454 The Storm Approaches
Jiang Huai was skilled at braiding hair.
He had learned many braiding techniques as a child, and he could occasionally stand behind Chu Xianning, carefully braiding her hair. He could stand quietly behind Chu Xianning, looking at her cold and aloof face in the mirror, and secretly rejoice in his heart.
As he grew older, Chu Xianning always felt a bit awkward about it and rarely gave him the chance to braid her hair anymore. However, everything Jiang Huai had learned was still in his memory. He took out some small hair accessories and gently and meticulously began to braid Jiang Zhi’s hair.
After a while, Jiang Zhi looked in the mirror, but her expression remained cold, as if her ice-cold eyes had not melted at all. She turned to look at Jiang Huai and unceremoniously ordered him to leave, “Shouldn’t you be going now?”
“Sister, you don’t have to be in such a hurry to send me away…” Jiang Huai sat on a chair nearby and looked at Jiang Zhi in front of him. “I want to know what you meant last time when you said this trip was to attend the Dragon Emperor’s funeral?”
Mentioning the Dragon Emperor, Jiang Zhi’s eyelashes drooped slightly, and she said softly, “The Dragon Emperor’s lifespan is nearing its end. In the last moments of her life, she wanted to see me, which was also like making arrangements for her own funeral.”
“I remember that the lifespan of the Dragon Clan should be very long, right?” Jiang Huai asked, puzzled.
He knew a little about the Dragon Clan. Most of them could live for over ten thousand years. All cultivators knew that the Dragon Clan was a race blessed by the Heavenly Way. From birth, young dragons possessed the strength of cultivators at the Eighth Realm. They didn’t need to cultivate intentionally, and as time passed and they grew older, most dragons would reach the Ninth Realm after a thousand years.
Legends said that dragons usually took on human-like forms and lived in the Dragon Palace deep in the Northern Sea. Occasionally, dragons would emerge to travel, and all cultivators had an impression of them as mysterious and powerful.
From the ancient scrolls he had seen in his memory, the bloodline of the Dragon Emperor should have a lifespan of over ten thousand years.
Jiang Zhi leaned back lazily in her chair, her legs crossing again beneath her skirt. Her white and tender little feet naturally rested on Jiang Huai’s lap. Her intention was obvious, and Jiang Huai, being particularly sensible, quickly grabbed her delicate jade foot and began to gently knead it.
Only then did Jiang Zhi slowly continue, “It’s true that the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline has a very long lifespan. The Dragon Emperor is only a little over a thousand years old this year, but she is indeed nearing her end, with only a few days left to live.”
“Why?” Jiang Huai asked, confused.
“This has to start from the collapse of the Heavenly Way,” Jiang Zhi’s eyes gazed at Jiang Huai in front of her and she said calmly, “A thousand years ago, the original Heavenly Way Will of this world was killed, and all Heavenly Way Authority was taken away. The world was left with only an empty shell of Heavenly Way Rules, operating according to the predetermined rules.”
“But without the Heavenly Way Will, there would be no more blessings bestowed upon the Dragon Clan. The Heavenly Way Rules also subtly changed at that time. Haven’t you noticed that over the years, the cultivation path for cultivators of the Human Clan has been much smoother than for other races, and more cultivators have reached the Ninth Realm?”
“And the Dragon Emperor of this world, Jun Anshui, was born precisely when the Heavenly Way Rules changed. From then on, the Dragon Clan no longer received Heavenly Way blessings. Therefore, the Dragon Emperor’s lineage is completely broken with her.”
Seeing that Jiang Huai was still confused, Jiang Zhi slowly explained to him, “The Dragon Clan is led by imperial power. The royal bloodline reproduces once every ten thousand years. The Dragon Emperor can only reproduce once in her lifetime, and it will always be a pair of dragon and phoenix twins.”
“Huh?”
“This is how the continuation of the Dragon Emperor’s lineage works. One offspring every ten thousand years, one male and one female. And after this pair of siblings reaches the late stage of the Ninth Realm, they can combine to give birth to new Dragon Emperor bloodline.”
“Huh?” Jiang Huai had never heard such a secret before. So, does that mean… every generation of Dragon royalty are experts in incest?
Perhaps because he had a sister, Jiang Huai had a natural sense of awkwardness towards incest.
“The problem lies with Jun Anshui’s generation. At that time, the Heavenly Way no longer blessed the Dragon Clan. Therefore, when Jun Anshui was born, the position that should have been her brother’s ended up being a stillborn.”
“Stillborn?” Jiang Huai suddenly understood, but after a moment, he curiously asked, “Then couldn’t she have combined with other dragons within the Dragon Clan?”
Jiang Zhi cast a disdainful glance at Jiang Huai and said faintly, “From birth, the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline possesses control over the laws of the Heavenly Way and has five-element spiritual roots, making it easy to comprehend various Daoist magic. Their souls are also hundreds of times tougher than ordinary dragons. Even a young Dragon Emperor bloodline can make all dragons lose their fighting ability and surrender completely by using the soul aura within their bloodline.”
“But precisely because of this, the Dragon Emperor bloodline cannot combine with any ordinary dragon. No dragon can bear the supreme authority of the Dragon Emperor bloodline. If they were to combine, not only would they fail to produce offspring, but their bodies would also explode and die.”
“Then it’s impossible to continue the bloodline. But why is she nearing her end at over a thousand years old?” Jiang Huai asked, confused.
“The growth of the Dragon Emperor bloodline was blessed by the Heavenly Way in the past. The Heavenly Way would bestow authority for her growth. But after the Heavenly Way Rules were tampered with, the Dragon Clan could no longer receive Heavenly Way blessings. Furthermore, because she is the only royal member left in this world, the loneliness of being unable to continue her bloodline has driven her to the brink of madness.”
Jiang Zhi seemed to feel that Jiang Huai’s kneading was too light, so she dissatisfiedly poked his chest with her white and tender foot. Jiang Huai came back to his senses and listened to her continue, “I met her hundreds of years ago. She was on the verge of losing consciousness from the burning loneliness of her bloodline, transforming into her true dragon form and stirring up a storm in the Northern Sea, nearly submerging half of the Northern Region. I happened to pass by and used Daoist magic talismans to alleviate her loneliness, which finally calmed her down.”
“But this is ultimately not a long-term solution. Her bloodline was a blessing in the past, but now it is a curse. Unable to obtain Heavenly Way Authority, her body is naturally affected and is collapsing, constantly decaying. Therefore… this trip is to attend her funeral.”
Jiang Zhi gazed into Jiang Huai’s eyes and said softly, “Before she dies, I will ask her for her Dragon Heart for you.”
Jiang Huai’s mood suddenly became heavy. This… asking for someone’s heart before they even die? Is that a bit…?
Jiang Zhi seemed to see through Jiang Huai’s doubts and said faintly, “You don’t need to feel bad about this. If I hadn’t planted the talisman fruit for her back then, she would have died hundreds of years ago. This is what she owes me, and the Dragon Emperor is grateful and will not mind.”
“This is not something you need to worry about,” Jiang Zhi suddenly let out a disdainful cold laugh. “What you really need to worry about is yet to come.”
“What?”
“To be precise, it’s not just you, but the entire Human Clan,” Jiang Zhi’s eyes swept over Jiang Huai faintly. “The Dragon Clan knows that their entire race has been abandoned by the Heavenly Way. The Heavenly Way has chosen the Human Clan. Without the protection of the Heavenly Way, they are no longer as glorious as they once were. The Dragon Clan is a race that is difficult for you to understand. They are incredibly united and incredibly proud. They obey the Dragon Emperor’s every command. Even if the Dragon Emperor tells them to rush to their deaths, they will do so willingly.”
“But now, the Dragon Clan has completely cut off the possibility of continuing the Dragon Emperor bloodline. They resent the Heavenly Way, and they resent the Human Clan. It is likely that after the Dragon Emperor truly passes away, the entire Dragon Clan will choose to go all out and fight to the death with the Human Clan… to resist the destined decline of their entire race.”
“Since the Heavenly Way has abandoned them, they will take revenge on the Heavenly Way.”
Jiang Huai’s pupils contracted, and his entire body trembled. Seeing that his hand movements had stopped again, Jiang Zhi poked his chest again with her toe, her voice cold, “If you don’t knead better, I’ll use your stick to massage you.”
Jiang Huai immediately sobered up a bit, but there were clearly more important matters at hand. He stared intently at Jiang Zhi’s eyes. After a moment, Jiang Zhi guessed what he wanted to ask, “You want to ask, if the two races really go to war, will I stand on the side of the Human Clan?”
Jiang Huai nodded like a pounding garlic.
“If it weren’t for my existence, the Dragon Emperor Jun Anshui would have led the entire Dragon Clan to ravage the mortal world five hundred years ago. It is precisely because of this favor she owes me that they have endured for another five hundred years. Now that Jun Anshui’slifespan is nearing its end, I have, in effect, bought the Human Clan five hundred years. Both in terms of sentiment and reason, I have done my utmost. As for what happens next… I will not interfere.”
Jiang Huai wanted to say, “Sister, you are also human, how can you abandon the Human Clan?” But then he realized that saying something like moral blackmail would be meaningless.
Her cultivation had long surpassed everything in the world, perhaps she had long since become indifferent to everything.
“I recently settled an account,” Jiang Zhi said softly. “The Dragon Clan currently has eight individuals in the Ninth Realm and over a dozen in the Eighth Realm. Even if they go all out and fight with their backs against the wall, the Human Clan will still emerge victorious, albeit with heavy losses. The Human Clan has far more hidden Ninth Realm cultivators than you think; they simply don’t show themselves usually.”
“And the flesh and blood of these dragons after their death are all top-tier heavenly treasures. Even if the Human Clan cultivators might lose about sixty percent, the remaining forty percent of Human Clan cultivators, relying on their corpses, will be able to go further and longer in the future. This is merely a short-lived growing pain, nothing more.”
Seeing that Jiang Huai seemed a little lost, Jiang Zhi’s voice was light and breezy, “Ever since the Heavenly Way stopped blessing the Dragon Clan, all of this was already destined. You are merely a speck of dust in the torrent of the times, unable to change anything. However, you don’t have to participate in this war. You can bring all your friends and family to Ziyun Pavilion, and I will protect them there.”
“Have you… told anyone else about this?”
Jiang Zhi shook her head gently. “For so many years, the Dragon Clan has treated me with courtesy. Even though they hate the Human Clan immensely, they respect me as they would their Dragon Emperor. Why would I leak the news? I have also tried to dissuade them, and they know that this is just a moth flying into a flame. But even if they know this will destroy their entire race, they will still choose to do so. This is the Dragon Clan’s peculiar pride. They revere the Dragon Emperor, and if the Heavenly Way does not allow the continuation of the Dragon Emperor’s bloodline, they will defy the Heavenly Way and destroy everything favored by the Heavenly Way.”
Jiang Huai looked at Jiang Zhi in front of him. Jiang Zhi helplessly shook her head lightly at him, “I am not omnipotent. Even I cannot change this.”
Looking at the worry in Jiang Huai’s eyes, Jiang Zhi was very satisfied.
What she wanted was Jiang Huai’s worry and fear. The more he was afraid and uneasy, the less likely he would be to refuse her request with feigned modesty when she brought up the matter after arriving at the Dragon Clan a few days later, due to face.
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi couldn’t help but sigh again.
Jiang Huai was quite an oddity. If he were more normal, other men would have been glowing with excitement and eager to fulfill the method she was about to propose. Yet, with Jiang Huai, she would have to coax and threaten him to get him to obediently comply.
He was never a source of peace.
