In the distance loomed a dragon. It bore a pair of wings, its body gleaming in hues of azure and white.
Its form was immense, stretching a full thousand meters. A formidable aura radiated continually from its frame, churning the vast sea below into restless waves.
Indeed, this dragon was the very Yinglong that had emerged from Mount Kunlun back then. At this moment, it was sweeping in from afar, arcs of lightning crackling around its body.
Seeing this, a smile unconsciously appeared in Lu Yuan's eyes, and he prepared to walk over.
Soon, however, his brows knitted together. Through his senses, he felt that the aura radiating from the Yinglong was noticeably unstable.
Opening his Martial Dao Heavenly Eye to observe closely, he discovered several wounds across its body, continually dripping blood. It looked in rather miserable shape.
The Yinglong possessed extraordinary innate talent and strength to begin with. Having now attained the Saint Realm, it could reasonably be counted among the world's absolute peak powerhouses.
The only ones capable of inflicting such wounds upon it were almost certainly those extraterrestrial beings. Moreover, the assailants had to be exceptionally strong, for the Yinglong's combat prowess was formidable. Back then, only Lu Yuan had been able to firmly suppress it. Within the same realm, there were very few—even among the extraterrestrial beings—who could make it feel fear.
Without further thought, Lu Yuan went straight up to meet it.
"Who goes there!"
Before he had even drawn near, the Yinglong sensed an extremely dangerous aura approaching. Already injured, it had become acutely sensitive to such things. As it spoke, the radiance across its body flared brighter, and fury surfaced in its eyes.
"It's me. Don't be nervous."
Lu Yuan found its reaction somewhat peculiar, not understanding what had put it so on edge, so he spoke up immediately to reassure it.
"Lu Yuan?"
The voice sounded familiar to the Yinglong. Taking a closer look, it recognized Lu Yuan, who had once fought it in the Dragon Palace, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
It knew this human's strength. Though Lu Yuan was far more powerful than itself, he was no enemy, and his character in every respect was upright. Even though they had met only once, the Yinglong had formed a very favorable impression of him. Seeing him now, the tension in its heart naturally eased.
"Brother Yinglong, what happened to your injuries?" Lu Yuan asked, wanting to know what had occurred.
In truth, his impression of the Yinglong was quite good as well. It seemed proud on the surface, yet it never used its strength to bully others, and back then it had even yielded many of the Dragon Palace's treasures. Simply put, its temperament suited him well. Seeing it wounded, he naturally wanted to get to the bottom of things and find out what had happened.
"It's the Celestial Clan." The Yinglong did not hide the truth and continued, "I was ambushed by the Celestial Clan."
With that, it recounted its recent ordeal.
In ancient times, the Yinglong had ties to Xuanyuan the Yellow Emperor. Its innate divine ability was the mastery over mountains, rivers, wind, and rain, which to a certain degree bore similarities to the Celestial Clan's powers. As Earth continued to change, more and more foreign races invaded from beyond the stars, and the Celestial Clan was no exception. After descending, they discovered the Yinglong and wished to claim it for their own. After all, subjugating a Yinglong would bring tremendous benefits to the Celestial Clan in every regard.
Thus, Ao Ze, the Yinglong, naturally became their target.
However, Ao Ze had no interest in yielding to them and refused outright. So long as it kept growing, it was destined to become a hegemon in its own right.
It had assumed the matter would end there, but unexpectedly, the Celestial Clan refused to give up. To force Ao Ze into submission, they resorted to heavy-handed measures, dispatching three Saints along with a sequence prodigy to strike. At a critical juncture, they launched an ambush.
Fortunately, the Yinglong was exceptionally powerful in its own right, boasting combat strength beyond ordinary reach. Even when ambushed and surrounded, Ao Ze still fought its way out.
Yet the Celestial Clan was hardly weak, maintaining a relentless pursuit. This chase had lasted for several months. Those of the Celestial Clan never gave up, and Ao Ze remained constantly on the run, its injuries steadily worsening. In search of a way to deal with the threat, it had returned to the East Sea Dragon Palace, hoping to find a method here to shake off the Celestial Clan once and for all.
"The Celestial Clan again? They truly are like lingering ghosts," Lu Yuan said, narrowing his eyes as he listened.
Starting with Yi, he had already slain many members of the Celestial Clan; the two sides were practically like fire and water. However, because Lu Yuan himself was too formidable, the Celestial Clan knew they could not afford to provoke him at this stage and had been biding their time. The Yinglong was different—they believed they possessed the means to force it into submission.
"The Celestial Clan is determined to have me, and they will likely arrive soon. Come with me to the Dragon Palace first, and we can think of a way forward from there," Ao Ze said. It knew Lu Yuan was extremely powerful, perhaps even capable of facing those Celestial Clan Saints. Yet deep down, it had no intention of asking him to fight on its behalf, for it was too proud to make such a request.
Lu Yuan's thoughts, however, were entirely different.
He looked toward Ao Ze and said calmly, "With me here, the Celestial Clan can do nothing to you."
"This has nothing to do with you. You really don't need to get involved." Hesitation flickered in the Yinglong's eyes, and it continued, "I know you mean well, but there is no need for this." As a member of the dragon race, it possessed immense pride; even knowing the other party wanted to help, it still felt reluctant to accept.
"When did I say it was out of goodwill?" Lu Yuan chuckled, then added, "I simply find the Celestial Clan an eyesore. They've crossed me multiple times, and I haven't gone out of my way to settle the score. Now, I can collect a bit of interest."
Without waiting for the Yinglong's reaction, he stepped forward and looked toward the west.
At that moment, he sensed several powerful and familiar auras. They indeed belonged to the Celestial Clan, and every one of them was in the Saint Realm.
"You..." Ao Ze felt utterly helpless seeing this, yet it knew it could not dissuade him. The reason was simple: it couldn't beat him in a fight. In the end, it could only stay put and speak up: "I bear the weight of my own affairs and have no desire to incur debts of gratitude. If you won't leave, then I shall remain here as well."
It had no other choice. If it fled and the Celestial Clan cornered Lu Yuan and a battle ensued, what then? Regardless of the outcome, the Yinglong would be racked with concern. Driven by its conscience, it chose to stay. Naturally, it also believed that if it joined forces with Lu Yuan, they would have no reason to fear those Celestial Clan Saints.
Lu Yuan clearly saw through Ao Ze's thoughts. He shook his head and murmured under his breath, "When the time comes, I'm afraid there won't even be a part for you to play."
His words were infused with absolute, unhesitating confidence.
"What did you say?" the Yinglong turned its head and asked.
"Nothing." Lu Yuan looked into the distance and continued, "The Celestial Clan has arrived."
Chapter 254