After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

Su Lian put down his teacup.

He raised his hand and made a sweeping motion, a wisp of pale golden aura emanating from his fingertips, condensing into a screen of light above the table.

A phantom image of a large array appeared on the light screen.

"Ten thousand years ago, the great war between humans and demons came to an end. The three founders of human religions joined forces to set up an array to seal the Great Dao of the Dragon Clan."

You should know this.

"Therefore, no true dragon has been born for ten thousand years."

Ao Tianxin stood behind Jiang Yan, her hands clenched tightly.

She understood the significance of this formation better than anyone else.

Su Lian glanced at Ao Tianxin and continued, "But this formation has been maintained for tens of thousands of years, and its spiritual power has been naturally decaying over time. At the current rate of decay, the seal will completely collapse in a few years."

Cang Yao showed no expression, but Ao Tianxin's pupils contracted.

Su Lian's gaze swept over Ao Tianxin and then landed on Jiang Yan's face.

"Yu Sheng came to me with a plan: while the formation is still intact, we will lure you into the sealing area on your own, and then detonate the remaining power of heavenly punishment in the formation all at once, forcing you into the tribulation state."

"With the remnants of the formation still intact, the chance of successfully surviving the True Dragon Tribulation is nine out of ten. With our interference, the possibility of success is even more slim."

"Even if you survive by sheer luck, but fail to transcend the tribulation, your path to becoming a dragon will be completely blocked."

Jiang Yan's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

Su Lian remained silent for a moment, then looked at Jiang Yan and said frankly, "I did originally intend to do that, but two reasons made me change my mind."

Jiang Yan remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

"The first reason," Su Lian glanced at Cang Yao, then at Ao Tianxin, "is that the current Dragon Court ruler and his successor have both developed feelings for a human at the same time."

"And this human—that is, you—has almost reached the pinnacle of prestige among the human race in the Myriad Demon Realm and even the entire Xuan Tian Realm."

He paused for a moment, then said, "To be honest, it slightly changed my view of dragons."

Ao Tianxin pursed her lips and looked away slightly.

"The second, and most important, reason."

"The cost is too high. If you really do that, you will definitely fight back with Chang'an at all costs. With your current power, even if Haoran Domain wins, it will pay a huge price and will inevitably cause a split within the human race. This is what Yu Sheng wants to see."

"Of course, I have considered simply killing you to eliminate future troubles, but the consequence of doing so would be that my Tianzhang Academy, and even the entire Mochi City, would become the target of everyone's hatred in the eyes of the Xuantian Realm's human race."

"I don't want to pay these prices, and it's not in line with my style."

He was so frank that he was almost open and honest.

"So, I've come up with a way that satisfies both sides."

"What method?"

Su Lian stretched out his hand, and two jade tablets appeared in his palm.

The jade plaque was entirely blue-green, with extremely faint golden patterns flowing across its surface, emanating an aura completely different from the spiritual energy of the Xuan Tian Realm.

"This is a spirit realm guidance order left behind by the sages of our Vast Domain."

Jiang Yan's pupils contracted slightly.

"As long as they form a contract with the token and then undergo tribulation, if they succeed, they will not be able to stay in the Xuan Tian Realm and will be forcibly guided to ascend to the Spirit Realm."

"Of course—" Su Lian paused, "If it fails, a Hidden Dragon can only undergo tribulation once in its lifetime. If it fails, it will never be able to advance to a True Dragon again, and will no longer pose a threat to us."

He looked at Jiang Yan and said sincerely, "This is my sincerity, and I'm sure Lord Jiang has already felt it."

Jiang Yan did not answer.

Behind him, Cang Yao's aura began to tremble.

The dragon's oppressive aura began to overflow uncontrollably, causing the surrounding air to sink several inches.

For the first time, panic appeared on her face.

Ascend to the Spirit Realm.

What does this mean? It means that he will be separated from Lin Chu again.

The Spirit Realm and the Xuan Tian Realm are isolated from each other. Unless Lin Chu also cultivates to the peak of the Mahayana stage and ascends to immortality, it is impossible for them to meet again.

She finally found him after so much trouble, and finally had a few years of peace. Now they have to separate again? Absolutely not.

Cang Yao's fingers unconsciously tightened, her knuckles turning white.

Ao Tianxin also frowned.

But he didn't say anything.

Su Lian observed their reactions but remained unperturbed, calmly stating, "The moment you stepped into this valley, you had no other choice. Either agree, or I will forcibly detonate the formation. To be honest, I don't want to choose the latter."

He sighed, "With Lord Jiang's talent, I believe that ascending to the Spirit Realm in a few hundred years will not be difficult. A few hundred years is but a blink of an eye for your demon race."

Jiang Yan lowered her eyes.

He is seriously considering it.

I will eventually leave this world and return to Earth.

Moreover, this suggestion inexplicably aligned with the plan he had been preparing all along.

But he also knew that Cang Yao would never agree to it.

Cang Yao lowered her head and saw that Jiang Yan was really thinking seriously, so she bit her lip.

Su Lian picked up his teacup and waited quietly.

Just then.

The four of them suddenly turned their heads to look outside the valley.

A powerful demonic force was approaching at an extremely fast speed.

Following that demonic power was an aura of a peak Mahayana cultivator that was not much weaker than his.

Feather Saint.

Two streaks of light descended from the clouds and landed in the center of the valley.

The light faded, revealing two figures.

One was Yu Sheng, whose dark golden hair was spread out in the wind.

The other was a middle-aged man dressed in a scholar's robe, with a thin face, high cheekbones, and an aura of righteousness that seemed to solidify around him.

Su Lian's expression turned somewhat unpleasant when he saw the Confucian scholar.

He put down his teacup and slowly stood up.

"Su Zhengxing, what are you doing here?"

Yu Sheng glanced at Jiang Yan and Ao Tianxin, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

Then he turned to Su Lian and sighed, "Brother Su, I knew that with your personality, you wouldn't just follow the plan so easily."

Su Zhengxing, standing to the side, glanced at Ao Tianxin and Cang Yao with disgust.

The look in his eyes was as if he were looking at something dirty, without any attempt to hide it.

Then he turned to look at Jiang Yan, his chin slightly raised.

"Jiang Yan, is it?" His voice was unhurried, with a hint of condescending scrutiny. "I know everything you've done for the human race in the Myriad Demon Realm. You are very capable and extremely talented. To be honest, I admire you."

Then the conversation shifted.

"But that's precisely why I'm so disappointed in you. You've actually started associating with this group of dragons; it's utterly degrading."

"Do you know how many people in my Vast Domain were slaughtered by the Dragon Clan back then?"

After speaking, Su Zhengxing glanced at Su Lian, his tone becoming more indifferent: "Elder brother, you are still so indecisive. It is precisely because of your personality that the Haoran Domain has become increasingly weak over the past few hundred years, and has even been suppressed by the Dragon Court."

Jiang Yan knew something was wrong the moment Yu Sheng landed.

His divine sense swept across the entire valley at lightning speed. The formation that trapped Ruoshui was still in operation. It would take at least a few breaths to break the formation and take Ruoshui away.

Cang Yao and Ao Tianxin would never abandon him and run away, and he would never abandon Ruoshui.

After Su Zhengxing finished speaking, before Su Lian could speak, he flipped his right hand.

A deep blue orb appeared in his palm.

Su Lian's pupils suddenly contracted: "Su Zhengxing—stop!"

They wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

The ball had been tossed into the air by Su Zhengxing.

It exploded instantly.

First, a silent shockwave spread out from the center of the explosion, and the stone walls on both sides of the valley were shattered with countless cracks.

Then the world changed color.

Dark clouds surged in from all directions, pressing down layer upon layer, obscuring the sunlight.

Thunder surged within the clouds, each bolt of lightning carrying a distinct aura.

Righteousness and integrity, the pure light of Taoism, and the sacred flame of Buddhism.

Three forces intertwined and converged in the clouds, forming a powerful pressure that caused everyone to change color simultaneously.

The dragon energy within Cang Yao and Ao Tianxin began to boil uncontrollably.