This is the martial arts world, what are you cultivators interfering in?

Chapter 182: Report your favor on the golden stage

"The arrival of the True Dragon Clan brings glory to the Immortal Realm!"

From the Two Realms Mountain, a massive dragon-bone warship sailed in through a rift in the void, and Xun Yuan Tianjun spoke loudly.

The dragonbone warship, resembling a mountain, exuded an astonishing aura. The Celestial Court experts who came to greet it all felt a deadly pressure, making it difficult for them to breathe.

"A Celestial Venerable-level warship?"

"This warship... could it have been forged from the remains of a Celestial Venerable-level True Dragon?"

"That's amazing! No wonder it's so fast!"

Many people secretly marveled that the True Dragon Clan truly lived up to its reputation as the core of the forbidden beings of the Primordial Era. At first glance, it was far superior to the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan and the Primordial Demon Ape Clan.

On the mountain-like warship, dragon beings looked down from above. They had all taken human form, but each one was remarkable and exuded an extraordinary aura.

The entire True Dragon Clan has no more than one hundred members!

"Where is the messenger of the Supreme Immortal Emperor?"

At the bow of the ship, a middle-aged dragon man stood with his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.

"I am Xun Yuan Tianjun, and you must be Fellow Daoist Wan Chuan, the patriarch of the Dragon Clan?"

Xun Yuan Tianjun stepped forward politely and said, "Please come in quickly. I have prepared a Peach Banquet in the Celestial Court to welcome you all and wash away the dust of your journey!"

Soon after.

At the Peach Banquet, toasts were exchanged and laughter filled the air.

Why hasn't the Supreme Immortal Emperor come?

The Dragon Clan Chief, Long Wanchuan, spoke calmly, saying, "Is this a matter of great importance—can you make the decision?"

The dragons were clearly arrogant, demanding an audience with the Supreme Immortal Emperor, obviously looking down on Xun Yuan Tianjun, the acting ruler of the Immortal Court. Xun Yuan Tianjun merely smiled and said:

"Please rest assured, clan leader, my master is currently in seclusion. He has entrusted me with the full authority to handle the matter of the mutation."

As he spoke, he took out an Emperor's Symbol!

Seeing this, Long Wanchuan nodded and asked, "What are your plans, sir?"

Xun Yuan Tianjun said, "In my opinion, there are two major issues currently facing the True Dragon Clan!"

"Oh?"

"The first thing is to find a suitable human woman to marry, so that she can give birth to a child for the True Dragon Clan that can be mutated."

Long Wanchuan nodded: "It is a disgrace for our race to form a marriage alliance with humans. However, for the sake of the current situation, my son will select a woman from the human race within a month."

He glanced to the side at a wild-looking young man.

That young man was Long Wanchuan's son, and also the current Dragon Prince of the entire True Dragon Clan, Long Yunteng.

"I do have someone in mind, but I wonder if she is worthy of Young Master Yunteng..."

Xun Yuan Tianjun smiled and said, "This person is the first Heavenly Maiden!"

Upon hearing this, Long Wanchuan's expression changed drastically. He exclaimed, "What? The First Heavenly Maiden? There is still a living First Heavenly Maiden in this world?"

Xun Yuan Tianjun was very satisfied with his reaction. In this world, only the first generation of beings could truly move the hearts of the True Dragon Clan!

The so-called first generation of beings refers to the earliest beings born at the beginning of time!

Without exception, those beings were all extremely powerful, with astonishing bloodlines. If their origins were traced, they would be even more ancient than the forbidden beings of the primordial era.

After the first generation of beings perished, the first batch of forbidden beings from the primordial chaos were born.

Therefore, in terms of bloodline, origin, background, and talent, the first generation of beings were absolutely no less than races such as the true dragons!

"If I can truly marry the First Heavenly Maiden, my True Dragon Clan will remember this favor!"

Long Wanchuan spoke directly.

This is a good thing for the entire dragon race.

"Of course, of course,"

Xun Yuan Tianjun smiled and said, "I can take care of the first important matter, so you don't need to worry about it, Dragon Lord. However, I cannot interfere with the second matter."

"What is it?" Long Wanchuan asked.

Xun Yuan Tianjun slowly said, "The True Dragon Clan has just returned. You may not know that the Wanyuan Mountain Range... has been destroyed."

To Xun Yuan Tianjun's surprise, Long Wanchuan seemed unfazed, simply nodding and saying, "We anticipated this when we left back then."

He sighed.

When that big black dog suddenly appeared, it threw the entire True Dragon Clan into chaos, causing them to flee in panic. It's not surprising that the big black dog destroyed the Ten Thousand Mountain Range...

Xun Yuan Tianjun, however, said: "No!"

"After the True Dragon Clan left, the Ten Thousand Mountain Range was preserved and not damaged. The real problem occurred a few years ago!"

He then recounted how the Thousand Rivers Land had used the Tengshe Water-Drawing Method to absorb all the source energy of the Ten Thousand Mountain Range.

However, he didn't mention the Li family much in his description, but focused on the Qianchuanyuan clan!

Long Wanchuan was initially taken aback. How arrogant was that Black Emperor back then? Yet he actually didn't destroy the Ten Thousand Yuan Mountain Range!

Could it be that the Black Emperor, who had long since gone mad, regained his sanity at the last moment? That's impossible!

Immediately afterward, a look of anger flashed across his face:

"How dare a mere human force covet my ancestral land!"

They could only accept being destroyed by that incomparably powerful Black Emperor.

To have it taken away by humans... that is the greatest disgrace!

……

In the vast gray fog.

"You two have finally arrived."

Beside an ancient, dilapidated altar, Lin Ruoxue stood calmly, with an aged, ghostly figure beside her!

Two humanoid gray mist creatures emerged from this altar.

"Brother Yu insisted on leaving the Origin Realm back then, but now even his physical body is gone. What was the point?"

One of the creatures sighed.

Another person said, "The Black Emperor has long since gone mad. Brother Yu's insistence on following him is nothing but a delusion. It would be better to return to the Origin Realm. The lords of the Abyss Realm will not forget your efforts in plotting the alienation of the Immortal Realm all these years."

But the illusory figure beside Lin Ruoxue simply shook its head and said, "No, there are some things I must find the Black Emperor to resolve my doubts."

"Brother Luo, Brother Qi, I've come to ask for your help!"

"You two have met the Black Emperor before. I would like to ask you to investigate someone who claims to be the Black Emperor's special envoy, but I doubt his identity!"

Upon hearing this, both creatures were startled.

"The Black Emperor is still alive?"

"His special envoy? That... is rather unusual!"

The two exchanged a glance and nodded: "Where is that person now? Since it concerns the Black Emperor, we naturally need to see if it's true or not!"

……

A land of a thousand rivers.

Li Lan came out to greet him, and Shangguan Xiaoxiao had been waiting for him outside for a long time.

"You've arrived."

Li Lan spoke.

"I didn't expect you to come?" Shangguan Xiaoxiao smiled.

"I didn't expect that."

Is there anything in this world you can't imagine?

Shangguan Xiaoxiao said leisurely, "What, won't you invite me to sit in the Thousand Rivers Land? Great Clan Chief, I am also from the Abyss Realm. In a sense, I am also a member of the Abyss Clan."

Li Lan smiled and said, "Please!"

The two entered the Land of a Thousand Rivers and walked side by side along the stream. They did not speak, but remained silent, appreciating the scenery of the Land of a Thousand Rivers.

"The sunset view from that mountain peak must be absolutely stunning."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao looked at a green peak, and the two climbed the mountain. However, since there was still some time before sunset, they sat down.

"Green are your robes, deep is my longing; for you alone, I have pondered until now."

"The reeds are green and the dew is white as frost; the one I long for is on the other side of the water."

"The mighty river flows eastward, its waves sweeping away countless heroes of the past..."

She suddenly started reciting some poems haphazardly, reciting them all in one go, and then stopped and said, "Sometimes I wonder if you had another life."

Li Lan smiled and asked, "Why?"

"How could so many poems, so many stories of joy and sorrow, love and hate, so much helplessness, unfulfilled ambitions and triumphant progress, all come from the pen of the same person?"

"Unless this person has experienced all of these things, and has not felt the grief of losing his wife, how could he feel the melancholy of seeing the tree he planted years ago now grow tall and spreading like a canopy?"

"Without the tragic grandeur of being powerless to reverse the tide, how could there be the final lament of knowing that all things are empty upon death, but grieving that the land of China cannot be unified?"

"Without breathtaking love, how can there be the awe-inspiring feeling of a silkworm spinning silk until death and a candle burning until it is ash?"

She looked at Li Lan, her stunningly beautiful face displaying a bright smile tinged with curiosity and a touch of sadness, and asked, "So, you really don't find it hard being all alone?"

Li Lan sighed softly and said, "Perhaps I do have another past life."

"However, those poems were not based on my personal experience, but only on what I had seen."

"I have seen heroes of the human race who brought peace to the world, and I have also seen outstanding young people who cried out in despair at the end of their rope. I have seen loving couples separated by life and death, and I have also seen the sudden stirrings of young hearts..."

"I can't even tell now whether it was a dream or not; it's all too distant now."

"Perhaps only the present moment is real."

"The only thing we can protect is the reality of the present moment, so how can we talk about whether it's hard or not?"

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xiaoxiao remained silent for a long time before saying, "You're right, only the present moment is real."

Do you know which poem I like the most?

Li Lan asked, "Which one?"

Shangguan Xiaoxiao said, word by word, "I see no ancients before me, nor any successors after me. I contemplate the vastness of heaven and earth, and tears stream down my face in sorrow."

"To witness the vicissitudes of heaven and earth alone, to see no old friends again after the long river of time, to stand alone through eternity... this is perhaps too lonely."

"Therefore, I want to give you a poem."

Looking into her eyes, Li Lan felt as if at that moment, there were countless sparks of fireworks and stars shining brightly in them, creating a poem that stirred his heart for the first time.

"To repay your kindness on the golden platform, I will wield the jade dragon and die for you."

This poem is not suitable for use in romantic relationships; it usually refers to close friends.

A scholar will die for one who understands him.

Perhaps her lifelong pursuit was not to become Li Lan's wife or lover, nor to have a romantic relationship with him, but rather to be his confidante?

Or perhaps, fellow Daoist?

She smiled, then stood up and looked at the distant sky. The fiery clouds stretched endlessly, and the setting sun had already spread across the world, both beautiful and desolate. She whispered, "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is nearing dusk."

"Li Lan, I really hope that one day, when the crisis in the Immortal Realm has been resolved and the great calamity has passed, we can still talk about poetry and brew tea together on such a green peak."

After saying that, she suddenly turned around, took the initiative to hug Li Lan, and with her lips slightly parted, kissed Li Lan's lips.

Li Lan's body stiffened slightly, but her voice rang out softly: "Hug me one more time, okay?"

Without further hesitation, Li Lan embraced her tightly.

A very, very long time later.

"The marriage agreement with the True Dragon Clan was proposed by myself."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao turned and left, the setting sun falling on her like a stunning wedding dress.

"You don't need to come, and you shouldn't come."

Her figure has disappeared.

She came like a wisp of mist, and she left like a gust of wind.

She's still the same dashing and free-spirited woman; she seems to have never changed.

But without realizing it, everything seemed to have changed.

"I won't let you marry him."

But watching her retreating figure, Li Lan only uttered a single sentence softly.

She did not explain why she wanted to get married.

Li Lan didn't ask if she could not marry him.

He simply turned and headed toward the cat's secluded dwelling.

……