Inside the Hidden Dragon Hall, silence reigned so absolute that not even a bird's chirp could be heard. Gaze after gaze fell upon Xu Ying—some inquiring, some puzzled, others loaded with scrutiny and suspicion.
The atmosphere was chilling and murderous.
Xu Ying quickly chose between denouncing these dragon-headed freaks or claiming to be one of them, declaring loudly, "I possessed a brat blessed with Dragon Court karmic fortune!"
"Jie-jie-jie!"
The dragon-headed freaks burst out laughing in unison, their eyes gleaming as they stared at Xu Ying as if beholding an exquisite treasure. The suffocating tension from moments ago vanished without a trace.
The freak from earlier stepped forward, pressing eagerly, "Little brother, did you truly succeed in your possession? You successfully possessed a person of Yuanshou?"
Xu Ying gave them an odd look and nodded. Was possessing someone from Yuanshou really worth getting this worked up about?
Seeing him nod, the dragon immortals roared with laughter once more. "Jie-jie-jie! Heaven blesses our Dragon Race!"
The freak grabbed his white banner and thumped it heavily against the ground, instantly silencing the hall.
"My name is Long Yu. How should I address you, little brother?" the dragon-headed freak inquired.
Compared to them, Xu Ying was noticeably shorter, and his cultivation was far less imposing. In particular, he could not summon his nine great treasures before their eyes to sustain his external realm, leaving his displayed cultivation around that of an ordinary Heavenly Immortal or Immortal King.
Such cultivation seemed exceedingly weak among a forest of mighty dragon immortals, which was why he was addressed as "little brother."
Xu Ying said, "I am Long Ying."
The big bell hurriedly piped up, "I am Long Zhong."
It too exuded dragon qi, covered all over with dragon scales, looking like a bizarre dragon-headed bell forged by the Dragon Race.
The many possessed dragon immortals merely glanced at it, unconcerned. In the Dragon Court, treasures like Long Zhong were countless; it was part of their culture.
Still, artifacts that could speak like Long Zhong were not particularly common.
Even so, in the eyes of these dragon immortals, Xu Ying was clearly far more intriguing than an aged dragon bell.
Long Yu's expression grew solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "This concerns our Dragon Race's grand plan of revival across ten thousand generations. Little brother, summon your Primordial Spirit so we may examine whether your possession was truly flawless!"
Xu Ying cursed inwardly. How had he been possessed? He had merely been assimilated by the dragon and malevolent qi, morphing into something resembling a dragon immortal!
On the surface, he certainly looked like a body snatched by a dragon immortal. But upon close inspection, one would find that although his physical body had transformed, his Primordial Spirit retained the form of the Undying True Spirit and had not been converted by the dragon and malevolent qi.
'Will they beat me to death?'
Steeling himself, Xu Ying summoned his Undying Primordial Spirit. This Undying Primordial Spirit was forged across two lifetimes—in his first life he had attained the Undying True Spirit, and in his second he had spent nearly a year comprehending mysteries with the Ancestral God before finally refining it to completion. It contained the extraordinary profound mysteries of the Ancestral God's Primordial Spirit, something dragon and malevolent qi could never alter.
One dragon immortal after another stared at his Undying Primordial Spirit, gasping in wonder:
"A flawless fusion! A truly flawless fusion!"
"Not a single flaw to be seen!"
"A possession of supreme perfection!"
...
Xu Ying was dumbfounded. The big bell, which had been poised to flee at any second to preserve its useful self and avenge Xu Ying in the future, was equally stunned upon hearing this. As for everyone inside the Yingzhou cave abyss, they were utterly dumbstruck.
Only Shenpo maintained an unflappable demeanor, looking as though everything were completely under her control, though her back was already drenched in cold sweat.
Though she was a divine diviner, she could no longer read Xu Ying accurately, and calculating these dragon immortals was even more impossible—not to mention it risked alerting them. After all, these dragon immortals possessed immense cultivation; attempting to divine them would trigger their sudden premonitions, sending them hunting down whoever tampered with their karma, thereby uncovering her.
'Still, just how did Immortal Master Xu bluff his way through?' Shenpo wondered blankly.
Xu Ying was even more bewildered than they were. Long Yu smiled and said, "Little brother, hurry and recall your Primordial Spirit. You only just succeeded in your possession—do not keep it separated from your flesh for too long, lest it suffer harm."
Following his advice, Xu Ying recalled his Primordial Spirit. Still perplexed, he plucked up the courage to ask, "Brother Long Yu, why do you say my Primordial Spirit is a flawless possession?"
Long Yu chuckled. "Little brother, your cultivation is modest, and surviving until now was truly no small feat. You probably don't know much about our Dragon Race's possession methods."
Xu Ying put on an embarrassed look and said, "My cultivation is indeed quite low."
Long Yu explained, "The bodies we possessed lack Dragon Court karmic fortune and are not optimal vessels. Before long, these bodies will rot away. The best vessels come from Yuanshou.
"Having been steeped in the Dragon Court's karmic fortune for tens of millions of years, the bodies of Yuanshou mortals have become suited for our Dragon Race's possession.
"Human bodies from other worlds can only serve as temporary vessels, unsuitable for true possession. The body you possessed belongs to Yuanshou, bearing Dragon Court karmic fortune and fitting the Ancestral Dragon flawlessly!"
Xu Ying and the big bell felt their hearts lurch in utter astonishment. This differed completely from what they had been told.
Yan Kongcheng had said that only those born in Yuanshou, blessed with Dragon Court karmic fortune, could obtain the Dragon Court's treasures.
Was Dragon Court karmic fortune meant for acquiring treasures, or for being possessed?
'Yan Kongcheng, Zulong, the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and the Master of Mud Pill Palace—I'm afraid disaster will soon befall them too!' Xu Ying thought.
Another dragon immortal spoke up: "Possessions are also divided into the flawed and the flawless. When we possessed these vessels, we couldn't merge with them seamlessly, so we had to reshape the flesh and crawl out of their skins. Their Primordial Spirits were also burst apart by our own. But you are different!"
Xu Ying looked blankly as these unimaginably powerful dragon immortals gazed at him with open admiration. Long Yu praised, "Not only did you merge with his flesh, you even merged flawlessly with his Primordial Spirit! His Primordial Spirit sustained no damage whatsoever, bearing your power with absolute perfection!"
Xu Ying suddenly realized: 'So that's how it is!'
"In the primordial era, when the great catastrophe was imminent, we went dormant for myriad generations to await the ideal moment for resurrection."
Long Yu summoned the spinning white banner, and as it drifted forward, the host of dragon immortals followed it toward the exit. Walking alongside Xu Ying, Long Yu continued at an unhurried pace, "Alas, an error occurred in our rebirth. The bodies we snatched lacked Dragon Court karmic fortune and cannot withstand our divine souls. Before long, our physical vessels will disintegrate.
"Before that happens, we must pay our respects to the Far Ancestor, revive him, and invite him to take charge of the situation!"
Behind him, a clamor arose as numerous dragon immortals shouted in high excitement, "After paying homage to the Far Ancestor, we shall march upon Yuanshou and seize true vessels!"
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat. 'Pay respects to the Far Ancestor, and even revive him? Can I just not go?'
Yet given the present circumstances, that was plainly impossible.
Long Yu and the others were in a frenzy of excitement, fanatically devoted to the matter of meeting the Far Ancestor. If he showed any reluctance, these dragon immortals would immediately suspect him.
Long Yu drew beside Xu Ying and walked with him, saying, "Long Ying, you are the only one among us who achieved a successful possession. There is a heavy burden that must fall upon your shoulders."
He hesitated a moment before continuing, "This burden should not have been placed on you, but as things stand, it can only fall upon your head. Have you heard of the Ten Thousand Dragons Banner plan?"
Xu Ying replied, "I have heard of it, but my standing was low, so I know very little."
Long Yu chuckled. "That is hardly surprising. The Ten Thousand Dragons Banner plan, the Stealing Heaven plan, and the Revival plan were known only to the very top echelon of dragon immortals in the Dragon Court. Your cultivation was far from sufficient to access such information. Dragon immortals like you are probably still muddled to this day, completely unaware of the causes and consequences."
Xu Ying nodded gently.
He was indeed completely ignorant of that era. Although the Ancestral God knew many tales of the past, he rarely spoke of them.
"Back then, the Three Realms were still intact, the Mortal Realm had not yet been destroyed, and the Earth Immortal Realm and Heavenly Immortal Realm existed in different space-times. All Three Realms were under the dominion of our Dragon Court."
Long Yu spoke with measured cadence, recounting the events of that bygone era in the Dragon Court.
This was history from the primordial era. The forebears of the Dragon Race had divined that an unimaginable catastrophe was approaching—one that would destroy the immortal court established by the Dragon Race, annihilate their civilization, and leave the entire Dragon Race doomed. Therefore, they devised three contingency plans.
The first plan was to forge the Ten Thousand Dragons Banners, allowing the Dragon Race's powerhouses to enter the banners with their Primordial Spirits to take refuge when the catastrophe struck, waiting until it had passed.
The second plan was the Stealing Heaven plan. Gathering the might and resources of the Dragon Race's powerhouses, they constructed a majestic fleet of towering ships. A portion of dragon powerhouses would board this fleet and flee this universe and space-time before the catastrophe arrived, seeking the other shore.
This way, even if the other two plans failed, a remnant of their bloodline would still survive.
The third plan was the Revival plan, and also the most crucial of all.
The Dragon Race's diviners had foretold that after the catastrophe passed, the rulers of the world would no longer be the Dragon Race, but the Demon Race. The glorious Demon Race would command the power of the cosmos and would never allow these ancient dragon immortals to revive and threaten their supremacy.
Therefore, they could not execute the Revival plan during the reign of the Demon Race.
The Dragon Race diviners continued their calculations into later eras, concluding that only after the fall of the Demon Race would a chance at life emerge.
Just as they had anticipated, the ten generations of Demon Emperors attached immense importance to the sinking of the Dragon Court. Consequently, they established the Sun Guard within Yuanshou's sun to watch over and suppress the Dragon Court.
The very reason this realm was named Yuanshou was related to this—it signified the battlefield where the Demon Race hunted and suppressed their foes.
Furthermore, those entrusted by the Demon Race with suppressing Yuanshou all hailed from the Demon Emperor's Golden Crow lineage, to the point that when the imperial clan was later wiped out, only the line of Jin Buyi survived. Later, Jin Buyi found the Demon Emperor's art, the Eastern Emperor Heaven-Pacifying Art, at the Sun Guard for this very reason.
This illuminated many things for Xu Ying, bringing him great satisfaction. Then a thought struck him: 'Could that colossal towering ship I encountered in the Realm of the Great Void have been one of the ships carrying out the Dragon Race's Stealing Heaven plan back then?'
He had pursued that vessel before, but as soon as he drew close, he was driven off by flying swords from the ship and forced to give up.
'Did the Dragon Race's Stealing Heaven plan fail?'
Thinking of this, he shook his head again. From what Long Yu said, the Stealing Heaven plan had constructed an entire fleet, not just a single towering ship. There should be other ships that attempted to escape this universe and space-time to avoid the catastrophe.
He dearly wished to ask Long Yu what the catastrophe actually was, but feared that Long Yu would suspect his identity.
As someone who had supposedly lived through the catastrophe, how could he not know what it was?
Long Yu continued, "Back then, the Dragon Court's divine diviners kept calculating further into the future, only to grow increasingly despondent. They foresaw that once the Dragon Court was sealed, it would vanish from the world. A thousand years, ten thousand years, a million years, ten million years would pass without the Dragon Court ever finding a chance to reappear. In the end, Qing Mufeng, the Dragon Court's foremost diviner, sacrificed his very life to divine the future, finally calculating that tens of millions of years later, there would be a Tide of the Three Realms."
Inside Yingzhou, Shenpo's heart surged with turbulence: 'A diviner calculating tens of millions of years into the future? What kind of prowess is that? This Qing Mufeng is truly the greatest divine diviner of all time!'
Long Yu continued, "After calculating this result, Senior Qing Mufeng suffered the disintegration of his physical body and the shattering of his Primordial Spirit. Yet before his death, he helped the immortal court finalize the Revival plan: sinking the Dragon Court amidst the catastrophe and burying it deep within space-time to wait for that future tens of millions of years later. When that day arrived, the Tide of the Three Realms and the collision between the Yuanshou world and other realms would cause the Dragon Court to resurface!"
A plan spanning tens of millions of years had thus unfolded.
It was a scheme deduced by one Dragon Court diviner after another exhausting their very lives. The crucial step lay in the Dragon Court subtly influencing Yuanshou over time, altering the karmic fortune of Yuanshou's people so their bodies would harmonize more closely with the Dragon Race's Primordial Spirits, facilitating possession.
"Yet so long as even a single dragon immortal possesses a person of Yuanshou, he can take command of the overall situation and become the Dragon Court's hope!"
Long Yu whispered, "Every one of us possessed the wrong vessels, and our bodies cannot hold together for long. Only you, Long Ying, can take control of this situation and receive the Far Ancestor's inheritance!"
Xu Ying felt his head spin under the impact of this revelation. "What inheritance?"
"The Far Ancestor's inheritance!"
Suppressing his excitement, Long Yu said, "Only the highest echelon of the Dragon Court knew this secret. Back then, I held some rank in the Dragon Court and was involved in it. Long Ying, you are our hope!"
He grew even more excited. "Everyone who enters this place will face our possession, but only a dragon immortal who achieves a flawless possession can receive the Far Ancestor's inheritance! You are that dragon immortal! You will receive the Far Ancestor's inheritance, carry the Ten Thousand Dragons Banners to Yuanshou, and help all the dragon immortals' Primordial Spirits achieve possession and rebirth!"
This was the Dragon Race's third plan—the Revival plan!
As they spoke, Xu Ying caught sight of the thousands of palaces of the Dragon Court—colossal immortal halls resembling the Hidden Dragon Hall!
Inside these immortal halls, towering corpses of dragon immortals sat within lofty divine shrines, while adventurers from the Immortal Realm and the myriad worlds were venturing inside to seek treasures!
At the same time, throughout these immortal halls, Ten Thousand Dragons Banners began to stir awake one after another, and the Primordial Spirits of dragon immortals flew out in swarms, hunting for hosts!
Chapter 546