Chapter 227

Yinglong

Yinglong

Yinglong, Di Jun, the Wilderness

Yinglong, Qi

Dragon Transformation Method

Dragon Clan

Yinglong, Heavenly Court

【15】 Yinglong, Heavenly Court War Department

Seeing the Responding Dragon agree, Qi then continued to explain the subsequent punishment, only to hear Qi's voice sound out saying:

From now on, Dragon Gate belongs to the Heavenly Court; Dragon Gate opens every ten thousand years, and all those who aspire to become dragons, after their foundation matures, must gather at the Heavenly Court.

Seeing Qi wanting to take back the Dragon Gate, the Responding Dragon hesitated a bit, but after a moment of silence, knowing he now had no capital to refuse, he could only agree, saying: 'Becoming a dragon is a matter of great importance to the scales, relating to a kind; as the master of the wilderness, the Heavenly Court ought to intervene; the dragon clan has no objection to this, Your Majesty may later go to the eastern sea shore to collect it.'

After saying this, the Responding Dragon lifted his spirits; now he had a clear plan for handling the dragon-transformation method, the punishment for the dragon clan had already been issued, and all that remained was how to deal with him.

The Responding Dragon only hoped it would not be a sealing or a reduction of his cultivation; he could accept anything else, although he also lacked the ability to refuse.

Yinglong, Heavenly Court War Department - official rank/title?

During this term, if your merits are insufficient, you may not return to the Four Seas; as for how merits are calculated, the Department of Combat has its own considerations—you only need to know that the merit you require is three times that of others.

Di Jun, the Wilderness

Upon hearing Qi's handling, the Responding Dragon felt both relief and worry—relieved that the so-called punishment would not hinder his cultivation, yet worried about what problems the dragon clan might face after his departure.

Moreover, considering that taking a post in the Heavenly Court would allow him to share in the flow of fortune, and since every strand of fortune is precious to the dragon clan at present, he was not so resistant.

Yinglong

Qi, Di Jun, Heavenly Emperor

They had long since settled on a conclusion regarding the handling of the dragon-transformation method; how could Di Jun possibly speak against it? Moreover, he had easily secured a war god for the Heavenly Court, reaping full benefits, so he certainly would not spoil the occasion, and thus laughed, saying:

Emperor Qi

He then turned to the Responding Dragon and said, 'Please wait a moment; I will now issue the golden decree. We still have important matters—take this decree and go to the Heavenly Court. Once you enter the heavenly realm, someone will receive and arrange for you.'

Imperial Edict, Jade Order, Heavenly Realm

Yinglong, Imperial Edict, the Wilderness

Upon entering the primordial wilderness, the Responding Dragon merely sent a message to the Eastern Sea, informing the dragon clan of the antecedents and consequences, and then did not return, but went straight to the heavenly realm.

Qi

Taiyi

Fuxi, Primordial Dao

Di Jun, Nüwa, Kun-Peng

Hongjun

Yinglong, Heavenly Court War Department

Great God Dao Chang

Saying this, he transformed into a pure light and vanished into the the the Zixiao Palace; seeing Qi do so, the others could only follow, each turning into escaping light and sneaking into Chaos.

The moment Qi and the others stepped out of the the the Zixiao Palace, the palace vanished from sight before everyone's eyes, leaving only a blank expanse of world that bore traces of its existence, but it was then immediately eroded away by the Chaos currents.

Hongjun

Nüwa, Yangmei

'What matter could be so important that even we five cannot decide, and we must go into Chaos to seek the Great God Yangmei?'

【63】 Qi, Taiyi, Yangmei

Qi did not beat around the bush, directly relating to everyone what Hongjun had said earlier in the the the Zixiao Palace, omitting no details, making clear the antecedents and consequences; only after a long while did they hear Fuxi sigh, saying: 'The fruition of a sage is equivalent to proving the Dao of the Mixed Origin; such an opportunity, and you still do not seize it? A single cause and effect actually pertains to a sage's position—truly hard to accept.'

After careful consideration, Nüwa could not help but advise, saying:

'Qi, you should have simply accepted it then; such an opportunity, how could you let it slip?'

'Good opportunities never wait for people; this is of great importance—if you later regret it, how will you then conduct yourself?'

Nüwa's words were full of regret and worry; if she had encountered such an opportunity, she would surely have agreed on the spot—how could she have set it aside, and not fear the vicissitudes of life?

Taiyi, on the other hand, understood why Qi acted thus; Qi and he were alike, both proud and lofty, and since he still had a chance to prove the Dao on his own, how could he lightly give it up?

Di Jun was not as extreme as Nüwa and Taiyi; among the four, he was actually the clearest, and he was already calculating what could substitute for not accepting this opportunity.

'Qi, since you did not express your stance then, you must have already harbored the thought of refusing, but the sage's position is too precious, and you also find it hard to let go, right?'

Although Di Jun understood this in his heart, he still asked for confirmation, and Qi did not deny it, merely nodding and saying:

'Exactly so; that is why I have pulled you along, to go together into Chaos to seek the Great God Yangmei, hoping to obtain his advice.'

Everyone also largely agreed with this; in everyone's mind, Yangmei has always been both teacher and friend, always able to gain something from him, so it is normal to want to consult him about the present difficult situation.

Qi borrowed the Chaos Bell from Taiyi, placed a willow leaf inside, gently activated it, and an invisible sound wave spread outward from his position; after doing this seven times, Qi and the others ceased moving, merely staying in place and waiting.

Within a certain small world, Yangmei seemed to sense something, his brows slightly furrowed, he opened his eyes, and with a casual wave, that small world shattered, and Yangmei appeared in Chaos.

After careful sensing, he faintly perceived the direction from which the Chaos Bell's sound wave came; seeing the wave was steady, not like a distress signal from an enemy, he could not help but wonder, saying:

'Hongjun's lecture has ended; they have no thought of returning to the wilderness, so why come to seek me? Could it be that they know I have already proven the Dao and have come specially to congratulate me?'

But saying that, he then countered himself: 'No, I have only just achieved it, and I am in Chaos—Hongjun could not possibly know, nor could they perceive it.'

'Perhaps it was the Primordial Jade Butterfly that gave a hint; Hongjun's heart was moved, he felt something, worried that I would go to kill him, so he led them to seek me in order to buy time.'

Yangmei grew more certain of this conjecture, but since Qi and the others were seeking him, they must indeed be puzzled; he had long been acquainted with Qi and the others, so no matter what, he would have to make a trip.

Thinking of this, Yangmei could not help but curse: 'That scoundrel Hongjun, shameless to the core—our entanglement actually drags in the juniors; afterward I will surely settle the score with him!'

Having spoken, Yangmei's figure vanished, threading his way toward where Qi and the others were; along the way the Chaos currents seemed unaffected, allowing him to pass freely without any disturbance.

Qi, Taiyi, Yangmei, willow branches (generic).

Seeing Yangmei arrive, everyone felt a bit of delight and voluntarily stepped forward, saying:

"Great deity, it's been a long time since we last saw you; we miss you greatly; I wonder how you are doing now?"

Although it was a question, the smiles on everyone's faces showed only concern; after all, Yang Mei is a top god of the Primordial Wilderness—in Chaos, who could possibly harm him?

Although Yang Mei was also very pleased to see everyone rise, he still spoke in an unhappy tone:

"With my ability, whether in the Primordial Wilderness or Chaos, who could possibly harm me? Long time no see—you don't bless my Great Dao's achievement, just spouting insincere words."

Nevertheless, Yang Mei casually opened up a small world and invited everyone inside.

Just this one move left Qi and Taiyi and the others stunned; although Yang Mei's created world is small, it contains all five phases and balances yin and yang.

Yang Mei's current strength—just a glimpse reveals the whole.

Qi's cultivation was the highest among those present, and he saw it most clearly; although Yang Mei acted casually, in that instant earth, water, fire, and wind transformed, yin and yang separated—seeing this, Qi couldn't help but exclaim:

"Great god, have you now proven the mixed-element Dao?"

Yang Mei stroked his beard and smiled, saying nothing, but he was obviously very pleased with everyone's demeanor at the moment.

Seeing Yang Mei not refute, everyone was startled, and their casual ease eased somewhat.

Yang Mei, seeing this, laughed and said:

"Now that you know I've proven the Dao, why are you still being so formal?"

"Great god, your cultivation realm is worlds apart from ours; to behold you is like beholding the Great Dao—how could we continue to act recklessly?"

Di Jun replied respectfully, but Yang Mei furrowed his brow, indifferent, saying: "Hasn't our cultivation always been like this? Compared to when we first met, it's worlds apart—do you see me as seeing the Great Dao?"

Qi gave a wry smile; back then his cultivation was shallow, so he didn't notice, but after entering the mixed-element Dao he became aware—now looking again, the gap between them is truly like a mayfly compared to the heavens, even greater.

"Back then we were young and our cultivation shallow, unaware of the immensity of heaven and earth, so we acted recklessly; now that we've made a little progress, who would dare act as we did before?"

Qi flew to Yang Mei's side, slightly lagging behind; Yang Mei, seeing this, was dissatisfied and said:

"Those few confident, high-spirited fellow cultivators of earlier—now they've become timid and hesitant, afraid to step forward; where is the vigor they had when they plied me with wine?"

"Who are those who disregarded my face in the chess game, not leaving me a shred of dignity? How have you become as timid as quail? This isn't the few little fellow cultivators I know."

Qi recalled the incident, and couldn't help but smile, turning to Taiyi, Nüwa, and the others and saying:

"I think so too; Fellow Cultivator Yang Mei surely doesn't care about worldly people—we needn't be so timid. Looking again, what difference is there from when we first met?"

As soon as Qi said that, everyone's tension eased; Yang Mei had just been smiling, but then he suddenly realized, slapped Qi into the small world, and said: "Huh? After not seeing you for a while, I said your courage had shrunk, but now I see I was mistaken—you little brat, far from being timid, you're actually bold to the point of recklessness."

"I told you to relax a bit, not to act recklessly; among peers, you actually dare to call me a fellow cultivator?"

Nüwa chuckled at the sight; Di Jun, Taiyi, and Fuxi also couldn't help laughing, and the estrangement among everyone invisibly vanished because of this.

Yang Mei had wanted to keep a stern façade, but seeing everyone like that, he couldn't hold back his laughter; his face twisted as he laughed and scolded:

"Qi, you little brat, still have a bit of cunning."

"How could a great god say such a thing? Qi is merely trying to ease the tension between us."

Nüwa said coquettishly, and Yang Mei glanced askance and said:

"How so? Now you're not afraid, guarding yourself well—I don't know if, when I strike your elder brother, you'd still have this protection."

Having said that, Yang Mei added: "I haven't seen these aeons, yet Qi, you little brat, still manage to flirt around—originally someone else's destined dao partner, yet you've managed to get tangled up with them; truly a peculiar person."

Fuxi, Nüwa, Di Jun, and Taiyi were somewhat puzzled, not knowing where Yang Mei's remark came from; Yang Mei didn't elaborate further, merely inviting the four inside again.

As for Qi, he is still impaled on the rock wall inside the small world, with only his feet sticking out.

Qi isn't unwilling to go out; it's just that, though his mind is clear and his divine power flows normally, he feels as if the rock wall has firmly sucked him in, rendering him completely immobile.

Even with his mixed-element Dao power, he cannot break free; even destroying the rock that traps him is beyond him, letting Qi keenly feel the gap between them.

Qi now pins his hopes solely on Yang Mei, wishing he would understand his earnestness, release him soon, and not let Taiyi, Nüwa, and the others see him.

(End of chapter)