Chapter 402. News of the Nine Cauldrons, Disbelief, Leaving Mount Tai
Yinglong had been in seclusion at Jade Emperor Peak on Mount Tai. Since no one had disturbed it, it managed to make a breakthrough into the Sage Realm.
However, Yinglong knew that a Sage was still too weak in the Great Age. Hence, it decided to continue its evolution, and now, it was on the verge of reaching the Lesser Sage stage of the Sage Realm.
It had planned to emerge from seclusion upon making another breakthrough and acclimatizing to that stage, but then it heard that the Golden-Winged Great Peng and the others had been searching for the Nine Cauldrons and had already found six.
The mention of the Nine Cauldrons reminded it of something. It had seen one of those Nine Cauldrons before, but it hadn't claimed it for itself. With that knowledge in mind, Yinglong decided to come out of seclusion and share that information.
The Nine Cauldron it had seen back then was in the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
Before Lu Yuan could say anything about the report, Zhu Qingyu and the others frowned in confusion. "The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace? How did we miss it the last time we were there?"
They had ventured into the Dragon Palace together and had even made their way to the Water-Crystal Palace. They had found most of the resources and boons there, but they had never once come across one of the Nine Cauldrons.
"The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace contains many pocket spaces," Yinglong explained. "When you went, most of them still had their restrictions in place.
"Only those of the dragon race, like myself, can access them, but based on the timing, those restrictions are about to disappear."
This was the reason Yinglong hadn't stopped Zhu Qingyu and the others from taking things inside the Dragon Palace. Of course, it couldn't have stopped them even if it wanted to, but there was no need to do so, as everything truly useful was tucked away in those pocket spaces.
As for the items outside the pocket spaces, they weren't worth mentioning.
Zhu Qingyu and the others nodded. "I see."
Ever since the Global Awakening, Mythical Secret Realms had appeared in the blessed lands across the world. They had explored many of them, so the idea of pocket spaces wasn't surprising.
They simply hadn't expected that the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace still had unexplored areas. Then again, it made perfect sense. It was the dwelling of dragons, after all. It would be strange if it were so simple.
"King Lu, if you need it, I can take you there and retrieve the cauldron for you," Yinglong said, turning to Lu Yuan. It had heard about everything that had happened. Without Lu Yuan, this world would have been devoured by those invaders. No one would have been spared, including Yinglong itself.
Yinglong realized that as long as Lu Yuan's growth continued, there would be someone to handle whatever crises lay ahead, which was a great thing. Besides, the Nine Cauldrons weren't exactly useful for it. They were meant to house humanity's Providence, so it had nothing to do with the dragon race.
"Good. Coincidentally, I've been wanting to visit the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace again," Lu Yuan said with a nod, accepting the offer without hesitation.
The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace was no ordinary place, and dragons had been synonymous with power and mystery since the dawn of time. In his previous life, he had heard that the palace held many secrets, but he had never had the chance to investigate them properly.
After all, there were many dangers lurking inside it.
However, he had become an Immortal, and Yinglong was by his side as well. Lu Yuan believed there wouldn't be any issues exploring the dragon palace.
"When do we leave?" Yinglong asked, making it clear that it was ready to leave at any time.
"We're in no hurry. We'll leave in three days," Lu Yuan replied with a smile. He still had a few things to handle first.
Upon being an Immortal, his control over the Celestial Emperor's Ancient Token had grown considerably. The first batch of Celestial Court members whom he had bestowed Providence upon could now receive even greater Providence from him.
He had to do that before anything else, as the stronger the Celestial Court became, the better equipped they would be against the crises in the near future.
He also planned to invite Jiang Ningxian. She had mentioned the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace before and expressed her interest in visiting it. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, he had to bring her there.
"Understood," Yinglong replied and turned around to leave. But then it paused, as if something had just clicked. It turned back to Lu Yuan and said, "You've reached the Immortal Realm?"
Yinglong had sensed something unusual about Lu Yuan's aura, but it had been too focused on the matter at hand. Now that it was about to leave, it finally realized what was unusual about Lu Yuan, and its eyes widened with disbelief.
The Immortal Realm. When the two of them had just met, they were roughly at the same stage of evolution.
Lu Yuan simply smiled, saying nothing. Yinglong had already seen it for itself, so there was nothing more to say. Yinglong let out a quiet sigh and left without another word.
The group chatted for a while longer before going their separate ways.
Lu Yuan followed through on his plan, bestowing greater Providence upon a portion of the Celestial Court's members. He still refrained from writing Zhu Qingyu and the Ice Fairy's names on the Investiture Edict. He had other plans for them down the line, after all.
Three days passed, and everyone gathered once more. The party heading to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace consisted only of Lu Yuan, Jiang Ningxian, and Yinglong.
There was no need for a larger group, as there was a certain level of risk involved in searching for one of the Nine Cauldrons.
In addition, the Celestial Court still needed to maintain order with the growing number of invaders from the Outer Cosmos. Hence, Zhu Qingyu and the others had to stay behind to manage things.
With all arrangements in place, Lu Yuan wasted no time and said, "That's enough. Let's go."
Yinglong moved first, changing into its true form before rushing out of Mount Tai. Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian stood side by side, and with a single step, the two of them vanished into thin air.
"All right, everyone, go do your own thing," Elder Ji said, stepping forward with a smile as he watched them leave. "With King Lu's speed, their expedition won't take long. We can rest easy."
Moreover, this wasn't the first time Lu Yuan had embarked on an expedition by himself.
The members of the Celestial Court said nothing and dispersed, each returning to their own duties. Zhu Qingyu, however, lingered, her gaze fixed in the direction where Lu Yuan had disappeared. She seemed to be lost in thought.
Ice Fairy noticed that but said nothing and simply sighed to herself.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian were cutting through the void side by side, with Yinglong flying alongside them. In truth, Lu Yuan could reach the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace in an instant, but he decided against it.
Jiang Ningxian glanced at him and smiled. Then she turned her attention to Yinglong. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "As a dragon, you're familiar with the true dragons and the Sky Dragon Starfield in the Outer Cosmos, aren't you?"
The Jiang Clan didn't know much about dragons. Since they were still on their way to their destination, she figured she could ask and gather some information. In addition, she had been mulling over a question—If the Eternals and the Ji Clan ever moved against the Celestial Court and Lu Yuan, which side would the Sky Dragon Starfield take?
She couldn't be certain about the Sukhāvatī Starfield, but at least one faction there had expressed its goodwill to them. At this point, Jiang Ningxian was more worried about the other starfields in the top ten. She knew that if they wanted to maintain this equilibrium, they needed to secure as many allies as possible.
Comments