The words were like fire to dry grass—fierce and stirring. Even the merfolk who had come running after hearing the commotion stopped in their tracks, staring blankly at Junhua.
They had once allied themselves with the righteous sects, only to end up as prey on their butcher’s table—families torn apart, kin slaughtered.
How could they not feel anger?
Ao Hang watched the exchange with idle curiosity. As a dragon, he’d always regarded the struggles between other races as beneath him. But after hearing the beast demon speak, he found himself wondering whether this impulsive merfolk princess might truly be swayed—might throw herself into the demon race’s embrace.
Yet Junhua’s response was calm and clear: “You and those cultivators are no different—wolves and tigers alike. And our clan’s ancestral decree forbids us from allying with demons.”
The merfolk had refused to join the demon race since ancient times, and for good reason. Their aversion to demons wasn’t just born from their inherently gentle nature, which was the opposite of the demons’ innate cruelty. Even though the merfolk’s so-called treasures were useless to demonic cultivation, the demons had never shown them respect. Demons viewed human cultivators as enemies—an acknowledgment of their strength—but they didn’t even see the merfolk as people.
Moreover, the merfolk’s pure nature made them almost incapable of becoming demons. And within the demon realm itself, there was a hierarchy of contempt: pureborn demons looked down on corrupted ones, corrupted demons scorned lesser fiends. Even if the merfolk joined them, they’d never be treated as equals—perhaps not even as highly as lowly beasts.
Yes, the Beast-Taming Manor and the humans who slaughtered them were hateful. But there were still people like Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli—humans who had sincerely helped them.
They might hate, but they would not lose their reason.
The merfolk were deeply traditional. Hearing their princess speak so, they felt no dissent.
The beast demon narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured, “Still so naïve. Fine then, I’ve given you my offer. Don’t be too quick to refuse. I’ll give you some time to think. You’ll want revenge on the Beast-Taming Manor, won’t you? Oh—and your brother. He’s still in their hands, isn’t he? Don’t you want to save him?”
Junhua’s face went pale. She had been avoiding that thought, afraid her emotions would cloud her judgment.
“When the time comes, just summon me,” the beast demon said lightly, smiling. “I’ll appear and fight for your people. And when that happens—our pact will be sealed.”
Junhua stared at him coldly, offering no reply. She didn’t reject him outright, but said nothing—perhaps even leaving a trace of hesitation in her heart.
Seeing that, the beast demon smiled wider. “I’ll wait for you, Princess. When you march on the Beast-Taming Manor—you’ll call for me.”
To him, all this carnage was nothing. Once Junhua truly saw what her people had endured, even if she couldn’t fall to demonhood, her hatred would make it impossible for her to ever stand beside the righteous sects again.
The beast demon had just finished speaking and was about to leave when his gaze suddenly paused on Mo Xuanli. Without warning, he struck out.
Junhua didn’t have time to block it, but Ao Hang wasn’t about to tolerate such behavior—he struck back with a single blow that sent the beast demon reeling.
“Are you looking to die?” Ao Hang frowned.
“Of course not,” the beast demon replied with a faint smile. “I just sensed the aura of one of my kind and thought I’d give him a little help—to speed up his recovery.” His tone was casual, but inwardly he recalled the Demon Saintess’s words—this was someone destined to enter the demonic path sooner or later. Since fate had presented such a convenient opportunity, it would be a pity not to act. He hadn’t expected, though, that a true dragon would be guarding him.
“Leave.” Ao Hang spoke a single word, but the sheer authority in his voice made the beast demon obediently retreat.
Junhua dismissed the other merfolk with a wave of her hand, then frowned. “What did he mean by that? He said Xuanli was of the same kind—does that mean Mo Xuanli has already turned demon? Or…”
Ao Hang had no interest in meddling. “Aren’t you his friend? Wait until he wakes up and ask him yourself. Why ask me?”
Junhua was silenced, then said no more.
Ao Hang thought she had finally quieted down—until he saw her suddenly bow deeply to him in the solemn salute of the merfolk.
As the current ruler of her people, Junhua shouldn’t have been bowing to anyone.
Ao Hang stopped her gesture with a flick of his hand. “What are you doing?” he said, displeased.
“Ao Hang, I am willing to lead the merfolk to submit completely to you—to become your subjects, your people. In return, I ask that you protect our race,” Junhua said seriously, head lowered. “We can provide whatever resources you need and do whatever you command—so long as we can have a place to survive.”
Ao Hang laughed outright. “So you didn’t fall for the beast demon’s words—you just want to use me instead?”
Junhua shook her head, then nodded.
“I did think of turning to you, but it has nothing to do with rejecting the demon’s offer. We are too weak. We need a protector. And we will repay you however we can, so long as it’s within our power.”
The beast demon’s proposal had been tempting—vengeance for their slaughtered kin, protection promised—but Junhua’s refusal wasn’t simply because of ancestral law or fear of making a deal with wolves and tigers.
She wasn’t stupid. The demons’ growing activity and repeated provocations, their attempt to recruit the merfolk—this was just like the days before the last great war between the righteous and the demonic. Another conflict was inevitable.
If they sided with the demons, it was true the demons might help them destroy Longan Port and even shield them behind the Ten Thousand Beasts Forest. But what then? Unlike the faraway Demon Realm, their territory lay openly within the mortal world. The righteous sects could reach them at any time.
Once the cultivators learned they had become the demons’ pawns, the first target for extermination would be the merfolk.
Whether the demons came to rescue them or not, judging from the last battle, the merfolk would be wiped out.
Junhua refused to let her people become abandoned pawns. Remaining neutral—or maintaining their fragile alliance with the cultivation world—at least left a chance for survival. It might be humiliating, it might go against her nature, but after this devastating loss, she could only choose the safest path.
They could not ally with the demons—or death would be certain.
And though the righteous sects could no longer be trusted, there was still room to maneuver.
That was why she had rejected the demon’s offer so decisively. Yet, when she thought of the Beast-Taming Manor—their sworn enemies—she knew that vengeance could give the righteous sects an excuse to destroy them. So she had left a sliver of possibility open with the beast demon.
If the day ever came when destruction was inevitable, she would at least drag her enemies down to h*ll with her.
But for now, she still hoped for a third path—the wisdom of her ancestors.
In this world, only the true dragons stood apart from all factions. If they could gain Ao Hang’s protection, everything could change. But since he refused to ally by marriage, she had no choice but to humble herself completely and offer allegiance.
This third path was no easier, for dragons were solitary and disinterested in the affairs of others. No race’s survival would ever stir their hearts.
And the merfolk had little to offer—a dragon would find no value even in their most precious treasure, the mer-bead.
The proud princess had no other choice but to bow her head and plead.
“Ao Hang, we—”
“I’m not interested.”
As expected, Ao Hang rejected her without hesitation. Junhua’s face turned pale. She was about to speak again when a stir came from where Mo Xuanli lay.
Junhua steadied herself and stopped talking.
Mo Xuanli slowly regained consciousness. His last memory was of sending his master away through teleportation.
The moment he woke, he sat up in alarm, looking around—no sign of his master. He immediately reached out through their master-disciple bond. He had fainted; the water-repelling barrier he cast for his master wouldn’t have lasted. Was his master hurt?
Only after confirming that his master was safe did he relax.
Then a sudden chill swept through the air—danger. He tried to dodge, but his body couldn’t react in time before a hand seized him by the throat.
Only then did Mo Xuanli notice the man before him—or rather, the black dragon.
“Ao Hang, don’t hurt him!” Junhua cried, instantly tense.
“As long as he leads me to San’er, I won’t,” Ao Hang said coldly. He looked down at Mo Xuanli. “Boy, your life was saved by me. Whether you live or die now depends on me. The man in black you teleported away—what is he to you? Can you find him? I want the tri-colored illusion cat at his side.”
Mo Xuanli was much calmer now than he had been when he saw Gu Baiqing wounded by the black dragon. Hearing Ao Hang’s words, he roughly pieced together what had happened—so this dragon had saved him? But the “San’er” he mentioned—did he mean Three Bean? He was looking for Three Bean?
Mo Xuanli frowned slightly, confused. Junhua hurriedly repeated to him everything Ao Hang had said earlier.
When Mo Xuanli heard that his master was with Three Bean—and that this black dragon had acted under Three Bean’s orders to save people—he was stunned. That Three Bean could command a black dragon at all was almost beyond belief.
Junhua, after saying it aloud, also found the whole thing unbelievable.
“So everything you did to me and my master before—was all just to find Three Bean? What do you want with him?”
“That name—‘Three Bean’—sounds awful. The tri-colored illusion cat is my fiancée. My fiancée ran away—how could I not go after them?” Ao Hang said with visible resentment.
But as soon as he finished, he noticed that both Junhua and Mo Xuanli were staring at him with strange expressions.
Ao Hang frowned. “What’s with those looks?”
“Three Bean is your fiancée?” Junhua could hardly contain her disbelief. If she were in a better mood, her face would have been full of expression. So he had refused to marry her, a great beauty, because… he liked men? She didn’t know whether to be relieved or furious.
“You said—fiancée?” Mo Xuanli was also baffled. Wasn’t Three Bean male? What did he mean by “fiancée”?
“That little thing even gave you the betrothal gift I sent them—and didn’t tell you they were already promised to me?” Ao Hang said through gritted teeth, looking every bit like a man betrayed.
“What betrothal gift?” Mo Xuanli asked in shock—whatever it was, he was certain he shouldn’t have accepted it.
Ao Hang pointed at the blindfold covering his own eyes, then at Mo Xuanli’s storage pouch.
Mo Xuanli hurriedly searched through it and immediately sensed something familiar. When he pulled it out, it turned out to be the spiritual artifact Three Bean had given him—the lens that could reveal anything in the world one wished to see.
“I knew it!” Ao Hang roared in fury.
Junhua’s lips twitched. “Three Bean gave you the betrothal gift Ao Hang sent them?”
Mo Xuanli hadn’t expected such a development. “Over ten years ago, Three Bean was just an ordinary kitten. I found him injured and nursed him back to health. He was always determined to repay that kindness. At the time, I… needed to look at something, and Three Bean lent me this.”
He had wondered then how such a heaven-defying artifact could exist. So it had been the black dragon’s own eye.
Yet Mo Xuanli did not immediately hand it back to Ao Hang—not because he wanted to keep it. “Since you gave it to Three Bean, if you want it back, you should ask them yourself. I’ll return it to Three Bean when I see them.”
Ao Hang snorted. “I’ll definitely ask them properly. How could they give it away—and even acknowledge another man as their master? They clearly don’t take me seriously.”
Junhua, half exasperated, said, “That eye of yours—can it even be reattached? Why do you dragons give gifts like that? When you refused my marriage proposal, you gave dragon whiskers as compensation. Do you all self-mutilate when you give gifts?”
“Once it’s used, it can’t be reattached. That’s why San’er must marry me!” Ao Hang said sharply. “When you see your master again, tell him this—the beast contract must be dissolved. My wife will not be bound by a contract with another.”
Typical of dragons—they guarded their treasures jealously, hiding them away and letting no one touch or even look at them.
No wonder Ao Hang was openly hostile toward Mo Xuanli and Gu Baiqing.
Mo Xuanli had no interest in arguing about Three Bean’s romantic entanglements. “Three Bean should be with my master,” he said calmly. “Let’s find them first. I’ll use our master-disciple bond to sense their location.”
He gathered his spiritual energy and began to concentrate, but soon signs of exhaustion appeared. Blood welled up in his throat, and he spat it out before saying weakly, “For now, I can only sense that they’re somewhere in Longan Port. Once we get there, I’ll be able to pinpoint it.”
“With the master-disciple bond—being able to sense him means he’s safe, right?” Junhua asked.
Mo Xuanli nodded, though his eyes were still filled with worry.
There was no way his master would just leave. And if he had, Three Bean would have stayed behind to inform him—unless… they’d been taken by the Beast-Taming Manor. But that didn’t make sense either. His master had fought them before—they wouldn’t have let him go so easily. How could he still be unharmed after being taken for so long? Was his assumption wrong? Could there be another explanation?
Seeing Mo Xuanli’s pale face, Junhua handed him a handful of pearls she’d brought with her. “As long as they’re safe, there’s still hope. Don’t worry—focus on recovering your strength first.”
Mo Xuanli knew he could barely move, so he sat down to meditate, calming the chaotic flow of his energy while keeping his senses locked on his master’s safety.
Junhua, wanting to fetch more pearls for him, walked a short distance away.
Then Ao Hang spoke up. “Do you want to cultivate in the demonic path? I can help you. You’re too weak right now—if you have to face the same people you fought before, you’ll lose. If you unseal yourself, your demonic bloodline will make you more than twice as strong.”
In an instant, Mo Xuanli’s face went deathly white. It was as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, bitten by a venomous snake, jolted awake from a nightmare.
Ao Hang noticed his reaction. “What’s this? So it really is a secret? No one knows? Or… don’t tell me you don’t even know?”
Mo Xuanli blinked slowly. “No one knows. It’s my secret.”
Ao Hang smiled faintly. “So now that I know it—does that mean I can use it to threaten you?”
Mo Xuanli looked at him coldly, then said, “A true dragon can’t leave this sea. Without me, wouldn’t you have a hard time finding your fiance?”
Ao Hang’s expression suddenly changed and he looked at Mo Xuanli in shock.
In thousands of years, Mo Xuanli is the first…
“How could you possibly…” Ao Hang said in disbelief.
Mo Xuanli said slowly, “You clearly acted like you wanted to see Three Bean so badly, but after I pointed to a place, you didn’t react at all. Instead, you seemed to be waiting for me to act. Even if I couldn’t move, with your True Dragon strength, you could take me there. Could there be any enemies on the shore? Finding Three Bean was almost a thought away, but you didn’t do it. Furthermore, Three Bean has been with Master for a long time. He’s been staying within the Zixiao Sect’s barrier all the time, and he’s transformed into his original form several times. Yet, you’ve never come to find him. Isn’t that strange? Aside from the fact that you can’t leave the sea, I can’t think of any other reason.”
Ao Hang stared at Mo Xuanli in shock. He didn’t know if all cultivators were this shrewd, but Mo Xuanli’s sharp mind and attention to detail truly amazed him.
“But…” Mo Xuanli frowned. “People on the shore often saw you going out—that’s what I can’t figure out. If not for your reaction just now, I really would’ve thought I was wrong.”
“That was my dragon soul…” For reasons he couldn’t quite name—perhaps excitement at finally being seen through—Ao Hang admitted frankly, “I can only put my body into sleep and let my dragon soul out to search for a while. But it can’t go too far or last too long. The dragon soul is a soul body—it can’t use spells. So when I sensed a direction and went, I still couldn’t find them.”
Mo Xuanli froze for a moment. A dragon letting its soul leave its body would never be unharmed. Seeing Ao Hang’s solemn face, he thought—the dragon must truly care for Three Bean.
“Don’t worry, as soon as I find my fiancée, I’ll pretend I never learned about your mixed bloodline.”
Ao Hang gathered the loneliness from his face and replied, “Otherwise I can’t guarantee to keep your secret either. I’d guess the one you fear most knowing is your master, right? He’s a righteous cultivator.”
A fierce glint flashed through Mo Xuanli’s eyes, but he knew he wasn’t a true dragon’s match, nor could he pry the knowledge from Ao Hang’s mind. “You can rest assured,” he said. “Three Bean took your betrothal gift—they owe you an answer. As long as you don’t hurt them, I’ll bring them to see you.”
“I may be angry with them, but I swore never to harm them,” Ao Hang said through clenched teeth. “But he does deserve to be punished a little.”
Wasn’t it that he looked upset just hearing about laying a dragon egg? Then let them lay a few more.
Sometimes Ao Hang really suspected Three Bean had run away just because he was afraid of laying dragon eggs—was it truly so terrifying?
Seeing Ao Hang’s mind full of nothing but Three Bean, Mo Xuanli decided this guy probably wasn’t shameless enough to expose his secret at random. He was about to resume meditation when Ao Hang spoke again.
“You know I can’t leave the sea, so you must also know you might face danger alone. Have you really not considered becoming a demon? I can help you hide it. Even if the seal is broken, I can cover it up for a time—long enough for you to grow strong enough that, even if discovered, no one could touch you. I mean it sincerely… though of course, it’s also so I can see Three Bean sooner.”
“You… don’t find this bloodline filthy?” Mo Xuanli asked, surprised by Ao Hang’s attitude. In both the demonic and human realms, mixed blood was despised.
“To me, you’re all filthy,” Ao Hang said disdainfully. “Except my Three Bean.”
Mo Xuanli thought for a moment. True dragons were powerful, but at their core, they were still a kind of spirit beast. For spirit beasts, the line between immortal and demon indeed mattered little.
“So? Think about it?” Ao Hang pressed, and to persuade him further, he even mentioned the matter with the beast demon earlier.
Mo Xuanli’s expression gradually changed.
