“Next time you draw your sword, give me a heads up!”
Ao Yao steadied herself, stomping her small feet in green embroidered shoes to confirm the ground was solid.
Then she floated up, her tiny body rising to Jiang Zhun’s eye level, and reached out to strangle his neck.
Her small hands clamped around his neck from both sides, but there was no strength in them—just loosely encircling.
She said with shame and annoyance, her voice crisp and childish: “Seriously, who just draws a sword without a word like that?!”
As she spoke, she symbolically shook his neck, her doll-like face full of dissatisfaction.
The tips of her ears were still flushed with red that hadn’t faded, and her legs seemed a bit weak, wobbling in midair.
Jiang Zhun’s mouth twitched. He reached out and patted her head.
“Look, where is this?”
Ao Yao’s movements froze.
She let go, dropped down from midair, her embroidered shoes lightly touching the ground, and looked around.
This was a palace. A massive palace.
The walls were a deep earthy yellow, like the color of mineral veins deep within the earth that had settled for millennia.
There were no extra decorations on those walls—only the simplest lines and the roughest edges, yet it was precisely this simplicity that exuded a suffocating pressure.
As if the entire palace had been hewn out of a single great mountain, every inch carried the weight of the earth.
Wisps of Earth Element Qi converged from all directions, sinking into the ground, into the walls, into every giant stone pillar supporting the dome. Earth Element Qi.
“Here is…”
Ao Yao looked around in confusion, her big green eyes full of bewilderment.
She didn’t know where this was. But without a doubt, this place was definitely important to the Yellow Dragon Clan.
The reason was simple—the Azure Dragon Clan also had such places.
But the problem was, weren’t these places usually forbidden lands?
She subconsciously leaned closer to Jiang Zhun.
“Who goes there?!”
A thunderous shout! The sound was like a sudden clap of thunder, making the entire hall buzz and echo!
A flash of yellow light! Several figures shot out from the depths of the hall.
Their speed was extremely fast, leaving long arcs of earthy yellow afterimages in the air, converging from all directions.
In the blink of an eye, several Yellow Dragons swam over and transformed instantly.
They surrounded Jiang Zhun and Ao Yao tightly.
“Who goes there? How dare you trespass into our Yellow Dragon Clan’s forbidden land!” the leading Yellow Dragon shouted sharply.
She wore a dark yellow combat outfit with minimal fabric.
It was really just a few pieces of treated thick leather covering key areas—chest, waist, and upper thighs.
Everywhere else, large patches of skin were exposed, showing a healthy wheat color. A strong dragon tail swung behind her, and her body lines were very smooth and full of strength.
Jiang Zhun’s expression changed.
He instinctively shielded Ao Yao tightly behind him, one arm wrapping around her slender waist, holding her whole body against his.
After all, the Azure Dragon Short Sword was in his possession, so Ao Yao didn’t have any obvious means of resistance.
Cang Ling had already gotten into trouble; he couldn’t let Ao Yao end up the same way.
Ao Yao’s body stiffened, her small form pressed against Jiang Zhun, feeling very strange.
Jiang Zhun’s gaze swept around, over the coiling dragon bodies, over the menacing faces.
He frowned and began to think.
‘He now suspected whether every time he appeared, he would appear closest to the person involved. For example, last time in Cang Ling’s illusion realm, it wasn’t long before Cang Ling walked in wearing wedding clothes. Could Cang Jing be nearby right now?’
But as he looked left and right, he only saw those very representative Yellow Dragons, and found no trace of Cang Ling or Cang Jing.
“Who are you?” The leading Yellow Dragon lady stepped forward, asking aggressively, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Zhun and Ao Yao.
“How did you appear in our Yellow Dragon Clan’s secret realm?”
Jiang Zhun didn’t answer immediately. He whispered to Ao Yao, “Do you know her?”
Ao Yao said in a low voice, “I do. She seems to be an elder of the Yellow Dragon Clan…” She paused, then added, “But from the looks of it, she doesn’t seem to recognize me.”
“The Azure Dragon Clan of this world might not even have a Saintess.”
After all, this was Cang Jing’s world. The two sisters were probably similar—the Yellow Dragons dominated, so the Azure Dragon Clan might not have a Saintess. Without a Saintess, there was no status, and without status, the other party wouldn’t recognize her.
Jiang Zhun nodded. His fingers inconspicuously moved to his waist, where the Azure Dragon Short Sword was tucked.
He whispered to Ao Yao, “I might have to draw the sword. Be careful.”
Ao Yao glared at him. Her eyes held reproach, dissatisfaction, and resignation. She didn’t say anything else, just silently clamped her thighs together, her small legs tucking in and pressing together, knees slightly inward under her skirt.
‘She really wanted to ask, don’t you also have that woman in the crystal coffin as a backup? Why do you have to draw my sword?’ But given the critical situation, if something went wrong it would be bad, so naturally she couldn’t say it. Anyway, it wasn’t the first time he had drawn her sword.
“My apologies.” Jiang Zhun cupped his hands and said in a loud voice, his voice echoing in the empty hall. “I am here to seek the Saintess Cang Jing.”
The leading Yellow Dragon lady was puzzled. Her expression turned serious, her brows furrowed, as she looked Jiang Zhun up and down. “How did you get in? How do you know that Saintess Cang Jing is here?” Her tone became more aggressive, and the air pressure around her dropped a few degrees.
“That is not for me to say at this moment.” Jiang Zhun’s voice was calm.
“But barging in here is a serious crime. Come back with me for trial.” The dragon lady said sternly.
Jiang Zhun’s expression turned grave. He looked around, his gaze darting between the coiling dragon bodies and the thick stone pillars. He was looking for where Cang Jing might be.
There was no more time to waste. He remembered that Cang Jing’s crystal was about to be completely contaminated. The last bit of transparency was being eaten away by blackness inch by inch.
Jiang Zhun turned his head to look. Behind him, there were two paths. One on the left, one on the right. Both paths were deep and long, with no end in sight.
“How about we make a bet?” he whispered to Ao Yao. “I bet Cang Jing might be on the left path.”
Ao Yao turned to look at the two paths. She hesitated for a moment, her big green eyes shifting back and forth between the two paths, her lips slightly pursed, her small face full of serious thought. Then she said based on instinct, “I bet it’s the right path.”
Jiang Zhun wasn’t reassured, and said, “Let’s add a wager. If I lose, I’ll marry an Azure Dragon clan lady.”
“Deal.”
“Let’s go.”
“Okay… Wait, what?!” Ao Yao immediately reacted! She stared wide-eyed at Jiang Zhun, her small face full of disbelief, mouth open.
‘How could there be such a shameless man in this world? Was marrying an Azure Dragon clan lady such a big concession to him? What did he mean by “just” marry an Azure Dragon clan lady?’
“What kind of bet is that?! Do you even have any shame?” she hissed.
But Jiang Zhun had already pulled her and started walking toward the right path.
“Stop!” the leading Yellow Dragon lady shouted sternly. “If you take one more step, don’t blame us for attacking!”
She lunged forward, her speed astonishing, her entire body turning into an earthy yellow blur as she charged straight at Jiang Zhun’s face. The few Yellow Dragons behind her also moved simultaneously, encircling from all sides, their dragon bodies coiling, their tails sweeping, sealing off the escape route completely.
Strong wind howled, the ground trembled, and the air was torn with sharp screams.
Jiang Zhun’s fingers tightened abruptly. With a puchi sound, the Azure Dragon Short Sword was drawn.
In that instant, the cyan light on the blade burst out like a dam breaking! The Two Energies of Yin and Yang within Jiang Zhun’s body spun wildly, black and white lights intertwined with the cyan sword light, condensing in front of him into a huge, flowing barrier of light.
He slashed fiercely! Space was cut open.
The barrier of light turned into a sharp Sword Qi, spanning between him and the group of Yellow Dragons.
The few Yellow Dragons in the lead sharply halted their momentum, shock in their eyes.
“Go!” Jiang Zhun shouted, picking up Ao Yao and dashing toward the right path.
Ao Yao endured.
She clamped her thighs together, her small legs tightly pressed together, knees slightly inward, ankles touching, huddled in Jiang Zhun’s arms, her cheeks flushed with an abnormal red, the tips of her ears burning hot.