He and It Chapter 219: Inquire Here (47)

Chapter 219: Inquire Here (47)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

The journey had been exceptionally long.

Yan Huan moved back and forth across the world sea, heavily injured with his vision blurred, as he glided past one colorful floating bubble after another. The Dragon God almost puzzledly sniffed the air. 

“It was nearby,” he emitted a deep dragon’s roar. “But the anchor point’s location has been flickering in and out of visibility, as if it’s hidden in a mist…”

Was that a sign? Liu Fuguang looked around, and a vague and close-to-anxious emotion surfaced in his heart. With the shattering of three anchor points, had Yan Huan grown weaker to the point where he couldn’t even determine the coordinates anymore?

To mask that emotion, he had quietly said, “I’ll take a look too.”

His pure and benevolent energy balanced the Supreme Evil’s divine power, which finally dispersed the gloom in the world sea and allowed them to see the dark and hidden star.

“Alright, over there,” Liu Fuguang sighed with relief. “Let’s go quickly.”

The moment they entered the world, Yan Huan’s dragon body shuddered strangely and stalled while still high in the air.

“What’s wrong?” Liu Fuguang had asked.

Yan Huan took a deep breath, locked it firmly within his body and didn’t exhale for a long time.

As he stood in the vast sky, Liu Fuguang gazed downward.

It was indeed a strange world. The entire world lived under what seemed like an eternal rain, with seawater covering most of the celestial surface. Only a winding, intermittent land emerged from the water, like the backbone of a giant beast, that supported the home of all living things.

“Do you sense anything?” Yan Huan had asked.

Liu Fuguang frowned, and released his spiritual sense to scan the surrounding space. He said uncertainly, “Hmm…some resentment? The celestial meridian was filled with a heavy atmosphere of hatred, and I had also heard crying…”

He carefully sorted through what he found and deliberated, “The crying was from the ocean, the mud, and the mortal world, and there was another, a…”

This puzzle was Yan Huan’s question.

Liu Fuguang was unable to describe it, but there was indeed an indescribable aura around, that encircled and surrounded them from all directions, as familiar as a second skin, which gave him a sense of déjà vu.

It had felt…real and solid, as if it were a constant in life, like the ubiquitous air.

He hadn’t wanted to say it, but it had smelled like a place he had lived in for a long time. However, compared to his true home, there had been a subtle difference.

“I feel…” Liu Fuguang almost said, “like this is home.”

“—Dragon Qi.” Yan Huan had gravely interrupted him. “It’s lingering Dragon Qi. This is a dragon’s lair.”

Liu Fuguang, “…”

Liu Fuguang choked on terror.

Yan Huan slowly circled and patrolled in the sky. It was a subtle dance, he was rarely ever that cautious. The beastly nature of the dragon was overriding his inherently malevolent traits, and the instincts pulsating in his blood caused him to approach another dragon’s lair with care.

“Young, very young,” Yan Huan murmured. “A juvenile dragon, yet filled with resentment. Where did it come from?”

After a while, Liu Fuguang found his voice again and calmly said, “I remember that you were the last dragon.”

“The last Dragon God,” Yan Huan responded. “The Emperor of Man and the Eleven Dragon Lords had died. I was indeed their only successor, but…”

He hesitated, “I vaguely remember that during the savage era when the Eleven Dragon Lords wielded great power, dragons roamed the heavens and the earth, and dragon offspring were spread across the three thousand worlds. If that divine war didn’t take all the dragon progeny, there might still be a few dragon eggs that ended up scattered.”

He lowered his body, passed through the rain curtain and gradually approached the land.

“It has long-standing hatred and anger.” Yan Huan analyzed the aura of the dragon’s lair as he drew closer. “Betrayed and imprisoned by mundane beings. The land had been the prison shackling it. It cried, with its tears forming the endless sea. Perhaps it had wanted to drown the entire Mortal Realm in bitter waters.”

“What stopped it?” Liu Fuguang asked.

Yan Huan scented around, and unconsciously swished his tail. Besides the unfamiliar scent of his kind, the air was filled with Liu Fuguang’s scent – too fragrant, too sweet, which made him uncontrollably hot and distracted. “I…I don’t know. Perhaps the ones who had imprisoned it had some means of restraint?”

He needed to stop sniffing, but was unable to control himself. He wished he could bury his nose in Liu Fuguang’s neck. Distracted, Yan Huan said, “The dragon’s revenge was too strong to be erased. If it wanted the people of this world dead, it really wouldn’t have spared anyone…no matter who.”

While they were speaking, they already landed on the ground. Perhaps due to the surrounding seas and the narrow land, the shipbuilding industry of that world was highly developed. Various ships, ranging from as small as willow leaves to large as islands floated on the sea, so that it resembled an ever-changing human net.

“In the past,” Liu Fuguang made a vague gesture. “When you patrolled the sun, didn’t you notice this world?”

Yan Huan shook his head. “It’s strange. Indeed I never discovered this place.”

The two donned disguises and illusions before they headed to the bustling port city to investigate.

After some inquiries, Liu Fuguang learned that although that world had hundreds of scattered maritime nations, there was only one organization, known as the “Tian Shu Yumen,” that held powers beyond the mortal realm.

“Why?” Liu Fuguang asked. “Why do Tian Shu Yumen have such privileges?”

Under the influence of the illusion, the man before them didn’t seem at all bothered by Liu Fuguang’s question. He still answered amicably, “The ancestor of the shamans was born in Yu Men, and Tian Shu Yumen was a sanctuary he had constructed. The descendants of the ancestor still followed his will, suppressing the malevolent dragon beneath the sea to ensure the peace of all beings and the persistence of the land.”

Liu Fuguang and Yan Huan exchanged glances, and saw expressions of surprise on each other’s faces.

The mention of “Yumen” undoubtedly referred to Ling Mountain of the Great Wilderness, where the ten shamans – Wu Xian, Wu Jian, Wu Ji, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, and Wu Luo – were born. Those shamans were born with the knowledge of all herbs, the ability to discern yin and yang, to consult spirits, and knew many extraordinary matters from ancient times to the present.

However, the ten shamans were even older than Yan Huan. When they were born, heaven and earth had not yet fully separated, and humans, beasts, and gods had still maintained marital relations. If Tian Shu Yumen was constructed by one of those shamans, how long had that little dragon been imprisoned?

“What was the ancestor’s name? Tell me,” Yan Huan frowned. He felt a deep displeasure that made him want to grasp something then slowly squeeze and crush it until it could no longer moan or make a sound of pain, then turn it into mush that flowed through his fingers.

As the Supreme Evil, he wanted to laugh at such torment because imprisoning a true dragon from the beginning of creation until now was an impressive jest. Yet, the part of him that was a Dragon God felt seriously affronted.

What were the ten shamans compared to…? Who gave you the courage to lay your hands on a dragon?

Even with the illusion, the man’s pupils trembled instantly, his color drained, and his face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

“Wu, Wu Luo…” the man stuttered. “The ancestor’s name is Wu Luo…”

Liu Fuguang lightly placed his fingers on Yan Huan’s sleeve and whispered. “That was the youngest of the shamans.”

His actions and words effectively calmed the Dragon God’s anger. Liu Fuguang turned to the man and continued, “And then, how does Tian Shu Yumen suppress the malevolent dragon beneath the sea?”

“On Dragon Sacrifice Day,” the man timidly gestured. “In twenty days, Dragon Sacrifice Day will arrive. At that time, the dragon will awaken in anger, and the great shaman of Yumen will light incense, hold a ceremony, and sing ancient songs to make the dragon sleep. Once the dragon sleeps, the rain…”

He pointed to the sky, “The rain will stop, and we can live well again without worrying about being drowned by the sea.”

“Is that all?” Liu Fuguang asked skeptically. “Just singing, nothing else?”

The man hurriedly added, “There would also be livestock! Sacrificial animals – cattle, sheep, pigs – burned in jade cauldrons and bowls, with the smoke rising to the sky, and the ashes buried in the earth…”

Liu Fuguang waved his hand, and signalled that it wasn’t necessary to say more.

Jade artifacts, sacrificial animals, and fire were all part of ancient and primitive sacrificial rites, pristine and beyond reproach. The heavenly way would accept such traditional ceremonial offerings with ease. Conversely, if any bloody or unnatural elements were involved, the heavens would impose doubled punishments on the ritual.

Liu Fuguang originally thought that shamans might use brutal methods to forcefully suppress the dragon buried deep beneath the sea. However, it seemed that the Dragon Sacrifice Day had been observed for so long without any interference from the heavens, which indicated that there was nothing wrong with the process.

Sparing the terrified locals, they decided to visit the Tian Shu Yumen directly.

“By the way, it seems this world has no practitioners of cultivation?” Liu Fuguang mused. “I haven’t sensed their power.”

Yan Huan replied solemnly, “The shamans and their successors dominate this world. Their system is different, and cultivators would find it difficult to adapt here and make any significant impact.”

The two had concealed their divine light and infiltrated the secret place known as Tian Shu Yumen. They saw shamans of all shapes who were bustling about, preparing for the upcoming Dragon Sacrifice Day less than a month away. There were no grand palaces or accumulated treasures here, only lush greenery, deep forests, vibrant flowers. The stone walls entwined with delicate vines, while mist flowed between towering pines and cypress, and distant mountain springs murmured with silver waterfalls that cascaded from the heavens.

The shamans had a close affinity with nature and were accustomed to living alongside wild beasts. A brightly colored tiger calmly walked by, as its padded feet stepped on the moss-covered stone path so quietly that it didn’t disturb the butterflies and insects that rested on the leaves.

Yan Huan looked down on all of it with disdain, while Liu Fuguang’s attention was drawn to a tall statue. The figure depicted was a man leaning on a staff, his tall body adorned with animal skins, and snakes in his ears and long flowing hair. However, his face was blurred and showed signs of the weathering of time.

“Wu Luo,” Liu Fuguang curiously asked. “What did he look like?”

Yan Huan had cast an unhappy glance at the statue of Wu Luo, and suddenly, an alarm had gone off in his mind.

He puffed out his broad chest, shook the golden rings in his ears, while his dragon horns sparkled brightly, so they seemed to invite touch. After he searched his mind for Wu Luo, he found he had no impression of him and concluded, “Ugly.”

He had thought for another moment and added, “Very ugly. You know, gods of ancient times tended to look rather…boorish. They were probably beast-faced with human bodies, with green eyes and tusks. The ten shamans all looked quite similar.”

Liu Fuguang gave him a puzzled look, then turned his attention to something behind him.

“Wait…” He absentmindedly brushed aside a Yan Huan who was spreading his wings and walked toward the back. “What is this?”

When Yan Huan turned around, he found his beloved was tracing a painting on the stone wall with his fingertips. Though annoyed at first, he reconsidered and decided that Liu Fuguang’s curiosity about Wu Luo was a success of its own kind.

He followed him and discovered that the stone wall depicted a dragon in a faded and unclear manner. It seemed to be a narrative mural, but with time, many colors and details were lost. The faint image of a dragon soaring in the sky was barely visible, with its horns raised high and its wings blocking out the sun.

The dark yellow color at the center indicated the dragon’s noble status, one far surpassing that of ordinary dragons. Coupled with the pair of wings on its back…

Yan Huan’s brow furrowed deeply.

“Yinglong,” he said. “The little offspring of the Li family ended up here.”

Liu Fuguang was astonished. “Yinglong? Isn’t that a dragon deity from ancient times? You recognize him?” ¹

Yan Huan sneered. “He’s much older than I am. By the time the Divine War broke out, he had long since vanished. I didn’t expect that he left behind an offspring struggling in the three thousand worlds…Fate can be incredibly cruel.”

 

Liu Fuguang murmured, “So this is indeed the descendant of Yinglong.”