Xiuxian: I studied abroad in modern times

Chapter 535 Cangming Dragon Palace, The Final Year

The sea of ​​clouds swirls wildly, the misty mountains soar angrily, and the Jade Dragon Lord rides the clouds and mist, rushing towards the source of the dragon's roar.

She has now regained her composure, but her eyes are still full of anticipation.

The dragon's roar just now was the ancient dragons of this sea discovering her presence and inviting her to come.

The scenery of this sea area also piqued her curiosity.

The islands are scattered across the sea like sesame seeds on a pie.

But what surprised Shuyu Longzhu was that many densely populated islands had temples.

The names on the plaques at the temple entrances are different:

Some are called Dragon God Temples, others are called Dragon Lord Temples, and so on.

However, compared to the Jade Dragon Lord, the presence of this dragon race in this sea area is much stronger.

The reason for this difference lies, on the one hand, in the personality of the Dragon Lord Shuyu herself—she is somewhat aloof by nature, and she doesn't value power much. In fact, most people don't even know of the existence of this ancient dragon clan.

On the other hand, it was also due to the decline of the Xuanwei demon race.

The Five Sects ceded the sea area to her because the Dragon Lord was exceptionally powerful, and they did not want to provoke her further. The Dragon Lord's aloof personality also put the Five Sects at ease.

Furthermore, the Xuanwei Demon Clan is not a significant force and poses little threat to the Five Sects.

Of course, there are also reasons such as the vastness of the sea area, the complexity of the situation, the insufficient governance capacity of the five regions, and the fact that occupying the sea area has little value.

In short, although the Dragon Lord Shuyu is the ruler of the sea, not many people actually believe in her, and she is almost nowhere to be seen in the changing situation of Xuanwei.

Unlike now, the dragon race reigns supreme in this sea.

After flying for two hours, the Jade Dragon Lord finally stopped and looked down at the sea.

As if sensing her arrival, the seawater parted like a curtain to both sides.

Tens of thousands of shrimp soldiers and crab generals led the way, riding the waves and standing on both sides of the crest, their long spears like a forest, radiating light.

Eight sea-patrolling yakshas flew up into the clouds, shouting in unison, "Dragon King of the Azure Sea, welcome our distinguished guests!"

Behind them, a middle-aged man strode out with several people, laughing loudly, "We are quite uneasy upon arriving in this blessed land. Please forgive us for not welcoming you properly!"

Seeing his grand entourage, which seemed somewhat arrogant, Lord Shuyu was displeased.

But then he thought that these were all his own kind, and that they had just arrived in Xuanwei. He was probably seeing threats everywhere and was worried about losing them. So he understood and smiled, saying, "It's my fault for bothering you."

"We are honored guests, how could we possibly disturb you? Please come into the Dragon Palace for a chat!"

When the Azure Sea Dragon King met the Dragon Lord, he seemed quite friendly.

Lord Shuyu followed him to the bottom of the sea, and soon they saw a series of palaces.

They are neither gold nor stone, but crystal clear, containing the essence of water. Even their foundations are built with an extremely precious water-elemental spiritual stone.

This palace stretches for two or three hundred miles and has as many as a thousand rooms. It follows the undulating terrain of the seabed, like a jade dragon lying peacefully in the sea.

The head of the Jade Dragon is situated on a high underwater mountain, with the main hall built atop the mountain. It faintly resembles a divine dragon emerging from the water, exuding an aura of power that dominates all directions.

At the entrance of the main hall, there is a white jade plaque with the four large characters "Cangming Dragon Palace" written on it.

"please!"

"The Dragon Lord of the Vast Ocean said enthusiastically."

The Jade Dragon Lord then entered the palace, where mermaids and merfolk were already moving about, with fine wine on the table and delicacies on the plate.

She rarely interacted with people and was straightforward. After eating and drinking for a short while, she couldn't contain her curiosity and asked, "Where does the Dragon King come from? And how many of his kind do he have?"

Seeing her so eager, the Azure Sea Dragon King was taken aback for a moment, then smiled frankly and said, "The realm we inhabit is called Dragon Abyss, which is said to have been created by the Dragon Ancestor."

"As for how many ancient dragons are here, all I know for now is my family of five."

Lord Shuyu was stunned for a moment and looked at the person beside him.

Besides the Azure Sea Dragon King, there are two men and two women, four dragons in total.

One of the women was older, with elegant makeup and a gentle expression; she was likely the Dragon King's consort.

The other two men and one woman appeared to be younger, but their identities were unclear.

“These are my two good-for-nothing sons, and this is my eldest daughter-in-law.”

Seeing her curiosity, the Dragon King of the Azure Sea explained further.

The Jade Dragon Lord had roughly assessed the strength of this Dragon Palace:

The Dragon King is a true immortal, while the other four dragons are all wandering immortals, which is better than me, a lone individual.

But she didn't care too much. Instead, she asked, "Was the Dragon Abyss Realm created by the Dragon Ancestor? Where is the Dragon Ancestor now?"

"The Dragon Ancestor has already passed away," the Azure Sea Dragon King said in a low voice.

The Dragon Lord Shuyu also looked somewhat somber, and asked again, "Then I wonder how many dragons there are in the Dragon Abyss Realm?"

"Not many." The Cangming Dragon King had a hint of pride on his face. "In my Dragon Abyss Realm, the Dragon Clan is the most revered, and the Three Dragon Palaces have stood together for over ten thousand years."

"What about the other two dragon palaces..."

The Cangming Dragon King shook his head and said, "A few years ago, the Dragon Abyss Realm suddenly shattered. I was protecting my Cangming clan when I arrived here in a daze. I was barely able to protect myself, let alone find out where other dragon clans were.

The Dragon King's tone was heavy, suggesting that even traveling from the Dragon Abyss Realm to Xuanwei was fraught with difficulties.

Whether the rest of the dragon race will be safe and sound is hard to say.

So, the same must be true for other worlds of Golden Immortals.

"What is the name of this realm?" While the Dragon Lord of Shuyu was still pondering, the Dragon King asked instead, "And what forces are associated with it?"

"This realm is called Xuanwei."

"Mysterious!"

To everyone's surprise, the Dragon King exclaimed in disbelief upon hearing the words "Xuanwei".

"Is there anything special about Xuanwei?"

The Azure Sea Dragon King asked in confusion, "The Dragon Lord doesn't know?"

"what do you know?"

"The Dragon Ancestor also originated from Xuanwei."

"..."

“The Dragon Ancestor once said that the Mysterious Mystery is the beginning of all worlds and the place where the Great Dao resides.”

Upon hearing this, Lord Shuyu shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Since I was born, I have never seen any other members of my clan, let alone know about these secret histories."

The Azure Sea Dragon King thought for a moment and then suddenly realized, "When the Dragon Ancestor attained enlightenment, he took all the dragons with him. I never expected that you, Dragon Lord, would be left behind."

One of them had never met their own kind before and longed to see them, while the other was a newcomer who didn't know the situation and wanted to inquire. In a short time, the host and guests enjoyed themselves and their relationship progressed rapidly.

After seeing off the Jade Dragon Lord, the Azure Sea Dragon King returned to the main hall with his family, his smile spreading to his ears: "This place is actually the Mysterious Realm!"

"Father? What about Xuanwei?"

"The eldest prince of the Dragon Palace asked."

“The Dragon Ancestor once said that the Dragon Abyss Realm has a flaw, and the descendants of the Dragon Clan can only stop at the True Immortal level, but the Mysterious Mystery is quite different.”

"Father, are you saying that you have the potential to become a Golden Immortal?"

"That's not all! The Great Dao of Profound Mystery has bestowed its favor upon even the Golden Immortal realm!"

The Azure Sea Dragon King's face flushed red, unable to suppress his inner excitement.

Queen Cangming frowned and said, "How can becoming a Golden Immortal be so easy? Besides, we are newcomers and it's hard to even protect ourselves."

"No, that's a woman's view!" The Cangming Dragon King paced back and forth in the hall, seemingly confident. "Didn't you hear what that Dragon Lord said? Xuanwei is merging with other realms!"

"If I can dominate the sea, I can follow the path of the Dragon Ancestor's path to enlightenment. No, I will be even stronger than the Dragon Ancestor. My attainment of the Golden Immortal realm will be just around the corner! You must know, the Dragon Ancestor is dead!"

Upon hearing this, the other four people's breathing became heavy. "But what about that Jade Dragon Lord..."

"This Dragon Lord is stronger than me, but she's all alone, weak, and lacks ambition!" the Azure Sea Dragon King laughed. "In fact, we could even try to win her over..."

"Win them over? How do we do that?"

The Dragon King of the Azure Sea's gaze fell on the Second Prince.

"Marriage?"

The Dragon Queen immediately understood.

“Exactly!” The Azure Sea Dragon King nodded. “If I want to dominate the seas, the first obstacle is her, and the second is the other potential dragon palaces. If we can join forces with the Dragon Lord, we can gain the upper hand!”

The second prince was quite handsome, but his face looked bitter, as if he was unwilling.

The Azure Sea Dragon King glared at him: "Dragon Lord, your cultivation is high. You'll have to rein in your unruly nature in the future!"

The second prince's expression grew increasingly distressed.

"Once I become a Golden Immortal, you'll have your own carefree days!"

"Yes!"

“This matter cannot be rushed.” The Cangming Dragon King frowned and pondered for a while. “We should first consolidate our control over this sea area and at the same time befriend the Dragon Lord.”

The eldest prince frowned and said, "Father, don't forget the Nine Mountains Sect. They are the true masters of this sea area."

The Azure Sea Dragon King's expression darkened:
"The four sects have a reputation throughout the myriad realms, and I would never dare to provoke them."

"But even if Zheng Fa of Jiushan is a genius, how can Jiushan Sect, with its shallow foundation, be on par with the Four Sects?"

"As long as the Dragon Lord doesn't interfere, the Nine Mountains Sect is nothing to worry about."

The Crown Prince wanted to say something more.

The Azure Sea Dragon King waved his hand and said, "This is where my Great Dao lies!"

……

The people of the Nine Mountains Realm are still unaware of the origin of this dragon's roar.

For them, the most important thing during this period is actually one thing—this year marks the conclusion of the first fifty-year plan!

In the courtyard of Elder Yuan, the two sworn enemies, Uncle Pang and Uncle Huang, actually arrived together and gathered in one place.

The three sat around a stone table with tea on it and a light screen in front of them.

Within the light screen was the figure of the Heavenly Emperor.

"Dear teachers and disciples."

This is Jiushan News, but it's not broadcast to the public.

As the master of the Nine Mountains Sect, the Heavenly Emperor reported to all the cultivators of the Nine Mountains as usual.

"Fifty years ago, we formulated our first fifty-year plan, which set out four major goals and twenty-seven smaller goals in the areas of industry, economy, education, and military!"

"In agriculture..."

Much of the data and the results were already known to the three elders.

But even now, hearing the Heavenly Emperor mention it, they still wouldn't let go of a single word, and would still smile at a certain sentence.

The Heavenly Emperor's report was very long, even somewhat tedious, consisting mostly of data and figures.

But the three of them seemed to be listening to celestial music.

"Overall, we have achieved almost all the targets in the industrial plan ahead of schedule and even exceeded them!" the Heavenly Emperor said again. "Currently, the income of our Nine Mountains Sect is 220 percent higher than the planned target! The population of the Nine Mountains Realm is 50 percent higher than the plan!"

"In education, we once proposed a plan of fifty years and five hundred infants."

Hearing this, Elder Yuan looked at Uncle Pang with a mocking expression:
"Back then, you absolutely refused to believe in this plan."

Uncle Pang scoffed, "You believe that?"

The elder shook his head, looked at the light screen, and his eyes were full of sighs.

"Currently, my Nine Mountains Sect has twelve people above the Nascent Soul stage!"

The three elders exchanged a smile.

Among the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Nine Mountains Sect, Zheng Fa, Senior Sister Zhang, and Xie Qingxue are still the strongest.

Below them were four familiar faces: Jiao Wuji, Blood River Ancestor, Nine Mountains Ancestor, and Elder Yuan.

However, after Zheng Fa used the Great Sun True Fire to refine his cultivation method, the five of them—Uncle Pang, Uncle Huang, Madam Xuanhua, Elder Han, and Xiao Yuying—successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul stage by switching to the Yellow Court Scripture.

Elder Xiong of the Qingmu Sect is also in seclusion and seems to be advancing in rank soon.

Even though it can't compare to the foundation of the four sects, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators has doubled compared to before.

But the achievements of the first fifty-year plan go far beyond them!

The Heavenly Emperor continued, "Below the Nascent Soul stage, my Nine Mountains Sect currently has 664 disciples!"

Upon hearing this number, even Uncle Huang was somewhat dazed.

"More than six hundred people? How can there be so many?"

There was a hint of surprise in her voice.

“There weren’t originally that many.” The elder, who knew the most, explained, “According to estimates from a few years ago, it would have been around five hundred Nascent Soul cultivators, maybe a little more, but no more than five hundred and fifty.”

"Then how come there are suddenly a hundred more people?"

The elder smiled and said, "Because of the Heavenly River Law."

Uncle Pang suddenly realized: "A standard natal magic weapon."

“Indeed, all of our sect’s Golden Core disciples have practiced the Nine Mountains Golden Core Method, making it extremely easy for them to transform their natal magic treasures,” the elder said with a smile. “By borrowing the Heavenly River Method, they have encouraged and inspired each other, and many disciples have broken through their bottlenecks in the past few years. The results have been so good that even Master Zheng did not expect it.”

Uncle Pang muttered, "Who could have imagined this... Even with five hundred Nascent Soul cultivators, we never dared to dream of it before."

The elder laughed: "Before? Before, the Nine Mountains Sect only had the three of us Nascent Soul cultivators."

Upon hearing this, the three looked at each other, all feeling a sense of profound change.

Who could have imagined that in less than a century, the Nine Mountains Sect would undergo such a dramatic transformation?

Others might not feel it, but the three of them felt it the most.

They had witnessed firsthand how Zheng Fa led the Nine Mountains Sect from a small sect within the Hundred Immortals Alliance to its current glory, and now, looking back, many things were still vivid in their minds.

"According to Zheng Fa, Haori Mountain has no more than a thousand Nascent Soul disciples." Uncle Pang thought of something, "In terms of Nascent Soul stage alone, we're almost on par with Haori Mountain!"

Even among the four sects, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator can be considered mid-level.

Uncle Pang knew, of course, that Haori Mountain had nearly a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators. In terms of high-end combat power, the Nine Mountains Sect still had to catch up.

However, the rapidly increasing number of Nascent Soul cultivators gave all three of them confidence that catching up with Haori Mountain was only a matter of time for the Nine Mountains Sect.

As the Nine Mountains Sect has developed step by step, it can now be said that in terms of the quantity and quality of its lower and middle-level disciples, it is even comparable to the Four Sects.

"How can my Nine Mountains Sect's Nascent Soul stage be compared to other sects?"

Unexpectedly, Uncle Huang snorted, seemingly thinking he was stupid.

Uncle Pang was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that the combat power that the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Nine Mountains Sect could unleash with the help of military formations was far beyond that of other Nascent Soul cultivators!

With its high-end combat power, the Nine Mountains Sect is no less formidable than Haori Mountain!

No wonder Zheng Fahui was always thinking about attacking Haori.

They didn't realize it until they calculated it, and the three elders of Jiushan were all speechless—we are actually this strong?

After a while, the group slowly came to their senses, looked at each other, and surprisingly, picked up their teacups at the same time and clinked them together.

After drinking a cup of spiritual tea, Uncle Pang stared at the light screen, his eyes glazed over.
"Senior brother, why does this tea of ​​yours seem a bit intoxicating?"

(End of this chapter)