Chapter 311: Chapter 28: A Gathering Storm
In the waters of the Curvy Lady River.
Long Long’s head suddenly emerged from the water, shaking his wet, long hair.
The girl-form of Long Hu also surfaced, shaking her wet, blonde hair—flinging all the water onto Long Long’s face.
Long Long: ……
Long Hu giggled, then suddenly let out a yelp as Long Long pushed her head back under the water.
“Oof!” Long Hu burst out of the water again, fuming with rage, swinging fists and kicking legs at Long Long.
But with her petite body and strength, it was more like she was tickling Long Long.
After frolicking in the water for a bit, they headed toward the eastern riverbank.
Although the Curvy Lady River isn’t as long as the Southern Lann River, it’s much wider, with gentle curves and a slow current, no wonder most merchant ships prefer it.
As Long Long swam along with Long Hu, a large fish suddenly approached from the right.
No, not just any fish, but a fish demon.
If a beast can consume the essence of the sun and moon and enter the Qi Drawing Rank (equivalent to the Human Race’s Qi Refining Rank), it becomes a demonic beast and acquires a childlike, budding Spiritual Wisdom.
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Proceeding further to the Bone Expansion Rank (equivalent to the Human Race’s Marrow Cleansing Rank), it can start to shape its skeleton, with a dissolved throat bone to speak human languages and strengthened leg bones to stand upright, while still retaining some of its original characteristics.
The Human Race refers to demonic beasts of this level as “minor demons.” Typically, demonic beasts will at most consume travelers, no more threatening than common wild beasts, but minor demons pose a risk to the area they inhabit.
The fish demon approaching Long Long and Long Hu was such a creature.
It still had fishy features like gills, fins, and scales, seemingly belonging to the carp family, complete with two long whiskers, and it swam up with an eager grin, saying:
“How come you two are swimming in your physical bodies? Would you like to try our fish clan’s treasure boat?”
“Treasure boat?” Long Long wondered, you fish can swim, so why would you need a boat?
“Two Crystals per person,” the carp demon quickly said, “Upstream they charge three Crystals!”
Long Long was stunned for a moment before he realized that by “two Crystals,” the other party was referring to the universal currency of the Eastern Emperor Realm, the Moon Crystal Stone.
This was roughly equivalent to the Cultivation Realm’s Spirit Stone, containing the power of the moonlight, useful for aiding in cultivation, and therefore a naturally valuable currency.
The price of two Crystals per person wasn’t expensive. In a restaurant in South Wind City, two Crystals was just a small tip for the waiter. So, Long Long took out four Moon Crystal Stone fragments from his Storage Bag and said:
“Let me take a look at this treasure boat first.”
“Right away!” The carp demon took the fragments and immediately shouted, “Lads, bring the boat for our honored guests!”
A wooden raft suddenly floated up from the bottom of the river, and four small carps approached the surface, biting onto ropes woven from aquatic plants, the other ends tied to the raft.
Long Long: ……
Long Hu: ……
This felt like getting offered a cab ride after leaving a train station, only to find out that you’ve been led to a motorcycle.
Although if you thought about it, there wasn’t anything particularly unreasonable, it still felt a bit strange.
Long Long then pulled Long Hu onto the raft.
With a shout from the carp demon, the four small carps started pulling the raft, speeding forward.
Long Long fixed his gaze and, surprisingly, the speed was not slow; the four fish demons pulling him gave the exhilarating impression of cutting through waves with the wind at their backs.
Long Hu seemed somewhat excited, probably because it was his first time on a boat; he looked around happily at the water and spray breaking around the raft, shouting joyfully with great enthusiasm.
Long Long, under the pretext of “Be careful not to fall off,” held the small Long Hu in his arms. She gradually calmed down, her eyes darting around, looking left and right, her ears twitching.
Upon reaching the riverbank, Long Long took Long Hu off the port and walked towards the nearest city.
Meanwhile, Qi Weihuan, revered as the “Lord of all Demons” and “King of Ten Thousand Demons,” also arrived at Gaosheng City of the Xuan Gui Clan in North State, accompanied by his personal guards.
Qi Weihuan, the current patriarch of the Qilin Clan and the nominal supreme ruler of the entire Eastern Emperor Realm.
In appearance, he was a robust middle-aged man with splendid antlers on his head, wearing a marigold brocade robe, his expression grim.
There to welcome him was the Xuan Gui Clan’s patriarch Gui Yan, who looked like an aged man with white hair, but was actually much older than Qi Weihuan.
“Any news on the remnants of the Jiaolong?” As soon as he entered the main hall of the Xuan Gui family, Qi Weihuan dismissed his attendants and asked in a deep voice.
“We have not yet found the entrance to the Beiming Fanyang,” Gui Yan replied leisurely.
“Is the Azure Dragon unwilling to cooperate?” Qi Weihuan asked, frowning.
“Your Majesty,” Gui Yan sighed, and said, “The Azure Dragon is a dragon, and so is the Jiaolong.”
Qi Weihuan stared at him, trying to discern whether he was telling the truth or merely sowing discord.
Although both descended from dragon kind, the Azure Dragon Clan and Jiaolong Clan were considered two separate demon races due to their different habitats (the former residing in the East Sea and the latter in the North Sea).
More than a hundred thousand years ago, when the Qilin Clan had not yet ascended to power, the Jiaolong Clan had already reached its zenith. They even produced a Jiaolong king of great talent and strategy, who so dominated the other demon races that they could barely breathe.
Latter, for some unknown reason, that Jiaolong king suddenly sought to marry a fox lady from the Qingqiu of West State.
Unfortunately, the mother of that fox lady was a deeply-feared criminal of the demon race… In short, it almost caused an uproar in the Eastern Emperor Realm, with many from within the Jiaolong Clan expressing deep disapproval.
In an effort to suppress the opposition within his clan and across the entire Eastern Emperor Realm, the Jiaolong king collaborated with the Qingqiu Clan to open a secret temporary passage to the Mortal Realm using secret techniques, hoping to gain enough prestige through the conquest of an expeditionary army.
However, the expedition failed, and the Jiaolong king was trapped in the Mortal Realm, unable to return.
As a result, the Jiaolong Clan’s glory quickly declined; from then on, they never recovered, losing all influence on the continents and being forced to move their entire race to the depths of Beiming Fanyang, the secret realm known as “Beiming Fanyang.”
And it was the Qilin Clan, with the support of the Xuan Gui and Azure Dragon, that drove the Jiaolong Clan from the mainland…
To this day, Qi Weihuan certainly did not intend to cease his pursuit of the Jiaolong Clan, as the two clans had forged a deep enmity.
If the Jiaolong Clan were to rise again, trouble would surely befall the Qilin Clan!
“I understand,” he said solemnly, “I will order the forces of the Azure Dragon to withdraw their search troops, and your side can send people to take over.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Gui Yan said flatly, his thoughts subtly shifting.
This would thwart the Azure Dragon’s plans to encroach upon the Beiming Fanyang.
“However, since I’ve left it to you,” Qi Weihuan suddenly lowered his voice, a formidable pressure emanating unchecked from his imposing frame, “I do not wish to see a single Jiaolong within the territories of North State one day!”
Gui Yan was silent for a moment before slowly smiling:
“Rest assured, Your Majesty.”
“From this day forward, not a single Jiaolong will be able to enter Beiming Fanyang alive.”