As soon as he spoke these words, everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
Indeed! Those who had fled the Three Realms aboard the golden ship were immortal dragons of the dragon race, but those who returned to the Heavenly Immortal Realm aboard it might not be the same dragon immortals!
Perhaps a band of outlanders from the other shore had slaughtered the dragon immortals aboard and seized the vessel. Then they had come to the Heavenly Immortal Realm and conquered it, executing a flawless usurpation—cuckoos stealing a magpie's nest.
First, they had cast out an Emerald Rock to wipe out all life in the Heavenly Immortal Realm, using the rock to alter the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and remodel it into an environment suited for outlanders. Then they could seize the opportunity to descend and occupy this place.
"Regardless, someone has returned alive from the other shore, and they are right here in the Heavenly Immortal Realm!"
Big Dragon gazed toward the distant immortal mountains and cave abysses, his voice solemn. "They are right ahead. Those mountains and cave abysses are where they dwell! All we have to do is go there, and we can find out everything!"
The big bell chimed in, "Exactly! And the mystery behind the disappearance of those two hundred thousand ascenders!"
Xu Ying pondered for a moment before saying, "We cannot take the golden ship there. The World-Crossing Golden Ship is far too massive and attracts too much attention. One of us needs to remain behind to pilot it and provide backup if needed."
Those aboard exchanged glances. There were not many of them: Xu Ying, Yuan Weiyang, Big Dragon, Lord Bell, the Last Lord of Ziwei, and the White Bone Divine Dragon. Who should stay behind?
Yuan Weiyang spoke up suddenly: "No one needs to stay. All we need to do is keep the golden key with us, and we can summon the World-Crossing Golden Ship at any time."
Their eyes lit up, silently praising her cleverness.
Xu Ying remarked, "There's just one catch: the ship follows the key. When we summon it, we'd better jump into the air, or we'll end up like the Jiuyou Emperor."
A chill ran through everyone, and they nodded in agreement.
They disembarked from the World-Crossing Golden Ship and left it behind. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang were bathed in two rays of ascension glow. Big Dragon merged with Lord Bell to become the Dragon Bell, while the White Bone Divine Dragon coiled itself around the bell's surface, accompanying them.
The Last Lord of Ziwei put away his imperial carriage, reached out, and gave a light pinch, transforming the canopy into a green umbrella.
Holding up the green umbrella, the glazed lamp drifted within the halo behind his head. Its light was peculiar, measuring only three or four inches long as it circled around the flame.
The ascension glow gradually quickened, flying toward the territory surrounded by cave abysses.
Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang were surprised. They gradually sensed the richness and antiquity of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. The Heavenly Immortal Realm's Great Dao was vastly more profound and substantial than that of the Earth Immortal Realm or the Mortal Realm, and its heaven-and-earth primordial qi was extraordinarily abundant. Cultivating here, one would progress at tremendous speed even without an immortal mountain or blessed land!
'If they had resources like these, the Immortal Court wouldn't have needed to tear itself apart in such fierce infighting,' Xu Ying thought with a sigh. 'Then again, even if they had such resources, the Holy Venerable, the Immortal Emperor, and the others would probably still hoard them all for themselves. In the end, the dog-eat-dog struggle would remain just as severe. If one cannot cultivate one's own cave abysses, no amount of resources will stop everything from ending up in the hands of a select few. Just where did the cave abysses of the Heavenly Immortal Realm come from?'
He asked Big Dragon. The dragon flew closer and replied, "The Heavenly Immortal Realm's resources have always been exceedingly rich. There have always been numerous immortal mountains and blessed lands, and primordial qi has always been abundant. But things like cave abysses never existed in the past."
He looked up at the cave abysses of varying sizes hanging in the sky, shaking his head. "In the past, the celestial spiritual qi of the Heavenly Immortal Realm could condense into liquid, forming rivers and lakes that were inexhaustible. As long as you had ability, you could cultivate to extremely high realms without ever worrying about resources."
Yuan Weiyang asked curiously, "Would the resources of the Heavenly Immortal Realm never run dry?"
"Of course they could. But my dragon race was warlike, and Dragon Emperors were slain all the time. After dying, everything returned to Heaven and Earth," Big Dragon said. "Even as their Far Ancestor, when I abandoned my physical body to ascend to the Abyss Sea, my flesh transformed into a river of spiritual light spanning heaven and earth for the Three Realms to utilize. With so many dragons fighting to the death, resources naturally never ran dry."
Xu Ying asked, puzzled, "Were dragons so selfless that they had no desire to hoard all resources for themselves?"
Big Dragon answered as if it were obvious: "Of course they did! Why else would they fight back and forth and bash each other bloody? Every time I was summoned forth, it was because those little brats grew too selfish, hoarding the world's resources to fulfill their pipe dreams of ruling forever and ever."
Every time he was summoned down, there was indeed important business to handle. Playful though he was, whenever fundamental issues threatened the dragon race's survival, he always managed to turn the tide and rescue his people in their hour of peril.
While they spoke, they followed the ascension glow and arrived at the land surrounded by cave abysses.
There, heaven-and-earth spiritual qi was even more concentrated. Celestial spiritual qi cascaded like waterfalls from the cave abysses, pouring onto colossal statues with dragon heads and human bodies.
Flowing from those Supreme-grade cave abysses was not only spiritual qi, but also rich Dao rhymes—Supreme-grade rhymes of the Great Dao accompanied by profound Dao voices echoing from within.
Those giant dragon-headed, human-bodied statues formed interior structures within a magnificent immortal city. Different statues bore different facial features, likely depicting various dragon heroes.
The buildings throughout the city were also exceedingly towering and majestic.
"It's the architecture of my dragon race!"
Big Dragon choked up with excitement, repeatedly telling Xu Ying, "My dragon race has massive bodies, so we need such towering palaces!"
Xu Ying narrowed his eyes and gazed at them, feeling doubtful.
He had been to the Dragon Court and seen dragon palaces before. Dragons possessed immense artistic talent; their architecture was grand, elegant, and full of lasting charm, skilled at adorning palace tiles and brick walls with all kinds of draconic motifs. Even the paving stones along the walkways were crafted with exquisite beauty.
Yet the architecture of this dragon city felt specious to him. While grand, it was thoroughly wild and rough, devoid of any refinement.
There were dragons in the city's structures as well, but most were sculptures with dragon heads and human bodies. Compared to the pervasive dragon patterns found throughout the Dragon Court architecture of the Eastern Sea of Yuanshou, the artistic caliber here was clearly far inferior.
The closer they drew to the dragon city, the clearer Xu Ying saw: what covered the buildings was not dragon-patterned structures at all, but rather architectures of branch-and-joint textures!
'The Li framework...'
Xu Ying froze. 'Could it be that the dragons who returned from the other shore learned the Li framework there and returned to teach it to the surviving dragons?'
Big Dragon also noticed something slightly amiss, but he was still overwhelmed with emotion and paid little mind to such minor details. Within the immortal city, deafening clamor and uproar arose at this moment.
Without hesitation, Xu Ying summoned the Heaven-Measuring Ruler and shattered the ascension glows surrounding him and Yuan Weiyang, whispering, "Weiyang, undergo Zangification!"
Yuan Weiyang understood immediately and channeled the Great Dao of the Emerald Rock.
Instantly, their physical bodies slowly expanded, growing taller and broader-boned like small outlanders. Branch-and-joint textures fluttered around them, generating a shroud of gray mist that enveloped their forms.
The big bell hurriedly called out, "Ah Ying, I don't know how to do this!"
Xu Ying raised his hand, and the Dragon Bell flew over, hovering above his palm. Xu Ying smiled. "You don't need to know how. Just stay with me."
The big bell relaxed slightly and said with an ingratiating chuckle, "Well, I'd still like to learn it."
Xu Ying chuckled, "I am cultivating a Dao domain. You may enter my Dao domain to comprehend it."
The big bell was overjoyed, thinking, 'Master Qi has truly been left in the dust by Lord Bell!'
Meanwhile, the Last Lord of Ziwei strode over to Yuan Weiyang's side and held the umbrella over her, remaining outside its cover himself.
Yuan Weiyang smiled. "Thank you for holding the umbrella, Your Majesty."
The Last Lord of Ziwei chuckled, "Once this matter is concluded, We shall have your head."
Yuan Weiyang glanced at Xu Ying with an inquiring look.
Xu Ying whispered, "He's joking. No need to ram yourself to death."
Relieved, Yuan Weiyang smiled. "Your Majesty is quite the joker."
Lingering fear still gripped the Last Lord of Ziwei; feeling as though he had just escaped death by the skin of his teeth, he couldn't help casting a grateful glance at Xu Ying.
They reached the immortal city, where the clamor grew even louder. The soldiers guarding the gate saw them approaching, and one of the dragon generals hurried forward, bowing respectfully. "Have you lords also come to watch the gladiatorial combat?"
He spoke not the dragon tongue, but the Dao language that Outlander Lu had spoken when preaching on the Emerald Rock!
"Gladiatorial combat?"
Smiling, Xu Ying nodded slowly and replied in stiff Dao speech, "Indeed. My wife and I have come to watch the combat. Lead the way."
His accent was unusual, but the dragon general suspected nothing, as emissaries indeed had accents distinct from those of the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Guiding them into the city, the general smiled. "This way, my lord."
Big Dragon's confusion deepened. He secretly transmitted his voice: "Wrong, all wrong! These fellows should be speaking the dragon tongue, not this bizarre speech! Our dragon language is the most exquisite language in the world, capable of articulating the Great Dao with absolute precision!"
Xu Ying's heart stirred, and he asked the dragon general, "Why do you not speak the dragon language?"
The dragon general hurriedly answered in the outlander Dao language, "Our dragon language fails to convey meaning and cannot describe the Great Dao. It is an inferior language, vastly inferior to the divine language of the other shore. The divine language is wondrous and profound, expressing the Dao and distinguishing truth from falsehood. As for the dragon language, it was discarded long ago. Nowadays, in the entire Heavenly Immortal Realm, there are probably fewer than a hundred who still understand it."
Big Dragon was shocked and furious, ready to shout back in rebuke. The big bell hastily consoled him: "Calm your anger, Lord Dragon! A moment of impatience will ruin great plans!"
Profound sorrow filled Big Dragon's heart as he fumed, "The dragon language is the root of our dragon race, recording our history and heritage! If even our language has been abandoned, what is the point of learning this divine language of the other shore? Those things that came back from the Sky-Stealing Project have dug up the very roots of my people!"
Xu Ying secretly transmitted, "Stay calm, Lord Dragon. The dragons survived after all, and that is reason enough to celebrate. Once we locate Little Celestial Venerable, Nan Ziyan, and the other ascenders, we can take our time to discover what transpired here."
Xu Ying, the big bell, and Yuan Weiyang were relatively easygoing; the Last Lord of Ziwei, who wrote tallies every day, was also rather open-minded; only Far Ancestor Big Dragon possessed an explosive temper and had never known how to let things go.
Thus Xu Ying had no choice but to soothe him.
Right then, the sharp crack of whips rang out. Following the sound, Xu Ying looked over to see several dragon immortals escorting someone forward. Bound by golden ropes, the captive was struggling to transform and break free. Seeing him misbehaving, the dragon immortals raised their whips and lashed him until his skin broke and flesh split.
"The Jiuyou Emperor?" Xu Ying was dumbfounded.
The figure receiving the lashes reeked of ghostly qi. Though his face was caked in blood and difficult to make out, Xu Ying's enmity with him was harder than gold; he recognized him in an instant. Who else could it be but the Jiuyou Emperor?
'This old scoundrel sneaked in too?' Xu Ying was astonished.
The Jiuyou Emperor shrieked in agony under the barrage. Seeing this, Xu Ying grew suspicious: 'Could it be that he wasn't captured on purpose?'
The fact that those golden ropes could bind a Daluo Golden Immortal and prevent him from transforming inspired both envy and vigilance in Xu Ying.
The dragon immortals beating the Jiuyou Emperor did not appear particularly formidable, yet the arts they employed were all derived from the Dao of the Emerald Rock, and the golden ropes and whips in their hands were treasures forged through the same Dao!
"The dragons of the Heavenly Immortal Realm truly have no roots left!" Big Dragon wept like a child, hiding inside the bell.
Noticing Xu Ying and his party, the Jiuyou Emperor urgently cried, "H-him! He's a human too! Why don't you beat him instead of just beating me? Arrest them! That boy right there! He's a spy who snuck in! I want to earn merit! I'm reporting him!"
Turning his head, Xu Ying spoke to the soldiers in the divine language of the other shore: "Give that punk a few extra lashes for me."
Hearing this and seeing that Xu Ying was an outlander from the other shore, the dragon immortals whipped with even greater vigor, sending the Jiuyou Emperor rolling across the ground.
Content, Xu Ying asked the dragon general beside him, "Now that you've captured this scoundrel, what will you do with him?"
The dragon general smiled. "Naturally, he will be sent to the Prisoner Immortal Battlefield for the amusement of you masters. However, his injuries are quite severe, so he will need time to heal before being sent into the arena."
Xu Ying blinked in bewilderment and signaled him to lead on.
The clamor ahead reached a fever pitch as they finally arrived at the so-called Prisoner Immortal Battlefield. Tens of thousands of dragon immortals sat on prayer mats floating in the air. The Prisoner Immortal Battlefield itself was an expanse as vast as an entire heaven, carved out with rivers, lakes, mountains, and plains.
Bounded by formidable magic power, the battlefield was compressed externally to a span of a hundred li, yet its internal space remained as vast as a world of the heavens.
At this moment, the dragon immortals were wildly excited, cheering and shouting without pause. Xu Ying looked down to see immortals who had ascended to the Heavenly Immortal Realm locked in mortal combat, slaughtering one another!
Among these immortals, one was extraordinarily tall and burly. Raging karmic fire flowed over his entire body, radiating an overwhelming, demonic qi that made him exceptionally formidable!
"Evil Buddha Bodhi?"
Xu Ying was stunned. 'He ascended too?'
The Evil Buddha must have discarded his former cultivation to practice the New Dao and ascended to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, only to run into its dragon immortals, be enslaved, and get thrown into this Prisoner Immortal Battlefield.
The immortal general beside Xu Ying said, "My lord, there are several other lords over there who have also come to watch the combat. They occupy prime seats at the head. Would you care to join them?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "No need. I'll sit in the front. Go arrange it."
The immortal general acknowledged the order and hurried ahead, driving away the dragon immortals seated there, before smiling ingratiatingly as he invited Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang to take their seats.
Xu Ying sat down. In the Prisoner Immortal Battlefield below, Evil Buddha Bodhi fought with ruthless ferocity, swiftly sweeping across the arena and executing all the other immortals!
Bodhi looked up, his gaze vicious and venomous as he swept his eyes upward in utter defiance, looking as though he wanted to break out of the battlefield and butcher every dragon immortal here.
Right at that moment, an eerie, colossal hand reached in from outside the battlefield, surrounded by fluttering branch-and-joint textures as it snatched downward!
Bodhi roared and lunged at the hand, but the giant hand casually flipped and crashed down, pinning him beneath its palm.
Bodhi unleashed all his transformations, but was utterly unable to escape.
The palm seized Bodhi, scooping him out of the battlefield.
Xu Ying followed the hand with his gaze and saw another outlander from the other shore seated atop an incomparably magnificent auspicious cloud. Two female outlanders flanked him, surrounded by numerous dragon immortals offering fawning smiles.
Having captured Bodhi, the outlander shot divine light from his eyes onto Bodhi's head.
The divine light hissed as it circled once around Bodhi's skull.
The two female outlanders looked thrilled as the male outlander grabbed Bodhi's scalp and gave a gentle peel, stripping the entire scalp clean off Bodhi's head.
Treating it like a precious treasure, the three outlanders put Bodhi's scalp away. The surrounding dragon immortals chimed in with flattery, as if congratulating them on acquiring a rare treasure.
Bodhi, still alive and his face covered in blood, was tossed back into the arena.
Xu Ying was thoroughly baffled.
A scalp was hardly a treasure—what could it possibly be refined into? Was it some sort of trophy of honor?
The immortal general beside him smiled ingratiatingly. "The victor's scalp this time was taken by that lord, so we couldn't contest it. But the next match's scalp will definitely belong to you, my lord!"
Chapter 645