The dragon soul aura he released was incredibly faint, so subtle that the guards outside couldn't sense it. However, that was more than enough. While the guards may remain unaware, Shen Xi, whose power far exceeded theirs, would certainly be able to sense it.
"What?!" Mu Xuanyin jerked her head violently, her blue eyes wide with shock. The few short words Yun Wuji had spoken contained so much unexpected information.
Shen Xi is the daughter of the Primordial Azure Dragon?!
Her identity had always been shrouded in mystery. No one in the God Realm truly knew who she was, only that she was the 'Dragon Queen,' the wife of the Dragon Monarch.
But now, hearing him say that she was the daughter of the Dragon God, it dawned on her, doesn't that mean she's one of the surviving gods from the Era of Gods?!
She had countless questions swirling in her mind, but she held herself back, deciding not to ask him right away. She would learn everything from him later.
"Royal Father?" As soon as Yun Wuji's words fell, a voice rang out.
It was a voice like no other, supple, beautiful, and ethereal. It seemed to come from the peaks of clouds, as if it floated on the wind, light and soft, like a gentle breeze. The sound was so pure and delicate that anyone who heard it would find it hard to believe such a voice could exist in the mortal realm. It was the kind of voice that could make even the legendary "ethereal celestial music" seem lacking by comparison.
"Royal Father's aura, it's really Royal Father's aura!" The celestial voice spoke again, this time with an urgent tone, tinged with disbelief.
"Please come in." However, the owner of the voice quickly regained her composure and spoke with an air of calmness, her voice now steady.
The Forbidden Land of Samsara was a place where no one, aside from the Dragon Monarch, had set foot for hundreds of thousands of years. Even he could not enter without Shen Xi's permission, and when he did, it was only to relay information from the outside world to her.
But right now, without any hesitation, Shen Xi invited them.
A gentle force softly pushed Yun Wuji and Mu Xuanyin inside.
Upon entering the barrier, the hazy mist outside the barrier instantly dissipated. What appeared in its place was an absolutely beautiful world filled with a myriad of colors.
"So beautiful," the scene was breathtaking, even the usually cold Mu Xuanyin exclaimed in wonder.
Here, the green grass swayed as hundreds of flowers contended with one another in beauty. It was an explosion of color with countless exotic flowers blossoming enchantingly.
These flowers joined with the green grass around them, becoming a vast ocean of flora. Beyond the flowers and grass, the air, the earth, the trees, the flowing water, and the sky… everything was pure, as if they had come from an imaginary dreamland.
Anyone who arrived here for the first time would instantly believe they had stepped into a fairy tale. The place was spotless, no dust, no filth, no crime, no disputes. It was as if all worldly troubles had been left behind, leaving only peace and beauty
After passing through the world of flowers and grass, an extremely simplistic bamboo house stood before them. Crawling above the bamboo house were multiple emerald green vines that covered most of its surface. A similarly colored emerald green bamboo door also existed, but aside from that, there was no other decoration on this bamboo house, nor was there any other object of complexity in this world.
In front of the bamboo house stood the figure of a woman, shrouded in mist.
"Greeting, Your Highness," Yun Wuji said with a light smile, while Mu Xuanyin fixed her gaze on the mist-veiled figure.
Shen Xi was the princess of the dragons and the daughter of their ruler, so it wasn't incorrect to call her 'Highness'. Of course, he only called her that to emphasize that he knew her true identity, this way, she wouldn't try to hide it once they got to the serious topics.
Shen Xi slowly walked toward them, her body and features veiled beneath a thin layer of white mist.
Her pace was calm, but both Yun Wuji and Mu Xuanyin could feel the slight turbulence in her aura, as if she were struggling to suppress a surge of overwhelming emotions.
"Father's aura, you... carry royal father's aura," Shen Xi stood before them, her eyes behind the mist trembling. Even though she tried her best, she still couldn't suppress the faint quiver in her voice.
"Who are you?"
Yun Wuji was about to reply, but then he sensed the dragon soul inside him stir restlessly. He frowned without thinking, he disliked this feeling, this lack of control over something that resided inside his own body. Without hesitation, he made up his mind: once he became strong enough, he would remove this soul.
When it came to his strength, anything not completely under his control was something Yun Wuji would get rid of, even if it meant weakening himself.
Perhaps he would pass it on to one of his future children.
He followed the soul's urging and released it.
ROAAAR!
In an instant, a towering azure dragon materialized behind him, letting out a mighty roar. Yet, the sound was not loud or overwhelming, it carried a deep, sorrowful resonance, as if mourning something lost.
"Royal Father!" Shen Xi lifted her head, staring at the dragon soul in a daze, as if her soul had suddenly slipped away.
Back in the primordial era, the dragon race was besieged by the devil race for possessing the Heaven-Punishing Ancestral Sword after the death of Mo E. At that time, Shen Xi, their princess, was struck by the devil's deadly poison made from the Sky Poison Pearl. Her father, desperate and with no other choice, fused her with the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword using a strand of ancestral power left by the ancestral goddess.
And he threw the sword into the Well of Samsara.
Their plan worked, Shen Xi survived the poison, but since the sword was trapped there, she couldn't leave the place without dissipating. She could only step out occasionally, never too far from the Land of Samsara. The only thing she could do was meditate every day, trying to break the seal.
After a long moment, Yun Wuji retracted the soul back into his body. He then took out a blue crystal and handed it to her. "This is something your father asked me to give you."
This was the soul crystal the Azure Dragon had left with him back then, after he passed the trial. He had told Yun Wuji to give it to his daughter when they met.
The crystal had a seal, though it was very weak. However, if anyone attempted to examine the crystal directly, the seal would shatter instantly. Because of this, Yun Wuji had never tried to look inside, and even without the seal, he wouldn't have cared to.
Shen Xi extended her hand, and the crystal lifted from Yun Wuji's palm, floating gently into hers. Without a word, she injected a thread of her consciousness into the crystal.
She remained still for a very long time, so long that Yun Wuji began to wonder what lay within. He didn't know what her father had said, but whatever it was, it had clearly left a deep impact.
"Master, I sense the aura of the Heaven-Punishing Ancestral Sword," Hei Xiaolian suddenly spoke from within the Sky Poison Pearl.
"Strange… this woman carries the sword's aura. How odd… where is that stinky old man? And Why does this woman look like the sword's spirit?"
The Evil Infant and the Ancestral Sword were not only the supreme artifacts in this world, they were the ultimate existences, each possessing the power to annihilate the heavens and earth. The Evil Infant had always disliked the Ancestral Sword, for people endlessly praised the Sword while condemning her as 'evil'.
She had seen the Ancestral Sword's spirit before, it was an old man. But now, she could clearly feel that the sword's spirit had changed. It had become a woman!
What she and Yun Wuji didn't know was that the Ancestral Sword's spirit had killed itself, unable to bear the responsibility it was given.
From then on, the Ancestral Sword was left without a spirit. Later, after Mo E's death, the sword fell into the hands of the Dragon God race, and after a series of events, Shen Xi became its new spirit.
"I know," Yun Wuji replied calmly. Then he asked, "If you can sense her, does that mean she can sense your existence as well?"
"Yes," Hei Xiaolian answered.
"…" Yun Wuji fell silent.
At this time, Shen Xi stored the soul crystal. Her eyes looked at both of them, no, more specifically, her eyes were fixed on Yun Wuji. She stared at him silently for a long time, as if she wished to see something in him.
After a long while, she finally spoke, "Thank you for helping royal father fulfill his last wish." Her melodious voice was intoxicatingly beautiful, even causing Mu Xuanyin to stare at her in a daze for a split second.
Fortunately, Yun Wuji didn't make a fool of himself this time. After staying with Chi Wuyao and Qianye Ying'er and being baptized by them, his resistance became very high.
"Can I speak to you alone?" She glanced at Mu Xuanyin, then back at Yun Wuji and asked.
...
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