Chapter 101: The Ancestral Dragon's Legacy

Worldly mortals often believe that attaining immortality guarantees eternal life and boundless freedom, but such notions are mistaken. Immortals can generally be divided into five ranks: Ghost Immortals, Human Immortals, Divine Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Celestial Immortals.

Those who cultivate the Way of True Refinement at the outset fail to comprehend the grand Dao and seek only rapid progress. Their forms resemble withered wood, their color like dead ashes; their divine consciousness is guarded inwardly with unwavering focus. From this state, a yin spirit emerges—a clear and ethereal ghost, not a pure yang immortal. Because their spirit remains a steadfast yin essence, they are called Ghost Immortals.

The cultivators of True Refinement who do not grasp the supreme Dao but attain some method within the path, and within that method a single technique, maintain faith and resolve unaltered throughout their lives. Their spirit and qi grow ever clearer, their bodies more solid; they become impervious to earthly plagues and are thus called Human Immortals.

Human Immortals persist in their efforts, refining their essence into metal, their vital fluids into elixirs, transforming these into qi. When the three yang energies gather atop the head and their cultivation is complete, they transcend form; entering the immortal realm, yin is exhausted and yang purified. They possess an external body beyond the physical, shedding mortal constraints to ascend as saints, severing all worldly ties to return to the Three Mountains—hence known as Divine Immortals.

Divine Immortals understand the principles of heaven and earth’s rise and fall, harnessing the numbers generated by sun and moon. Within their bodies, they use years and months; within the sun, hours and moments. They first recognize the dragon and tiger, next align with the kan and li trigrams; discern the purity of water sources; distinguish early and late climatic energies; observe the two poles; comprehend the three origins; divide the four images; judge the five elements; fix the six qi; gather the seven treasures; sequence the eight trigrams; follow the nine fives; and refine their form to imprint upon the world, thereby achieving longevity and earning the title Earth Immortals.

Earth Immortals grow weary of dwelling on the Three Isles and descend to spread the Dao among mortals. As their virtue and practice mature, they receive the Celestial Book granting passage to the Thirty-Six Heavenly Caves and return to the Eighty-One Yang. The heavens encompass the Eighty-Two Yang, and from these ascend to the realm of the Three Purities—emptiness, non-being, and nature itself. Thus, they are called Celestial Immortals.

(In later calculations of mortal lineages, many extraordinary beings such as dragons, phoenixes, qilin, and spiritual turtles are excluded.)

Above Celestial Immortals are three higher grades: Profound Immortals, Taiyi True Immortals, and Great Luo Golden Immortals. Lower-grade Profound Immortals have a lifespan of 1,500 primordial assemblies. Taiyi True Immortals harness the Five Qi to greet the origin and can theoretically live forever. However, during the cataclysmic Tribulations, survival is not guaranteed even for one in ten thousand. Great Luo Golden Immortals not only utilize the Five Qi but also gather the Three Blossoms atop the head, transcending the bonds of fate and the river of destiny. With caution, they can endure until the era of the Boundless Primordial and the recreation of the vast cosmic wilderness without issue.

Great Luo Golden Immortals command their life imprint independently, existing outside the river of fate. Even the Primordial Sages cannot save one who severs their life source, for sages themselves rely on the life imprint within the river of fate to resurrect those whose form and spirit have perished.

For this reason, competitive struggles among sages follow an unspoken rule: no sage may deal a fatal blow to a Great Luo Golden Immortal under another sage’s tutelage. After all, they are immortal and indestructible, regarding the vast epochs of the Boundless Primordial as but a fleeting moment. No one can truly annihilate another; a certain measure of restraint must be maintained.

Though there are means to revive the Ao brothers, which Primordial Sage would be so trivial as to employ them?

After a brief sigh, Qingxu waved his hand, retracting the Sumeru miniature spaces of Ao Fei and Ao Yun. A quick scan of their divine senses startled him—no wonder the rich second generation lives up to their reputation! Within the two miniature spaces were countless treasures: magical artifacts, spirit pills, schematic diagrams, rare toys, demon pills, spirit stones... an astonishing variety and vast quantities, including many superior spirit treasures. Though not quite comparable to the Celestial One Profound Water Shield, the difference was slight; most importantly, there were many.

“Legacy treasures of the Ancestral Dragon?”

Upon closer inspection, the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasures were twelve bowl-sized, sapphire-blue spherical orbs, resembling glazed glass or jade, shimmering with a faint mist. Within each orb danced strange lights, as if containing a fleeting, illusory miniature world.

“The Sea-Calming Divine Pearl? It is indeed this innate spirit treasure that shone brilliantly during the Investiture of the Gods era!” Qingxu exclaimed, his heart unable to settle even long after. Possessing memories of a past life and having thoroughly studied the Investiture of the Gods, he was well acquainted with the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl.

Legend holds that upon its emergence, the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl radiated a brilliant light that illuminated the Violet Mansion of Xuan Du. Its power was immense and unfailing in striking foes. During the Investiture War, the upper immortal of the Jie sect, Luo Fu Zhao Gongming, relied on this treasure to decisively defeat the Chan sect immortals, forcing Jiang Ziya to hang up his battle token in retreat. Even the Burning Lamp Daoist fled in the face of it. Had it not been for the loss of the treasure, the fate of the Shang and Zhou dynasties might have been rewritten.

There are many myths surrounding the Sea-Calming Divine Pearl, including one claiming that the Burning Lamp Daoist used it to manifest the twenty-four heavens of the Buddhist sect, becoming the ancient Burning Lamp Buddha. This tale holds a high degree of credibility.

“Could it be, as many later speculate, that the complete set of Sea-Calming Divine Pearls actually numbers thirty-six, not twenty-four?” During the debate among the Three Purities and the battle in the Jade Void Palace, Qingxu clearly perceived the terrifying treasure aura on Zhao Gongming, consisting precisely of twenty-four parts—nineteen or twenty-four of which were Sea-Calming Divine Pearls. Combined with the twelve in his possession, they total thirty-six, matching the number of the Heavenly Spirits.

“Perhaps the legend that Burning Lamp Daoist used the Cosmic Ruler to combine twenty-four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls to manifest the twenty-four heavens is incorrect. The orthodox method may involve thirty-six pearls, arranged in the Heavenly Spirits formation. No wonder Zhao Gongming’s use of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls seemed slightly off—likely due to incompleteness!”

Having unexpectedly obtained twelve Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, Qingxu now set his sights on the twenty-four pearls on Zhao Gongming. Previously, he had little desire to undermine Burning Lamp’s influence, since it was also a stepping stone to semi-sainthood. But things had changed.

“After all, that Burning Lamp fellow is a rebellious traitor who disgraced the Chan sect. I need not show mercy. Besides, he once served as the vice leader of the Chan sect—twelve immortals respectfully called him teacher. That’s unacceptable! Me calling Burning Lamp ‘teacher’? What a joke! Perhaps even the vice leader’s position must be contested,” Qingxu’s pride allowed him to bow to the Primordial Sages, but never to others, especially given his disdain for Burning Lamp’s character.

Having sealed the Ao brothers’ miniature spaces, Qingxu dismissed the matter and continued northward toward the Northern Sea. Though he had considered the Northern Sea Dragon King, he was confident that a mere mid-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal like himself was no threat. Even if the eleven Great Luo Golden Immortals of the Northern Sea Dragon Clan united, his protective aura of Ren-Gui Twilight would ensure his safety. He did not believe the White Dragon Daoist’s prophecy of life-and-death tribulations would strike the Northern Sea Dragon Clan, yet as three days neared their end, anxiety gnawed at his heart.

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Within the Northern Sea, a biting chill hung thick. Life was more than twice as scarce as in the other three seas, but the inhabitants were generally stronger.

At the heart of the Northern Sea, atop a dragon vein, stood a magnificent palace complex, gleaming with golden walls and shimmering brilliance. Stairs of multicolored coral led up to walls of creamy jade, adorned with decorations of red gold and purple copper—truly a masterpiece of splendor.

Majestic dragon whales and tiger sharks stood as guards; mermaids and clam maids carried trays and cups; crab generals wore golden helmets, shrimp soldiers donned silver armor; turtle chancellors and water officials came and went during court sessions. This was none other than the Crystal Palace of the Northern Sea—the seat of the Northern Sea Dragon Clan’s royal authority.

Within the central and most imposing Dragon King Hall, the Northern Sea Dragon King sat high upon the Nine-Dragon Throne, gazing down upon the vast and empty hall below the forty-nine-tiered platform. Towering pillars of amethyst-gold, pearl chandeliers, cinnabar curtains, and jade scepters adorned the chamber. Yet his expression was ashen.

Ao Bei, broad-browed and noble in bearing, was in a foul mood. Through spiritual communication, he had learned that both of his proud sons had perished. This was not merely the sorrow of a white-haired man burying the black-haired; more worrisome was the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasure on Ao Fei. Originally, Ao Yun had informed him; he had intended to interrogate Ao Fei but feared leaking information, as the Ten Elders were constantly watching him. Thus, he conspired with Ao Yun to stage a ruse, confident it would succeed ninety percent. Yet something had gone awry.

“The True Spirit Token shattered—signifying complete destruction of form and spirit. It seems someone beat us to it. Hmph. No matter. This Ancestral Dragon legacy treasure must be mine. Whoever dares take it shall die!” Ao Bei’s face darkened like still water; a cold light shot from his eyes, and a grim smile twisted his lips.

The Northern Sea Dragon King Ao Bei and his brothers—the Eastern Sea Dragon King Ao Dong, Southern Sea Dragon King Ao Nan, and Western Sea Dragon King Ao Xi—were siblings by blood. Compared to his brothers, Ao Bei harbored grand ambitions, patiently lying in wait to one day usurp the Eastern Sea Dragon King’s position, becoming the voice of the Turbid Dragon and helmsman of the Dragon Clan.

Ao Fei and Ao Yun were indeed prodigies of the Dragon Clan, but to Ao Bei, they paled in comparison to the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy. The Ancestral Dragon was the elder brother of the Turbid Dragon, the foremost of the ancient dragon race! His legacy treasure’s power was undoubtedly immense. Ao Bei’s strength was not far behind his three brothers; possessing such a mighty spirit treasure could easily elevate him to the strongest among the four sea dragon kings. Then, by urging Turbid Dragon to advocate for status based on strength among the four seas, his dream could be realized.

After a moment’s contemplation, Ao Bei suddenly stood, silent and terrifyingly calm, then entered the rear chamber.

Click, click, click! Crack!

With practiced movements, he rotated the ancestral dragon statue on the altar in the rear chamber a few times. Immediately, the adjacent floor lifted, revealing a pitch-black stairway descending into the depths, vanishing from sight. Without hesitation, Ao Bei stepped down, and the floor closed seamlessly behind him.

In the darkness, Ao Bei descended step by step, silently counting in his mind:

“One thousand one hundred and nine…”

“One thousand one hundred and ten…”

“One thousand one hundred and eleven…”

Reaching the 1,111th step, he halted. Drawing upon his dragon power, his eyes glowed as he beheld a black door barring his path, inscribed with countless talismanic seals, radiating the ancient and vast aura of bygone eras.