194 - Divine Mastering Dragon System

## Chapter 194: Returning the Sword Xiang Shi Yan paused, reading through the confidential letter once more, wrinkles forming on her brow. The body of a beast—or even a cultivator—can be almost perfect material. The inner core needs no mention, while bones, claws, and scales can be fashioned into weapons or spiritual treasures. As one's cultivation level increases, the strength contained within the flesh, tempered by spiritual power, dramatically grows. Beasts with ancient bloodlines left over from bygone eras harbor peculiar powers in their flesh. Due to their rarity, few can attest to their effects. The blood and flesh of higher-level beasts possess the ability to alter the bloodlines of their kin, making them priceless treasures for beastkind, though honestly, they hold little allure for human cultivators. Even private auctions kept under wraps aren't common knowledge until much later, and most within the immortal cultivation realm remain ignorant. However, as the leading sect among the Thirteen Seats of Heaven, the Tai Xu Sect could not publicly do business with the beastkind unless the item was so precious it would incite a scramble among human cultivators. Xiang Shi Yan could only think of He He. In all of Shenzhou, there might not be a second such rare beast, and He He happens to have enmity with the Tai Xu Sect—why is unclear to Xiang Shi Yan. However, she is certain it has to do with a woman once bound by a master-servant relationship with He He within the illusion realm, and who was used by a dragon as a spiritual beacon. Reincarnated into the stillborn of a farmer's wife using dark arts unknown to Xiang Shi Yan, He He transformed the girl's body into a cocoon, thereby regaining her former body seamlessly. Xiang Shi Yan realized then, that though He He is skilled in external alchemy and could refashion her body from her previous one, she had other reasons for her complex methods. For some reason, in Xiang Shi Yan's mind, the auction item turned into a human leg displayed in a luxurious box. She couldn't help but frown, her complexion turning slightly pale. "What's wrong? Do you have any insights, senior?" Du Ruo asked, beginning to process the next document, noticing Xiang Shi Yan frozen in place. Beastkind have retained some primal instincts from their ancient ancestors, and their beast form often expresses itself directly and clearly. They naturally gravitate towards unaffected states of being and use their ears, tails, or tongues to express themselves, upholding a rather simple way of life. However, Xiang Shi Yan, steeped in the pretentious human culture, always suppressed these unruly parts. Sixty years was enough for her to command her beast form as she wished, yet moments like these where her ears drooped unconsciously were rare, even for Du Ruo. Du Ruo recalled her first encounter with Xiang Shi Yan's beast form, where the woman's long hair hadn't yet turned jade white due to spiritual power, and those rounded ear tips drooped helplessly like their dejected owner. Her gaze fixated unblinkingly on Xiang Shi Yan's fox ears swaying gently with her furrowed brow. The plush soft fur looked rather dense; she wondered how it felt... "It's nothing... What are you looking at?" Xiang Shi Yan raised an eyebrow, annoyed that her bothersome ears not only attracted attention but also undermined her authority, a trait she wasn’t fond of. The snake demon blinked, innocently averting her gaze: "By the way, since returning to Shenzhou, have you seen your esteemed disciple, senior?" She deflected the topic with a chuckle and casually flipped through the papers on the desk, inadvertently revealing an envelope. "...I haven't seen them." Xiang Shi Yan sighed, placing the confidential letter back on the desk, her voice somewhat muffled. Her gaze fell upon the envelope partially covered by Du Ruo's elbow. The envelope's edge bore half a seal—an emblem of the Jade Cang Mountain Sect. This wasn't a report from the dark-scaled clan. Before Du Ruo could realize her mistake, Xiang Shi Yan swiftly pulled it from the desk. She casually glanced at it; the handwriting had changed somewhat, less forceful but sharper than before. This was Huai Ye's writing. Xiang Shi Yan had taught her to write with her own hands, and after all these years, it still closely resembled the instructor's style. Du Ruo froze for a couple of seconds before identifying the letter Xiang Shi Yan held in her hand. She watched Xiang Shi Yan's ears twitch slightly; the fox demon occasionally shot strange glances at her while reading the letter. Immortal cultivators often used jade slips or magical artifacts for communication, as paper was inconvenient to preserve and drew attention. Huai Ye's use of it indicated she was still using the communication channel at Songhe Hall left by Xiang Shi Yan. For a moment, Xiang Shi Yan didn't know how to react. The letter contained no sensitive content; Huai Ye didn't even mention Xiang Shi Yan, instead venting grievances to Du Ruo, occasionally slipping in crude words that made Xiang Shi Yan frown—a likely influence from Du Ruo. She glanced at the embarrassed-looking Du Ruo and sighed helplessly. Though Huai Ye's letters were cutting, their correspondence had continued in secret from Xiang Shi Yan for so long that Du Ruo probably didn't mind. Xiang Shi Yan knew Huai Ye was impatient; in her ignorance, she had turned her reluctant enemy into a vent, suffocating under the burdensome responsibilities of leadership. Noticing the change in Xiang Shi Yan's expression, Du Ruo finally relaxed. She mustered up the courage to ask something she'd long been curious about: "Even if something happened that prevents you from returning to Jade Cang Mountain, senior, there's no need to keep it from them, is there?" Xiang Shi Yan's fingers trembled slightly. Dryly, she said, "It's for their own good." Buried memories of darkness suddenly resurfaced. That night, Xiang Shi Yan watched as the Black Dragon's true form emerged from a girl's chest cavity. She and the remaining corpse stared at each other for a long time; Xiang Shi Yan almost instantly picked up the short sword on the ground and placed it against her throat, intending to cut it. Just as the small, newly emerged form of the Black Dragon rapidly expanded, its tail slapped the sword out of Xiang Shi Yan's hand with tremendous force, dislocating her wrist in the process. Xiang Shi Yan remembered the sensation of being choked by the tail coiled around her neck, cold scales pressing against her skin, while the dragon mane brushed across the back of her neck. He tightly coiled, dragged her forward, pulling Xiang Shi Yan, caught off-guard, stumbling. She remembered crying, tears sliding down her face while suppressed breathing from the raging dragon froze them there. His crimson-gold eyes were close, his voice low and icy: "If you die, I'll slaughter everyone on Jade Cang Mountain, starting with Huai Ye and those two sisters." The instant fear felt tangible, clawing at Xiang Shi Yan's nerves. Even years later, when recalling He He's emotionless voice, she involuntarily shivered. The Black Dragon possessed sky-high abilities; only when everyone remained oblivious to the truth did He He maintain the patience and interest to continue their game of pretend. What Xiang Shi Yan feared most over these sixty years wasn't waking up one morning to find He He smiling down at her by the bedside, but that the children might inadvertently uncover the demon's true face and be silently erased from the world. Of course, Xiang Shi Yan hadn't shared everything with Du Ruo. Although at her most desperate, Du Ruo had generously taken her in and introduced her to the Beast King, He He was a dragon. The Black Scales and Carp tribe had intricate ties with her in blood, and Xiang Shi Yan dared not gamble. Seeing Xiang Shi Yan refuse to say more, Du Ruo sensibly didn't press further. "Senior, after a long day, you must be exhausted. I’ve kept the guest room available for you since your last visit. Rest, and when you're refreshed, we can discuss the Tai Xu Sect matter." Unlike Du Ruo, a person of stature in the beastly holy court, Xiang Shi Yan worked in the shadows, often managing affairs personally. Having just completed a task at the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, she could finally take a breather. As Xiang Shi Yan nodded in agreement and prepared to leave the study, a maid entered, carrying an object wrapped in cloth. Though young in appearance, the maid's cultivation neared the Nascent Soul stage, dressed like any maid in Du Ruo's residence, blending in seamlessly with no trace of beast kinship—she was a human cultivator. This maid was one of the rescued practitioners Xiang Shi Yan and Du Ruo saved from Huaihai City. Du Ruo had skilled sorcerers dispel the curses, waking those women trapped in dreams devoid of pain. Some immediately sought death upon learning from Du Ruo what happened, requiring much persuasion to return. Yet, many, feeling their lives irreparably changed and unable to return to their sects, stayed to assist Du Ruo. This woman was among them. As she approached, her face was a ghostly white, shaking uncontrollably. "Master..." "What is it?" Du Ruo asked, furrowing her brows and gazing gravely at the object in her hands. The female cultivator, once a favored young prodigy despite lost time due to obscene ordeals by an abhorrent entity, possessed qualities beyond the ordinary, and Du Ruo relied on them heavily. To see such fear in her now was startling. The white-haired woman with fox ears turned her head, and a fox-faced mask appeared on her face. Among those cultivated by Du Ruo into her trusted aides were human cultivators, each a genius from various large sects; some had even seen Xiang Shi Yan's appearance in person, and if not, they had at least heard of the renown of Lord Yuehua. Even though Xiang Shi Yan had left Jade Cang Mountain, she remained extremely cautious to prevent future mishaps. He He might not necessarily seek out a human cultivator renegade who's been missing for years but is now working for the Beast King, yet her allies from the Xiao Clan, whom Xiang Shi Yan had crossed multiple times, bore deep grudges, unlikely to let her go without extracting a pound of flesh. The elongated object seemed almost glued to the female cultivator's hand. She took a deep breath before extending it towards Xiang Shi Yan. "Lady Jade Fox, just now, while I was on duty at the gate, a cold wind blew by. Suddenly, I heard a voice saying to deliver this item into the hands of the esteemed guest in the residence. When I came to, it was already in my hand..." It was a longsword wrapped in cloth. Xiang Shi Yan reached out and took it, casually unwrapping the cloth to reveal a simple black scabbard inside. As soon as the patterned cloth fell away, a chill emanated from the sword, and in an instant, fierce ice-element spiritual power engulfed the whole room. The unrestrained power of the weapon had a familiar aura that Xiang Shi Yan recognized. She weighed the longsword in her hand, noting the handle wrapped with fine black shed scales for grip, and scales also covered the scabbard. Where the sword tassel should have been, two small, sharp fangs were attached. Xiang Shi Yan ran her fingers along the uneven scales; the scales at the guard were smooth, comfortable to hold, and offered a peculiar resilience. The moment the Black Scales made contact, Xiang Shi Yan felt her under-skin black scale armor stir, the sensation rippling from her fingertips to her body. Immediately, she understood the source of this familiarity. Drawing the sword, it gleamed with a peculiar luster under the sunlight—this was a sword forged from meteor iron. The sword seemed to tremble slightly, as if sensing something. When first forged, spiritual swords possess no inherent attributes, and this sword, radiating powerful ice-element spiritual energy, was once stored in Xiang Shi Yan's dantian, her spiritual power thoroughly infused within. Her life-bound spiritual sword had shattered during her battle with He He in the past. When she sought self-destruction, the Black Dragon had taken everything from her. Fleeing, she had no chance to reclaim or repair it. She gently caressed the sword's tip. It had been repaired to near perfection, the signs of its previous destruction invisible. He He must have melted another meteor iron short sword to mend it; unexpectedly, the evil dragon excelled not only in alchemy but also in crafting. Realizing that He He might have been within Du's residence, just dozens of feet away, Xiang Shi Yan couldn't help but frown. The isolated system sometimes had unstable signals when receiving world information, and it was in such a gap that He He had approached. "Senior..." Du Ruo sensed a foreboding feeling seeing Xiang Shi Yan stare at the longsword. Xiang Shi Yan snapped back to reality, deciding not to immediately absorb the spiritual sword into her dantian—she couldn't carelessly use any weapon touched by He He. She explained to Du Ruo, "It's nothing, just an old acquaintance stopping by to check on me while on an errand." He He wouldn't visit beast lands without reason, even more so as ahead lay the Demon Capital. After many years, the return of the White Fox Lord, the last pure-blood direct descendant of the Jade Fox Clan, to linger in the bustling avenues of the Demon Capital hadn't gone unnoticed. ### Author's Note: To share here quickly: Within this week, I plan to finish expanding Chapter 170 as a side story. I haven't logged into Weibo for a long time, and couldn't remember my password, so I missed messages from some dear readers, some even from September (apologies for the delay). I'll refrain from disturbing things for now. Once the weekend writing is done, I'll post a notification on Weibo as usual, and I'll also mention it here. Those interested can reach out to me then for a collective release. The side story will still be available for free with complete subscription records. Apologies to those who messaged earlier but didn’t get a response from me—I'm somewhat a ghost on social media these days... Thank you to the little angels who cast overlord votes or nourished with nutrient drinks from 2022-11-15 01:49:10 to 2022-11-15 21:25:15~ Thanks to the nutrient drink angels: Hotpot Egg 52 bottles; Crane Group Admin 38 bottles; Thanks so much for everyone's support. I'll continue to work hard! This site is free of pop-up ads, permanent domain (xbanxia.com)