233: Undercurrents are brewing

Inside the spiritual spring, the purple-gold dragon essence rose and fell like a tide.

Gao De’s eyes were slightly closed as his pores dilated, greedily absorbing the pure water spirit qi from the spiritual spring and merging it with the life-giving green radiance emanating from the yimu azure dragon pearl.

The medicinal power of the [Blood Jade Restoration Pill] obtained from the Blood Pool had already been fully exhausted, but he had taken three [Purple Mansion Origin Returning Pills] in succession—these were fourth-tier healing holy medicines found in the Storage Bracelet of a fallen yao before leaving the Dragon Palace.

The Medicinal Pills entered his stomach, melting like warm sun on snow, quickly dissipating the sharp Demonic Power of the Golden-Winged Great Peng remaining in his Meridians and repairing the internal injuries.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the Spiritual Qi vortex within the quiet room slowly subsided.

Gao De opened his eyes, Purple Lightning flashing through them for a brief moment, his Aura harmonious and solid, no longer showing any signs of instability or Chaos.

He slowly stood up, the claw marks on his body that had been deep enough to see bone were already healed as before, leaving only a few faint silver patterns—proof of the flood dragon's powerful Physical Body and traces of his body further strengthening after absorbing the opponent's Essence Blood Laws during battle.

"My injuries are fully healed." Gao De clenched his fist, feeling the dragon essence surging like a river within him, the corners of his mouth curving slightly.

This healing session didn't just bring a full recovery; it was a blessing in disguise—while refining the residual Demonic Power of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, he gained a deeper understanding of the "Wind" and "Sharpness" Laws, and he could faintly touch the Bottleneck of the next layer of the Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art.

"If I stay in seclusion for a while longer, I might be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Middle Fourth Stage," Gao De thought, but now was clearly not the time.

With a thought, the damaged purple scale earth-shaking armor floated up from the spiritual spring.

The hideous claw marks on the surface of the armor were still striking; although the main structure was intact, some of the defensive runes were broken.

"It needs to be refined again," Gao De mused, then summoned the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd and the purple heaven dragon shadow sword.

The three Lifebound Treasures floated before him, each emitting a chilling pressure.

"There were many Materials obtained from the Dragon Palace; I'll take this Opportunity to completely re-refine and upgrade the three treasures," Gao De's eyes flickered with sharp light, "especially that piece of [evil dragon bone]. If it can be successfully refined into the thunder fang formation-breaking halberd, its power will surely skyrocket, and it might even develop traits like 'Evil-Breaking' or 'Demon-Slaying'."

However, re-refining a Lifebound Treasure was not the work of a single day and required a gradual approach.

The priority was to handle external affairs.

"Turtle Three Thousand," Gao De sent out a Divine Thought.

A moment later, the quiet room's Restriction opened, and Turtle Three Thousand bowed as he entered: "Great King, you have come out of seclusion? Are your injuries fully healed?"

"I'm fine now." Gao De nodded, taking the latest intelligence Jade Slip handed over by Turtle Three Thousand, "Tell me about the situation these days."

"Yes," Turtle Three Thousand said solemnly, "those three messengers from the Black Water Pool have become increasingly restless. That Green-Faced Yaksha even tried to force his way into the inner mansion yesterday, but he was blocked by the Formation I set up. However, they haven't truly turned hostile yet; it seems they are waiting for something."

"Waiting?" Gao De sneered, "Waiting for further instructions from Lord Mo Yuan? Or waiting for the reactions of other forces?"

"I believe it's both," Turtle Three Thousand analyzed, "the collapse of the Dragon Palace has broken the balance of power in the Qianjiang River Basin and even the surrounding waters. The Black Water Pool is located eighty thousand miles downstream; it seems far, but for a Fourth-Tier Demon King, it's only a few days' flight. Lord Mo Yuan probably wants to seize the Opportunity while the aftermath of the Dragon Palace hasn't settled to expand his territory first. Our Qianjiao Cliff is located at the junction of the two regions and was invited by the Dragon King, so we are naturally the first to be affected."

Gao De nodded; this was consistent with his judgment.

"There's one more thing." Turtle Three Thousand hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Through the tianji mirror, I also heard some scattered rumors in the Heavenly Secret Realm... that on the day the Dragon Palace collapsed, three disheveled dragon shadows escaped from the ruins of Qianyuan City and fled in different directions, suspected to be the three princes. One of the dragon shadows had a weak Aura and seemed to be heavily injured."

"Oh?" Gao De raised an eyebrow, "The three princes are still alive... that's interesting. Do we know where they fled?"

"The rumors are mixed; some say they fled into the depths of the Yunmeng Great Marsh, some say they dove into underground rivers, and others say... they went north to seek refuge with the 'Star Sea Dragon Palace'."

"Star Sea Dragon Palace?" Gao De's gaze narrowed.

That was a Dragon Clan force located in the Central Continent. Although they belonged to the same Dragon Clan as the Qianjiang Dragon Palace, they were so far apart, separated by the entire Yunmeng Great Marsh, that there had been very little contact in the past. Gao De only learned about the location of this force because of this trip; even for the old Dragon King's birthday, they were not invited. If the three princes really sought refuge with the Star Sea Dragon Palace, the Chaos in the Qianjiang River Basin might involve even more distant places.

"In addition, regarding Dragon King Ao Guang..." Turtle Three Thousand's voice dropped even lower, "there are rumors that a few months after the incident, a demon found half a charred dragon Pearl fragment at the core of the Dragon Transformation Pool explosion, containing terrifying resentment and Evil Qi... it's suspected to be a remnant of the Dragon King's self-detonation."

A fragment of the Dragon King's dragon Pearl?

Gao De's heart stirred. If this item was real, its value was immeasurable—that was the essence of a lifetime of cultivation of a Peak Fourth Stage, half-step Fifth Stage Dragon. Even if broken, it contained profound insights into Laws like "Dragon Transformation" and "Origin."

However, the appearance of such a treasure would surely lead to a bloodbath.

"Is the source of the information reliable?" Gao De asked.

"It's just a rumor in the Heavenly Secret Realm, hard to tell truth from falsehood. But I believe there's no smoke without fire."

Gao De pondered for a moment and said, "Continue to keep an eye on related news."

"Yes," Turtle Three Thousand complied, then asked, "Those Black Water Pool messengers... how does Master plan to deal with them?"

A cold light flashed in Gao De's eyes: "Since they can't wait, let's meet them. Go arrange it; tomorrow at noon, I will see them in the main hall."

"I understand." Turtle Three Thousand bowed and retreated.

The quiet room returned to silence.

Gao De didn't immediately start counting his gains but instead sank his consciousness into the prison dragon talisman, entering that separate space.

Ao Xue was still floating in the green radiance, the blood mist around her several times thicker than half a month ago, almost solidifying.

The blood dragon mark on her forehead had spread to both temples, forming an eerie blood-colored dragon-shaped pattern.

Most startlingly, the silhouette of a pair of illusory dragon wings faintly appeared behind her, the wing membranes like blood jade, with dark gold patterns flowing along the edges.

"Dragon wings... rumors say only descendants of the Ying Dragon bloodline can possibly condense them when transforming to the fourth stage." Gao De gazed at the pair of illusory dragon wings, his heart chilling, "It seems her Opportunity this time is even greater than I imagined."

He tried to probe the blood mist with his Divine Sense to sense Ao Xue's consciousness.

In a Chaos, violent, and blood-colored world filled with the desire for destruction, a slender but resilient dragon shadow was frantically struggling, devouring, and transforming... "Soon." Gao De withdrew his Divine Sense, "In at most another month, she will wake up. At that time... I hope you make a wise choice."

He exited the prison dragon talisman and began to formally count the gains from this Dragon Palace trip.

First was the "mountain of wreckage."

Gao De scanned it carefully with his Divine Sense, categorizing the Materials that still had value:

Seventeen pieces of [Dragon Pattern Blood Jade], each containing pure dragon blood essence, which can be used to refine High Grade Medicinal Pills or assist in cultivating Dragon Clan Cultivation Techniques.

Twenty-four [Restriction Spirit Shards], most of which are fragments of the Dragon Palace's mountain-protecting Formation, containing complex Formation runes. If they can be thoroughly understood, it will be of great benefit to improving one's own Formation attainments.

One piece of [evil dragon bone], nine feet seven inches long, completely like black crystal, with soaring Evil Qi. This item needs to be handled carefully.

In addition, there were a large number of broken jade pillars, crystals, and metal fragments. Although their spirituality was mostly lost, the Materials themselves were High Grade. After being re-refined, they would still be good Artifact Refining Materials.

Next were the intact gains:

The [yimu azure dragon pearl] goes without saying, a holy healing object and a source of vitality.

The [silver light spear tip], that strange spear tip obtained from the Blood Pool, was still matchlessly sharp, containing a sharp Dao charm that could destroy all Laws. Gao De suspected this item was related to an ancient powerhouse and needed to be studied slowly.

Three [Reverse Scale Shards], from the reverse scales of some fallen True Dragon, are top-tier Materials for refining defensive Magic Treasures.

Three of [Ao Xue's Blood Dragon Scales], which are both Materials and could also become a medium for communicating with Ao Xue.

Various Bloodline essences condensed by the Dragon Clan; swallowing and refining them later should have significant benefits.

Various [Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Spirit Stones], including many fourth-tier high-quality items, the total value of which is hard to estimate.

Finally, the hidden items:

The [abyssal suppression dragon talisman] remained mysterious, but the black light on its surface had indeed solidified a bit. Gao De tried to probe a strand of Divine Sense deeper into the Talisman, but when he touched the barrier of the second-level "imprisonment space," he was bounced back by a cold, ancient force filled with the will of suppression.

"Still not strong enough." Gao De was not discouraged. The mystery of the prison dragon talisman clearly required a higher Realm to be gradually uncovered.

[Bai Ze's Gaze] and [Mysterious Tortoise's Abnormal Attention]—these two invisible "Karma lines" were now faintly entwined in Gao De's fate.

Whether it was a blessing or a curse was hard to tell, but at least for now, it hadn't brought direct danger.

After finishing the count, Gao De breathed a sigh of relief.

These gains were enough for him to raise his own strength by a large margin and push the Qianjiao Cliff's power to a new level.

"However, a man's wealth is his own ruin. Although the Dragon Palace trip was secret, it's hard to guarantee that no survivors noticed my existence. I must digest my gains and improve my strength as soon as possible, and at the same time... I must start laying out my plans."

He looked toward the guest hall, his gaze gradually turning cold.

"Black Water Pool... let's start with you."

The next day, at noon.

The main hall of the Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion.

Gao De sat in the main seat, dressed in a brand-new purple-gold flood dragon robe, wearing a jade crown on his head, his Aura as heavy as a mountain, imposing without being angry.

After a night of meditation, his injuries were fully recovered, his dragon essence was full, and he had even initially integrated the "Wind" and "Sharpness" insights gained from the Golden-Winged Great Peng into his own Aura.

Sitting there now, he was like a divine weapon unsheathed by half an inch; although he hadn't fully revealed his edge, the faint sharpness and dominance already made the Mysterious Crocodile Guards and Shadow Snake Guard standing in the hall feel awe.

"Bring in the Black Water Pool messengers," Gao De said calmly.

"Bring in the messengers—!" Turtle Three Thousand called out.

A moment later, three figures entered the main hall.

The leader was that Green-Faced Yaksha, holding a steel fork, walking with his head held high, his gaze arrogant.

But the moment he stepped into the hall, his muscles tightened significantly, and the fingers holding the fork turned slightly white.

The Turtle-Backed Old Man and the beautiful clam girl behind him were also solemn, not daring to be slightly negligent.

The three messengers stood still, their eyes meeting Gao De's on the main seat.

In an instant, they seemed to see a pair of bottomless purple eyes, with lightning and fire churning in them, and a flood dragon seemingly coiled within.

That gaze was calm but carried a high-and-mighty scrutiny, as if they were not messengers but prey delivered to his door.

"Black Water Pool messengers pay respects to the Purple Lightning Cliff Lord," the Turtle-Backed Old Man was the first to bow, his posture very low.

The Green-Faced Yaksha gritted his teeth and also reluctantly cupped his hands.

The clam girl bowed gracefully, her eyes flickering: "This humble one is Pearl, greeting the Cliff Lord on behalf of Lord Mo Yuan. Congratulations to the Cliff Lord on your triumphant return from the Dragon Palace, shaking the eight directions."

Gao De glanced at the three of them indifferently, not responding immediately, but picked up the spiritual tea on the jade table nearby and took a sip.

A brief silence fell over the hall.

This silent pressure caused cold sweat to gradually break out on the foreheads of the three messengers.

After a long time, Gao De put down the teacup and spoke slowly: "Lord Mo Yuan sent you three from so far away, for what purpose?"

The Turtle-Backed Old Man hurriedly said: "To answer the Cliff Lord, Lord Mo Yuan heard that Lake has a new owner and specially ordered us to come and congratulate you, and to present a small gift as a token of our appreciation."

He offered a Storage Ring with both hands.

Turtle Three Thousand stepped forward to take it, scanned it with his Divine Sense, and reported: "Master, inside are three hundred Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, a hundred catties of the third-tier spiritual material [Black Water Mysterious Iron], five third-tier demon cores, as well as ten decaliters of Pearls and a hundred squares of fine jade."

This gift was not light for an ordinary force, but for a fourth-tier flood dragon, it could only be considered barely acceptable.

Gao De was noncommittal, his gaze falling on the Green-Faced Yaksha: "Does this messenger seem to have something to say?"

The Green-Faced Yaksha took a deep breath, suppressed his discomfort, and straightened his back: "The Cliff Lord is wise. Lord Mo Yuan sent us here not only to congratulate you but also to discuss a matter."

"Speak."

"Now that the Qianjiang Dragon Palace has collapsed, the basin is without a master, and there is turmoil everywhere. Lord Mo Yuan is highly respected, his cultivation has reached the Peak Middle Fourth Stage, and he has countless elite soldiers and strong generals under his command. To avoid the suffering of the people, Lord Mo Yuan is willing to step forward and temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Qianjiang River Basin to maintain order."

The Green-Faced Yaksha's voice grew louder: "Lord Mo Yuan has always heard of the Cliff Lord's wisdom and bravery and specially invites the Cliff Lord to join the 'Black Water Alliance' to participate in this grand event. If the Cliff Lord agrees, Lord Mo Yuan is willing to treat you with the position of Vice Alliance Leader. The territory of Qianjiao Cliff within a radius of ten thousand miles will be under the Cliff Lord's autonomy, and you only need to contribute thirty percent of your annual income to the Alliance."

After speaking, he stared closely at Gao De, waiting for a reaction.

The Turtle-Backed Old Man and the clam girl also held their breath.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly tightened.

After listening, Gao De suddenly laughed.

The laughter was very light, but it made the three messengers feel an inexplicable chill in their hearts.

"Thirty percent of the income? Vice Alliance Leader? Autonomy?" Gao De slowly shook his head, "Lord Mo Yuan... what a big appetite, what a thick skin."

The Green-Faced Yaksha's expression changed: "What does the Cliff Lord mean? Do you look down on my Black Water Pool?"

"I naturally respect the Black Water Pool." Gao De stood up, walked down from the main seat step by step, and came before the three of them, "But I respect myself even more. The Qianjiang Dragon King and his three Late Fourth Stage dragon princes are still alive; where does he get the nerve?"

He stopped, his gaze like lightning: "Go back and tell Lord Mo Yuan that he doesn't need to worry about the affairs of Qianjiao Cliff. As for some Black Water Alliance..."

Gao De paused and said word for word:

"Tell him to come and talk in person."

As the words fell, a terrifying dragon might suddenly erupted!

It wasn't simple pressure; it was a compound pressure that fused the thunder and fire power of the [Purple Heaven Dragon Transformation Art], the wind and sharpness of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and the slaughterous Aura of the Dragon Palace's sea of blood!

The three messengers felt as if they had been struck by lightning, and they all retreated several steps, their faces pale.

The steel fork in the Green-Faced Yaksha's hand fell to the ground with a "clang," the Turtle-Backed Old Man almost revealed his true form, and a fine crack appeared on the bright Pearl in the clam girl's arms.

"See the guests out."

Gao De turned around and didn't look at them again.

Turtle Three Thousand stepped forward, expressionless: "The three of you, please."

The Green-Faced Yaksha wanted to say something more, but was held back firmly by the Turtle-Backed Old Man.

The three of them retreated from the main hall in a sorry state and fled the Qianjiao Cliff Water Mansion without looking back.

Peace returned to the hall.

Gao De stood with his hands behind his back, looking out at the deep waters outside the hall, a chilling light in his eyes.

"Lord Mo Yuan... how will you choose?"

"Will you swallow your pride for a moment, or... will you be unable to wait and jump out as the first jackal to show its fangs?"

He gently stroked the prison dragon talisman mark on his finger.

"I will wait and see."