Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1003: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (11)

Inside the cave, the firelight stretched the shadows of the people long.

The airflow here was minimal, so the flames remained steady, yet the shadows of the people swayed continuously. Alongside this, there were also sounds of wailing—specifically, the bleating cries of goats.

Suddenly, someone's head lifted—it was Jessica. Her lips were stained with fresh blood, and two of her upper and lower teeth had grown noticeably sharper.

Beside her, Su Zijun also lifted her head in the same manner—except that Su Zijun was drinking the blood of a woman.

This woman was still clad in a rather distinctive combat uniform. Having been born on Paradise Island, Jessica recognized it immediately—it was the battle attire of the island’s guards.

A few hours earlier, Su Zijun had effortlessly destroyed another branch base of the organization and left with her spoils.

Jessica wiped the blood from her lips and slowly retracted her fangs. Watching Su Zijun leisurely enjoy her meal, she felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.

About a month ago, when she had been on the brink of death, it was this young girl—who looked no older than thirteen or fourteen—who had saved her and granted her the power of an immortal being, transforming her into a terrifying vampire.

Yet, Su Zijun adamantly refused to acknowledge herself as a vampire.

Jessica had no intention of arguing with her… because ever since she had accepted the blood of Su Zijun, who called herself a Jiangshi, she had been unable to shake a constant feeling of fear.It was a fear similar to the one she felt when she had no choice but to obey the orders of Paradise Island—fear that compelled submission.

But Jessica didn't care. What she needed was power—power strong enough to destroy Paradise Island.

The power she had gained so far was not enough; she had reached her limit just by taking down a branch base. But within Paradise Island resided the Twelve Divine Generals—beings of immense strength.

One of them, Cook, had abilities over lightning. Compared to him, her own lightning powers were like a child's weak punches.

But Su Zijun was different. At the very least, she possessed the strength to contend with the Twelve Divine Generals.

And most importantly, Su Zijun clearly had a vendetta against the organization. In the past month alone, she had destroyed seven of its branch bases—proving just how much she despised them.

At this moment, Su Zijun also stopped feeding. Seeing this, Jessica took out a clean handkerchief and approached Su Zijun, carefully wiping her mouth.

There was no doubt now—this girl had become her master. And cleaning up after her was one of Su Zijun’s requirements.

"Human blood contains essence, energy, and spirit," Su Zijun remarked, glancing at the near-dead goat Jessica had fed on. "For someone like you, that is the greatest nourishment. If you refuse to abandon your human side, you’ll never gain the power to truly seek revenge."

Jessica remained silent, meticulously wiping the blood from Su Zijun’s lips.

If she abandoned her human side, did that mean she also had to abandon all memories and attachments?

This was the question Jessica had never dared to ask.

Seeing Jessica’s lack of response, Su Zijun let out a dissatisfied sigh and asked, "How many more branch bases does the organization have in this country?"

Jessica replied, "None. Over the past month, you’ve destroyed all of them. The organization must be in a state of complete crisis right now—they’ve never encountered something like this before."

Su Zijun snorted coldly. "Serves them right. They should’ve stayed in their own territory, but instead, they crossed the line and even tried to set me up… courting death."

Jessica added, "Next, we could move toward Slovakia or Austria. However, if we keep destroying their branch bases, the organization will definitely take action. The Divine Generals are terrifying, but above them are the Twenty-Six Seats of Creation of Paradise Island—beings that are practically gods."

"Gods?" Su Zijun sneered. "They haven't even seen dusk, yet they dare to call themselves gods?"

Jessica slightly opened her mouth but didn't speak. She still didn’t fully understand what kind of existence Su Zijun truly was.

"For now, let’s put these clowns aside. I have something else to take care of."

Su Zijun suddenly frowned. "These guys have too many bases—I thought I’d be done before the New Year… Tsk."

"New Year?" Jessica was surprised. She knew that people from China placed great importance on the New Year. Even Ye Yan would prepare for the occasion and send greetings and gifts to friends and family.

"Get ready," Su Zijun said, gently pushing Jessica’s hand away. "Revenge isn’t something that needs to be rushed. You still have a long future ahead of you."

She stood up, thinking to herself: That silly butterfly should have woken up by now. I need to go check on her.

---

Meanwhile...

"An emperor?"

Luo Qiu was slightly surprised to hear about this from Long Xiruo. This was merely idle chatter to pass the time in the vast, white misty mountain stream—small talk meant to avoid silence and awkwardness. At the same time, it was an exchange of minor, inconsequential information about the current event.

Of course, Luo Qiu didn’t mention what he had discovered in the Song Family Ancestral Mansion.

But from Long Xiruo’s explanation of how "Hope" was born, Luo Qiu was able to fill in some of the gaps regarding the ancestor who lay dormant in the underground stone coffin.

At the time, he had noticed that the soul sealed within the corpse was slowly dissipating, rather than being nourished and gradually restored.

"Emperors all hope to live forever and rule their kingdoms eternally," Long Xiruo said. "But they fail to realize that there is no eternal dynasty in this world. Everything is just an illusion. Forcing things to remain only disrupts the natural order... Why? Do you disagree?"

She glanced at Luo Qiu and noticed that he seemed to furrow his brows slightly for a brief moment.

"Not at all," Luo Qiu smiled. "I completely agree with Miss Long. Over the years, you've worked tirelessly to maintain balance between all factions—you certainly have more experience in these matters than I do."

"Such flattery is unnecessary," Long Xiruo replied indifferently.

Luo Qiu didn't say anything else but suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked around.

Long Xiruo, sensing his change in demeanor, immediately grew tense. "What’s wrong?"

If even he had stopped, then things might be troublesome. In her current form—an ordinary child—she couldn’t gauge the surrounding environment at all.

"There’s a suppressive force that just appeared."

Luo Qiu opened his palm, and a small orb of light floated up to provide illumination—but it flickered out in an instant.

A second light sphere emerged, and this time it remained intact.

"Hmm… It takes about six times the usual power output to sustain it. That’s still manageable."

With a wave of his hand, the light vanished again—this time, deliberately.

"Sixfold suppression?" Long Xiruo frowned. "How does it affect you?"

"It doesn’t, really. No need to worry, Miss Long." Luo Qiu smiled.

Long Xiruo gave him an odd look. Six times the normal power just to maintain a simple effect—and yet he calls it 'nothing'?

But then…

"Why don’t I feel anything?" Long Xiruo asked. "My stamina still feels normal."

Luo Qiu thought for a moment. "Perhaps this suppression only affects supernatural powers—it doesn’t impact ordinary humans… Is this the power of 'Hope'?"

Long Xiruo glanced at Luo Qiu again, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Divine Land has a total of twelve ancestral dragon veins, with Kunlun being the source of all dragon veins in the world. Each of the twelve ancestral dragon veins once supported the national fortune of a dynasty. Among them, one ‘Soaring Dragon Vein’ shattered when its dynasty fell. The broken fragments of this dragon vein scattered into the land of Divine Land, and the only way to restore it was through nourishment by the land’s spiritual energy. ‘Hope’ was originally formed from a portion of these scattered remnants of the Soaring Dragon Vein, which gradually reassembled into a new Spiritual Vein."

Luo Qiu nodded, "So in a way, this is like your child, Miss Long."

As the True Dragon of Divine Land, born from the faith of its people and the destiny of the land, the twelve dragon veins of Divine Land could indeed be considered the children of the True Dragon.

"Child, my ass!" Little Long Xiruo gritted her teeth.

Luo Qiu skipped over the argument and asked directly, "What are Hope’s abilities?"

Long Xiruo forcibly calmed herself down and reluctantly replied, "Mainly spatial abilities. As for the suppression effect you mentioned, it’s probably a new trait it acquired by absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy from the land. Whether it has other abilities, I can’t say for sure. After all, it’s still growing, and what abilities it may awaken in the future is uncertain."

"I see." Luo Qiu nodded, then continued holding Long Xiruo’s small hand as they walked forward. "I’ve found Pianxian’s location. Let’s go."

But suddenly, Long Xiruo pulled her hand away from Luo Qiu’s, and under his surprised gaze, she reluctantly grabbed the corner of his clothing instead.

"This way, we won’t get separated!"

"That makes sense." Luo Qiu nodded, apologizing, "I should have been more considerate."

Holding onto just the edge of his clothes… Long Xiruo felt even more awkward. But… but at least when they found Luo Pianxian, it would be much better than being seen holding hands!

This guy… His true intentions were still unclear. She had to stay cautious.

---

For Luo Pianxian, the vast whiteness surrounding her was truly frustrating. She had tried using her Demonic Energy as Sister Dragon had taught her, but for some reason, it always felt clumsy and ineffective, as if she wanted to control it but couldn't. Maybe she really was just too stupid?

She tapped her forehead lightly in frustration.

Even though everything around her was shrouded in mist, making it impossible to find a path or locate Sister Dragon, she quickly cheered up. The dense natural aura of the mountain valley was still rich, filling her with an indescribable sense of comfort.

Before she had taken human form, she had lived deep in the mountains and forests for sixty or seventy years, ever since she had gained spiritual intelligence. She had long been accustomed to the scent of trees.

"Sister Dragon! Sister Dragon!"

Although she was momentarily enchanted by the natural atmosphere, Luo Pianxian didn’t forget that she needed to find Long Xiruo—after all, her current state wasn’t great.

But suddenly, she stopped.

Even though she couldn't use her Demonic Energy to sense her surroundings, her keen senses, superior to ordinary people, told her that something was lurking nearby.

Luo Pianxian quickly turned around, catching a fleeting glimpse of a shadow moving through the dense mist… Was it just her imagination?

But the eerie feeling of being watched didn’t disappear. In fact, it grew stronger.

She turned around several times, but all she saw was a long, dark shadow slipping through the fog. A sense of unease crept over her, and she clasped her hands tightly over her chest.

"E-Excuse me? Is someone there? Hello…? Hello…?"

She suddenly felt an unusual air current behind her, accompanied by a deep, guttural sound.

A primal fear surged through her, making her entire body freeze.

Luo Pianxian turned her head stiffly, swallowing nervously, her heart pounding in her chest.

And then, the moment she laid eyes on it—

A massive black shadow had silently appeared behind her.

Two gleaming red lights flickered within the darkness… like a pair of eyes.

ROAR—!!

A deafening roar erupted. At the same time, a powerful gust of wind surged toward her, blowing her hair wildly behind her.

Her ears rang. All other sounds vanished, leaving only an unbearable buzzing.

"Ahh!"

She screamed, clutching her head and crouching down, trembling in terror.

The two red lights in the mist flickered like blinking eyes.

Then, another monstrous roar shook the air.

Only now did Luo Pianxian realize the danger she was in. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could, not caring about the direction—just away from that terrifying presence.

So scary, so scary, so scary!!

Her heart pounded, her vision blurred with tears.

She ran blindly, desperate to escape.

Then—bam!

She crashed into something.

Not another massive shadow—this one was human-sized!

Just as she was about to fall backward from the impact, a hand caught her arm, steadying her.

"Pianxian?"

A familiar voice called out from the mist.

"Sister Dragon!"

The little butterfly demon cried out in relief, breathing heavily. But in her excitement, her deep breath caused an unexpected mishap—

Pop!

The buttons on the front of her clothes, strained beyond their limit, suddenly snapped off.

Two of them shot forward… hitting the figure in front of her.

(End of Chapter)