Chapter 154: Leaving the Island!
Afterward, the space returned to silence once more. A few more days passed. Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian emerged from seclusion one after another, their strength having also received enormous boosts.
At this point, Qing Lin had advanced to a seven-star Dou Huang. Xiao Yi Xian was slightly behind, but had also reached the six-star level.
After regrouping, the group left the Dragon Blood Pool together, standing in the void space at the periphery of Dragon Island.
Seeing Dragon Island for the first time, Flame Sovereign could not suppress his shock. "Wh-where is this?"
"This is the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan. We have some ties with them. After we say our farewells, we'll head to the Central Plains. In a moment, Venerable, don't be too surprised!" Jiang Yun gave Flame Sovereign a brief, rough explanation, then began observing the changes to Dragon Island.
Compared to before their seclusion, Dragon Island had changed enormously!
Patrolling the void space surrounding the island were quite a number of figures, their sharp gazes sweeping back and forth in all directions.
Should anyone appear and display hostile intent, what would greet them would be a storm-like barrage of attacks.
These forces formed an impenetrable net, protecting the island.
And from deeper within Dragon Island, one formidable aura after another could be sensed. Jiang Yun chuckled lightly as he looked at the three women.
"It seems quite a few seniors from the void have returned. This is the strength that the supreme beasts of the magical beast world, the Taixu Ancient Dragons, ought to have!"
"Hahaha! Well said, Jiang Yun boy. This is the true strength of our clan—not what it was before, just a handful of stragglers without even a single four-star Dou Sheng. It was downright embarrassing for this old man!"
Just then, a hearty, unrestrained laugh rang out. Within the space ahead, several figures silently emerged.
Among them, Zhu Kun's figure stood out prominently. However...
Jiang Yun and the four exchanged glances. The figures beside Zhu Kun were all sporting bruised noses and swollen faces, standing behind Zhu Kun with deeply awkward expressions.
"It seems your harvest over this past year has been quite good!" Zhu Kun looked at Jiang Yun and the four, nodding in praise.
His gaze lingered the longest on Jiang Yun—not only because of Jiang Yun's status, but also because he felt that after emerging this time, Jiang Yun seemed somehow different from before.
As for Flame Sovereign, who had suddenly appeared, he chose to ignore him entirely. With his strength, he had long since detected Flame Sovereign's existence the moment he saw Jiang Yun.
But he paid him no mind. The other party clearly posed no threat to Jiang Yun or Zi Yan. With his breadth of vision, anyone below a seven-star Dou Sheng simply could not catch his eye.
"Uncle, who are these seniors?" Nodding, and carrying a few traces of a smile, Jiang Yun looked at Zhu Kun and asked softly.
"Hmph!" At these words, Zhu Kun's expression immediately soured. Snorting coldly, he swept a glance at the Ancient Dragon Clan elders who, despite their age, looked like children admitting fault. Irritably, he said, "What are you all standing around for? Worthless lot. Speak for yourselves."
Hearing Zhu Kun's words, the unfamiliar Taixu Ancient Dragons looked at one another. Ultimately, a white-haired elder at the front was the first to speak: "This old man is Zhu Zhou. Greetings, Young Friend Jiang Yun!"
"Many thanks to Young Friend Jiang Yun for returning our clan's princess and bringing back news of His Majesty Zhu Kun. The entire Ancient Dragon Clan, high and low, is deeply grateful—"
"Enough, enough. This Emperor's own daughter has already been given over to that Jiang Yun boy. Is there any need for a brat like you to come offer thanks?" Watching Zhu Zhou express gratitude to Jiang Yun, and then catching sight of Medusa and the other two beside Jiang Yun, Zhu Kun's heart was immediately beset with displeasure. Irritably, he cut him off.
Seeing this, the group exchanged awkward glances, unsure what had set His Majesty Zhu Kun off again. His mood seemed to change as unpredictably as the weather.
Jiang Yun likewise rubbed his brow with a hint of helplessness. He had naturally noticed Zhu Kun's unfriendly gaze. Yet, this was the truth, and he had no way to refute it. Add to that Zhu Kun's seniority over him, and Jiang Yun could only swallow his pride and accept it.
Medusa and the other two behind him, however, looked entirely like spectators enjoying a show. People who could make Jiang Yun eat humble pie without being able to retaliate were few and far between.
"This brat was one of my personal guards back then. Several thousand years have passed, and he's only advanced to a mere six-star Dou Sheng. What a disgrace." Seeming to realize that his reaction had been a touch too intense, Zhu Kun took a deep breath and gestured at Zhu Zhou.
"Er!" Being thoroughly berated by Zhu Kun, even at Zhu Zhou's advanced age, he found it somewhat hard to bear. Awkwardly, he rubbed his balding, white-crowned head.
"And what are you laughing at? All worthless things—not a shred of improvement after all this time. What are you still standing around for? Speak for yourselves!"
Zhu Kun then turned his gaze toward the several figures behind him who were snickering under their breath and spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"Young Friend Jiang Yun, this old man is Zhu Yu."
"This old man is Zhu Xuan."
"..."
Afterward, Jiang Yun and the others were introduced to these elders one by one. Among them, Zhu Zhou was the strongest, currently at the early stage of a six-star Dou Sheng. The remaining few were also all at realms above two-star Dou Sheng.
Most of them had been Zhu Kun's personal guards back in the day. After Zhu Kun had disappeared, they had departed one after another, venturing into the void to search for him.
That departure had lasted ten thousand years. In their prime and full of vigor back then, they had now gradually entered old age.
Looking at their circumstances, it was likely that a portion of the Taixu Ancient Dragon's experts might have met their eternal end within the void. After all, no one could resist the erosion of time.
What was more, there had been several exceptionally powerful elders back then, even older than Zhu Kun himself.
Now, they could only leave it to fate!
"For now, only these few worthless things have returned. Who knows how many familiar faces will ultimately make it back?" At this moment, Zhu Kun let out a sigh, his eyes carrying traces of reminiscence.
Hearing this, the group felt a sense of melancholy but did not know how to comfort Zhu Kun.
In the end, it was Jiang Yun who offered words of consolation: "With the strength of those seniors, they have not yet reached their final years. They likely ventured very far. I imagine that upon learning of Uncle's return, they are currently still on the journey back."
Hearing Jiang Yun's comfort, Zhu Kun's heart warmed slightly. At this moment, indeed, all they could do was quietly wait.
"Uncle, the Ancient Dragon Clan has already set back on the right track, and Zi Yan has yet to emerge from seclusion. We will head to the Central Plains first to seek our fortunes!" Seeing that Zhu Kun was free, Jiang Yun cupped his fists and said.
"Good. After Zi Yan comes out, I will inform her. Take this. Should you encounter danger you cannot handle, crush it." Zhu Kun nodded. As he spoke, he handed Jiang Yun a dragon scale the size of a palm.
"Thank you, Uncle!"
"Thank you, Senior!"
After Jiang Yun accepted the dragon scale, the four of them cupped their fists in unison toward Zhu Kun in thanks.
"Zhu Feng, from now on, you will follow Jiang Yun!" Zhu Kun calmly accepted their salute, then spoke to one of them.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhu Feng had a stern, cold countenance. A faint, baleful chill lurked within his eyes, making him seem intimidating at a glance, hard to look at directly. Meticulously and respectfully, he answered Zhu Kun.
Then, he silently moved to stand behind Jiang Yun and the others, not uttering a single word!
Looking at this two-star peak Dou Sheng Taixu Ancient Dragon, even though they had known in advance, now that it was actually happening, Medusa and the other two women still found it somewhat dreamlike. It was simply far too extravagant.
As for Flame Sovereign, he had long since lost the ability to even think.
After bidding Zhu Kun a final farewell, Jiang Yun looked at Zhu Feng and said, "We'll be in your care, Senior Zhu Feng!"
Zhu Feng nodded silently. His hand slashed across the space before him, tearing open a spatial rift. Jiang Yun, leading the three women, flickered and dove straight in.
After the four had entered, Zhu Feng gave Zhu Kun and the others a respectful salute. Then, carrying Flame Sovereign as if holding a small chick, he flashed into the spatial rift. With a sharp hiss, he vanished along with the spatial rift.
Inside the spatial rift.
Medusa looked at Jiang Yun ahead and asked, "Are we heading to the Beast Domain now?"
Jiang Yun nodded and said softly, "There are vast numbers of Nine Serene Deep Earth Pythons there. And there is also an enormous opportunity concerning you. Let's head there first."
There was one more thing Jiang Yun did not say. In the original story, the Bodhi Ancient Tree appeared in the Ancient Wasteland Region, which was originally within the Beast Domain's territory. Xiao Yi Xian had a strange resonance with the Bodhi seed. This trip to the Beast Domain—he wondered if there might be an unexpected harvest.
"Mm!"
The three naturally had no objections to Jiang Yun's decision. Zhu Feng had even less reason to disagree. Bringing the four along, he sped like lightning toward the Beast Domain.
Within the Beast Domain, the three great magical beast clans were the true supreme rulers. Among the three clans, the weakest in strength but the most widespread in influence was the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan.
The Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's main headquarters lay deep underground in the Beast Domain. But on the surface, they also had numerous branches.
This clan's numbers ranked highest among the three great clans. However, their large population naturally meant that the purity of their bloodline was far inferior to that of the Taixu Ancient Dragons, whose lineage had been passed down since ancient times.
They even fell somewhat short of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix, the descendants of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix!
By estimation, perhaps in less than a thousand years, with natural reproduction, the ancient bloodline contained within the Nine Serene Deep Earth Pythons would be completely exhausted.
When that time came, they would face the same fate as the former Xiao Clan—the withering away of their bloodline.
The underground world's terrain was exceedingly complex. But with a Taixu Ancient Dragon like Zhu Feng present, everything here was as good as nonexistent.
A streak of purple-gold light sped rapidly through the depths of the earth veins, quickly breaking through layer upon layer of defenses and reaching the very deepest part. Several figures slowly materialized. The group had arrived at the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan's headquarters—the Serpent Earth Vein.
As for Flame Sovereign, Jiang Yun had let him go midway, granting him his freedom. But Flame Sovereign was no fool. Shamelessly clinging on, he wanted to hug Jiang Yun's thigh tightly.
To prepare for their future arrival in the Central Plains, Jiang Yun had first sent Flame Sovereign ahead to the Alchemy Domain to gather intelligence.
The Serpent Earth Vein was the main headquarters of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan and a sacred place in the hearts of the many snake-people tribes. And as a sacred place, the defenses of this Serpent Earth Vein were naturally extremely strict. Even ordinary snake-people were not permitted to enter.
"The Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan—though their top experts aren't as numerous as the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, they certainly have no shortage at the Dou Zun level."
On a mountain peak outside the Serpent Earth Vein, the group gazed into the distance at the mountain range ahead. Qing Lin spoke softly.
As the possessor of the Jade-Green Snake Triple Flower Eyes, she could sense the number of experts among the Nine Serene Deep Earth Pythons with even greater clarity.
"They're merely of mixed blood, nothing more, relying solely on their superior numbers!" The habitually taciturn Zhu Feng could not resist sneering at this moment.
"To think that even in the Central Plains, one could see such a massive snake-people tribe... It is countless times more powerful than our own tribe..."
Medusa gazed at the densely packed snake-people tribes on the plains below and marveled, "I once saw in our clan records that our branch also migrated to the Tagor Desert. I wonder—did we originally migrate from this very Beast Domain?"
Hearing Medusa's heartfelt musing, Jiang Yun could not help but speak up: "In the future, the snake-people could perhaps be relocated here, with you ruling over them."
Medusa was momentarily taken aback by his words. Looking at the gentle warmth in Jiang Yun's eyes, her heart warmed. She smiled proudly: "The magical beast world reveres only the bloodline. Now, my Nine-Colored Devouring Heaven Python bloodline is the supreme sovereign of all serpent-type magical beasts on the current Dou Qi Continent. This place ought to be ruled by me!"
"In that case, let us go and obtain the strength you'll need to rule this place!"
Thereafter, under Jiang Yun's directions, Zhu Feng led the group as they threaded their way through, arriving at the destination of this journey—the Nine Serene Yellow Spring.
The Taixu Ancient Dragon's innate spatial talent was unmatched in the world. Zhu Feng's application of spatial power was already at the pinnacle of mastery. All along the way, they shuttled through space, speeding toward the deepest part of the Serpent Earth Vein, and not a single soul detected them along the way.
At the very deepest part of the Serpent Earth Vein, there was a massive, dark abyss. This abyss was a full hundred zhang wide and immeasurably deep. An astonishing, bone-chilling cold, like gale-force winds, continuously howled upward from its depths.
Even standing here, an ordinary expert would feel as though the blood within their body, even their Dou Qi, was on the verge of freezing solid. Without Zhu Feng's assistance, it would have been very difficult for the group to withstand power of this caliber.
At the bottom of this abyss lay the hidden sacred pool of the Nine Serene Deep Earth Python Clan—the Nine Serene Yellow Spring.
It held the greatest opportunity for the Heaven-Devouring Python Clan and was also the place where Medusa would undergo a fundamental, qualitative transformation.
Beside the abyss, there were no guards. The chilling gales that continuously howled out from within the abyss were the most natural of sentinels. Faced with these gales, even experts at the Dou Zong level would not dare easily draw near.
"So this is the legendary Nine Serene Yellow Spring!"
Gazing at the yellow lake before her, Medusa felt the terrifying, icy energy seeping out from it. Here, the Nine-Colored power within her was also being stimulated into activity.
"It is indeed an excellent place for cultivation!" After sensing it for a while, Medusa looked at Jiang Yun with delighted surprise.
"Sssss!" Little Nine appeared on Medusa's shoulder. Sensing the comfortable environment, it hissed toward Jiang Yun as if acting spoiled.
"There seems to be a powerful expert sealed beneath here!" Zhu Feng spoke solemnly at this moment.
"Sealed?" The group all felt puzzled simultaneously.
Jiang Yun raised an eyebrow and spoke: "Senior, can you bring him out without alerting anyone?"
Staring down at the calm lake surface, Zhu Feng pondered briefly, then nodded. "It can be done."
"We'll trouble you then, Senior!" Jiang Yun smiled and cupped his fists toward Zhu Feng.
Nodding, Zhu Feng's figure moved, directly plunging into the Nine Serene Yellow Spring. His form then shot downward toward the bottom of the spring with lightning speed.
"Fizz, fizz..."
As Zhu Feng dove into the Nine Serene Yellow Spring, a column of white smoke also rose from the lake surface, while bubbles continuously appeared and surged upward.