Chapter 216: Joy

「They probably passed by at night without encountering any changes. 」Jiang Yu's words had just fallen, with a plop, the Dragon Pearl also lost control and fell into the water.

The two immediately stared at the Dragon Stele, discovering that the lake bottom actually had no living things, and moreover, the deeper they sank, the more different the aquatic plants on the lake bottom became.

「A patch of dead black, this? Could it be the entrance to the Ghost Realm? 」Jiang Tu wanted to control the Dragon Pearl to fly away, but helplessly, the more mana he sent, the faster it went deeper.

Until the Dragon Pearl entered a patch of aquatic plants, then was sucked into a crack opened at the bottom of the plants, spinning rapidly.

「Teleportation? 」Jiang Yu only felt her body involuntarily overturning, oh no, it was the Dragon Pearl's ultra‑high‑speed spinning that caused her to be flung head‑down, feet‑up.

Jiang Yu angrily blew bubbles, "What the hell kind of place is this, actually treating the Dragon Pearl like a ball to play with."

Helplessly, it could not control the Dragon Pearl, so it could only go along, flying up and down.

Fortunately, the duration was not long; the Dragon Pearl fell into a slanted palace inside, and due to inertia, it rolled on the still‑white ground.

Jiang Tu immediately controlled it and made it invisible, moreover no longer relying on the Dragon Stele, using only his divine sense to probe and observe.

The truth is, it was being tossed about in the space, and now it is some distance away from the Dragon Pearl.

Then, as soon as its divine sense touched the remaining half of the palace gate, it was bounced back.

"Again like this, Jiang Yu, should we leave now?"

Feeling that this place is a broken remnant hall, with the spiritual jade paved on the floor still usable. Jiang Yu?

「I'm here. 」Jiang Yu was using spiritual power to reduce the swelling on her forehead; just now she had been flung and kept hitting stones and fruit trees, and if not for the mountain under her feet blocking her, she would have likely hit a few more times.

「Let's rest a bit, observe, then go out. 」She still felt a bit dizzy.

「Alright, I'll take you to the Dragon Stele to observe. 」While speaking, Jiang Tu had already enlarged his body and carried her flying.

「Stop stop stop. 」Jiang Yu felt even more dizzy; she wanted to take another Nourishing Spirit Pill.

「I've been telling you to train your body, look, after just a few falls you're already fragile. 」Jiang Tu's usual complaint reappeared.

「I also need time; after this outing I'll close off for thirty years in seclusion, certainly making up for body training. 」Jiang Yu always felt something was off.

After the medicine took effect and her mind became completely clear, 「No way, I previously trained my body at the Thunder Pond, how am I still this weak? 」

She pinched her own arm; it was quite solid.

Jiang Tu didn't understand; he extended his claw, lifted her, and flew back to the Dragon Stele, only to see the palace unchanged, devoid of any vitality.

If observed carefully, many places still faintly had remnants of tables, chairs, and tea sets, but there were no treasures.

The Dragon Pearl flew several circles inside the hall, still finding no exit; "It seems only a person can go out."

Jiang Yu pressed it: "I'll go out, you stay behind."

She flashed outside, activating the defensive bracelet, and also slapped a few Golden Bell Talismans, making her protective spirit light shield several layers thicker, before slowly walking toward the entrance.

Furthermore, she lightly waved the Thunder Bamboo Fan, and silvery‑white arcs crackled, striking the entrance that lacked a half‑door.

Fortunately, it was not reflected back, but the shimmering spiritual light on the great gate easily dissipated the lightning.

Jiang Yu's mind moved, the long spear from her storage ring appeared in her hand; she thrust forward forcefully, and the gate's spiritual light flashed again.

But her palm trembled slightly, and the long spear she held shattered in the blink of an eye.

「Such a powerful seal, it seems impossible to force a way out. 」

「What's outside? 」Jiang Tu's face was almost pressed against the Dragon Stele, yet it still couldn't make out the scenery outside.

Jiang Yu's naked eye also couldn't see clearly; even with a Moonlight Stone it didn't help: 「It's dark and unclear to look at, but listening it sounds like we're still underwater. 」

「I'm afraid we need to find the palace's core before we can leave. 」

「I'll search with you. 」Jiang Tu shrank and darted out; just as the Dragon Pearl was about to fly back to the sea of consciousness, it was suddenly snatched away by a shadow.

Jiang Tu swept with his bamboo fan, emitting threads of lightning, yet not even touching the edges of that shadow.

Her heart sank; she scooped Jiang Tu onto her shoulder, scanned the entire hall with her divine sense, yet only saw that same shadow.

Or Jiang Tu pointed to the dragon carved on the pillar and said: 「There. 」

Jiang Yu looked up and saw only a dragon the size of a fist, without a physical body, coiled at the dragon's head position.

And the other party, playing with the Dragon Pearl, said: 「It's rare for a Dragon Pearl space to grow; the little guy is quite lucky. 」

「Which Dragon King are you, and can you return my Dragon Pearl? 」Jiang Tu didn't dare to rush forward to seize it, sensing that the opponent was not inferior to that Nascent Soul ghost cultivator.

Jiang Yu also performed a respectful salute: 「I have greeted the Dragon King; sorry for disturbing your cultivation. 」

「This Dragon Pearl belongs to Ao You; inside it is merely a resting place, I suppose you wouldn't take a fancy to it. 」

Moreover, she was using Jiang Tu's real name at this moment, just to draw closer.

The Dragon Soul laughed and asked: 「Do you want it back? 」

「Yes. 」The two Jiangs nodded in unison.

The Dragon Soul also nodded: 「It can be returned, but we must find a way to send Our Majesty out of this ghostly place. 」

Also, is there not a dragon bone inside the Dragon Pearl?

Jiang Yu hurriedly said: 「Yes, is it yours? We can have Ao You take it out. 」

「If you agree, I'll go in right away to retrieve it. 」Jiang Tu stared intently at the Dragon Pearl, fearing the opponent would erase his mark, but fortunately the opponent lacked a physical body, so for now they could not seize mastery of the Dragon Pearl.

But an old Dragon King has many secret arts; losing the Dragon Pearl isn't scary, what's frightening is if the opponent also wants to kill them.

However, the Dragon Soul said: 「You haven't agreed yet; bring me out. 」

「This ghostly place annoys Our Majesty to no end. 」

「Alright, I agree. 」Jiang Yu immediately expressed her stance.

As soon as she agreed, the Dragon Pearl flew back into Jiang Tu's hand, and he immediately sent it into his sea of consciousness.

But Jiang Yu suddenly flicked her Thunder Bamboo Fan, sending a lot of lightning onto the Dragon Pearl.

「Hiss! 」A smaller Dragon Soul trembled its body and flew away from the Dragon Pearl.

Jiang Tu also immediately spewed spiritual fire in pursuit: 「You're cheating, trying to enter my sea of consciousness to possess me. 」

At this moment, looking again at the Coiled Dragon Pillar, there was no Dragon Soul left on it.

Jiang Yu mobilized all her spiritual power, pouring it entirely into the Thunder Bamboo Fan, letting countless arcs combine with the spiritual fire to chase and slash that Dragon Soul.

"Stop, stop, quickly stop, I don't wish to seize your body; after years here my primordial spirit has faded, I'm only borrowing your sea of awareness to nurture it." While the Dragon Soul fled, each time it snapped a dragon claw to try to split the spiritual fire, its soul‑body grew a shade fainter.

Jiang Yu felt a surge of joy; it seemed the opponent's strength had already vanished, so she hurried to boost her thunder output.

At the same time, she didn't forget to retrieve from the storage ring a Heaven‑and‑Earth Jade Box containing a single purple‑gold thunder bamboo.

When this bamboo, flashing gold‑purple lightning, emerged, in an instant a thunder zone formed above the two Jiang heads.

"I go, you actually managed to dig up this bamboo!"

"Ouch, my dragon whisker, stop it, I won't fight any more."

"Listen, beneath this palace lies a Demon Race; it has already captured two cultivators, that's the true body seizure." The Dragon Soul flew back to the coiled dragon pillar, its body instantly diving into the dragon head.

The pursuing spiritual fire and thunder could not scorch the dragon pillar, because it burst into golden light, forming a shield that kept the Dragon Soul within.

"This is a treasure; I wonder if it can be taken apart." Jiang Tu felt a bit tempted.

Jiang Yu withdrew the thunder bamboo fan; she could not let the lightning inside waste away. "Find an exit, move this palace into the Dragon Pearl for you to use."