Chapter 722 - 66: Dragon Race Investigation

In the depths of the "Dragon Burial Ancient Abyss," the dark red seawater seemed like congealed blood, with the giant ancient dragon bone fossils resembling silent tombstones.

The air was filled with a thick dragon resentment and the scorching feeling left by the tearing of space turbulence.

At the core altar of the ancient abyss, several True Dragons from the East Sea Dragon Race, led by the elder Profound Dragon Ao Lie, were suspended in the air, their dragon eyes like torches, scrutinizing the massive but lifeless body of Ao Qing’s ten-thousand-foot true black dragon form below.

Dragon blood dyed the ancient patterns of the altar red; Ao Qing’s reversed scale was shattered, marking the fatal wound.

The lifebound dragon artifact, "Dark Sea Calming Abyss Pearl," clenched in his hand, was dim and lacked luster, its surface covered with web-like cracks, showing clear traces of forcibly extracted and uncontrollably dissipated sinister dragon resentment from the depths of the ancient abyss.

"Investigate! Thoroughly investigate for me!" Elder Ao Lie’s voice, deep like muffled thunder, suppressed overwhelming fury. He was the elder brother of Ao Qing, sharing the same mother, with cultivation reaching Profound Immortal, holding significant power in the East Sea Dragon Race.

"My brother possessed profound cultivation, refining the ’Dark Sea Calming Abyss Pearl’ for tens of thousands of years, how could he easily be bitten back to death by the ancient abyss prohibition? There must be something fishy!"

Several elders, skilled in investigation, array, and Dragon Clan secret techniques, immediately took action.

As dragon claws moved, waves of investigation secret techniques containing different Dragon Clan’s origin power covered the entire core area like a tide.

Light halos circulated, runes flickered, attempting to capture even the slightest anomaly from space, energy, causality, or even the remaining fragments of the divine soul.

However, the results were disappointing.

Space fluctuations were chaotic, but all chaotic sources pointed to the ancient abyss prohibition itself being triggered into a chain collapse by "external force."

The trajectory of energy dissipation perfectly matched the characteristics of prohibition backlash without any sign of external, non-Dragon Race forces intervening on a large scale.

The causality line was further tangled with the dragon resentment accumulated over ages in the ancient abyss, completely obscuring or entangling any other possible causalities.

Ao Qing’s dragon soul was completely annihilated, leaving not even a traceable remnant as if erased instantly by an extremely domineering force.

"Reporting to Elder Ao Lie,"

The True Dragon adept in the path of space had a solemn expression, "On the space level, it was indeed the core node of the ancient abyss prohibition collapsing due to excessive extraction.

The traces of space storms and turbulence perfectly matched the scene, with no apparent external force causing space tear or imprisonment."

Another elder reminded: "Furthermore, among the residual energies, aside from Elder Ao Qing’s own dragon power, the dragon resentment in the ancient abyss, and the destructive energy from the prohibition collapse surge.

No third differing attribute of mighty power participated. All energy trajectories were internal and coherent, matching the logic of backlash."

The elder responsible for causal deduction furrowed his brows tighter: "The ancient abyss resentment and grudge soared, causality entwined like a tangled mess.

Forcibly deducing anything only shows the vague scene of Elder Ao Qing forcefully extracting power and impacting the prohibition core, eventually bringing calamity upon himself.

No clear causality line pointing to a third party."

All evidence pointed to this being an unfortunate accident.

Ao Qing, at a critical moment of refining the dragon artifact, acted too hastily, triggering terrifying forces deep within the ancient abyss even he couldn’t control, ultimately self-immolating.

"Impossible!" Ao Lie’s eyes were about to crack, his dark golden dragon eyes stared fixedly at Ao Qing’s corpse, "My brother has always been cautious!

His control over the ’Dark Sea Calming Abyss Pearl’ had long become perfect, how could he make such a simple mistake? Someone must have plotted, and their means were extremely clever, erasing all traces!"

His gaze was like a knife, sweeping over every Dragon Race member present, including the Dragon Maiden suspended quietly to the side, her expression somber and solemn.

At this moment, the Dragon Maiden maintained the noble form of Ying Dragon, her silver scales reflecting a cold light in the dark red seawater.

She slightly bowed her head, her voice carrying appropriate melancholy and weight: "Elder Ao Lie, please be consoled.

Elder Ao Qing’s unexpected death is indeed a significant loss for our East Sea Dragon Race. The ancient abyss prohibition is perilous and unpredictable, with ancestors falling here throughout the ages.

Perhaps, the elder was too eager to succeed, momentarily..."

Her words were flawless, expressing mourning while characterizing the event as an "accident," subtly implying that the ancient abyss is inherently dangerous, making accidents understandable.

This posture, coupled with her increasingly elevated "Dragon Son" status within the Dragon Race, appeared justified and beyond reproach.

Ao Lie stared intensely at the Dragon Maiden, trying to find a flaw in her deep dragon eyes like the starry sky.

However, the Dragon Maiden bore [Deceiving Heaven and Sea], the disguised and covert ability of [Dao Tier Five].

Despite being unable to completely hide her emotions, combining her aura, emotions, and even soul fluctuations matched perfectly with the surrounding environment and the identity of a Dragon Son mourning the loss of an elder.

Her sorrow was genuine, her heaviness was genuine, the trace of satisfaction within seemed to blend seamlessly like a drop of water into the sea, leaving no trace.

"Humph!" Ao Lie could only let out a cold snort, withdrawing his gaze in the end.

Lacking evidence, he couldn’t accuse a similarly noble member, especially one who volunteered to handle the subsequent instability of the ancient abyss and stabilize the Dragon Race border as a meritorious act.

The Dragon Maiden’s actions after Ao Qing’s demise were highly commendable.

She swiftly sealed off messages to prevent panic, personally stationed at the ancient abyss entrance to intimidate opportunists, pacified Ao Qing’s subordinates, and proposed temporarily taking over defense duties of critical sea areas Ao Qing was in charge of, to prevent the abyss or hostile forces from taking advantage of the situation.

This series of actions earned praise from several neutral elders, including the Dragon King.

At a high-level meeting, a Golden Immortal Dragon King ultimately decided: "Elder Ao Qing fell in the ancient abyss, despite unresolved suspicions, no evidence found.

The urgent matter is to stabilize the situation, preventing internal turmoil giving foreign enemies a chance.

The Dragon Maiden handled affairs properly, temporarily taking over the defense of ’Raging Sea Eye,’ ensuring the protection of our clan’s eastern border."

This indirectly acknowledged the conclusion of "accident," enhancing the Dragon Maiden’s real power.

Ao Lie’s expression was stormy to the point water could drip from it.

His faction lost a core True Immortal, power was weakened, while the "suspect" Dragon Maiden benefited, how could he be reconciled?

After the meeting dispersed, Ao Lie didn’t return to his Dragon Palace but secretly infiltrated the most secluded and dragon qi-rich "Ancestral Dragon Abyss" of the East Sea.

This place served the East Sea Dragon Race as a sacred site for ancestor worship and conducting the most secret bloodline ceremonies.

He arrived before an altar surrounded by giant dragon bones, taking out a dark golden Dragon Scale Fragment stained with Ao Qing’s last dragon blood.

This he had stealthily collected at the ancient abyss scene while no one noticed, from the edge of Ao Qing’s shattered reversed scale, containing his brother’s last trace of pure origin aura.

"With my bloodline as lead, with the spirit of the deceased as proof! Trace the origin, reveal the true form!"

Ao Lie sliced his dragon claw, allowing dragon blood filled with powerful life essence to drip onto the complex ancient dragon patterns at the center of the altar.

He chanted obscure ancient dragon language secret spells, dragon power boiling all around him, the dragons’ patterns on the altar lit up one by one, exuding a vast and majestic aura.