The mortal's candle dragon opens the sky

She is none other than Chen Ruyan, the Dao Ancestor of the Origin of Water, the current leader of the 'orthodox' True Dragon Clan under the Heavenly Court. In fact, she sensed it as early as when Xuyang and Yanshuzi first projected their power from the Accumulated Scale Void Realm.

As the Water Clan's Water Clan Master, who held one of the ten original copies of the "Heavenly Dragon Oath" hundreds of millions of years ago and led a portion of the Water Clan's True Dragon tribe to break away from the "Taiyi Ancestral Court" and join the Heavenly Court, she possessed the "Heavenly Dragon Oath," which all True Dragons in the myriad realms had to leave their names in. From the true names of several True Dragons, some unfamiliar and some familiar, she could sense the powerful and surging primordial force of the laws.

This means that the owners of these names have reached an extremely high level, a level that even the Heavenly Court dares not ignore or underestimate. Moreover, they came out in groups, and she knew that the Heavenly Court would never let these 'clan members' go!
Over the years, only Chen Ruyan knew the bitterness and sorrow she had endured. No matter where she went, she could see a strange, pitying, or contemptuous hidden emotion in the eyes of those Dao Ancestors and Great Luo Dao Fellows, behind their reverent gazes. She was well aware of this.

Unlike most of the True Spirits back then, who knew they couldn't stop the rise of the Heavenly Court and chose to establish the Four Symbols Star Yuan Sect to resist to the death with the determination to die rather than surrender, she endured the incredulous and even hateful gazes of almost all the 'Barbarian True Spirits lineage' and chose to preserve a portion of the True Dragon Clan's flame. She endured the humiliation of submitting to the Heavenly Court, protecting this part of the Dragon Clan as much as possible, and then suppressing the existence of this lineage as much as possible, remaining silent in the True Immortal Realm!

Then she secretly sent decrees to billions of beings in the lower realms, warning the true dragons of all realms not to ascend. Although she could not notify some newly born realms or those shrouded in the power of the spacetime storm, she had done her best.

The purpose was to find a space to survive in the cracks, so that the name of the True Dragon Clan would not be completely erased from this world, and then wait for the right time to act!

Chen Ruyan was not fanatical like the converts. Whether out of emotion or reverence for the "Oath of the Heavenly Dragon", she had never accepted a mission to exterminate the remnants of the True Spirit lineage since joining the Heavenly Court. She had never stained her hands with the blood of her own kind. The Heavenly Court, due to the deterrent power of a Primordial Dao Ancestor, had never chosen to coerce her excessively. They were in a tacit understanding.

Of course, Chen Ruyan was also sensible and never interfered in matters outside the Dragon Abyss Immortal Realm. Protecting the dragons within the Dragon Abyss Immortal Realm was one thing, and the Heavenly Court could accept it, but if she interfered too much and demanded too much, the Heavenly Court would probably have a different attitude. The True Word Sect of the Black Earth Immortal Realm was a living example!
The True Word Sect has ten thousand immortals paying homage? The sect leader cultivates the laws of time? And also practices the Five Elements? You're not a 'legitimate' member of the Heavenly Court, how dare you harbor such ambitions? If we don't destroy you, who will we destroy?

"Like the Dragon Cave in the Northern Cold Immortal Realm, am I going to be a moth drawn to a flame again? Am I going to just sit by and watch these 'fellow clansmen' die again? But the Dragon Abyss Immortal Palace's Inspector, the old thief Bi Hai, is watching my every move in the shadows. What can I do?" At this moment, Chen Ruyan's mood was extremely complicated and chaotic.

The Taiyi Ancestral Court was once so powerful and illustrious, but it collapsed over the long years. What dynasty in the world lasts for ten thousand generations? If she could survive until the original Dao Ancestors such as Gu Huojin and Chi Rong perished, and then enter the Heavenly Court as one of the Seven Sovereigns, wouldn't that be able to set things right and rebuild the Taiyi Ancestral Court?

Isn't this alternative approach better than directly confronting the Heavenly Court and carving a bloody path? The True Dragon Clan has a small population. Apart from the True Dragons in some newly formed realms in the lower world, they haven't replenished their ranks for a long time. Every death of one member means one less!
However, unlike the True Dragon at the peak of the Soul Forging Realm who fell into the Tribulation in the Dragon Cave of the Northern Cold Immortal Realm millions of years ago, the birth of these True Dragons this time was accompanied by the fall of a Supreme Great Luo. At least two of them have already stepped halfway into the threshold of Great Luo (Profound Realm). One of them has an exceptionally powerful aura, which is no weaker than her former close friend and kin—the Heavenly Dragon 'Ao Can'. Clearly, she is a True Dragon variant similar to the Nine-Flame Dragon!
The immense aura emanating from the 'Oath of the Heavenly Dragon' proves that they have already become a force to be reckoned with. Even in the ancient times after the Ancestral Court era, the Nightmare Dragon of the Heart Demon path, as long as it could successfully advance to the Profound Realm, would be enough to become a master of a path, let alone that True Dragon variant.

It would be such a waste to watch these new blood members, who are all so talented and have such high levels of cultivation, be slaughtered by the Heavenly Court. If we do nothing this time, we may not be able to find such companions again for hundreds of millions of years, or even until the moment she is completely devoured by the Heavenly Dao!

But now, Gu Huojin is at the height of her power, with countless Dao Ancestors and Great Luo Immortals under her command. Even with her, the power of the three Dao Lords is not enough to break the deadlock. It is still like an ant trying to shake a tree. Such power is not even comparable to the extinct Four Symbols Star Yuan Sect. Back then, many Dao Lords of many True Spirits gathered in the Four Symbols Star Yuan Sect. There were more than twenty people at the Tongxuan Realm alone. But what could they do?
They were all reduced to ashes by the army of the Heavenly Ancestor!

"What should I do?" Hesitation, restlessness, and indecision surged into Chen Ruyan's heart. She was in such agony at this moment. In order not to arouse the suspicion of the Heavenly Court, she ordered that her more than one hundred True Dragons not advance to the Profound Realm. Most of them were in seclusion and asleep. At this moment, she did not even have a clansman to discuss things with.

Time passed slowly, and Chen Ruyan stood alone on the cloud. Soon, the three suns in the sky began to dim, and in their place were three huge hazy moons that bathed the boundless earth in moonlight.

But at the very moment the sun and moon were about to meet, Chen Ruyan suddenly looked into the distance. The immense divine power of the Dao Ancestor level crossed the boundless territory and landed above Jue Tian City, one of the two main cities in the Dragon Abyss Immortal Domain, which stood alongside the Dragon Abyss Main City!
Hehe, the Heavenly Court finally gave this Origin Dao Ancestor some face and didn't name this main city Zhenlong City or Zhenyuan City, but does Juetian sound good?
"Absolute Heaven" refers to the difficulty of reaching the sky or an extremely high realm. This place is the Dragon Abyss Immortal Realm. The combination of the two means that the dragon race is unable to transcend this abyss.
Below Chen Ruyan's divine sense was the center of the billion-mile-long Jue Tian City, where the main gate of the inter-domain teleportation array was located. This place had been placed under martial law at some point, and was no longer as bustling as it used to be with the tide of ten thousand immortals.

At this moment, hundreds of golden-robed celestial envoys with extremely powerful auras were escorting a dozen figures whose auras were as deep as abyss and as imposing as a mountain, as if they were the embodiment of the Heavenly Dao, as they emerged from the huge and towering Heavenly Gate. They stood still on the white jade square with great efficiency, while behind them, countless more silver-robed celestial envoys were filing out of the Heavenly Gate!

The Heavenly Army is arriving, and terrifying malevolent energy is gathering!

Sensing the arrival of Chen Ruyan's vast and boundless divine sense, the dozen or so figures who seemed to be incarnations of the Heavenly Dao suddenly looked up. In the center of them were an old man, an old woman, and a graceful woman wearing a red mask!
The old man was shrouded in a wisp of ethereal white cloud. He was none other than Baiyun Daozu, the chief steward of the Heavenly Court. However, he was now relegated to the left. Standing in the center was an old woman in red robes who leaned on a crimson cane with a crane's head. She had long, flowing crimson hair like fire, and her face was deeply lined as if carved by a knife and axe. She looked old and frail, but there was an extremely fierce and murderous aura in her expression, as if she was about to devour someone at any moment.

At that moment, the old woman's eyes flickered, and the next moment, an undisguised mockery appeared on her face. She said indifferently, "Fellow Daoist Ruyan is quite perceptive. We've only just arrived and you've already discovered us. Aren't true dragons supposed to be sleepy?"

She could treat the newcomers with such contempt, but the others dared not. The next moment, Dao Ancestor Baiyun coughed lightly, took a step forward, and led all his followers, including the woman in the red mask, to bow respectfully: "Baiyun, on behalf of all the immortal envoys of the Central Earth Immortal Palace, respectfully welcomes Dao Ancestor Shui, and respectfully welcomes Dao Lord Mingxu Xuanjie Mulu Taolu!"

Chen Ruyan completely ignored the old woman in red, her clear voice echoing through the nearby void: "Baiyun! What brings you here with your followers?"

Although Bai Yun harbored great malice towards Chen Ruyan, he dared not show it on his face and bowed again.
"Reporting to the Dao Lord! At noon today, Shi Kongyu, the domain lord of the Space lineage under the Heavenly Court, was killed by a traitor of the Heavenly Court! Heavenly punishment is unavoidable, and Mangu should be the crucible of Heavenly Punishment! Baiyun has come with the Supreme Decree to request that the Dao Lord accompany us to support us in our campaign against the traitor of the Demon Realm, to avenge the domain lord of the Heavenly Court and to punish the disobedient in order to restore order to the people's hearts!"

As everyone knows, the Demon Realm has always been a stubborn force resisting the Heavenly Court. However, since the Heavenly Court has sent troops, it must make some kind of statement. Here, they are turning black into white and claiming that the Demon Lord is a domain lord under the Heavenly Court. This is a common trick of the Heavenly Court and a routine operation! On the other side, Chen Ruyan fell silent. Gu Huojin rose to power by stepping on the corpses of the dragon race. Her first treasure was made from the corpses of nine Tongxuan Realm True Dragons. In terms of sensing high-level dragons, she is no less capable than the original copy of the 'Heavenly Dragon Oath' in her hands. Since she can sense her fellow True Dragons, there is no reason why Gu Huojin cannot sense them.

Baiyun's trip was to force her to completely sever ties with the True Dragon Clan. Unlike previous wars of conquest, this time he was not going to leave her any way out!
Seeing Chen Ruyan remain silent, the old woman in red slammed her crane-headed cane down heavily, causing the entire white jade plaza to tremble. A surge of fire elemental power gathered around them. She said coldly:
"Chen Ruyan! Do you intend to defy the Supreme Decree? All these years you've been hiding behind the Heavenly Court, living a carefree life. Are you deliberately taking advantage of the Supreme Deity's benevolence? You refuse to contribute even a fraction of your strength to the Heavenly Court. What use is the Heavenly Court to you?"

In the deathly silence, countless celestial envoys were filled with unease, fearing that the two irreconcilable Origin Dao Ancestors would start fighting at this moment. In a battle between the Origin Dao Ancestors, apart from the White Cloud Dao Ancestor and many Great Luo Immortals, probably none of them would be able to leave the Dragon Abyss Immortal Realm alive.

"Since the Supreme One has given the order, I will naturally obey. However, the Demon Realm is very powerful. Even with two Origin Dao Ancestors, it is difficult to manage the Demon Realm, whose territory is as large as two normal Great Immortal Realms. Let me awaken all my sleeping clansmen. After a day and a night, I will go with you! The Ten Thousand Dragons Exterminating Immortal Formation can still be of some use!"

After a long silence, Chen Ruyan finally responded, her tone extremely cold, but she did agree, which relieved Bai Yun and countless other immortal envoys.

The old woman in red was somewhat disappointed that a fight hadn't broken out. However, having already learned about the Demon Realm, she couldn't help but reveal a half-smile when she saw Chen Ruyan finally abandon her ridiculous insistence and choose to attack her own kind to officially begin embracing the Heavenly Court. Her eyes were full of contempt and mockery.

"Then I will wait for Dao Lord in Jue Tian City!"

However, Dao Ancestor Baiyun dared not provoke a Primordial Dao Ancestor in this way, and immediately bowed deeply.

Although he had some doubts about Chen Ruyan's quick agreement, the Heavenly Court's authority was at its peak, with countless Grand Luo Dao Ancestors under its command. No matter how strong Chen Ruyan herself was, she only had a hundred or so of her own kind who were loyal to her. The rest, such as the masters of various branch immortal palaces like Chen Qingshui, were only nominally under Chen Ruyan's control, and it was impossible for any of them to support her in opposing the entire True Immortal Realm.

Thinking of this, he could only attribute Chen Ruyan's quick agreement to the fact that she had finally given up and come to her senses!

As for being forced to rebel, impossible, absolutely impossible! With the bloody examples of the Four Symbols Star Yuan Sect and the True Word Sect, the Immortal Realm hasn't seen a force that would try to stop a chariot with its bare hands for a long time! Even the Primordial Dao Ancestor couldn't do it!
Chen Ruyan did not respond. She had already withdrawn her divine sense, and her delicate black eyes were filled with cold killing intent. Strands of crystallized divine thoughts, each carrying top-grade Dao pills and spiritual medicines, flew away and began to awaken their kin.

With the immense power of the Origin Dao Ancestor, who could manipulate the power of the Heavenly Dao at will, even if these kinsmen had been placed in various beautiful and spiritually rich places in half of the Immortal Realm to slumber, she could gather them all back in a single day and night.

"How dare the Heavenly Court treat me like this! What a load of rubbish! The Seven Heavenly Lords! They've rebelled! I'm not serving them anymore! Once I get to the Demon Realm, I'll rescue my fellow clansmen and leave. At worst, I'll go and join the Samsara Palace as a deputy palace master! The Samsara Palace has withstood the Heavenly Court's attacks for tens of millions of years. There's no reason why adding me would make it collapse! Not to mention, there's another true dragon no less powerful than Ao Can!"

"Red Fusion, you old dog, and Gu Huojin! Sooner or later, I will kill you!"

At this moment, neither the White Cloud Dao Ancestor nor the old woman in red could hear her inner monologue.

Yes, her emotions had been churning from noon until night, and Chen Ruyan's heart was stretched to its limit. Under pressure from Baiyun and the old woman in red, Chen Ruyan was finally forced to make a choice in a fit of rage!

The only reason they gained a day and a night was to take the opportunity to gather these people who had survived from ancient times!
Since she intends to betray the Heavenly Court, she must take all her clansmen with her. Over the years, of the more than three hundred true dragons who followed her, two-thirds have died in battles or from calamities. Not one of the remaining ones can be missing!
Meanwhile, Xu Yang was unaware of the undercurrents surging within the Dragon Abyss Immortal Realm of the Central Plains. He and the Xuanwu Dao Master were currently holding back the Heavenly Puppet, confronting more than twenty powerful demons who had arrived!

Half a day passed, and more and more Great Luo cultivators arrived at the center of the battlefield, including two Dao Ancestors who had mastered the laws of darkness and lunar eclipse!
The negotiations are nearing their end, and Tiankui is about to become the new 'Demon Lord'!
Almost all of these Great Luo Dao Ancestors came from the so-called Eighteen Royal Clans of the Holy Domain, and were old acquaintances of the Heavenly Puppet! The hook-nosed Great Luo who had met Xu Yang once when he broke into the border of the Demon Realm was also among them. At this moment, his expression was the most interesting, and he was the first to express his agreement.

To them, the so-called Demon Realm Holy Emperor was merely a figurehead, a facade that allowed them to cultivate in peace. If the former died today, and his brother Shi Kongjie replaced him, it wouldn't be unacceptable!

The premise is that the status quo of stability and peace can still be maintained. As long as this can be maintained, they really don't care who from the Shi family becomes the Demon Lord.

Anyway, these are all internal affairs of your Shi family!
Of course, without the remnant stone fish puppet beneath Xu Yang and Tian Kui's feet, they wouldn't have agreed so readily! (End of Chapter)