Chapter Ninety-Seven: Only One Can Be Kept

"Senior, Ao Yun failed to recognize your eminence. Please forgive any previous offense for the sake of my father, the North Sea Dragon King Ao Bei. This junior would be endlessly grateful."

The golden-armored youth Ao Yun grimaced, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in apology. With one “senior” after another, “junior” after “junior,” and then invoking the North Sea Dragon King—he was certainly taking great pains!

“Hmph! Son of the North Sea Dragon King? A casual ‘offense’? This Venerable earlier had no wish to argue with juniors like you, lest I debase myself. But you juniors are so ignorant—without distinguishing right from wrong, you harbored evil intentions and struck to kill. Do you truly believe this Venerable can be bullied at will?” If this had been the original Qingxu, he might have spared thought for the reputation of Jade Void and, in the magnanimity of a strong one, not held the offense of lesser men. But this avatar of his had no such scruples; otherwise, he would not have taken on such a shabby appearance in the first place.

“This...” Ao Yun broke out in a cold sweat. He could hardly say that he had assumed Qingxu was weak and easy to bully! It was also because Qingxu had immediately wanted to avoid the dispute that Ao Yun had concluded his cultivation was low.

“Senior, save this junior! This Ao Yun is a madman. I am his elder brother, yet he ambushed me, plotted against me, and pursued me to kill me. Since you have witnessed his evil deeds, he will surely silence you. If you let the tiger return to the mountain or the dragon into the sea, he will very likely sow discord and frame you. Then, even though you are a supreme Da Luo, I fear you will face a joint hunt by my father and the ten elders!” The richly dressed youth spoke anxiously, like a drowning man clutching at a lifesaving straw, appealing to emotion and warning of the consequences.

“Ao Fei, don’t spout blood and stir up trouble! Senior, you must never believe this man. He plotted to murder our father for the throne, and when it was exposed, he became worse than a beast—unforgivable by heaven! This junior was ordered to capture him, and my father said dead or alive. If you can lend a hand, the North Sea will forever remember your kindness.” Ao Yun spoke bluntly, his face full of righteous indignation, glaring at Ao Fei with hatred.

“It is you who covet the throne and want to murder your elder brother!”

“Oh? If so, why not come back with me to our father and argue it out there?” Ao Yun sneered.

“......!”

Seeing Qingxu’s suspicious gaze, Ao Fei explained, “Senior, this ruffian impersonated me to assassinate Father. Now not even ten mouths could clear my name. If I return, Father, in his fury, will surely kill me—and this ruffian’s scheme will have succeeded!”

“The two of you each tell a different story. This Venerable is too lazy to waste words. If there is a grudge, avenge it; if there is resentment, vent it. Whoever provoked this Venerable, this Venerable will kill.” Qingxu spoke grimly, but a strange gleam flickered deep in his eyes.

“Senior’s words are the very truth! Ao Yun and his men previously intended to put you to death. How can such a mortal grudge go unavenged?” Ao Fei’s joy showed on his face.

“Ao Fei, if you want me dead, I won’t let you live well either. You stole the legacy treasure of the Ancestral Dragon—do you really think you can hide it from heaven?”

“What? The Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasure?” Ao Fei’s expression changed. “How... how do you know? I killed everyone who knew!”

Ao Fei’s guilty protest precisely proved that Ao Yun’s words were not false, and it immediately stirred Qingxu’s interest.

“You thought your plan was seamless, but you never imagined that one of your trusted subordinates had long been my planted informant! There is no need to hide it any longer. For all your cleverness, did you never think: what kind of treasure is the Dragon-Slaying Needle, and how could I have obtained it? Father is a mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal—would I be stupid enough to impersonate you in a sneak assassination? I had already told Father everything long ago. The earlier disturbance was only a veil of mist to avoid unnecessary complications. To tell you plainly, Father long ago ordered the North Sea sealed. You cannot escape even if you grew wings. I advise you to hand over the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasure. Perhaps Father, thinking of father-and-son affection, will spare your life.”

This speech of Ao Yun’s allowed Qingxu to understand the whole story. Ao Fei had stumbled upon the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasure, greed had risen in his heart, he had hidden it without reporting it, hoping to deceive heaven and cross the sea. He had even killed all his subordinates who knew the secret. But he had been a step too slow—an informant placed by Ao Yun had sent word first. After learning of it, Ao Yun had truthfully reported to the North Sea Dragon King. With his father’s help, he used the Dragon-Slaying Needle to ambush Ao Fei, then joined with the Dragon King to stage a play, using the excuse of suppressing a rebel while actually seeking the Ancestral Dragon’s legacy treasure.

“The warmth and coldness of human feeling, the scheming and rivalry—what father-son affection, what kin bonds, all false! How fragile they are before a legacy treasure of the Ancestral Dragon. The North Sea Dragon King went to such trouble to perform his play—perhaps not to deceive outsiders, but precisely his own people, most likely those ten elders. Power and precious treasures stir men’s hearts!” Qingxu sighed with deep emotion. Nevertheless, he too now set his mind on the Ancestral Dragon treasure. As the saying goes: if heaven offers and you do not take it, you will suffer for it. Running into Ao Fei this time was surely heaven’s will; if he strove for it, the treasure would be his.

“So it was Father who gave you the Dragon-Slaying Needle to ambush me. You have all worked hard! Brother? Father? Hahaha!” Ao Fei finally understood the causes and effects, and for a moment, he could not accept the truth. If it had been for the throne, Ao Yun impersonating him and framing him would have been understandable; Father’s fury would also have been natural. But for a legacy treasure of the Ancestral Dragon?

“If Father had asked openly, I would have offered this Ancestral Dragon legacy treasure with both hands!” Two lines of sorrowful tears streamed down his cheeks. What flowed was not only tears, but also a heart full of family affection.

The Dragon-Slaying Needle was a special treasure made specifically to restrain dragonkind. Below the level of Da Luo, any dragon struck by the needle, once it entered the body, could use at most three-tenths of his strength. Moreover, his five viscera would burn as if afire, with pain, itching, aching, and numbness—a state worse than death. It had been created by the ancient Phoenix Clan, containing the poisonous flames of earthly fire, coated with a thousand five hundred kinds of supreme toxins and tempered for a hundred years before completion. However, because it was so difficult to refine, only a few hundred had existed in the ancient era. By now, not one in ten remained, and most of those were sealed away by the dragon clans.

“Senior, please help my North Sea Dragon Clan recover our ancestor’s legacy treasure. Afterward, we will surely reward you heavily.” Ao Yun had not actually wanted to reveal such important matters to Qingxu, but if he did not speak, there would be no chance.

“This Venerable has always distinguished kindness from enmity. Helping your dragon clan recover your ancestor’s legacy treasure is acceptable, but the previous karmic debt must first be settled. Very well—this Venerable will not go to extremes. Among you, one may survive. Who that is will be up to you.”

“This senior probably cannot let go of old grudges, but he is clearly favoring me. I am an early-stage Taiyi True Immortal, while these hundred soldiers are only Xuan Immortals. Naturally, the one who survives will be me. It seems this time I can not only complete my mission and gain Father’s trust, but also befriend this Da Luo powerhouse. If I can recommend him to Father, that will be another merit. In the future, when Father passes down the throne, it will surely be mine.” Ao Yun calculated in his heart, a confident smile rising on his face.

“Senior’s proposal is not excessive. This junior naturally obeys.” The moment Ao Yun said these words, the faces of the hundred soldiers behind and around him changed dramatically.