Chapter 41: You Traitor! (Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!)

"Even if that young dragon is still on Danyang Mountain, I couldn't even break the illusion concealing the eggshell before. To think I could find traces of the young dragon and then tame it is nothing more than a pipe dream."

Furthermore, anything she could think of, a cultivator with even a modicum of experience could also conceive. Moreover, the intelligence of the Heavenly Demons far surpassed that of ordinary humans, and it was highly likely that the White Dragon would act contrary to expectations.

Shaoheng suppressed the chaotic thoughts in her heart and focused her mind on the task at hand.

Both the Hundred-Poison Flame Grass and the Red Phosphorus Seven-Section Flower were fire-element precious medicines, and Danyang Mountain, with its abundant fire-element spiritual energy, was the perfect environment for the growth of these two herbs.

As long as she searched meticulously, she would surely find something.

Shaoheng had not yet returned the parchment she had squeezed out of the Li Dynasty singer, so she unfolded it now. She divided this map, which recorded the topography of Danyang Mountain, into nine regions, preparing to investigate them one by one.

...

"Senior Danhua, can you perceive the hiding place of that young dragon?"

As night ended and light dawned, the early sun pierced through the darkness, casting fragmented shadows through the gaps in the leaves. Amidst them, a woman in an orange-red outer robe walked forward.

Jiang Yunjiang wore a pair of gold-thread woven shoes, upon which were several glowing runes; they were a special magical tool that allowed her to cover several feet with a single step.

Over these past few days, Danhua had stimulated the recovery of her divine sense and was searching the entirety of Danyang Mountain with all her might.

She had, after all, once reached the Sixth Realm; even as a mere remnant soul, she had discovered several clues within moments.

"Head straight north. I have used my divine sense to dismantle most of the power of the illusions. Swallow a Spirit-Clearing Pill first; combined with your [Heart-Confusing Pupil] divine ability, it should be enough to break through the illusory barrier set by the White Dragon."

"Alright!"

Having received confirmation, excitement surged in Jiang Yunjiang's eyes. She exerted her Yellow Bud mana to the fullest and quickened her pace.

A green carp suddenly popped out from her shoulder, spinning incessantly around its own tail in a state of extreme excitement.

"Don't be impatient, Qingchi. Once we seize the young dragon's essence blood, you can begin your metamorphosis and start the path to becoming a flood dragon."

Jiang Yunjiang withdrew the carp demon into her Contracted Demon Bracelet and continued walking with a look of determination, yet she couldn't help but confirm with Danhua once more.

"Senior, is it as we discussed earlier? After taking the young dragon's essence blood, can we disguise it as a congenital deficiency to deceive the White Dragon?"

Danhua understood her caution. The True Dragon clan was by no means inferior to any human immortal sect; a single mistake could invite a formidable enemy.

She replied patiently, "Rest assured. After that White Dragon hatched the dragonling, it was immediately sought out by that green-robed male cultivator. Without a dragon father to nourish it with dragon breath, the young dragon was already somewhat deficient. We will only extract a small amount of essence blood, and you can use the Illusion-God Pill I refined earlier as an aid. Once we clean up our tracks, even the White Dragon won't notice anything amiss."

"But we must hurry. I just searched Danyang Mountain and discovered that many cultivators with significant cultivation levels are also searching for the young dragon's whereabouts. My divine sense has been heavily depleted, and I cannot probe the surroundings for you again in the short term."

"Understood!"

Jiang Yunjiang gazed toward the horizon, her purple pupils shimmering. With the enhancement of her divine ability, she could faintly glimpse that the struggle between the person and the dragon had not yet reached its conclusion.

She ran with all her might. After swallowing the Spirit-Clearing Pill, she fully activated her pupil technique. Under Danhua's guidance, a faint white mist finally appeared in her vision, and she charged into it.

The opportunity was rare and fleeting.

Previously, despite repeated searches, nothing unusual had been found, but after passing through the white mist, she discovered a small pool hidden here.

"Look, this is what I mentioned to you before—an illusion centered on core principles, fused with the folding technique of spatial laws. Since you possess the [Heart-Confusing Pupil], you will surely become a grandmaster of illusions in time. This could be a direction for you."

Danhua's voice rang in Jiang Yunjiang's ear, but she had no heart to respond.

She crushed two deep purple round pills in her palm, grinding them into powder, and tossed them into the pool; they were the Illusion-God Pills.

Then, Jiang Yunjiang adjusted her left earring, a special magical tool she had exchanged from the sect's treasury using her inner disciple quota.

As the tool's effect was triggered, her clothing, hair ornaments, appearance, and even her mana aura all transformed into those of another person.

As the clear pool water turned purple and bubbles began to rise, something soon floated to the surface.

It was the young dragon!

Because it had only been born recently, the young dragon's body was quite diminutive, only about a foot long. Its pure white scales shimmered with a hint of pale pink, and its small dragon horns were deep cyan. Having inhaled the Illusion-God Pill powder, it had fallen into a coma.

This young dragon possessed an innate aura of spiritual elegance that made one feel joy upon seeing it.

But Jiang Yunjiang had already drawn a bronze short dagger. Without any hesitation or conflict, she lunged toward the dragon's body in an instant!

True dragons were arrogant and too difficult to tame, and they carried infinite future troubles; no matter how lovely it was, it was not hers.

But Qingchi was different. This carp demon had long since been tamed by her and branded with a slave seal; even if it successfully transformed into a flood dragon later, it would be under her command for life.

Seizing the dragon blood to nourish Qingchi—that was what she should do!

*Swish!*

Just as the short dagger was about to pierce the young dragon's body, an arrow tore through the air, striking the dagger directly. A spray of friction sparks erupted, knocking the blade off course and causing it to miss.

"Who is it!"

Jiang Yunjiang's eyes darted around, looking at the newcomer with sheer ferocity. When she saw the middle-aged man drawing his bow, her heart jolted in shock.

She heard the man speak with an air of righteous indignation, declaiming grandly, "The True Dragon demon race and the human race have respected each other and lived in harmony for thousands of years. Who are you? What is the meaning of attacking a young dragon? Do you intend to harm it to incite a crisis of trust between humans and dragons, ultimately destroying the friendly relations between our two races?"

"What a venomous heart! You are a traitor to your own kind!"

"We human cultivators shall defend the friendship between humans and dragons without hesitation!"

Danhua's voice rang out: "A mere twenty-four cauldrons of mana, yet that arrow's power was not weak. The Daoist restrictions within that longbow magical tool must have been fully refined. This person is that girl named Shaoheng; she has merely used a transformation spell. Just as you said before, her spiritual sense is quite formidable, allowing her to fully exert the power of the tool."

The sound made when the arrow deflected the dagger caused the eyelids of the unconscious young dragon to twitch. The purple color in the pool began to fade, signifying the waning of the medicinal power.

"The timing has passed. To avoid leaving traces for the White Dragon to find, I originally reduced the potency of the Illusion-God Pill by eighty percent. It looks like the young dragon is about to wake up, and it surely has a means of communicating with the White Dragon. I will bestow my remaining strength upon you. Flee immediately to avoid future trouble."

Jiang Yunjiang swiftly sheathed her dagger, pulled back, and retreated like a flash of light.

Only after exiting the white mist did she communicate with Danhua through her inner voice, her tone unable to hide her resentment: "Shaoheng... Shaoheng! She definitely recognized me. She was sabotaging me!"

It was simply bad luck; in order to probe and dismantle the illusions cast by the White Dragon, Danhua had consumed too much divine sense and could no longer monitor the surroundings, allowing Shaoheng to find an opening to interfere.