I Have A Dual World Seal

The viewpoint zoomed in, and they saw that the dark shadow was actually a young woman in black, long hair draped over her shoulders, with a graceful figure.

Only her posture carried a trace of urgency, as she sped through Black Water Lake, stirring up surging waves of water behind her.

"Ye Xian, why are you rushing through the lake? Have you forgotten our lord’s rules?"

A voice sounded by the woman’s ear, and the woman called Ye Xian hurriedly said, "I went out earlier on our lord’s orders, and now I’ve returned with urgent news!"

Having invoked "our lord," the sturdy woman who had just emerged from the black water no longer dared say anything, only moved aside to open the way, yet still frowned and reminded, "Do not act flustered, so as not to incur our lord’s displeasure."

"Thank you for the reminder, Master Lan!"

Ye Xian replied, and though her speed did not lessen, she forced down her panic, regained a measure of calm, and headed inward.

The Copper Mirror’s viewpoint followed right behind her; though Si Lingxi and Lu Zheng could not hear their conversation, they could roughly infer the situation from the women’s expressions.

Lu Zheng said, "This woman should be going to see the Black Water Profound Snake."

Si Lingxi nodded, bringing the Copper Mirror’s viewpoint even closer behind the woman, almost resting it on her shoulder.

Then they saw the black water in front of the woman suddenly churn, layers of ripples surging toward her; in the next instant, the woman seemed to pass through a thin barrier, emerging into a waterless hollow space.

The hollow was still pitch-black, yet within that darkness, clusters of flames drifted here and there.

These flames had no support, simply hanging in midair, rising and falling softly.

The flames were a dark crimson, with wisps of black smoke curling out from them, dissolving into the surrounding night, adding an inexplicable eeriness and haziness to the darkness.

After entering the hollow, the woman gave those flames a respectful glance, then hastily headed toward the center of the cavern.

"Reporting to our lord, Ye Xian has returned!"

At the same time, before the viewpoint, Si Lingxi and Lu Zheng both recognized the nature of those flames.

Lu Zheng’s gaze sharpened. "Demon Fire!"

"It’s the Fiery Heaven-Destroying Demon Dragon King," Si Lingxi said calmly. "He’s here."

On the Copper Mirror, the woman had already arrived before a palace.

The palace stood at the center of the hollow, entirely forged from Undersea Black Crystal, splendid and imposing, yet bearing a trace of wild savagery, fusing vastness and refinement into one, with an exceptional artistic effect.

Had it been at another time, Lu Zheng would likely have taken his time to admire it, but right now all his attention was drawn to the presence within the palace.

However, the woman did not enter the palace. Instead, she knelt outside, at the foot of nearly a hundred steps leading up to it. "Ye Xian pays respect to our lord."

"Qi Ming is dead?"

A cool voice, carrying boundless dignity and elegance, flowed into Ye Xian’s ears.

Ye Xian’s body trembled, and she lowered herself even further. "My lord, I discovered Qi Ming’s corpse in the sea near White Moon Gorge, a thousand miles off the western edge of the Central Plains.

That little Dragon... is gone as well..."

When her voice faded, no further sound came from within the palace, yet the endless pressure weighed so heavily on Ye Xian that she trembled uncontrollably, not daring to move.

"Withdraw."

"Yes!"

Ye Xian answered, rose to her feet, and slowly retreated.

"Hm?"

A soft exclamation sounded, startling Ye Xian so much that she jolted and froze on the spot.

"Raise your head."

At the words, Ye Xian immediately lifted her head, and then felt a strand of Divine Thought circle around her.

She looked toward the palace atop the hundred steps, at its pitch-black gates, and drew a deep breath, forcing herself to stand straight.

Then she felt that Divine Thought examine her from head to toe, even circling around the palace’s perimeter once.

Ye Xian’s mind stirred, and she guessed that their lord suspected she had been followed.

"I..."

Ye Xian wanted to refute it, but did not dare speak.

Yet that Divine Thought completed a circuit without discovering anything unusual.

Outside, Si Lingxi raised her brows slightly. "The Black Water Profound Snake’s Divine Soul Cultivation is quite strong."

Just as Ye Xian had retreated, Si Lingxi had tried to send the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror probing into the palace; but when she aligned the viewpoint with the palace gate and advanced a mere three feet, it was immediately detected.

So she had promptly reattached the viewpoint to the woman named Ye Xian’s shoulder, Casting to suppress the Qi, and no longer aimed the view at the palace.

Thus the Black Water Profound Snake could no longer sense that probing intent.

And then...

"What were you just doing?" the Black Water Profound Snake suddenly asked.

Ye Xian jumped in fright, hastily knelt, and explained repeatedly, "I would never dare offend my lord. I’ve been cautious all the way, hiding my presence, and I did not make a move. I should not have been marked by anyone."

The person in the palace fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke again. "Withdraw."

"Yes!"

Hearing their lord speak, Ye Xian bowed low once more, then slowly backed away. Only after she had reached a hundred zhang from the palace did she turn and stride off.

Si Lingxi likewise made no further attempts to probe. The instant Ye Xian exited the hollow, she withdrew the Spell and cut off the investigation.

"Did she notice?" Lu Zheng asked.

Si Lingxi nodded. "At her level of Cultivation, she wouldn’t make such an error. She definitely sensed something—she just couldn’t find it in the end."

"From the way things looked just now, will the Black Water Profound Snake suspect that woman and overlook us?" Lu Zheng asked.

"I don’t know." Si Lingxi shook her head.

"We shouldn’t delay. Now that we’ve confirmed both the Black Water Profound Snake and the Fiery Heaven-Destroying Demon Dragon King are here, let’s go find the Jade Dragon King first," Lu Zheng said.

Si Lingxi nodded, then took Lu Zheng and Ao Qin, and they vanished in an instant.

...

East Sea, Jade Dragon Palace.

Ao Jin sat high upon the central throne of the great hall, listening to a report from his subordinate, General Xie.

"I have already led our forces to search thirty thousand li of sea to the south, but we still have not found Princess Ao Qing."

On the side seats, a man and a woman listened to General Xie’s words; their already anxious expressions turned even more sorrowful, and the looks they cast Ao Jin brimmed with unspeakable worry. "Great King, it has already been half a year..."

Ao Jin waved his hand and said gravely, "I believe you’ve heard by now: it’s not only Ao Qing. Among the Azure Dragon, Golden Dragon, and Cyan Dragon lines, several juniors have gone missing as well.

Cyan Dragon Ao Jue and Azure Dragon Ao Feng disappeared nearly two years ago, their life or death unknown. Half a year ago, Ao Qing vanished as well. We even asked the other branches of the Dragon Race to help us search. Now Golden Dragon’s Ao Qin and Ao Jin have also gone missing."

"Think back on Ao Qian’s incident." Ao Jin’s eyes narrowed. "It’s happening faster and faster..."

The couple’s expressions jolted, and they couldn’t help saying, "It’s the demons..."

In the next instant, Ao Jin lifted his dragon head and saw a Shrimp Guard rush to the palace gate and report loudly, "Dragon King, Phoenix Mountain’s Phoenix Palace Master and White Cloud Temple’s True Man Lu Zheng seek an audience!"