Long Wanying was originally a dignified and gentle woman, but now that the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was facing disaster, there was a deep melancholy in her eyes. Her life was full of misfortunes, with fate dealing her a blow time and again, slicing apart her deep love... the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was the last of her deep loves that remained.
Tianming quickly reiterated the Sky Palaceâs answer. He didnât express his doubts, but repeated their conversation word for word.
"White-robed woman? Has Granny Yuan Long gone to look for the sun emperor?" Long Wanying breathed a sigh of relief.
"Granny Yuan Long?" Tianming realized she was referring to the white-robed woman who had suppressed him.
"Yes, didn't she take care of you?" Long Wanying asked.
"Why would she?"
"Sheâs from our sect," Long Wanying replied.
"Oh, I didn't know that.â She didnât take care of him, but on the contrary, had seemed to really hate him.
"She should be able to turn the tide. Let's go."
"Aunt Ying, where are we going?" Tianming asked.
"Weâre going to the Azuresoul Palace. I just received a transmission stone from the Saintdragon Emperor. Iâm supposed to take the four of you to the Azuresoul Palace, where youâll cultivate while the turmoil in the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect unfolds. I wonât return to the sect for the time being. Iâll stay with you," said Long Wanying.
Upon contemplating, Tianming agreed that this was their only way out at the moment.
"I..." Jiang Qingliu hesitated.
"What? Are you going to shirk your responsibility? Aren't these four your disciples?" Long Wanying sternly asked.
"No, but their identities are special and I canât decide for the Azuresoul Palace. On top of that, youâre going as well...." Jiang Qingliu lowered his head.
As the Whitedragon Empress, Long Wanying's identity was sensitive at the moment. Jiang Qingliu couldnât shoulder the responsibility if the Azuresoul Palace were to suffer a calamity because of her. Since Long Wanying would stay at the Azuresoul Palace with the four of them, it was clear the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect wasnât going to give up on them. The other dragon imperials had entrusted her with the task.
Although Tianming and Yu Ziqian were disciples of the Sky Palace, they were still just juniors, after all. And Lingfeng and Xiaoxiao didnât have an identity that protected them. Perhaps treasures like the Dragonblood Desecration would be stolen from them.
"Are you joking? The return of the two Sky Palace disciples would be welcomed by any sect. No matter how much of a coward Gujian Qingshuang is, he wouldnât want to become the laughingstock of the entire world." Long Wanying fumed.
"Youâre right. But if youâre in trouble, the Azuresoul Palace doesnât have a solid backing. What a headache! Never mind. Theyâre my disciples so Iâll fight for them! As for you.... " Jiang Qingliu pursed his lips.
"Master, whatâre you doing? Why are you so scared? They wouldnât dare say a thing if I take Aunt Ying back to the Azuresoul Palace. How can you be so wishy washy in front of a beauty? You're embarrassing me," Yu Ziqian chided.
"Fuck!" Jiang Qingliu glared at him with flushed cheeks. Waving his hand, he retorted, "Who says Iâm scared! Follow me, Iâll protect you!" Then, turning to Long Wanying, he asked, "You have your dragonspring with you, donât you?"
"Of course," Long Wanying replied.
"Alright, don't lose it."
"Weâll see if the Azuresoul Palace has the spirit of loyalty. After all, the Azuresoul Palace benefits if I keep my dragonspring and the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect isnât destroyed," she said.
"Donât worry. The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect has existed for millions of years. It wonât be destroyed so easily," Jiang Qingliu comforted.
"Of course." There was hope in Long Wanyingâs eyes.
"Letâs go."
The Azuresoul Palace was protected by the Azuresky Myriadsword Formation. The dragon imperials meant for Long Wanying to hide and guard her dragonspring. There were a total of seven dragonsprings, each one a key to defending the sect. At the same time, Long Wanying could also protect Tianming and the rest, making sure they could continue growing. Once the world was in chaos, there were bound to be desperate criminals. They were at risk, even with the identity of Sky Palace disciples. Owing to the drastic change, their trip to the Azuresoul Palace might not be smooth. Jiang Qingliu was worried that the people headed by Gujian Qingshuang wanted to completely rid themselves of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect and sever any ties to them to avoid disaster.
"Letâs get going."
Jiang Qingliu's heart, which had been silent for hundreds of years, began burning with passion once more.
...
In the fiery cloud that was hundreds of thousands of meters thick, flames seethed, forming an endless sea of fire that surged above the sun. Like dragons, ten-thousand-meter-high solar storms wandered between the burning clouds. The seas of fire formed a blazing rain that scattered over the world, leaving enormous holes in the ground. In the boundless sea of fire, a deafening roar sounded, blowing apart wave after wave of flames. A burning behemoth walked through the sea of fire and a golden flame suppressed the fiery clouds. The behemoth resembled a human head with fluttering gold hair. In its eye sockets were two bright stars, nova sources that had been compressed.
With every blink of its eyes, thunderous booms reverberated. Every person in Orderia recognized it; it was the sun emperorâs mobile war machineâthe Divine Sun Palace. When it flew over the celestial orderianâs territory, the clansmen below prostrated themselves. It hadnât appeared in the southern sky for many years; the south was the Myriad Solar Sectsâ territory. Everywhere the Divine Sun Palace went, all beings trembled. Not even dozens of Clouddream Arks could rival the lethality of a divine astralship.
At that moment, a white light entered the open mouth of the Divine Sun Palace. In the central hall surrounded by golden flames, the light transformed into a white-robed woman. The flames couldn't reach her at all. She looked up at the giant man sitting on the throne carved with nine dragons. He slumped in his seat with his legs crossed, a golden leaf between his lips and his chin resting on one hand. His playful gaze landed on the white-robed woman.
"Number Seven, itâs been a long time since we last met. I trust you have been well." The manâs voice seemed to burn. When he spoke, it was as if the entire sun resonated with him.
"My name is Yuan Long," the white-robed woman indifferently said.
"No, youâre number seven, and you are called Number Seven." The man smiled.
"How meaningless. Give the Sky Palace and Myriad Solar Sects an explanation,â she demanded.
"An explanation? What explanation? I have yet to ask you for an explanation regarding the Imperial Ninedragon Tomb,â the man replied.
"The Imperial Ninedragon Tomb? I told you, it was the will of the wooden house. It has nothing to do with us! We certainly wouldnât want to release the contents of the tomb," she raged.
"What about the wooden house or the Sky Palace? When we signed the agreement, there was only the Sky Palace. I donât know what the wooden house is. As far as I know, the Sky Palace has given treasures like the Divine Worldeater Cauldron and Ninedragon Imperius to the Myriad Solar Sects via the Voidless Skirmish, cultivating and strengthening their descendants. Youâre the ones that openly broke our agreement. Youâre planning to rebel!" The manâs loud voice suppressed the white-robed woman.
"Rebel?" Amidst the excitement, the powder on the womanâs face sprinkled on the ground. "You know about the wooden house, yet you feign ignorance! Youâre so sure we wonât fight back. Youâve breached the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect and the other Myriad Solar Sects cannot sit idly by. The Sky Palace will not allow such unscrupulous behavior!â
"Number Seven, you must be joking!" The man smiled. Stretching out his finger and rapping on the dragon head, he said solemnly, "Stand still and don't you tremble. Listen clearly to my words. I have never breached the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. I merely asked them to open their gates to allow their companions to return. The Veildragon Palace has been separated from the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect for too long. Theyâre brothers and sisters. Blood is thicker than water, after all. Having wandered outside for all these years, the Veildragon Palace longs to return to their home. All I did today was fulfill their wishes."
"Fulfill the Veildragon Palace? So the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect is ruined? Youâre trying to control the sect through the Veildragon Palace," the white-robed woman sneered.
"No, no. Don't say that. Why gauge the heart of a gentleman against your own mean measure? Besides, who says the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect is ruined? After learning of the Veildragon Palaceâs intention to return, the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect lined the streets in welcome. At this moment, both sides are happily getting along at Myriaddragon Mountains. Theyâve let go of their previous suspicions and united as one. Together with the Veildragon Palaceâs three dragon imperials, the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect's seven dragon imperials have now become ten. The experts and geniuses from both sides have come together, thus, creating a prosperous sect. I released the Veildragon Palace and helped them realize their dreams of returning home. How can such a good deed be misconstrued as an outrage? Do you know how much courage it took for me to give up the Veildragon Palace?" the man said sadly, clutching his chest as if a piece of flesh had actually been sliced off.
"Sun Emperor, your schemes are cursory, yet here you are, whitewashing your actions with shameless words. You can convince me, but you can't convince the Myriad Solar Sects,â said the white-robed woman.
"Tricks? Iâm helping them out of the goodness of my heart. My merits are boundless. What tricks could there be? Number Seven, don't you dare accuse me or youâll incur my wrath. After all, there arenât many willing to do good in this world." He grinned.
"Are you still going to argue? You mustâve already obtained three dragonsprings. With the other three from the Veildragon Palace, you actually hold six of them now. Thus, the Myriaddragon Mountains has fallen under the Veildragon Palaceâs command. You control the Veildragon Palace and it controls the new Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. Youâve only left the people alive to force them to serve you!"
When the sun emperor had attacked the sect, only three dragon imperials remained and each of them had a dragonspring. At the moment, he possessed six dragonsprings against four. Naturally, he had the upper hand.