Free Web NovelChapter 356: Chapter 57: A Deal
A Dragon’s Roar echoed in response to Su Zhou’s words. Waves of Suppression rippled outward, blanketing the sea for thousands of meters around.
In Su Zhou’s hand, the long, grayish-black creature was stimulated by the close-range disturbance. Its body contracted rapidly, and it ejected its internal organs.
’Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to disturb you.’
Su Zhou felt quite guilty for disturbing the sea cucumber’s quiet, reclusive life on the seabed. He infused it with a bit of Spiritual Power and released it in an area rich with Spiritual Qi as compensation.
Turning back, he sized up the Flood Dragon before him once more. The image of a gigantic sea cucumber instantly appeared in his mind, erasing any sense of ferocity and leaving only a feeling of absurdity.
’It’s really... a sea cucumber?’
’Since when could sea cucumbers become dragons!?’
’Fate truly works in mysterious ways!’
To be honest, it took a lot to shock Su Zhou; after all, he hadn’t even batted an eye when he saw the Peacock Divine Bird use its Five-Colored Divine Light. ’Damn,’ Su Zhou complained internally. ’It’s a good thing the production crew isn’t filming this part, and they can’t hear Soul Communication. If the audience saw or heard this, who knows how many comments would flood the screen, and the True Dragon’s prestige would hit rock bottom!’
A soft snort could be heard, followed by a click of the tongue.
The general audience couldn’t hear it, but the Holy Seats linked to him via the Communication Array certainly could. The Daoist Saint and the Military Saint immediately exchanged a look. The former made a gesture for a dragon, while the latter mimed a sea cucumber. With a childish spirit, the two old men shared a grin. Though no one actually laughed out loud, the conference hall was still filled with a joyous atmosphere.
"I have to ask, Yara. Are dragons really this... casual?"
In his Soul Space, Su Zhou looked at Yara, his eyes full of curious inquiry.
Yara snapped irritably, "Don’t look at me. I know what you’re thinking: ’So, does that mean anything long and squiggly is fair game?’ And my answer is, ’Yes, that’s right!’ As long as it’s long, it can work! In fact, even kelp could do it!"
"What about chopsticks?" Su Zhou pressed, curious.
"What’s so hard about a chopstick gaining sentience and then switching to the Dragon Transformation Dao?" Yara looked at Su Zhou as if he were a curious child. "Ink can become a dragon. A cat can become a dragon. Chickens, cows, and pigs can too. You, a living person, could do it, to say nothing of a chopstick! Do you think there’s something inherently noble about being a dragon? What’s noble is power, not bloodline!"
"That’s true."
Su Zhou thought about it carefully and realized it was true. History and ancient Classics were full of Kaidan and legends about all sorts of bizarre things becoming dragons. All he could say was that the Dragon Transformation Dao truly had no taboos, and the Mimic Dao could really mimic anything.
At that moment, the five submersibles were scanning the area around the Dragon Bone like five burly Heroes ransacking a villager’s home. The Flood Dragon was growing restless, but it couldn’t drive away the submersibles like it normally would with other approaching creatures, and it was getting very anxious.
Meanwhile, Su Zhou was chatting with the Flood Dragon, asking it for bits and pieces of information.
This Flood Dragon had a strong sense of territory. It would often drive away any Sea Beast that came near its domain, regardless of their intentions. Take, for example, the Giant Whale they had encountered earlier, which resembled a Kunpeng. It had probably just come over out of curiosity to say hello, but the Flood Dragon had insisted on picking a fight, annoying the normally good-tempered whale. After learning about Su Zhou’s group’s objective, the whale was practically gloating.
However, its nature was indeed like that of a sea cucumber. When no other Sea Beasts were around, it would just sleep and cultivate near the Dragon Bone. It was truly single-minded and diligent... ’So,’ Su Zhou wondered, ’does that mean if a sea cucumber gains a soul and intelligence, it becomes a cultivation genius?’
[This is the first time I have encountered beings like you.]
The Flood Dragon had never harmed a human; it had never even seen one. Once it sensed that Su Zhou truly had no malicious intent, it relaxed. After letting go of its hostility, it could vaguely sense an aura emanating from Su Zhou that seemed even more ethereal and profound than the Dragon King’s heritage.
This meant Su Zhou possessed a heritage far more advanced than its own. And from his attitude, it seemed that Su Zhou and the faction behind him weren’t here to covet its heritage.
Knowing this made what Su Zhou said next much easier for it to accept.
"Although living in the deep sea is quiet and leisurely, and you can live a peaceful life like a plant, this world is destined for turmoil."
Su Zhou’s voice was devoid of emotion. Following the Holy Seats’ instructions, he extended an olive branch of cooperation to the Flood Dragon. "In the future, Space-Time Passages to other worlds will appear in Earth’s oceans... What is Earth? It’s the Central Immortal Realm from your heritage—the world we live in. In short, paths to other Ocean Secret Realms will open. The oceans will no longer be peaceful, whether we go to their side or beings from their side come to ours."
"Flood Dragon, are you interested in cooperating with us? We are willing to provide resources and other heritage magics, and we will recognize your territory in the ocean. In return, all you need to do is monitor the oceans for any anomalies and report to us immediately."
[...So, you wish to re-establish the Central Divine Court? And you need me to help you observe the situation in the seas?]
The Flood Dragon certainly didn’t understand modern human organizational structures, but its inherited memories contained recollections of the Celestial Pool from the time of the Celestial Pool Dragon King. It wasn’t stupid, either, so it chose the closest equivalent. [In other words, you are inviting me to join you, to serve as a defender of the seas for you?]
Su Zhou wasn’t the least bit surprised by this. Clearly, according to the Dragon King’s heritage in the Flood Dragon’s bloodline, this was how the former Central Divine Court must have operated.
"That’s one way to put it."
Su Zhou nodded and continued, "But before that, we’d like to copy the Dragon Pearl heritage of the Celestial Pool Dragon King. This isn’t robbery; it’s for duplication and preservation. If you feel it’s a loss, we can provide you with the heritage of other Dragon Gods or Dragon Kings according to your needs. But the heritage of the Elder Sages must be recovered and strictly protected, made available for all who are qualified to learn, not kept as the private collection of some person or thing. This point is non-negotiable."
To carry on the lost teachings of the Elder Sages of the past—this was one of the most important matters in the eyes of the Saints of the Righteous Country, who saw themselves as the heirs to the entire lineage of the Divine Land’s Extraordinary. Heritage was the mark of a civilization, the source of a cultural sphere. Every recovery of a lost Dao of an Elder Sage was another stone laid in the foundation. It was Zhengguo’s fundamental national policy in the Era of Spiritual Qi Revival.
[...My instincts strongly reject this. I am selfish. I do not want my heritage to be known or held by others. It would be best if I am the only one who knows.]
Hearing Su Zhou’s request, the Flood Dragon let out a hesitant murmur, but it didn’t lie, speaking its mind truthfully. [But my inherited memories tell me that ’accepting’ is the best choice. The memories of the Celestial Pool Dragon Ancestor make me understand that I currently have no reason to refuse, nor the power to do so.]
[Besides, I’m not actually losing anything. I can even gain other heritages in return. Both our sides profit. Perhaps you profit more, but it’s still all good for me... This feeling, where my instincts are the complete opposite of the reality of the situation, is so strange.]
The Flood Dragon, which rarely used this kind of intelligence, couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. [Is this... human... thinking? What a strange feeling!]
"That’s normal. The Taoist Venerable of Dao and Virtue once said, ’Truthful words seem paradoxical.’ The fact that you’ve agreed is a good thing."
Su Zhou could tell that the Flood Dragon had agreed. Moreover, it didn’t mind accepting Zhengguo’s invitation.
Or rather, it sensed that if it were to firmly refuse this invitation, what happened next would probably be a bit bloody and not suitable for young viewers.
To be honest, Su Zhou didn’t want things to develop to that point either. After all, this Flood Dragon had done nothing wrong, and he didn’t want to resort to violence. It was precisely because the power of the Evil-Devouring Demon Lord was based on one’s own convictions that he could view the world through his own pure sense of right and wrong.
Fortunately, the power Su Zhou had worked so hard to cultivate played its part, making the seemingly irritable Flood Dragon become docile and open to communication.
[I agree.]
"Good. There’s no time to lose. Let’s start now."
Without hesitation, Su Zhou led the now-compliant Flood Dragon back into the view of the five submersibles.
At this time, Su Zhou used the Communication Array to inform everyone that he had persuaded the Flood Dragon. The various exploration teams, having also just finished a rough scan of the Dragon Bone from end to end, all gathered around Su Zhou.
"Looks like this Flood Dragon has been completely persuaded."
"Persuaded (physically)."
"It’s a good thing there was no fight this time. I didn’t want to see a dragon get killed, either. It’s a totem, after all."
"It’d be nice if you were a dragon, too."
Seeing the two return, comments from the netizens came pouring in.
"Next, we will enter the skull of the Celestial Pool Dragon King and make contact with the Dragon Pearl."
Naturally, Su Zhou was unaware of the netizens’ opinions. He made a public announcement on the team’s communication channel. As the leader of this expedition, his declaration meant one thing.
The final step of the Dragon King’s Remains expedition was about to begin.
Before an audience of the entire world, they would reveal the nature of the Mimic Dao by displaying the heritage contained within the Dragon King’s Dragon Pearl.
