229: Bai Ze descends to earth

The dragon talisman mote carried Gao De's remaining Divine Sense and Dragon Qi, like the last surviving firefly in a violent storm. Chased by a world-destroying energy tide, it passed through a weak point in the space barrier—shattered and chaotic from the explosion—with extreme peril, plunging into the turbulent waters of Qianyuan City outside.

Behind it lay a collapsing Secret Realm, a raging energy storm, the death wails of countless aquatic beings, and the Soul-shuddering hiss of the Heavenly Demon Evil Dragon's Divine Thought.

Before his eyes, there was also widespread devastation.

The once magnificent Qianyuan City was now mostly in ruins.

Palaces had collapsed, spiritual light had dimmed, and the clear waters were filled with turbid blood and dust. Broken corpses and fragments of Magic Treasures were scattered everywhere.

Surviving Dragon Palace guards, guests, and low-level aquatic beings who hadn't been caught in the core battlefield were now like startled birds, fleeing in panic, standing in a daze, or trying to find survivors in the rubble.

The air was thick with the panic of survivors and an unbelievable sense of sorrow.

Gao De did not stop, nor did he dare to relax in the slightest.

He knew he was tainted with the aura of the Dragon Transformation Pool, the evil dragon primordial fetus, and the explosion of the Dragon King's Origin. Though faint, to certain existences, it might be as conspicuous as a spark in the dark night.

He had to leave this place of trouble immediately, find an absolutely safe place to hide, treat his injuries, and digest the gains from this Soul-stirring, life-and-death adventure.

He controlled the dimly glowing mote, sticking close to the riverbed and the shadows of the ruins, drifting silently like plankton toward the exit, away from the Crystal Palace and the core area of Qianyuan City.

Along the way, he saw even more shocking sights: severed dragon bodies, shattered clam-shell palaces, and large areas frozen or scorched... The rebellion of the three princes and the subsequent massive explosion had caused devastating damage to this underwater city.

Finally, at the outermost edge of the Qianyuan City Secret Realm, in a broken area filled with jagged rocks and deep fissures formed by crustal movements during the battle, Gao De found a narrow rock crevice shrouded by a natural twisting force field.

He steered the mote inside, and after going hundreds of feet deep and confirming there were no other signs of life or monitoring fluctuations, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He immediately manifested the abyssal suppression dragon talisman's main body, then with a thought, his figure emerged from the Talisman World and appeared in the depths of this dark rock crevice.

As soon as he appeared, he let out a muffled groan. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, his face was as pale as paper, and his aura was withered to the extreme.

Forcing the prison dragon talisman to perform extreme operations, especially pouring all his mind and power into that final 'Sting' strike, combined with the impact of the explosion's aftermath and the pressure of crossing the shattered space barrier, had long since left him exhausted.

At this moment, the Dragon Qi in his body was nearly dried up, his Meridians were damaged in many places, and his Divine Soul was as weak and painful as if it were being repeatedly cut by a dull knife.

But he didn't dare to enter meditation immediately to heal; he had to first confirm his safety and handle some urgent matters.

First, he forced himself to focus and set up several simple concealment and early-warning Restrictions at the entrance of the rock crevice. Although far inferior to the Dragon Palace's grand Formation, they were enough to block most probes.

Then, he sat cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into his Dantian to sense the state of the prison dragon talisman.

Several fine cracks had appeared on the surface of the talisman, and its spiritual light was dim. It had clearly suffered significant damage and required a long period of nourishment and repair.

This wasn't a problem with the Magic Treasure itself, but rather Gao De's insufficient strength to use it. He would only need to add Materials later, and the repairs would make it as good as new.

Inside the Talisman World, the space isolating Ao Xue was relatively stable. Ao Xue was still unconscious, but her aura seemed much steadier. The glow of the blood-colored dragon horn pattern on her forehead had faded, though the miniature blood-colored dragon shadow still circled erratically.

The other treasures he had collected, including the sapphire bracelet, the silver light spear tip, the reverse scale fragment, and the yimu azure dragon pearl, were all floating quietly in the dark Void Realm, temporarily safe.

Gao De took out the yimu azure dragon pearl he had obtained from the Sea of Blood.

The emerald-green pearl felt warm in his hand, emitting pure Yimu vitality and a trace of Azure Dragon creation power.

Without hesitation, he circulated his remaining Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art and began to absorb the vital energy from the pearl to nourish his parched Meridians and damaged Physical Body.

The cool, life-filled power flowed slowly into his body like rain after a long drought, slightly easing his pained expression.

Just as he began his healing and his mind relaxed slightly—

Outside the rock crevice, above the waters of the entire Qianyuan City ruins, space rippled like water without any warning!

It wasn't the violent tremors caused by the previous explosion, but a softer, deeper, and more profound fluctuation.

It was as if an invisible giant hand were gently smoothing out the spatial wrinkles of this place and organizing the chaotic energy flows.

Immediately after, a smooth rift opened silently in the center of the rippling space.

Inside the rift was no violent void turbulence, but a flowing, gentle, milky-white radiance that seemed to contain infinite wisdom.

A giant beast, treading on auspicious clouds and entirely white as snow, untainted by a speck of dust, slowly stepped out from that spatial rift.

This beast resembled a giant hound, yet it was far more majestic and divine than any canine.

It was only a few dozen feet in size, its lines smooth and full of power. Its fur was whiter than snow, with a faint halo flowing around it.

Most striking was its forehead, which bore a pair of crystal-clear, backward-curving jade horns. The horns were naturally etched with profound cloud patterns, emitting an aura of peace, tranquility, and insight into all things.

On either side of its broad back were not wings, but translucent light-wings condensed from pure spiritual power, thin as a cicada's wing and flowing with emerald-green life radiance. With a gentle stretch, they caused the surrounding water and wood elements to flow joyfully. Even the lingering traces of violence and resentment in the ruins quietly dissolved and were purified under its light.

Its eyes, like the purest amber, calmly swept over the ruined Qianyuan City below. There was neither sorrow nor joy in its gaze, only a transcendental indifference and clarity.

A Rank Five Auspicious Divine Beast—Bai Ze!

Legend has it that Bai Ze understands the nature of all things and knows the affairs of all ghosts and gods in the world. As an Incarnation of auspiciousness, it only appears where great calamity and great fortune converge.

Its appearance usually signifies the end of some major disaster or the cleansing of abnormal calamitous Qi in the world.

Bai Ze's appearance did not cause a greater commotion among the survivors below.

On the contrary, many terrified aquatic beings, upon sensing that warm, peaceful, and life-filled aura, involuntarily calmed down. A strange sense of awe and peace arose within them, as if they knew an existence truly capable of controlling the situation had arrived.

Bai Ze's gaze first turned toward the entrance of the Dragon Transformation Pool Secret Realm.

That place was still shrouded in violent energy turbulence and dense blood-colored resentment. One could faintly hear the unwilling hisses of the evil dragon's remnant thoughts and the wails of certain Formations and Restrictions on the verge of collapse.

It did not act immediately, but simply hovered there quietly, as if observing, waiting, or perhaps giving certain things one last moment.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn passed.

At the entrance of the Dragon Transformation Pool, within the roiling blood-colored resentment, a more shrill and frenzied roar suddenly erupted!

A massive, fragmented, and crack-ridden dark red dragon shadow, emitting a chaotic and evil aura, struggled to charge out of the collapsing Secret Realm!

It was the wreckage of that 'evil dragon primordial fetus'!

Or rather, it was a portion of the 'evil dragon body' that had luckily survived the final explosion after the Heavenly Demon Evil Dragon's descended will had combined with a large amount of blood sacrifice energy and Dragon Clan Origin!

Though it was broken and its aura extremely unstable—far from reaching Rank Five—it still emitted a heart-palpitating evil and tyranny. As soon as it appeared, it stirred the winds and clouds, making the recently calmed waters oppressive once again.

It seemed Gao De's strike earlier had indeed caused it immense trouble, resulting in an incomplete descent. It now appeared to be only at the half-step Rank Five level.

This broken evil dragon seemed filled with endless resentment and a desire for destruction. Its single crimson eye scanned the ruins and survivors below—the other eye having been destroyed in the explosion—and its mouth let out a greedy hiss. As if it didn't see Bai Ze waiting in the sky, it prepared to pounce and devour living beings to recover its strength.

At that moment, Bai Ze, who had been waiting quietly, finally moved.

It made no violent movements, merely raising a front paw covered in soft white fur and pressing it gently downward toward the broken evil dragon.

There was no world-shaking sound, no dazzling radiance.

Only an invisible, intangible, yet vast-as-heavenly-might and pure-as-fresh-snow power descended like flowing mercury. Like the natural operation of the laws of heaven and earth, it silently enveloped the entire space where the broken evil dragon was.

The hissing of the evil dragon's wreckage stopped abruptly.

Its frenzied pouncing motion froze instantly.

The dark red evil Qi, chaotic dragon Soul, and blood sacrifice energy that made up its body began to dissolve, purify, and return to nothingness at a visible rate, like snow under the sun.

The light in its single eye, full of venom and resentment, faded rapidly until it was completely extinguished.

The entire process was quiet and swift, carrying an unquestionable absolute suppression stemming from a higher level of life and rules.

In just a few breaths, the broken evil dragon—which had left countless Dragon Palace experts helpless and nearly caused a catastrophe—vanished into thin air under Bai Ze's casual 'press,' as if it had never existed.

Having purified the evil dragon's wreckage, Bai Ze's amber eyes slowly scanned the entire Qianyuan City ruins.

Wherever its gaze passed, the lingering, filthy resentment and chaotic energy from the blood sacrifices and battles dissipated quietly like mist brushed by a spring breeze.

Formation nodes on the verge of collapse stopped their wailing, distorted spatial ripples gradually smoothed out, and even the turbid water seemed to clear slightly.

It was like a skilled physician cleaning the wounds after surgery and smoothing out the source of the upheaval.

After doing all this, Bai Ze tilted its head slightly, as if listening to some mysterious information or performing some kind of deduction.

A moment later, its massive head actually turned slowly, its gaze seemingly penetrating layers of rock and water to land precisely on the remote rock crevice where Gao De was hiding!

Deep in the rock crevice, Gao De, who was healing with the help of the yimu azure dragon pearl, suddenly felt an indescribable, gentle gaze that seemed to pierce his Soul fall upon him!

No, more accurately, it fell upon the damaged abyssal suppression dragon talisman within him!

His hair stood on end, and his heart nearly stopped beating! He had been discovered! Discovered by a Rank Five auspicious Divine Beast!

Was it a blessing or a curse? Had it come to cleanse an 'anomaly,' or... because of the prison dragon talisman?

Gao De instantly tensed his entire body, even interrupting his healing. The remaining Dragon Qi in his body circulated subconsciously, yet he didn't dare to make the slightest move, fearing it would trigger a thunderous strike.

He could only force himself to remain still, like the most ordinary rock.

Bai Ze's gaze lingered in his direction for about three breaths.

Those three breaths felt longer to Gao De than the years he had spent lurking in the Sea of Blood.

However, the expected attack or probe did not come. In Bai Ze's eyes, there seemed to be a faint, almost illusory flash of understanding and... an indescribable, complex emotion?

There was surprise, scrutiny, and perhaps even a hint of... expectation?

Ultimately, it took no action.

Bai Ze slowly withdrew its gaze and looked back toward the collapsed Dragon Transformation Pool Secret Realm, and then seemingly further away, toward the deep unknown connecting the source eye and the Ancient Chidao.

The emerald light-wings on its back gave a gentle flap.

Silently, the space before it rippled again, opening a milky-white portal.

Bai Ze stepped into the portal.

In the instant before its figure completely disappeared, it seemed to glance once more, ever so slightly, toward where Gao De was hiding.

Then, the spatial rift closed, and the milky-white radiance vanished.

It was as if such a Divine Beast had never descended.

Only the ruins of Qianyuan City below, gradually returning to peace but still devastated, and the faint, lingering scent of peaceful purification in the air proved that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

Deep in the rock crevice, Gao De's stiff body slowly relaxed, his back soaked with cold sweat. He gasped for air, his eyes filled with lingering fear and deep confusion.

'Bai Ze... it found me, found the prison dragon talisman... but why didn't it act? What did that last look mean?' Gao De's mind raced, but he had no clue.

The thoughts and actions of a Rank Five existence were far beyond his ability to fathom.

But he knew one thing: he was safe for now.

Bai Ze's descent and intervention had not only cleared the most dangerous evil dragon wreckage and filth but also served as the 'official conclusion' to this earth-shaking upheaval in the Dragon Palace.

For a short time, whether it was the dead Dragon King, the missing Shadow Erosion, or the surviving princes, none would likely have the time or energy to investigate a small fry like him.

'I must recover from my injuries as quickly as possible, leave the Qian River basin, and return to Qianjiao Cliff!' Gao De suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, gripped the yimu azure dragon pearl tightly again, and circulated his Cultivation Technique with all his might to absorb vitality and heal.

At the same time, he also began to silently tally his gains and losses from this trip to the Dragon Palace... The feast and conspiracy of the Qianjiang Dragon Palace had ended with an unforeseen massive explosion, the failure of the evil dragon's descent, and finally, the arrival and intervention of the Rank Five Bai Ze.