Chapter 57: The Dragon Venerable’s Tale and the Sword Child’s Obsession

“Are you hungry, young lady?”

Observing Xian Yuan’s expression, a noblewoman in a custom-made black gown approached with a wine glass, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

“How can it be you?”

Xian Yuan was stunned; it was Wang Zhe!

Murong Fier, Leng Xi, and Zhi Jiu also looked on in disbelief, wondering why Wang Zhe was present.

“Quite curious, aren’t you?”

Wang Zhe’s lips curved slightly upward as she smiled faintly.

“Yes,” the others replied.

Turning away, Wang Zhe instructed a maid, “You may leave now.”

“Yes, my lady.”

The maid withdrew, leaving Xian Yuan and the three others.

“Where shall I begin?”

After a moment’s thought, Wang Zhe decided to start from the very beginning.

“In the Primordial Era, there was a race called…”

“Stop!”

Xian Yuan abruptly interrupted Wang Zhe, a hint of impatience flickering in her eyes.

‘If you’re going to start from the Primordial Era, what exactly are you planning to say?’

“Why did you interrupt me? Didn’t you want to know?” Wang Zhe asked.

“Could you make a long story short?”

“Ah, in short, I am the Dragon Venerable of the King Dragon Clan, and what you saw at the inn was merely my clone.”

“That’s it? So concise? Surely there’s something you haven’t told us!” Xian Yuan’s voice was laced with suspicion and wariness.

Wang Zhe offered a faint smile, her gaze gently resting on Xian Yuan.

“I do have more to say, but it hardly matters whether you know it or not.”

These words immediately ignited Xian Yuan’s thirst for knowledge.

‘I must know! I absolutely must know!’

“No, I want to know.”

“Very well.”

Wang Zhe then proceeded to reveal the entire story to them.

The others listened, their astonishment growing with each word.

“Are you saying that you are from the Western Dragon Clan, and I am from the Eastern Dragon Clan, making us enemies?”

Xian Yuan had only just learned of the ancient struggle between the Dragon Clans in the Primordial Era, a ceaseless, deadly conflict between the Western and Eastern Dragon Clans.

“That is all in the past,” Wang Zhe stated.

“That’s not right; the Dragon Venerable I saw in the Ancient Era wasn’t you.”

Leng Xi insisted this was incorrect, asserting that the Dragon Venerable of the King Dragon Clan in the Ancient Era was certainly not Wang Zhe.

“Who are you?”

Wang Zhe was momentarily taken aback, surprised that Leng Xi hailed from the Ancient Era.

‘You’re only just thinking of asking who I am now?’

Leng Xi grumbled inwardly, though she dared not voice her thoughts aloud.

“I am the Water Elf King.”

“False.”

No sooner had Leng Xi spoken than Wang Zhe immediately denied it.

‘Who are you trying to fool? You are not the Water Elf King.’

“Why!”

Leng Xi felt utterly exasperated, wondering why her position as Water Elf King was so frustratingly unacknowledged by everyone.

“According to the elders of my King Dragon Clan, the Water Elf King is named Luo.”

“…”

Leng Xi felt an urge to strike someone. ‘I said it was the Ancient Era! Your ancestors saw the Water Elf King of the Primordial Era, and Luo is my mother!’

“That was my mother, the ninth Water Elf King of the Primordial Era.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

Wang Zhe nodded, yet then, as if a thought had struck her, she fixed her beautiful eyes on Leng Xi and remarked with a hint of melancholy, “Such an enviable lifespan.”

“Your lifespan isn’t long? Don’t all dragons live for over ten thousand years?”

Leng Xi’s face was a picture of speechlessness. ‘Dragons don’t have long lifespans? It’s just that the elf race lives a little longer, that’s all.’

“You speak of the Eastern Dragon Clan; our Western Dragon Clan has very short lifespans, never exceeding ten thousand years at most.”

“Ah?”

At this, Leng Xi’s confusion finally cleared.

In the Ancient Era, the Dragon Venerable Leng Xi had encountered from the King Dragon Clan was Wang Fan. Due to the disparity in lifespans, Leng Xi had been trapped in the Eastern Sea Secret Realm, while the King Dragon Clan had seen countless Dragon Venerables come and go.

“Towards the end of the Ancient Era, the Human-Dragon War erupted. Our King Dragon Clan, ensnared by human schemes, was besieged by the Western Dragon Clan and subsequently banished to this secret realm.”

Wang Zhe’s voice gradually deepened, as if laden with boundless sorrow and regret. “We are trapped within this Eastern Sea Secret Realm, unable to leave, unable to return to our homeland. This place is both our cage and our tomb.”

As Xian Yuan listened to Wang Zhe’s account, an endless surge of curiosity and doubt rose within her. She envisioned the cruelty and wars of the Ancient Era, and the intricate web of grievances and affections between the Dragon Clan and humanity.

‘But you, Wang Zhe, never personally experienced that history, did you? Are you simply too empathetic?’

However, Xian Yuan was unaware that the King Dragon Clan possessed a memory inheritance, meaning each Dragon Venerable effectively relived history.

Xian Yuan sensed the profound sorrow emanating from Wang Zhe, recognizing it as a deeply buried wound and an irreparable regret. She gently patted Wang Zhe’s hand, silently urging her not to grieve.

“Thank you.”

Dispersing the complex emotions in her heart, Wang Zhe then suggested to the group, “Let’s eat while we talk.”

****

In the Grand Void Sword Pavilion’s Sword God Hall on Taiyun Mountain, Xi Chaoyuan sat at the head seat.

To her left and right sat a woman in white and a woman in purple, respectively.

Both women possessed late-stage Dao Venerable cultivation.

Jun Jinghong, meanwhile, stood at the center of the hall.

“Speak. What were you doing, sneaking out like that?”

The woman in purple spoke first, her tone brimming with indignation over Jun Jinghong’s unauthorized departure.

“As a dignified Sword Child, I do not object to you harboring feelings for an ordinary cultivator, but to abscond precisely when the Ancestor was imparting sword dao to you—what were you thinking?”

Indeed, Jun Jinghong’s recent journey to the Eastern Sea had been an unauthorized escape.

“Master, this disciple has unfinished business; I must resolve my worldly attachments before I can truly cultivate.”

“Nonsense!”

The woman in purple rebuked her angrily.

“This disciple acknowledges her mistake.”

Jun Jinghong’s expression remained indifferent as she clasped her hands before her, seeking punishment.

The woman in purple was seething with anger. Had she not known Jun Jinghong’s temperament, she would have undoubtedly struck out to discipline her by now.

Despite her usual strictness, she was fiercely protective of her disciples.

Should anyone dare to bully her disciple, they would surely face her thunderous retribution.

Furthermore, the woman in purple held another identity: she was one of the two personal disciples of the Grand Void Sword Pavilion’s Ancestor.

The other was the woman in white beside her, and both had taken Jun Jinghong as their disciple.

Concurrently, both women were renowned powerhouses in the Qiyuan Realm.

Venerable Zixiao, “Yin Zishu,” and Venerable Huishi, “Gu Miaoqing.”

“My disciple, why are you so stubbornly misguided?”

Gu Miaoqing, who was nearby, voiced her question.

To her, was abandoning the Ancestor’s teachings truly worth it for a man?

“Master, this is my obsession. Until this obsession is resolved, I cannot focus on cultivating the Dao,” Jun Jinghong replied.

“Why? You are the Sword Child of Taiyun Mountain, while Xian Yuan is merely a rogue cultivator. How could he possibly be worthy of you?”

“Furthermore, as I understand it, Xian Yuan has entanglements with Rou Jianqian, the Heavenly Emperor of the Immortal Court; Xiao Yan, the Flame Emperor; Dao Venerable Zhou Ci; Xing Canlan, the Palace Master of the Star Palace; Hua Huanhua, the Sect Master of the Lily Saint Sect; Nangong Luoli, the chief disciple of Penglai Island; and Dugu Roufei, the chief disciple of Broken Star Island. Can you truly accept such an utter scoundrel, my disciple?”

Gu Miaoqing genuinely looked down upon Xian Yuan. While his talent was undeniable, his philandering behavior was certainly a significant drawback.

“Senior Sister Gu speaks truly.”

Yin Zishu shared Gu Miaoqing’s sentiment. ‘This ‘Centennial True Immortal’ of yours must have achieved his status by relying on others. Which of those powerful figures mentioned doesn’t possess spiritual elixirs and miraculous medicines? The true value of a ‘Centennial True Immortal’ is certainly questionable.’