Chapter 963: Burial God Fire Prison, Ancient Flood Dragon
"You should ask him," Mu Bingyun said. "After Yun Che left the Bing Xuan Realm, his gaze shifted toward where I was hiding several times. At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but after it happened repeatedly, along with his expression and excessively unrestrained behavior, the only explanation was that he had known I was there from the very beginning."
"Hehe," Yun Che chuckled. "Actually, it's because Fairy Mu still has traces of the medicinal aroma I used to purify her flame poison... ahem ahem ahem. That aroma is imperceptible to others, but I'm extremely sensitive to it, so I figured it out."
The purifying power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl was formless, colorless, and scentless, undetectable by anyone—except for Yun Che, who had merged completely with it.
"..." Mu Xiaolan's lips parted, completely speechless.
"I see." Mu Bingyun understood. She looked ahead and said, "The thirty-six Ice Phoenix Palaces are located in Binghuang City, north of Cold Snow City. We could have teleported there using a mystic formation, but since this is your first time here, I'll take you flying so you can get a little familiar with the terrain."
"Master, you're way too kind to this big villain," Mu Xiaolan muttered, clearly a bit jealous.
The Cold Snow City domain was quite vast, containing not only one hundred and eight Cold Snow Halls but also a large number of places for cultivation, trials, healing, meditation, and seclusion. Mu Bingyun moved at an extremely fast pace, yet it still took a long time to fly across the Cold Snow City domain.
The further north they went, the colder the air became, and the ever-present pressure of ice and snow grew heavier and more overwhelming. The outline of Binghuang City gradually came into view.
Just then, from far away in the south, a thunderous laugh rang out.
"Hahaha—Yan Wancang comes uninvited, seeking an audience with the Yinxue Realm King to discuss matters of great benefit to both our realms for ages to come. I humbly request the Yinxue Realm King to grace me with an appearance."
The laughter and sound clearly came from an extremely distant place, yet it was as if a series of world-destroying thunderclaps were roaring right in Yun Che's ears. His vision went black, his blood churned and surged like boiling water, and a heavy pressure settled on his chest, nearly causing him to spit blood.
"Yaaaah!" Mu Xiaolan covered her ears, letting out a frightened scream.
This mighty roar had completely enveloped the immense Binghuang Realm. The space trembled slightly, and the atmosphere below suddenly changed. Countless disciples of the Bing Huang God Sect poured out like a nest of ants, ready for a great enemy.
"Fairy Mu, what's going on?"
After the voice fell, it did not ring out again, but Yun Che's dizziness and discomfort lingered for a long time. His heart was filled with shock.
Mu Bingyun's immortal silhouette halted, her moon-like brows slightly furrowed, but her expression and aura remained quite calm. "It was a sound transmission from over thirty thousand li away. It seems he doesn't dare to step into the core area of my Bing Huang God Sect."
"Th-thirty thousand li away?" Yun Che was so startled he nearly bit his tongue.
From over thirty thousand li away... just the sound alone nearly shook him to the point of vomiting blood...
What kind of freaks are all these people in the God Realm?!
"There's no need to be too surprised," Mu Bingyun said. "This man named Yan Wancang is no ordinary person. He is the Vermilion Bird Sect Master of the Yan Shen Realm. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he is the number one figure of the Yan Shen Realm."
Yan Shen Realm? Vermilion Bird Sect Master?
Mu Bingyun lightly waved her snow-white hand, and a veil of ice light enveloped Mu Xiaolan, whose complexion gradually improved. Mu Bingyun turned, brought Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan along again, and flew northward. "He's here to see the Great Realm King. Let the Great Realm King deal with him. We don't need to bother."
"Oh," Yun Che nodded, then pondered for a moment and asked in a low voice, "Fairy Mu, it seems you know why that man called Yan Wancang has come here."
"What other reason could there be!" Mu Xiaolan said, her tone filled with deep indignation. "It must be about that flood dragon again!"
"That... flood dragon? What flood dragon?" Yun Che asked, full of curiosity.
Mu Bingyun did not conceal the matter and directly explained to him, "Although the Yan Shen Realm and our Yinxue Realm have opposing climates and attributes, they are closely adjacent. The Yan Shen Realm was formed due to an ancient flame vein. Because of this flame vein, the density and activity of fire elements in the Yan Shen Realm are extremely high, and the temperature far exceeds what ordinary people can endure. However, it is a paradise for those who inherit fire bloodlines, fire-type profound beasts, and those who cultivate fire-type profound arts."
"The core area of the flame vein is a vast sea of fire spanning nearly a million li, known as the 'Burial God Fire Prison'."
Burial God Fire Prison? Yun Che's brow twitched... Why did that name sound vaguely familiar?
"The flame vein of the Yan Shen Realm, as well as the Burial God Fire Prison born from it, existed before the Yan Shen Realm took shape—remnants from the ancient Age of Gods. The people of the Yan Shen Realm regard the flame vein and the Burial God Fire Prison with supreme reverence. At the same time, over countless years, they have never ceased exploring the Burial God Fire Prison. They have always believed that at the bottom of the Burial God Fire Prison lies some divine miracle that could transform the Yan Shen Realm. However, the Burial God Fire Prison is a relic from the Age of Gods, utterly unconquerable by mortal bodies. Even the three great sect masters of the Yan Shen Realm throughout history have never reached its bottom."
"Three great sect masters?" Yun Che questioned. "Then what about the Realm King?"
"The Yan Shen Realm has never had a Realm King," Mu Xiaolan said with a disdainful pout. "They set their own rule: whoever can reach the bottom of the Burial God Fire Prison becomes the Realm King of the Yan Shen Realm. And so, for hundreds of thousands of years, the Yan Shen Realm has never had a Realm King. As a result, they often fight among themselves over major decisions. Hmph, serves them right."
"Oh... It sounds like they have an almost religious obsession with conquering the Burial God Fire Prison," Yun Che said, tapping his chin. To go hundreds of thousands of years without a Realm King rather than abandon that rule—that was indeed a deep obsession. "So what about this flood dragon? What's its story?"
"It is an ancient flood dragon that lives within the Burial God Fire Prison!"
"Ancient?" Those two words made Yun Che's spirit jolt, and he suddenly realized something.
"The earliest records of this ancient flood dragon in the Yan Shen Realm can be traced back six hundred thousand years. That means it has lived for at least six hundred thousand years! A flood dragon that has lived for over six hundred thousand years—one can imagine that even a single whisker would be a supreme treasure rare in a hundred generations. If they could hunt it down, the gains would be staggeringly immense."
"I see." Yun Che slowly nodded.
"It seems you already have a general understanding?" Mu Bingyun turned her head back.
"Mm," Yun Che nodded. "To have a lifespan exceeding six hundred thousand years, this flood dragon must be incredibly powerful. Even if the entire Yan Shen Realm pooled its strength, it couldn't hunt it. Moreover, since the people of the Yan Shen Realm all cultivate fire-type profound arts, and this ancient flood dragon lives in the Burial God Fire Prison, it can only be a flame dragon. While the Yan Shen Realm has a great advantage in resisting its attacks, their flame power would also be greatly diminished against an ancient flood dragon."
"The most effective way to deal with such a flame-attributed creature is naturally ice-type power. So the Yan Shen Realm wants to borrow the strength of the Yinxue Realm."
Mu Bingyun smiled faintly. "You are indeed very clever."
"But," Yun Che furrowed his brow, "since that ancient flood dragon lives in the Burial God Fire Prison, if it encounters danger, can't it just dive back into it?"
"You are correct. Inside the Burial God Fire Prison, it is absolutely invincible," Mu Bingyun explained. "Normally, it almost never leaves the Burial God Fire Prison. But after all, it is a dragon. Every thousand years, it sheds its old scales and grows new ones. This once-a-millennium scale-shedding process requires it to leave the Burial God Fire Prison. And that is the only opportunity in a thousand years to hunt it."
"After realizing they could never succeed relying solely on their own strength, they began to think of borrowing power from the Yinxue Realm, promising to split the gains equally if the hunt succeeded."
At this point, Mu Bingyun seemed to recall something and let out a soft sigh.
"Hmph! Those despicable, shameless people actually have the nerve to come again!" Mu Xiaolan said indignantly. "Back then, Master and the Great Realm King kindly went to help the Yan Shen Realm, yet they... they... too despicable! I never expected them to be so thick-skinned. Since they dare to come to our Yinxue Realm this time, the Great Realm King will definitely teach them a good lesson."
Yun Che was thoughtful. The ancient flood dragon in the Burial God Fire Prison shed its scales once every thousand years. The people from the Yan Shen Realm were now coming to see the Yinxue Realm King, which meant its next scale-shedding was approaching—meaning the last one was a thousand years ago.
And Mu Bingyun had been poisoned with a deadly flame poison and fled to the Tian Xuan Continent a thousand years ago...
"Then, Fairy Mu, the flame poison you were afflicted with—was it from a thousand years ago, when you went to the Yan Shen Realm to help them hunt the ancient flood dragon and were betrayed?" Yun Che asked.
"Exactly!" Thinking of the suffering her master had endured over the years, Mu Xiaolan's face flushed red with anger all the way to her neck.
"It's a long story," Mu Bingyun said, her gaze distant.
Yun Che had always noticed that, regarding the flame poison she had suffered, during the time he had been purifying it for her, she had never shown too much hatred or resentment. Now that he asked, her eyes still lacked any color of fury—instead, they held an indescribable complexity.
In contrast, Mu Xiaolan, whenever she brought it up, was as furious as if she were recalling a blood enemy.
"After all, it was my older sister who severely injured his son first..." Mu Bingyun's voice was soft, as if speaking to herself.
Yun Che: "...?"
It sounded like the inside story was quite complicated... But as a little outsider who had nothing to do with it, it was still pretty exciting to hear.
As long as the gods fighting didn't affect us little mortals.
"That ancient flood dragon is extremely terrifying. Its breath is lethally poisonous, and its blood is highly lust-inducing—almost anything that touches it will die. It is incredibly dangerous." Mu Bingyun paused, then said, "The flame poison I suffered was actually the poison of the flood dragon's breath. However, despite the flood dragon's terror, it is not impossible to hunt successfully. Last time... if not for that accident, it might have succeeded. So this time, the people from the Yan Shen Realm coming back to us doesn't surprise me, nor should it surprise the Great Realm King. Moreover, the Great Realm King probably won't refuse, because the allure of an ancient flood dragon..."
Seeming to feel she had said too many unnecessary things, Mu Bingyun shook her head slightly. Ahead, massive palaces made of ice crystals were already close at hand. The cold here, as well as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, was more than twice as dense as in the Cold Snow City domain.
"We have arrived at the Ice Phoenix Palace. Let's go down."
Mu Bingyun slightly adjusted her hand gesture and brought Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan flying downward.
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