Strange—why were there suddenly so many powerful immortal senses sweeping back and forth nearby?
On the coast of the Mar del Este, along the eastern edge of the Continente Jambu del Sur, on a coastal hill overlooking the sea.
In a fishing village made up of a few dozen simple stone houses, Li Changshou—in the form of a cold-faced old Daoist—was holding a bowl of hot water brought by several elderly women, drinking while gazing out at the ocean.
He had just given away some talismans in the village, earning the warm gratitude of the villagers. He used this as cover to make his activities along the eastern coast seem more reasonable.
Many wandering cultivators used this method to earn a bit of fortune and merit.
But there was a principle Li Changshou had understood long ago.
Help the good, receive good karmic fruit; help the evil, receive evil karmic fruit.
He couldn't be sure whether the talismans he distributed would help good people or evil people. So the safest approach was to freely hand out some deliberately misdrawn "Pillow Sleep Aid Talismans" that had no real effect—this way, he wouldn't accumulate any karma.
In the distance on the sea, the shadow of an ancient dragon glided past, quickly vanishing into the clouds.
*'They really are dragons. They seem to be searching for something.'*
He shouldn't venture out to sea right now, lest he run into these dragon clan members.
So Li Changshou lived rough, camping under the open sky, walking along the coast from north to south, observing mortal life and gathering small bits of insight from it.
Half a month later, Li Changshou had walked over a thousand li to the south and finally confirmed that those dragon clan experts had left the waters they had been repeatedly searching.
After some thought, he still decided not to change his original plan—he would undergo his Tribulation in these waters.
He waited another two months before finally confirming that the area within several hundred li was completely peaceful.
He chose a night, quietly used the Técnica de Transformación Ilusoria to become a fish of moderate size, and slipped into the somewhat warm seawater.
Using Escape por Agua, he crept toward the small islands he had seen on the fishermen's sea charts.
The tribulation site couldn't be too far from the mortal world.
The mortal world was his emergency refuge. If he were attacked before or after the Tribulation, he could immediately hide among the vast human population.
But the tribulation site also couldn't be too close to the mortal world.
The turbid qi of the mortal world was mixed and could corrupt a cultivator's Dao body and primordial soul. If he successfully underwent the Tribulation and ascended as an immortal, he would naturally absorb the spiritual qi between heaven and earth.
Absorbing some turbid qi from the mortal world wouldn't be catastrophic, but it would be somewhat inelegant.
—His master's Tribulation hadn't been complete, so the qi absorption phase had been very brief.
What had the dragon clan been searching for two months ago?
Li Changshou was somewhat curious now.
What person or treasure could have provoked them into such a large-scale search, sweeping back and forth along the edge of the Mar del Este?
He hadn't been able to see those dragon clan experts directly, but their auras had been completely unmasked—he could feel them from hundreds or even thousands of li away...
Never mind. It had nothing to do with him.
He would quietly undergo the Tribulation, then find a place to cultivate for two or three years to stabilize his Dao level, conceal his aura, improve his Turtle Breathing Technique, and return to the sect to continue his peaceful life as a young-generation disciple of the Secta Du Xian.
He was already finding it increasingly difficult to suppress his realm—he could enter the ninth stage of Return to the Dao at any moment.
Moving carefully through the seawater, Li Changshou slowly approached the cluster of small islands, each several hundred mu in area, examining each one carefully but not finding a place that satisfied him.
It wasn't that these islands lacked hiding spots—their structure was actually somewhat complex, with too many potential hiding places, which could invite thorough investigation.
Not an ideal closed cultivation tribulation site.
Li Changshou considered, then continued searching southward, since those dragon clan experts two or three months ago had moved from south to north...
Swim faster, search slower. He kept his mind at ease, looking for the place meant for him.
In the latter half of the night, Li Changshou's eyes suddenly lit up. His spiritual sense had discovered a decent little island.
The island was generally ring-shaped—essentially several small hills jutting above the sea surface. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed the layout at a glance; it wouldn't invite close inspection by others.
The fish he had transformed into drew closer to the island. Li Changshou grew increasingly satisfied. He used the Escape por Agua technique to circle the island from a distance more than a dozen times before deciding to move in for a closer look.
Still more than ten li away...
Huh? The ocean current seemed a bit off.
Li Changshou spotted a small whirlpool in the water. Using his spiritual sense to check inch by inch, he quickly discovered that there was an extremely hidden underwater cave beneath this spot.
The cave was quite narrow, with an overall upward-sloping structure connecting to a small pool somewhere on the island...
*'Excellent. A good spot, and a natural escape route!'*
Li Changshou grew more satisfied the longer he looked.
Decision made—this was the place!
......
*'You want to capture this prince and bring him back? Dream on!'*
Ao Yi had transformed into human form, pressing his body against the cold, hard rock wall, carefully probing the situation within three li of the island while secretly operating the dragon clan's secret technique, the Hidden Dragon Art.
He knew he couldn't extend his spiritual sense too far, or he'd be extremely easy to detect...
But because of this, he couldn't determine whether his clansmen were still searching in this area.
No matter—he had plenty of patience. Even if he had been hiding here for three months already, he could keep waiting.
For the pursuit of a dragon's life. For the blood flowing in his veins. For his responsibility as prince of the dragon clan!
Once he made it ashore and left the Dragon Palace's sphere of influence, the situation would turn very much in his favor.
Ao Yi also felt somewhat helpless. He hadn't expected that the ones searching for him weren't those immortals on the island.
That Great Immortal Wuyun had actually informed the Dragon Palace directly, and the Palace had dispatched a large force of experts to block him from north to south!
That day, had Ao Yi not reacted in time—and had he not been creeping along underwater the whole time—he would have almost collided head-on with his own clansmen!
His luck had been decent. While hiding on the sea floor, he had followed the underwater terrain and quickly found this ring-shaped island, discovering this hidden crevice...
He hadn't expected that he'd actually managed to evade the search by his clansmen's experts.
*'Hmph. A hiding spot this perfect—only this prince could find it!'*
Ao Yi felt a surge of pride at the thought.
Suddenly, Ao Yi sensed danger approaching.
It wasn't that he had detected anything—this was a bloodline-born ability, capable of premonition.
Were they about to find him?
Ao Yi's heart clenched. He pressed closer to the rock wall and dared not move, his Hidden Dragon Art operating frantically.
At that moment, he could only curse his dragon ancestors for their excessive pride, for never developing sophisticated transformation and concealment techniques!
Suddenly, a human old Daoist appeared outside the cave and entered the crevice, heading toward Ao Yi's position.
Ao Yi immediately relaxed slightly, his brow furrowed and his gaze sharpening. The Second Prince of the Dragon clan had already made a decision, secretly preparing his strongest strike.
He'd ambush this old Daoist. The Daoist's aura wasn't strong, and he hadn't detected Ao Yi using the Hidden Dragon Art. One more step and he was dead!
Good immortals get bullied by immortals; good dragons get ridden by immortals!
That was a lesson a teacher had taught him during his egg education!
The old Daoist swam closer rapidly...
Ten zhang...
Eight zhang...
Five zhang...
Here he comes!
Ao Yi narrowed his eyes. When the old Daoist was barely three zhang away, he—who had been pressed flat against the rock wall—erupted violently, his body bursting with a flash of blue-green light!
In the frigid seawater, within the narrow crevice, a green dragon head suddenly burst forth, opening its enormous crocodile-like jaws without explanation, as if intending to swallow the cold-faced old Daoist Li Changshou in a single bite!
Innate divine ability: Heaven-Swallowing, Earth-Eating!
Li Changshou was clearly stunned for a moment!
But his reaction was incomparably swift—he almost instinctively dodged to the side, his left hand rapidly grabbing two porcelain bottles.
In the blink of an eye, the dragon head gleamed with blinding blue-green light in the seawater. Its jaws bit clean through Li Changshou's left arm, swallowing it in one gulp!
Li Changshou grunted, retreating hurriedly, his right hand rapidly forming seals.
Ao Yi's ferocious attack had been dodged, and he was somewhat surprised. He immediately dove downward in pursuit, but the opponent had already activated Escape por Agua—his body shot out of the underwater cave with a whoosh!
Can't let him escape!
Ao Yi's heart surged with urgency. He whipped his dragon tail and charged forward, but suddenly felt his vision blur...
What had he just swallowed?
Mid-charge, he hurriedly looked inward. In his stomach, he found a small "white paper" arm, two porcelain bottles that had been nearly dissolved by his divine ability, and two masses of medicinal power that had already quietly spread...
In an instant, his head grew heavy and his limbs light—he was drowsy and wanted to sleep!
Anesthetic!?
What a potent anesthetic!
Ao Yi realized he had been tricked. The bloodline power within his dragon body erupted, and his forehead flickered with blue-green light.
In such a perilous situation, if he fell unconscious, he would certainly die. He had to kill that armless old Daoist before the two medicinal forces fully took effect!
Charge!
Whoosh—
The water ahead opened up. The green dragon had burst out of the crevice.
To counter the spreading medicine, Ao Yi instantly inflated his body, but in that same moment, he saw—standing motionless in the dark water ahead—the cold-faced old Daoist...
He opened his dragon mouth and lunged forward!
In the surrounding water, rhombus-shaped dark ice appeared, flames burning within, all shooting toward the old Daoist simultaneously!
His arm was healed? No—it wasn't the same person!
Ao Yi's increasingly massive dragon head dipped. The dizziness intensified, his thoughts becoming extremely sluggish, filling him with anxiety.
At the same time, Ao Yi sensed more of the same medicinal power converging from the seawater in all directions, penetrating every part of his body and directly corroding his dragon soul!
Simultaneously, from behind the old Daoist, several identical figures suddenly emerged, each holding an opened porcelain bottle!
They all activated Escape por Agua simultaneously. Six bodies scattered rapidly through the seawater, easily evading Ao Yi's dragon body, which was charging forward on momentum.
Six bottles of Polvo Debilitador de Inmortales, plus one super-grade Polvo Debilitador de Inmortales...
Ao Yi managed to stabilize himself in the water, his dragon eyes clouded and dull, his dragon body—several dozen zhang long—swaying and tottering, but he was about to rush toward the surface...
As if reading Ao Yi's thoughts, the six figures had already reconvened above him.
The twelve sleeves of these paper clone bodies billowed in the seawater. Treasure pouches they carried opened, and talismans flew out rapidly, weaving together in the water to form a great net!
One hundred and eight talismans, like one hundred and eight small formation bases, with mana flowing across them, rapidly drawing in the water-attribute spiritual qi from the surrounding seawater.
Talisman Formation: Water Element Heaven-Shock Seal!
In the blink of an eye, a great square seal a hundred zhang in diameter condensed and smashed down upon the green dragon charging from below!
The seal's radiance surged around it, carrying the force of a mountain collapse. Since it was formed entirely of spiritual qi, it completely ignored the resistance of the water.
Below, the green dragon reared its head and roared, its mane bristling, its claws extended, charging straight toward the seal with an unstoppable force!
At this moment, Ao Yi no longer had the mental capacity to think. The intense dizziness made it impossible to judge further. All that remained in his heart was a fierce will to fight and that unyielding dragon heart!
I am Ao Yi, Second Prince of the Dragon Palace of the Mar del Este!
"ROAAAAR—"
The green dragon roared. The great seal descended!
A shockwave visibly exploded through the water!
Ten li of ocean surface surged with towering waves, and the nearby islands trembled continuously!
Look again!
The great seal shattered with a boom—but the green dragon's forehead was unharmed!
However, the dragon's long, elegant eyes slowly closed, and its massive body, as if drained of all strength, sank toward the seabed a hundred zhang below...
*'Even a dragon that hasn't yet become immortal is this tough?'*
Three hundred zhang away, in a crevice on the ocean floor, Li Changshou frowned repeatedly, his spiritual sense monitoring the thirty li around him.
Combat methods underwater were naturally different from those on land, which had forced him to use some mana-consuming "tricks."
It was time to test the effects of the Llama Verdadera de las Tres Esencias.
The talisman formation from before had been all show.
Li Changshou narrowed his eyes, casually pulled six small silver flying swords from his sleeve, and threw them toward his paper clone bodies.
The six flying swords trailed wisps of white light, instantly transforming into three-chi-long treasure swords, caught firmly by the six paper clone bodies.
Li Changshou spread the five fingers of his left hand. The six paper clones brandished their swords, their forms crisscrossing as they deployed a hexagram sword formation.
He pressed his left hand downward. The six paper clones, heads down and feet up, operated the sword formation as they spiraled down toward the green dragon below. On each of the six immortal swords, a column of Llama Verdadera de las Tres Esencias ignited simultaneously!
The surrounding seawater might as well have not existed—the power of the Llama Verdadera de las Tres Esencias was completely unaffected!
Suddenly...
Li Changshou felt a wave of helplessness as the six True Flame Immortal Swords—about to pierce the green dragon's skin—abruptly halted.
Not because Li Changshou had developed any mercy.
That little dragon had just attacked ruthlessly, aiming to kill him. His counterattack and killing the dragon would have been perfectly reasonable.
Settle the karma right here, then calmly slip away. Change to the edge of the Southern Sea to undergo the Tribulation, succeed, and return to the sect... This was the plan Li Changshou had formulated the instant the little dragon had ambushed him.
But behind the green dragon, a flashing purple triangular scale had appeared. On it were inscribed secret runes and methods that Li Changshou had seen in ancient texts.
If he killed this dragon, his primordial soul would immediately be locked by the dragon clan's secret technique, and he would face endless pursuit by the dragon clan.
According to dragon clan rules, seeing this purple scale flash and then stopping one's attack meant the attacker would not only not be pursued, but could even receive a gift of gratitude from the Dragon Palace...
The information recorded in that ancient text had been released by the Dragon Palace itself—it was equivalent to giving their important young dragons one more chance at survival. This had been verified several times since ancient times and was not a lie.
Who was this little dragon? His identity must be noble.
Eighty percent chance, this was the person those dragon clan experts were searching for.
Li Changshou shook his head. The six paper clone bodies quickly returned, beginning to search for any traces he might have left behind.
But just as Li Changshou was tidying up the battlefield to leave, he glanced down once more at the Second Prince of the Dragon Palace of the Mar del Este, who had at some point transformed back into human form and was now sound asleep.
It was actually him?
Why was he here?
Those dragon clan experts had been searching from south to north...
Combining this with the fact that this little dragon had deliberately lost to him last time...
Could his deduction from that day have been correct? This little Second Prince had indeed intended to humiliate the dragon clan in reverse during the Demon Extermination Assembly, but had instead "won" against Li Changshou, defeating his own scheme?
Afterward... could he have used the excuse of visiting a Sage's sect to continue provoking the dragon clan's nerves?
And in the end, this fellow was sent to the Jie teachings to become a disciple... and had fled here?
This really might be a serialized drama!
If Ao Yi had fled from the south and appeared here, judging from his route, he was clearly heading toward Tierra Divina Central or the Eastern Prosperity Continent. His target might even be to flee to the Secta Du Xian...
Li Changshou narrowed his eyes.
If this little thing actually made it to the Secta Du Xian, the sect's most likely response would be to first pacify this dragon prince, then contact the Dragon Palace to inquire about the matter. In the end, it could turn into quite a commotion.
Never mind. The Secta Du Xian was his sect after all, and this little dragon had dragon clan secret protections and couldn't be directly killed...
What a bother.
This time he had suffered a real loss—so much anesthetic used, and he couldn't even collect any dragon blood.
Li Changshou released a few more paper clones and took out the Encanto de la Bella essence he had previously refined for his Little Junior Aunt.
Moments later, a bamboo raft floated gently on the sea surface.
Ao Yi, reeking of alcohol, lay on the bamboo raft, a faint purple glow flickering across his body.
A peaceful smile played at the corners of Ao Yi's lips. He held a "wine jug" made of shells and drifted on the current toward the deep northern sea.
Having been force-fed more than twenty bottles of Encanto de la Bella essence, he was expected to sleep for several dozen days.
As for Ao Yi's entire body, it had been thoroughly washed dozens of times over, with not a trace of any foreign aura remaining...
Even the tiny bits of paper that Ao Yi had swallowed and that his dragon stomach couldn't digest had been extracted by Li Changshou using paper clones.
As for the Dragon Palace's gift of gratitude, Li Changshou had absolutely no interest in it. He had already fled southward.