Let’s just catch him and sell him off.
“Ever since the ancient times when the Dragon Clan led a host of妖族 into the Yaojie, there hasn’t been a single trace of dragons here.”
“Nowadays, even aquatic races with a hint of dragon blood are worth a pretty penny. Although Mo Aotian isn’t a true dragon, to put it nicely, he’s at least a four-clawed flood dragon.”
“If you sell him, you’ll make a killing. Oh, and remember—not to sell him whole; breaking him up fetches more money.”
Yun Miao immediately began inspecting every part of the Black Jiao’s body.
Mo Aotian stiffened under her gaze, his eyes wide open.
“Ugh… you’re all just too much… ugh… Ning Yu, you’re a disciple of the Disciplinary Hall—you can’t… ugh, break the law knowing full well!”
Ning Yu returned his stare coldly: “You were the one yelling about leaving the Xuantian Sect not long ago, but now you suddenly know how to use the Sect’s rules to protect yourself?”
“Heh, a so-called Jindan Stage cultivator who can’t even handle a Qi Refining cultivator, and yet you cause trouble in the Sect every day.”
“If you want to leave, it’s only because idiots like you end up skinned, flayed, and picked clean once outside.”
Mo Aotian’s eyes turned blood red as his two front claws struggled to support his massive upper body. “You’re lying!”
Ning Yu: “Whether it’s a lie or not is for you to know yourself. Mo Aotian, don’t forget what happened two hundred years ago…”
“Shut up!”
His vertical pupils narrowed, the black scales on his body bristled, and his aura grew even stronger than when he was fighting Ning Yu moments ago.
The once calm lake surface churned into a massive whirlpool, and dark clouds gathered overhead. A powerful pressure swept through in an instant.
Though not as heavy as the Sect Leader’s, it instilled in everyone the primal terror of a top predator locking onto its prey’s throat—like the next second would be their last, their necks snapped, bodies severed!
Suddenly, frost spread across the ground in front of Ning Yu, icy cold pressure like snow pressed down upon the Black Jiao.
Two invisible Jindan Stage pressures collided—neither side able to overpower the other, but the stalemate gave Ning Yu’s companions some breathing room.
Tan Xiaobai timidly leaned toward Yun Miao. “Such a powerful aura… could it be the Black Jiao was hiding strength just now?”
Huaxin’s eyes shone with ambition and longing:
“Cloud follows the dragon, wind follows the tiger. For him to cause even a minor celestial anomaly at just the Jindan Stage, either his dragon bloodline dominates his body or he’s figured out how to awaken it.”
The Black Jiao bared its snowy white fangs at Ning Yu, snarling viciously.
“If I’m going to die, then so be it! You humans are all the same—wolves from the same den. Even if I die, I won’t have you control me!”
“I’m a flood dragon, not a dog! I’ll never learn to live under someone’s roof, never be free, and rather die than submit!”
That resolute declaration silenced the shore like death itself.
The coldness around Ning Yu’s body eased slightly, and she looked on with a hint of disbelief: “It’s ‘wolves from the same den,’ not ‘same den of wolves,’ and it’s ‘rather die than not be free.’”
“You can’t even get the words right but still pretend to be proud? Don’t be fooled into signing a servitude contract, then smiling as you count the money.”
Yun Miao cut straight to the point: “Turns out he’s an illiterate flood dragon.”
Huaxin silently withdrew her admiring gaze. “Looks like he just has pure bloodline strength, nothing to do with comprehension.”
The others, who had been holding back, now began whispering among themselves after hearing such harsh words.
“He’s Jindan Stage and can’t read?”
“Jindan Stage only marks one’s cultivation level; it says nothing about literacy.”
“Why is he just standing there without moving?”
“Stop it—I think he’s about to cry.”
As the crowd whispered, the clouds and whirlpool gradually dispersed, the Black Jiao’s body stiffened, his aura weakened until his oppressive pressure vanished like mist.
He seemed to turn into a lifeless stone statue.
Then suddenly, he spun his upper body and plunged headfirst into the lake, leaving only a roar filled with sobbing anger echoing on the shore.
“You humans are all bastards! One day, I’ll kill every last one of you and restore the Dragon’s might!”
Yun Miao looked at the violently stirred lake, sighing, “Senior Sister, I think you made him cry with your scolding.”
Ning Yu turned, coldly scanning the group behind her. “No, he’s crying because of you all.”
Everyone immediately turned away and clammed up, pretending nothing had happened.
Seeing this, Ning Yu didn’t say more, only looking disdainfully at the lake water sullied by vomit.
“You guys shouldn’t be thinking about swimming here now, right? Anyway, this isn’t urgent. I’ll bring you back in a few days.”
Everyone nodded in agreement—even Yun Miao, who usually liked to take unconventional paths.
Ning Yu led the group away, but just a few steps after leaving, a small whirlpool appeared again on the lake surface.
A black scale, about the size of a palm, shot out and flew straight toward the back of Yun Miao’s head.
Ning Yu, walking ahead, seemed to have eyes on the back of her head.
With a whip flick, she caught the Black Jiao scale, glanced somewhat surprised at Li Lake behind them, then tossed the scale into Yun Miao’s arms.
“A piece of Black Jiao Scale—contains a moderate amount of spiritual energy, but its effect is unknown.”
Yun Miao took it and examined it closely. “Why would he give me this?”
Tan Xiaobai immediately claimed he’d read this exact scenario in a storybook once.
Legend said that in the ancient times, all the immortals living on Earth suddenly ascended en masse to the Immortal Realm, leaving the mortal world behind.
***
In their absence, the Dragon, Phoenix, and Kirin Clans led the妖族 to rampage across the land, eventually battling each other fiercely.
After countless casualties among the妖族, the Dragon Clan emerged victorious and retreated into the Yaojie, never to be seen again.
However, because dragons are naturally lustful, many aquatic races secretly carry dragon blood and have successfully transformed into dragons through cultivation.
These are the dragons the ancients spoke of.
In one story, an ancient female cultivator defeated a divine dragon despite her weakness, but spared its life.
The dragon, convinced of her merit, voluntarily offered three dragon scales as per old customs.
It was said that whenever the cultivator or her descendants sent a message through these scales, the dragon would appear and complete three tasks for them.
Yet the female cultivator never forced the dragon to do anything dangerous, only asking for simple companionship—enjoying spring flowers, summer lake trips, and winter snow together.
Tan Xiaobai gazed at the sky in awe. “Thus, the cultivator and dragon sealed their bond with three scales and became Dao Companions—unquestionably devoted.”
Yun Miao was surprised. “There’s romance novels in this game? And one combining ancient legends, racial differences, and fated love through three meetings? Sounds interesting.”
Curious, someone in the crowd asked Tan Xiaobai for the book’s name. The rest eagerly took notes, planning to read it later in secret.
Huaxin frowned thoughtfully. “I remember seeing this custom in the family library, but… why only one scale instead of three?”
Ning Yu replied, “Probably because Mo Aotian thinks Yun Miao only hurt him by taking advantage of his carelessness. He hasn’t fully accepted her, maybe only half-heartedly.”
Yun Miao nodded thoughtfully. “So this stupid flood dragon is basically a mini-boss you can farm scales from—three scales per fight. The question is whether he’s a weekly or daily boss.”
“If he’s daily, then if I come and thrash him regularly, in ten days I’d have thirty scales, a hundred days three hundred, and a thousand days three thousand!”
After Ning Yu led the group for a bit, footsteps behind grew chaotic—walking turned to jogging, then to full-on running.
She stopped and looked back at her group, who were falling behind, and pressed the disciple token at her waist again.
“It’s my oversight. Wait a moment, I’ll have someone send mounts.”
The Disciplinary Hall dealt with scoundrels who always fled at the speed of the wind, so Ning Yu hadn’t realized that most of the new juniors hadn’t even mastered the basic Walking Dragon Step.
Several who were panting collapsed to the ground in relief. Salvation again.
Before long, a flurry of strong wingbeats filled the air.
Looking up, they saw over a dozen large human-faced owls soaring from the clouds, descending slowly to the clearing before them.
Those closest took a startled step back.
Ning Yu explained: “These are mounts borrowed from Shou Peak—the Human-faced Owls. Born intelligent, they can understand human speech.”
Just then, a crane carrying a white deer gracefully flew over, hovering in midair.
Yun Miao’s eyes lit up immediately, pointing to the familiar pair.
“Can I ride that?”
Deer riding crane, and she rides the deer—it was elegant, truly elegant!
Ning Yu lightly tapped her toes and floated down onto a human-faced owl’s back.
“This is Lu Dajiao, the Shou Peak master of Dongjun Peak. By seniority, you should address him as Senior Brother.”
“Personally, I think riding your Senior Brother without asking is rude, so you need to check if he agrees first.”
Yun Miao’s eyes gleamed even brighter as she turned to the white deer.
“Senior Brother Deer, would you be willing…”
“I see how it is.”
The elegant and delicate white deer’s deep, rough voice rang out angrily:
“Ning Yu, don’t go too far. Don’t think everyone’s afraid of you Disciplinary Hall folks. I’m not scared of you! ‘Riding Senior Brother is rude’—is that really a problem about politeness?!”
“And you, little brat, you know I’m your Senior Brother and still dare to ask that dumb question? Never been beaten? Believe it or not, I’ll chase you from the Cloudview Platform to Zhi Zhi Garden and back!”
Yun Miao twitched at the thick northern accent… so this was Brother Deer from the northeast. My apologies.
She quietly turned her face away. “Forget it, I’ll ride the human-faced owl. Come to think of it, you’re pretty cute too.”
The praised human-faced owl blushed and shyly lowered its head. “Thank you. You’re cute too. Want to lay eggs with me?”
Yun Miao: ???
Ning Yu calmly explained: “Human-faced owls have faces resembling humans, so their aesthetic sense is similar to ours. Some even prefer humans over their own kind.”
“Summer is their breeding season, so they’ve been feeling amorous lately. If you don’t have those intentions, it’s better not to talk to them too much.”
Yun Miao and the others:
The human-faced owl blushed deeply and looked at Yun Miao affectionately.
“Please don’t say that. I can feel it—it’s not mere breeding season lust, but the guidance of love. Human, bird’s heart is yours; willing to offer pillow and blanket for one night.”
“Want to?”
Huaxin expressionlessly pulled Yun Miao behind her. “She’s busy tonight.”
Tan Xiaobai, Guan Dahai, and Gao Zhu stepped forward to block the giant owl’s head.
Tan Xiaobai: “I will guard the leader’s chastity!”
Human-faced owl: “Then tomorrow night…”
Huaxin pushed her sword forward, the blade gleaming coldly. “No time tomorrow night either.”
The owl craned its neck and looked stubbornly at Yun Miao.
Yun Miao quietly stood behind her small but reliable juniors and gazed at Ning Yu. “Senior Sister, next time can you tell me important things earlier?”
Ning Yu, perched high on the bird’s back, looked down at the frustrated Yun Miao and suddenly curled her lips into a smile—a perfect ice sculpture cracking open to reveal a trace of dark malice.
“No.”
Yun Miao and the others: …This Senior Sister’s personality isn’t quite what we imagined.
***
Though there was some turbulence, everyone eventually mounted their human-faced owls and rose into the sky.
Yun Miao deliberately squeezed close to Ning Yu to avoid the owl’s flirtations.
Watching Li Lake grow smaller below, she suddenly asked, “Senior Sister, what exactly happened two hundred years ago?”
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like there was hidden meaning in Senior Sister’s conversation with Mo Aotian just now.
Ning Yu’s gaze remained fixed ahead.
“A person with too much curiosity will face many unnecessary obstacles in life.”
Wow, such a beautiful NPC Senior Sister teaching life philosophy to players!
Yun Miao smiled gently: “But if a person has no curiosity at all, then their life will surely be stagnant.”
Ning Yu tilted her head coldly, staring at her for a long moment before cryptically saying, “Sharp tongue. Fine, you just took a loss with Mo Aotian. I won’t gossip if I tell you his story.”
“Master said that ten thousand years ago, a female flood dragon named Mo Chi attacked Elder Yuchen, who was then the Sword Peak master. But Elder Yuchen defeated her.”
“Flood dragons are the closest to dragons in nature and the most desperate to become dragons themselves. They worship everything about dragons.”
“So the female flood dragon followed dragon customs and offered three of her flood dragon scales, but Elder Yuchen returned them directly and made a request—that she serve as his mount for three thousand years.”
“She agreed, and so the two were companions for three thousand years. After Elder Yuchen broke through to the Tribulation Stage and became a Supreme Elder, he released her.”
“The female flood dragon didn’t wander far, choosing a mountain stream in the Xuantian mountain range to cultivate in seclusion.”
“That stream became known as Black Jiao Stream, and the adjacent ridges were called Black Jiao Ridge.”
“A hundred years ago, the female flood dragon returned to Black Jiao Ridge after many days away and laid an egg alone.”
“After two hundred years of incubation, the egg hatched into a young black flood dragon—Mo Aotian.”
“Years later, the female flood dragon left Black Jiao Ridge again and never returned. Dongjun, the Shou Peak master, wanted to take the young flood dragon back to raise, given some connection between her and the Sect.”
“But young Mo Aotian, true to his name, was arrogant and refused human care. He grew up stumbling on Black Jiao Ridge, and just as he turned a hundred, he couldn’t wait to leave the Xuantian mountains in search of his mother’s trail.”
“During his search, he came to a village and met human friends with shared ideals—tasting friendship for the first time.”
“But if one day he woke from drunkenness to find himself chained through the shoulder blades, and the friend he drank with the night before was now cutting his flesh with a blade…”
“And that blade… was forged from his mother’s fangs and scales.”
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