"The Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor?!"
Seeing the gorgeous woman in a black dress standing quietly before the Old Dragon Emperor, the banquet guests leaped to their feet in unison, their eyes wide as saucers, their faces filled with utter disbelief.
Several prominent figures of the Sea Race were so shocked that they could not even maintain their human forms. With loud bangs, they reverted to their original forms—massive in size—instantly throwing the entire Dragon Palace into disarray.
Ao Ling's fame was legendary across the East Sea, and portraits of her were widely circulated. Those qualified to attend the birthday banquet were all distinguished figures in the East Sea with prominent standing, and every one of them had seen her likeness before.
Among the Sea Race clans with profound heritage, those whose ancestors had produced half-immortals even possessed records of their half-immortal forebears being defeated by Ao Ling.
Furthermore, during the Demon Empire's founding ceremony, the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor had publicly announced that she and the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor were both wives of Immortal Kirin.
With layer upon layer of legendary identities combined, how could anyone present not be stunned?
"Heavens, she's identical to the ancient paintings! It really is the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor!"
"How could the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor appear here?!"
"Is this what Daoist Sanshan meant by an item related to the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor?!"
"This is far more than just related!"
"As expected of our East Sea's human leader! To think he actually found the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, who has been missing for three hundred thousand years!"
"Ancient cultivators are emerging one after another... A Golden Age is truly upon us!"
Hearing these exclamations of awe and praise, Mister Tinghai and Venerable Liuhe wore expressions of utter bewilderment. Each slapped himself across the face, then turned back—only to see the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor still standing right there.
Could the toxic effects of the Void Immortal Grass be this potent? Had they fallen under the illusion even while circulating their cultivation techniques?
Before opening the wooden box, the Old Dragon Emperor had exhausted his imagination trying to guess what kind of relic belonging to the Ancient Ancestor could possibly be inside such a small box.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that the wooden box contained the Ancient Ancestor herself.
"Where in the world are we?"
Never mind the dumbfounded crowd—even Lu Yang, one of the people involved, was completely baffled. Why were there so many people here, and who was this old dragon fellow before him who looked so agitated he might pass out at any second?
Wait a minute... could this be the Old Dragon Emperor's birthday banquet?
Calculating the time, it seemed to match up.
"Huh? Why is there a shriveled stalk of Void Immortal Grass here?" Immortal Fairy's voice echoed in the spiritual space.
"What's Void Immortal Grass?"
"A kind of grass used to temper one's mental state by producing illusions. Its effects aren't all that great, though. Back when I prepared dishes, I only ever used it as garnish for plating."
The Immortal Fairy was very particular about aroma, color, and taste when cooking.
Hearing her speak of it so casually, Lu Yang took it for an overrated herb that was immortal in name only.
*Pffft—*
Old Horse, who was attending as the representative of the Dragon Horse Clan, spat out a mouthful of spiritual wine and stared at Lu Yang as if he had seen a ghost.
*What on earth happened while I wasn't around?!*
*At most, it's only been a month since you left the Dragon Horse Clan! How did you end up standing side-by-side with the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, you rascal?!*
Ao Ling, having seen many grand spectacles in her time, reacted swiftly. She cupped her hands toward Lu Yang and said, "Many thanks, young Fellow Daoist, for waking me from my slumber. Might you be interested in joining my Heavenly Court?"
Lu Yang cupped his hands in return with impeccable courtesy yet a resolute manner: "Senior Ao Ling, Junior appreciates your kind intentions, but as a disciple of the Dao Seeking Sect, there is no way I could join another faction!"
"What a pity."
Their casual exchange, however, sent everyone's imaginations running wild.
"So the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor, just like the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor, belongs to the Heavenly Court as well!"
"Both the Dragon and Phoenix Ancient Ancestors are members of the Heavenly Court! I heard both possess the qualifications to achieve immortality, yet for unknown reasons never crossed that threshold. Just how powerful is this Heavenly Court?!"
"The Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor has been asleep all this time, and it was Lu Yang who woke her up?!"
If Daoist Lord Hanhai had been shocked to see Ao Ling, seeing Lu Yang standing beside her bordered on pure terror.
Activating his rudimentary Space Dao fruit, he grabbed Lu Yang by the scruff of the neck and yanked him over to his side in an instant.
"What's the deal with you, brat?!"
Lu Yang gave an innocent explanation: "I don't know either! The dragon pearl sucked me in, and I saw the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor lying inside, so I woke her up."
Daoist Lord Hanhai poked Lu Yang's forehead. "You really have a lot of nerve, don't you? Lucky for you, the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor doesn't wake up grumpy, or a single sneeze of hers would've snuffed you out!"
"I wouldn't dare do it again, definitely not," Lu Yang offered an apologetic grin.
"Dragon Clan Ao Cang pays respects to the Ancient Ancestor!" The Old Dragon Emperor stood up shakily and kowtowed toward Ao Ling.
Ao Ya kowtowed as well.
The Dragon Clan had another Tribulation Transcendence expert named Ao Fan, a mid Tribulation Transcendence cultivator and vice palace master of the Dragon Palace. It had been he who led Ao Li and the others to the Demon Empire to attend the founding ceremony.
Never did he imagine that after seeing the Phoenix Clan Ancient Ancestor at the Demon Empire's founding ceremony half a year ago, he would now see his clan's own Ancient Ancestor at the Palace Master's birthday banquet.
"Dragon Clan Ao Fan pays respects to the Ancient Ancestor!"
Seeing that the Dragon Clan had only three Tribulation Transcendence cultivators, Ao Ling frowned slightly. "Does the present Dragon Clan not even possess a single half-immortal?"
The Old Dragon Emperor flushed with shame, at a loss for words.
How could a rudimentary Dao fruit be so easily formed?
At this moment, whether Sea Race or human, all united in purpose, bowing down together in respectful greeting:
"We pay our respects to Senior Ao Ling!"
All living beings prostrated, their voices rising like a tsunami.
Daoist Sanshan maintained his composure. Kneeling on the ground like everyone else, he too called out in obeisance to Senior Ao Ling.
Suddenly, a pair of elegant shoes entered his field of vision.
He looked up to find Ao Ling standing before him, though he had not sensed when she arrived.
Fixing her gaze on Daoist Sanshan, Ao Ling narrowed her eyes slightly. At some point, her pupils had turned into vertical golden dragon slits, and a profoundly dangerous smile formed on her lips.
"If my eyes didn't deceive me just now, the moment I appeared, your soul showed signs of leaving your body. Were you intending to seize the body of this descendant of my clan?"
Daoist Sanshan's method of body seizure was covert, and the instant he saw Ao Ling, he had immediately halted, confident that no one would notice.
Yet while he might deceive others, he could never deceive Ao Ling, a battle-hardened veteran of the ancient era blessed with peerless discernment.
The ancient era was far more chaotic than the present, and body seizures occurred with alarming regularity.
"What?!"
Ao Ling's words caused an uproar. Everyone stared in disbelief between Ao Ling and Daoist Sanshan, and those whose minds worked a bit slower had not even grasped what was happening.
Daoist Sanshan put on a bewildered look, as if having no idea what Ao Ling was talking about. "Senior Ao Ling, could you perhaps harbor some misunderstanding toward Junior?"
Ao Ling sneered, seeing through Daoist Sanshan's condition at a glance. "Misunderstanding? Then why don't you explain where this rudimentary Dao fruit formed with the power of faith on your body came from?"
Hearing that Daoist Sanshan possessed a rudimentary Dao fruit, both Sea Race and human cultivators showed shock.
"What did the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor just say? Daoist Sanshan has a rudimentary Dao fruit? Doesn't that mean he's become a half-immortal?!"
"The first half-immortal in the East Sea in a hundred thousand years!"
Ao Ling continued, "I don't know where you learned such a half-baked method of condensing a rudimentary Dao fruit through the power of faith, foolishly allowing faith to flood your body indiscriminately."
"Most of the time, I suspect, your body is no longer under your own control."
"Under such circumstances, if you don't choose body seizure, I'd really love to know what other means of self-preservation you could possibly have."
Originally, Ao Ling had known little about the power of faith, but the very foundation of the Xinhuo Dynasty had been faith. Having resided in the Xinhuo Dynasty for twenty thousand years, she had long since become intimately familiar with how the power of faith was utilized.
"I truly didn't expect the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor to know so much about the power of faith." Daoist Sanshan's eyes turned vicious, his expression darkening until it seemed ready to drip water. Hearing Ao Ling dismantle and expose his situation piece by piece, he knew he could no longer bluff his way out, so he simply stopped pretending.
"I originally intended to covertly seize the Old Dragon Emperor's body and take control of the entire East Sea. Since you refuse to grant me that chance, don't blame me for doing this the hard way!"
His reluctance to let anyone find out about seizing the Old Dragon Emperor's body was merely to avoid unnecessary complications.
It certainly did not mean he was incapable of fighting!
Lu Yang sat obediently beside Daoist Lord Hanhai, musing to himself: *Daoist Sanshan, since you're so powerful, I wonder if you'd cough up blood if I gave you a bow...*
Chapter 869