Ao Qin’s Death
“…”
Mu Wanwan’s vision was blurred. She wanted to reach out with her other hand and touch her dragon, but all she felt from that side was wave after wave of pain.
The dragon did what she could not—
He carefully gathered her into his arms, then took the hand that had been clutching his clothes and placed it against his cheek.
Red blood stained half his face, but Mr. Long did not show the slightest disgust.
His eyes curved into a smile. Just as Mu Wanwan had imagined countless times, he tilted his cheek slightly and brushed his lips against her fingertips.
As though he were telling her—
It was real.
Mu Wanwan struggled to open her half-lidded eyes. The pain left her almost unable to speak.
Mr. Long held her as he gently landed on the ground. He carefully wiped the blood from her forehead. When he clearly saw the state of her injuries, the guilt and rage surging through him nearly tore apart his newly beating heart.
His thin lips abruptly curved upwards, and a terrifying gleam flashed through his eyes.
Less than three days had passed in the outside world, yet his wife had already been reduced to this state by these dogs who refused to stop hounding her. Had he returned any later, wouldn’t he have lost her completely?
A faint touch came from his hand.
Mr. Long lowered his head and saw her forcing her nearly collapsing body to hold on as she used all her strength to say, “Meng… Meng…”
“Leave it to me,” Mr. Long said as he held her right arm, which was on the verge of disappearing.
Mu Wanwan felt warmth spread from her right arm. The suffocating sensation she had almost been unable to endure eased considerably, and all the pain vanished. Only a faint sense of exhaustion remained. However, her body was already close to collapsing, so she was temporarily unable to speak.
She remained in a certain dragon’s arms as she watched him stand. He lowered his eyes and curved his lips at her.
The stone rain that had been about to fall and the roaring thunder beside her ears seemed to be suddenly muted. Only golden specks of light remained, filling the sky.
Mu Wanwan stared blankly as the fine light fell into her eyes.
Mr. Long’s spiritual consciousness trembled slightly. An enormous world projection descended.
The rocks and ground that had been on the verge of collapsing instantly froze in place.
Also frozen were Ao Qin, who had been preparing to deal a fatal blow to the burning furball, and Wu Yao, who had been standing to the side with his arms folded as he watched the spectacle.
What was happening?
The enormous azure dragon’s mouth was stretched wide open, revealing sharp teeth. Even his dragon whiskers, which had originally been fluttering majestically in the wind, were suspended motionlessly in midair.
His body had suddenly become completely immobile.
Fear gradually spread from the depths of Ao Qin’s heart.
His enormous bell-like eyes moved slightly. His spiritual consciousness, which had been released but could no longer be withdrawn, was pressed to the ground by Mr. Long’s vast world projection.
Bursts of stabbing pain came from his sea of consciousness.
Ao Qin stared in horror at the dragon who should have died.
He held Mu Wanwan, who should have been crushed to death, in his arms. Apart from the blood on his face, not a speck of dust stained his body.
The warriors of the dragon and witch races, who had been locked in combat as they tried to kill Jiu Qing and the others, were also completely unable to move before this nearly irresistible power.
What was going on?!
The simple fear in Ao Qin’s heart now fully materialised.
That dragon was not dead.
How could that be possible?!
His broken horns had shattered.
His broken horns had shattered!
The horns that represented a dragon’s life had been completely destroyed. How could he still be alive?!
Could he have succeeded?
No.
Impossible.
The moment this thought appeared, Ao Qin ruthlessly extinguished it.
He could not possibly have succeeded.
No dragon had succeeded in tens of thousands of years. How could an orphaned dragon like him possibly succeed?
The one who should succeed was Ao Qin.
As long as he ate the white phoenix and then used these talented people as blood sacrifices, he would be able to break through. He would be able to learn the cultivation techniques hidden in the heart of the forbidden land, gain immense power, and reach the supreme realm!
Despite telling himself this, the jealousy in his heart grew like wild weeds, swiftly occupying it entirely.
Together with the all-pervasive fear, it wove itself into a dense net capable of strangling everything.
The formerly arrogant “Sovereign,” whose mouth remained stretched wide open, now looked as ugly and ridiculous as an enormous green worm.
Even more shocked than Ao Qin was Wu Yao, who had originally been watching the show from the side-lines.
The witch race did not place much emphasis on cultivating spiritual consciousness, but Wu Yao’s spiritual consciousness was not weak. Because he had devoured Hundun’s soul, it was even stronger than Ao Qin’s despite them being at the same cultivation level, and had nearly reached the seventh rank.
Yet now, the spiritual consciousness he had once taken such pride in had been crushed without the slightest ability to resist.
His spiritual consciousness, which had once felt as heavy as a mountain, was as fragile as a thin, pitiful sheet of paper beneath the pressure of Mr. Long’s.
Not only had Mr. Long broken through, but he had also reached the height Wu Yao had dreamed of achieving.
This realisation nearly destroyed all of Wu Yao’s willpower.
With both his limbs and blood gu unable to move, he was forced to acknowledge reality—
That dragon had returned.
He was an enemy they could never defeat.
Wu Yao still had some backbone. Remembering everything he and Ao Qin had previously done to Mu Wanwan and the others, he felt deep regret.
He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes.
He was calculating how likely he would be to escape if he sacrificed the lives of every witch present!
“Chirp…”
The bad dragon had returned.
Blood trickled down the body of the enormous furball, whose downy feathers had fallen out in large patches. He let out an extremely delighted chirp.
That was wonderful.
He wanted to force himself to keep his eyes open, but the unbearable pain and his rapidly draining vitality were like talismans urging him towards death, making Mengmeng look as though he was dozing off.
His enormous eyes slowly drooped shut, only to struggle open again.
The flames burning over his body grew increasingly fierce, as though they were about to reduce him to ashes.
The next moment, following Mr. Long’s movement, the burning furball slowly floated over to Mu Wanwan and Mr. Long.
Mu Wanwan’s gaze fell on the ball of fire whose interior could no longer be seen. Her heart was filled with guilt and self-reproach.
Had Mengmeng not been protecting her, he would never have suffered such severe injuries.
Mr. Long sensed her distress.
He gently put her down, walked to Mengmeng’s side, and placed his hand on the ball of fire.
Mengmeng’s wavy eyes glimmered when he looked towards him, but they were about to close completely.
Using spiritual consciousness to communicate, Mr. Long gave the little chirp, who could no longer hear, the praise he desired most.
“Mengmeng fulfilled his promise. You did very well.”
The enormous furball was comforted—
Mengmeng had fulfilled his promise! He was the most powerful and wonderful chirp in the entire world! ≧w≦
Chirp was so tired. He was going to sleep now. When he woke up, he would be able to see Mother again.
Before slowly closing his eyes, the furball tried his best to appear happy.
However, the enormous tears rolling down from his eyes and the waves of reluctance convulsing through his still-young soul were transmitted without omission into his old father’s heart.
Mr. Long’s expression softened helplessly.
Light shone from his palm as he gently pressed it against Mengmeng’s enormous head.
“Go to sleep.”
Mengmeng had absorbed too much energy prematurely and had also been bitten. Fortunately, his intense willpower had caused him to enter his first nirvana ahead of time.
It should have been extremely dangerous…
But Mr. Long had returned.
“Nothing will happen to you.”
After Mr. Long finished speaking, his newly grown dragon horns flashed.
They formed a spiritual-energy barrier that was larger and brighter than the previous one, enveloping the still-burning furball.
When Mu Wanwan saw Mr. Long’s actions, she finally relaxed.
Judging from his reaction, Mengmeng should be all right.
While Mr. Long was doing this, Jiu Qing shoved away a witch and touched her neck, which had nearly been pierced through, with lingering fear.
Seeing that the witch had suddenly become unable to move, she showed no mercy. A streak of purple light directly sliced open his throat, and purple-green blood sprayed over her face.
“Disgusting.”
Jiu Qing raised a hand and wiped her face. She turned to look across the battlefield, which had fallen entirely silent.
When her gaze touched Mr. Long, who was holding Mu Wanwan, her brows involuntarily lifted.
He had truly succeeded.
Some of the third-rank warriors who had originally been on the verge of death also gained a chance to breathe.
With the help of the glowing liquid Mu Wanwan had created, which had not yet disappeared, they recovered some strength and energy before killing the immobilised witches and blood insects that had nearly bitten them to death.
Uncle Chen and the others also took advantage of the opportunity to turn the tables. They showed no mercy to the witches.
Auntie Hua hurried over to Mu Wanwan’s side.
Without looking at Mr. Long, she anxiously examined Mu Wanwan. Only after discovering that her condition was still manageable did she sigh in relief.
“Auntie Hua.”
Hearing the ignored powerhouse beside her accurately call her name, Auntie Hua’s heart jumped. Only then did she properly look at the dragon beside her.
Mu Wanwan cast him an approving glance.
A certain dragon shyly squeezed her hand in return.
When Uncle Chen arrived, the first thing he saw was their intertwined hands.
“Uncle Chen,” Mr. Long called out to him as well before explaining, “My wife has mentioned you before. Thank you for everything.”
His attitude towards his elders was extremely respectful, despite how inappropriate their current location and surroundings were.
Ao Qin’s mouth remained ridiculously stretched open.
Because he had been unable to close it for so long, saliva dripped from his mouth and even landed on the equally immobilised azure-dragon guards beneath him.
The humiliation nearly tore apart the pride of this dragon, who had always considered his bloodline noble.
He swept his spiritual consciousness towards Mr. Long, who was smiling as he greeted Uncle Chen, and felt as though he himself were nothing but a joke.
Was he not even worthy of being that dragon’s opponent?!
Wu Yao was also so furious that his eyes nearly split apart.
He used all his strength to force his spiritual consciousness to move slightly, only to receive a careless glance from that dragon.
Mr. Long glanced faintly at Wu Yao.
Under Ao Qin and Wu Yao’s hateful gazes, he unhurriedly took a shell bed out of the mustard-seed space on Mu Wanwan’s hand that was still usable.
He then took out several sets of tables, chairs, and stools.
Afterwards, he carefully carried Mu Wanwan onto the bed and gestured for Uncle Chen, Auntie Hua, Mo Teng, and Chi Yan, who had just arrived, to sit down.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
Jiu Qing, who had arrived while dragging her injured tail: “…”
Ao Qin nearly vomited blood from watching him.
Who was he looking down on?
Who?!
Uncle Chen, however, did not stand on ceremony and sat down.
Mr. Long carefully released Mu Wanwan’s hand and established a layer of spiritual energy around her.
It was the same as what Mu Wanwan was familiar with.
The inside was slightly dark and hazy, making it difficult to clearly see what was happening outside.
“Wait for me for a moment, Wife.”
His long lashes curled upwards, and his tone appeared calm.
“There are still some insects that need to be dealt with. Do not let their filthy blood sully your eyes.”
Not far away, Feng shuddered violently when he heard those words.
The moment Mr. Long turned his back to Mu Wanwan, the softness in his expression almost instantly transformed into disgust and hatred.
When those phoenix eyes swept over Feng, the seemingly casual killing intent made his spine turn cold and his scalp tingle.
Those two were finished.
Feng’s hair stood on end at the thought, yet he could not suppress the satisfaction in his heart.
After all, he indirectly bore a blood feud against the dragon race.
…
Ao Qin watched the dragon slowly approach him, feeling humiliated and unwilling.
Decades of planning, countless days and nights of heart-devouring jealousy, and the delight he had felt upon believing that he had finally escaped the other dragon’s shadow—
Everything made him unable to accept this outcome.
Murderous intent and unwillingness still filled the azure dragon’s bell-like eyes.
He stared at the dragon who had not even transformed into his half-dragon form, who merely stood simply before him.
Hatred as sharp as a newly unsheathed sword flashed through Ao Qin’s eyes and stabbed towards him.
“Ao Qin.”
He heard the dragon call his name.
The next moment, Ao Qin uncontrollably transformed back into human form and fell to his knees at Mr. Long’s feet.
Ao Qin wanted to open his mouth and mock him, only to discover that he could not utter a single word.
A streak of white light abruptly entered his body.
Ao Qin immediately felt his previously numb knees begin to ache as though needles were piercing straight into his bones.
The surrounding environment also became unbearably cold.
It felt as though…
As though his sense of pain had been amplified dozens of times.
The dragon had not even attacked yet, but Ao Qin was already drenched in cold sweat and tormented by unbearable pain.
“Was this the hand you used to touch my wife?”
As soon as the icy words fell, an indescribable pain spread through Ao Qin’s left hand.
Starting from the depths of his marrow, it was gradually annihilated.
It felt as though countless ants were gnawing at him, the numb itching accompanied by violent spasms.
Ao Qin collapsed to the ground, unable to rise, like a dead dog.
Mr. Long looked at the blood flowing from the corner of Ao Qin’s mouth.
He slowly raised an eyebrow and deliberately drew out his words.
“Oh. It seems it was this hand.”
Another cracking sound rang out.
Ao Qin’s left arm was destroyed as well.
The pain shook his sea of consciousness and destabilised his soul. He wished he could kill himself on the spot.
And that was exactly what he tried to do.
Unfortunately, before he could detonate the primal core within his body, he clearly sensed what appeared to be a slender, delicate hand piercing straight through his dantian.
The primal core he had painfully cultivated for several hundred years was effortlessly dug out.
“Your primal core is very pretty. It would make a suitable toy for Mengmeng.”
Ao Qin was almost unconscious from the pain, but he was forced to listen to the dragon’s voice.
The moment the primal core left his body, his physical pain reached its peak.
Combined with his shattered pride and the devastating sense of defeat, it caused Ao Qin to violently spit out blood.
As he approached death, his body transformed into an azure dragon.
Under Mr. Long’s completely indifferent gaze, it gradually dissolved into bloody foam.
Mu Wanwan could vaguely make out some of what was happening.
Although she felt extremely satisfied, she looked at Mr. Long standing in midair amid a rain of blood, his sleeves soaked red, and thought that he was probably somewhat sad.
After all, he truly had once regarded Ao Qin as a friend.
Once she recovered, she would definitely make delicious food to feed her dragon and comfort him.
Had Mr. Long known what she was thinking, he certainly would have laughed.
The person he once was might have felt sorrow.
But now, not only was he not sad, he even leisurely extracted Ao Qin’s soul.
Allowing Ao Qin to die just like that would be far too merciful.
He would force Ao Qin to repay the pain of his wife losing her arm billions of times over.
Only after completing all of this did he turn his gaze towards Wu Yao, who had fallen into utter despair and whose face was deathly pale.
He held Ao Qin’s primal core in one hand.
Ao Qin’s blood dripped from the crescent-shaped tips of his fingernails.
He shook his hand in disgust, sending the blood splattering across Wu Yao’s bulging eyes.
It brought Wu Yao more fear and pain than tens of millions of blades striking him directly.
Mr. Long looked at his terrified expression.
His rosy lips curved into a beautiful arc, but he showed no mercy as he placed his hand on top of Wu Yao’s head.
“I heard,” he slowly said, uttering words that made Wu Yao tremble with fear, “that the witch race possesses something called a mother insect?”
When he had previously attacked their territory, he had wanted to search the witch leader’s soul.
Unfortunately, his strength had been insufficient at the time.
Wu Yao’s spiritual consciousness felt as though it were being torn apart.
All the secrets and disgusting deeds the witch race had concealed for thousands of years appeared before Mr. Long’s eyes.
Among them were Hundun’s century of suffering and his aged, dying appearance shortly before he disappeared.
The curve of Mr. Long’s lips vanished.
By the time he returned to his senses, Wu Yao’s body, including the mother insect within it, had already been reduced to dust beneath his hand.
Large numbers of witches died on the spot with the death of the mother insect.
“Heh.”
Mr. Long sneered and seized Wu Yao’s soul, which had attempted to self-destruct.
Hundun had suffered a hundred years of having his soul consumed.
It was entirely the witch race’s fault.
Mr. Long closed his eyes.
Immense power radiated outwards.
Before everyone’s eyes, he transformed into his true form without the slightest trace of his former inferiority—
The moment he passed the inheritance trial, he had received an enormous amount of inherited knowledge.
He could also finally understand the words Hundun had carved into the stone walls, which he had committed to memory.
He now knew.
He was not a mongrel dragon.
He was not an unwanted orphan.
In Wanwan and Hundun’s eyes, he was the most beautiful dragon.
The only five-clawed golden dragon in existence.
Those dragons and witches appeared utterly insignificant in his eyes.
Ao Qin’s imprisoned soul saw his body covered in brilliant golden scales.
It was several times larger than the bodies of the Golden Dragon Clan, and he possessed the dragon horns Ao Qin had dreamed of having.
Even Ao Qin’s soul, which was approaching the seventh rank, could not accept this ending.
It began to collapse bit by bit from its deepest depths.
He would not accept it!
He did not believe it!
It was false!
All of it was false!
He was the dragon who should have possessed the noblest bloodline in the dragon race!
A prolonged dragon’s roar resounded through the world.
Mu Wanwan understood the emotions within it and began to smile.
As for the dragons and witches who had still maintained their true forms while tearing at one another, they gradually dissolved into dust beneath that dragon’s roar, filled with shock and regret.
Before the Golden Dragon Clan’s Grand Elder died, he looked at the dragon he had once intended to sacrifice.
Just before he was annihilated, he saw the legendary fifth claw concealed beneath Mr. Long’s abdomen.
The Grand Elder closed his enormous eyes.
So he truly was not a mongrel dragon.
Had he known earlier, he would never have humiliated him.
Bai Huan thought regretfully just before he died.
The sight of several hundred dragons and more than a thousand witches disappearing at once was spectacular.
Their blood stained the formerly pristine ice field red.
Only the small area surrounding Mu Wanwan remained perfectly clean.
It was as though it represented the final soft place hidden within Mr. Long’s heart.
…
Once everything had settled and the group had finished cleaning up, they returned to Yifa City.
Most of the warriors who had come to help in exchange for pills were still alive.
Chi Yan and Mo Teng arranged for them to rest temporarily in Yifa.
The curses afflicting many of them had disappeared directly because most of the witch race had died.
Others would still need to wait for Mu Wanwan to change bodies and refine pills for them.
Uncle Chen recorded all their names, while Mo Teng signed contracts with them in the name of the Xianqing Pavilion.
Hai Jiu and the others were also in no hurry to leave.
Jiu Qing listened as the wilful little princess gritted her teeth and declared that she wanted to see what Mu Wanwan’s original body looked like. Otherwise, she would simply be unable to accept it.
Jiu Qing merely smiled.
Hai Jiu was not truly malicious.
Even if Mu Wanwan’s real appearance was unimpressive, she probably would not genuinely do anything to Mr. Long, whom she claimed had “become the strongest prospective partner again.”
Still, Wanwan’s original appearance…
Jiu Qing was somewhat looking forward to seeing it too.
As for Mengmeng—
Mengmeng was still undergoing nirvana.
According to Mr. Long, he would not emerge for at least three to five months. He might even need to hatch all over again.
However, his life was not in danger.
Mu Wanwan only needed to wait patiently.
Mu Wanwan could no longer feel pain, but her body had already reached its limit and needed to be reincarnated.
She half-reclined in Mr. Long’s arms, looking at the room full of people with a rather helpless expression.
“I’m going to begin,” Auntie Hua said, holding her hand. “Don’t be afraid.”
The moment Auntie Hua finished speaking, Mu Wanwan’s vision blurred.
She blinked hard and met Mr. Long’s damp eyes.
Tears still clung to his eyelashes.
“Wife.”
His voice was unbearably hoarse, making Mu Wanwan feel both heartbroken and helpless.
Honestly.
He was already such a powerful dragon. Why did he still love crying so much?
It was not as though she would never return to life.
Auntie Hua had already said that a wood-spirit reincarnation would take no more than a week.
She would be able to see him again then.
Jiu Qing looked at Mr. Long with slight disdain, but after a moment, she laughed.
Perhaps the more someone cherished another person, the more reluctant they were to part.
Even if the separation lasted only a moment, they remained unwilling.
“I’m starting.”
Unable to endure the weeping dragon any longer, Auntie Hua interrupted him and began extracting the wood spirit from Mu Wanwan’s body.
Mu Wanwan tried her best to smile at the crybaby dragon.
She watched as the right hand he held gradually disappeared, then slowly closed her eyes.
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