Chapter 85: I’ve Become a Traitor to My Own Kind
Standing atop the mountain peak, Jiang Li’er gazed down at the Star Dou Great Forest stretching all the way to the horizon, her small face twisted into a look of utter misery.
"This... how did we get here already?" She felt like crying but had no tears to shed; her voice even carried a faint, trembling note of grievance.
She had originally assumed that Haagen-Dazs City was a vast distance from the Star Dou Great Forest—far enough for her to roam freely for a good long while. Who would have thought that only this single mountain range stood between them?
Well, isn’t that just great? Her "old home" was now right before her eyes.
Sensing her unease, Bi Ji gently took her hand, gave it a soft squeeze, and offered soothing words of comfort: "Don’t be afraid, Li’er. Di Tian might scold you a little, but he won’t actually do anything to you. I’m right here with you."
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Li’er latched onto Bi Ji’s arm, pressing her face against it and rubbing her cheek affectionately.
Jiang Bai paid no mind to her melodramatic moping. He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the ancient forest below, his tone carrying a hint of anticipation: "Jiang Li’er, stop dawdling. Lead the way!"
"..."
Jiang Li’er looked up and shot Jiang Bai a resentful glare.
A traitor to my own kind... turns out, I’m the traitor...
Here I am—the magnificent Emperor Beast of Fortune, the darling of the Star Dou Great Forest—and I’m actually about to lead humans in a "hunt" for my own potential food sources and neighbors?
Oh, well... Forget it... That guy Jiang Bai might be annoying, but the environment inside his tower really is excellent. Following him isn’t such a bad thing after all... If those Soul Beasts go there, maybe they’ll even be able to grow stronger faster...
Consoling herself with these thoughts, she sighed and asked with an air of resignation: "Alright, alright... Just tell me: what type of Soul Beast are you looking for? But let me warn you upfront—nothing too outlandish."
Jiang Bai thought for a moment. His ideal targets, of course, would be Soul Beasts possessing the bloodlines of the Gold Dragon or Silver Dragon—but such prospects were far too elusive and fanciful.
He decided to test the waters: "Do you happen to have any Gold Dragons or Silver Dragons in your Star Dou Great Forest?"
"Gold Dragons? Silver Dragons?"
Bi Ji and Jiang Li’er exchanged glances, and both shook their heads. Bi Ji explained gently, "I have lived in this forest for hundreds of thousands of years, yet I have only ever seen true Golden Dragons and Silver Dragons twice—and that was over two hundred thousand years ago. Since then, I have never caught a glimpse of them again. Perhaps they have already departed this continent; or perhaps their bloodlines have gone extinct."
Her tone carried a faint trace of reminiscence and regret.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Bai felt a twinge of disappointment, though he understood that such things could not be forced.
If even a being like Bi Ji—who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years—spoke thus, it seemed the Golden and Silver Dragons were indeed exceedingly rare, perhaps to the point of no longer existing on the Douluo Continent.
He decided to settle for the next best option: "In that case, help me look for a Light-attribute Dragon-type Soul Beast instead. The purer its bloodline, the better."
Jiang Li’er rolled her crimson eyes, her mind quickly running through a mental calculation.
A Light-attribute Dragon-type... and one with a pure bloodline, no less...
Tch—this guy certainly has high standards. Still... it seems there actually is one that fits the bill.
As a former "apex predator" and "gourmet" of the Star Dou Great Forest, Jiang Li’er possessed encyclopedic knowledge regarding the lairs of various powerful Soul Beasts—specifically those of the Light and Spirit attributes—that were currently too formidable for her to capture.
Her little notebook held quite a few entries for such "menu items."
"Alright then, I know of a few places."
Jiang Li’er sighed, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "You’re really getting off easy here."
"Follow me."
Bi Ji smiled gently as a verdant glow radiated from her body. A soft yet profound surge of Soul Power flowed outward, forming a luminous barrier that enveloped both Jiang Bai and Jiang Li’er.
Immediately, she rose into the air; carrying the two of them along, she transformed into a streak of flowing light and sped toward the vast forest stretching out below the mountain.
The wind whistled past their ears as the scenery beneath their feet rushed rapidly into the distance.
The canopies of towering ancient trees spread out beneath them like a verdant carpet. As they ventured deeper into the forest, the trees grew ever taller and denser, and the light grew dim—imbued with an atmosphere of primal antiquity and mystery.
Guided by Jiang Li’er’s precise directions, Bi Ji adjusted her flight path several times. A short while later, a deep, secluded valley—encircled by steep, towering rock walls—came into the trio’s view.
The valley was quite expansive; its vegetation was somewhat sparser than that of the surrounding outskirts, and at its center lay an open clearing where one could faintly discern scattered, massive bones and the remnants of a crude nest constructed from piled stones.
Pointing toward the valley, Jiang Li’er remarked, "See? That valley up ahead is the lair of a ten-thousand-year-old Radiant Saint Dragon. That fellow possesses a cultivation base of roughly thirty to forty thousand years; its elemental affinity is pure, and its combat prowess is formidable. I’ve tried to capture it in the past, but despite chasing it several times, it always managed to slip away."
"Is this the one you want? It’s a beast with over thirty thousand years of cultivation, you know!"
No sooner had the words left her lips...
"Aooo—!!!"
"Roar—!!!"
Two distinct dragon roars—each brimming with majesty and fury—suddenly erupted from the valley ahead, soaring skyward!
The sheer force of the sound caused the branches and leaves of the surrounding ancient trees to rustle violently, while loose stones tumbled down the valley walls with a clatter.
Bi Ji’s brows furrowed slightly as she instantly extended her spiritual perception. A moment later, she let out a soft exclamation of surprise: "Inside that valley... there isn’t just the aura of the Radiant Saint Dragon. There is another Soul Beast there as well—one with an aura that leans toward the dark side. It seems they are locked in a battle?"
Jiang Bai’s eyes lit up. "Let’s go take a look!"
Bi Ji nodded, maneuvering the protective light barrier to execute a silent, soft landing upon a high-ground rocky platform at the valley’s edge.
The trio peered down into the valley below.
There, in the open clearing beneath them, two colossal figures stood locked in a tense standoff.
To the left stood a massive dragon, over fifteen meters in length, its entire body clad in scales of a pale golden hue.
Its physique was slender and elegant, its contours fluid and graceful; every single scale seemed to radiate a soft, pure, and holy radiance from within. Behind it, a pair of vast dragon wings hung half-spread.
It was, indeed, the Radiant Saint Dragon!
Its golden draconic eyes were cold and razor-sharp, fixed unblinkingly upon the enemy facing it.
To the right stood another draconic beast—similar in size, yet possessing an aura that was starkly different. — Its entire body was a deep, dark purple; its scales were thick and heavy, their edges gleaming with a faint, ominous metallic luster.
Its head appeared even more hideous and ferocious, with dragon horns curving backward like those of a demon.
Its pair of deep-purple vertical pupils burned with a gaze filled with coldness, cunning, and savagery. At this moment, it crouched slightly low to the ground, a threatening growl rumbling deep within its throat.
"The dark-purple one... isn’t that a Profound Shadow Dragon?" J
iang Li’er identified it, though with a hint of uncertainty. "Why are they fighting? Are they disputing territory?"
Bi Ji scanned their surroundings and shook her head.
"This valley is saturated with the aura of Light, making it far more suitable for a Radiant Holy Dragon to inhabit. For a creature like the Profound Shadow Dragon—which thrives in darkness and possesses the ability to traverse through shadows—this is hardly an ideal territory. Their encounter might simply be a coincidence; or perhaps... the Profound Shadow Dragon was discovered by the Radiant Holy Dragon while hunting or merely passing through, leading to a conflict."
Most dragons are haughty and combative, possessing a fierce territorial instinct. When two dragon beasts of comparable strength and opposing elemental affinities cross paths—especially in such close quarters—it is entirely normal for them to come to blows at the slightest provocation.
Jiang Bai gazed down at the two dragon beasts below—each radiating a formidable aura yet possessing vastly different elemental attributes—and felt a surge of deep satisfaction.
He had originally set out to find just a single Light-attribute dragon beast; he never expected to get a "buy one, get one free" deal—complete with a Dark-attribute dragon beast that appeared equally formidable!
"Perfect! They’re both absolutely perfect!" The corners of Jiang Bai’s mouth curled upward uncontrollably.
"The Radiant Holy Dragon will serve perfectly as my fifth Soul Ring, and this Profound Shadow Dragon... can become my sixth!"