Chapter 483: Chapter 485: Feigning Retreat to Lure the Enemy
 

Fortunately, Prince Zhao Yu’s Fire Chi Dragon provided a significant help.

Zhu Minglang found that it was quite difficult to remove the flame stems by himself. After all, his body was not as indestructible as that of the Sword Spirit Dragon, and the Sword Spirit Dragon lacked claws and teeth to tear the stems off. If he tried to chop them down forcefully, it was easy to touch the Restless Fire Liquid instead.

Taking a deep breath—he was dealing with a Divine Pistil, after all—Zhu Minglang had never tried to see if he could chop it down.

“Swoosh!!”

Zhu Minglang’s hand moved so fast that it was almost impossible to see the movement of his arm.

The sword light shone brightly, and the blade, like the crescent moon, sliced precisely at the Destiny attached to the Divine Ridge Root.

It was as if he had struck an incredibly tough chain, and Zhu Minglang even felt a rebounding force that made the palm of his hand ache.

But the Destiny was severed, and Zhu Minglang suddenly saw a face appear in the flowing fire liquid before dissipating like the wind.

Perhaps because he had experienced that Dream World—or maybe because he shared a Spirit Bond with the Nuwa Dragon—Zhu Minglang suddenly felt a sense of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

The shackles entwined around his soul, and the tree of sorrow and pain that had taken root deep within, all were cut clean with that decisive stroke of the sword…

“Why did you cut it down? Keeping this Divine Pistil, there’s a chance that the Earth Vein Fire Pistil might revive in the future,” Elder Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled and perplexed.

“Elder Yuan, this item was originally a gift from the Gods. We have taken it for ourselves, and now is the time to return it,” Zhu Wangxing said weakly.

Zhu Minglang turned his head to look at Zhu Wangxing…

It seemed he knew something, and from his tone, Zhu Minglang could feel Zhu Wangxing’s inner guilt.

This Divine Pistil was beyond recognition now. Fortunately, Zhu Minglang had deliberately collected a large portion of Serene Fire Liquid, which would suffice for Zhu Gate’s use for the next decade. As for whether the Divine Pistil would grow back after ten years, that was no longer his concern.

In Zhu Minglang’s view, the Nuwa Dragon was definitely more meaningful than any Earth Vein Divine Pistil.

…

When Zhu Minglang returned to the depths of the Veins of the Earth, before stepping into the pitch-black Emerald Lake, he heard a very faint sound, like the long hem of a woman’s dress elegantly dragging on the ground.

“Na ya~” A pleasant voice rang out, and Zhu Minglang saw a slender and graceful figure approaching him from within the cavern-like crevice; her eyes, like Night Amber, twinkled innocently and joyfully.

She had reached the boundary of the Earth vein that she could not cross. After a moment of hesitation, the Nuwa Dragon moved forward, no longer feeling her soul chained by anything. A smile bloomed on her somewhat strange but beautiful face, touching like a quiet orchid.

“You can leave now. Go wherever you want,” Zhu Minglang said to the Nuwa Dragon.

This was the time to be gracious.

Even though Zhu Minglang deeply hoped that the Nuwa Dragon would dedicate her body and mind to become his sixth Dragon of the Spirit Pact, it was exactly at this point that he needed to show the broad-minded demeanor of a Dragon Shepherd.

I saved you, not to possess you.

I was simply moved by your kindness and heart, and sincerely hoped that you would be reborn anew. Yes, that’s roughly it.

“Na~” The Nuwa Dragon was simply too innocent and pure; she never suspected that Zhu Minglang was employing a strategy of feigned retreat.

Since Zhu Minglang had saved her, she naturally wanted to follow him for the rest of her life.

Upon perfectly forming a Spirit Contract and being certain that the wondrous Nuwa Dragon before him was now securely within his grasp, unable to escape, Zhu Minglang felt an even greater joy in his heart.

He had long heard that there were special beings like the Nuwa Dragon among dragons, capable of heartfelt connection and forever loyal. Even if a Nuwa Dragon was not strong in battle, she was a delight to behold.

Of course, Zhu Minglang firmly believed that the Nuwa Dragon couldn’t possibly be weak in combat.

Even if her true self had merged with part of the Divine Ridge, this newly born Nuwa Dragon likely possessed incredible abilities.

She could harness the oceans.

She was also the Spirit mother of this land.

With innate talents in both water and earth, she could rival certain water and earth gods.

The cultivation base of the Nuwa Dragon was not as high as he had imagined, but Zhu Minglang could feel that her soul was extremely fragile, completely different from when he first encountered her at the Emerald Lake.

It must have been because he had severed her Destiny, causing her soul to completely separate from its divine form, making her an independent life with wounds that required time to heal.

“Zhu Minglang, I think you’re about to embark on the journey to find Ancient Lantern Jade again,” Mr. Jinli earnestly scrutinized the Nuwa Dragon.

From then on, Mr. Jinli did not mention the Purple Dragon at all, as if in front of the Nuwa Dragon, the Purple Dragon was merely a vibrantly colored, elongated bug!

“Why?” Zhu Minglang asked, puzzled.

“Initially, I thought that when you chopped her Destiny, her divine form would dissipate, but it seems that a part of it is still intact. It’s just that her soul is too weak,” said Mr. Jinli, his lengthy whiskers fluttering as his fish face appeared serious and earnest.

“To nourish the soul with Ancient Lantern Jade?” Zhu Minglang exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, nurture her soul, and her cultivation base will naturally increase. She is a dragon that requires no spiritual materials for her growth. She is already flawless. It’s just that her soul is too fragile, like thin paper. This could limit her cultivation and her spells,” explained Mr. Jinli.

The Nuwa Dragon listened quietly by the side. With the Spirit Contract in place, she could roughly understand the exchange between Zhu Minglang and Mr. Jinli.

She knew this man and fish were worried about her soul and felt a tinge of guilt, thinking to herself whether she was a very useless dragon, burdening the kind human who had saved her.

“Why are you crying? Don’t cry, don’t cry,” Zhu Minglang saw the glistening tears sliding from the Nuwa Dragon’s large eyes, startling him greatly as he hastened to comfort her with soothing words.

Those tears, sliding down from her small cheeks, quickly solidified as they fell to the ground, turning into little beads of Night Amber that tinkled crisply upon hitting the ground.

“You are not weak; a Peak Monarch Level cultivation base is already considered very high outside. Don’t worry, Ancient Lantern Jade is all over the world, and it’s not difficult to find,” Zhu Minglang consoled her like a child.

The Nuwa Dragon’s heart was perhaps too fragile.

“Don’t believe me, ask the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon. The Heavenly Slaughter Dragon used to have a piece embedded in its tail,” Zhu Minglang patted the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon’s head.

With a ferocious and daunting appearance, the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon did not at all seem like it would comfort a dragon sister, but the Nuwa Dragon was not the least bit afraid of the Heavenly Slaughter Dragon and even attempted to gently stroke its head as Zhu Minglang did.