Chapter 530

The young man in black robes made such a blunt, crude motion, coupled with his terse words.

There was not the slightest hint of softening.

As a result, these white tigers, unless they wished to fight to the death, had no room even for polite excuses.

Either fight, or leave.

In this region of Hongze, unless the power gap between both sides was truly immense, such utterly merciless scenes rarely occurred.

Everyone pondered the young man's earlier words.

The Luli Qingfeng clan… though also a famed demonic force in Xihong, its status and standing need not be stated, clearly had not yet reached a level where such arrogance was warranted.

Yet, from the respectful expression of the Luli Qingfeng matron, some issues were evident.

The young man's earlier words seemed not to invoke the Luli Qingfeng as any kind of patron, but merely to state a fact—that he was temporarily residing there.

These tiger demons have definitely stirred up a formidable opponent today!

Yet how could such a high-ranking young man be seated in a corner by the Dragon Empress? It certainly wasn't for the sake of modesty, given his prior conduct, which had nothing to do with those two words.

Regardless, he was a person of great importance.

And his background's depth likely exceeded even their wildest imaginings.

Having reached this conclusion,

everyone quickly ignored the several furious tiger demons, yet made no overt attempt to flatter Shen Yi.

The gap in status was too vast; forcing oneself upon others would only risk provoking annoyance—and invite dangerous calamity.

The combination of the cultivator and the Luli Qingfeng left even observers uncertain whether the young man leaned more toward the Xian Sect or the demonic clans.

"Let's go."

The young white tiger elder finally regained composure, slowly rising from the ground, not glancing once at the young man on the main seat.

He stumbled toward the palace exit.

His seemingly shamed back made the false smiles on the faces of other cultivators and demons stiffen slightly.

No one present was a fool.

The tiger demons' display clearly meant this matter was far from over.

Yet at that moment, the long-absent "host" finally sent two black-backed jiao dragon guards, blocking the tiger's path, who whispered: "The Dragon Empress knows your purpose and has already prepared the soul-renewing artifact—this way, please."

The young tiger clenched its fists tightly, clearly resentful of the Dragon Empress's earlier indifference.

With her terrifying cultivation of the Union Dao Realm, stopping that man in black robes would have been but a thought away.

It was merely that her clan was inferior to that boy's background.

Hmph… no matter how great a background, it doesn't guarantee immunity to accidents—even the direct heirs of the Liangdaohuang Sect often perish abroad, let alone others.

This profound humiliation must be washed away in blood!

Seeing the young tiger fall silent, the three remaining elder demons, ignoring the lingering pain from the Luli Qingfeng's assault, hastily dragged him back and bowed with grateful faces: "Thank you, Dragon Empress, for your grace!"

"Please."

The two black-backed jiao guards acted as if they had seen nothing, raising their right arms slightly, then turning to lead the way.

Only after they had vanished completely did the great hall remain filled solely with the sound of the beauty dancing; not even a whisper stirred.

After all, no one knew whether some insignificant gesture might disturb the young man on the main seat's enjoyment of the dance—perhaps resulting in a fate worse than that of the tiger clan.

"…"

Shen Yi stared into the hall, his peripheral vision flickering toward the empty courtyard outside.

His brow furrowed slightly.

The previously unseen Dragon Empress had already intervened once to prevent matters from worsening.

Now, suddenly finding an excuse to summon the tiger demons away, it was hard not to suspect she intended to disrupt their plan to "befriend" him.

Shen Yi had never encountered such meddlesome demons before.

Moreover, by outward strength, he and Yu Lan had shown considerable power, yet still remained confined to the level of Bai Yujing—hardly sufficient to counter the tiger demons' meticulously prepared ambush.

Just who was the Dragon Empress helping?

Shen Yi did not recall any favor owed to him by the Long Gong.

"And that soul-renewing artifact…"

Recalling the earlier words, Shen Yi withdrew his peripheral gaze, his thoughts growing unsettled.

Though unaware of the specifics, it sounded as if someone was dying and needed the Dragon Empress's treasure to prolong life; judging by the tiger demons' reactions, the dying one's status was far from low.

If truly on the brink of death, would the difficulty of slaying them plummet?

And someone of such noble status must surely possess either exceptional talent or formidable power—or both?

For a moment, Shen Yi lost all interest in feigning admiration of the dance.

His fingertips, hidden within his sleeves, pinched lightly, drawing a wisp of milky-white energy into the silver bell.

He hadn't expected that this cautious, crude technique from his Nascent Core days would still prove useful now.

With the tiger demons' departure, the hall's atmosphere gradually warmed, yet no one dared rise to raise any trivial matters.

The Daozi of the Bihai Sect sat cross-legged behind his table, sighing inwardly with a touch of relief.

She was no foolhardy fanatic like Su Hongxiu, who grew restless upon encountering strong opponents; though she wished to test herself against the prodigies of Xihong, she knew well how to weigh urgency and importance.

The mysterious young man's intervention had resolved a major problem for her.

At least with this incident, the Yunhe Sect would no longer have the heart to question the current state of the Seven Sons of Hong—negotiations for aid could still proceed.

Yet… the cultivators outside were truly terrifying!

Take this mysterious young man—his displayed power far surpassed even the strongest among the Seven Daozi of Hong.

Upon returning to the sect, I must report this thoroughly to my master.

"Lin Dao Friend?"

"Ah?" The Bihai Sect's Dao Child finally came back to his senses, glanced to the side, and nodded his thanks: "Many thanks to you just now, Dao Friend."

"It… it's nothing, I didn't really help much either." The Yunhe Sect's Dao Child forced a smile. Seeing that the other's mind was entirely elsewhere, he could only sigh softly within. At this very moment, how could anyone's attention possibly be drawn away from that black-robed youth?

Just then, the two Black-Backed Blackback Blackback Jiaolong guards from earlier had gone and returned.

The two walked briskly to below the main seat and said softly: "The Dragon Consort wishes to invite you into the palace for a chat. If it's convenient for you now, please come this way."

At these words, the already variously preoccupied cultivators, demons, and monsters all wore even stranger expressions.

An invitation from the Dragon Consort was itself an honor—something many people wouldn't dare dream of.

Let alone in such a polite tone, even carrying a note of consultation… it sounded as though she were inviting a Dao Friend of the same realm.

One must remember, the Dragon Consort was a being whose strength rivaled the Dao Merging realm; for other cultivators, calling it a gulf between immortals and mortals would not be an exaggeration.

"…"

They didn't even dare to breathe heavily as they looked toward the main seat.

Little did they know…

Shen Yi's current mood was no better than theirs.

He had originally planned to find an excuse to harvest a wave of demon and monster lifespans. Not getting any would have been fine, but now he'd even drawn the attention of a great demon—truly a loss to end all losses.

On the surface he appeared composed and calm, but in truth his body beneath the black robe had long been taut, rapidly pondering how to escape from under the nose of a Dao Merging realm great demon.

Yet no matter how many times he went through everything he knew—even counting Shen Yue Fa and the Phoenix Essence Dao Weapon he'd just obtained—his chance of survival was still that minuscule.

Something's wrong! Far too wrong!

This Dragon Consort's reaction, from the very first warning, to sending the Bai Hu demon clan away, to now inviting him, was strange from start to finish.

Shen Yi even had a feeling that even if he hadn't acted earlier and had simply sat quietly until the end, the other party would probably still have sent someone to invite him.

In the future he'd have to be even more careful… if there even was a future.

"Let's go. I've gotten rather tired of looking at this anyway."

Shen Yi gave a slight nod of his chin, rose unhurriedly, then stepped toward the outside of the hall.

If the Dragon Consort truly meant to act, whether here or in her own palace made no real difference.

Either way the outcome would be the same; better to be a little carefree about it.

This bearing of his, falling into the eyes of onlookers, only further cemented the fact of his noble status. With Bai Yujing's strength, earning the peer recognition of a Dao Merging realm great demon… even someone with the backing of the Liangdaohuang Sect probably couldn't manage that.

Besides, the way he clearly looked so accustomed to it, this was most likely not his first time being an honored guest of a Dao Merging realm titan.

……

Above the ninety-ninth floor of Lady Yushan stood an exquisite little tower.

Like a white flower atop a mountain peak, so elegant that one felt even casting an extra glance would be a desecration.

Shen Yi followed the two Black-Backed Blackback Blackback Jiaolong guards as he slowly approached the tower.

Even in that great hall earlier there had been great demons rivaling three cities in strength; he had thought he might see even more extraordinary beings.

Yet the two Black-Backed Blackback Blackback Jiaolong guards stopped at the door, extended a hand, and said softly: "Please, after you."

Then they used their gazes to stop Yu Lan, who had followed behind.

Shen Yi signaled her with his eyes to be quiet, then silently entered the hall, only to see a small, empty palace.

Calling it a palace was actually more like a slightly larger inner chamber. Take the throne at the main seat, for instance—it could just as well be described as a coral jade couch.

Throughout the entire hall, apart from Shen Yi, there wasn't even a single attending maidservant. Only one graceful figure, draped in a snow-Bai Long skirt, sat quietly on the right side of the jade couch.

Those rare treasures of the sea, worn on that woman's body, somehow lost a measure of their lavishness, making her seem rather plain and elegant.

Needless to say about her lovely face; two pure-white dragon horns flickered with a faint glow, drawing the gaze of onlookers.

Compared to Ke Shisan's maternal clan being clam spirits, and Ke Laoqi's maternal clan being flesh-winged silkworms, this beloved consort of the Qi family's lord was unexpectedly also a dragon.

Shen Yi silently gazed at the very tips of the woman's smooth black hair, where a faint ripple of purple spread.

A name of a clan surfaced unbidden in his mind.

East Long Gong, Purple-Bearded White Dragon.

This clan, aside from the South Long Gong, should be the branch of dragons with the deepest ties to the General Nanyang Sect.

After all, strictly speaking, the previous General Nanyang Sect should have been destroyed precisely because of them and the matter with Senior Li Xuanqing.

In an instant, Shen Yi's wariness deepened considerably.

Yet the next moment, the woman's faint smile and gently warm voice finally stirred a ripple across Shen Yi's calm expression.

"Shen Zongzhu, there's no need for formality, please sit."

As she spoke, the place she lightly patted was not the seat beside her, but the left side of the jade couch: "Don't misunderstand. As a Sect Master, your status is actually higher than mine; for you to take the lesser seat is, in the end, somewhat inappropriate."

"…"

Shen Yi drew a deep breath. Though he didn't know how his identity had been exposed, his earlier suspicion was now confirmed.

Sure enough, this Dragon Consort had had her eye on him long ago.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated, and walked briskly to the jade couch, sitting shoulder to shoulder with the Dragon Consort.

This woman's emphasis on status and hierarchy could be glimpsed from that ninety-ninth-floor tower alone; it was in keeping with her current behavior.

Still, this was the first time Shen Yi had been so close to a Dao Merging realm titan—even closer than when he had ridden alongside the Qingyue Sect Master. Moreover, the person beside him now was a demon, so his feelings were inevitably somewhat complicated.

If he could slay her, just how smooth his path of cultivation from here on would be.

"Do you think me a bit of a snob?"

The Dragon Consort smiled again, and set off by that mature charm, instantly becoming so beautiful as to be beyond compare.

She quickly put away her smile: "People of a certain status act in ways befitting that status and interact with others of similar standing—maintaining mutual vigilance and concern. Only in this way is trouble less likely to arise. This is the lesson your General Nanyang Sect taught me."

"Do you like guessing what others are thinking?" Shen Yi glanced sideways, his eyes like an ancient well, ripple-free.

This feeling of being seen through and toyed with, along with the unease of the unknown, truly made him resistant.

"Not just thoughts, but also a keen sense of scent." The Dragon Consort explained softly: "This is an innate talent of my Purple-Bearded White Dragon clan… For instance, the faint blood Qi of a snake woman on you, and the Yellow Fiend Poison Dragon… as well as the fresh aura of a Glazed Green Phoenix."

"I've already investigated the matter of the Treasure Flower Sect, and combined with this snake woman's blood Qi, I know you're from Yu Nanhong. Whether you believe it or not, I never intended to kill her. After all, I have no real marital relationship with Eldest Qi, nor do I care how debauched he is—I simply didn't want him leaving offspring out there that would affect my plans, so I was merely trying to scare them."

"I still know a fair bit about the Liuli Azure Phoenix clan. The clan's prodigies and powerhouses don't include the one outside that tower. And although my eye is shallow, I've lived a few more years after all—I can tell there's something strange about her. At the very least, she's not a purely living being."

"This reminds me of when I was at the Shuiyueshang Alliance, where the General Nanyang Sect Master once summoned a similar Azure Rhinoceros puppet… Congratulations, Shen Zongzhu, your puppet-making skills have improved again."

The Dragon Consort seemed very eager for Shen Yi to drop his guard, and briskly resolved the doubts in his heart for him.

But the more she spoke, the killing intent hidden on that Bai Xi face of Shen Yi's grew thicker and thicker, even as he tried his utmost to conceal it.

He had never imagined that outside of Yu Nanhong, there would actually be a Dao Merging realm powerhouse who had come to understand him to such a terrifying degree.

"You…"

The Dragon Consort paused, then finally smiled helplessly: "Enough. I didn't invite Shen Zongzhu here today to make friends either. First, I wish to apologize to you… As for what happened back then, although Father King has already completely severed the father-daughter relationship with Princess Ziling, it was ultimately my East Long Gong that wronged all of you, wronged Li Xuanqing."

Shen Yi was never the type to easily trust others.

Especially when the other party's strength and the information they possessed both far surpassed his own.

This was never a fair conversation to begin with.

Coupled with Li Xuanqing's precedent, he simply skipped over this topic: "Does the Dragon Consort have anything else?"

"The second matter is, under normal circumstances, Eldest Qi cannot mobilize a single soldier, nor can he invite the aid of a Dao Merging realm expert. As long as the Seven Sons of Nanhong don't provoke him too much, once I've finished the matter in my hands, I will naturally call him back."

The Dragon Consort said softly: "Therefore, I also ask Shen Zongzhu to somewhat quell his anger and not cause too much trouble in Hongze. With my status, it is truly inconvenient for me to come forward and help the Seven Sons of Nanhong any further."

For two parties whose realms differed so vastly.

This could already be considered an extremely tactful reminder.

Shen Yi should have been weeping with gratitude.

But he merely raised his eyes slightly, gazed into the Dragon Consort's eyes, and asked seriously: "May I ask the Dragon Consort, what matter, and how long?"

"Taking control of the West Long Gong."

Facing this young cultivator, the Dragon Consort showed not the slightest contempt, as if she truly regarded him as the General Nanyang Sect Master—not the current Seven Son, but more like facing the Seven Son in his former glory: "Without sufficient strength to back it up, good intentions often end up ruining things."

"We hope that what happened back then will not occur a second time."

"At the very least… East Long Gong should have the right to decide what its own people should do, rather than watching helplessly from the sidelines as others deliberate, unable to even get a word in."

Saying this, she slowly rose and gazed out beyond the tower: "Even if we cannot defeat that noble existence, no matter what, we must possess the power to stir up some waves—to make him think twice and expend more effort when he wishes to conceal what happened in Hongze from those above."

"I'll say no more."

The Dragon Consort turned her gaze back to Shen Yi: "What was discussed today will not reach any other ears. I hope Shen Zongzhu can also keep it to himself… If possible, it would be best to cultivate your temperament and rein in the killing aura on you. My apologies, we are rather averse to that."

"As for the Haoyue Shuanghu clan, I have already explained things clearly to them. If you leave quietly, there will be no trouble. What does the Sect Master plan to do?"

Facing the Dragon Consort's inquiry, Shen Yi nodded noncommittally: "I understand."

"That's good. Shen Zongzhu, please."

Saying this, the Dragon Consort bent down and took Shen Yi's hand. As her breath stirred, everything before his eyes instantly blurred.

"…"

By the time Shen Yi came back to his senses, he was already standing silently outside the small tower.

Facing Yu Lan's worried gaze.

He frowned slightly, lowered his eyes to stare at his palm, then rubbed his fingertips together—not because he was savoring the softness of the Dragon Consort's hand.

Although the fact that the eldest of the Qi family was currently leading troops into Nanhong, while he himself had called for reinforcements and ended up on his beloved consort's jade couch, sounded rather absurd.

But Shen Yi's mind was not on this matter at present. He had only gained a new understanding of the power of the Dao Merging realm.

The other party might also have been using this method to remind him just how perilous Hongze truly was.

Everything this Dragon Consort said and did carried a strange, persuasive quality.

Presumably, Senior Li Xuanqing back then had stepped into this deep pit for the same reason—after all, who wouldn't like a being who could completely understand their feelings?

Yet how could the General Nanyang Sect step into the same pit a second time?

Shen Yi did not wish that, many years from now, it would still be this same Dragon Consort, taking the hand of the next General Nanyang Sect Master, apologizing to them once again.

One's own affairs still had to be handled by oneself.

As for East Long Gong wanting to take control of the West Palace, or even wanting to bring the South Palace under its banner as well, that was their business.

Thinking of this, Shen Yi slightly sensed that wisp of aura within the silver bell.

He did not intend to experience this feeling of helplessness before a Dao Merging realm expert a second time.

The matter of finding a demon clan prodigy candidate to undergo the Fourth Tribulation had to be put on the agenda immediately.

Shen Yi did not return to the great hall. Instead, he rose decisively, stepped upon the river waves, and shot off toward the outside of the waters!

(End of this chapter)