Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

...Speaking of which, ever since she met this man, her sense of common sense and so-called rationality began to crumble.

"Stop kneeling. I've told you so many times, treat me like a normal person. Stop making such a big fuss every day. Don't you get tired of it?"

Yunping didn't really like dragon etiquette. Every time he saw him, it was like seeing an ancestor. He wasn't a dragon.

As a human, being treated with such etiquette by a dragon would also feel strange to him.

Upon hearing Yun Ping's words, the enormous figure before him revealed a human-like smirk. "I'm sorry, sir, but this is a rule set by our king. When we meet you, we must pay our respects with utmost courtesy."

Yunping waved his hand impatiently, "Fine, fine, whatever you want."

Dragons are naturally stubborn, and once they've made up their minds, they almost never change their minds because of external factors. So Yunping was too lazy to waste his time and breath on these trivial matters.

"Speaking of which, sir, these people are all yours..."

"Never mind who I am to you. More importantly, take us to Little Black's place. I need to talk to him."

"Little Black?" The black dragon was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then tentatively asked, somewhat embarrassed, "You mean... the King?"

"That's it."

Upon receiving Yunping's reply, Heilong hesitated for a moment, much to Yunping's surprise, "This... I might need to report it. The King's condition has been rather unstable lately; he's basically not seeing anyone."

"Unstable?"

Upon hearing these three words, Yunping knew that things had gotten very serious.

From the moment Yunping was yelled down from the sky by a dragon high above the Dragonbone Wasteland, he realized that something bad might have happened in the Blackwater Abyss.

It's not hard to tell from their internal sources that Xiao Hei is probably in big trouble.

It should be about the Demon-Binding Lock.

Thinking of this, Yunping called out to the black dragon, who was spreading its wings and trying to fly away, "No need to go and report. I came here for this matter. Although there are things I need to trouble Xiao Hei with, I think I can help with Xiao Hei's matter."

The black dragon slowly stopped flapping its wings and looked at Yun Ping, as if hesitating.

……

Ten minutes later.

A huge black phantom flew across the sky, causing ripples to spread across the clear water suspended above.

Yunping stood on the back of the black dragon, his feet still treading on black dragon scales.

Behind him, a group of people lay there, looking completely bewildered, clutching at the black dragon scales with both hands, afraid that a turn would throw them off.

……

This is so weird!!

Zhang Ruoxue and Ye Yuchan, who hadn't even seen a dragon yesterday, were now on the back of a black dragon, being carried by it and flying in the sky at an unknown height.

If I said that, nobody would believe me!

The expressions of Chu Xin and Fang Yan, master and apprentice, were as spectacular as a fireworks display, alternating between blue and white, quite a sight to behold.

They were both dumbfounded. This was a dragon, and a black dragon at that! They were currently on the dragon's back!

Fang Yan wanted to kiss the dragon scales beside him several times to leave his mark, but Chu Xin stopped him each time.

Of course, Chu Xin also took out her knife several times to cut off a piece of dragon scale to take back as a souvenir, but Yun Ping stopped her.

—These two, master and apprentice, are exactly the same.

"To be honest, I'm not questioning your abilities, sir. I just want to know... can you really help the king this time you've returned?"

One sonic boom after another swept past me, the sound amplified by spiritual energy rushing into my ears.

Yunping held Lin Yuan in his arms, his expression calm: "In this world, I'm probably the only one who can help him—but more importantly, can you tell me how long this has been going on?"

"It's been about three years."

"Three years?" After a moment's thought, Yunping couldn't find any clues about three years ago, so he continued, "Tell me, what was the situation back then?"

"I'm not entirely sure either, after all, I'm just a gatekeeper. All I know is that the chain suddenly broke for some reason, and then Lord Jue An..."

"As expected... I knew it."

Upon hearing the mention of that chain, Yunping knew that it referred to the Demon-Binding Chain.

The calamity that occurred more than 500 years ago was the reason for the creation of the Demon-Binding Lock.

Theoretically speaking, the Demon-Binding Chains should be strong enough to last until that chaotic frenzy ends, and should remain firmly in place for at least three thousand years, instead of collapsing after only about five hundred years, as it is now.

There must be an external force at play...

Thinking of this, Yunping couldn't help but recall what he had heard from the Seven Dream Tree...

Someone is hunting down Twenty-One Extreme.

If there is anything in the world that can break the Demon-Binding Chains, it is probably only something of the level of the Twenty-One Ultimate.

Half-immortal level.

—But the Twenty-One Extremes wouldn't be so bored as to come looking for trouble, and if a half-immortal-level human came to the Blackwater Abyss, it would be impossible to remain silent and escape the notice of all the black dragons.

unless……

Thinking of this, Yunping dared not think about it anymore.

He shook his head and noticed that the shockwave around him was gradually subsiding.

The giant dragon beneath my feet gradually stopped flapping its wings, its body tilted downwards, and the entire dragon landed quite smoothly on the ground.

They have arrived at their destination.

------

I'll just give you... a barely manageable three chapters today.

29. Hello, Xiao Hei

All around was a vast, empty field.

There was no floor paved with dragon scales, no eight golden pillars inscribed with strange characters, and no mountains of gold and silver treasures.

All that remained was a large but dilapidated cave.

Compared to the caves everyone had seen before, this place looked like it had been built haphazardly.

Yunping leaped off the dragon's back, and the others behind him followed suit. However, because the black dragon was too large and they did not have Yunping's strange and terrifying physical body, they had to use their spiritual energy to land safely.

After landing, Yunping turned to the side and looked at the black dragon behind him.

"Thank you so much. Go back and get a good night's sleep. You don't seem to be in good spirits lately."

"You figured that out?" The black dragon grinned. "I've been studying some of the things you brought before, and I have to admit that humans know how to enjoy life better than we do in many ways."

“That makes sense.” Yunping nodded without denying it.

Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, the black dragon lowered his head again, his reverent gaze fixed on Yun Ping. "Then, my lord, I shall return first. The king should still be inside, so I will not accompany you."

"It's alright, you go ahead with your work."

Having received Yunping's permission, the black dragon smiled gratefully, then flapped its wings, creating a huge shockwave before soaring into the sky and disappearing from everyone's sight.

The remaining people, except for Yunping, all looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Yun Ping wasn't surprised by the wide range of expressions on their faces; it was normal. Dragons were creatures that only existed in legends, overlords that had existed since ancient times. They hadn't appeared for who knows how many years. For them to suddenly appear and let them ride on their backs was bound to be frightening.

This is like a modern person walking peacefully down the street when suddenly a Tyrannosaurus Rex appears and says to you, "Hey kid, aren't you going to school? These vehicles are terrible, get on my back right now."

Then they sped off, ignoring traffic police and red lights, and took you straight to school...

— It's pretty much the same idea.

Anyone in that situation would probably be quite confused.

"Alright, alright, you've had your shock, come with me."

After about half a minute, seeing that everyone's expressions had mostly calmed down, Yunping spoke up.

"Where...where to?" Ye Yuchan was already panicking about what was going to happen in the future. Who knew what kind of thing Yunping would show her next?

"Let's go inside, Xiao Hei is waiting for me there."

"Little Black...does that mean...a dragon?" Zhang Ruoxue asked uncertainly.

"Yeah. Otherwise, what else could it be but a mongrel? It's not like only mongrel dogs can be called Little Black."

After saying that, Yunping strode forward and walked into the dark cave.

Ye Yuchan and Zhang Ruoxue exchanged a glance and quickly followed. They didn't want to stay there. If a few more dragons flew by and saw them, and came down to play with them out of curiosity, it could lead to someone's death.

Chu Xin and Fang Yan dared not be negligent. In this unknown environment, if they did not follow someone familiar with this world, no one would know what strange things might happen.

So, the four of them tacitly followed Yunping into the unassuming cave.

……

This time, no secret realm appeared.

Moreover, although the surroundings were very quiet, there was nothing that could be considered a danger.

The interior was terrifyingly dark, but with the help of spiritual energy, everyone could easily see their surroundings—it was just an ordinary, very deep cave.

Gold and silver jewelry? Magical artifacts and runes? None of these were present.

The expected scene did not appear, which eased everyone's anxiety a little. However, they soon discovered that the deeper they went into the cave, the more blue light appeared around them. This light seemed harmless, but it kept circling around them, as if leaping elves were curious about the arrival of humans.

Huhuhu~

The damp, cold air blew in front of them, and even though they still had spiritual energy to resist the cold, they could still feel a frosty aura.

Ye Yuchan shivered. She had been resenting this maid outfit that she couldn't take off for a long time. In such a cold space, if only she could wear a cotton-padded coat, sit by the stove, and hold a hot water bottle in her hands.

Unfortunately, these are just daydreams.

Surrounded by a vibrant blue light, these points of light, seemingly possessing their own sentience, hovered at the end of what appeared to be a path, slowly coalescing into a bright blue doorway.

Yunping stepped inside without the slightest hesitation.

After a moment's hesitation, everyone tentatively reached inside—but didn't feel much, only a cold, damp wind blowing from the other side of the door.

Thus, the four people, led by the daring Zhang Ruoxue, stepped into the portal.