Chapter 389 - 388: Trapped
Yi Tianyun explained the general situation to the agitated Ren Long. Upon hearing the news, Ren Long was consumed with rage.
"Dragon Chancellor!" Ren Long said, gritting his teeth. "I suspected he was behind this all along. He’s always wanted to become the Great Emperor, but his Celestial Dragon Bloodline is too weak, preventing him from succeeding. It seems he sent people to capture me before to get the Essence Blood in my body."
"That’s right. The Empire is in chaos right now. If this continues, I’m afraid Zhirou won’t be able to hold on," Yi Tianyun said grimly.
"Yes, the Dragon Chancellor will definitely try to capture Zhirou... but as long as she stays in the Imperial City and uses the Celestial Dragon Treasure, she should be safe." Ren Long’s eyes were filled with fury, but even more so with helplessness.
"It looks like our only option is to hurry back. The Celestial Dragon Treasure might be strong, but I don’t believe anything is truly perfect. If the Dragon Chancellor finds a weakness, it will be extremely dangerous," Yi Tianyun said gravely.
"Yes, it’s not a long-term solution. For now, Zhirou is still safe..." Ren Long sighed, his body swaying. Yi Tianyun moved to support him, but he steadied himself with a slight wobble and waved him off. "I’m fine, just a bit weak. I tried time and again to subdue these Celestial Dragon Remains, but in the end, it just drained my Spiritual Power and even my Essence Blood. Over time, my cultivation has dropped significantly, but I have no choice but to keep trying."
Yi Tianyun had noticed it long ago. Ren Long’s cultivation had already fallen to the seventh or eighth layer of the Core Formation Realm. This was clearly due to excessive consumption of Essence Blood, causing a sharp decline in his cultivation. If this continued, death was certain. Yet he kept trying, desperate to get out of this place. No one would want to be trapped here.
"So, you hid in here after you were ambushed?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"Yes. Back then, I was cornered by the Six Brothers of Sealed Dragon. They even used Dragon Slayer Poison on me, causing my power to plummet. I was forced to enter the most dangerous trial. I originally wanted to hide in one of the other gates and take its test, but I ended up in the hardest one." Ren Long shook his head. "I was tough and lucky. After recovering inside, I passed the trial by a stroke of luck. I thought I could finally go back, but who knew I’d be given such a great Treasure only to be unable to claim it."
It was hard to say if this was good fortune or a curse. He had barely escaped with his life and passed the most terrifying trial, only to be trapped here.
"When you try to subdue the Celestial Dragon Remains, it drains your Spiritual Power and Essence Blood?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"Yes, it’s incredibly strange, like a bottomless pit. It absorbs as much as you have. If you can’t break free, you’ll be drained completely dry until you die." Ren Long shook his head, a lingering fear in his eyes. "And now you’ve found me, only to get trapped here yourself."
From the very beginning, Ren Long didn’t believe Yi Tianyun could subdue the Celestial Dragon Remains, which was why he spoke that way. ’If even I couldn’t subdue them, how could this young man possibly succeed?’
As a Great Emperor whose cultivation had reached the Void Spirit Realm, Ren Long was incredibly powerful, yet even he had failed to subdue it. Could Yi Tianyun?
"By the way, what’s the situation with the princess? Why does she fall into a deep sleep?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"You know she falls asleep?" Ren Long asked, stunned.
"Yes. I met the princess by accident when I stumbled into the Spirit Pool." Yi Tianyun shook his head. "And then she woke up. Before that, I thought she was dead..."
At the time, I couldn’t feel any life from her at all, so I thought she was dead. It was quite startling when she suddenly woke up and started breathing again.
"I never thought you two would have such an encounter..." Ren Long shook his head. "Thank goodness it wasn’t someone else who stumbled in. If they had ill intentions toward Zhirou, it would have been disastrous. I’ll be honest with you, the main issue is her Celestial Dragon Bloodline. It’s too domineering. The Masculine Qi is too strong and can harm her body. She can only suppress the Celestial Dragon Bloodline by sleeping, gradually transforming it into a Yin-aspected Celestial Dragon Bloodline. Otherwise, cultivating it would be dangerous and could easily lead to cultivation deviation."
Yi Tianyun was taken aback. He hadn’t expected something like this could happen; it was quite serious. The Celestial Dragon Bloodline was indeed a force of pure Masculine Qi, an incredibly domineering power capable of suppressing many forms of Evil Demon Power. But for a female Cultivator, it was a nightmare. It clashed with the natural Yin constitution of their body. Cultivating with such an imbalance could easily lead to cultivation deviation, or even cause one’s body to explode.
By sleeping, she could pacify the Celestial Dragon Bloodline within her and transform it into a Yin-aspected Bloodline, which would be much better.
"Has the transformation succeeded?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"It’s still far from complete. The more she fights, the more the Celestial Dragon Bloodline becomes dominant, forcing her to sleep again..." Ren Long sighed. "Stuck here, my biggest worry is Zhirou. I’m afraid she can’t take care of herself. There are too few people she can trust. If she encounters someone with malicious intentions, she’ll be in danger."
"She won’t suddenly fall asleep on her own, will she?" Yi Tianyun asked.
"That won’t happen, but it’s very dangerous for her to channel the Celestial Dragon Bloodline if she doesn’t sleep..." Ren Long’s gaze turned cold as he looked furiously at the Celestial Dragon Remains. "I’d rather not have any of the Treasure here! Just let me leave this place!"
Unfortunately, his roars couldn’t blast a passage open for him. He could only remain trapped here. If this continued, they would both surely die.
Ren Long had been able to survive here for so long for two reasons: his cultivation wasn’t low, and he had plenty of Elixir Pills in his Storage Ring. A Cultivator with a lower cultivation level would have died here long ago.
"Let me give it a try," Yi Tianyun said.
"It’s very dangerous. If you’re not careful for even a moment, your Blood Qi will be siphoned away..." Ren Long tried to dissuade him.
"How will we know if I don’t try?" Yi Tianyun said with a calm smile. "Aren’t you the same? You knew it was dangerous, yet you kept trying, all for the sake of getting out. I don’t want to be trapped in this damn place either. I want out."
"Alright, then. Give it a try!" Ren Long looked at Yi Tianyun in silence for a moment, then stopped trying to hold him back.
Ding! You have successfully accepted the temporary quest ’Rescue Ren Long.’ Completion Reward: 10,000,000 Experience Points, 50,000 Madness Value, Ren Long’s Favorability +100.
’A temporary quest popped up out of nowhere. That’s unexpected,’ Yi Tianyun thought. ’But getting another quest is always a good thing. At least I’ll get some more experience.’
Yi Tianyun gave a cold smile. ’Let’s see just how strong these Celestial Dragon Remains are. Trying to compete with me in suction power? We’ll see who can out-drain whom!’