BOOK 2: CHAPTER 441: BATTLE STRATEGY INNOVATION, DISTANT SEA DRAGON ROAR

Vol 2 Chapter 441: Battle Strategy Innovation, Distant Sea Dragon Roar

In the Jiushan Realm, inside Zheng Fa’s courtyard, there was complete silence.

Senior Sister Zhang leaned against the railing of the corridor, sharing treasured snacks with Senior Sister Yuan.

Senior Sister Yuan snuggled close to Senior Sister Zhang, rubbing against her freely, her expression full of contentment.

Senior Sister Zhang glanced at her with a helpless look but occasionally cast her eyes toward Zheng Fa’s closed-door meditation chamber.

Golden flames flickered against the window, shimmering uncertainly, and spiritual energy gathered beside the eaves like colorful clouds.

“Junior Brother has gone into seclusion! Senior Sister is mine alone!”

As Senior Sister Yuan spoke, her face wore a silly grin as she nestled into Senior Sister Zhang’s embrace, round-headed and plump like a little piglet.

Even though she was under a silence spell, her voice was still very soft.

But her tone was genuinely happy.

Ever since Senior Sister and Junior Brother began dual cultivation, they rarely included her in their play.

If Junior Brother was around, whenever Senior Sister was free, she would be with Junior Brother.

Now that Junior Brother was absent, Senior Sister was often worried and had no spare time to play with her.

Only in these few months, although Junior Brother was in the Jiushan Realm, he had been in seclusion with no danger.

Senior Sister was here protecting the sect, with nothing to do, so she had the mood to accompany her—or rather, to be accompanied by her.

Senior Sister Zhang shook her head and lightly tapped her on the head.

Senior Sister Yuan cried out in pain, clutching her forehead, muttering, “Junior Brother can do it, but I can’t?”

Senior Sister Zhang just looked at her with a face like a still pond, unmoved.

Senior Sister Yuan sat up straight, obediently holding a piece of pancake, her expression full of flattery: “Senior Sister, this is newly developed in the Xuanwu Dormitory marketplace. It’s really delicious!”

Senior Sister Zhang gave her a sideways glance, took the pancake, tasted it, and nodded lightly, seeming to approve.

“Senior Sister, how long do you think Junior Brother will remain in seclusion?”

Seeing her calm down, Senior Sister Yuan quickly switched to the topic Senior Sister cared about most.

Sure enough, Senior Sister Zhang didn’t argue: “This time, Junior Brother not only wants to advance his cultivation but also to reforge the Creation Jade and perfect the Daoist system. He probably won’t come out anytime soon.”

Yuan Xiaoniao understood how difficult this task was.

Seeing a hint of worry and faint longing on Senior Sister Zhang’s face, she whispered,

“Junior Brother’s talent—why worry about that? He’s in seclusion, but I’ll come every day to keep Senior Sister company!”

Senior Sister Zhang smiled lightly.

Senior Sister Yuan’s heart swelled with joy—this was her perfect chance to compete for Senior Sister’s attention!

Although Junior Brother also had the Heavenly Emperor body, he cultivated the Divine Path, presided over many affairs of the Jiushan Realm, and had to handle incense fire desires, so he was always busy.

Moreover, she noticed that Senior Sister’s attitude toward the Heavenly Emperor body and Junior Brother’s true body was different.

Therefore, Junior Brother currently had no time to compete with her for Senior Sister!

“This is tasty too! I saved it especially for Senior Sister!”

Senior Sister Yuan held up a preserved fruit like a treasure and offered it near Senior Sister Zhang’s mouth.

She glanced at the meditation chamber with great pride—Junior Brother was unaware of day or night while secluded, but she was thoughtfully accompanying Senior Sister, generously feeding her, and flattering her. Once Junior Brother came out, he wouldn’t be able to take Senior Sister away anymore!

Um... at least she wouldn’t be left out of playtime!

She daydreamed and reached out her arm but received no response.

Senior Sister Yuan turned her head in confusion, only to find Senior Sister Zhang seemingly not hearing a word, concentrating on operating the Innate Eight Trigrams, engrossed in calculation.

She didn’t dare disturb her.

Only after two incense sticks’ time did Senior Sister Zhang finally disperse the Eight Trigrams diagram.

“Senior Sister, what were you calculating?”

“I was helping Junior Brother analyze the artifact spirit’s algorithm to see if there are any improvements.” Senior Sister Zhang then asked, “What did you say just now?”

“Nothing.”

Senior Sister Yuan looked at Senior Sister Zhang’s gentle and joyful expression and silently stuffed the preserved fruit into her own mouth, unwilling to waste it.

...

Time passed, seasons changed.

During Zheng Fa’s seclusion, the entire Jiushan Realm once again entered a period of peaceful development.

Many of the plans laid out earlier were gradually getting on track.

The Heavenly Emperor body was in the Heavenly Palace, scrutinizing Han Qi from top to bottom.

Han Qi lowered his head, somewhat nervous.

“Using the Divine Thunder Warship as your innate treasure?” The Heavenly Emperor body’s tone was surprised. “What made you think of that?”

The idea of standardized innate treasures had already begun to spread—they had selected about twenty widely used innate treasures with good potential.

Most of these innate treasures came from rare volumes stored on Haori Mountain and also referenced the Tianhe Sect’s sword forging techniques.

But as the manager of the Jiushan trading caravan, Han Qi gave a somewhat unexpected suggestion.

He proposed listing the Divine Thunder Warship as a standardized innate treasure.

Honestly, even he hadn’t thought of this before.

The Divine Thunder Warship was good, but it had obvious drawbacks—its power came from external pills, making it difficult to surpass the Golden Core stage’s speed.

Upgrading was also difficult, and the development of warships in the Jiushan Realm was nearing its limit.

Studying it as a standardized innate treasure was indeed a new direction.

“Yes.” Han Qi’s voice was low, seemingly lacking confidence. “I feel that the sect should have better transportation treasures.”

The Heavenly Emperor body nodded lightly.

That was true.

The Divine Thunder Warship was still adequate for today’s sea area, but with the huge changes in the Xuanwei world, which seemed to be expanding, the warship’s speed was becoming a bottleneck.

“Continue.”

He looked at Han Qi, curious about his ideas.

Encouraged, Han Qi perked up: “As the caravan manager, I think the warship’s speed is still too slow. Also, I heard the sect is forming the Divine Thunder Legion and is researching transportation treasures.”

“I think, given that, it would be better to develop further based on the Divine Thunder Warship.”

The Heavenly Emperor body showed interest: “How do you propose to develop it?”

“Improve the warship’s defense, speed, and capacity. Also, use the Tongjian as the intelligence hub to command the disciples.”

The Heavenly Emperor body’s gaze shifted.

What Han Qi described sounded like a space mothership or even a flying city.

But actually, it fit well with the Jiushan Sect’s combat style in his mind.

This thing could quickly and massively transport troops and supplies, allowing disciples to easily form immortal formations.

It could also serve as a frontline command post and supply point.

It wasn’t that other Jiushan disciples couldn’t fly, but the sect’s division of labor was becoming clearer. Specialization meant those focused on speed and innate treasures could move faster, and the more they studied, the faster they got.

Compared to the previous Divine Thunder Legion concept, Han Qi’s idea seemed a step further, or rather, more suitable for the Jiushan system.

Imagining the future conflicts between Jiushan Sect and other forces was hard to describe.

Especially since this idea came from Han Qi himself.

That surprised the Heavenly Emperor body even more.

When he first met Han Qi, he was just at the foundation establishment stage, timid and resentful toward the sect, even bullying new disciples.

Now, not only had Han Qi reached the Nascent Soul level, but he also had ideas and, most importantly, was willing to contribute his wisdom to the sect.

That transformation alone made the Heavenly Emperor body happy and proud, believing some people could indeed change.

“This suggestion is good—not only promising for the future but also an excellent improvement for the current caravan.”

With changes in the sea area, trade routes might not be as safe as before. If Han Qi’s proposal could be realized, forming immortal formations with Divine Thunder Warships would be an effective countermeasure.

“I will discuss it with the elders.”

“Yes!”

Han Qi was delighted by the serious tone and enthusiastically withdrew.

The Heavenly Emperor body did not waste time and summoned Madam Xuanhua and Uncle Pang.

“Setting aside whether the warships are suitable, this idea of establishing transportation, command, and supply hubs is interesting,” Uncle Pang agreed. “Especially since the sea area is vast, and we can’t reach everywhere…”

His words carried deep meaning.

The Heavenly Emperor body looked at the Ancestor of the Blood River with a puzzled gaze.

“Lord Shuyu Dragon has been acting strange lately,” Uncle Pang said softly. “She comes to the Jiushan Realm every few days to check on the dragon eggs, but on other days, she stays in the far northern sea area. Our patrolling disciples have seen her a few times there.”

Because of the sea area changes, the Jiushan Sect had increased monitoring at the north and south sea areas and set up several observation points.

Madam Xuanhua was puzzled: “The sea area is changing a lot. Isn’t it natural for the Dragon Lord to be more concerned?”

Uncle Pang shook his head gently: “Normally, no. But didn’t the Dragon Lord say before that she would notify us if she discovered anything?”

“...”

Madam Xuanhua was silent.

The Heavenly Emperor body also understood Uncle Pang’s meaning—

Lord Shuyu Dragon came to the Jiushan Realm almost every ten days but never reported anything about the sea changes.

Of course, she might have found nothing.

But if so, it was odd that she kept going to the far northern sea area.

Uncle Pang was experienced and had his own methods of judging people. His suspicions were not baseless.

Seeing the silence between the two, Uncle Pang quietly said, “Therefore, strengthening the caravan’s strength is very necessary... Maybe the Dragon Lord is still trustworthy, but relying on others is never completely safe.”

That was indisputable.

The caravan was one of the lifelines of the Jiushan Sect;

it could never be underestimated.

The Heavenly Emperor body nodded lightly. Lord Shuyu Dragon’s thoughts had shifted somewhat;

he actually knew earlier than Uncle Pang.

Thinking of this, he looked through the palace door toward the direction of the Azure Dragon Dormitory.

...

In the Azure Dragon Dormitory, Lord Shuyu Dragon crouched by a pond, gently stroking three dragon eggs.

Jiao Wuji had bred two more viable dragon eggs but had not continued further.

One reason was to save some genes since they did not know if the breeding would succeed. If it failed, further improvements would be needed.

Secondly, ancient dragons required a lot of resources to grow, and Lord Shuyu Dragon feared she might not be able to support more.

These three dragon eggs now seemed to be familiar with Lord Shuyu Dragon. Not only were their auras compatible, but sometimes they even trembled slightly in response to her touch.

This made Lord Shuyu Dragon even more attached to these dragon eggs. Every few days, she couldn’t help but come to check and caress them.

As dusk approached, she reluctantly stood, glanced at Jiao Wuji beside her, seemed to recall something, and took out a spiritual herb.

This herb was slender and grew four branches from bottom to top, writhing like a divine dragon soaring upward.

“This is... the Dragon Transformation Herb?”

Jiao Wuji was both surprised and delighted, almost unable to believe his eyes.

“Yes, this one is a thousand-year-old specimen. It can’t fully evolve your bloodline but can boost cultivation and reduce obstacles later.” Lord Shuyu Dragon smiled lightly. “If you do well, I have even higher quality treasures.”

“Thank you, Dragon Lord!”

The Jiushan Sect elder waved his hand and leisurely left the Four Jade Dragons.

After she left, the Ancestor of the Blood River flew to Jiao Wuji’s side, frowning.

“Why does this Dragon Lord keep giving you treasures?”

Jiao Wuji looked down at the dragon eggs, shook his head, and whispered, “I feel the Dragon Lord is trying to win me over.”

The Ancestor of the Blood River turned to glare at him, avoiding his gaze: “Don’t drag me into this.”

They had both surrendered and were captives, with sensitive identities.

Although treated no differently than others and even having elder status, they were very discreet and rarely left the Jiushan Realm.

The Ancestor of the Blood River was now worried that Jiao Wuji’s backbone was softening—

Not that the Dragon Lord was stronger or had more prospects than Jiushan Sect,

But Jiao Wuji had always been respectful and fearful of the Dragon Lord, with his bloodline heavily suppressed.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Jiao Wuji glanced at the Ancestor of the Blood River and sneered. “Every time the Dragon Lord gives me treasures, I tell the Sect Leader.”

“You’re a smart one.”

The Ancestor of the Blood River breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiao Wuji grinned proudly.

“Even without considering the soul mark being in the Sect Leader’s hands, just look at this Dragon Transformation Herb...” Jiao Wuji glanced toward Ziwei Yuan and smirked, “The Sect Leader Tian Ri Zhen Mie, purifying bloodlines is much stronger than this herb. When the Sect Leader advances, I’ll benefit even more.”

“That’s true.”

“Moreover, the Dragon Lord thinks breeding the dragon eggs is my sole achievement but doesn’t know that the Jiushan system...” Jiao Wuji was confident, “Without Master Qian, without the Sect Leader, without these disciples, what am I? What do I have to research with?”

The Ancestor of the Blood River nodded repeatedly.

Breeding dragon eggs was no small task. Without other disciples’ cooperation, even if they were at the Nascent Soul stage, a clever housewife can’t cook without rice.

“She is a great ancient dragon, but the Sect Leader can give me more.” Jiao Wuji looked toward where Lord Shuyu Dragon had left, smiling. “And I don’t have to grovel. Who wants to serve the Dragon Lord?”

...

After leaving the Jiushan Realm, Lord Shuyu Dragon’s expression was somewhat troubled.

Although unaware of Jiao Wuji’s feelings, she sensed his coldness.

“My disciple is like that, and so is Jiao Wuji. I don’t know what kind of soul-trapping brew Jiushan Sect and Zheng Fa used.”

Xiao Yuying’s disciple broke her arm and still wouldn’t come around.

Jiao Wuji... although not raised by her, under bloodline suppression, was also stubbornly principled.

This made Lord Shuyu Dragon incredulous.

She didn’t truly intend to betray the alliance but was preparing for the worst.

Lord Shuyu Dragon went again to the far northern sea area.

The mist ahead was thinning, and the twisted spatial lines had nearly vanished.

“Ancient dragon clan... sea overlord.”

Lord Shuyu Dragon stared forward, her face full of headache.

But this sea area was clearly valued by the Jiushan Sect... if there really were ancient dragons and they clashed with Jiushan Sect, how would she position herself?

Morally, she naturally sided with Jiushan Sect.

But...

While she was pondering, a dragon roar echoed from deep within the mist.

The calm sea surface surged with towering waves.

The mist before her trembled, melting like ice and snow under the scorching sun, visible to the naked eye.

Clouds and rain moved like obedient soldiers, marching in ranks in the sky, one cluster after another.

Lord Shuyu Dragon stood firmly on the sea surface, gazing toward the source of the roar, unable to stop two clear tears streaming down her face.

Since her birth, searching for nearly a million years, this was the first time she heard the call from her own kind.