Chương 160: East Sea Dragon Palace

Deep in the East China Sea, beneath the vast blue waves, there are palaces made of glass and gates made of coral.

From afar, the Dragon Palace resembles a celestial city floating in the deep sea, its entire body shimmering with a shimmering blue divine light. Thousands of silk lanterns hang between the pillars, swaying gently with the ocean currents, illuminating the boundless sea.

The palace walls are built of millennia-old cold jade, inlaid with luminous pearls and colorful corals. Schools of fish swim in formation like dragon soldiers. As the water ripples, the aura of immortals and dragons intertwine, creating a majestic and magnificent scene.

Yang Chan led the way, with Richard following behind.

"Who goes there? State your name. This is the Dragon Palace, no trespassing is permitted." Before they even got close to the Dragon Palace, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals guarding the gate shouted.

"Please inform them that the Third Holy Mother of Mount Hua has come to visit the Fourth Princess of the Dragon Palace," Yang Chan replied.

"Please rest here for a while, and we brothers will go and inform them." A gatekeeper general led the two to a side hall to rest.

After this person left.

"Given your relationship with the Fourth Princess of the East Sea, you can't even get her through a face-scanning tactic? What kind of fake sisterhood is this?" Richard teased.

"I've never been to the Dragon Palace before, so of course they don't know me. It's usually the Fourth Princess who comes to play with me."

"Besides, this is the Dragon Palace. Even if I'm very familiar with the Fourth Princess, I still have to report to her." Yang Chan replied, slightly speechless.

"That means you don't have enough influence. Do you think they would dare to block your brother at the door if he came?"

We still have to keep climbing higher.

"Oh? I forgot, you were already planning to quit and run away, there's no way you can get away with this." Richard can be quite scathing too, come on, let's hurt each other.

"Can't you speak properly? If you can't speak properly, you can shut your mouth. No one will think you're mute," Yang Chan retorted without any politeness.

I learned this phrase in a group chat, and now I'm finally putting it to use.

It has to be said that it's that fellow Daoist Xia Mi who knows how to roast people.

"Oh, what a rare guest! The Third Princess? You actually came here?" Her voice preceded her appearance. The voice of the Fourth Princess of the East Sea carried from afar.

Then she slowly walked out from behind. She was wearing a light blue silk dress, her long hair was loosely tied up, and she wore only a pearl hairpin, showing the gentle and noble nature of a dragon princess.

"Oh, there are other guests here too? And who is this?" She looked Richard and Yang Chan up and down.

"What are you thinking about? This is Richard, a fellow Daoist I just met. He's not familiar with this world, so I brought him out to show him around."

Yang Chan knew what she was thinking without even thinking, and quickly explained.

"What do you mean by not being familiar with this world? Where did this fellow Daoist come from?" Ao Tingxin didn't dwell on their relationship. After all, if there really was something going on, given Yang Chan's personality, she would have kept it hidden rather than brought it out directly.

It was just a joke between best friends.

Now, her focus has changed.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. Fellow Daoist Richard isn't from this world. He's a descendant of the Goddess Nuwa, and he found me when he came to this world." There wasn't a single lie in these words; the order was just reversed.

With that explanation, Richard's origins will no longer be in question.

As expected, Ao Tingxin never doubted Richard's identity.

"Oh? So it's Fellow Daoist Richard. My apologies for not recognizing you." Ao Tingxin immediately thought of the Lotus Lantern upon hearing this.

When the descendants of Nuwa arrived in this world, the first thing they found was the Lotus Lantern, which was related to the goddess Nuwa. That makes perfect sense.

"Let's go, I'll take you inside first. This is also the first time the Third Holy Mother has come to my East Sea Dragon Palace. I'll show you around properly later."

After saying that, she turned around and led the two into the Dragon Palace.

With the fourth princess of the Dragon Palace leading the way, no one stopped them this time.

Along the way, Richard had come to realize just how wealthy the Dragon Palace was.

The long corridor we just walked through was winding and endless, with red coral railings and jade steps on both sides. Every few steps, a glass lantern made of silk and lapis lazuli was hung, and the soft light made the deep-sea treasures on the corridor walls shimmer and shine.

Upon entering Ao Tingxin's main hall, one is greeted by a dazzling array of jewels, yet without any vulgarity. The floor is paved with crystals from the deep sea, so bright they reflect the star map formed by thousands of luminous pearls above.

They are indeed very wealthy, but this wealth is mostly relative to ordinary people and ordinary immortals. Things like red coral, jade, and luminous pearls are really only for their beauty.

After all, he is the ruler of the East Sea, so he does have some wealth.

But the truly rare and precious treasures weren't displayed. I wonder if the dragons also knew they couldn't flaunt their wealth and hid all the real good stuff?

I think so, right? The East China Sea is so big, it must produce some good things.

But the dragon race is too weak; even if they had something good, they couldn't protect it.

The Four Seas Dragon Clan of this world is a pure Four Seas Dragon Clan; they don't have any powerful backers like the Ancestral Dragon.

There was indeed an ancient god named Zhulong in ancient times, but he had no relation to the dragon clans of the four seas and had long since disappeared, presumably having gone far away into chaos.

The four seas dragon clans combined don't have many true dragons. There are quite a few other races that have transformed into dragons, but to the immortals in the Heavenly Court, aren't those things just the raw materials for dragon liver and phoenix gall?

Therefore, the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas is in a somewhat awkward position. They are nominally subservient to the Heavenly Court, but they also have some autonomy, which is equivalent to being affiliated with it.

The Heavenly Court isn't directly under the Jade Emperor's control; the demon race is beneath them, and they don't want to associate with them, as they'd easily be labeled as bad kids. Under these circumstances, they don't have many options left, so they can only hedge their bets and maintain a close ties with Buddhism.

Ultimately, it comes down to not having enough strength to become a major power on its own. It can only move between various major powers, trying not to offend any of them.

"They say the Dragon Palace has no treasures, and seeing it today, it's truly true," Yang Chan praised.

"You flatter me, you flatter me. These are just mundane things, not worth mentioning." Ao Tingxin said this, but she was clearly quite happy.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you think?" Yang Chan turned to Richard and asked.

"It's really very good," Richard praised dryly.

"Fellow Daoist, your words seem somewhat insincere," Yang Chan persisted.

"Serves you right for insulting me earlier."

She's just kind, not stupid. She's also a woman, and she can be vengeful.

"As you, fellow Daoist, know, my family is now the number one family in the material plane, with an influence far greater than that of the East Sea. Therefore—" Richard simply stopped denying it and indirectly pointed out that his family's wealth was not bad either, proving he was not some ignorant bumpkin.

Moreover, family businesses do not account for a large proportion of his wealth. Not to mention the wealth of his divine avatars in the divine plane, his original world already produces a considerable amount of resources.

"So you're also from a wealthy family, fellow Daoist. In that case, I'm the one who's being petty," Yang Chan teased.

"Alright, I know you two are on good terms, no need to show off. Come and try some of my Dragon Palace's special delicacies."

The fourth princess interrupted the two and waved for the maids to bring out delicious food and wine.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment, I have another one here." Richard called out to Xiao Yao in the Origin World.

Not long after, Xiao Yao created another avatar and appeared beside Richard.

"Who is this little sister?" The Fourth Princess asked, looking at Xiao Yao, who exuded an ethereal, wood-spirit aura.

"That's Fellow Daoist Li's companion spirit plant, Xiao Yao," Yang Chan interrupted before Richard could answer.

"Xiao Yao, come over here, don't play with your father anymore." After saying that, she waved to Xiao Yao, beckoning her to come over.

Xiao Yao turned to look at Richard. This older sister was quite fun, and she wanted to continue playing with her.

Richard waved his hand, indicating that Xiao Yao could play as she pleased.

Xiao Yao then turned and walked towards Yang Chan.

"Fellow Daoist Li's Xiao Yao is truly enviable. I wish I had a little sister like her to play with," Yang Chan said, pulling Xiao Yao over with one hand.

"If you want one, you can try to cultivate it yourself. Awakening a martial soul isn't difficult," Richard said casually.

"Hmph, don't think I don't know, Xiao Yao told me everything."

It's rare to find a martial soul with the intelligence of Xiao Yao, and raising Xiao Yao to this level is no easy feat.

You're just trying to trick me into falling into the deep pit of martial spirits. I know that martial spirits are indeed useful, but the resources required to cultivate them are just as considerable.

"To cultivate a martial soul that would be useful to me, the resources required would probably be enough to empty my second brother's treasury," Yang Chan said indignantly.

The Fourth Princess listened curiously. Judging from what the two were saying, Xiao Yao's background was somewhat special. It seemed that she was not just a simple companion spirit plant.

"Xiao Yao is Richard's innate martial soul, which he awakened in a special world where people can awaken their martial souls from a young age. Various weapon martial souls and beast martial souls are somewhat similar to our innate magic weapons."

In this respect, it's almost fair to say that Richard considers Xiao Yao to be his symbiotic spiritual plant.

Xiao Yao's current intelligence is the result of Richard's repeated nurturing and evolution.

Yang Chan explained to the Fourth Princess, Ao Tingxin.

"Oh, the world is indeed full of wonders. There is such a peculiar world. It's a pity that my strength is too weak to enter and leave the Chaos, so I'm afraid I will never have the chance to see it," Ao Tingxin said with emotion after hearing this.

"We're still young. As long as we work hard in our cultivation, we might still have opportunities in the future," Yang Chan comforted her.

"Are you still young at over a thousand years old?" Ao Tingxin asked.

"I was just trying to comfort you. Never mind, let's not comfort you anymore, let's eat something." Yang Chan then grabbed a few fruits and stuffed them into her mouth.