Quyu. The existence hiding behind the dynasty seemed to feel that this Dalong's lifespan had run out, and was preparing to once again usher in a change of dynasty.

He just did not know what It sought throughout the rise and fall of dynasties. Was it that the fruit of this Dalong dynasty had finally ripened and It was preparing to devour it? Or was It trying to obtain some peculiar power during the transition between old and new dynasties? Or some even deeper scheme?

He deliberated for a moment and said: "From your tone, could it be that you lean more toward the Great Prosperity?"

Faced with Baichuan's such blunt inquiry, Ao Qing was also taken aback. He hesitated, glanced around his surroundings, thought for a while, then slowly nodded and sighed: "Indeed it is so. Although this little dragon's only offspring had just been forced to die because of that one, tracing it to the root, it was nothing more than bringing it upon himself. It must be said that under that one's rule, the position of our dragon race was still passable."

Speaking of this, perhaps fearing that Baichuan was unclear about the situation, Ao Qing paused before explaining: "Senior just woke and does not know — before this, the predicament of our dragon race had already become terribly dire. It could almost be said that we were treated as resources by all manner of cultivators; killing for livers and stripping scales was commonplace. It was only thanks to this little dragon later successfully transforming into a Flood Dragon, and that one of the Great Prosperity bestowing upon me the title of Dragon King, that the situation improved. Yet perhaps precisely because of this, that group extended an olive branch to this little dragon."

"But this little dragon knows well that they merely wish to find cannon fodder to die for them. After all, even though he has already been chosen as a Heaven-Favored One, it is not certain that he can overthrow the old dynasty and establish his own. History is not without failed Heaven-Favored Ones, and among them countless rivers of blood must surely be traversed."

"This is a struggle between two colossal entities. Regrettably, although this little dragon is strong in the mortal world, before such a rolling great tide and such existences, he is still far too small and fragile. Unexpectedly, even so, that group, in order to win over this little dragon, did not hesitate to bewitch my only offspring, simply to make me turn against the Great Prosperity and become sworn enemies. The coming troubled times — my dragon race likely does not know how to deal with it."

Speaking to the end, even Ao Qing could not help but feel a wave of helplessness and despair.

To say he is strong — indeed he is strong. The great being who soars high and low in the eyes of ordinary people, mysterious beyond compare — that is him. Setting aside the likes of the race, as a true dragon, wanting to live freely and at ease in this world is nothing but child's play. Yet such a powerful him, facing that kind of colossal entity, shatters at a single touch.

However, this time Baichuan did not respond. Although he had heard the meaning in this little dragon's words — beseeching him to back the dragon race, even save the Great Prosperity, and the like.

Still, he had no intention of agreeing directly.

After all, the struggles between mortal dynasties and such have never had anything to do with him.

What he seeks is only one thing; the rest he does not wish to bother with.

However, based on the information this little dragon has currently obtained, he has come to understand one thing: since even Ao Qing with such strength could obtain so much information, does that not mean the ruler of this Great Prosperity dynasty knows even more? And unlike this Ao Qing who is wary because of various things, as the two that can almost be said to be mutually exclusive, that one should have no such taboos.

Then, perhaps he ought to go meet that monarch whom Ao Qing praised so highly.

Looking at the panel in the corner of his vision that illusorily displayed "Scan Successful," Baichuan silently decided.

Thinking thus, he turned his head back to look at the diminutive Ao Qing and said: "I do understand your plea, but everything still requires me to look into personally. I have stayed long enough on this trip; I shall take my leave here."

As the words fell, he followed the route by which he had entered and left this peculiar Liao He Crystal Long Gong.

Behind him, Ao Qing watched him depart and slowly let out a sigh.

At this moment, although Ao Qing felt some disappointment at this dragon-race senior's choice, he also expressed understanding.

After all, if it were some being who made decisive judgments without understanding anything, even he would not dare lightly entrust the fate of the dragon race to the other party.

……

(End of this chapter)