by Dragon King
Now, he realized that Zhen Congming was Qiu Niu’s grandson. No wonder Lady Zhen wasn’t worried when Qiu Niu took her son but looked resentful when she mentioned it.
Since Lady Zhen didn’t want to see Qiu Niu, she had done some calculations and asked Hao Ren and Su Han to get a godly item for her when Qiu Niu was at the weakest moment. In this way, she could bring her Qing back to life!
Qiu Niu must have known Lady Zhen’s plan, and Hao Ren guessed that Qiu Niu might have gone easy on them in the Nine Dragon Palace!
The fierce battles that Hao Ren and Su Han engaged in with Qiu Niu in the Nine Dragon Palace indirectly repaired Qiu Niu and Lady Zhen’s father-daughter relationship!
The most innocent victim in the conflict was Zhen Congming; he didn’t know that his master who made him create elixir pills was his grandpa!
“Humph!”
To relieve his frustration for not being able to suppress his stubborn daughter, Qiu Niu shot his dragon claw toward Hao Ren.
Ding! Ding!
Two lights, one white and one red, shot from the ocean to block Qiu Niu’s dragon claw.
Qiu Niu’s claws broke the white light easily, but the red one blocked his claw.
“Hahahaha…”
The Penglai Island rose in the distance while Zhen Yuan Zi hovered above the island in his simple Taoist robe with a Daoist whisk in his hand. He was laughing as he stroked his beard.
The red light had come from his direction.
“Ancestral Master Qiu Niu, this young friend is my brother. If he offended you in some way, I, the older brother, beg for your forgiveness.”
While he said this, Zhen Yuan Zi rested the Daoist whisk on his arm and bowed toward Qiu Niu slightly.
Seeing Zhen Yuan Zi’s sudden appearance, Qiu Niu froze.
He turned his head toward Hao Ren, surprised that this kid was related to Zhen Yuan Zi, the leader of the Earthly Immortals.
As a figure who had understood the Heavenly Dao in the Hundun Era, Zhen Yuan Zi was on the same level as Qiu Niu. However, despite his humble and gracious manner, his senior status and great power earned respect from Qiu Niu.
Seeing Zhen Yuan Zi begging for forgiveness, Qiu Niu looked embarrassed. It seemed like he was a bully who suppressed two youngsters with his super strength.
After understanding the Heavenly Dao, Zhen Yuan Zi had been serene and hadn’t been in a battle for many years. However, judging by the red light that he had just shot out, Qiu Niu knew that Zhen Yuan Zi’s strength was no less than his own!
After rescuing Lady Zhen, Qiu Niu had expected that she would show some gratitude. But to his surprise and displeasure, she had given him the cold shoulder. Angry, he had just wanted to teach Hao Ren a lesson; he didn’t intend to kill him.
Now that Zhen Yuan Zi showed up, he couldn’t even touch Hao Ren.
“Hahaha, I understand. Since this little friend exchanged a few attacks with me in the Nine Dragon Palace, I just wanted to give him some tips!”
Qiu Niu suddenly shot out a flame from his dragon claws.
Six fire rocks entered Hao Ren’s body and burned out a dragon-shaped image into his body.
Hao Ren felt acute pains all over his body, but he sensed that all his acupoints began to connect after a little while.
To show respect to Zhen Yuan Zi, Qiu Niu couldn’t attack Hao Ren, but he was still displeased with Hao Ren for attacking him in the Nine Dragon Palace. To save his face as a dragon ancestor, he gave a severe punishment to Hao Ren in the disguise of elevating his cultivation strength.
“Hehe. Thanks for your help, Ancestral Master Qiu Niu.” With his realm, Zhen Yuan Zi knew that the six fire stones not only created a lot of pain for Hao Ren but also unblocked his acupoints.
He called Qiu Niu, Ancestral Master, not because the latter had a higher status than him but due to his politeness. After all, Qiu Niu was the ancestor to dragon cultivators, and he was the leader of the Earthly Immortals; they were in two different systems.
Strictly speaking, despite his special situation, Hao Ren was one member of the Dragon Tribe, and it was Qiu Niu’s right to teach him lessons.
“Brother Hao, hurry up and thank Ancestral Master Qiu Niu.” Zhen Yuan Zi looked at Hao Ren with a smile and reminded him.
“Thank you, Ancestral Master Qiu Niu!” Hao Ren lifted his sore arms and cupped his hands toward Qiu Niu while he said politely.
“Humph!”
Qiu Niu soared in the high sky while spitting out flames from his nostrils.
Although he didn’t know that Hao Ren had such an extraordinary connection, Zhen Yuan Zi was nice enough to give him a way out of the situation with dignity.
“Here are two Immortal Fruits, and you must heal the injuries when you get back to land.” Zhen Yuan Zi took out two white fruits and tossed them at Hao Ren. Then, the white fruits flew into Hao Ren’s hands.
Qiu Niu had wanted to teach Hao Ren a lesson, but he could only create some pain in Hao Ren’s body and increase his cultivation strength. From Zhen Yuan Zi’s point of view, it was the result of the interference of the Heaven Dao.
Since Hao Ren was now the chosen one, he naturally received aid from the Heavenly Dao.
“Thank you, Brother Zhen Yuan!”
While putting away the fruits, Hao Ren thanked Zhen Yuan Zi. However, he still found this new way of addressing Zhen Yuan Zi awkward.
“Ancestral Master Qiu Niu, I have two extra Immortal Fruits with me. If you like, they are my compensation for the offense that my brother caused.”
With a wave of his Daoist whisk, Zhen Yuan Zi took out two white Immortal Fruits from his sleeve and placed them onto a platter before lightly pushing the platter toward Qiu Niu.
Qiu Niu’s cultivation had been interrupted by Hao Ren and Su Han at the critical moment. Also, after blocking the World-Ending Lightning Tribulation for Lady Zhen, Qiu Niu needed some holy fruits to repair his body, which made Zhen Yuan Zi’s gifts especially precious.
By emphasizing that they were compensations, Zhen Yuan Zi showed Qiu Niu great respect.
After all, the saying of extra Immortal Fruits was just to show his modesty. Zhen Yuan Zi’s Immortal Fruit Tree produced only about 30 Immortal Fruits every 10,000 years.
“I’ll accept them, and I’ll remember your generosity, Zhen Yuan Immortal!” After taking the two precious Immortal Fruits, Qiu Niu flew toward the Nine Dragon Palace.
After tossing Hao Ren and Su Han into the Demon Sea, he had planned to bring them back. After all, since they entered the Nine Dragon Palace, they must get out of it by themselves!
However, since he had gotten two Immortal Fruits from Zhen Yuan Zi, he could recover the cultivation strength that he lost in the battle with Hao Ren and Su Han and even gain some extra strength, which gave him no reason to torture them anymore.
“Little Girl! I will only loan you the thing that you took from me for one month! If you don’t return it by then, I’ll take it myself!” Qiu Niu yelled while he flew toward the Nine Dragon Palace.
Obviously, the words were for Su Han. Since the Nuwa Stone had been shot into Su Han’s body by Lady Zhen, he would damage her body if he took it now. He was very generous to give her one month!
It was already a great fortune to borrow such a godly item for three days!
Zhen Yuan Zi’s two Immortal Fruits had gotten her great benefits!
Not understanding the situation, Hao Ren was afraid that Su Han couldn’t reach the Heavenly Dragon Realm in one month and thus thought that Qiu Niu was a bit too aggressive.
“You two! Don’t think all problems are solved!” Qiu Niu suddenly tossed the words into the ocean.
His magnificent voice shook the entire Demon Sea and surged up waves that several meters high while it traveled to the bottom of the ocean.
“Don’t worry, Father. We’ll handle the issues with Second Uncle!” Lady Zhen’s clear voice came from the bottom of the ocean.
“Humph!” With a snort, Qiu Niu shot into the Nine Dragon P
alace which instantly vanished.
Although he had blocked the World-Ending Lightning Tribulation for Lady Zhen, it didn’t mean that it was the end of their problems. Among the nine brothers, Qiu Niu wasn’t the most powerful one.
When Lady Zhen cried and begged him on her knees many years ago, he had refused to interfere, which was why she had left in anger and severed ties with him.
If he hadn’t helped this time, he would have lost his daughter forever. After thousands of years of thinking, he had changed his mind already.
However, after Lady Zhen brought her Qin back to life with all her efforts, no one knew what would happen next.
Watching the Nine Dragon Palace disappear in the sky, Hao Ren wondered if the spiritual herbs that he had collected were enough to cultivate the Seven-Core Five-Color Lotus.
His new brother Zhen Yuan Zi might have the ability to provide the missing materials, but Hao Ren was too bashful to ask for his help after eating several Immortal Fruits.
“Heavenly Dao is vast and high. Brother, you must work harder!” Zhen Yuan Zi looked at Hao Ren from the distant Penglai Island and said with sincerity.
“I will!” Hao Ren cupped his hands and answered.
If he didn’t reach the Heavenly Dragon Realm soon, he would be too embarrassed to call himself Zhen Yuan Zi’s brother!
With a wave of his Daoist whisk, Zhen Yuan Zi vanished in the mist together with Penglai Island.
723 Return in One Piece!
When the Nine Dragon Palace and Penglai Island vanished from the sea, the Demon Sea which had been filled with booming heavenly lightning bolts instantly became quiet.
Looking at the calm ocean, no one would think that it was a dangerous place full of demon beasts.
Since the tragedy was avoided, the remote celestial mountains emerged from the sea one by one and floated in the mist above the Demon Sea.
After a glance at Hao Ren, Duan Yao was about to enter the ocean when Lady Zhen came out of the water wearing a wide-sleeved long dress which was embroidered with floral and animal patterns.
Her pale face showed that the heavenly lightning bolts injured her.
Although she was a Phoenix, she was still severely wounded, let alone the Kirin who had blocked the heavenly lightning bolts for her after being resurrected.
“Gongzi Hao, you are now the brother of Zhen Yuan Immortal, and I can’t treat you as a junior anymore.” Lady Zhen looked at Hao Ren and smiled.
Despite her severe injuries and pale face, she was in a good mood and looked charming.
“I can’t call you, Older Sister, right?” Hao Ren said with a grin.
“Sly boy. You can call me anything except Little Sister.” Lady Zhen turned her gaze from Hao Ren to Su Han and said, “I’m lucky to be alive today. Ms. Su, if you want, you can stay in the Demon Sea for a few days to solidify your realm.”
“Thank you.” Su Han nodded without hesitation.
She knew that Lady Zhen had used her, but she realized that she had gained a lot in the process after some consideration. The Nuwa Stone alone would make many cultivators jealousy.
Of course, the Nuwa Stone wouldn’t be much use to her cultivation unless she could merge it into her body completely with the help of the abundant nature essence in the Demon Sea. It would give her a significant boost during the Heavenly Tribulation.
“How about you? Will you return or stay here with your lover?” Lady Zhen asked Hao Ren.
Su Han turned to look at Hao Ren as well.
“I’ll go back,” Hao Ren answered without hesitation when he thought back to Zhao Yanzi, Xie Yujia, and his family who were still waiting for his return.
Hearing his words, a trace of loneliness flashed in Su Han’s eyes, but her expression remained the same, knowing that Hao Ren had his family and other attachments while she was only an orphan who was in pursuit of the highest realm.
Seeing Hao Ren choosing to return, Duan Yao’s heart lurched. She didn’t know when it began, but Hao Ren had become the person who pushed her forward. She always thought of him when she cultivated.
She had thought that Hao Ren would stay here so that she could have the opportunity to have practice battles with him.
“Yao, you can bring Gongzi Hao out of the sea,” Lady Zhen said suddenly when Duan Yao turned to look at Hao Ren.
“Ugh…” Duan Yao froze for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond.
Lady Zhen lifted her hand, and a small three-footed bird flew to Duan Yao. Then, she picked up Su Han’s hand lightly and entered the Demon Sea together.
Looking at Su Han’s expression, Lady Zhen felt like she resembled herself thousands of years ago, so she felt a little empathy toward her.
“What are you looking at? Annoying!!”
Seeing Hao Ren gazing at her, Duan Yao glared at him before jumping onto the back of the three-footed bird.
The fiery-red three-footed bird was the legendary godly bird of the Kunlun Mountain. Now that Lady Zhen had eliminated almost all the demon kings in the Demon Sea, it wasn’t dangerous for the three-footed bird to roam around with Duan Yao.
Standing on a five-elemental sword energy, Hao Ren followed Duan Yao.
Su Han would be safe in the Demon Sea. Also, since she needed to concentrate on her cultivation, Hao Ren didn’t want to disturb her.
However, from Duan Yao’s point of view, Hao Ren was a cold-hearted man who deserted his lover.
“Duan Yao, where did you master, Lady Zhen, cultivate in the past?” Hao Ren asked suddenly after flying on the sea surface for a while.
Duan Yao had planned to ignore him, but she blurted out her answer at his sudden question. “I’m not sure…”
When her words came out, she remembered that she wasn’t supposed to speak to this pervert.
“I… I will kill you!” She tossed the words to Hao Ren abruptly.
She hated these bad men who looked decent but were ditched their lovers!
However, she didn’t understand what those girls saw in him, and why they wanted to stay with him.
Sometimes, she would flip through the comic book on her bedside table at midnight in the small palace that Lady Zhen designated to her and remember Hao Ren’s room.
She didn’t quite understand the contents in the comic book, but it was the only ‘gift’ that she got from the mortal world.
“Maybe I can live a life like Zhao Yanzi someday…” After thinking of Zhao Yanzi, Duan Yao was filled with envy and jealousy.
“Ahead of us is the border of the Demon Sea,” Duan Yao looked up and said while pointing forward.
“Ok.” Hao Ren nodded slightly when he saw a small black dot in the distance.
Duan Yao claimed that she would kill him but couldn’t make her move in the Demon Sea under the restriction of Lady Zhen.
“It must be hard for her,” Hao Ren thought as he looked at her.
“My master… cultivated under the guidance of the Queen Mother of the West in the Kunlun Mountain. For some reason, she later stayed in the Demon Sea,” Duan Yao suddenly said while she flew toward.
“Ok…” Hao Ren nodded.
He had guessed that Lady Zhen wasn’t a demon king who was born in the Demon Sea since she was more powerful than those big demon kings. Duan Yao’s words explained Lady Zhen’s familiarity with the Kunlun Mountain from where she had taken the Kunlun Godly Lamp by force and her friendship with Zhen Yuan Zi.
The three-footed bird was the legendary godly bird from the Kunlun Mountain, and the fact that it was staying with Lady Zhen also showed her connection with the Kunlun Mountain.
Maybe she wasn’t an official disciple of the Queen Mother of the West, but due to Qiu Niu, she probably had cultivated under the guidance of the Queen Mother of the West. All in all, Lady Zhen’s status wasn’t low.
Due to her status, it was a shame for Lady Zhen to act like a demon queen in the Demons Sea from Qiu Niu’s perspective.
From Duan Yao’s one sentence, Hao Ren had reasoned out the whole
story.
The Demon Sea was like a prison for the Heavenly Realm, and all kinds of demon beasts were locked in there. Hao Ren wouldn’t have liked it if his daughter had chosen to stay in such a place.
Qiu Niu probably had his reasons for taking Zhen Congming out of the Demon Sea. However, Lady Zhen would rather stay in the Demon Sea with her husband, Qin.
It seemed like no one was at fault.
While he was thinking, Hao Ren flew out of the Demon Sea.
Seeing Hao Ren flying out without saying goodbye to her, Duan Yao stomped her foot on the back of the three-footed bird with fury.
Flapping its wings, the three-footed bird quickly returned to the center of the Demon Sea.
Without the Purple gold hairpin at his disposal, Hao Ren felt like it was a bit inconvenient.
The purple gold hairpin didn’t possess its own intelligence except for a thread of Lady Zhen’s spirit senses. It responded to the situations around it according to Lady Zhen’s personality, acting as a split soul of hers.
The explosion of the purple gold hairpin was an attack from Lady Zhen since this dharma treasure was different from supreme spiritual treasures like the golden shield.
Hao Ren remembered how the golden shield had first challenged the purple gold hairpin which was a representative of Lady Zhen. Of course, the golden shield was no match for Lady Zhen whose original form was a Phoenix.
After being beaten many times, the golden shield was now free without restraints.
Hao Ren sped up his sword energy and traveled at the speed of mid-tier Nascent Soul Realm across East Ocean, returning to East Ocean City in the blink of an eye.
The students in East Ocean University were in class when Hao Ren landed on the campus in the energy sphere.
“Brother Hao! Brother Hao is back!”
The dragon cultivators in East Ocean University all sensed his appearance.
Hao Ren had been absent for over ten days, and all the dragon cultivators in the Calligraphy Club including Lu Qi couldn’t find him.
They had asked Xie Yujia, and she told them that Hao Ren had gone out on a trip and would come back soon, but they saw the worry in her eyes.