“Ao Guang is your son?” Xuanjian asked in surprise.
Compared to Xuanjian's surprise, Ao Yin was even more astonished. He looked at Xuanjian with a scrutinizing gaze and said, “Indeed. Moreover, my son hatched from his egg less than ten thousand years ago. Even within our Four Seas Dragon Clan, not everyone knows of his existence. How do you know about him?”
“Uh... if I said I caught a glimpse of the future, and that the future Eastern Sea Dragon Clan is ruled by a dragon named Ao Guang, would you believe me?” Xuanjian chuckled softly.
In Xuanjian's past life, Ao Guang's name had been thunderously famous!
Before the Honghuang mythos came into popular culture, Ao Guang's name was even more renowned than Ancestor Dragon's.
Little did Xuanjian expect that at this point in time, Ao Guang was merely a little dragon who had just emerged from his egg.
“A glimpse of the future?”
Ao Yin did not doubt him.
Because in Honghuang, such a thing was entirely possible.
Whether through a stroke of opportunity or a unique treasure, peering into the future was not unheard of.
Ao Yin nodded slightly and asked, “Then my son... how is he in the future?”
“Uh...” Xuanjian was momentarily at a loss for words, letting out a sheepish laugh. “He's doing alright. Under Ao Guang's rule, the Four Seas enjoy peace and prosperity.”
What else could Xuanjian say?
He certainly couldn't reveal that in the future, when standing among the divine assembly of the Heavenly Court, Ao Guang would look no different from a mere foot soldier.
“I see.”
Ao Yin did not pry further.
It was best not to pry too deeply into the secrets of time.
Ao Yin led Xuanjian deeper into the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
Even with Xuanjian's broad horizons, he was stunned by the sheer extravagance of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
The entire Dragon Palace was protected by an extremely high-tier grand formation capable of blocking outside divine sense, concealing traces, and providing defense.
The structure of the Dragon Palace was built from countless innate materials, using crystals infused with innate water element as its core, embellished with colored glass, coral, agate, and precious gems. It was resplendent, magnificently exquisite, and enveloped in a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere.
Within the palace, any random pillar was made of immortal gold, and any cluster of ornamental plants was a Post-Creation Spiritual Root.
Perhaps due to the rich Innate Spiritual Veins buried beneath the Dragon Palace, the Innate Spiritual Qi inside was incredibly dense, surpassing even ordinary Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. Cultivating and comprehending the Dao here would yield twice the results with half the effort.
Truth be told, as expected of the Dragon Clan!
As expected of the absolute overlords who once ruled the four seas, half the skies, and half the lands!
Their foundation... was truly terrifying!
It was only because the dragons now individually bore heavy racial karmic hindrances and were restricted by the Heavenly Dao; otherwise, cultivating in such an environment would make breaking through realms almost inevitable.
“If I could loot the Dragon Clan, forget startup capital—I could take my merchant guild public right here in Honghuang!” Xuanjian mused to himself.
Beside him, Ao Yin was quietly observing Xuanjian, feeling quite satisfied with his stunned expression.
Yet Ao Yin could not help feeling that this kid... was up to no good in his mind.
Of course, Xuanjian was merely entertaining the thought.
If he actually raided the Dragon Clan, the karmic ties incurred would be immense beyond measure.
Guided by Ao Yin, Xuanjian soon arrived before an ancient, primitive stone gate standing a million zhang tall!
Set into the entrance of a massive trench, the gate was pitch-black throughout, carved with ancient dragon motifs. Majestic and grand, a primitive, ancient aura diffused from it.
Gazing at it, Xuanjian felt as though he were being stared down by a primeval true dragon.
“This is the entrance to our treasury, personally crafted by our progenitor, Lord Ancestor Dragon. It is linked to the Dragon Palace's grand defensive formation and can withstand a full-power strike from a Hunyuan Golden Immortal.”
“Impressive.”
Ao Yin clearly meant to show off, and Xuanjian didn't bother calling him out, smoothly offering a compliment instead.
“Hold onto your jaw in a moment,” Ao Yin chuckled.
Through a whole sequence of hand seals, incantations, bloodline verification, facial recognition, and iris scans, the primitive, pitch-black stone gate slowly swung open inward.
In an instant, dense treasure qi violently poured out from the crack!
When it opened fully, a surging mist of treasure qi rushed toward them, the dazzling radiance of treasures almost blinding to behold.
“Ah, this...”
Now Xuanjian finally understood why after those Innate Sacred Beings rose to power, they all loved coming to squeeze the Dragon Clan for benefits.
Even the Demon Court founded by Dijun and Taiyi tried so hard to drag the Dragon Clan into their camp.
It turned out the Dragon Clan was just that filthy rich!
Damn nouveau riche!
“Heh.”
Ao Yin was thoroughly pleased with Xuanjian's reaction and laughed, “Don't be so surprised. This is quite normal. After all, the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace's treasury stands supreme among the Four Seas. Once you see the treasuries of the other three seas, you won't be like this anymore.”
Xuanjian: “...”
“Senior, do you realize how much you're showing off right now?”
“Showing off?”
After pondering for a brief moment, Ao Yin understood what “showing off” meant.
“Ahem...” Ao Yin coughed dryly and explained, “A habit of our race. After all, we were used to being prominent in the past.”
Xuanjian: “...”
“Let's go. I'll take you to retrieve the Money-Shaking Gold Tree.”
“As far as I know, this Money-Shaking Gold Tree was stolen by Lord Ancestor Dragon from right beside the Phoenix Clan's Wutong Tree.”
“The Phoenix Clan?”
“Indeed. Rumor has it that Yuanfeng, the progenitor of the Phoenix Clan, was born accompanied by the Five Virtues and Five Elements Qi. This Money-Shaking Gold Tree could be considered one of her companion spiritual roots.”
“Oho, so counting the Wutong Tree, Yuanfeng possessed two Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Roots?”
“Correct.”
The two chatted as they walked. The treasury was extraordinarily vast.
The entire treasury was long and narrow.
The outermost section contained Post-Creation items.
The deeper they went, the higher the quality of the treasures became.
By the middle section, Innate items had already begun to appear!
Innate Spiritual Roots, Innate Divine Materials, Innate Spiritual Treasures...
In the innermost section, the number of treasures grew sparse, but every single item was either High-Grade or Top-Grade Innate!
Xuanjian spotted as many as five Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures alone.
Do not think five is a small number.
Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasures were the strongest treasures below unique Heavenly Dao treasures and Innate Treasures.
For a single Dragon Clan treasury to possess five showed just how profound their foundation was!
“Wait...”
Just then, a treasure caught Xuanjian's attention.
What drew his eye was not a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, but a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure!
“Are those... twelve Sea-Calming Pearls?”
Xuanjian stared intently at twelve azure pearls connected in a ring.
The twelve Sea-Calming Pearls hovered around a dragon-claw stone statue, their bodies deep azure like glowing moonlight. The laws of four Great Daos—Water, Space, Stabilization, and Creation—flowed around the pearls, while subtle, mysterious water traces flickered in the surrounding void.
Each pearl was wrapped in a hazy halo, seeming capable of stirring subtle tremors in the starry river, containing the power of vast oceans within.
As shadows of the pearls intertwined, laws wrapped like threads of silk. At the slightest movement, they possessed the power to overturn seas, reverse rivers, and suppress the heavens—ancient and domineering.
“You know of this treasure?”
Seeing Xuanjian's expression, Ao Yin said, “Rumor has it that there are thirty-six Sea-Calming Pearls in total. A single one is a Low-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, twelve form a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, twenty-four form a Top-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, and thirty-six are truly formidable—comparable to an Innate Treasure!”
“Back then, our progenitor intended to seek out all thirty-six Sea-Calming Pearls and refine them into his second natal spiritual treasure. Alas, though the Dragon Clan searched the four seas, the sky, and the lands, they simply could not find the remaining twenty-four.”
“With only twelve, it was merely a High-Grade Innate Spiritual Treasure, completely unqualified to serve as our progenitor's second natal spiritual treasure. Thus, it was shelved here in the treasury.”
“...”
Xuanjian's lips twitched slightly.
He knew exactly where those missing twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls were.
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