Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!

Chapter 1126 - 900: The Banquet_2

"The Power of Heaven and Earth has been pent up for too long. Now that such a smoothly ’entering-the-sea’ Bai Yunqi has suddenly appeared, I fear this last Thunder Tribulation will not be easy to pass."

"He could grit his teeth and push through even the Nine-layered Kill formation; I, on the other hand, feel that no matter how difficult this Thunder Tribulation is, in the end it still has to conform to the Heavenly Dao. With his firm will, there will definitely be no problem."

"Once he crosses this Thunder Tribulation, Bai Yunqi will become the first Flood Dragon in nearly ten thousand years in the Wilderness World to successfully complete Walking Flood Dragon. He is destined to be no ordinary being."

"Nearly ten thousand years? Has it really been that long already?"

"Of course! The Sect’s ancient records state that last time, that one who almost succeeded by forcing his way past wave after wave of Dragon-slaying Sword, turned into a stone dragon and sank to the seabed right as he reached the river mouth. From then till now it’s already been seven or eight thousand years—doesn’t that mean there hasn’t been a successful Walking Flood Dragon for nearly ten thousand years."

"But back then, it seems the Nine-layered Kill formation didn’t exist yet."

"No one knows who set that thing up. Thankfully it was destroyed by Bai Yunqi; otherwise, who knows how much more slaughter-karma it would have created."

"So-called slaughter-karma is nothing more than the manifold causes and effects of past and present lives. That it could be destroyed by Bai Yunqi was also something long predestined in the unseen. In this final kalpa, they’ve started to settle accounts... settle accounts..."

......

The people of the Ancient Ten Great Sects whispered among themselves;

while Yan Xuan watched this scene, his heart filled with deep emotion—

that Snake Demon who turned into a stone dragon and failed was once his friend.

It could only be said: time, fate, and fortune. In terms of cultivation and Body Forging, Bai Yunqi was far inferior to the other. Yet, by sheer luck, he obtained his master’s aid, and along the way did not have to withstand so many Dragon-slaying Swords; after breaking through the Nine-layered Kill formation, he even gained the Human Race’s seal of the mouth. Thus the former failed, and Bai Yunqi succeeded.

"Perhaps the Heavenly Dao had simply decreed it so." He lifted his head to silently gaze at the sky, thinking how he himself had been suppressed for so many years, and only when his master brought him back did he finally step onto the proper path.

Meeting the right person at the right time, doing the right thing—then everything proceeds smoothly.

"Crack!"

The lightning seemed eager to split a hole in the very heavens, making onlookers unconsciously clench their fists in worry for Bai Yunqi.

His figure appeared thin and small within the vast canopy of pitch-black thunderclouds, as if he might be struck at any moment and fall. Yet in truth, throughout this entire process of Walking Flood Dragon, this was actually the simplest Thunder Tribulation Bai Yunqi had encountered.

Despite its overwhelming momentum, in fact each bolt of lightning carried within it a majestic Power of Heaven and Earth. Every strike that fell upon his body knocked off his snake scales and poured in tremendous strength—painful, yet with an unexpectedly pleasant undertone.

No one knew how long he swam within the lightning. Then he plunged headfirst into a world filled with pure white light, where even time itself seemed to come to a halt.

"Splash~"

There was no wind, no clouds, no lightning. In this stillness, Bai Yunqi could hear a faint, crisp rustling sound. His scar-riddled body was sloughing off a heavy outer shell, making him feel incomparably comfortable!

So he stretched his body to his heart’s content.

"Rip!"

As the heavy shackle at the tip of his tail fell away, Bai Yunqi clearly sensed that he had ushered in a complete new birth!

"Roar~"

A dragon’s roar tore through the rolling thunder; the vast expanse of dark clouds scattered in an instant.

Under the brilliant golden light of the rising sun, the scales on that giant serpent in midair fluttered off and dissolved into points of radiance, while a newly born, awe-inspiring White Flood Dragon, wielding a pair of claws, soared freely across the sky!

It was a truly striking sight.

At this point, all the Cultivators recalled their Immortal Ships, then in groups of three or five took to Sword Flight in the sky, sincerely offering their congratulations on his successful transformation into a Flood Dragon.

Bai Yunqi’s excitement was beyond words. He slowly flew over, lowering his massive Flood Dragon head slightly toward Jiang Yuan, expressing gratitude and submission.

"Hooray! He finally did it! From now on our little courtyard has a real White Dragon!" Qing Niao hopped about barefoot, then noticed a detail and asked curiously, "Huh? His original pair of horns is gone—so Flood Dragons only have a single horn?"

The bright red pair of horns on Bai Yunqi’s head had vanished; at the very center of his enormous skull there now stood a white single horn—short and straight, without any branches, like an unopened short spear, ancient and simple.

"You’re right. One horn and two claws. His tail doesn’t seem to have changed much either. Does he only grow into two horns and four claws after he Transform into a Dragon?" Yun Shu observed carefully and noticed that he didn’t quite match the many dragon patterns she’d seen.

Jiang Yuan had finished reading the introduction that popped up from the system and explained, "A Flood Dragon has a pair of claws, three toes each, simple and practical, convenient for stirring hidden currents in the water and for battle; a single horn; and a snake’s tail, which makes it more flexible when swaying in the water.

Whereas a true Dragon roams the skies; its tail is covered in scales and bears mane-like fins, making it easier to control direction in flight; once it enters the water, it’s like a paddle.

Their eyes are different too. A Flood Dragon’s eyes are slightly sunken, with dark patterns around the eye sockets, its gaze deep and restrained; a Dragon’s eyes bulge outward like copper bells, with pupils like burning golden orbs.

Xiao Bai, keep cultivating diligently. After seizing the right opportunities and passing through five more Celestial Tribulations, you’ll be able to become a true Dragon!"

"Many thanks for the guidance, Venerable Family!" Bai Yunqi transformed into human form and knelt in solemn salute.

After rising, he turned and bowed to thank the witnesses around him.

People from the Ancient Ten Great Sects all offered their congratulations one after another and then departed, leaving only the members of the small courtyard and the Guests, who clustered around him asking all sorts of questions.

After transforming into a Flood Dragon, Bai Yunqi’s human form no longer had the scarlet twin horns and vertical pupils he once did; his hair had turned silver, and his irises had become silver-gray. His words and actions were no different from before, but his overall bearing had shed its former strange, demonic air.

"Xiao Bai, when you were Walking Flood Dragon, your mouth was sealed as ’White Dragon’. This here is one of your benefactors from that time." Jiang Yuan called over the Little Rabbit Demon, who couldn’t use Sword Flight and had to be shielded by Ling Di’s demon wind, and introduced, "Her name is Feng Ling, a Little Demon Cultivator from the banks of the Qi River.

By kindly taking in two Human Race children, she ended up with that mouth-sealing encounter. Without her, this final stretch of your journey probably wouldn’t have gone so smoothly."

Bai Yunqi hurriedly gave a solemn bow. "Many thanks, Miss Feng Ling!"

"Ah? N-no, I, I actually didn’t really do anything..." The Little Rabbit Demon was flustered by the unexpected honor and waved her hands in a panic. "Besides, ever since I was brought onto the Immortal Ship, everyone’s been so good to me! No need to thank me, no need!"

Yan Xuan swaggered over and snorted, "Silly little rabbit, of course he should thank you. Not only thank you, but thank you properly, thank you grandly! If you hadn’t taken in those two little brats, where would that mouth-sealing have come from? Bai Yunqi, at the very least you have to give the little rabbit a breath of Dragon Breath; she’s earned it, you know."

Feng Ling’s rabbit ears—those big ears she hadn’t yet cultivated away—shot upright. Huh? What’s Dragon Breath? It sounds really impressive.

"But of course." Bai Yunqi laughed. "However, I’ve only just succeeded in transforming into a Flood Dragon, my aura is still a bit unstable. I’ll have to take a short seclusion to steady myself before I can bestow Dragon Breath."

Seeing that the major task was accomplished, Jiang Yuan thought, what else was there to say? Time to head home and have a celebratory feast!

"Sir, Du Li has already paid the Pill Formula. I’ll go tell him the secret about the Life Origin now." Qu Luming was impatient; he wanted to hurry up and settle this matter.

Once he signed a contract to become Mr. Jiang’s guard, he’d be able to cast off the shackles of his main body!

After asking for instructions, he slunk over furtively to look for a chance to whisper with his main body.

Du Li had just been beaten and, upon learning that Bai Yunqi had successfully transformed into a Flood Dragon, immediately sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and stepped forward to offer congratulations. Then he was dragged aside by his avatar, who recounted the ins and outs of the situation.

"Hiss... so in the end I still have to..." He gritted his teeth, thinking that if he wanted to ask Mr. Jiang to补complete Yuan Man’s Life Origin, he had no idea what price he’d have to pay this time.

The key was, no matter how high a price he paid, whether the other party was willing or not was another question entirely!

Du Li’s whole body hurt from the beating he’d just taken, when Qu Luming lowered his voice again and said, "You’ve got to move fast on this. Hurry up and settle any debts and grudges you should settle, and you should also push yourself a bit harder—try to break through in your Realm and reach the Peak of Tribulation Crossing Realm as soon as you can.

In the future... if you go for something like Ascension, things will go more smoothly for you, right?"

He thought to himself that their collective Ascension plan, which Mr. Jiang had already said was impossible, was probably truly hopeless now. Du Li’s avatar would eventually part ways with him as well, so he could only encourage him to work hard and rely on himself.

Of course, if he himself had hope of following Mr. Jiang in Ascension someday, he’d also try to fight for a share on Du Li’s behalf.

"Easy for you to say, hiss... it hurts like hell!" Du Li bared his teeth as if that could lessen the pain, and muttered, "You think this is like buying cabbage? Just pay and walk away with it? This is Life Origin we’re talking about! I need to think about what else I can bring to the table, so he’d be willing to hand over Life Origin to someone else."

Qu Luming had to admit that made sense.

The crux was that the Demon Realm Alliance was going through a turbulent time lately; they’d been throwing out treasures one after another, and as Vice Alliance Hierarch he was feeling the pinch too.

Actually, as long as the dream of collective Ascension was shattered, things would be fine. Right now all their resources were being poured into that vague, illusory Ascension plan; once it collapsed, a huge amount of resources would be freed up, and then they could just pile it on with Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures if worst came to worst.

"Think about it another day; for now, the important thing is to go eat the banquet!" Qu Luming nudged him with his elbow. "Did Mr. Jiang invite you? You’ve never tasted his Immortal Chef skills before, so don’t you dare act stupid! You have to stay for the banquet, and you have to eat a lot."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice even further. "Who knows, maybe there’ll be gourmet dishes made with Flood Dragon Meat at the banquet!"

Du Li was still wracked with pain when something short-circuited in his brain and he blurted out, "No way, right? They’d slaughter him right after he’s just succeeded in Walking Flood Dragon? Are we eating Bai Yunqi’s banquet?"