Everyone: Summoners are weak? One gold entry at level 1

Chapter 718 Dragon Clan Investigation
Deep within the "Dragon Burial Abyss," the dark red seawater resembles congealed blood, and the enormous ancient dragon bone fossils stand like silent tombstones.

The air was thick with the malevolent aura of the dragon and the lingering scorching sensation left by the turbulent spatial currents.

Several true dragons of the East Sea Dragon Clan, led by Elder Xuanlong Ao Lie, were hovering above the core altar of the ancient abyss, their dragon eyes like torches, scrutinizing the enormous but lifeless black dragon body of Ao Qing below.

Dragon blood stained the ancient patterns on the altar, and Ao Qing's reverse scale was broken and shattered, which was the fatal wound.

The natal dragon artifact he held tightly in his hand, the "Nether Sea Abyss-Stabilizing Pearl," was dull and lifeless, its surface covered with spiderweb-like cracks. The traces of the wisps of Yin Sha Dragon Resentment being forcibly extracted from the depths of the ancient abyss and then dissipating out of control were clearly visible.

"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly for me!" Elder Ao Lie's voice was deep and rumbling like thunder, suppressing his boundless rage. He was Ao Qing's elder brother, born of the same mother, and his cultivation had reached the Xuanxian realm. He wielded immense power within the East Sea Dragon Clan.

“My brother is a highly skilled cultivator who has refined the ‘Nether Sea Abyss-Stabilizing Pearl’ for tens of thousands of years. How could he be so easily killed by the backlash of the Ancient Abyss Restriction? There must be something fishy going on!”

Several elders, skilled in reconnaissance, formations, and dragon clan secrets, immediately sprang into action.

With each swing of its claws, a series of probing techniques, each imbued with the primal power of a different dragon race, swept across the entire core area like a tidal wave.

A halo swirled, runes flickered, attempting to detect the slightest anomaly from space, energy, causality, and even the remaining fragments of divine soul.

However, the result was disappointing.

The space was fluctuating and chaotic, but the source of all the chaos pointed to the chain of collapses of the Ancient Abyss Restriction itself caused by "external forces".

The trajectory of the dissipated energy perfectly matched the characteristics of the uncontrolled backlash from the restriction, showing no signs of large-scale intervention from external, non-dragon forces.

Furthermore, the causal lines are entangled with the resentment and malevolent energy accumulated over countless ages by the ancient abyss, completely muddying and obscuring any other possible causal relationships.

Ao Qing's dragon soul was completely annihilated, leaving not even a trace of its remnant, as if it had been instantly erased by some extremely domineering power.

"Reporting to Elder Ao Lie,"

The True Dragon, skilled in the Dao of Space, said with a solemn expression, "At the spatial level, it is indeed the core node of the Ancient Abyss Restriction that collapsed due to being unable to withstand excessive extraction."

The spatial storm and turbulent traces perfectly matched the scene, with no obvious external forces tearing or confining the space.

An elder standing nearby reminded them, "Moreover, in the residual energy, besides Elder Ao Qing's own dragon power, the ancient abyss dragon's resentment and evil energy, there is also the destructive energy from the collapse of the restriction."

There was no third, powerful force with a completely different attribute involved. All energy trajectories were endogenous and coherent, conforming to the logic of backlash.

The elder in charge of causal deduction frowned deeply: "The ancient abyss is filled with resentment and evil spirits, and the causal entanglement is like a tangled mess."

Forced simulations only reveal a vague scene of Elder Ao Qing forcibly drawing power to attack the core of the restriction, ultimately leading to his own destruction.

There is no clear causal link pointing to a third party.

All the evidence points to this being an unfortunate accident.

Ao Qing acted too hastily at the crucial moment of refining the dragon weapon, arousing a terrifying power deep within the ancient abyss that even he himself could not control, ultimately leading to his self-destruction.

"Impossible!" Ao Lie's eyes were bloodshot, his dark golden dragon eyes fixed on Ao Qing's corpse. "My brother has always been cautious in his actions!"
His control over the 'Nether Sea Abyss-Stabilizing Pearl' was already unparalleled; how could he have made such a basic mistake? Someone must have plotted against him, and with extremely sophisticated methods, erasing all traces!

His gaze was like a knife, sweeping over every dragon present, including the dragon girl who floated quietly to the side, her face solemn and grief-stricken.

The Dragon Girl maintained her noble Yinglong form, her silver scales shimmering with a cool light in the dark red seawater.

She lowered her head slightly, her voice carrying just the right amount of sorrow and heaviness: "Elder Ao Lie, please accept my condolences. Elder Ao Qing's unexpected demise is a great loss to our East Sea Dragon Clan. The Ancient Abyss Restriction is extremely dangerous and unpredictable; ancestors throughout history have perished here."

Perhaps the elder was too eager for quick results and didn't act immediately...

Her words were impeccable, expressing both condolences and characterizing the incident as an "accident," while also subtly suggesting that the ancient abyss was inherently dangerous, and that an accident was not incomprehensible.

This attitude, coupled with her increasingly elevated status as a "dragon prince" within the dragon race, seems perfectly reasonable and beyond reproach.

Ao Lie stared intently at the Dragon Girl, trying to find a flaw in her deep, star-like dragon eyes.

However, the Dragon Girl possesses the ability to deceive the heavens and conceal the seas, which is a disguise and stealth ability at the fifth level of the Dao.

Although he could not completely hide his emotions, his aura, emotions, and even soul fluctuations blended perfectly with the surrounding environment and his identity as a dragon prince who had lost his clan elder.

Her sadness was real, her heaviness was real, and any hint of pride placed within seemed to vanish like a drop of water merging into the ocean.

"Hmph!" Ao Lie could only snort coldly and withdraw his gaze.

Without evidence, he could not challenge a meritorious official of equal standing who had volunteered to handle the aftermath of the Guyuan incident and stabilize the Dragon Clan's borders.

The Dragon Girl's behavior after Ao Qing's death is a model of "responsibility".

She quickly blocked the news to avoid panic, personally oversaw the entrance to the Ancient Abyss to deter the villains, reassured Ao Qing's subordinates, and proposed that she temporarily take over the defense of several important sea areas under Ao Qing's responsibility to prevent the Abyss or hostile forces from taking advantage of the situation.

These measures won the praise of many neutral elders, including the Dragon King.

At the high-level meeting, a Golden Immortal Dragon King finally made the decision: "Elder Ao Qing's death in the Ancient Abyss, although doubts remain, has no concrete evidence."

The most urgent task is to stabilize the situation and prevent internal turmoil from giving external enemies an opportunity to exploit.

The Dragon Maiden handled the situation well, temporarily taking over the defense of the 'Angry Wave Eye' under Ao Qing's command, ensuring the safe passage of our tribe's eastern border.

This is tantamount to tacitly acknowledging the conclusion of "accident" and enhancing the Dragon Girl's real power.

Ao Lie's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

His faction lost a core True Immortal, weakening its power, while the "suspect" Dragon Girl benefited from it. How could he be willing to accept this?
After the meeting ended, Ao Lie did not return to his Dragon Palace, but secretly sneaked into the "Ancestral Dragon Abyss," the deepest and most aura-rich place in the East Sea.

This is the sacred site where the East Sea Dragon Clan worships their ancestors and performs the most secret bloodline rituals.

He arrived at an altar surrounded by massive dragon bones and took out a fragment of a dark gold dragon scale stained with Ao Qing's last dragon blood.

He secretly collected this from the edge of Ao Qing's shattered reverse scale while everyone was not paying attention at the scene of the ancient abyss. It contained the last trace of his brother's pure primordial energy.

"By the guidance of my bloodline and the spirits of the dead, I trace back to my origins and reveal my true form!"

Ao Lie cut his own dragon claw, and the dragon blood containing powerful life essence dripped onto the complex ancient dragon patterns in the center of the altar.

He chanted ancient and obscure dragon language incantations, his dragon power surging, and the dragon patterns on the altar lit up one by one, exuding a vast and majestic aura.

(End of this chapter)