GD Ch. 18

Chapter 18: How to Address Her

What had been lost was probably not a demonic beast.

Zhuyou chuckled in her heart and scanned the eyes of those around her as if scrutinizing them.

In the Heavenly Realm, many immortals were once mortals who cultivated into immortality. There was quite a bit of connection between the heavens and the earth, and these relationships often come about through various connections. So, it wasn’t particularly surprising these mortal cultivators knew that the immortals had lost something.

With the abilities of those immortals, they could naturally know that the Three Lords of the devil’s domain were currently in the human world. With this in mind, the opening of Shenhua Mountain twenty years earlier seemed more and more like a trap to lure devils in.

The white-robed disciple being questioned didn’t dare to look at her, his eyes dodging, and his ears turning crimson as if embarrassed. He stammered, “We’re not sure what was lost. It seems to be an object, but our seniors have not found it. They only said that the object possesses profound and terrifying spiritual power, and its nature should be naive and innocent. We speculate that it’s not a demonic object but perhaps a demonic beast.”

The other disciples of the immortal sect standing beside him were also stunned. They had been cultivating for many years but had never seen someone so attractive.

Even though dressed in black, she seemed untouched by the world’s dust. Her features were neither flashy nor delicate, appearing cold but with a hint of innocence and pity.

Zhuyou didn’t take out the dragon that was stirring in her sachet. Instead, she asked, “Could it be a spirit beast lost by your sect?”

“The spirit beasts of the Shangling Sect wouldn’t possess such profound and terrifying spiritual power. If they did, they would have long since transformed into immortals and wouldn’t be trapped within the sect,” the disciple replied, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the question but still answering truthfully.

Zhuyou nodded understandingly, thinking that it might be a message entrusted by the East Sea Monarch to some immortals with some concealment, so no one knew that the Dragon Palace had lost a dragon.

If this matter were to spread, East Sea Monarch would truly be unable to lift his head in the Heavenly Realm. How could a Dragon Palace lose dragons?

“Since you asked, I’ll let you see my snake. It saves you from not being able to fulfill your duty.” Zhuyou finished speaking and indeed opened the mouth of her sachet, pinching Changying’s neck and lifting her out from the sachet.

The black dragon’s cold golden eyes remained unmoved, her mouth not fully closed, revealing sharp teeth and giving off an intimidating aura.

Looking at it… It was definitely not naive and innocent in nature.

The leading disciple of the immortal sect blushed and glanced sideways at Zhuyou, muttering, “Forgive me for the offense.” After speaking, he extended his spiritual awareness to probe the spiritual power of the black dragon.

With just one probe, he could tell it was a sham; this beast had no spiritual power whatsoever.

The creature’s fangs showed as it sneered, resembling the fangs of a venomous snake.

The disciple hastily withdrew his awareness and bowed with clasped hands. “There is no trace of spiritual energy on this black snake. It’s not a spirit beast. I have been impertinent.”

Zhuyou nodded slightly and put away Changying, lightly tapping her head with her index finger without leaving a trace, as if rewarding her.

The leading disciple’s ears were still burning red, afraid that he had offended this figure as clear as the moon. He asked in a muffled voice, “May I ask which sect the senior is from? Are you here for Shenhua Mountain?”

Zhuyou was considering whether to kill or silence them, but this disciple unexpectedly provided her with a pretext. She followed his lead and replied, “Just a wandering cultivator, indeed interested in seeing this Shenhua Mountain.”

The blushing disciple remained silent, awkwardly twirling the hem of his robe at his side. The female disciple standing behind him, her eyes shining brightly, asked, “Senior, you’re truly formidable. I’ve been cultivating under my shizun in the sect for many years and haven’t reached your level. If you have no one to accompany you, why not journey with us? It would be good to have someone to look out for you along the way.”

Before the female disciple could finish her sentence, the blushing disciple abruptly elbowed her with force.

Zhuyou felt these mortals were quite sensible. She nodded slightly. “That sounds good.”

The female disciple eagerly asked, “May I know how to address you, Senior?”

“Changying,” Zhuyou smiled. As soon as she said this, the dragon in her sachet bumped her head in frustration again. Zhuyou lightly patted the sachet at her side, feeling quite satisfied with this name for the first time.

The several disciples of the immortal sect, seeing her nod, felt their faces heating up. They behaved as meekly as quails, unable to even speak a word loudly.

The more Zhuyou looked at these disciples of the immortal sect, the more she found them pleasing to the eye and remarkably obedient, reminiscent of the group of maids who served her in the Grand Hall a hundred years ago. They chirped incessantly like birds, but as soon as they met her gaze, they couldn’t even speak. Half of it was fear, and the other half was shyness.

But devils were devils after all. Despite their respect and fear, after a hundred years apart, they had almost all disappeared.

Zhuyou sighed. If she couldn’t even handle a group of maids, how could she possibly tame this emotionally detached and cold-blooded black dragon?

***

These disciples of the immortal sect seemed like newcomers to Songling City, all looking very hungry. Even though they had begun to cultivate qi, they were still mortals and could still feel hunger.

The one leading them wore white clothes and a jade coronet on his head, appearing to be some noble son from a prestigious family, richly dressed and affluent. Entering the city’s tallest restaurant with his entourage, he instructed the waiter to bring out all the best dishes in the restaurant.

Such extravagance was truly reminiscent of the four legged-insects in the Dragon Palace.

Zhuyou sat expressionlessly on the side, not touching her chopsticks, just staring at the table full of dishes. Suddenly, she felt that the Devil Realm was indeed impoverished.

These disciples felt embarrassed to eat first when they saw she hadn’t picked up her chopsticks.

The female disciple asked softly, “Senior, are you not satisfied with these dishes?”

Zhuyou closed her eyes, choosing not to look at the table full of food. If she didn’t look, she wouldn’t feel like the Devil Realm was impoverished.

These disciples were surprised. Wasn’t it too much to not even want to look?

The noble son from the prestigious family suddenly felt disheartened. His attempt to please had unexpectedly angered someone.

Zhuyou sneered inwardly and lifted her eyelids slightly. She said, “I have no need to eat these. It hinders my cultivation.”

The immortal sect disciples blushed deeply, feeling very ashamed.

Zhuyou glanced at them indifferently, understanding well in her heart that these mortal cultivators, if they cultivated well, would have the chance to ascend to the Heavens in the future and become immortals.

She was fed up with the immortals in the Heavenly Realm, and she didn’t have much fondness for these mortal cultivators either. She continued, “These mortal things are nothing special. Instead of wasting time eating, you might as well go outside the city to distribute porridge. It will accumulate more blessings and improve your chances of entering Shenhua Mountain.”

The disciple wearing the jade coronet laid his chopsticks on the table. Sitting up straight as if he wouldn’t touch a single bite, he said with a blush, “Senior, do you also know that one needs profound blessings to enter Shenhua Mountain? We thought our shizun was tricking us.”

“Do you know why Shenhua Mountain opened early?” Zhuyou asked, feeling a nudge from the dragon against her leg again.

This dragon really reacts whenever Shangxi City and Shenhua Mountain are mentioned. Could it be that she didn’t drink the Meng Po soup during her reincarnation?

(T/N: Meng Po soup = Potion given to souls by goddess Meng Po before they are reincarnated, which makes them forget their previous life)

Ignoring the dragon in her sachet, Zhuyou waited until she tried to steal her spiritual energy again before pulling her out and turning an empty bowl upside down, trapping Changying inside.

Zhuyou had never realized that her spiritual energy could be so easily taken. It was as if the dragon could nibble on it at will. She had no idea of the dragon’s true origins; Changying was likely not just an offspring of the Dragon Clan.

Fortunately, there was no fog in front of her. Otherwise, she would have to spend some spirit stones. She didn’t know how long her supply of spirit stones would last.

The others stared in shock at the bowl flipped upside down on the table, their pupils trembling suddenly.

The noble son swallowed and stuttered, “I heard it’s because the time for worldly opportunities has come, so the mountain opened early… Senior, why did you put the snake under the bowl?”

Zhuyou extended a slender finger and lightly pressed the porcelain-white bowl. “Of course to teach her to behave like a proper snake.”

The dragon trapped under the bowl thudded against the walls of the bowl.