Chapter 1905 Return to the Dragon Realm

Lin Jichen saw the greed in his eyes clearly and became more wary.

He ignored Situ Haokong's dilemma and looked down at Ao Chi in his palm, saying softly, "Little guy, it's time to get to work. Help us open the entrance to the Dragon Realm."

Ao Chi seemed to understand his words, and leaped up from his palm in a flash. Its silvery-white figure circled once in the air and let out a clear dragon roar.

Not far away, Wan Yincai immediately placed the Yinglong cub on the ground again. The little guy and Ao Chi looked at each other, as if they had reached some kind of tacit understanding, and flew together toward the entrance to the Dragon Realm.

Two dragon breaths were unleashed simultaneously, one blue and one gold, intertwining in the air to form a dazzling pattern of light.

The light patterns landed on the light screen at the entrance to the Dragon Realm, and the originally closed light screen began to vibrate slowly. Countless ancient runes appeared on its surface, flowing and flashing as if they had come to life.

As the runes grew brighter, a crack gradually appeared on the light screen, and dense dragon energy surged out from the crack, carrying an ancient and sacred aura.

"It's open... the gate to the Dragon Realm has truly opened..."

Ao Qinhan stood to the side, his cloudy eyes brimming with barely suppressed excitement, his voice trembling slightly.

He reached out, wanting to touch the gap, but his fingertips passed through the light barrier, only feeling a warm spiritual energy.

After three thousand years, he has finally waited for this day.

Three thousand years ago, he was the young master of the Ice Dragon Clan, full of vigor and leading his clan members to cultivate in the Dragon Realm.

However, in order to monopolize the resources of the Dragon Realm, the Azure Dragon King drove these collateral dragon clans out of the Dragon Realm on the grounds that "non-orthodox dragons consume spiritual energy".

He still vividly remembers the scene from that day: the Azure Dragon King sat on the throne in the Holy Dragon Palace, his eyes cold as ice, while the patriarchs of the four orthodox dragon clans stood on either side, none of them pleading for them.

He led the elderly, women, and children of the Ice Dragon Clan, constantly on the run from the pursuit of the other three clans, and narrowly escaped annihilation many times.

Over the years, he had longed to return to the Dragon Realm, but he knew that the Azure Dragon King would never allow him to return.

Now, with the help of Lin Jichen and the Holy Dragon Ao Chi, he can finally step into this homeland with dignity.

This time, he not only wants to return, but also to make the Ice Dragon Clan the new legitimate dynasty, securing a place for future generations! Even if it means facing the Azure Dragon King, he is willing to risk his old life!

"Without further ado, let's set off."

Lin Jichen took the first step and headed towards the entrance to the Dragon Realm.

This was his second time entering the Dragon Realm. The last time, he came with Wan Yincai and Baili Canfeng, and at that time they had to carefully avoid the Dragon Clan patrol team.

Now, his cultivation level is vastly different from before. Even if the Azure Dragon King were to personally take action, he might not be a match for him.

Situ Haokong suppressed his resentment and followed closely behind.

Ao Qinhan took a deep breath, straightened his slightly disheveled robes, and stepped into the light curtain with a solemn expression.

Wan Yincai, carrying the Yinglong cub, entered the Dragon Realm with the others.

As soon as they stepped into the Dragon Realm, a rich spiritual energy carrying the fragrance of grass and trees rushed towards them.

This spiritual energy wasn't a stagnant, heavy feeling, but rather flowed throughout the body like a living spring, seeping into the body through the pores, making every cell tremble joyfully.

Lin Jichen could even feel the spiritual energy in his dantian circulating automatically, and his cultivation level had subtly increased.

The world before them suddenly opened up, and under the pale golden sky, auspicious clouds drifted slowly like wisps of cotton, their edges shimmering with tiny, ethereal lights, as if they had been touched by the breath of a divine dragon.

The ground was covered with dense, lush green moss, which felt soft and springy underfoot.

Countless rare and precious medicinal herbs can be found everywhere in the forest, and the thousand-year-old ginseng, topped with bright red fruit, has its plump roots emerging from the soil.

The leaves of the Spirit Grass gleamed with a glassy luster, and visible spiritual energy flowed through its veins.

The dewdrops on the Ganoderma lucidum rolled down and turned into crystal-clear spiritual liquid, which dripped into the cracks in the rocks and nourished colorful mushrooms, emitting an enticing fragrance.

These are at least mid-grade Earth-level spiritual herbs.

The distant mountain peaks are layered and overlapping, not solitary peaks, but a continuous undulating range, like a sleeping giant dragon coiled on the earth.

The mountain was covered with lush spirit trees, and glowing crystal vines were wrapped around the trunks. The vines were covered with fist-sized spirit crystals that refracted seven colors of light in the sunlight.

In the mountain stream, a waterfall cascades down, and the water splashes as it hits the rocks, condensing into tiny spirit crystals in the air. When these crystals fall into the emerald pool below, they create ripples of spiritual energy, and the spirit fish in the pool leap and frolic, devouring the scattered fragments of spirit crystals.

The white jade eaves are faintly visible in the mountains, half-hidden by a light mist, adding to their ethereal and sacred atmosphere.

The palace tiles gleamed with a warm luster, and lifelike dragon patterns were carved on the eaves. There seemed to be a spiritual energy flowing in the dragon patterns, as if they would transform into real dragons and soar away at any moment.

The air was filled with the clear chirping of birds, the kind of spirit birds that only exist in the Dragon Realm, whose melodious voices could calm the mind.

"This place...is much worse than it was back then..."

Ao Qinhan stood there, his eyes filled with disappointment and desolation.

He reached out and caught a falling spirit leaf, but the concentration of spiritual energy on the leaf was far less than he remembered.

"It seems that the resources of the Dragon Realm are almost exhausted by them."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him.

Lin Jichen asked curiously, "Senior Ao, have you ever seen what this place looked like three thousand years ago?"

Ao Qinhan sighed and slowly explained, "Three thousand years ago, the Dragon Realm was far more prosperous than it is now. At that time, the Holy Dragon Clan still existed, the Holy Dragon Palace was magnificent, and the spiritual veins outside the palace stretched for thousands of miles, with spiritual energy so concentrated that it could condense into liquid spiritual springs. Although the four main dragon clans also occupied high-quality resources, the Holy Dragon Clan was benevolent and allowed the collateral dragon clans to share some of the spiritual energy. But since the Holy Dragon Clan was wiped out and the Azure Dragon King came to power, everything has changed."

"He allocated all the high-quality spiritual veins to the four orthodox dragon clans and issued a 'resource control order,' which strictly limited the amount of spiritual energy each dragon could absorb each day. Even so, the rate at which resources were consumed in the dragon realm was still astonishing. Dragons have long lifespans, and although the number of the four orthodox dragon clans is not large, the amount of resources consumed by each dragon each year is astronomical."

"That's why the Azure Dragon King wanted to drive us, the collateral branches of the dragon race, out of the Dragon Realm."

Ao Qinhan's tone was tinged with bitterness.

"He was afraid that we would take away the already scarce resources, and that the four orthodox dragon clans would also fall into a state of resource scarcity. But he forgot that the dragon clans are one family, and such internal strife will only make the dragon clans decline further."

Lin Jichen frowned slightly upon hearing this; he hadn't expected there to be such conflicts within the Dragon Realm.

It seems that the dragon race is also in its twilight years, with its resources exhausted.

He had a growing concern: would the Dragon Clan really be willing to join forces with the three clans to deal with Zhujiuyin under such circumstances?

...