521: Chapter 521 The Gravity of Cause and Effect

Auspicious clouds filled the sky, and golden light and auspicious Qi covered the Heavenly Palace.

Immortal flowers and Immortal Plants grew by the roadside, their fragrance filling the air, while jade trees lined both sides, shimmering with flowing light.

Stepping on soft auspicious clouds, every step raised a glow of rosy light. The celestial wind brushed against the face, and Immortal music echoed endlessly in the ears.

Looking up, the clouds formed long jade steps, with golden halls and jade towers arranged layer upon layer along the cloud path.

Immortal officials and jade maidens walked to and fro along the road, cranes and spiritual deer wandered freely, and the cries of phoenixes resounded through the clouds.

The further one went, the higher the Heavenly Palace became, and the Immortal Qi grew more thick and majestic. At the end of the nine-layered cloud path stood the Lingxiao Hall.

"What the Hell are you blabbering about? Are you some kind of narrator?!"

The leading carp spirit walked to Zhou Yan's side and punched the large shrimp next to him.

The large shrimp could only cover its head with its small claws, crying out in pain.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan, the source of all evil, lowered his head and remained Buyu, hiding his merit and fame.

Currently, his lute bones were pierced, he wore a set of shackles, and even his hands were bound by an extra pair of jade handcuffs. He was tied up quite securely.

But that didn't stop him from feeling his power surging to an indescribable degree.

So, having nothing better to do, he infected a small lobster next to him, wanting to use the Law of the Heart to fish for some information. Unexpectedly, the fellow started describing the scenery.

He spoke so vividly that he might actually be an Immortal Master, perhaps a storyteller in the outside world.

Speaking of which, are there storytellers in the Eastern Region?

"Get lost, I'll guard him myself."

After driving the others away, the carp spirit took over his position with a face full of anger and began escorting Zhou Yan.

However, Zhou Yan didn't stay idle either, continuing to harass him with the Law of the Heart.

The people here were extremely easy to control. It was unclear if it was because they were already contaminated by the rules, leading to low resistance, or if he had an extra bonus here. Regardless, every attempt was successful, and no one suspected him.

"Big brother, what's your surname?"

The carp spirit looked at Zhou Yan with a sneer.

"Do you think I'm stupid? That guy's thinking was obviously influenced by something you did. Who do you think I, Agul, am? How could I be so easily tricked by you?"

"Although I don't know how you can still use little tricks under these heavy shackles, I, Agul, am the proudest warrior of the Azure Dragon Department, the sharpest blade of the Dragon God, Lord Qingwen. It's impossible for me to tell you anything."

Hearing the name Agul, Zhou Yan instantly recalled the name written on the initial rules. He became even more certain that most of the fellows here were likely people from the hotel who had been sucked in and transformed into these things.

It seemed he couldn't just barge in.

"Then who is this Dragon God, and how strong is he?"

"Hmph, how majestic Lord Dragon God is! You actually don't even know that!"

"Lord Dragon God is the Azure Dragon Department's... no, Lord Dragon God is the greatest and most outstanding Prodigy of the entire Dragon Clan!"

"As soon as Lord Dragon God was born, he completed the Four Extremes Trial with an invincible posture and became the second Dragon to master the concept of Zhongtian after Ancestor Meng."

"And he led us to counterattack the Heavenly Court, defeating ██..." At this point, Agul suddenly paused, and then, as if a frame had been lost, continued.

"Subsequently, he unified the Three Realms, recreating the peak glory of the Dragon Clan. At the request of all living beings in the Three Realms, following ██, he became the new Supreme of the Heaven Realm, with the title Zhongtian Dragon God."

Listening to the carp spirit's incessant narration, Zhou Yan seemed to understand something.

Meng Zhang, is this... the Karma you spoke of?

Holy crap, you didn't tell me there was a part about attacking the Heavenly Court! Even asking for more money won't cut it, right?

Zhou Yan's mind was in a mess. Although he didn't know what the Dragon God actually was, the fact that such Heaven-Defying things could appear in his dream meant that his own upper limit was certainly not low.

The Dragon Clan, knowing Meng Zhang, and the Heavenly Court.

Could Meng Zhang's death be related to the Heavenly Court?

Then what was the deal with that Bodhidharma?

Haven't the Dao and Buddhist Sects always been subordinate to the Heavenly Court? Could it be that Bodhidharma wasn't the person Meng Zhang wanted me to wait for? He sent me to the Underworld just to kill me?

Then what about Lv Yang? He is the Reincarnation of an Immortal. Could he also be... No, Lv Yang doesn't know about my connection with Meng Zhang yet; very few people know.

Furthermore, Kun Gou's attitude at that time—either Kun Gou betrayed the Heavenly Court, or Meng Zhang did.

Putting it all together, it could only be Meng Zhang.

Holy crap, holy crap, what's going on?

Is it really this hardcore?

I thought it was just a trivial matter, but it turns out Meng Zhang's Karma is starting now?

Before, because I was in the ancient times, it didn't have time to unfold. Now that it sees I'm free, it suddenly hits me with something heavy, doesn't it!

I was wondering why no one had handled this place for so long; it turns out it was waiting for me!

Ordinary people can at least infer what they might do and the Karma they will encounter from the Origin of an Opportunity.

But Zhou Yan, just because he took on a muddled Karma decades ago, suddenly found on a day as ordinary as any other, in a remote corner, that a Thunder Dream Dragon in a desert hotel was elbowing the Heavenly Court in its dream, and it was directly related to him.

And Zhou Yan took less than a second to accept this and began thinking about whether he should ask for more money.

"We're here, get in!"

Agul gave Zhou Yan a push, causing him to stumble and his long hair to fall over his face, obscuring it.

Then, Zhou Yan was escorted into the hall with a hunched back, only able to scan the surroundings with his peripheral vision.

This Lingxiao Hall seemed to be a world of its own. Although it was a palace, the interior was incredibly large. On both sides were people or things whose faces could not be clearly seen, dressed in various colored robes and armor.

Zhou Yan glanced toward the very front. High above the Nine Heavens, on a throne where one could vaguely sense the meaning of order, sat a young man in a golden robe. Holding a wine goblet, he toasted the people below the throne with a kind expression.

"Let us drink another cup to celebrate our overturning of that absurd rule, returning a bright sky to the Three Realms, and recreating a prosperous age!"

As soon as he finished speaking, shouts of "Dragon God Eternal" and various flowery praises echoed throughout the Lingxiao Hall.

At that moment, among these faceless people, the tiny group of shrimp soldiers and crab generals was finally perceived by the existence sitting high on the Dragon throne.

"Truly presumptuous of you! We are celebrating our victory; why have you come to disturb Our interest!"

"If you don't give a proper reason," the man's face suddenly changed, as if in an instant, a hint of dark purple flashed through his magnificent golden appearance, "you shall be cast down to the mortal realm!"

Agul immediately knelt in panic, and the other seafood followed suit, leaving only Zhou Yan with his disheveled hair standing hunched in front of the hall.

"Reporting to Your Majesty the Dragon God, while patrolling the Heavenly River area today, we caught a thief damaging our Heavenly River waters and specially brought him to the Lingxiao Hall for Your Majesty to decide."

The Dragon God seemed to daze for a moment, his gaze shifting to the person still standing among the group of seafood, his expression somewhat strange.

"Handling affairs... hiss... handling affairs. Yes, have I been celebrating all this time and never handled any affairs?"

Some keyword seemed to have been triggered. The Dragon God clutched his forehead, his face looking somewhat distorted, but he still waved his hand, signaling them to rise.

"There is a reason for this. We pardon you of your crime. Step aside and let Us see what this criminal looks like."

The headache lasted only a moment before his expression returned to normal. He still spoke with a smile, pointing at Zhou Yan.

"You thief, having seen the Dragon God, why do you not bow!"

In his vision, not only did the person not bow, but he also slowly raised his head. For some reason, the more the person raised his head, the more a sense of panic grew in his heart, and there was even a throbbing in his Bloodline.

*Crack.*

A shattering sound rang out as all the shackles on Zhou Yan's body exploded. A terrifying aura surged through the hall, causing cracks to appear on the golden giants and objects, who moved away from Zhou Yan in terror.

As for the seafood squad, the moment Zhou Yan broke free from his shackles, they had already scattered and fled far away.

Time for a quick resolution!

Just as Zhou Yan had stuffed his hand into his backpack, ready for fire coverage, for some reason, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

This guy seems to know a lot.

Thus, in an instant, Zhou Yan reverted from the state of breaking his shackles and releasing his aura back to that hunched person with disheveled hair.

Conversely, the Dragon God had also lost his magnificent golden disguise. His face was now only cold and somber, and his surroundings were no longer filled with Immortal Qi but with a chilling Yin Qi, as if vengeful souls were howling.

But just as he was about to act to suppress this madman, the person inexplicably stopped, and he also saw the person's appearance clearly.

Blue hair, Dragon horns on his head, wearing a gold-patterned blue robe... why does he look so much like someone from our Azure Dragon Department?

"You are..." Just as the Dragon God was about to speak, Zhou Yan made his move.

Zhou Yan tucked his hair behind his ears, clasped his hands in a salute, and looked directly at the Dragon God sitting high on the throne, letting him see his current face clearly.

Then he bowed deeply and shouted loudly.

"The little Dragon Meng Zhang, greets the Zhongtian Dragon God."

The words the Dragon God was about to ask turned into a very soft, bewildered "Huh?"

Zhou Yan had originally tensed his whole body, prepared for the start of a great battle.

What followed would likely be a screaming accusation like "Old Ancestor, you don't understand me" or "What's wrong with the world of illusions?"

However, the existence sitting high on the throne did something that he completely could not understand.

He suddenly leaned down, fell from the high throne, and landed on all fours. In an almost frantic posture, he scrambled toward Zhou Yan on his hands and feet.

In that instant, Zhou Yan dazed, feeling that this posture was exceptionally familiar—just like the ghosts he had chased through the long hotel corridors not long ago.

He actually saw a trace of panic from the boss.

Is this boss's style really this low?

Everywhere the Dragon God crawled, all the prosperous illusions shattered one after another.

The magnificent halls peeled away into nothingness. Along the way, in the blooming scenes of Hell, countless vengeful souls drifted and swam.

But the Dragon God seemed to see nothing. His eyes were dazed and pained as he just kept rushing toward Zhou Yan, like a drowning person lunging for the last piece of driftwood.

Zhou Yan's heart suddenly felt empty, and he almost blurted out.

How can he not say a single word? No plot at all?

But there was no time for careful thought. He instinctively suppressed his stray thoughts, yet the violent strike he expected at the start of the battle did not come.

Zhou Yan had already prepared a Body Integration strike, waiting for the opponent to make the first move and knock him back before he would activate his hand seals to retaliate fiercely.

But before that Dragon God could truly get close to him, his body began to crack.

As each crack opened, it was as if countless vengeful souls shrieked and escaped from within, only to immediately dissipate into nothingness.

Zhou Yan sensed that something similar to the other's life Origin was rapidly draining away.

Even if the panel could not see through his depth, the signs of impending collapse clearly told Zhou Yan that he would die before reaching him.

All of this was too chaotic, chaotic to the point of being absurd, making Zhou Yan momentarily unable to distinguish what exactly was happening.

The Dragon God finally crawled to his feet. That originally handsome face was mostly ruined, one eyeball protruding, looking hideous and terrifying.

But there was no hint of malice in his eyes, only a kind of... nostalgia that seemed to have faded after being soaked in long years, and a trace of ignorance.

Two lines of hot tears flowed down his crumbling face, dripping onto the ground and turning into dots of dissipating starlight.

The Dragon God suddenly hugged Zhou Yan's legs, his whole person leaning against him and crying silently.

His hands tightly gripped Zhou Yan's robes. Under that power sufficient to crush mountains, the fabric remained completely unharmed.

He just buried his head, sobbing and twitching, his body bit by bit becoming transparent, yet he made no move to attack from beginning to end.

As if pulled by some invisible force, Zhou Yan stiffly raised his hand, gently placing it on the top of his head, stroking it very, very slowly.

Seemingly feeling the warmth of that palm, the originally sobbing Dragon God suddenly quieted down.

The surroundings had turned into complete nothingness, with countless vengeful souls lingering, but at this moment, not one dared to make a sound, as if they were all holding their breath and watching the two people in the center of the Void Realm.

The Dragon God slowly raised his head, tears soaking his remaining eye, while the other eye had already begun to drift away.

In his blurred vision, he struggled to recognize Zhou Yan, who had also become blurred, and then he spoke first.

"Ancestor Meng... you weren't here, and they all bullied me."

"Please... please take me home."

"I It hurts so much."

Just these three sentences, not a single word more.

As the words fell, the Dragon God's body completely dissipated. By the time Zhou Yan reacted, the palm that had been stroking the other's head was empty, leaving only a wisp of pale white air still gently circling his hand.

In the next instant, he returned to the hotel's rooftop.

From far below his feet came a series of splashes, as if something heavy had finally plunged into the depths.

"What on earth is going on?"

In his mind, an emotionless prompt rang out.

"Pre-quest for the Opportunity Quest 'Dragon's Homecoming' has been completed. Do you wish to submit a Dragon-type item to contain the Dragon soul before you?"

Everything happened too fast, so fast that Zhou Yan broke into a cold sweat in hindsight.

He didn't have time to think and quickly rummaged through his backpack, soon pulling out the dragon nature crystal he had obtained from Kaifeng City.

As soon as the thought of confirmation fell, that wisp of pale white air slowly flowed into the crystal.

The originally dull crystal trembled slightly, as if a faint Dragon's cry of joy sounded, though the voice carried a bone-deep exhaustion.

The light gradually faded, as if nothing had ever happened.

Opportunity Quest: "Dragon's Homecoming"

Quest Objective: Return the Dragon soul to the East Sea Coast.

Quest Description: He was once a young man who could feel fear and cowardice.

For the sake of that bit of ideal in his heart, for the distant expectations of his ancestors, and so that those who came after would not have to live in fear, he resolutely stepped onto a long preparation for war that bordered on despair.

But all of this was supposed to be a white lie.

An ordinary young man who should have lived in a new world was ultimately imprisoned on a cold experimental table and suffered through endless torture.

He may have never truly blamed you, but he has always been waiting for you.

Hope is a more cruel shackle than despair.

Now, the Karma has been settled.

Please, take him home.