Chapter 403. Returning to the Eastern Sea, The Legendary True Dragon
Jiang Ningxian had received word that the first thing the two Holy Sons had done after their defeat was leave to seek assistance from their respective clans. Clearly, they were going to join forces and destroy the Separation of Heaven and Earth.
The battle between the two Holy Sons and Lu Yuan had made the former understand that Lu Yuan had the potential to become a grave threat in the future, and they absolutely could not allow him to continue growing.
Since their clans ranked within the top ten in the universe, they had a myriad of allies. Once they deemed Lu Yuan a threat, they would decisively move to nip him in the bud.
The Eternals and the Ji Clan were genuinely powerful. Jiang Ningxian knew that if they joined forces, Lu Yuan would stand no chance against them, even with the Jiang Clan's support.
Under these circumstances, she had to do something. If she could establish an alliance with the Sky Dragon Starfield before the inevitable attack on Lu Yuan, their situation would improve drastically.
Yinglong pondered Jiang Ningxian's words for a moment before nodding. "I know the Sky Dragon Starfield. It was a starfield established by the True Dragon, and it welcomes those from all races. In my inherited memories, it is also the final destination of all dragons."
Upon hearing that, Lu Yuan chimed in, saying, "The final destination of all dragons? Wait, the True Dragon? What exactly is the True Dragon, and what is its relationship with other dragons? Is it the ancestor of all dragonkin?"
The words "True Dragon" sounded amazing, so in Lu Yuan's mind, the True Dragon had to be the strongest dragon among the dragon race. In other words, it was something akin to the Human Sovereign, but then again, it didn't quite feel right either.
If that were the case, the Sky Dragon Starfield would have become a dragon-only territory, rejecting members of other races. After all, dragons were proud creatures by nature. They believed they were born superior to other races.
"Yes, but also no," Jiang Ningxian said, chiming in with a smile. "The so-called True Dragon does not refer solely to an actual dragon. In reality, whether one is a human being or a beast, one can be called a True Dragon upon reaching a certain level of strength.
"You know the saying, 'every person is like a dragon, every living being is a dragon?' The 'dragon' in that saying refers to the True Dragon. Of course, the first being to ever be called the True Dragon was an actual dragon. That was how the title was born in the first place."
These were things Jiang Ningxian knew off the top of her head. As the Saintess of the Jiang Clan, she had a lot of stock knowledge. Yinglong listened beside her and nodded in full agreement. Though it had never ventured into the Outer Cosmos, its inherited memories meant that it knew quite a lot.
"I see." Lu Yuan grasped the general idea and asked, "Does that mean there have been multiple True Dragons across different eras?"
"Correct, but even now, there have only been eight in total. The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan of your human race obtained that title True Dragon in a certain era, which is why the dragon race submitted to him," Yinglong said, then added, "Unfortunately, the Yellow Emperor's descendants have proven themselves unworthy.
"Do they really believe that just because the dragon race once submitted to the Yellow Emperor, we would do the same for their Ji Clan?"
Yinglong sounded resentful. When it had just awakened, it sustained a wound, and the Ji Clan was involved in the attack. The Celestial Race, after all, served under them.
Yinglong truly felt regretful on the Yellow Emperor's behalf. As one of the Human Sovereigns, he had rendered great service to the human race, but his descendants weren't living up to his legacy.
Lu Yuan didn't dwell on that. He was caught up in something else entirely.
Since even the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan obtained that title... Lu Yuan glanced at Jiang Ningxian beside him.
"Don't look at me like that. My ancestor didn't obtain that title," she said, instantly reading his thoughts. Not just anyone could be called the True Dragon, and being a Human Sovereign or the Celestial Emperor did not mean one was automatically qualified for that title.
As for why that was the case, even Jiang Ningxian herself wasn't entirely sure about it.
Lu Yuan said nothing more on the matter and simply listened as Jiang Ningxian continued her conversation with Yinglong. It revolved almost entirely around the Sky Dragon Starfield, but the information Yinglong had about them was limited.
Yinglong's knowledge was based on its inherited memories, and those memories were meant to slowly unlock as Yinglong itself became even stronger. In the end, Jiang Ningxian didn't learn much at all.
"The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace is just below us," Yinglong remarked.
The three of them looked down, finding themselves above a vast stretch of ocean. The seemingly boundless ocean seemed to stretch infinitely into the horizon. As a result of the Global Awakening, the lands had been changing rapidly, and the ocean was no different
At this point, even a Sage would find it virtually impossible to locate the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace in such extreme depths. But with Yinglong leading the way, it was a different story for Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian.
"The Dragon Palace contains many pocket spaces. I saw the cauldron in one of them before, but I'm not sure which one. I'll have to search through them based on my memories, so it may take some time," Yinglong said.
The last time it saw one of the Nine Cauldrons, it hadn't paid much attention to it. In addition, the pocket spaces within the Eastern Dragon Palace were constantly moving. All Yinglong could do was narrow down its location.
"Doesn't matter. I have plenty of time," Lu Yuan replied, unconcerned. Finding a seventh cauldron at all had already exceeded his expectations. There were only nine in total, after all. Hence, whether it would take a while or not didn't really matter to him.
"Very well." Yinglong nodded. It shifted into a human form and stood suspended in midair. A single drop of blood materialized in its palm, and it[1] let it fall into the ocean down below.
Buzz!
Waves of powerful energy erupted, and a rift slowly emerged from within the sea. Inside it, Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian could see rows of buildings. They weren't as lavish as the Water-Crystal Palace, but they weren't that bad.
"This was once my father's dwelling," Yinglong said, then it stepped forward and entered the rift.
Lu Yuan and Jiang Ningxian followed it without any hesitation.
They had come to find one of the Nine Cauldrons, and Yinglong was aware of that, so it quickly filtered through the most likely locations, reasoning that something that important wouldn't be stored carelessly.
Its father had held a high position within the dragon race, and his palace reflected that exalted status. Moreover, dragons had always been synonymous with the word "nobility" and even "royalty."
To their disappointment, however, the cauldron was not here. They moved on, and Yinglong opened more than ten pocket spaces in quick succession, but nearly all of them turned up empty.
"Could it be in that place?" Yinglong murmured, running through every location it had visited in its memories. There was only one left, but disbelief filled its face upon recalling it.
"What is it? Is something wrong?" Jiang Ningxian asked, puzzled. They had already searched so many places. One more wouldn't make a difference, so she couldn't understand why Yinglong was hesitating.
"Because that place was once a prison," Yinglong muttered, his voice sounding solemn and afraid as he added, "And we, dragons, call it the Dragon Penitentiary!"
1. Author still uses 它 ☜
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