novelraw Chapter 175 : Dragon Energy Obtained?
Chapter 175 : Dragon Energy Obtained?
Chapter 175: Dragon Energy Obtained?
This whole family, they sure had some fine taste———secretly watching the scene unfold, Ji Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he listened and observed.
But compared to the Water Family digging up their ancestral grave, what intrigued him more was the origin of Shui Cang’s bracelet.
Did he buy it?
Or was it gifted to him?
Regardless of which, Ji Yuan was prepared to act at any moment—either to kill or to flee. He was ready for both.
"Shui Kai, the one who dug up the ancestral grave was actually you!"
One of the clan elders, his face slightly pale, bellowed sternly.
Shui Yan pulled back his outstretched right hand and shook his head.
Another clan elder turned to look at the family head Shui Cang, still radiating golden light. "From those words, did the Family Head also dig up the ancestral grave?"
Shui Cang shook his head.
"No need to say much to you all, too many words are a waste of breath."
"You only need to know that the Water Family, in my hands, shall reclaim the glory of our ancestors."
As he finished speaking, he opened his right hand, revealing a firework that suddenly appeared in his palm. With a thought, he ignited it, and the firework shot into the air.
But at that moment, a streak of water-blue light flashed past.
The firework vanished in an instant.
"Hmm?!"
Shui Cang sensed something was wrong. He immediately pulled out a white Messaging Talisman—short-range only.
But before he could transmit a message, the water-blue light flashed again. The Messaging Talisman in his hand instantly turned to ashes and vanished.
As if sensing something, he instinctively touched his waist—only to find even his storage pouch gone.
"Who——which senior has graced us with their presence? Forgive our failure to greet you from afar."
Shui Cang wasn’t stupid. If he couldn’t figure out what was going on by now, he might as well have wasted his life.
In such a scenario, there must be a senior who had arrived at Shui Family Manor.
As soon as he spoke, mist suddenly enveloped the entire Shui Family Manor.
"Two choices—hand over the secret manual you obtained from the ancestral grave, or die."
A hoarse voice echoed in his mind.
Ji Yuan had forcefully breached his storage pouch, but found nothing recording Dragon Energy or a True Dragon—so most likely, it had been hidden elsewhere.
"Senior, it’s not that I refuse, but that secret manual isn’t with me."
Shui Cang said bitterly.
"Oh?"
Ji Yuan seemed curious and doubtful.
"It’s with Qingwu Sanren of Hehai Market. I made a deal with him: as long as I gave him the secret manual, he would protect our Water Family until we produced a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"You bastard, Shui Cang! You sold out for glory! The Water Family’s ancestral secret manual, and you just handed it over? Are you insane?!"
Shui Yan, upon hearing this, flew into a rage.
"My defensive technique was gifted to me by Qingwu Sanren. Besides that, he also gave numerous talismans, pills, and cultivation methods.
You fool, that secret manual was useless in our hands. Only by trading it for resources could we rapidly increase the strength of our Water Family!"
Shui Cang retorted immediately: "And think for a moment—if there really was a True Dragon, do you think our Water Family could lay hands on it?!
You’d better start packing! First, we should move our Water Family away from Pear Blossom River."
Ji Yuan listened to their quarrel as he continued inspecting Shui Yan’s storage pouch. In his eyes, there was nothing worthwhile—not that Second-Tier Lower-Grade talisman, nor the pills. As for cultivation methods, they were all Foundation Establishment Stage level.
Judging from this, that never-before-met Qingwu Sanren probably wasn’t anything impressive either.
"Go!"
With a thought, Ji Yuan sent out the Liushuang Flying Sword again. In an instant, it arrived before Shui Cang. His so-called “Golden Light Protection” didn’t even last a breath—it shattered with a crack.
Even the bracelet broke into two pieces.
Ji Yuan immediately understood.
This Qingwu Sanren was most likely just an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator—still a rogue cultivator hiding in the market town. Be it cultivation or strength, he was nothing remarkable.
"Wha—What?!"
Shui Cang stared at the flying sword floating before him and finally came to his senses.
The Qingwu Sanren he had long admired couldn’t even protect him. "Senior, please don’t kill me! I—I copied the secret manual after obtaining it, and placed the copy with Shui Kai. He must have it!"
Seeing the situation, Shui Cang immediately confessed without needing further coercion from Ji Yuan.
"Oh?"
Under Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense, Shui Kai—standing at the ruined gate—bowed slightly and offered a neatly folded piece of silk with both hands. "This is our Water Family’s secret manual. Please accept it, senior."
The secret manual—had been on Shui Kai all along.
No wonder he had remained so calm.
With a wave of his hand, Ji Yuan summoned the secret manual into his grasp.
After reading through it, he discovered that the so-called secret manual was actually—a treasure map? Or perhaps a recorded tale?
It described how the Water Family ancestor discovered a True Dragon at the bottom of Pear Blossom River.
And it was a very weak True Dragon.
Its strength was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. The Water Family ancestor failed to capture it, so he purchased a formation to trap it. Finally, he relocated the ancestral grave above it as a cover.
So that later generations could attempt the capture.
Ji Yuan read back and forth, only to find that this was all the secret manual contained.
"The so-called secret manual you mentioned—is this the thing?"
The hoarse voice echoed once more in Shui Cang’s mind. Suddenly, a piece of silk appeared in his hand.
He quickly flipped through it. "Yes, yes! This is exactly what I dug up from the ancestral grave. That’s why I copied it and placed the duplicate inside the grave."
「Senior, beneath our ancestral grave, there truly is something. Our ancestor had a tradition—every time we held a memorial, we had to slay ten demon beasts before the grave, offering their blood in sacrifice to the ancestors.」
「Each time we killed the beasts, we could sense a heart-palpitating presence. Thinking back now, there truly is something beneath our ancestral grave. A True Dragon—it must be a True Dragon!」
In order to survive, Shui Cang was doing everything he could to make Ji Yuan believe this tale.
Only if Ji Yuan believed it would they be of value. And with value came the hope of survival.
"Foolish."
Ji Yuan sneered, his voice fading ever more faintly, until it disappeared completely—just like Shui Kai at the entrance.
"Se—Senior?"
Shui Cang called out tentatively. No reply.
But the mist covering Shui Family Manor still hadn’t cleared.
It seemed the senior had left, so Shui Yan and Shui Cang’s gazes began to converge once more—each with their own thoughts.
Ji Yuan had called Shui Kai away and had already extracted the location of the Shui Family ancestral grave from this clever fellow.
"Return and tell them the senior has already departed."
Ji Yuan didn’t appear but only sent the instruction via Divine Sense.
Shui Kai’s eyes flickered—he understood immediately and bowed in departure.
Seeing Shui Kai return to the Clan Elder Hall, Ji Yuan finally left Shui Family Manor.
What he didn’t expect was that the Shui Family’s ancestral grave wasn’t on land—it was underwater, hidden beneath Pear Blossom River.
That made it somewhat more plausible.
As to why only “somewhat”—because judging from the story passed down by the Shui Family, the strength of that strand of Dragon Energy should have weakened over time. But from what Hua Yaoyue had once said, Dragon Energy shouldn’t weaken. If it did, someone would’ve taken it long ago.
It wouldn’t have waited until a Foundation Establishment cultivator like the Shui Family ancestor came to seal it.
Whether it was true or false, Ji Yuan decided to take a look first.
He continued north along the river. After finding the crooked-neck tree Shui Kai mentioned, he knew the ancestral grave wasn’t far. But before he could even release his Divine Sense to probe, a figure suddenly burst from the river’s surface ahead.
"Hmm?"
Qingwu Sanren looked at the approaching figure riding a flying boat and immediately sensed trouble. Most likely, the Shui Family had sold the grave’s secret to someone else.
"Courting death!"
Just a mere Qi Refining cultivator—even at the peak of Qi Refining—so what?!
A True Dragon opportunity was right before him. In a contest for the Great Dao, there was no room for mercy. So Qingwu Sanren immediately unleashed a killing move.
A deep-green treasure pearl flew from his mouth, heading straight for the frail-looking man before him.
A Spiritual Artifact?
Damn it, trying to kill me right from the start?
As that thought flashed through Ji Yuan’s mind, he instantly deduced the man’s identity. Qingwu Sanren, huh? Coming at him like this—well then, don’t blame him. "Go!"
With a thought, Ji Yuan released two sword embryos of his life-bound flying swords from his dantian. At the same time, he gripped the Mountain-Smasher Halberd.
Smash mountains with a strike!
"Boom—" The spell and Spiritual Artifact clashed, erupting with a tremendous sound.
"Ugh!"
Seeing his Spiritual Artifact knocked away, Qingwu Sanren thought, "I'm doomed."
Sure enough, before he could form a hand seal to defend, let alone summon a magical artifact for protection, he already saw two streaks of water-blue light approaching fast. He instinctively leaned back.
But no matter how quick he was, he couldn’t be faster than these flying swords.
"—"
After a soft sound, one sword embryo pierced his forehead, and another slashed through his heart. With the two combined, Qingwu Sanren was killed instantly.
A Foundation Establishment early-stage—just like that, killed in an instant?
But thinking again, it made sense. They had met in a narrow path—only one could survive.
Qingwu Sanren played the hero, but he hadn’t realized that the seemingly Qi Refining Peak man before him was actually a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
And one highly skilled in slaughter, from a Cultivation Sect!
Ji Yuan saw the corpse about to plunge into the river and quickly reacted. With a casual wave, he stored the body into his storage pouch.
In this world’s terms, this was all Immortal Material—not to be wasted.
Especially since Ji Yuan had a 【Grave Mound】 and urgently needed Foundation Establishment corpses.
Though he needed 100 of them, which was difficult, it was a matter of accumulation. The two demonic cultivator corpses earlier, plus Qingwu Sanren’s body—now there were three.
With the killing done, Ji Yuan immediately sent his Divine Sense into Qingwu Sanren’s storage pouch.
One word: Poor.
Three words: Dirt-poor fool!
Ji Yuan hadn’t expected this Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator to be this impoverished. Just a single lower-grade Spiritual Artifact—fine.
There was also a Supreme-Grade Magical Artifact-level shield, but beyond that, no other Spiritual or Magical Artifacts.
The Spirit Stones were pitifully few.
And the Dragon Energy Ji Yuan had been yearning for—not even a trace.
That meant the Dragon Energy was still under the water.
Given Qingwu Sanren’s strength, and the fact he could return safely from underwater, Ji Yuan figured he wouldn’t have any issues either. He cast the Water-Repelling Technique, pressed down on the flying boat, and dove into Pear Blossom River.
The moment he entered the water, he released his Divine Sense.
Being underwater did suppress Divine Sense a little—but not too badly. Ji Yuan estimated it was only suppressed by a tenth. He piloted the flying boat forward for around ten zhang. Within his Divine Sense’s perception, the Shui Family’s ancestral grave appeared.
However, the ancestral grave—
Had been tampered with.
It didn’t show much on the surface, but Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense clearly detected a dark hole next to the Shui Family ancestral grave, masked by a Concealment Talisman.
But this kind of thing only worked on Qi Refining cultivators. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator with Divine Sense—
It was laughably obvious.
Ji Yuan drove the flying boat straight to the Shui Family’s ancestral grave.
He had initially assumed the grave would be on the riverbank, but upon arriving, he found it planted firmly at the riverbed—
Formed entirely from one massive stone.
It was as if a massive boulder had been carved, using the column as the grave gate.
This way, they didn’t need to worry about the ancestral grave being washed away. Judging from the surrounding muddy ground, the Shui Family probably had to clear the silt every time they held a memorial, or else the grave would be buried.
Ji Yuan swept with his Divine Sense and indeed found traces that the grave gate had been recently opened. He casually destroyed the talisman beside the grave gate, and his Divine Sense surged through the passage.
The passage wasn’t deep, about twenty to thirty zhang.
After Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense passed through it, he reached a spacious cavern.
The cavern was a water cave, filled with mud. Within the mud, Ji Yuan sensed a damaged formation.
"This is—the Blood-Congealing Fiend-Transforming Formation?!"
As Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense scanned the formation lines, he instantly identified the formation’s nature.
He had seen this formation described before by Yun Qianzai. It was a Second-Tier Trap Formation, mostly used by demonic cultivators. Its primary effect was to trap the enemy, and then through the irrigation of vital blood, refine the target.
So the Shui Family ancestor was using the Blood-Congealing Fiend-Transforming Formation to refine this strand of Dragon Energy?!
What kind of courage did that take? No wonder stories were passed down about blood sacrifices during memorials—it was all for this formation.
But then, where was the Dragon Energy?
Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense wandered through the underwater cave.
Soon, amidst the murky, filthy mud, he found a faint trace of presence.
It still vaguely resembled a dragon’s shape, but its form was extremely dim—so faint it was barely visible to the naked eye. After countless years, not only was the formation worn away, even this Dragon Energy had nearly faded.
Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense didn’t detect anything unusual. Delays could bring trouble, so he immediately dove into the cave.
Though the formation was damaged, it was still functioning. Judging from the signs inside, it seemed Qingwu Sanren had also tried breaking the formation through brute force—unsuccessfully.
He wasn’t a Formation Master.
It appeared he had left intending to find a method to break the formation and return for the Dragon Energy.
But unexpectedly, he ran into Ji Yuan just as he left.
Given that, breaking this Blood-Congealing Fiend-Transforming Formation was first priority.
Under Ji Yuan’s Divine Sense, following the formation patterns and using the "Triple-Reverse Formation Break Technique" Yun Qianzai had taught him, he quickly located the formation’s key nodes.
"Go—"
Ji Yuan casually released three streaks of spiritual light, which precisely landed on the three formation nodes.
Then, a sudden explosion.
The Blood-Congealing Fiend-Transforming Formation was instantly destroyed.
The Dragon Energy, which had been curled in the mud, sensed the formation’s collapse and "swish"—vanished.
"Trying to run?"
Ji Yuan had already locked onto it with his Divine Sense.
Before it could escape, Ji Yuan, using 《Shadow-Following》, flashed in front of it, grabbed it in one move, and sealed it inside a jade bottle of spiritual energy. He quickly applied several restrictions to trap it.
Even after storing it in his storage pouch, Ji Yuan could hardly believe it.
The Dragon Energy—was it really in his hand just like that?
Aside from the surprise gift of Immortal Material in the form of Qingwu Sanren, the whole process went unnaturally smooth.
By rights, to obtain such a treasure, one should have had to go through countless slaughters, face layers of dangers, and only then barely succeed.
Despite the many thoughts in his mind, Ji Yuan didn’t linger.
The moment he secured the Dragon Energy, he shot out of the water cave and summoned the Sky-Slicer Boat, ascending straight upward and piercing the water’s surface in an instant.
His best escape route would have been to leave through Pear Blossom River, but the Dragon Energy was born here—Ji Yuan feared staying on the water route might lead to trouble.
So as soon as he emerged, his Divine Sense swept the surroundings. Finding nothing unusual, he cast an Invisibility Technique and drifted downstream.
After a while, he quietly returned to Shui Family Manor.
Before leaving, he used his Divine Sense to scan the place once more.
In just the short time he was gone, Shui Family Manor had already changed dramatically.
Family Head Shui Cang, along with his entire household, was gone—literally, physically gone. The four surviving clan elders were now going around the manor, publicly declaring that Shui Cang had colluded with demonic cultivators and sold off family assets for personal gain.
Shui Kai seemed to have profited well too—he was currently hiding in a cellar cultivating.
A power shift in a cultivation family had ended this quickly.
Feeling some sentiment, Ji Yuan packed away the iron box he left in Shui Family Manor, the 【Cave Dwelling】, and rode the Sky-Slicer Boat—
Heading straight north, flying directly toward Water Dragon Sect.
Just as he passed over Pear Blossom River, he suddenly felt something.
He looked down.
There, in the vast river water, a dark shadow seemed to coil—and two lantern-sized eyes were staring right at him. There was no hostility, only a hint of friendliness.
Just as Ji Yuan broke out in a cold sweat and blinked—
He saw the river was empty again.
Nothing at all. Everything just now felt like a mirage.
Was it a mistake?
No.
Ji Yuan recalled those eyes and felt a chill in his heart.
"There’s probably really something down in the river… Could there really be a True Dragon?"
The moment that thought surfaced, Ji Yuan pushed the Sky-Slicer Boat to full speed, his figure turning into a stream of light that shot northward.
True Dragon or not, having obtained a great treasure—this was no place to stay.
One day later.
Ji Yuan returned to Water Dragon Sect. He stayed on Forgotten Worry Island for a few days, then met with Hua Yaoyue. After confirming nothing was wrong with him, he went south and returned to Misty Island.
Ji Yuan contemplated the use of this Dragon Energy for several days. A faint idea had begun to take shape in his heart.