348: Chapter 348 The stunned crowd...

Long Qingcheng carried Li Shengyuan as she sped along, her golden dragon body cutting through the sky. Everywhere they passed, the vast lands of the Demon Domain below were laid bare to their eyes.

Mountains, rivers, forests, and deserts flashed by beneath them. Due to the emergence of the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array and the successive battles, many areas of the Demon Domain were left in ruins...

However, Li Shengyuan's mind was clearly not on the scenery.

He sat cross-legged atop the dragon's head. At first, he behaved himself.

But before long, his hands began to wander...

Touching a dragon scale here, patting the dragon's neck there, grabbing the dragon's horns, and occasionally sliding down the dragon's spine, causing the dragon's body to tremble slightly from time to time.

“Stop moving!” Long Qingcheng's voice carried a hint of shame and annoyance. “If you keep touching me blindly, I'll really throw you down!”

Li Shengyuan sheepishly withdrew his hand, but after a short while, he couldn't help but reach out to pat those smooth golden dragon scales, clicking his tongue in wonder:

“Her Majesty the Queen, your scales feel wonderful to the touch—warm and smooth as jade, and they even carry a bit of heat...”

“Li! Sheng! Yuan!”

Long Qingcheng's voice was practically squeezed through her teeth. Her dragon body suddenly rolled, nearly throwing Li Shengyuan off.

Li Shengyuan quickly hugged the dragon horns and laughed loudly: “Her Majesty the Queen, please calm your anger! Calm down! I won't touch them anymore, I won't!”

Long Qingcheng snorted coldly and ignored him, simply increasing her speed.

However, Li Shengyuan remained quiet for less than fifteen minutes before scenes from the blood-colored space surfaced in his mind again...

That jade-like skin, that curvaceous body, those blurred eyes, and that passion suppressed for hundreds of years that had finally been released...

He couldn't help but sigh softly, “Who would have thought? His Majesty the Dragon Emperor, who rules the Demon Domain and awes the world, would one day, with me...”

“Shut up!”

Long Qingcheng's voice suddenly rose, filled with unprecedented shame and annoyance, and her dragon body shook violently once more.

Li Shengyuan quickly shut his mouth, but the smile in his eyes couldn't be hidden.

Long Qingcheng was filled with a mix of shame and anger, wishing she could truly throw this thick-skinned fellow down.

But for some reason, she ultimately did not do so.

She simply kept her head down and sped toward Holy Dragon City.

The setting sun gradually sank in the west, and the clouds on the horizon became increasingly brilliant.

As the last ray of twilight was about to sink below the horizon, the silhouette of a magnificent city floating above the sea of clouds finally emerged in the distant sky...

Holy Dragon City!

Long Qingcheng did not slow down, soaring straight into the clouds. At a distance still a hundred miles away from Holy Dragon City, she suddenly circled.

A golden light flashed, and her hundred-zhang dragon body instantly shrank, transforming into a tall and curvaceous figure.

Li Shengyuan felt the space beneath him suddenly empty. He quickly stabilized himself and stood suspended in the Void Realm.

Long Qingcheng stood with her back to him, her golden dragon robes fluttering gently in the night wind.

She looked at the brightly lit Holy Dragon City in the distance, her tone returning to its usual calm:

“It's just ahead. Fly back yourself.”

Li Shengyuan smiled and thanked her. Just as he was about to set off, he suddenly caught a glimpse...

On the jade-like cheek of Long Qingcheng, who was facing away from him, there was clearly a bright red blush.

His heart stirred, and he asked, feigning ignorance, “Eh, Her Majesty the Queen, why is your face so red? Are you exhausted from carrying me all this way?”

He stepped closer, his tone concerned. “It's been hard on you, Her Majesty the Queen. How about... I carry you back?”

Long Qingcheng's body stiffened. She turned around and glared at him fiercely.

In that glance, there was shame, reproach, and a hint of... coquettishness that even she hadn't noticed.

“No need!”

She coldly dropped those two words, then turned and took the lead in flying toward Holy Dragon City.

But in the moment she turned, she took a deep breath, trying to make the blush on her face fade and restore her usual majesty and calm.

She was about to see Long Yun soon...

Her heart felt inexplicably complicated.

Li Shengyuan watched her slightly hurried back, the smile on his lips growing even more intense.

Then his figure moved, and he followed her.

Two streaks of light, one after the other, pierced the night sky, racing toward that Sky City floating above the sea of clouds.

...

In Holy Dragon City, on the square in front of the Holy Dragon Palace.

Chu Chunqiu sat cross-legged on a piece of rubble, boredly drinking wine.

Long Yun and Pei Shuyun stood side by side, their eyes always fixed on the distant night sky.

The Turtle Prime Minister leaned on his cane. Behind him stood several loyalist Demon Kings and Dragon Clan experts, also looking forward with anticipation.

“It's been so long...” Long Yun murmured, the worry in her eyes deepening.

Just then...

“Look! What's that?!”

A Demon King suddenly pointed to the distant night sky and cried out in surprise.

Everyone looked up together and saw two streaks of light racing from afar. They were so fast that they arrived in an instant!

With a flash of golden light, two figures appeared out of thin air above the square.

It was none other than Long Qingcheng and Li Shengyuan!

“Your Majesty!”

“Shengyuan!”

Long Yun and Pei Shuyun cried out almost simultaneously, the worry on their faces instantly turning into wild joy.

Long Qingcheng nodded slightly and descended. She still maintained her majestic and dignified appearance, as if nothing had happened.

Li Shengyuan landed beside her, smiling as he nodded to everyone.

“Li Shengyuan!” Chu Chunqiu laughed loudly as he leapt up and slapped his shoulder hard. “I knew you wouldn't die! What about the Demon Cult Leader? Is he completely dealt with?”

“Dealt with,” Li Shengyuan smiled. “Not even a speck remains.”

“Good! Good! Good!” Chu Chunqiu said 'good' three times, unable to stop grinning.

Long Yun had already rushed over and hugged Long Qingcheng, her eyes slightly red: “Your Majesty, you scared me to death! I thought...”

Long Qingcheng's expression stiffened slightly, her face looking a bit complicated. She then reached out and gently patted her back, her tone softening a bit: “It's all right now.”

Long Yun looked up, about to say something, when her gaze suddenly fell on Li Shengyuan...

Then, her eyes widened into circles.

“Sheng... Shengyuan... Your... your cultivation?!”

Hearing this, everyone looked at Li Shengyuan, and then...

The sound of collective gasps of cold air filled the air.

First Grade!

That was clearly the pressure of the First Grade!

The aura emanating from Li Shengyuan was more than ten times stronger than before he left!

“First Grade...” Chu Chunqiu's eyes widened, and his wine gourd almost fell to the ground. “You... you've broken through to the First Grade?!”

Li Shengyuan smiled slightly and nodded: “By a stroke of luck.”

Luck?!

Everyone looked at each other, momentarily unsure of what to say.

Go kill a Demon Cult Leader and come back having broken through to the First Grade?

This is called luck?

But before they could recover from their shock, the Turtle Prime Minister suddenly pointed at Long Qingcheng with trembling hands, his old face full of unbelievable shock and joy:

“Your... Your Majesty... Your... your cultivation has also...”

Everyone turned their heads again to look at Long Qingcheng.

At this sight, everyone was completely stunned.

The aura emanating from Long Qingcheng was deeper, more vast, and more... terrifying than before!

That pressure had already far exceeded the scope of a typical First Grade Peak, as if it could break through that invisible shackle at any moment and step into a brand-new Realm!

Half-step Transcendent Grade!

“This... this...” Chu Chunqiu's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a long time.

Long Yun was even more completely stunned, her gaze moving back and forth between Long Qingcheng and Li Shengyuan, her mind a blank.

Long Qingcheng's expression remained calm as she said indifferently: “There were some opportunities in the Blood Sacrifice Grand Array, and I luckily gained some insights.”

She spoke casually, as if it were a common occurrence.

However, the shock in everyone's hearts was difficult to calm for a long time.

Go kill a Demon Cult Leader, and not only did Li Shengyuan break through to the First Grade, but even the Dragon Emperor has reached the Half-step Transcendent Grade?

This news was even more shocking than the death of the Demon Cult Leader!

What on earth happened during this trip?!

Only Li Shengyuan caught a glimpse of Long Qingcheng from the corner of his eye, the smile on his lips becoming increasingly meaningful.

Long Qingcheng seemed to sense it, turned her head slightly, and glared at him fiercely.

Then she looked away, her expression returning to normal...