North Sea.
Su Qing did not rush down to the Dragon Palace to find the North Sea Dragon King.
Instead, she first flew a circle over the North Sea, intending to survey the general situation.
Circling the North Sea from above wouldn't take too much time.
In just a moment, Su Qing had already returned to the skies above the North Sea Dragon Palace.
However, along the way, Su Qing's brows remained furrowed, never once relaxing.
As she flew, Su Qing saw that the skies above the North Sea were covered in dense thunderclouds, and fierce storms raged incessantly.
The sea surface, too, was often turbulent over vast areas, with monstrous waves crashing down.
The entire scene was apocalyptic.
Seeing such a sight, even before Su Qing went to check on the human settlements by the sea, she could already imagine the immense suffering these storms had brought to the people.
Su Qing sighed, her brows still knitted, and lamented, “The situation in the North Sea is worse than I imagined. It truly brings hardship to the common folk.”
In such conditions, the ones suffering the most would certainly not be the North Sea Dragon King.
The ones suffering the most should be the common people living by the North Sea.
Those who relied on the sea for their livelihood couldn't go fishing in such stormy weather, let alone.
Even their lives and homes could be destroyed by the tsunamis and storms.
Leng Xiang, hearing this, reached out and tugged at Su Qing's sleeve, saying, “Master, don't be troubled. I am here, and I will handle this matter with you. As for the plight of the common folk, Master cannot be blamed for it. If anyone is to blame, it is only this North Sea cataclysm.”
After Leng Xiang spoke, Yudie, hanging from Su Qing's waist, also trembled and said, “And me, and me! I'll help too. Whether it's demons causing mischief or something else, I'll cut them down with a single sword!”
“Don't worry, I'm not so narcissistic as to blame myself for such things. I merely pity the suffering of the common folk.”
Su Qing heard their words and nodded slightly, then said:
“Enough, let's go. We'll go to the Dragon Palace and see the situation there. Instead of dwelling on this, it's better to clarify the situation early and resolve the North Sea's problems.”
Su Qing had no intention of continuing to lament.
She was here to solve problems.
Not to sigh in sorrow.
After a brief inspection, it was time to confront the North Sea Dragon King and get a clear explanation.
Su Qing exhaled a turbid breath, formed a water-repelling spell with her hand, and then plunged headfirst into the waters of the North Sea.
As Su Qing and her companions entered the water, they found the North Sea's water as black as ink, with extremely low visibility. The deeper they went, the harder it was to see, gradually becoming pitch black.
Su Qing merely frowned at the black water, then activated her eye technique.
After activating her eye technique, Su Qing was now able to see clearly in the inky black seawater.
Within the dark waters, there were no hidden dangers.
Even fish were rarely seen.
The silence was truly somewhat eerie.
Su Qing did not pause to ponder but continued to descend, heading towards the Dragon Palace.
After swimming for a short while...
A glimmer of light suddenly appeared before Su Qing's eyes.
She narrowed her eyes, then clearly saw the source of that light.
It was the light emanating from the North Sea Dragon Palace.
However, even though the Dragon Palace was exceedingly luxurious and emitted dazzling light,
it still appeared exceptionally tiny within the inky black seawater.
Indeed, if one looked from afar, this seemingly bright Dragon Palace, in the midst of the inky black water, resembled the sole firefly in a dark night.
It was beautiful and unique, but it couldn't illuminate the darkness. All it could do was serve as a beacon in that darkness.
Allowing people to know that was the Dragon Palace.
Su Qing saw the Dragon Palace and stopped at a distance. She carefully observed the North Sea Dragon Palace, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Perhaps due to her eye technique, the Crystal Palace before her seemed somewhat strange.
It was clearly the brightest entity in the darkness.
Yet, for some reason, she felt that the source of this darkness was none other than the Crystal Dragon Palace.
Just as Su Qing paused to ponder, Yudie, who had been silent the entire way, hanging from Su Qing's waist, suddenly spoke up and asked:
“Speaking of which, Mama, has the North Sea's water always been as black as the West Sea's?”
Su Qing's thoughts were interrupted, but she wasn't annoyed, merely asking helplessly, “Why did you only think to ask this after being in the water for so long?”
“I forgot just now…” Yudie heard Su Qing's question and couldn't help but chuckle, saying, “I was too busy marveling at how black the water was, but I forgot that the North Sea's water isn't supposed to be as black as the West Sea's.”
Hearing Yudie's words, Su Qing gave a helpless smile and said, “You little girl, sometimes you're truly hard to describe.”
Yudie, hearing this, didn't know what to say, only giggling like a fool.
Su Qing sighed helplessly, rubbing her temples, and explained:
“You're right, the North Sea's water shouldn't be this inky black. After all, among the Four Seas, only the West Sea has black water; the other places are normal. The extreme darkness here now is likely related to why the West Sea Dragon King invited me.”
“Hehehe, that's what I thought too.”
Yudie wanted to scratch her head, but realized she had already reverted to her sword form, so she could only let out a faint sword hum to express her embarrassment.
Su Qing was speechless. She patted Yudie at her waist, then said to Leng Xiang, “The situation at the Dragon Palace seems a bit off. Leng Xiang, don't stray too far from me.”
Leng Xiang heard this and nodded dutifully, then said, “Perhaps I should also transform into a sword, like Yudie, and stay by your side. That way, if an emergency arises, Master, you can draw your sword immediately, without waiting for me to transform back.”
Unlike Yudie, Leng Xiang had no aversion to reverting to her sword form.
To her, whatever form best helped her Master was her favorite form.
“Mm… that's fine too.” Su Qing heard Leng Xiang's words, pondered for a moment, then nodded.
After all, this current situation was different from other times.
Seeing Su Qing nod, Leng Xiang's thoughts stirred, and she transformed into her original form, settling into Su Qing's hand.
Su Qing did not like carrying a sword on her back.
She preferred to hold it in her hand.
Because her attire wasn't suitable for carrying a long sword, holding it would be more elegant and convenient.
As for hanging Yudie at her waist...
That was mainly because Yudie was short, and hanging at her waist, she looked like an ornament, not appearing out of place.
Thus.
Su Qing held the Cold Fragrance Sword and then headed towards the luminous Dragon Palace.
Meanwhile, in a place unknown to Su Qing...
Within the inky black seawater, General Tortoise and General Snake were using their eye techniques, watching Su Qing approach the Dragon Palace from afar.
“Let's go, follow her!” General Tortoise said, “But what exactly is going on with this North Sea? How did it become like this? And why isn't the Heavenly Court doing anything?”
“One day in the Heavenly Court is a year on Earth. By the time the North Sea Dragon King's memorial reaches the Jade Emperor, it would take at least an hour or two to process, and then a long time for arrangements to be made. Rather than saying the Heavenly Court isn't doing anything, it's more accurate to say they haven't had time to. Moreover, the Heavenly Court has been quite busy recently; even Great Emperor Zhenwu has gone to assist them,” General Snake sighed faintly, following closely behind Su Qing.
Hearing this, General Tortoise also nodded and said:
“I'm getting old and muddled; I didn't even think about the time difference between the Heavenly Court and the mortal realm. However, although the Heavenly Court is slow to react, that Old Dragon King is quite clever. After going through a few loops, he actually managed to invite Sovereign Yuanjun.”
“The Old Dragon King is indeed clever. However, after this incident, it will probably be difficult for the North Sea Dragon King to ask Sovereign Yuanjun for any more favors.”
“That's inevitable. After all, at its core, the North Sea Dragon King used quite a few tricks to invite her. And I imagine Sovereign Yuanjun most likely saw through it long ago.”
“That's for sure; Sovereign Yuanjun isn't foolish.”
“Alright, enough talk, let's hurry and catch up! Lest we lose her and something happens to Sovereign Yuanjun, and we remain unaware.”
“Indeed, if Sovereign Yuanjun were truly to suffer any injury, that girl Xixi would probably hate us two old fellows to death. That girl truly treasures her 'Sovereign Yuanjun'!”
“Hehehe, if that girl Xixi heard you say that, she'd be angry with you too.”
“She's not here, how could she know?”
As General Tortoise and General Snake chatted, they silently entered the North Sea Dragon Palace, following Su Qing.
General Tortoise and General Snake were old generals by the side of Great Emperor Zhenwu.
Their magical arts were superb.
Even a simple invisibility spell had reached the pinnacle of mastery, far more potent than ordinary ones.
With this invisibility spell, they could walk boldly through the Dragon Palace, and no one would be able to detect them.
However, despite the power of their invisibility spell, they dared not directly approach Su Qing.
After all, although Su Qing was only a little over a thousand years old and had a relatively shallow foundation, she was still a Heavenly Immortal, not to be underestimated.
So, if they were to flit around her with an invisibility spell, they would certainly be discovered.
On the other side.
Su Qing, with Yudie and Leng Xiang, walked together into the Dragon Palace.
But as soon as she entered, she felt a heavy, oppressive atmosphere permeating the Dragon Palace.
It was incredibly stifling.
Even Yudie, hanging from her waist, couldn't help but say, “This Dragon Palace is too oppressive, isn't it? It's nothing like the East Sea Dragon Palace.”
“In times like these, such oppression is normal,” Su Qing said, patting the sword, “Also, you little girl, shut up for now.”
Yudie, though slightly displeased, dutifully closed her mouth and obediently acted as a short sword.
Su Qing nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly heard a commotion.
“Sovereign Yuanjun… is it Sovereign Yuanjun?”
Soon after Su Qing arrived at the Dragon Palace, before she even had a chance to send someone to inform the Dragon King, she heard an old voice from behind her, calling out from afar:
“It truly is you! You've finally arrived! I knew you would come…”
Su Qing raised an eyebrow, already knowing who it was.
She turned her head, and sure enough, it was the North Sea Dragon King speaking.
Su Qing observed the North Sea Dragon King. He looked haggard, his old face clearly showing fatigue, which made his already unattractive old face look even worse.
Clearly, the Old Dragon King had endured much during this time, leaving him mentally and physically exhausted.
Hence his current appearance.
However, this had little to do with Su Qing.
She merely looked at the Old Dragon King, nodded slightly, and then said:
“Indeed, you made so many moves just to invite me here, so of course I would come. If I didn't come after all that, it would make me seem rather heartless.”
“However, I'll state this upfront: I am not here to work for free. I will still collect the appropriate remuneration.”
“As for what remuneration I want, I will tell you in detail later.”
“All I can tell you is that whether this matter succeeds or not, whether the danger is truly resolved, you absolutely cannot go back on your word regarding what you promised me!”
“Including your little tricks, I can ignore them, I can pretend not to know.”
“But if you break your word to me…”
“Then don't blame me for settling accounts with you afterward.”
After seeing the Old Dragon King, Su Qing got straight to the point, making things clear.
Lest the Old Dragon King mistake her for someone easily bullied.
And use the same method to ask for her help with any future troubles.
The Old Dragon King was slightly stunned by Su Qing's words, then quickly nodded and said:
“This old man understands, this old man understands… This old man was wrong, please do not be offended, Sovereign Yuanjun. It's not that this old man deliberately played tricks; it's just that this time's trouble was beyond my ability to solve, and the Heavenly Court's speed is too slow, which is why I was forced to resort to it. Sovereign Yuanjun, please rest assured, such a thing will absolutely not happen again.”
“That would be for the best…”
“As for Sovereign Yuanjun's remuneration, this old man will certainly prepare it. Whatever Sovereign Yuanjun desires, this old man will do his utmost to provide.”
Su Qing saw that the Old Dragon King was very sensible and nodded in satisfaction, saying, “Since you understand, that is good.”
Hearing Su Qing say this, the Old Dragon King immediately let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Su Qing had said as much, which meant she truly intended to offer her assistance.
“Sovereign Yuanjun, please follow me inside so we can speak further,” the Old Dragon King said, gesturing for Su Qing to enter.
Su Qing nodded lightly, then followed the Old Dragon King into the main hall.
Upon arriving in the main hall...
The Old Dragon King dismissed all the attendants.
Ensuring that no one else could hear their conversation in the hall.
“Is it necessary to dismiss everyone?” Su Qing asked, amused by the Old Dragon King's caution.
The Old Dragon King, however, nodded thoughtfully and said, “It will be safer this way.”
Su Qing shook her head helplessly, not bothering with the Old Dragon King's thoughts, and simply said, “Alright, tell me, what exactly happened here? And how can I help you?”
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