Translated by Aphelios of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: KarateChopMonkey
Xiaoshen didn’t know what hugging another pipa meant, but it didn’t matter. He said with distaste, “Don’t call me husband!”
It was this guy who put the spirit bracelets on him in an attempt to control him as soon as he woke up from his hibernation. Because of this, he couldn’t even tell others that he was a dragon for a long while, and was even mistaken for a wangba. 1
Bai Cangnian said bitterly, “But dear husband, you took me as your bride first and even asked me how thick I was. It was a pity that we were interrupted and separated later on, which gave that Shang Jiyu an opening. Quite unfortunate.”
Xiaoshen’s face darkened further. This was his dark past; to have been cheated by this bastard. “Stop pretending. You knew I was a dragon from the get go. So you are well aware of whether or not you’re really my bride.”
From the very beginning, Bai Cangnian – no, even this name was probably fake – knew he was a dragon, and was specifically aiming to control him, a dragon. How dare he?!
Bai Cangnian smiled further, and continued to shamelessly call Xiaoshen ‘husband’. ”Of course it counts. Husband has hid your powers quite well as well, deceiving me for so long… When exactly did you figure it out, that it was me?”
Xiaoshen let out a condescending laugh.
When Xiaoshen was cultivating the crafts of illusions back in the days, there were some dragons who thought that illusions were merely an inconsequential side branch of the water cultivation, and simply trifle spells to play around once in a while. Once they reached the realms, they wouldn’t be able to make any further progress. Like its name, illusion were merely fantasy and spells. It was better to put all your energy on the right path and not waste your talents.
However, Xiaoshen didn’t pay them any mind. He wanted to study the illusionary crafts, and he was able to comprehend the right path of the water cultivation in the end anyway, just like the source of the world’s water. It was up to the student to learn, change, and grow.
Even ordinary water cultivators wouldn’t spend time on the illusionary crafts, thus how could Bai Cangnian have anticipated that Xiaoshen, a dragon, gained comprehension of the Dao path through illusions.
Perhaps Bai Cangnian thought his own illusions were meticulously cast…
But Xiaoshen saw through the cracks as soon as he laid eyes on him. While the historical annals were real, that man was most definitely not a white sea turtle!
——What’s more, Bai Cangnian had one huge flaw.
Even Shang Jiyu had once worried about Xiaoshen’s possible change of heart and would discard him for the heavens. It was because the dragon clan’s nature was as fluid as the unstable waters; there were too many precedents. Furthermore, Xiaoshen also cultivated illusions. Who can say for sure that his heart wouldn’t be as unrealistic as flowers reflected in a mirror or the shadows of the moon on water.
Back in the days when the clan rose to the heavens, countless dragons abandoned their lovers and sweethearts; that term’s white sea turtle was no exception. The white sea turtle was originally the lover of an obsidian dragon, yet that dragon didn’t hesitate to abandon a life of cultivation with his lover in the mortal realms for the heavens.
Therefore, it was impossible for a white sea turtle to assist the dragon clan again without any grudges.
It was difficult for those not involved to know these secrets of the dragon clan.
Knowing this, Xiaoshen, who had reached the path through illusions, had viewed Bai Cangnian with distrust and easily saw through the illusions, and after pondering over it carefully, he was able to recognize the familiar half of that bastard ex-wife’s face.
As for why Xiaoshen, who still deeply despised this treacherous ex-wife and had cursed his death many times, didn’t expose Bai Cangnian and beat him up on the spot, well, the reason was very simple: Gotta protect his property.
He held it in for so long, played along with Bai Cangnian’s act, and even watched as Daomi disgusted Bai Cangnian simply because he did not want to start the battle at Yuling. With their cultivation, if they fought it out in Yuling, there wouldn’t be a whole Yuling left.
The entire Yuling was the property of this Xiaoshen. His water was still buried somewhere in Yuling. Each and every piece of grass and wood destroyed was a loss for Xiaoshen. How can he be willing to start a huge fight there.
Xiaoshen was still pondering on how to have it both ways when luckily, the Emperor of Rong happened to send his invitation. Xiaoshen seized the opportunity and agreed as he feigned keen interest in the event. In reality, he could care less about some coronation ceremony and had only wanted to trick Bai Cangnian to leave Yuling.
However, it appeared that Bai Cangnian was not completely stupid and had already sensed that Xiaoshen saw through his farce.
Bai Cangnian knew he must have slipped up somehow when he saw Xiaoshen’s expression. Furthermore, it must have been a very simple mistake. He said regrettably, “Aye, a tiny lapse can lead to a huge mistake. Alas, it seems that this spirit refinement spell still couldn’t retain all the soul’s memories.”
Bai Cangnian didn’t shy away from what he did, including what he did to the real white sea turtle.
Although Xiaoshen had expected this. This “Bai Cangnian” had probably killed the real white sea turtle, acquired their memories and shell, and used those items to masquerade as the white sea turtle.
However, Xiaoshen was still extremely unhappy when the other party actually admitted to his actions. While the white sea turtle and the dragon clan did have some quarrels, in the end, he and his ancestors were still the dragon clan’s historians.
Two thin azure scales appeared faintly on Xiaoshen’s cheeks, making him look more fierce and cruel, “In this case, I can only send you to accompany the white sea turtle.”
Bai Cangnian looked at Xiaoshen with a smile and maintained the same relaxed posture as before, “That would be a bit difficult, dear husband. There’s no water here and it would still take some time before the Jiaos you called for in Beihai will arrive.”
Xiaoshen wasn’t surprised at this at all. Afterall, Bai Cangnian had already discovered that Xiaoshen was lying to him, thus it wasn’t strange for him to guess that Xiaoshen had called the Jiao clan to ambush him. “So, it was you who stole the Jiao pearl. The reverse flow of the East Pole Sea wasn’t a natural disaster either right?”
He already had his suspicions about the events in the East Pole. Bai Cangnian knew from the beginning that he was a dragon, which made Xiaoshen even more suspicious of the connection between the two. This “inverse” to that “inverse”. When the water clan reported that the Jiao pearl was stolen, he immediately thought of Yang Su and suspected that it was not an accidental occurrence. He had already harbored doubts. Since the Jiao clan was considered the closest in blood to the dragon clan, Xiaoshen boldly hypothesized that this was probably connected to Bai Cangnian as well. Afterall, Bai Cangnian had previously tried to bind him – a dragon. Though he failed, he nevertheless stole the Jiao pearl. What did he want to do? The white sea turtle’s blood connection to the dragon clan was even more concentrated. Did he want to use the white sea turtle and make his own “dragon”? However that didn’t work, so now Bai Cangnian was back to targeting him?
However, regardless of the many speculations Xiaoshen had in his heart, he feigned in front of Bai Cangnian.
He turned around and quietly sent a command out to the Jiaos for them to head directly to Beihai to reconvene with him instead of Yuling.
——So what if the Dragon King brought the water clans along to gang up and beat the crap out of his enemy? Even if this had nothing to do with Bai Cangnian.
Still, from this, it seemed that Bai Cangnian really was able to even reverse the East Pole Sea. Perhaps he could reverse the aura of the Jiao Pearl and interact with it as well; he was much stronger than Xiaoshen thought. No wonder he dared to scheme against the dragon clan so recklessly.
Now that he thought about it, if Xie Kurong didn’t follow Fang Cun’s last will and rushed to Wang Clan Pond when he did, which caused Bai Cangnian to have his misgivings, Xiaoshen would have been in danger and perhaps he would have already been Bai Cangnian’s dragon by now!
Bai Cangnian vaguely admitted, “Hmmm.”
Xiaoshen asked in seriousness, “Are you crazy?”
While it was a huge feat to reverse the East Pole, it was also an insane move. The eight poles affect all living beings in the world, Bai Cangnian himself included. What the heck was this? Self-harm? He was looking for death and wanted to bring the world down with him?
He didn’t know what Bai Cangnian was seeking, thus could only sincerely ask if he was crazy.
Bai Cangnian shook his head in seriousness, yet his expression was somewhat secretive, “Au contraire.”
The azure in Xiaoshen’s eyes deepened. He originally didn’t want to care for all of this. Frankly, he had already held in his urge to beat Bai Cangnian up when he first laid eyes on him. “Then it doesn’t matter. Screw it, I’ll just kill you.”
“There’s no need.” Bai Cangnian said with regret, “Your Highness still has another option – I’m also Your Highness’s Imperial Consort. If Your Highness does not betray me, I will not betray you either.”
Xiaoshen said with distaste, “You’re not! Don’t try to claim connections with me.”
Bai Cangnian’s expression deepened as he looked at Xiaoshen. It didn’t matter whether Xiaoshen is naive or slightly shrewd, in his heart, Xiaoshen was supposed to be his. Unlike others, he was not an ounce afraid of a real dragon’s powers and even leaned forward provocatively, closing the distance between him and Xiaoshen. He softly laughed, “Well… My dear husband should be afraid now. You’re alone.”
“He’s not alone.”
A cold and clear voice could be heard. Shang Jiyu appeared on the roof of the palace with his sword in hand.
Bai Cangnian’s smile turned cold as he looked up at Shang Jiyu. Shang Jiyu too looked toward him with an expression of pure frost; repressed turbulence was not enough to express his thirst for blood.
Bai Cangnian was well aware that this was Xiaoshen’s current imperial consort.
Shang Jiyu too knew that this was the “ex-wife” that he had been trying to find and kill.
It was hard to avoid the odd atmosphere between them when they met again in their current capacity.
Xiaoshen was pleased when he saw that Shang Jiyu came. He was just wondering how come Shang Jiyu didn’t realize what was going on yet. He took two steps back to distance himself from Bai Cangnian and said, “I’m not his husband. He sure has a thick skin!”
——There was no need to explain anything else. He had immediately gone and told Shang Jiyu about his suspicions when he first found out that something was off with Bai Cangnian. Xiaoshen didn’t remember how many times he had debated with two Shang Jiyus on the hundred different ways to chop up Bai Cangnian.
There was a bit of a problem now though. Although this was not Yuling, they were still in the Rong Country’s capital. This was a rare city in the mortal world, with over a million mortals nearby.
Bai Cangnian dusted his clothes and the words “morally corrupt” that Xiaoshen had forced onto his clothes disappeared without a trace as the robe returned to its previous glory. However, his tone of sarcasm was even heavier than before, “Yuling deteriorates day by day. The spirit of the Shanghe sword has not yet reached completion; it couldn’t even compare to the Longyin 2 Sword of the past.”
The first time they met, he had used Yu Zhao to passive-aggressively mock Shang Jiyu, and now he was even more unrestrained. Even Xiaoshen felt that this person was doing this on purpose. He always compared Shang Jiyu with Yu Zhao as if he knew that Shang Jiyu didn’t like Yu Zhao.
Shang Jiyu looked as if he didn’t want to waste another breath on Bai Cangnian. A splash of pride leaked out from his coldness as he said with disdain, “You are shameless. A mere turtledove trying to take over a magpie’s nest. 3 Die under my sword!”
After waiting for a while, the cultivator who kept watch outside the palace thought that it was about time the Dragon King had left and turned around and jumped over the palace walls to confirm and give his reports. However, he was met with three people standing in a face off – one with dragon horns on his head. He must be the Dragon King. The other two – one stood on the roof with a sword and another was near the Dragon King – was staring at each other.
At first glance, there was no sign of life or aura, and everything was as ordinary as a piece of wood or grass. No wonder he didn’t realize someone came.
In the very next second, the sword on the roof left its scabbard and its sword spirit immediately soared to the heavens like surging torrents with the ferocity of power able to sweep away the sun, moon, and stars!
The citizens inside and outside the Imperial City all saw a clear light rising to the heavens, and their knees buckled in awe and fear, however, moments later, the cheering became louder. They all thought it was another auspicious omen.
How can the power of the son of heaven not be feared.
The cultivator on the other hand was frightened to the point that his legs were shaking nonstop. At his level, the unexpected sight of the Shanhe sword flying out of its scabbard had already left a deep mark on his heart, even though the sword was not directed at him.
Furthermore, a thought quickly passed through the cultivator’s mind – they want to fight it out here??!
The anxiety was real yet not a single word left his mouth. The cultivator could only stare in worry.
The next moment, the man in the ink decorated robe sneered without any fear of the sword’s aura and flames suddenly spread from his entire body, as if he had put on a bright red robe. The surroundings seemed to have had their light absorbed by this flame and paled in comparison.
The cultivator’s cultivation was low and shallow in knowledge, and only felt immense fear, yet didn’t know what this power was.
Xiaoshen observed the scene and his expression subtly changed as he gravely said, “…You obtained the true powers of the phoenix?”
Now in this world, only Xiaoshen was able to recognize the origins of this power at first glance based on the friendship between the two clans. If he wasn’t sure of the fact that Bai Cangnian was human and was also in the mortal form, even he would have probably thought the being in front of him was a phoenix!
“It was said that in ancient times, the dragon and phoenix clans were a perfect match. One of the sky, one of the waters. They embodied the principles of yin and yang, heaven and earth, and were an unstoppable force together.” Bai Cangnian said, “Your Highness, I have received the true powers of the phoenix and you are the Azure Dragon. Aren’t we a much better match together than you with him?”
Xiaoshen understood what he was pointing at, “You’re rather lucky!”
Outsiders didn’t know, but the Dragon clan and the white sea turtle, as the dragon clan’s confidant and historian, knew where the Phoenix clan had hidden away for these tens of thousands of years, and there should have been only one old phoenix left in this world. Now that he thought about it, that Phoenix should have ascended to the heavens already. The Phoenix clan was a pride bunch and desired to leave a mark in this world – in fact, many cultivators in ancient times loved to do this as well, otherwise there wouldn’t have been so many strange encounters and adventures now.
The old phoenix most likely left a secret script to pass on to future cultivators, and this Bai Cangnian who had absorbed the white sea turtle followed the clues in its memories to the script’s location.
As Bai Cangnian had said, the dragon and phoenix was a match made in heaven. Bai Cangnian had received the true inheritance of the phoenix, and no matter how it happened, he would still be regarded as half a phoenix. If he were to receive the aid of a true dragon, he would be unrivaled.
Bai Cangnian didn’t comment on this. Was it his luck or was it the old phoenix’s luck?
He originally wanted to obtain the phoenix’s life source, but unfortunately, he was a little late…
Shang Jiyu frowned when he heard Xiaoshen say that this was the phoenix’s true inheritance. The phoenix clan had disappeared for even longer than the dragon clan. Who even knew the phoenix clan‘s battle style?
That in addition to listening to Bai Cangnian’s attempt to entice Xiaoshen with this whole dragon and phoenix match in heaven story had made Shang Jiyu extremely upset. His expression darkened as he coldly said, “Even if you did receive the true inheritance, you’re still not a phoenix. You’re just a feral chicken.”
Bai Cangnian’s smiling face suddenly disappeared.
He and Shang Jiyu exchange glances and almost simultaneously made their move.
All of a sudden, the harsh light soared to the skies and lit up the entire capital so brightly that everyone was unable to open their eyes. The fiery red flames intertwined with the icy blue sword and majestically illuminated the land for tens of thousands of miles.
The flames splashed down and had burned this palace to crumbling pieces. Occasionally, a few drops splashed onto Xiaoshen’s body and made a sizzling sound upon contact.
Xiaoshen looked up in the light and saw the two were already in mid air, however, they were still too close to the capital.
Ever since he saw the Yuling disciples guarding the city with his own eyes, Xiaoshen couldn’t help but think that if this continues on, they would damage Rong Country’s capital. He extinguished the fire on the cultivator’s body that the cultivator couldn’t put out himself in passing and said to him, “You guard the city and I’ll drive them farther away!”
The cultivator: “???? I can’t do it!! I haven’t even passed the Entrance Hall Stage yet (the 3rd realm)!”
The Taoist robes on his body were filled with holes burned by the fire of the phoenix just now. He feebly bawled, Your Highness, don’t leave!
Yet the Dragon King still flew away as he turned back into his original dragon form and left the poor cultivator trembling in fear. He hoped that the Dragon King could drive those two big saints far far away, otherwise, if it spread here, there was nothing he could do or guard.
Xiaoshen left out a long groan. He didn’t care for particulars. What one versus one rule? If the other water clans were here, he would have them all gang up on the bastard. He located his target and ran straight into Bai Cangnian, body slamming him.
This move was very dragon-like, and very Xiaoshen-like. Relying on his thick skin and pure strength, Xiaoshen took the preemptive strike and ran him over.
Shang Jiyu quickly dodged and saw Xiaoshen slammed onto Bai Cangnian’s body, pushed passed all the clouds, and moved Bai Cangnian from their original location to more than tens of miles away with no signs of stopping——
The moment Xiaoshen hit Bai Cangnian, the flames on his body increasingly burst outwards. If it were to materialize, it would have danced wildly in the wind; the true power of the phoenix in battle with the azure dragon’s might!
That brilliant flame burned so brightly that all else pales in comparison. The appearance it created as it spread was indeed the shape of the phoenix.
The phoenix head rose as it stopped the violent turbulence and released an unexpectedly clear cry.
Regardless of whether it was a legit phoenix or not and the curses Xiaoshen threw his way, at this very moment, it was as if chaos itself would be pierced open with the roars of the dragon and the cries of the phoenix as they reappeared in heaven and earth,
This day was a complicated day for the people of Rong Country.
The auspicious lights made everyone unable to open their eyes. All they heard was the sound of the dragon and the cries of some bird that shook the earth and sky.
When the light dissipated, they were finally able to see again and only saw from far away, two beings circling and moving farther away. One being was long and had scales; it was the azure dragon who had just appeared before. The other was a huge winged being, covered in spreading flames.
“……A… phoenix? “
“Oh my god! It’s the azure dragon and the phoenix!!”
All in the capital fell to their knees once again.
The officials outside the palace halls, while shocked, were also adept at taking advantage of this opportunity and loudly praised His Majesty’s virtues.
Amongst the citizens’ celebrations and jolly cheers, only Emperor Rong’s face had turned ashen white.
What’s going on? They’ve agreed to add 30% more compensation for the rain, but nowhere in the details did they talk about phoenixes! One azure dragon was good enough. There really wasn’t any need for a dragon-phoenix duo to perform an auspicious sighting! NO NEED AT ALL!
His Majesty truly could not afford this!!
LOL, and they are worrying about money.
Well.. that sounds like a plot-filling chapter, but.. so be it. Better husband wins!
It’s satisfying that we finally get to learn more about the ex-wife’s devious schemes. I was worried that we’d never get to find out why Xiaoshen got targeted while he was sleeping. Yay, plot! 👍
Hahahahaha the human emperor should be worried instead of he will have a kingdom left after this fight. 😅
I really pity Emperor Rong. He was broke already, how can he afford another the phoenix-dragon performance hahaha