Chapter 520 - 473: Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon

Chapter 520: Chapter 473: Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon

"This isn’t the right place for a detailed discussion. Let’s find somewhere more private."

Qing Ling glanced around, then gave Chu Mu a wink.

"Alright."

Chu Mu nodded.

"This way, please."

Qing Ling stood up and gestured with her hand.

Chu Mu followed close behind. A faint fragrance lingered in the air, and the sight of her form, half-hidden by thin veils, was enough to set one’s imagination racing.

Once they were seated in a private room on the second floor of the pavilion, Chu Mu seemed to recall something and suddenly asked, "Was it Senior Qing Cang who summoned us today?"

Qing Ling poured a cup of Spirit Wine and handed it to him, covering her mouth with her hand as she smiled. "You’re really asking about the relationship between Senior Qing Cang and me, aren’t you?"

Chu Mu gave an awkward laugh, accepting the cup without another word.

"Senior Qing Cang is my grandfather,"

she said, then gave a mischievous smile. "So, you’d better take this favor I’m asking of you very seriously. Otherwise... hmph, hmph..."

Chu Mu took a sip of the Spirit Wine and got straight to the point. "What favor does Fairy require of Chu?"

"A Lifebound Treasure."

"But my Lifebound Treasure is somewhat special."

Chu Mu set down his cup, his interest seemingly piqued. "How so?"

"What I am about to say cannot be overheard by anyone else."

Qing Ling’s expression turned solemn.

Chu Mu was momentarily stunned, but then he smiled freely. "Chu can swear a Dao Heart Oath to never reveal the Fairy’s secret!"

With that, Chu Mu immediately swore a Dao Heart Oath on the spot.

For an Artifact Refiner and Alchemist such as himself, Dao Heart Oaths had practically become routine.

After all, most clients who hired him for Alchemy or Treasure Refining obviously didn’t want their secrets to spread, and the vast majority required him to swear a Dao Heart Oath to ensure confidentiality.

Qing Ling bit her lower lip, as if finding the words difficult to say. But in the end, she slowly began to speak. "My bloodline is special. My father was human, and my mother was a Flood Dragon. Their union, perhaps by a stroke of fate, ended up producing me."

"As a result, I have been Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon since birth, able to switch between a human body and a Flood Dragon body at will."

As she spoke, Qing Ling slowly raised her arm. Her slender, jade-like fingers twisted in an instant, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a fearsome dragon’s claw.

Chu Mu saw it clearly. This was no mere temporary Demon Transformation Body like that of an ordinary Bloodline Cultivator. It was a complete and total transformation into a Demon Body. In other words, although the Qing Ling before him was only Tier Three, she was both a human and a genuine, bona fide Flood Dragon!

With just a single glance, Chu Mu could hardly hide his astonishment.

When Bloodline Cultivators enter Tier Three, they must choose between being human and being a Demon. Once made, that choice is irreversible. If you are human, you are human. If you are a Demon, you are a Demon. If a Demon wishes to become human again, it can only be done through a false Illusion, with nothing real about it. The same is true for a human who wishes to become a Demon!

’And yet, this Qing Ling before me... seems to have broken that rule?’

’Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon. Both human and Flood Dragon... ’

Chu Mu took a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil in his heart. He carefully chose his words. "May I ask, Fairy, when you reach Tier Four, will you be human, or will you be a Flood Dragon?"

"I can be human, or I can be a Flood Dragon."

Fairy Qing Ling shook her head, seemingly a little puzzled herself. "Look,"

As she spoke, Fairy Qing Ling’s clothes stirred. A pure Immortal Dao Magical Power suddenly surged forth, and her aura of Charm intensified. With her thin veils fluttering, a single glance made her seem like a holy and inviolable Fairy, yet also like a Witch capable of bewitching all of creation.

Chu Mu blinked, as if to confirm he wasn’t hallucinating.

’He was actually seeing Immortal Dao Cultivation on a Golden Core Realm Bloodline Cultivator?’

"In my human form, I am purely human. I can cultivate a body of Immortal Dao Magical Power, and even my Flood Dragon Bloodline cannot be detected. In my Flood Dragon Body, I am a pure Flood Dragon, with a pure Flood Dragon bloodline Cultivation."

As she spoke, Qing Ling’s figure flickered. The thin veils vanished, and in an instant, the fairy-like, demon-like allure was gone, leaving only a ferocious Flood Dragon coiled within the room.

Its body was emerald green, its eyes majestic. Its pure Flood Dragon Bloodline constantly emanated a terrifying and suffocating pressure.

"A Pure-blooded Flood Dragon?"

Chu Mu swallowed, finding it even harder to believe.

The Flood Dragon that Qing Ling had transformed into was a Pure-blooded Flood Dragon, one whose Flood Dragon Bloodline was pure to the absolute extreme.

In other words, the purity of her Flood Dragon Bloodline had already reached its absolute limit!

Any further evolution would inevitably trigger an Ancestral Return to an even higher-level dragon bloodline!

’The human cultivates the Immortal Dao Technique, the Flood Dragon is a Pure-blooded Flood Dragon...’

Chu Mu took several deep breaths, trying to suppress the shock in his heart. His Spiritual Radiance Blessing activated, and countless thoughts raced through his mind as he tried to discern the reason behind this unbelievable reality.

But no matter how he wracked his brain, he could not figure out how such a perfect, seemingly heaven-forged Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon could possibly exist.

A Bloodline Cultivator must choose between human and Demon upon entering Tier Three. By Tier Four, a human is a human, and a Demon is a Demon!

The ultimate truth was that the coexistence of human and Demon was fundamentally impossible!

And yet, right before his eyes, this coexistence that directly crossed the boundary between species was also a fact...

Moreover, as far as he knew, a union between a human and a Demon, given the boundary between species, should have been completely incapable of producing offspring.

Forget a human and a Demon; even if both partners were human, a significant disparity in their Cultivation would make it impossible for them to conceive a child!

After all, every advancement in one’s Cultivation Realm could be considered a leap in one’s fundamental essence of life. If their life essences were different, how could they possibly procreate even if they came together?

Just then, the majestic Flood Dragon transformed, and a graceful figure once again appeared before Chu Mu’s eyes.

Qing Ling waved her hand, wrapping her delicate body in thin veils once more. When she looked at Chu Mu again, she couldn’t help but blush.

At this moment, Chu Mu clearly had no mind to appreciate such a tantalizing scene. His thoughts were consumed by countless questions, and his gaze, filled with an intense thirst for knowledge, was already fixed on Qing Ling.

"Don’t ask me. Even I don’t understand how this is possible, let alone the seniors in my clan. They can only let me cultivate both the Immortal Dao and my Demon Body..."

Chu Mu opened his mouth, but upon hearing her frank words, he had no choice but to force down the myriad questions that were on the tip of his tongue.

Seeing his expression, Qing Ling couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh. The sound, like silver bells, carried with it threads of Charm that seemed to grow ever more captivating.

Chu Mu paid it no mind. He frowned for a moment, then looked at Qing Ling and asked tentatively, "In that case, does the Lifebound Treasure you want to have refined also need to be Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon?"

Qing Ling’s eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly.

"A Lifebound Treasure houses one’s Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Since I am Half-human, Half-Flood Dragon, my Lifebound Treasure must naturally accommodate both."

"The seniors in my clan also instructed me to be mindful of this..."

"In that case..."

Chu Mu hesitated. Then, he looked at Qing Ling and asked, "Do you have an Artifact Formula for this Lifebound Treasure, Fairy?"

"Do you really think the Cultivation Immortal Realm would have a Lifebound Treasure for such an exceptional case?"

Qing Ling rolled her eyes at Chu Mu. As she raised her hand to pick up her wine, a veil slipped, revealing an arm as smooth as jade. Her every glance and smile held a unique charm.

Chu Mu grew even more hesitant. "You mean, Fairy, you need Chu to help design it?"

"Across the entire Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World, you are likely the only one who can accomplish this."

Qing Ling’s eyes were full of expectation as she waited for Chu Mu’s reply.

Chu Mu had fallen into deep thought, his fingertips unconsciously tapping a rhythm on the tabletop. The sound of the rhythmic knocking seemed to make Qing Ling a little more nervous.

After a long while, under Qing Ling’s expectant gaze, Chu Mu slowly came back to his senses.

Their eyes met. Chu Mu’s brow was tightly furrowed, and his gaze toward Qing Ling held a peculiar glint. "The difficulty in this matter does not lie with Chu."

At these words, Qing Ling looked as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She said eagerly, "Whatever the difficulties are, please, just state them!"

"There are two difficulties."

"First, Chu will require the Fairy’s complete cooperation. This includes your switching between human and Demon forms, your Cultivation Method, your Flood Dragon Bloodline, and so on. Chu will need an extremely detailed understanding of it all."

"Second, the main issue is the Spiritual Materials and Objects. However, for you, Fairy, that shouldn’t be too difficult, I imagine."

Qing Ling clearly paid no mind to the so-called second difficulty. After hearing Chu Mu’s first point, her cheeks flushed crimson, and she was clearly embarrassed.

After a good while, she asked with some hesitation, "The cooperation you mentioned... to what extent would I need to cooperate?"

"In every single aspect, I will need the Fairy’s cooperation."

Hearing this, Qing Ling fell silent for a long moment. Finally, she looked up at Chu Mu, her eyes firm. "Fine."

Chu Mu continued, "This archipelago is a troublesome place. Chu hopes that this Treasure Refining can be arranged to take place on Chixia Island. What do you think, Fairy?"

"Chixia... I’m afraid that’s not possible at the moment."

Qing Ling shook her head. "You should know, the Teleportation Hall has been sealed for some time."

Chu Mu frowned, somewhat surprised. "Sealed or not, that shouldn’t be a problem for you, should it, Fairy?"

"If it were simply sealed, of course it wouldn’t be difficult. But to be honest with you, the teleportation on the island has well and truly been disrupted."

"The space around the Demon Suppression Islands is in complete chaos. If we were to force a teleportation, we would inevitably be thrown off the original teleportation path, and it’s not impossible that we’d be swept into Spatial Turbulence."

"Although the seniors of my clan have already identified the cause and eliminated the hidden danger, it will still take some time to repair it completely."

After speaking, Qing Ling looked at Chu Mu. "If you insist on returning to Chixia, then you’ll either have to wait for some time, or travel hundreds of thousands of miles across the sea to get there without a Teleportation Array..."

Chu Mu asked, "About how much longer will it take?"

"That’s uncertain. A senior from my clan has been working on this matter tirelessly. As for specifics, Qing Ling will need to go and inquire."

Chu Mu pondered for a moment before saying, "Then I’ll have to trouble you to find out, Fairy."

Qing Ling was taken aback, seemingly not understanding why Chu Mu was so insistent on this point. She hesitated for a moment, but ultimately didn’t press the matter and instead changed the subject. "For this assistance, what sort of payment do you require?"

"As for payment... let’s talk about it after we’ve begun."

Chu Mu smiled, raised his cup in a small gesture toward Qing Ling, drained it in one go, and then stood up.

"Chu has some other minor things to attend to. Let’s do this: in one month, Fairy, come to the True Understanding Base on Earth Demon Island to discuss the specific details of the Treasure Refining."

...