Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 316: A True Dragon Slaying Fortune, The Secret Annals (Part 2)
An unreadable smile appeared on Xuzhuang’s face. "It is indeed a rare occasion," he said. "If we cannot witness such a grand banquet, wouldn’t our trip to the Dragon Palace have been a waste? It seems we must still ask you to procure two invitations for us."
’What? Can these two really not see that His Highness is displeased with the Eighth Prince’s actions?’
Xiao Si’s cheek twitched. He said hesitantly, "That’s how it should be... but His Highness has forbidden me from using his name for such things. I don’t know if I can pull the right strings..."
"I understand." Shishi’s face broke into a smile. Her delicate hand pulled something from the embroidered pouch at her waist and pressed it into Xiao Si’s palm. "As for the invitations, we’ll be counting on you~"
"This...!" Xiao Si exclaimed, about to refuse. But then he felt the object in his hand and hesitated for a long moment. ’This wasn’t my intention!’
"Very well!" Xiao Si said with a pained expression. "Rest assured, you two, I will do everything in my power."
He glanced toward the back of the hall and said, "Why don’t I show you to a side palace to get settled first? That way, I can go and see to this matter."
"Excellent." Xuzhuang smiled and nodded.
Xiao Si bowed in return and said, "Please, follow me."
To everyone in the Dragon Palace, Xuzhuang and Shishi were lovers, so it was only natural they would share a room. Xiao Si led them to a side palace, and after saying he was off to handle things for them, he departed.
Though called a side palace, it was quite spacious and well-appointed with all the necessities. Xuzhuang walked to a chair made of ice and sat down gracefully. He noticed a pitcher made of Profound Ice on the table and couldn’t help but grow curious. ’In this underwater world, what could possibly be inside a pitcher?’
"I didn’t expect that just after the Sixth Prince returned the Dragon Pearl, the Eighth Prince would immediately start organizing his wedding banquet. It seems the fraternal bonds within the Dragon Race aren’t so strong, are they?" Xuzhuang picked up the ice pitcher and poured. A viscous, flowing nectar streamed from the spout, coiling in the cup without dissipating—a curious sight indeed.
"Oh?" As the nectar flowed out, Xuzhuang caught a mellow fragrance and the scent of dense Spiritual Qi. It was a peculiar type of Spiritual Truth. "What kind of Spiritual Truth is this?" he asked in surprise.
"This is merely ordinary Spiritual Qi, refined into Spiritual Truth by the Dragon Palace using a Secret Technique. Its quality could be considered superior, and in the East Sea Territory, it’s a luxury item that has a price but no market." Shishi took the pitcher, poured some for herself, and smiled. "There’s something you may not know, sir. Although these ’Princes’ in the Dragon Palace are ranked by seniority, that is simply a rule set down by the Dragon Race long ago. They are not all born of the same mother, so it’s natural for their relationships to vary in closeness."
Xuzhuang nodded, though it was unclear which of her points he was acknowledging. "Be that as it may," he asked, "a True Dragon has fallen, after all. Isn’t this Eighth Prince afraid of displeasing the palace elders by acting this way?"
"That, I do not know," Shishi said. "However, I would guess... this so-called ’fall of a True Dragon’ and the ’shock to the Dragon Palace’ is probably more a matter of the Dragon Race’s dignity. As for whether it truly causes them great sorrow, that’s likely not the case."
"Oh?" Xuzhuang asked doubtfully. "That doesn’t quite align with what I know."
"Sir, did you really think that True Dragons were so incredibly rare?" A smile played in Shishi’s eyes as she explained slowly, "That’s just a misconception from rumors in the outside world. What’s so rare about these young dragons in the Dragon Palace? There might be several hundred, or at the very least, several dozen. Every generation produces plenty of them."
"The ’number of True Dragons’ has never really changed... In the past, the term referred to the Divine Beasts blessed at the dawn of the universe—the congenital Dragon Race that could naturally reach the Primordial Spirit Realm simply with the passage of time. Later, it referred to the True Dragons who successfully cultivated a Primordial Spirit and achieved longevity. It has nothing to do with these young dragons of today."
"They can naturally achieve a Primordial Spirit just by aging?" Xuzhuang asked in shock. "Does such a heaven-defying species really exist?"
"Hm? The Tai Su Sect should have records of this, no? Do you rarely read such secret chronicles, sir?" Shishi smiled. "Legend has it that at the dawn of the universe, the Dragon Race were natural-born Divine Beasts. The birth of each True Dragon was an arduous process. But with great hardship comes great fortune!"
"The congenital Dragon Race was born without the Life and Death Profound Gate. They were immortal from birth, and as the years passed, they would naturally form a Primordial Spirit."
"However, the Great Dao is constant; gain and loss are always in balance. Perhaps the True Dragon race seized too much of creation’s fortune, or perhaps being born without the fear of death made many of them lazy. Even after forming a Primordial Spirit, many True Dragons could not escape mortal calamities, murderous tribulations, and the Three Disasters. After countless ages, the uniquely blessed Dragon Race did not grow stronger. Instead, it showed signs of steady decline."
For Xuzhuang, who had always been engrossed in his cultivation, such primordial secrets were things he had never heard before. He was listening intently, so when Shishi paused, he couldn’t help but ask, "And then what?"
"Later..." A look of immense yearning filled Shishi’s eyes. "Legend says there was a mighty expert of the Dragon Race who had attained an inconceivable level of achievement. He felt that his race’s easy path to the Dao was actually harming them. Using unimaginable Divine Techniques, he severed the fortune that granted them immortality from birth. From that point on, the True Dragon race also had to cultivate step-by-step and break through the Life and Death Profound Gate to forge a Primordial Spirit and attain true immortality."
"This...?" The tale, like a myth or legend, left Xuzhuang stunned and filled him with a sense of boundless yearning.
"It’s hard to imagine that such a mythical story would appear in the actual records of a sect," Shishi said wistfully. "That’s why the Dragon Race has always believed that only one who forges a Primordial Spirit is a ’True Dragon’."
Xuzhuang said thoughtfully, "So these Princes in the Dragon Palace today... it’s not that they’re unimportant, but they aren’t as precious to the Dragon Race as one might think?"
Shishi smiled. "Of course, that’s just my own speculation."
Xuzhuang chuckled. "Your speculation is quite reasonable... Oh? He certainly works fast. Is he back already?"
Shishi said, "Your Spiritual Sense is incredibly sharp, sir. That person is still a long way from this palace."
Xuzhuang replied noncommittally, "But didn’t you sense him as well?"
Shishi smiled. "I wouldn’t dare to casually probe my surroundings with my Spiritual Sense here in the Dragon Palace."
As for how she knew, she said no more.
The two waited patiently for a short while, and sure enough, a sound came from outside the door. Xiao Si hurried in at a light jog.
Seeing the two of them in the main hall, Xiao Si beamed and produced two gilt-edged documents from his robes. "My lord, my lady, I’m happy to report I was successful. I managed to acquire these from the palace of a certain prince..."
"Oh? We’ve troubled you, then." Before Xiao Si could finish, Xuzhuang reached out his hand, and the two documents flew into his grasp. He opened one and saw that it was, indeed, an invitation to the Eighth Prince’s wedding banquet.
"This..." Xiao Si’s face twitched as he hesitated, unsure what to say. Seeing his expression, Shishi gave a silent smile, rose to her feet, and walked over to him. She produced a lustrous pearl and placed it in his hand. "Thank you for your diligence in handling this matter so quickly," she said softly. "There is one more thing we must trouble you with. My dear Xu is quite fond of the Spiritual Truth from your prince’s hall. Might we ask you to fetch a few more pitchers?"
Xiao Si accepted the pearl, his face lighting up. "Of course, of course! The Spiritual Truth allotment is a small matter. I’ll have someone fetch it at once." He then departed, overjoyed.
Xuzhuang said, "Greed knows no bounds. Why do you bother with such a petty man, Miss?"
Shishi smiled. "Yama is easy to meet, but his imps are hard to handle. It’s just a bit of spare coin. Let’s just say we used it to ’buy’ what I wanted from the Dragon Palace."
"The value is hardly equivalent," Xuzhuang said with a laugh. He handed her one of the invitations. "This Eighth Prince is certainly in a hurry. The banquet starts in two days and will last for three."
"This is good news for us," Shishi said. "The Dragon Palace is no place to linger. The sooner we can achieve our goal, the better."
"You are absolutely right," Xuzhuang said with a smile. "Then in two days, let us go and investigate this True Dragon’s wedding banquet."
"Excellent," Shishi replied.
