C37 Raise the East Wind!

The Dragon Lake lineage has always been an anomaly among the world's cultivators.

In both the Land of Quiescence and Euwrea, the majority of sects look down upon those from Dragon Lake.

The reason is that the Dragon Lake lineage serves "dragons" as their servants.

— The servants of dragons.

In the ancient times, the Everlands were once dominated by the powerful Nagas.

However, today, the Nagas have long lost their former splendor.

Humans are now the true masters of the Everlands!

In Euwrea, it's common for peak cultivators to capture giant dragons, using them as mounts and crafting items from dragon bones and dragon tendons.

Institutions like the Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, and the three upper sects of Euwrea, consider enslaving giant dragons and utilizing them as the norm.

Most often, the Nagas are at the beck and call of humans, pledging their allegiance.

Yet, the Dragon Lake lineage, despite being human, serves the "dragon" as their master and proudly identifies as a servant.

"The spirit of the dragon whelp implanted within you is feasting on your vitality and stealthily siphoning the faint Soul Power emanating from your three souls of heaven, earth, and man," Yu Yuan observed, eyeing the increasingly restless blue bloodline. "It's this interference that has prevented your realm from advancing into the Soul Awakening stage."

"Of course, I'm aware," Zhao Yafu replied, her voice laced with agony.

She was acutely aware of the dragon whelp's spirit quietly consuming the power of her flesh and blood.

This process was excruciating, like being flayed and carved up, making her wish for death.

Yet, she found it incredibly difficult to resist.

"It continues to grow, yet its spiritual wisdom remains veiled. Once it draws sufficient nourishment from your three souls of heaven, earth, and man, its wisdom will fully blossom," Yu Yuan said, holding her hand. "Then, your flesh and three souls will become its most delectable feast."

Zhao Yafu's expression darkened, and she nodded in resignation, "I understand all too well."

"The Dragon Soul is potent. If you assimilate it and refine it into your three souls of heaven, earth, and man," Yu Yuan continued, shifting the conversation, "you'll reap immense benefits as you enter the Subtlety stage. The condensation of your Lunar Spirit, the progression through Spirit Walk, and the forging of your Solar Spirit will all proceed with far greater ease. Moreover, both your Lunar Spirit and Solar Spirit will be far more formidable than those of others at the same level."

"Yes," Zhao Yafu confirmed with a nod.

"Let me give it a try."

Yu Yuan inhaled deeply, the Nine Glories Wheel in his palm suddenly spinning at an increased velocity. Invisible to others, he alone understood that in that moment, his palm had transformed into a black hole capable of swallowing all forms of energy.

Despite utilizing the Nine Glories Wheel, Yu Yuan, who was at the Spirit Channel level, couldn't project spiritual energy through his skin to attack others. His only option was to draw upon higher-ranked spells to absorb the surrounding energies.

The divine force permeated the valley, and even the fiery specks emitted by Yuan Qiufang were a form of spiritual energy. Similarly, the blood rain scattered by Ann Ziqing contained both vitality and essence energy. While ordinary spells struggled to harness such forces, the Nine Glories Wheel could.

"Ah!" Zhao Yafu trembled, her eyes suddenly alight with excitement. Zhao Xi, standing next to her, also sensed something stirring.

At that moment, as Yu Yuan fervently stimulated the Nine Glories Wheel, both of them either felt or saw the sparks and droplets of blood being drawn towards them. Yu Yuan had become like a peculiar magnet, attracting the dispersed powers.

"Ah!" Zhao Yafu's complexion abruptly turned ashen. She glared at Yu Yuan, her gaze filled with suspicion, and demanded, "What are you trying to do?"

The dragon whelp spirit, which had been embedded in her since childhood, surged into her palm, desperately trying to break through her skin and merge with Yu Yuan's palm.

"You're trying to steal it!" she accused, her voice laced with anger. This dragon whelp spirit, the source of years of torment and unbearable pain, was her family's beacon of hope. How could she allow someone else to claim it?

"What a cunning scheme!" Zhao Xi, too, had misinterpreted the situation, his expression turning icy. "Mr. Yu, I suggest you refrain from coveting what isn't yours! How dare you be so audacious? To act so recklessly right before my eyes?"

"Silence!" Yu Yuan barked, his frustration evident.

In just a short time, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and the hand holding Zhao Yafu's was trembling. "Given my current condition and at the Spirit Channel level, unless I'm seeking death, why would I even entertain such thoughts?"

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Xi and Zhao Yafu managed to regain some composure.

"Concentrate and assist me!" Yu Yuan called out once more.

It was then that Zhao Yafu witnessed flames and a shower of blood descending into Yu Yuan's palm.

The spirit of the dragon whelp, lured by what it perceived as a delicious meal and seeking to burrow into Yu Yuan for a feast, found itself firmly ensnared by the nine points of psionic power.

This psionic power emanated from Yu Yuan's palm, a sensation Zhao Yafu could distinctly feel as their palms pressed together.

"Sss! Sss!"

Flames and droplets of blood seeped through the joined hands, seemingly burning and smelting the spirit of the dragon whelp caught in the grip of the psionic power.

Zhao Yafu could acutely sense the dragon whelp spirit's agony at that moment.

It recognized the pain and, by instinct, realized it was trapped. Desperate to escape the psionic power's hold, it yearned to retreat back into her chest, never to emerge again.

"Indeed, lacking in spiritual wisdom, it was easily ensnared. Having caught it with my fishing, do you think I'd let you slip back so effortlessly?" Yu Yuan remarked with a cold chuckle. "Such greed. At the first whiff of absorbable power, you rush to plunder and possess. The Nagas have always been this way since ancient times. It's ingrained in your lineage. Alas, the days of your kind ruling the world are long gone."

The true lure for the dragon whelp spirit was a trace of blood from Ann Ziqing, rich with pure and potent vitality energy.

Yu Yuan used the Nine Glories Wheel to collect these scattered droplets of vital energy and concentrate them.

The dragon whelp spirit, instinctively drawn to the essence of vitality released by the Nine Glories Wheel, naturally followed the scent.

Once it realized it was confined by the nine points of strange light and felt Yuan Qiufang's fiery power infiltrating and consuming it, it understood it had been deceived.

Now it struggled fiercely to break free and flee back into Zhao Yafu's body.

"Ouch!"

Sweat beaded on Zhao Yafu's nose and forehead, glistening with the effort.

Her palm throbbed with a searing pain, scorched by Yuan Qiufang's fiery power, yet amidst it, there surged a potent vital energy from the Nine Glories Wheel, carrying with it an overwhelming scent of blood and ferocity.

The spirit of the dragon whelp, long concealed within her and intricately linked to her vitality and soul, seemed to shiver within her perception.

Zhao Yafu, wracked with pain, bowed her head and sensed the blue vein of blood within her contorting and quivering as if it were writhing in the center of her palm.

A flicker of relief washed over her as she witnessed the dragon whelp's torment, finding solace in its suffering. Night after night, during her meditative practices, she was acutely aware of a foreign presence lurking within her, covertly leeching her vitality and strength. She was powerless despite her awareness.

Her father and grandfather had even told her that this... entity was her master, the one she was destined to serve for life. But why should she pledge allegiance to such a being? Why should her fate be entwined with it, and why obey it, especially when it demanded her own sacrifice for its resurrection after its untimely demise?

Zhao Yafu was filled with defiance.

"Heh!" Yu Yuan, gently holding Zhao Yafu's hand, offered a reassuring smile. "The essence of Colddeath, a Lunar Spirit, may seem like a delicacy when dispersed. But once it's concentrated, it becomes lethal. I now understand why your true form perished outside Dragon Lake, unknown to all."

"Such a foolish dragon," he mused.

The blood that Ann Ziqing and Yuan Qiufang spilled in battle was harmless as mere droplets. But should it coalesce, the threat was far greater.

"Eh? A dragon whelp's spirit?"

It was then that Ann Ziqing, having evaded the Flame Halberd for so long, paused astonishingly in the valley's airspace, her silhouette materializing.

She blinked, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Young Master, you're busy aiding the Zhao family's young lady with her internal affliction while I'm fighting tooth and nail? Once the dragon whelp's spirit is refined, will you pin the blame on Colddeath and Ruby Hand?"

Yu Yuan chuckled sheepishly, "Since you're not concerned, and it's hardly any trouble, why not do a good deed?"

"I refuse!"

Zhao Yafu, standing across from him, was taken aback. "Mr. Yu, do you realize what you're giving up? The power, the prestige..."