The Great Dragon was sullen and depressed, paying no heed to the talk of sworn brotherhood.
*A dragon-morphed bell is just too ugly,* he thought to himself.
The only reason he had managed to escape this annihilation was that, on a passing whim earlier, he had left a passage of indestructible spiritual light in Xu Ying's sea of consciousness.
Xu Ying had traveled along that passage to deliver his warning. The Great Dragon and his head had also used that passage to sever themselves from the rest of his form before total annihilation, fleeing through it into Xu Ying's sea of consciousness.
At the time, his head had still been in the Yuan Sea, unable to see the outside world. He had been forced to rely entirely on his divine consciousness to sense and resist the coordinated assault of the four supreme beings.
Although ambushed by four supreme experts, he had fought in far too many battles throughout history—some a hundred times more perilous than this one—and had not taken it to heart in the slightest.
Yet he had descended too many times. His Primordial Spirit had become congested with the primordial spirits, divine consciousness, and dharmic powers of countless diverse dragons. On top of that, his latest descent had suffered a critical misstep: he had failed to successfully possess a dragon's physical body.
In the end, after repelling the siege of the four supreme beings, the sheer exertion had caused his Primordial Spirit to collapse and disintegrate.
Originally, his head should have exploded along with his body. Fortunately, before the total collapse occurred, Xu Ying had guided him through the passage and into his own sea of consciousness.
Only a massive head had been salvaged from his Primordial Spirit. Even so, this enormous head was incomparably smaller than it had once been; during the great collapse, his Primordial Spirit had severed from the spirits of those he had possessed across countless generations. His form was now completely free of those foreign dragon spirits and consciousnesses.
Xu Ying flew back and forth, inspecting the Far Ancestor's head. Frowning, he pulled the big bell over and said, "Lord Bell, Master Dragon's condition is extremely dire. A Primordial Spirit is composed of souls, vital energy, divine consciousness, yin, yang, and more. Vital energy and divine consciousness are one thing—once lost, they can be cultivated back. But even his soul has suffered severe damage."
The dragon-headed big bell grew solemn. A dragon's souls were divided into the heavenly soul, the earthly soul, and the dragon soul. The Great Dragon's heavenly and earthly souls were unharmed, but of his dragon soul, only the head remained.
Much like a human's mortal soul, a dragon soul represents the living form. For the Far Ancestor's Primordial Spirit to have only a head left meant his soul had sustained catastrophic injury.
The dragon-headed big bell asked, "Ah Ying, what should we do?"
Xu Ying glanced at the Great Dragon. Cracks ran across the Far Ancestor's dragon head, threatening to shatter it at any moment. Wisps of indestructible spiritual light leaked from the fissures—an unmistakable harbinger of disintegration.
The Far Ancestor's dragon head could not hold out much longer. It would soon fall to pieces!
"He has no physical body, and his three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls are falling apart. At this rate, his Primordial Spirit will completely collapse before long, and not even his head will survive. We have to find him a body..."
Xu Ying worried over the problem. Suddenly, he looked at the Far Ancestor's dragon head, then shifted his gaze to the big bell. A spark of inspiration struck him. Gathering the big bell in his arms, he shifted the dragon-headed bell over and sized it up against the Far Ancestor's head.
The big bell panicked. "Ah Ying, what are you doing? Ah Ying, don't do anything rash! We're sworn brothers of different parents, different races, and different species! We've lived through life and death together! Think of Yuan Qi, think of Qingbi, think of my poor old master Li Xiaoke, think of all the days we've spent by each other's side!"
Before it could finish, Xu Ying lofted it into the air and shouted, "Master Dragon, I've found you a fine body!"
The big bell expanded rapidly, swelling until it was roughly the same size as the Far Ancestor's dragon head, like a colossal bell vast enough to blot out the sky!
The big bell shrieked in terror, "Too big! It's too big! Ah Ying, stop! I'm going to burst! Stop, hurry!"
Xu Ying only halted once the bell matched the size of the Far Ancestor's dragon head. Straining with every ounce of his remaining strength, he drove the big bell toward the dragon head and barked, "Master Dragon, why aren't you lending a hand?!"
The big bell wailed, "No! You can't do this! I'm going to be possessed by an old dragon! It's too big! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"
The Great Dragon burrowed into the Far Ancestor's dragon head, and the Primordial Spirit's head instantly came awake. Sensing that his head was withering away, he recognized that fusing with this hideous, dragon-headed big bell was an expedient measure—an act of pure necessity.
His Primordial Spirit was made of indestructible spiritual light with no physical form to begin with, so merging into the big bell required little effort.
While the big bell was still shrieking that it was about to die, the fusion was already complete. Merging with a bell was far simpler than possessing a human or a dragon.
"Scoot over," the Great Dragon said, appearing within the big bell's sea of consciousness.
The big bell took a stubborn stance. "I won't!"
The Great Dragon planted his rear end firmly and shoved the big bell into a corner. Curled in the corner, the big bell felt thoroughly wronged.
The Great Dragon said, "No need to worry. I'm merely lodging here, not possessing you. Rest easy; I'm very good in a fight."
Inside its own sea of consciousness, the big bell still took the shape of a bell. Hearing this, its surface lit up, and it asked eagerly, "Does Master Dragon mean that if I run into danger, you'll step in for me?"
"No. I mean that if you try to kick me out, I'll beat you up," the Great Dragon replied honestly.
The big bell in the sea of consciousness instantly turned pitch-black.
Xu Ying examined the fusion between the Far Ancestor's head and the big bell, breathing a slight sigh of relief. Although indestructible spiritual light was still leaking from the dragon head, the rate of loss had slowed dramatically.
"At this rate of loss, Master Dragon will probably turn to dust in about fifty million years," Xu Ying told him.
"Fifty million years?"
The dragon-headed big bell brightened up happily. "In that case, there's no rush to possess a new dragon. I can finally go out and have some fun!"
Just moments ago, he had been plunged into utter despair, looking as though he were on the brink of death. Now, he was grinning ear to ear, bubbling with excitement.
Xu Ying was flabbergasted by the sight. *This Far Ancestor of the dragon race doesn't seem very reliable at all,* he thought. *Every time he descended to possess a dragon in the past, was it not to deliver them from crisis, but simply to fool around in the mortal realm?*
What he did not know was that the Yuan Sea was mind-numbingly boring. In the Yuan Sea, the Far Ancestor did nothing but sleep day in and day out. His usual diversions amounted to having dragon immortals polish his scales, clean his teeth, and massage his shoulders, or watching two strapping dragon immortals spit a dragon pearl back and forth. It was dull to the extreme.
Thus, what the Far Ancestor craved most was to be summoned by someone and granted a physical body so he could frolic freely in the mortal world.
As for helping the dragons overcome a crisis, that was merely a trivial favor he performed along the way; playing was his primary objective.
Yet the Dragon Court had fallen tens of millions of years ago. For all those epochs, he had pined for a summons in the Yuan Sea as though longing for the moon and stars. At long last, a summoning had arrived, only to plunge him into such a mess.
Even so, now that he could continue to enjoy himself in the mortal realm, his wish was fulfilled.
"Still, this dragon-headed bell getup is a bit too ugly," the Great Dragon muttered, slightly dissatisfied.
The big bell snapped in irritation, "You elderly gentleman should learn to make do! You're a destitute squatter crashing under my roof—what right do you have to mock me for being ugly?!"
The Great Dragon said, "It pales in comparison to the majestic appearance of this Far Ancestor."
"You only have a head left! What majesty?!"
Furious, the Great Dragon fumed, "Such insolence before this Far Ancestor! Do you think I won't possess you right now?!"
"If you aren't afraid of dying, just try it!"
"I'll risk my life to possess you this very day!"
"Master Dragon, I was wrong! I'll kowtow to you! Was that loud enough? If not, I'll give you another!"
Raucous bickering echoed from within the dragon-headed big bell. Xu Ying shook his head helplessly and called them to a halt. "Master Dragon, the current Immortal Emperor Supreme is a peerless master of divine divination. In all likelihood, he orchestrated this behind the scenes to destroy or seize your Primordial Spirit. Do you have any means to temporarily shield yourself from his divinations?"
The Great Dragon and the big bell stopped their quarrel. The Great Dragon asked in surprise, "Someone was actually plotting against me? If so, this person's computational power is formidable indeed—likely on par with Qing Mufeng!"
Xu Ying's heart stirred. "Is this level of divine divination truly that terrifying?"
The Great Dragon said, "I have no physical body now. If I were in the present world, divining my presence wouldn't be difficult. But I was in the Yuan Sea; to calculate my movements across the Yuan Sea requires an astonishing level of deduction—something I have never seen before! In all of history, this person's divine calculations could be called peerless, fully equal to Qing Mufeng!"
Qing Mufeng had been the foremost divine calculator of the dragon race. His deductions had peered tens of millions of years into the future, discerning a slim glimmer of hope for their kind. Throughout the entire history of the dragons, no one had ever matched such prowess!
For the Immortal Emperor Supreme's calculations to rival Qing Mufeng's, what an astonishing feat that was!
Xu Ying gazed toward the unfathomably deep Taiyi Cave Abyss, feeling a faint wave of worry.
He had already summoned the Taiyi Cave Abyss into the present world. Although it was shielded by the layer of the Yingzhou Cave Abyss, if the Immortal Emperor Supreme could divine the Far Ancestor's presence across the Yuan Sea, could he fail to detect the Taiyi Cave Abyss within Yingzhou?
At present, Xu Ying's only reliance was that the Last Lord of Ziwei had previously masked his presence, preventing the Immortal Emperor Supreme from deducing that Xu Ying had comprehended the Taiyi Cave Abyss.
Yet the Last Lord of Ziwei was dead, reduced to a mere remnant soul. His power was a shadow of what it had been in life. If the Immortal Emperor Supreme chose to break through his concealment by force, it was entirely within the realm of possibility!
The Great Dragon said, "However, I know the Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology. It can blind his divine calculations, leaving him unable to deduce anything accurately."
Overjoyed, Xu Ying hurried to ask him to act.
The dragon bell flew out of the Taiyi Cave Abyss. As the bell chimed in resonant waves, countless divine dragons swirled out from its mouth, soaring around the Taiyi Cave Abyss. They wove through one another, throwing the numerological patterns of the heavens into utter disarray!
Shenpo tilted her head upward, watching dumbfounded. This Dao-confounding numerology altered the very Great Dao itself, muddying it into a chaotic blur that defied all calculation!
After a moment, once the dragon bell had fully deployed the Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology, its vibrations gradually subsided. Yet wisps of spiritual light still leaked from its surface; the casting had clearly taken a heavy toll, nearly causing him to fall apart.
The Great Dragon said, "Human, this bell still isn't up to par. Channeling my cultivation just now nearly cracked me open. I'll need a better physical body before my Primordial Spirit can truly mend!"
The big bell retorted crossly, "You elderly gentleman should learn to make do! I'm already cultivating as hard as I can!"
As they bickered, Shenpo stepped forward and asked in a trembling voice, "Might I ask Lord Bell what numerology that was just now?"
The Great Dragon answered, "It is the Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology, created back in the day by the dragon race's master calculator, Qing Mufeng. Qing Mufeng had great potential, but unfortunately, he ended up working himself to death."
Shenpo said, "This humble woman also dabbles in divine divination. Might we exchange insights?"
The Great Dragon said, "You want to learn the Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology? If you want to learn, don't bother calling it an exchange. I'll simply teach you."
Piqued by pride, Shenpo insisted, "My divine divination is quite formidable as well—second in the world... well, probably third, or perhaps fourth or fifth... Let us exchange notes."
The Great Dragon did not bother catering to her pride and simply passed the Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology to her directly. The numerology was exceedingly profound. Once she received the teachings, any lingering pride within Shenpo vanished into thin air. The Dragon Heaven Dao-Confounding Numerology was dozens of times more advanced than her own methods—a gap comparable to that between an ascension technique and a supreme-level art!
An ascension-level technique merely allowed one to undergo tribulation and ascend, whereas a supreme-level art allowed one to touch the Supreme Realm. The gulf between them was plain to see!
"That Old Six Immortal Emperor could plot against me before only because I was off guard. Now that I am prepared, he can forget about calculating anything!"
The Great Dragon said, "I am versed in all manner of dragon arts and divine abilities, carrying an inexhaustible foundation of knowledge. When I rise again, I will surely avenge this blood feud!"
At this point, the dragon bell frowned. The Great Dragon lamented, "Yet my dragon race has gone extinct because of this. Now that I'm reduced to lodging inside a broken bell, how am I to propagate the dragon race?"
The big bell snapped in disgust, "Since you're crashing at my place, stop lusting after female dragons!"
The Great Dragon mumbled defensively, "I wasn't lusting after them... I'm just worried about the extinction of the dragons..."
Xu Ying brought out the Ten Thousand Dragons Banner and said, "Rest assured, Master Dragon. The dragons are not extinct. There are still over ten thousand dragon primordial spirits preserved within this Ten Thousand Dragons Banner."
Both surprised and delighted, the Great Dragon asked hastily, "Where did this Ten Thousand Dragons Banner come from?"
"Long Yu gave it to me," Xu Ying replied.
The Great Dragon said joyfully, "That Long Yu is quite something, carrying on the destiny of our race! Where is he now?"
"When the Heavenly Venerable attacked, he stepped forward to block him. He is likely dead," Xu Ying said.
The Great Dragon fell silent.
Stowing the Ten Thousand Dragons Banner away, Xu Ying said, "However, I will not allow you to take this banner and ravage the common folk of Yuanshou through body possession."
The Great Dragon paused for a moment before negotiating, "Could we perhaps do this: seek out the corpses of the newly deceased and have the dragon immortals possess them before their fortune and vitality dissipate?"
Xu Ying shot him a sideways glance. "That method is feasible. However, the human race of Yuanshou remains frail. I worry that without a leader, the dragons will become arrogant and tyrannical, oppressing the people of Yuanshou."
A possessed dragon would be unimaginably powerful, boasting cultivation and strength far exceeding Xu Ying's current level. If one of them seized the Ten Thousand Dragons Banner and resurrected all the dragon immortals within, it would still spell disaster for Yuanshou.
The Great Dragon said, "You mean we should wait until my condition stabilizes before reviving the dragon race?"
Xu Ying nodded gently.
The Great Dragon said decisively, "Good. It's a deal!"
"A deal!"
Xu Ying agreed readily, then smiled. "Master Dragon, I am about to undergo heavenly tribulation and ascend. Do you have any suggestions?"
He had witnessed the revived Heavenly Dao of the Dragon Court; its peerless might had vastly augmented the Heavenly Venerable once brought under control. Undergoing tribulation within the Dragon Court would surely differ from doing so outside, potentially offering a tremendous boost.
The Great Dragon said, "If you wish to undergo tribulation, facing merely the tribulation of the Earth Immortal Realm is useless—the improvement is too meager. If you're going to face tribulation, you must brave the Tribulation of the Three Realms!"
"The Tribulation of the Three Realms?"
Xu Ying's heart stirred. "The Tide of the Three Realms is approaching, when the Netherworld, the Mortal Realm, and the Immortal Realm will merge into one. Do you mean undergoing tribulation then?"
The Great Dragon chuckled. "That would still only be the tribulation of the Earth Immortal Realm. The Three Realms I speak of refer to the Earth Immortal Realm, the Mortal Realm, and the Heavenly Immortal Realm. The heavenly tribulation spanning these three realms is the true premier heavenly tribulation!"
Xu Ying's eyes gleamed brightly. "How does one undergo the Tribulation of the Three Realms?"
The Great Dragon replied lazily, "Seek out the Ancestral God."
***
The Immortal Realm, the ferry crossing.
Ever since the Tide of the Three Realms began, Xiao Xixian had gone without business for a long time. When both mortals and immortals could smuggle themselves through the rifts in the Immortal Realm, who would still travel by the Heavenly River?
Yet on this day, someone arrived to charter her immortal raft.
The visitor was handsome and elegant, his spirit restrained, carrying himself with courteous, gentlemanly grace. Stepping onto the immortal raft, he paid tenfold the fare, yet showed no hurry to set sail. "Let us wait a little longer," he said.
Xiao Xixian waited for half a day. Eventually, a tall, imposing man emerged from the mist, wearing a bamboo conical hat. In a low voice, he said, "Ferryman, cross the river."
The handsome man rose from the immortal raft with a smile. "Heavenly Venerable, I have already paid the fare. Please, board the vessel; allow me to see you on your way."
The bamboo conical hat tilted upward slightly, revealing the face beneath—none other than the head of the Immortal Court's six departments, the Heavenly Venerable of the Thunder Department, Yuan Daohai!
Xiao Xixian's heart gave a violent jolt. She recognized Yuan Daohai, and the other man was no stranger to her either.
That handsome gentleman was the Imperial Monarch of the Immortal Court!
Chapter 555