Surfacing

Upon hearing this, the Old Dragon King naturally did not dare to say anything more.

He hurriedly nodded and said, "Then I shall trouble the Sovereign when the time comes!"

Su Qing waved her hand and stated, "You won't be able to idle around either. To clarify the situation, I'm afraid I will still need some assistance from your side."

Su Qing's power was ultimately limited; even with Leng Xiang, she might not be able to handle everything alone.

Furthermore, since they were here to help resolve the trouble, it was only natural to make good use of the Old Dragon King and his people.

She didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed about it.

After all... she didn't necessarily have to come here personally to deal with this mess.

Su Qing's words momentarily stunned the Old Dragon King, but he then laughed heartily and said, "Of course, of course. No matter what kind of assistance the Sovereign requires, I will certainly give my full support. I wouldn't dream of playing any tricks."

The Old Dragon King understood this logic perfectly. He wouldn't dare refuse when Su Qing asked for help; he would only assist honestly, as this concerned his own vital interests.

Su Qing nodded with satisfaction at his response and then said, "Let's go. We'll head to your Dragon Palace and take a look at that seal while we're at it."

"Very well, please." The Old Dragon King hurriedly nodded.

After summoning his subordinates to watch over the array, he led Su Qing into the Dragon Palace.

The Dragon Palace was still the same as ever. Compared to her last visit, not much had changed.

If one had to point something out, it would be the many defensive arrays that had been added to the exterior...

"These arrays were used to defend against that Black Dragon... However, now that the Black Dragon has been eliminated by the Sovereign, these arrays can be dismantled in a few days," the Old Dragon King explained, noticing Su Qing's gaze lingering on the formations.

Su Qing didn't care what their arrays were for; she simply nodded and said, "The arrays can stay. They might come in handy in the future."

This wasn't Su Qing looking down on the North Sea Dragon Palace; it was purely a well-intentioned reminder.

After all, one had to consider that more omens of the Great Tribulation of Heaven and Earth might manifest here in the future, so keeping these arrays might prove useful later.

Even she herself had made many preparations!

Upon hearing Su Qing's words, the Old Dragon King smiled and nodded to her.

As for whether the Old Dragon King actually took it to heart, Su Qing wasn't sure...

And she didn't care to think too much about it...

Regardless, she had given the warning.

She had fulfilled her duty.

Therefore, even if he truly didn't listen and something went wrong in the future, it would have nothing to do with her.

The two entered the North Sea Dragon Palace.

A dejected atmosphere permeated the palace.

It left Su Qing somewhat speechless...

It seemed this Black Dragon had once again brought a significant impact to the North Sea Dragon Palace. It would likely take a long time to fully recover.

Su Qing shook her head. This North Sea Dragon Palace was so beset by calamities; perhaps they should just move...

But she didn't bother saying it, as such words would only offend people.

Whatever decision they made was their own business.

She was only here to handle the task at hand.

Su Qing and the Old Dragon King walked together to the seal.

This place was guarded by many shrimp soldiers and crab generals, and the operation of the entire array seemed fine.

Aside from the arrays she had originally set up being intact, the arrays deployed by the Heavenly Court were also running normally.

Did this mean...

That the thing beneath the seal was still properly contained?

Usually, that was the case.

However, to be safe, Su Qing decided to take a closer look...

Lest some error occur due to a moment of carelessness...

She flexed her arms and slung the Cold Fragrance Sword across her back.

Then, calling for the Dragon King, she headed toward the center of the array.

The array had been set up by Su Qing herself...

Naturally, her entry and exit were unaffected.

Thus, she easily reached the place where the black water had originally gushed out.

She peered down.

Beneath the shimmering array, the black water was still constantly churning, battering against the formation...

It seemed there were still no signs of it escaping.

She rubbed her smooth chin, then nodded and said to the Old Dragon King:

"There are no problems here... However, we should still check along the Earth Vein!"

"Although the array I set up hasn't been breached, it stretches for hundreds, nearly a thousand miles. It's possible that a problem elsewhere allowed the Black Dragon to emerge."

"To be safe, it's better to conduct a thorough check along the Earth Vein!"

Although the connection between the Black Dragon and this black water was only a guess of Su Qing's, this task had to be done to either rule out or confirm the possibility.

"The Sovereign is indeed correct..." The Old Dragon King nodded in thought, agreeing that Su Qing's idea was sound.

Seeing this, Su Qing asked again, "Does the Dragon Palace have anyone skilled in arrays?"

The Old Dragon King didn't know much about formations...

Therefore, she naturally couldn't rely on him for this.

So, she simply asked the Old Dragon King to find a formation master to investigate the situation.

As for why she didn't investigate personally...

Naturally, it was because while the task was simple, the actual workload was not small.

If Su Qing did it alone, it would take a considerable amount of time to conduct the search.

Therefore, it was better to leave it to those who specialized in arrays...

For Su Qing, she would rather use that free time to get some rest.

She had no interest in doing everything herself...

Moreover, with so many things happening with her clones lately, her spirit was quite exhausted, and she didn't want to waste any more energy.

Upon hearing her request, the Old Dragon King thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "We certainly do. With so many arrays in the Dragon Palace, we naturally need proficient formation masters. Furthermore, since the last incident, the Dragon Palace has trained many more... I shall arrange for this old one to handle it. The Sovereign should return to the Dragon Palace to rest for a while!"

The North Sea Dragon King was a sensible man. Since Su Qing had assigned the task, it had to be done well...

It wasn't easy for her to come in person.

He couldn't let her do all the work without contributing anything.

If he made himself a nuisance, it would become very difficult to ask Su Qing for help if something happened in the future.

So, whatever help she requested, he would provide.

Seeing this, Su Qing nodded with satisfaction, then released the sword in her hand, allowing Leng Xiang to return to her original form.

After Leng Xiang resumed her human shape, she followed closely behind Su Qing, almost never leaving her side.

The three returned to the Dragon Palace.

The Dragon King was very generous, providing a courtyard for Su Qing to use as a temporary residence.

Afterward, he followed Su Qing's instructions to get those tasks done.

Although the Old Dragon King's strength wasn't particularly impressive, it had to be said that he handled affairs very efficiently.

He soon had everything arranged.

All that remained was to wait.

Time ticked away.

Soon, it was the following morning.

There was a knock on Su Qing's door.

The visitor was the Dragon Princess.

She was there to report the results of the investigation in the surrounding area.

"So... that Black Dragon really just appeared out of thin air?" Su Qing asked, her brow furrowing slightly after hearing the princess's report.

The princess nodded and said, "From what we can see, that indeed seems to be the case... Although it's quite incredible, we found no clues even after searching such a large area."

The princess's subordinates had been exceptionally thorough, yet they still found nothing...

To the point that they could only reach such an unreliable conclusion.

Listening to this conclusion, Su Qing couldn't help but shake her head and say, "All things follow laws; they cannot appear out of thin air, even if... In short, it definitely didn't just pop out for no reason. If you couldn't find anything, perhaps the direction was wrong, or the clues were too well hidden for you to discover."

"I apologize..." the princess said helplessly, clearly dissatisfied with the results herself.

Su Qing shook her head and said, "It's not your fault. You did your best... It's just that this Black Dragon is far too bizarre. By the way, has the Black Dragon been completely consumed by the Samadhi True Fire?"

Su Qing naturally hadn't forgotten that she still had a dragon being roasted...

Upon hearing this, the princess nodded slightly and said, "The people watching the array reported that it was burned clean last night."

"It's good that it's burned clean." Su Qing nodded with satisfaction.

She knew the Black Dragon could be incinerated; she was certain of that...

However, even she hadn't expected it would take so long to burn away completely.

It seemed this Black Dragon was indeed extraordinary.

"By the way, how is the situation on your father's side?" Su Qing asked again.

"Everything is going smoothly on Father's end. He has already sent people to conduct the search."

"Hmm? That's good. Once there are results, come and notify me." Su Qing thought for a moment, then nodded.

However, just as she finished speaking, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

At the same time, there was the anxious shouting of the Old Dragon King.

"Sovereign, Sovereign! Something big has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

The Old Dragon King's voice came from outside the door, startling both Su Qing and the princess. They glanced at each other, then both looked at the Dragon King as he ran in.

"Father, what big thing has happened? Please, speak slowly," the princess was the first to ask.

Su Qing also nodded and said, "What could be so big that it has you in such a panic? You've been the Dragon King for so many years; how can you have so little composure?"

Su Qing knew a bit about the Dragon King's composure... these words were mostly just to get him to calm down.

However, Su Qing was also somewhat curious about what kind of major event would make the Old Dragon King run over for help in such a flustered state.

As Su Qing wondered, the Old Dragon King took a deep breath and said, "Two more Black Dragons have arrived, and they are currently attacking the array outside!"

Su Qing's brow furrowed at the news; this was truly unexpected...

How were there more Black Dragons?

And two of them this time?

Su Qing's brow remained tightly knit as she asked, "What are the results of your search?"

Hearing this, the Old Dragon King was momentarily stunned. He didn't understand why Su Qing didn't ask about the Black Dragons first, but instead asked about the Earth Vein.

However, if Su Qing was asking, she must have her reasons.

He remained silent for a moment before immediately answering Su Qing's question.

"We haven't even finished half of the search yet, so there are no results," the Old Dragon King said, shaking his head. "The people sent out for the search haven't returned yet."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing nodded, then called for Leng Xiang and said, "Let's go. Time to kill a few more Black Dragons."

Leng Xiang broke into a smile at those words and immediately transformed into a long sword, falling into Su Qing's hand.

Su Qing gripped the Cold Fragrance Sword, performed a flourish, and then left the Dragon Palace, preparing to slay the Black Dragons.

Two Black Dragons would present some difficulty even for Su Qing.

Of course, it was only 'some' difficulty.

In terms of power, Su Qing still held a position of pure suppression.

Because at her realm, it was very difficult to find an opponent, except for those absurd existences further up the hierarchy.

Su Qing arrived outside the array and saw two distorted Black Dragons attacking the formation.

She looked at the Black Dragons, her brow twitching slightly as she thought, 'These two Black Dragons are even uglier than the one I killed before, and their strength is a notch lower. It’s almost as if... they were casually molded by hand.'

As Su Qing thought this, she performed a hand seal, condensing seawater to bind the two Black Dragons...

This casual spell wasn't particularly powerful, and they broke free in just a moment.

However, that moment was enough for Su Qing to slay these two Black Dragons.

A streak of sword light flashed, and the two Black Dragons that had just broken free were instantly severed into two sections, continuously emitting black Qi.

Seeing this, Su Qing did not pause for a second. She performed seals and spells, shredding the Black Dragons in one smooth motion.

The entire sequence was incredibly fluid.

Having finished this, Su Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air and thought, 'That should do it! Next is just waiting for these two Black Dragons to be burned clean.'

'But where on earth did these damn things come from?'

'They most likely have something to do with that Earth Vein.'

Su Qing's brow was deeply furrowed as she returned to the Dragon Palace.

She turned her head to look at the Old Dragon King and asked, "Does the Dragon King have any clues regarding these two Black Dragons that suddenly appeared?"

The Old Dragon King shook his head and said, "Still no clues. These two Black Dragons just appeared out of nowhere..."

"From where exactly did they appear?" Su Qing asked again.

The Old Dragon King was momentarily stunned by the question, as if he were trying to recall something...

But after trying for a long time, he couldn't remember anything.

It was as if that part of his memory was missing.

"Strange... strange, what's going on?"

The Old Dragon King pondered, only feeling a severe headache.

Seeing this, Su Qing's brow furrowed even tighter, refusing to relax...

At this point, she basically had a guess.

The source of these Black Dragons had the ability to influence others' consciousness, even to the point of affecting memory.

Furthermore, its strength was far above that of a typical Earthly Immortal.

As for whether it possessed the strength of a Heavenly Immortal...

That remained unknown.

However, it was clear that this matter was no longer something she could solve alone...

'Fine. If it really comes down to it, I'll just seek help from the Heavenly Court. I've done all that could be expected of me, anyway.'