Journey to the head

The Dragon King's Mansion is the core of power in Coral City, and also its most secretive location.

Now, Lu Qian, after long and meticulous planning, has broken down the psychological defenses of the officials in Coral City and finally arrived at the Dragon's Mansion as he had wished.

This magnificent mansion is sculpted from a giant, living coral reef stretching for miles. The coral branches, like gemstones, flow with a liquid luster of crimson, emerald green, deep blue, and golden yellow. The arches, domes, and corridors are inlaid with huge luminous pearls and giant clam shells, making it dazzling, dreamlike, and incomparably luxurious.

Yu Jiao stared wide-eyed, wishing he could pack up the entire dragon palace and take it away immediately. Lu Qian also sighed sincerely, "The ancients said, 'Don't say that the dragon palace has no treasures.' This is just the residence of a dragon with high-level primordial spirit cultivation, and it is already so precious. I wonder what kind of atmosphere the Heavenly Lord's dragon palace must be like?"
The group stopped in front of the Dragon Mansion's gate. On the layers of coral branches, there were complex dragon-patterned restrictions that exuded immense pressure.

Jade Dragon imagined how many rare treasures must be in this dragon's palace, and urged them on repeatedly. Chief Clam had no choice but to gather the seals of the four major officials of the Dragon King's palace—Squid Inspector, Mermaid Advisor, and Jellyfish Registrar—and a golden light rose up.

As the light swirled, the golden light coalesced into the true phantom of Xie Chaojun, and the dragon's might rose, unleashing a deafening roar at the dragon-patterned restriction.

The smoke of the ban dissipated, and the coral branch slowly moved backward, finally revealing the gate of the Dragon Palace.

Yu Jiao strode in with his head held high, but was then dazzled by the sights.

Beneath his feet lay a galaxy of enormous pearls, within which shimmered a neon-like glow. Golden coral coiled around the giant jade pillars supporting the mansion, draped with transparent jellyfish curtains. Giant oysters on the pillars opened and closed slightly, exhaling a mist of spiritual energy, within which lay seven-colored spiritual pearls.

The dome mimics a deep starry sky, with glowing rays gliding gracefully, their wings casting flowing spots of light. Gardens adorn both sides of the corridor, where colorful anemones sing joyfully, schools of glowing fish line up, and clusters of spirit crystal ore crystals condense beside the gushing emerald hot springs.

Yu Jiao was stunned for a moment, and the Chief Clam stopped in surprise: "My lord?"

Lu Qian repeatedly activated the Reverse Scale Blood Seal, and the surprise on the Jade Dragon's face finally turned into a cold smile.

"Wow, so colorful and beautiful! The Xiechao Lord's mansion is magnificent and far surpasses that of the clan elders."

The group led by Chief Clerk immediately fell silent, but they were also alarmed by what they thought. If things continued to develop like this, they feared that once their lord returned, they would have a hard time surviving.

We can't let the inspector wander around aimlessly anymore!

The jellyfish clerk quickly led the way: "My lord, please follow me. The government approvals, confidential documents, nautical charts and archives you wish to examine are all in the Lord's study."

By sheer luck, Lu Qian was overjoyed and urged Yu Jiao to reluctantly look away from the various treasures. The group escorted Yu Jiao to Xie Chaojun's study, which was actually a separate courtyard, where they stopped.

"Why don't you leave?"

"Please forgive me, my lord, but the Dragon Lord's study is a confidential place. The Lord has set up a bloodline restriction, and only high-ranking dragon guests like yourself can enter to discuss metaphysics and state affairs with the Lord. We sea creatures are not allowed to enter."

Yu Jiao raised an eyebrow, barely managing to suppress the grin that was spreading across his face.

Wow, what a great thing!

Now that Xiechao-jun isn't here, and these annoying creatures can't get in, it's like letting me search freely inside by myself. Wouldn't that be like putting a mouse in a rice jar or locking a monkey in a peach orchard?
All the treasures that Xie Chaojun left in the study will soon belong to me, the Jade Dragon Immortal! I rummaged around with my left and right hands, and there were so many golden treasures that I couldn't even carry them all. I'm afraid I didn't bring enough storage bags!

A happy mix of anxieties filled his heart. Chief Clam bowed and took a step back, praying that nothing went wrong.

"Please come in, sir. I will wait outside."

Yu Jiao, head held high and chest puffed out, smugly pushed open the courtyard gate.

Lu Qian: "Quick! We can talk about finding the treasure later. First, find out the sea charts and documents related to the Dragon Palace and the Holy Land!"

Yu Jiao rolled his eyes in his mind and grumbled as he stepped into the courtyard.

hum!
In an instant, rows of dark red runes lit up the courtyard, and countless dragon shadows rose and fell in the light, enveloping the jade dragon.

This is the restriction set up here by Xie Chaojun, specifically for testing the bloodline of the dragon race.

Jade Dragon spread its arms, actively releasing its defenses and unleashing its pure blood aura.

But in that instant, Lu Qian suddenly felt a sense of foreboding and shouted, "Get out!"

Before Yu Jiao could react, the red light that had only lightly touched his bloodline suddenly transformed into countless threads, drilling into his bloodline. Then, he felt a sharp pain at the seven-inch mark on his neck, and ancient seal script, like chains, appeared.

The Bloodstained Rebellion Scale had actually manifested!

The dragon shadow in mid-air let out an extremely angry roar, and the blood-red halo transformed into thousands of chains, binding the jade dragon with lightning speed!

The Chief Secretary of the Clam Clan, who was waiting outside the door, froze on the spot, his face showing extreme shock.

"So that's how it is! He's not an inspector at all, and there are no inspectors at all!"

"He is a dragon spy enslaved by humans!"

His face flushed red as he recalled how he had just been fawning over someone and living in constant fear. He roared in extreme anger.

"How dare he impersonate an envoy to mock us and attempt to steal the Dragon Palace's secrets! Capture him, and the Lord will surely reward him handsomely!"

To my utter surprise, this bloodline test could actually detect the Reverse Scale Blood Seal!
The respect and obsequiousness on the faces of the officials, big and small, in Coral City vanished, replaced by ferocious anger and the excitement of about to achieve great merit.

The domains of the Clam Chief Clerk and the Squid Commander have been unleashed, and the supernatural powers and magical treasures of the rest of the group have also been activated.

How could a mere Nascent Soul dragon possibly escape!
Chief Clam was ready to order that it be captured alive, and not to be killed in a fit of anger.

However, at that very moment, a white light shot into the sky from the embrace of the jade dragon, who was already bound like a dumpling!

The red chains binding the jade dragon snapped in unison, destroying the bloodline restriction. White light burst forth, sweeping across the surroundings. The two major domains of the Clam Chief and the Squid Commander, which had just enveloped the dragon, were instantly frozen in space.

That was an extreme chill containing the power of refining emptiness!
The anger and excitement he had just felt were frozen on his face, replaced by boundless fear. Chief Clan only had time to utter two words before he was enveloped by the cold air of this frozen space, and his body and soul were instantly frozen in the silver frost.

"A true talisman!"

Only a highly accomplished True Monarch of the Void Refining Realm can forge these talismans, which incorporate the profound insights gained from their own understanding of the Great Dao. Each talisman is the culmination of their efforts and consumes a great deal of vital energy, requiring eight to ten years of cultivation to recover from.

And it was from Hai Mocheng that he obtained the spoils of war, one of the two True Talismans, True Talisman: Ice Soul Mystic Light!
The jade dragon, which Lu Qian had placed on it as a life-saving trump card, has now come in handy.

A white light swept across, freezing the space. All the officials, big and small, of Coral City, their magical domains, supernatural powers, and even their bodies and souls, collapsed under the extreme cold. Their spiritual treasures and magical artifacts were frozen into ice blocks, which crashed to the ground.

The white light continued to radiate outwards, piercing through various gaps with a creaking sound, freezing this incomparably luxurious Dragon Lord's mansion into a huge, spiked ice ball.

Within the ice hockey puck, Yu Jiao leaped up, glancing back longingly as if he were hesitating whether to plunder the Dragon Lord's mansion. Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted around them, and beams of spiritual energy shot skyward. The entire navy of Coral City was being mobilized, a force far beyond Yu Jiao's Nascent Soul cultivation to withstand.

"Run! Are you out of your mind?!"

Lu Qian urged loudly, and Yu Jiao gritted her teeth and finally flew away. She was still thinking about whether she could dig out some treasures from the ice block when she was surrounded by the elite guards who were already waiting around the Dragon Lord's mansion. She broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, there is still Lu Qian.

"Get out of my way!" Jade Dragon shouted fearlessly, hands on his hips. "You Coral City officials were dissatisfied with the inspection results and actually tried to ambush me! Fortunately, I have the true talisman bestowed by the Ancestor, and all these corrupt officials have been executed!"

"This matter has nothing to do with you common soldiers. I'm going back to report to the clan elders now! Get out of my way! Anyone who dares to lay a hand on me will be killed and their clan wiped out!"

He exuded a powerful dragon aura and, disregarding the sharp magical weapons displayed by the imperial guards, charged straight into the crowd.

The sea creature guards, unaware of the truth, were so frightened by those words that they stood rooted to the spot. How could they dare to attack this high-ranking dragon? They even voluntarily sheathed their weapons, fearing that the inspector would catch them and commit the capital offense of deceiving the emperor.

Thus, the jade dragon charged wildly, as if cleaving through waves, breaking through the layers of naval formations, and no one dared to stop it.

However, at that moment, a faint light flashed from within the solid ice of the Dragon Lord's mansion, and the extremely weak primordial spirit of the Cuttlefish Sima escaped!
It turned out that he possessed extraordinary abilities, surviving the true talisman by actively severing his physical body, and at that moment he let out a scream.

"Stop him! He's a fake, not an inspector at all, he's a human slave!"

The Coral City navy, as if waking from a dream, sprang into action, but by then Yu Jiao had already dashed out of the city gates and fled towards the mountains outside the city.

Just as Yu Jiao and Lu Qian successfully reunited, Coral City trembled violently, and countless streaks of light surged forth, causing the somewhat chaotic military formation to coalesce and press towards Lu Qian and Yu Jiao.

Lu Qian remained calm. Both he and Yu Jiao were at the Nascent Soul stage, possessing extremely fast escape speeds. The enemy's Nascent Soul cultivators were unable to pursue them. Although these naval forces, though formidable in combat, were assembled together, their escape speed was far inferior to his, and he could easily shake them off in no time.

Such a pursuit is meaningless; it's merely an act of venting anger.

The two flew forward, and as expected, the Coral City navy, although it had all kinds of giant sharks, rays, whales and dolphins and other wave-breaking beasts, as well as cavalry units such as seahorses and sea dragons, had limited cultivation and were much slower than Nascent Soul cultivators. As they chased and fled, the distance between them continued to widen.

"My lord! Let's circle around and shake them off, then get back to Coral City before them. They'll have no more experts in the city, so we can just rob all those treasures!" Jade Dragon shouted excitedly.

Lu Qian was also quite tempted. He didn't care about those rare treasures; what he was thinking about was the confidential documents in the Dragon Lord's study, which were right at his fingertips.

Does it contain any Dragon Palace Sea Charts?

This move is far too dangerous, with too many uncertainties, and should logically be refused. However, after today's failure, news of the fake inspector will surely spread far and wide, making it impossible for the two of us to continue searching other Dragon Lord residences.

With less than ten days until the Dragon Palace opens, it means that I am destined to miss out on the Dragon Palace this time!

How can I be content with this?

"Fortune favors the bold, my lord!" Yu Jiao shouted again.

Lu Qian sighed inwardly, for Yu Jiao was unaware that there was a second half to that statement.

Wealth and honor are found in danger, but also lost in danger.

Having walked a precarious path to where I am today, I am no longer the barefoot, reckless young cultivator I once was.

Well, if fate has decreed that I am not destined for the Dragon Palace, then so be it. In any case, I have already made a copy of the map and the distribution of opportunities within the Dragon Palace and given it to my senior sister. I believe she will definitely find it helpful.

Lu Qian had made up his mind and was about to refuse. Just then, his divine sense stirred, and he was greatly alarmed. He focused his eyes and looked ahead.

But in the distant deep ocean, a dark, oppressive cloud surged and rolled in, covering the sky.

It's a tide of wild beasts!
Soon, the two of us will collide head-on with this horde of beasts!
Now we're caught between wild beasts in front and pursuers behind—it's really troublesome. Perhaps it's because Coral City's large-scale naval deployment spread its aura, attracting the extremely perceptive wild beasts.

But since that's the case, whoever caused the trouble should be the one to resolve it.

"Turn!" Lu Qian shouted, leading the Jade Dragon in a different direction as they charged forward. The Coral City navy also noticed the terrifying, seemingly endless tide of wild beasts and immediately stopped their pursuit, retreating. They refused to fight an unprepared battle; rather than engaging the wild beasts in open combat here, they preferred to return to Coral City and rely on its strong defenses to hold them off.

But the terrifying beast tide was originally attracted by the sea creatures' navy. Now that the navy wanted to withdraw, the wild beasts naturally refused to allow it. The beast tide trembled violently and accelerated its speed to chase after the navy.

Lu Qian and Yu Jiao, who were desperately fleeing before the beast tide, naturally attracted the attention of the wild beasts. Various colored lights flashed, and a small group of wild beasts broke away from the beast tide and began to chase after the two.

In a chase, the one with insufficient cultivation was left behind in a short while, leaving only seven or eight wild beasts following the two, three of which were getting closer and closer.

Those are three primordial spirit level wild beasts!
"My lord!" Yu Jiao said calmly, "Let's use the true talisman!"

However, there was only one True Talisman left, and Lu Qian did not intend to use it unless absolutely necessary, much less waste it on a wild beast.

“It’s alright,” Lu Qian said. “Let them get a little closer.”

The Wild Beasts are a race that is bloodthirsty and ferocious, with low intelligence; they are practically beasts that eat raw meat and drink blood, driven only by instinct.

For them, there is absolutely no concept of seeking enlightenment or cultivating their nature and destiny; they have never embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation.

Their abilities rely entirely on heredity, mutation, and evolution. Even without any discernible pattern, they can always produce powerful individuals from an extremely large population.

Three of the pursuing beasts were at the Nascent Soul level, and the others were at the Spiritual Infant level. This means that their spiritual pressure had reached this level, but they were not true Nascent Souls or Spiritual Infants.

They certainly don't possess primordial spirit domains or nascent soul divine abilities; they only have a myriad of strange and wonderful innate abilities. These innate abilities vary in strength and are not limited in number; some wild beasts can inherit, mutate, and evolve dozens or even hundreds of innate abilities!

However, in most cases, wild beasts are weaker than cultivators of the same level due to their limited abilities.

In particular, wild beasts have disordered thinking, do not cultivate their spiritual power, have distorted souls, and chaotic mental energy, making them far less powerful than cultivators.

The three wild beasts drew closer and closer. One of them had a body like a giant snake, but in addition to a large, deformed head, its entire body was covered with strange heads of all sizes. It took the lead and was already close to Lu Qian.

But then a white light surged between Lu Qian's brows, and a bright light flashed in his eyes.

As if nothing had happened, the monstrous snake hissed and emitted dense beams of light, some eerie green and some deathly white, from its many heads. These beams struck Lu Qian directly, shattering his protective magic and freezing him in mid-air.

Then the monstrous snake roared loudly and swallowed Lu Qian whole. With its heavy, hooked fangs and sharp teeth tearing at him, fresh flesh and blood filled its mouth. (End of Chapter)