251: I was careless and didn't flash!

Yao Delong sheathed his sword and signaled Yue Shan to release the restraint.

The rock arms slowly receded back into the ground.

The Little White Flood Dragon fell to the ground with a "thud," feeling dizzy and disoriented from the fall.

It struggled to crawl up, aggrievedly using its claws to rub the area that had been numbed by the Sword Qi's cold.

Its large ice-blue eyes were brimming with tears as it glared fiercely at everyone, but it was more of a case of being angry but not daring to speak out.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done this earlier?"

Yao Delong suppressed a laugh and said with a stern face, "Go, pick the Ice Heart Lotuses."

"Hmph! Robbers! Bandits! Bullies!"

While muttering under its breath, the Little White Flood Dragon flew reluctantly toward the island in the center of the Cold Pool, looking back every three steps.

It cautiously touched the three crystal-clear Nine-Leaf Ice Heart Lotuses with its claws.

Its eyes were full of reluctance, but eventually, it gritted its teeth and wrapped them in a gentle stream of cold Qi.

It dug out the three Ice Heart Lotuses along with their roots and soil.

Then, it flew slowly back to the shore and placed the Ice Heart Lotuses on the ground in front of Yao Delong.

"Here! Take them! Now go, go! Don't let this King see you again!"

It turned around huffily, facing everyone with its tail.

It looked as if it were saying, "This King is very angry, and the consequences will be severe."

Yao Delong looked at the three thousand-year-old Spirit Medicines on the ground, which were emitting a rich Ice Soul Power.

He then looked at the aggrieved Little White Flood Dragon with its back turned to them, its tail tip still trembling slightly, and a sudden thought struck him.

He crouched down, picked up one Ice Heart Lotus, examined it carefully, and then put two of them away.

Holding the remaining one, he walked over to the Little White Flood Dragon.

The Little White Flood Dragon turned around warily, its large ice-blue eyes glaring at him.

"What? The lotuses have been given to you! Do you still want to target this King?"

Yao Delong handed the Ice Heart Lotus in his hand to it.

A gentle smile appeared on his face. "This one will be your compensation. After all, you guarded it for a hundred years."

The Little White Flood Dragon was stunned, its ice-blue eyes blinking as if it couldn't believe it.

It looked at Yao Delong, then at the Ice Heart Lotus emitting an enticing cold Qi.

Its little claw reached out subconsciously before pulling back, and it gave a tsundere hmph.

"Hmph! This King doesn't care for your charity!"

"You don't want it?" Yao Delong made a move to take it back.

"Wait!"

The Little White Flood Dragon grew anxious, its little claw quickly snatching the Ice Heart Lotus.

Holding it tightly in its arms, it looked at Yao Delong warily and muttered:

"This... this was given voluntarily! It's not like this King begged you for it!"

Seeing its food-protecting and tsundere appearance, Lin Shishi couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.

Even the cold corners of Lin Qingxue's mouth curled up slightly.

Yao Delong looked at it and suddenly asked:

"Little guy, what is your name? Are you all alone here?"

Clutching the Ice Heart Lotus, the Little White Flood Dragon took a wary step back.

"This King... this King has no name! This is this King's territory! What else do you want?"

"No name?"

A flash of understanding crossed Yao Delong's eyes; it seemed the Little White Flood Dragon was indeed here alone.

Moreover, while its intelligence was high, it was inexperienced in the ways of the world.

The thought in his mind grew even stronger.

"This place is good, but it's only a corner of the Secret Realm, and it's full of hidden dangers.

If you are here alone and encounter other powerful enemies, I'm afraid..."

Yao Delong paused intentionally.

A flicker of panic flashed through the Little White Flood Dragon's eyes, but it remained stubborn.

"Hmph! This King is very powerful! Just now... just now I was just careless and didn't dodge!"

"Oh? Really?"

Yao Delong looked at it with a half-smile.

"You must have sensed the aura of that Lava Behemoth, right? Do you think you can defeat it?"

The Little White Flood Dragon's body stiffened, its claws tightening around the Ice Heart Lotus.

Its little head shrank back slightly, clearly very wary of the Lava Behemoth's aura.

"Follow us."

Yao Delong's voice carried a hint of temptation. "We will take you out of this Secret Realm to a wider world.

There are more delicious things, more fun things, and... things that can make you grow faster.

It's better than staying here alone guarding a Cold Pool."

The Little White Flood Dragon's large ice-blue eyes suddenly lit up, but then they were filled with suspicion.

"You... you humans are the most cunning! Do you want to trick this King into being a mount?

Or do you want to wait until this King grows up to skin and de-tendon me?"

"Pfft..." Xiao Huohuo couldn't help but laugh again.

"What are you thinking in that little head of yours? Our Senior Brother Yao is a good person!

Look, he even gave you an Ice Heart Lotus!"

The Little White Flood Dragon looked at the Ice Heart Lotus in its arms, then at Yao Delong's gentle smile—

which, in its view, might look like the smile of a big bad wolf—

and then at the powerful Han Yun, Yue Shan, and the others nearby. Its little face was full of conflict.

"This King... this King needs to consider it!"

Clutching the Ice Heart Lotus, it flew behind a large rock in a flash.

Only a small head and ice-blue eyes peeked out, warily observing everyone.

Yao Delong was in no hurry and said to the group:

"Let's recover first and wait for this little guy's decision while we're at it."

Everyone nodded and found places to meditate. Lin Shishi looked at the Little White Flood Dragon peeking from behind the rock.

Her eyes were full of affection, and she couldn't help but take out some of the Spirit Fruits she had brought,

which were rich in Water Spiritual Qi, and gently placed them not far from the rock.

The Little White Flood Dragon's nose twitched, and its large ice-blue eyes instantly lit up.

However, it still warily looked at everyone. Seeing that no one was paying attention to it—though they were all actually watching from the corners of their eyes—

it quickly darted out, grabbed the Spirit Fruits with its little claws,

and zipped back behind the rock, from which came the sound of "crunch, crunch" as it ate.

Clutching the Ice Heart Lotus, the Little White Flood Dragon huddled behind the large rock.

Its large ice-blue eyes darted around, scanning Yao Delong's group, and it couldn't help but glance toward the bare island in the center of the Cold Pool, its little face written with conflict.

"Follow humans? It sounds okay... there are tasty fruits..."

It thought of the Spirit Fruits Lin Shishi had just given it and smacked its lips, but then it warily shook its little head.

"No, no! Humans are the most cunning! That leader human smiles like a fox that's stolen a chicken!

He definitely has bad intentions! But... he said there are more tasty and fun things outside..."

Just as the Little White Flood Dragon was having an internal struggle, its little claws unconsciously picking at the leaves of the Ice Heart Lotus,

a "fragrance" drifted over that almost made its scales stand on end!

It was an... indescribable aura that made its Bloodline feel a sense of throbbing and longing!

Shiny things! Treasures!

It suddenly poked its little head out from behind the rock.

Its ice-blue eyes instantly went wide, and its pupils turned into star shapes!

It saw Yao Delong "casually" pulling things out of his storage ring. Clatter!

A pile of Low-Grade Spirit Stones shimmered with a gentle spiritual glow, piled haphazardly on the ground.

Immediately after, several radiant, beautifully crafted, and obviously extraordinary Spiritual Artifacts

and Earth-Grade Weapons were also brought out—there were short swords inlaid with brilliant gems,

flowing jade bracelets, and jade pendants emitting a soft light... These were all things obtained for "zero dollars" in the Immortal Mausoleum earlier, and their grades weren't the highest.

Most were High Grade Spiritual Artifacts or Low Grade Earth-Grade Weapons, but they were exceptionally well-presented, bejeweled, and dazzlingly eye-catching!