San’er? Shan’er? Fiancée? Where did this new setting come from?!
In the original story, didn’t the Black Dragon Ao Hang silently assist Mo Xuanli after appearing?
What the h*ll was going on now?
The grip on Gu Baiqing’s throat was tight enough to sting, keeping him awake but leaving him unable to channel any magic at all.
“What… are you talking about?” Gu Baiqing forced out.
Ao Hang yanked him closer, pressing his face near Gu Baiqing’s neck to sniff. The more he smelled, the angrier he grew. D*mn it—this was all San’er’s scent. How could San’er be so close to some random man? For the scent to cling so deeply, how long must they have been together—day and night? His San’er…
Ao Hang’s eyes flashed green with fury. His grip tightened, ready to interrogate further—when his pupils suddenly contracted. In an instant, he vanished from where he stood.
An arrow streaked past, grazing his long hair and nearly cutting his neck.
He dodged—but the arrow curved midair and came back for him.
The aura on that arrow was familiar. Still holding Gu Baiqing, Ao Hang evaded again—but then a figure suddenly appeared before him.
Spatial magic?
Ao Hang was shocked. Since that old man’s death, no one should have been capable of space manipulation! He had suffered a loss to such magic once before.
Caught off guard and forced to dodge the homing arrow, Ao Hang found himself on the defensive. A flash of white appeared—his captive was snatched from his grasp.
Behind him, a huge dragon tail materialized, swatting away the relentless God Nine Transformations. Ao Hang’s gaze followed the direction where his target vanished—and sure enough, the man who had taken Gu Baiqing had reappeared not far away, unable to teleport far distances.
Ao Hang’s expression turned savage. He covered the eye beneath the scale-patterned patch.
He could feel it—the man before him carried something of his. It was because that item had fallen into the sea that Ao Hang had awakened. That object was his betrothal gift to San’er, something they should have kept with them at all times. He could still sense they were alive—so how could his keepsake be in another man’s hands?
Ao Hang didn’t stop to think—this was his only lead to San’er. These two… he had to capture and interrogate them both!
Meanwhile, Gu Baiqing, held tightly in Mo Xuanli’s arms, couldn’t believe the young man had managed to rescue him while still fighting the old monster and the dragon.
Mo Xuanli’s head was bowed, his pupils trembling violently, his expression a mix of fear and rage. Half his body was soaked in blood.
He had been forcing himself to fight using the sacred ground’s spiritual power, trying to hold out long enough to build strength—but how could he rest easy while his master lay helpless? He had kept glancing over.
And in that instant, he had seen a dangerous man grab his master by the throat.
Mo Xuanli’s soul had nearly left his body from the shock. Without a thought for the battle behind him, he turned, drew his bow, and fired. Even with his guard up, the Shadow-Sky Wyvern’s claws raked across his back.
Had he not instantly activated the Void Spirit Space, his shoulder bones would’ve been shattered.
But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the sight of the bruises on his master’s neck. His hand trembled as he gently brushed Gu Baiqing’s throat.
“I’m fine—go,” Gu Baiqing rasped hoarsely.
From the left, the old monster and the Shadow-Sky Wyvern were closing in; from the front, Ao Hang advanced, murderous intent rolling off him in waves. The situation was a complete mess—worse than anything in the original plot.
Not only had a Shadow-Sky Wyvern been added, but the Black Dragon’s appearance wasn’t even friendly—he was hostile!
He had already contributed more power than the original storyline, and Mo Xuanli even had the Sacred Land’s spiritual aid—how had the script gone so wrong?!
The sacred ground continued to pour spiritual energy into Mo Xuanli, keeping his seal stable even under attack. But guilt welled up in Gu Baiqing nonetheless. His hand rested on Mo Xuanli’s back, feeling the steady flow of blood—this boy was badly hurt.
Mo Xuanli’s face was grim as he flew, holding Gu Baiqing tightly while fleeing as fast as he could.
Gu Baiqing wouldn’t let his disciple shoulder everything alone. The chaos was his fault—he’d clean it up. But as useless as his current body was, the only thing he could do now… was call for help from the system.
Gu Baiqing immediately ordered the system to exchange a “strategy pouch” to get them out of the current crisis.
But the system’s response nearly made him spit blood—it actually said this wasn’t an emergency. Not an emergency? How the h*ll was this not an emergency?!
Mo Xuanli had barely fled a short distance with Gu Baiqing when Ao Hang’s hand suddenly turned into a dragon’s claw and grabbed at empty air. A force barrier stopped Mo Xuanli midair and then slammed him hard into the ground.
The difference in strength between him and a divine beast-level opponent made Mo Xuanli’s face turn even paler. His knees struck the ground heavily before he barely managed to steady himself. The taste of blood filled his mouth, and he had to swallow it back down.
The old monster, having caught up, finally got a clear look at Ao Hang—and his face twisted in shocked delight. A true dragon… it was actually a true dragon!
For any beast tamer, subduing a true dragon meant ascension.
The true dragon was actually fighting Mo Xuanli—perhaps he could seize the chance… but then he realized something was off. The Jade Condensed Merfolk Pearl was with Mo Xuanli—if it were shattered, all his future plans would collapse.
He had to make Ao Hang kill Mo Xuanli first, before Mo Xuanli could destroy the jade. The old monster slithered like a venomous snake, hiding nearby, waiting for his chance.
At this point, for Mo Xuanli, escaping with Gu Baiqing from Ao Hang’s grasp was simply impossible. Even with his potential pushed to the absolute limit, he still couldn’t match the dragon.
Within a few exchanges, he was already in a sorry state.
Gu Baiqing urged Mo Xuanli to put him down, but Mo Xuanli refused.
“Ao Hang—we’re not enemies!” Gu Baiqing shouted. “We can talk this out!”
“I don’t care who you are—stay still!” Ao Hang snarled, his dragon tail sweeping from behind. Carrying the power to shatter all magical barriers, it wrapped tightly around Mo Xuanli.
Mo Xuanli held Gu Baiqing with one arm, while his other hand spun the God Nine Transformations, his long blade slicing down—but Ao Hang raised a hand and blocked it with a spell.
Driven to his limits, Mo Xuanli’s cultivation seemed to surge wildly, faintly releasing the aura of the Nascent Soul stage. It gave Ao Hang a headache; the two became locked in a deadlock, but Mo Xuanli clearly couldn’t last long.
“Be good and come with me!” Ao Hang commanded coldly.
Mo Xuanli glared back fiercely, completely ignoring him.
Just then, boosted by the Shadow-Sky Wyvern’s wind power, the old monster struck at Mo Xuanli with a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
At that moment, Mo Xuanli and Ao Hang’s powers were intertwined—if the old monster hit Mo Xuanli, Ao Hang would take damage as well.
“D*mn old ghost,” Ao Hang cursed inwardly, loosening his grip to deflect the attack.
Mo Xuanli noticed this as well.
Even a dying tribulation-stage cultivator’s blow, aimed straight at his spiritual root, would be enough to kill him.
Time seemed to stretch unbearably long in that instant.
Mo Xuanli didn’t want to die—but even more, he didn’t want to die and leave no one to protect his master. As he frantically calculated his options, the person in his arms suddenly moved.
Mo Xuanli’s gaze dropped—and saw Morning Snow glowing faintly, like a small rod, pushing Gu Baiqing’s body forward in his arms.
Until Gu Baiqing’s body came to rest right in front of him—blocking him.
The old monster’s eyes went wide at the same moment, realizing his strike was about to hit the wrong person.
All the blood in Mo Xuanli’s body seemed to freeze solid. Morning Snow would never have acted on its own—unless directed by Gu Baiqing.
So it was his master…
In that split second, Mo Xuanli’s pupils contracted sharply. A green light flared from his mouth, and a strange wave of spiritual energy rippled outward.
The Gu Baiqing he had been holding vanished instantly. Mo Xuanli raised the arm that had held his master—and caught the old monster’s strike head-on.
Their spiritual energies collided midair, sending shockwaves across the field. His other arm was still locked in a contest of strength with Ao Hang.
The arriving Manor Lord Yu froze in shock at the sight.
Mo Xuanli—at this very moment—was singlehandedly withstanding attacks from both the true dragon Ao Hang and a tribulation-stage elder, while simultaneously activating the Void Spirit Space to send Gu Baiqing away.
Anyone else would have been obliterated by the two forces.
Then both the old monster and Manor Lord Yu sensed something wrong. That just now… was the Jade Condensed Merfolk Pearl shattering?
At that moment, the surrounding sea erupted. Everyone within that section of ocean was struck by the backlash of exploding spiritual energy.
The epicenter of the tremor came from the distant Merfolk Sacred Ground. Like a volcanic eruption, immense power surged outward as countless pearls forming the sanctuary shattered one after another. The entire ocean glowed blue-green.
The Sacred Ground collapsed, its dissipating spiritual energy fading into heaven and earth.
Meanwhile, Junhua and the others, still struggling against the Beast-Taming Manor forces, turned pale—but didn’t dare look toward the explosion. They gritted their teeth, tears in their eyes, and seized this fleeting advantage to escort more merfolk to safety.
The Sacred Ground had been formed from the pearls left behind by merfolk lovers who lived and died together—it was the most sacred heritage of their race. Now, it had given them its final blessing: to save more of their kin, and to keep their allies safe.
Back at the battlefield, Manor Lord Yu’s face twisted in rage. He cursed furiously, ordering his men to seize whatever pearls they could.
The old monster was even more enraged, glaring at Mo Xuanli with savage fury, ready to summon the Shadow-Sky Wyvern to kill him once and for all.
But suddenly, a sinister aura began to spread from Mo Xuanli’s body.
He slowly raised his head—his black eyes were gradually being dyed blood-red.
The old monster gasped. “He’s… turning demonic?!”
Ao Hang’s face darkened. “No—this is… a demon hybrid?! No, not just that…”
The demonic seal within Mo Xuanli hadn’t been broken, yet the collapse of the Sacred Ground and the clash of two powerful cultivators had shaken it loose.
A red-black flame, mixed with both spiritual and demonic energy, erupted from Mo Xuanli’s body.
Sensing danger, both the old monster and Ao Hang tried to retreat—but it was already too late.
Ao Hang immediately transformed into his true form — a colossal dragon — and soared upward, blocking the flames.
The old monster, meanwhile, had to rely on his Sky-Covering Wyvern, managing to withstand the blow only at the cost of nearly crippling one of its wings.
But just as the wyvern’s wings lowered, the old monster caught a flash of red eyes.
An instant later, he was struck.
While the old monster and his beast were struggling to hold their ground, Ao Hang was preparing to join the fight. After all, he could tell that no matter how powerful Mo Xuanli appeared now, the youth was nearly spent. He couldn’t let the old monster get the chance to kill that boy — not before learning why something that belonged to him was now in that boy’s possession!
But right then, a familiar aura flickered past him.
The Tricolor Illusion Cat… Ao Hang’s expression changed drastically — it was his San’er.
The massive dragon’s body twisted in midair and shot toward the coral reef.
Three Bean, in his kitten form, had dived into the sea and finally reached the area, only to find chaos everywhere — a battlefield in shambles.
He was about to follow the trail of his contract to find his master when a black figure appeared out of nowhere, slowly sinking through the water.
It was Gu Baiqing.
When Mo Xuanli had activated the Void Spirit Space, he hadn’t had time to think — only to send Gu Baiqing somewhere safe and trustworthy. Perhaps the Void Spirit Space had sensed the presence of his contracted beast, or perhaps Mo Xuanli’s control over his spell was limited and couldn’t send him too far. Either way, Three Bean had become the nearest possible destination.
But how could a little cat possibly catch Gu Baiqing?
He tried to transform, but realizing that Gu Baiqing had no spiritual energy left, Three Bean could only forcefully draw on his own power to take his true form as a Tricolor Illusion Cat, catching Gu Baiqing securely on his back and slowly descending.
“Three Bean…” Gu Baiqing could sense the familiar aura, but his eyes were too heavy to open.
“Master, are you all right? You’re hurt—where’s Xuanli?”
“Xuanli… danger… save…”
Gu Baiqing had truly reached his limit. He’d held on as long as humanly possible; though he wanted desperately to rush to Xuanli’s side — even in confusion, even asking help from the little Three Bean whom his own constitution had once harmed — he could do nothing more before losing consciousness.
Three Bean panicked. The situation was dire — though he couldn’t help directly, he couldn’t just ignore Xuanli either. But without Gu Baiqing, he couldn’t sense Mo Xuanli’s presence at all. “Master, wake up! What do I do? What should I do…”
He was on the verge of tears when suddenly a massive shadow loomed over him.
Three Bean looked up — a black dragon was coiled above him, its sheer majesty striking terror like a nightmare returned. Especially that single dragon eye, locked tightly on him.
“Yaaah!” Three Bean yelped, his spiritual power scattering as he reverted into a tiny kitten. Luckily, he had already brought Gu Baiqing close to the seabed; cushioned by the water, Gu Baiqing landed safely. Three Bean stood before him, staring blankly.
A flash of golden light — the black dragon transformed into a man in black robes. His face was frozen, unsure what expression to wear. He could only stare at the kitten, taking a few steps closer… and a few more… lips moving, yet no words came out.
Ao Hang said in disbelief, “San’er… it’s really you… San’er, you—”
“You—Ah! Ao Hang!” Three Bean’s frightened, guilty look suddenly shifted. He cried out, “You have Xuanli’s scent on you! You’ve seen him, haven’t you? Hurry—hurry and save him!”
“What! You’ve been missing all this time, and the first thing you say to me is that?” Ao Hang seemed to snap out of some emotion, instantly furious. He was about to seize Three Bean — he didn’t care anymore. He would drag his little cat back to the Dragon Palace and settle everything there. What did anyone else matter?
“Xuanli is my benefactor — my master — both of them saved my life! Master says Xuanli’s in danger right now. Ao Hang, I can’t do anything myself, so I’m begging you — please, go save him!” Three Bean pleaded desperately.
Ao Hang frowned, still furious. “That man — he’s the one you gave my eye to? And you want me to save him?”
Three Bean looked even more guilty, but there was no time to make up another lie. He shouted immediately, “I told you — they saved me! Without them, I’d be dead! If you don’t go after Xuanli, then I’ll— I’ll never speak to you again! Don’t you dare expect me to bear your dragon eggs! I’ll kill myself right now!”
“You—!” Ao Hang was livid, but when he saw Three Bean actually raise their tiny paw to his throat, he roared, “Stay right there! If you run off again, I’ll kill that boy myself!”
