Chapter 321: Zhu Lie

The True Dragon fell silent, as if reminiscing. “There have been, but very few.”

Chen Qingyang said, “Then you should have considered that I am one of those few.”

Without warning, a black Bright Mirror materialized before him. Inside it, a vertical pupil burned with an eerie Golden Flame. The beast was staring at him with one eye again.

Perhaps this was a way for it to display its majesty.

“Can you tell me, just who is backing you?”

Chen Qingyang replied, “Prying like this isn’t a wise choice. I’m only willing to appear before you because I believe we still have a chance to cooperate.”

“You need to show some sincerity. Otherwise, you’ll be stuck here forever, living in constant fear!”

For this True Dragon, this must have been its greatest fear. It had already been schemed against by the Tai Xu Sect once. It should have died, but its Divine Soul remained alive and well, trapped here with no hope of escape, forced to live in constant fear of discovery.

The True Dragon blinked, and ripples of light flowed across the surface of the black Bright Mirror. “I have been cooperating with you. I just employed a small trick. If I let you control me completely, how could I not be worried?”

Chen Qingyang deliberately paused. “I understand. Following your logic, you shouldn’t cooperate with me at all, lest I just take what I want from you and then abandon you.”

But the True Dragon said, “But if I don’t stake my hopes on you, then just as you said, it would be extremely difficult to find a way to escape. I can see you have the means to do so, because I saw you pass through the Demon Suppression Array.”

“Haha!” Chen Qingyang laughed. “Then the situation is obvious, isn’t it? You can either wait here to die—and you might live for a very, very long time—or you can take a gamble on me. Maybe you’ll get out. Or maybe I really am plotting against you, and you’ll die for good. Either way, you have no other choice, do you?”

Suddenly, the air itself seemed to shift.

A shimmering, fiery-gold wall of scales suddenly appeared before Chen Qingyang. It was a section of the True Dragon’s body, and a massive dragon head turned to look at him.

Although it had revealed more of itself, it was so enormous that Chen Qingyang could only see this small part.

“What you seek from me, is it really just a bit of True Dragon Fire, simply to rely on me for your Cultivation?”

Chen Qingyang shook his head. “No, I’m sure I’ll need more than that. I’m doing this now because it allows my Cultivation to advance extremely quickly. As you’ve seen, I’m getting closer and closer to Foundation Establishment. When I reach that stage, I might be able to figure out a way to get you out.”

“Maybe twenty years, or maybe fifty. No matter how you slice it, it won’t take A Hundred Years, will it?”

The eerie flames burned even more intensely, as if revealing the giant dragon’s inner thoughts. It was at a moment of decision.

“Alright, I’ll cooperate with you. If you can truly get me out, I swear I will repay this debt, even at the cost of my own life. The world knows me as the Separation Huo True Chi. Even the name of the Tai Xu Sect’s Pill Institute here comes from me.”

“I was born in the ruins of the Ancient Divine Court. Though I am a Fire Dragon, I remember the place was covered in lotus flowers. I grew up there, little by little… Then, a group of Daoists arrived, which led to all this. After so many years, I still wish people would call me Zhu Lie. That is my true name!”

‘Ancient ruins… covered in lotus flowers…’

‘Why does that place seem so familiar?’

So the True Dragon’s name was Zhu Lie. It had been five or six years, all told, since they first met. Now, they had finally reached a preliminary agreement. Their previous interactions could only be described as mutual exploitation.

Of course, the future of their relationship depended entirely on Chen Qingyang’s abilities. If his skills were lacking, the dragon would eventually lose faith in him. If his abilities grew stronger and stronger, it would grow closer to him, just like Xu Baoling.

After all, was there any Immortal Cultivator in this world who didn’t admire the strong?

Chen Qingyang only truly trusted relationships forged through mutual support—those that had risen from crisis, endured trials of life and death, and weathered the journey from the lowest valleys to the highest peaks.

That was why he valued Liu Tao so much.

“This Ancient Divine Court you speak of, could it be Chaotian Temple?”

The True Dragon didn’t seem surprised. “Yes, inside the Dragon Pool.”

Chen Qingyang asked again, “Then do you know of the Tai Hao Qingxu Seal?”

The massive dragon head turned and looked over again. “How do you know of this Divine Power?”

“I once entered the Tai Hao Qingxu Palace and obtained it through Enlightenment. I just can’t demonstrate it for you, or I’d let you see for yourself what it is!”

The True Dragon fell silent for a moment. “Demon Subduing, Demon Suppression, Master of the Pure Yang Dao Rhythm, with the might of thunder… It is one of the most powerful Divine Powers from the Ancient Divine Court’s Tai Hao Qingxu Palace… If you claim to be an heir to the Divine Court, then it would all make sense. And this little fish of yours… that’s Taiyin, isn’t it? To think you’re a brat who cultivates Taiyin…”

The True Dragon suddenly burst into laughter, the sound exploding only in Chen Qingyang’s ears. ‘It really is vastly knowledgeable, to be able to recognize the origin of my Conscious Fish.’

This also served as a reminder to Chen Qingyang. The higher his Cultivation became in the future, the more he would have to hide his true nature. There was no guarantee that Masters and True Monarchs wouldn’t become covetous if they saw through his origins.

He had always felt that these old monsters would rather be reincarnated a hundred times and endure endless suffering than let themselves die of old age, all to find that one sliver of Celestial Secret in the unseen world. For the sake of their own great Dao, there was nothing they wouldn’t do.

He had a persistent feeling that if his incredible Cultivation speed were ever exposed, with no powerful backer to protect him, someone would absolutely capture him for dissection.

Revealing this move to the True Dragon was the right decision. The other party clearly trusted him more now.

“I don’t know anything about a Tai Hao Qingxu Palace. I only know that I comprehended this Dharma Gate myself.”

“Haha…” The True Dragon’s laughter echoed in all directions. “The Tai Hao Qingxu Palace was the Dao Field of an extremely resourceful Celestial Monarch from the Ancient Divine Court. The fact that you could achieve Enlightenment of this Dharma Gate there shows how high your comprehension is.”

“I will cooperate with you fully, in the hopes that one day, you will lead me out of here and restore my freedom. Those bull-noses stole my home and reduced me to this state… They deserve to die…”

Muttering and cursing, it stretched out two huge, illusory Dragon Claws, pinning the Conscious Fish from the left and right.

“Don’t struggle! This will benefit you!”

Raging flames burned, and two golden threads surged forward from the left and right. They were extremely thick, and they plunged into the Conscious Fish’s body from both sides.

The nine Dragon Tendons within Chen Qingyang’s body resonated with the threads. They were a tangled, complex mass, and they all began to wind around the two golden threads.

Within the Golden Flame, the fish gradually absorbed and began the Refinement… When everything had dissipated, Chen Qingyang saw small golden characters pulsing before his eyes.

[Nanming Red Emperor’s Celestial Burning and Sea Boiling Daoist Truth: (75369/120000)]

‘My Cultivation progressed by so much!’

The True Dragon’s voice followed. “This is all I can do for now. I have truly shown my sincerity this time!”

Just as it said. Those two new Dragon Tendons were unlike the ones before, and the purity of the True Fire within his body was also on a completely different level. Chen Qingyang carefully scanned them and found no trace of the dragon’s Divine Soul Will.

The golden carp, once plump, had become slender. Six fins like wings had sprouted from its neck, all fluttering like flames, and its tail had already taken on a dragon-like form.

Originally a formless entity, it had now been imbued with Dragon Qi and was on the verge of transforming into a dragon.

“Your methods are truly profound, Senior. I will remember this great kindness. I have felt your sincerity. Only now has our cooperation truly begun!”

As his voice fell, a dragon’s cry once again sounded from the heavens.

The Conscious Fish seized the opportunity to rise, rushing into the dragon’s body. He unleashed the Nanming Red Emperor True Skill and began to cultivate with the True Dragon Fire again.

After planning for so long, his wish was finally granted. It was like a dragon diving into the great sea or a fish leaping from a lake’s surface—a feeling of complete, unobstructed clarity!

The True Dragon’s body trembled as flames surged once more. What he had just gained was, in comparison to the dragon’s full might, like plucking a single star from the vast, starry heavens.