Chapter 308: Li Xian, the Wise Man of a Hundred Lifetimes

Unlike the splendor of the rest of the Dragon Palace, this grand hall seemed to exude an indescribable sense of ancient desolation—an aura of historical depth and weight. Its slightly mottled exterior appeared to tell a story that no one truly understood.

Above the palace hung a plaque, inscribed with bold, powerful characters imbued with an extraordinary charm—yet utterly unfamiliar.

“That is the ancient demon script, the first writing system between Heaven and Earth. It reads: Imperially Bestowed Dragon King’s Palace of Yingzhou in the East Sea. This palace has been passed down from ancient times—bestowed by the Demon Emperor before humans rose to power, when demons ruled the land.”

Li Xian sharply picked up on a clue: “There was already an imperial system in the ancient era?”

Ao Qingxue shook her head slightly. “It was different. Back then, it was a feudal system. The Demon Emperor resided at the center of Heaven and Earth, atop Mount Kunlun, and conferred authority to eighty-one demon kings and eighty-one sea dragon kings across the lands and seas.

Now, the human race uses an imperial system where all power is centralized under one monarch. But even this system of concentrating fate and power through an empire was actually developed and evolved from information left behind by the demon race.”

At this point, Ao Qingxue sighed softly. “Who would have thought that, millions of years later, it would be the weakest and most cowardly race—the humans—who would come to rule the world.”

As she spoke, Ao Qingxue pushed open the grand doors. Inside was a chaotic haze—nothing could be seen clearly. Li Xian followed her through the doorway, and suddenly, the scene before him shifted. A complete, vibrant world unfolded before his eyes.

Li Xian was astonished. As he looked around, he realized he was now surrounded by a vast blue sea and sky, standing on a lush, undulating island with waterfalls cascading from its cliffs. But this island wasn’t floating on water—it was suspended in mid-air.

The waterfalls plunged thousands of feet, crashing into the sea below and sending up waves a hundred feet high. Beneath the waves, countless massive black shadows lurked. Each shadow radiated a mighty presence—filled with unwillingness and helplessness—but lacking vitality and spirit.

In this place, Li Xian felt both oppressed and insignificant.

Most critically, a heavy pressure seemed to permeate the air, preventing Li Xian—despite being a formidable cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage—from taking flight.

Ao Qingxue’s voice drifted in, tinged with indescribable sorrow: “This is a cave estate. In ancient times, powerful demon gods could refine a pocket realm into a cave estate. This is the true Dragon King’s Palace.

Those black shadows below are the remains of dragons from generations past. The dragon race’s essence is so potent that, to prevent the remains from being desecrated by outsiders, they had to be preserved here.”

Li Xian looked below, his emotions surging.

Ao Qingxue continued leading Li Xian forward. After turning a mountain peak, they came upon a majestic structure. What a structure it was—carved directly into the mountain, a true palace hewn from the rock. Inside, three colossal divine dragons lay sleeping. But these dragons were covered in wounds; even their horns were broken, and some parts of their scales were missing, with blood continuously dripping from their bodies.

The three dragons were colored crimson-gold, golden-yellow, and silvery-white.

As if sensing the presence of an outsider, the crimson-gold dragon at the front suddenly opened its eyes—eyes larger than Li Xian himself, glowing with a dim, mysterious light. Just a glance from those eyes made Li Xian feel as if he were frozen solid, his very soul about to crystallize.

Powerful—unbearably powerful!

That glance came and went swiftly, seemingly just a casual look.

Ao Qingxue’s expression turned sorrowful. “Father, this is the Li Xian I told you about.”

Li Xian suppressed his shock, cupped his fists slightly in greeting—somewhat disrespectfully, his tone tinged with displeasure. “Greetings, Dragon King.”

The Dragon King, whose head was as massive as a hill, slowly lifted it. “You are Li Xian? You claim to be capable of providing sufficient liquid spiritual energy?”

The Dragon King’s haughty attitude annoyed Li Xian. “And why should I give it to you?”

Ao Qingxue frowned slightly, clearly uneasy about this first meeting between her father and Li Xian—it was completely unlike what she had imagined. Li Xian showed no respect to the Dragon King, and the Dragon King displayed no magnanimity.

A classic case of king meeting king.

Ao Qingxue could only remain on high alert, prepared to intervene if things turned bad.

The Dragon King was instantly enraged by Li Xian’s words. “I named you the Wise King of Yingzhou Dragon Palace. What more do you want?!”

Li Xian shot back, “How about this—I appoint you as a land-based Dragon King under the Tang Kingdom (under Li Yulong), and you hand over your Dragon Palace. How does that sound?”

As Li Xian spoke with the Dragon King, the other two dragons also awoke, staring blankly at the bizarre exchange. What kind of scene was this?

Rage flickered in the Dragon King’s eyes—real flames of fury, golden-red fire burning within both of his massive eyes. “You little brat—do you have any idea how many benefits come with being the Wise King of the Yingzhou Dragon Palace?!”

Li Xian sneered. “Do I get ten tons of liquid spiritual energy a day? Or an endless supply of rare metals, spirit pills, and elixirs?”

“Hmmph~~~” The Dragon King was fuming, glaring furiously at Li Xian.

“What, angry now?” Li Xian crackled. “In the Immortal Realm, the greatest benefit is related to cultivation. If it can’t support cultivation, all other so-called advantages are just illusions. They’re useless.”

The Dragon King’s burning eyes flared even wider. “As the Wise King of the Dragon Palace, you’d be free to roam the entire East Sea of Yingzhou. What more do you want? Don’t be too greedy!”

Li Xian laughed coldly. “Perhaps if I allied with the Ice Dragon King of the northern White Sea, I could roam the East Sea of Yingzhou just the same.”

“You dare?!” The Dragon King exploded in rage. Flames nearly burst from his eyes, and a murderous aura began to envelop Li Xian.

Ao Qingxue quickly stepped between them, her voice pleading. “Father, can’t we all just talk calmly? Please… for my sake.”

After speaking, she turned to look at Li Xian again. “Li Xian, the Emperor Father’s soul has suffered damage, so please… don’t take it to heart.”

There’s no necessary connection between soul injury and an arrogant disposition, right? Li Xian understood very well in his heart—this was just the Dragon King trying to assert dominance. To put it plainly, a clash between the two of them was perfectly normal; it was the inevitable result of a “king meeting a king”—in fact, it was a kind of test.

With Ao Qingxue acting as mediator, the fire in Li Xian’s heart was temporarily extinguished. Looking at the Dragon King, he took the initiative to speak: “Dragon King, I believe that right now what you need is sufficient spiritual energy to heal your injuries, or even to help you progress in cultivation.”

“But let me say the ugly words first—we must be cautious before acting noble. To heal the Dragon King’s injuries, I’m afraid a small amount of liquid spiritual energy won’t do. It may require hundreds or even thousands of tons of liquid spiritual energy. And this will inevitably affect the development of Anyang.”

“What’s more, helping you may bring the risk of annihilation to Anyang—this is something we all understand well.

Besides, between a man and a dragon, there’s no such thing as acting out of pure righteousness.

What does the Dragon King think?”

The Dragon King looked down at Li Xian, his voice echoing through the heavens and earth: “What do you want?”

Li Xian’s eyes were bright and resolute:
“A true ally.
An ally who will never regret it, even unto death.
An ally I can entrust my life to.
An ally who will support me through thick and thin!”

“A blood oath alliance—together, we honor heaven and earth.”

Uh…

Li Xian’s terms left all the dragons present dumbfounded. That’s it? Actually, from the Dragon King’s perspective, he thought Li Xian would seize the opportunity to demand a political marriage or other outrageous things—maybe even a whole bunch of arrogant requests.

The Dragon King asked in a daze, “Just that?”

You could say Li Xian’s demand was still a bit much, but considering the situation, it was actually quite reasonable—generous, even. Li Xian was offering to help the Dragon King’s Eastern Sea Palace of Yingzhou, despite possibly bringing about disaster upon himself.

 And yet, at this moment, Li Xian still wanted to form an alliance that was “eternal and unregretful, a bond of life and death”— It seemed… a bit foolish. The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace of Yingzhou already looked like it was on the verge of collapse.

At a time like this, for Li Xian to make such a request was practically like being “a benevolent and magnanimous saint of a hundred generations.”

Ao Qingxue looked at Li Xian— The sorrow in her eyes had vanished, and in its place, a glimmer of gratitude shone through.

The Dragon King looked at Li Xian, waiting for him to confirm… Was this a pie falling from the sky?

The two dragons beside him also stared at Li Xian, blinking their massive but somewhat dull eyes—clearly confused.

“That’s all!” Li Xian nodded firmly.

The Dragon King looked at Li Xian for a long while, as if trying to confirm his sincerity. At last, he finally nodded his enormous dragon head. “Very well. I agree. Let Xiaoxue (Ao Qingxue) take charge of this matter for now. Once everything is ready, this old dragon will come forth.”

Li Xian finally smiled. “In three days, I’ll deliver 500 tons of liquid spiritual energy to you. Please have the Dragon Palace ready to receive it.”