“Have you ever been to the dragon race?”
Yun Heng looked at the girl who was flushed red and gasping for breath. She felt like a burning brazier when touched, and his expression was more serious than ever before.
Shapeshifting should not be like this.
Especially not with the help of a six-vane transformation pill.
“If Young Master Yun has never been, it is even more impossible for me to have gone.”
Yan Qingli’s expression was equally somber.
She felt that this sudden turn of events would likely cause both of their plans to fail—after all, even her Integration Stage barrier was starting to tremble because of the girl.
“I have been there one or two times, but only for meetings…”
Yun Heng pressed his temples repeatedly, trying to recall even a single solution for such an anomaly during shapeshifting.
However, because of Ling Yao, he had rarely visited the dragon race. Even with 10,000 years of experience, he had never seen a similar situation.
Yan Qingli looked at Yun Heng’s obvious anxiety and wanted to ask why he was asking about the dragon race rather than the demon race, but then she realized there was little difference between the two for the human race, so she assumed it was a slip of the tongue.
“Why not… ask your father?” Yan Qingli suggested tentatively.
She had heard that Yun Heng had some friction with the Changsheng Yun family, especially with the current head of the Yun family.
However, in this situation, it seemed only someone as knowledgeable as the head of the Yun family could solve it.
“Fine.”
To Yan Qingli’s surprise, Yun Heng readily agreed.
Watching him take out the communication jade slip, Yan Qingli thought to herself, ‘Rumors truly are misleading.’
The jade slip vibrated twice before the other side connected.
Surprisingly, the voice coming from the other end was not a man’s, nor was it the voice of the family head’s wife, but rather a young woman’s voice.
“Hello, who is this?”
This was awkward.
Yan Qingli felt her back break into a sweat.
The rumors said the Yun family couple was exceptionally harmonious, yet their son’s call had connected to a possible second mother…
“Su… Zhenxue?”
Yun Heng was not as gossipy as Yan Qingli. After a brief thought, he deduced who had answered.
“It is me.”
Su Zhenxue’s voice was exceptionally cold, carrying a sense of distance that warned strangers not to approach and acquaintances not to disturb.
“The head of the Yun family is currently discussing important matters with my father. Unless it is a life-or-death emergency, please…”
Before she could finish, a burst of loud laughter erupted in the background: “All one suit, self-drawn, win! Come, come, come, 30,000 from each of you. Don’t go back on your debt, or I’ll lose my temper in front of the juniors! Hahahaha…”
Now, both sides fell into silence.
Yan Qingli even covered her ears and began chanting things like “by the power of the law” under her breath, trying to cool down the demon race girl through some sort of “incantation.”
“…This is Yun Heng. Let him take the call, or I will reveal every single embarrassing thing he has ever done in front of everyone there.”
Yun Heng took a deep breath, his tone growing heavier.
After a period of clamor, the voice of Yun Wangji, the head of the Yun family, came through the jade slip. It was full of vigor, three parts teasing and seven parts lazy.
“Oh, what a rare guest. I wondered who it was. What, did you finally fail to make it on the outside and want to come crawling to your father for help…”
“This concerns the lives of the entire Yun family. Find a private place and I will talk to you in detail.”
Yun Heng interrupted his father’s teasing and spoke bluntly.
“…Give me two breaths.”
After Yun Heng silently counted two seconds in his head, Yun Wangji’s voice rang out again. All traces of joking had vanished, replaced by the gravity and precision expected of a leader. “You may speak now.”
“Abnormal shapeshifting, flood dragon lineage, body like a furnace, barrier vibrating.”
Yun Heng spoke quickly and clearly, listing four keywords. “The power of the six-vane transformation pill has erupted and is seemingly out of control. Do you know how to solve this?”
The father and son had always shared a tacit understanding.
Yun Wangji did not ask what Yun Heng was doing, but continued the topic.
“Are there phantoms of dragon scales appearing on her skin? Is her breath pure heat, or is it mixed with the sound of cracking ice?”
Yun Heng immediately crouched beside the girl and observed closely.
Indeed, faint golden scale patterns flickered like ripples on her exposed skin. The breath coming from her mouth was scorching yet contained a subtle chill, making slight *crackling* sounds like shattering glass.
“Both are present.”
“…Then it’s troublesome.”
Yun Wangji sucked in a breath of cold air, pausing for a moment before explaining the key points.
“This is no ordinary shapeshifting. It is a case where ‘dragon blood ancestral regression’ has met ‘filthy body conflict.'”
“In ancient times, the flood dragon lineage was a group of dragons that were punished and exiled. If she were a pure-blooded flood dragon, it would be fine, but if even a trace of pure dragon blood is mixed in… she will be seen as ‘filth.'”
After a pause, Yun Wangji added, “The mixture of ice and fire indicates that there is likely more than one type of dragon blood in her body.”
“If I am not mistaken, her physical body was likely refined as a ‘furnace’ before she shapeshifted, and the refinement method was extremely sinister. The power of the shapeshifting pill has triggered the source of the dragon blood, but it met resistance while striking the barrier of filth.”
“In plain terms—she is now essentially a pill furnace about to explode. If it isn’t channeled, it will burst sooner or later.”
“The solution?”
Yun Heng was concise.
“Two ways.”
Yun Wangji’s speaking speed also increased.
“First, immediately find a true dragon who is at least at the Integration Stage and specializes in the ice element or calming the mind. Use a dragon breath of the same origin to guide it, smoothing the rampage while slowly purifying the filth.”
“This treats the root cause, but true dragons are hard to find, and those willing to help are even fewer.”
“Second, treat the symptoms—use ‘Nine Nether cold jade’ or an extremely cold spiritual item of the same grade, supplemented by a ‘soul-settling and spirit-calming array’ to forcibly freeze and suppress the erupting dragon blood and medicinal power temporarily.”
“This will buy time for her and you. However, this method damages the foundation, and the longer it is suppressed, the more severe the backlash will be in the future.”
Nine Nether cold jade…
In a flash, Yun Heng mentally scanned the large and small bags of luggage in his storage bag. “Can black ice spiritual lotus and extreme cold ice crystal be used?”
“They can barely serve as substitutes. But this requires the soul-settling and spirit-calming array to be of the highest possible grade…”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Before Yun Wangji could finish, Yun Heng hung up.
***
Meanwhile, in a study of the Changsheng Yun family in the upper three provinces.
Yun Wangji stared blankly at the jade slip in his hand. He suddenly felt a surge of anger and wanted to slam his fist onto the desk in front of him, but out of concern for the cost, he held back.
He could only suppress his anger and wait to take it out on the other family heads during Mahjong later.
“That brat…”
Yun Wangji cursed softly. “He doesn’t call home for 10,000 years, and when he finally does, it’s to save a woman. If those two old fogies from the Su family found out, they’d beat you half to death!”
“Why so much anger? You’re disturbing me.”
At this moment, a beautiful woman who seemed to have just been taking a nap sat up from a lounge chair beside Yun Wangji.
Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she smiled. “But then again, in this world, the only person who can make you this angry is Heng’er.”
“Who else could it be but him?”
Yun Wangji sighed and pulled the beautiful woman into his arms.
“When do you think that brat will come back? We finally managed to fool that girl Zhenxue last time, but with this sudden call, what excuse should we use to brush it off next time?”
“If we really can’t brush it off, you can just have a fight with Master Su,” Mrs. Yun smiled brightly. “Anyway, I don’t think Heng’er is very keen on this marriage.”
“That won’t do,” Yun Wangji said seriously. “Zhenxue is someone we watched grow up. How can we let the fertile water flow into someone else’s field?”
“I think you’re just greedy for the Su family’s dowry. It’s just a 50,000-Year lightning-struck wood lounge chair, isn’t it? Is it really worth it?”
“Listen to yourself! That is 50,000-Year lightning-struck wood! Good heavens… Our entire Yun family hasn’t even existed for 50,000 years, yet that old ghost Su uses that stuff as a lounge chair… Damn it, I’m incredibly jealous!”