Chapter 468: Chapter 468: The Dao Court’s Ambition

In the Old Dragon Monarch’s grand scheme, the first wave of the True Dragon Branch sent to Jiangdong were essentially cannon fodder. Their only value was to establish a foothold.

He had also anticipated that the Dao Court would suppress the True Dragon Race, but he had no intention of intervening. He simply bided his time. When he judged the suppression had run its course, he sent a message, planning to give his dear grandson, Du Huan, a motivational boost to keep him fighting for the True Dragon Race.

However, the situation was not quite what he had imagined.

"Grandfather!"

Before the Dragon Monarch could speak, Lü Yang dropped to his knees. With tears streaming down his face, he cried out, "Du Huan hasn’t let you down, Grandfather! Du Huan has succeeded!"

’...Huh?’

For a moment, the Dragon Monarch was at a loss, especially after seeing the title of a Third-Grade Official Position—Deputy Commander of the All Heaven Department—hovering above Lü Yang’s head.

The Jiangdong region was shrouded by the Immortal Dao Law, preventing any ordinary Causality Inference Technique from working. As a result, the Old Dragon Monarch couldn’t divine the sequence of events that had led to this. But he had lived for ages and seen it all. After a moment’s thought, he reached a conclusion that was both surprising and delightful.

’Du Huan... actually made a name for himself in Jiangdong!?’

After all, anything else might be a lie, but that blatant Official Position was undeniable. And it seemed to be an Official Position corresponding to the Fruit of Roadside Earth.

Lü Yang might not know, but how could the Old Dragon Monarch be ignorant?

In the current Dao Court, the Fruit passed down through the generations of the Celestial Wu Royal Family was the Fruit of Roadside Earth! In other words, his own grandson had caught the eye of the Daoist Court Emperor!

"Good, good, good!"

At this thought, the Old Dragon Monarch burst out laughing. "You are truly my beloved grandson! I sent you to Jiangdong precisely because I believed you could achieve great things!"

As his voice fell, a touching scene of grandfatherly and grandsonly affection unfolded.

"Du Huan, tell your grandfather, how did you rise up in the Dao Court?"

"Because of one person..."

At this, Lü Yang deliberately lowered his voice and glanced around cautiously. The Old Dragon Monarch took the hint and immediately dispersed the auspicious clouds surrounding him.

"Speak freely!"

The Old Dragon Monarch chuckled. "Since I gave you this scale to contact me, I am naturally confident I can shield you from that fellow Jia You’s gaze." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"To answer you, Grandfather," Lü Yang began, taking out the Incense Fire Divinity Method and the coordinates to the Seven Luminaries Heaven. He said in a low voice, "It was because of a Cultivation Technique, and a corresponding Outer Realm... The person who gave them to me vanished immediately after. He was extremely mysterious. I suspect he’s from the Jiangbei Demon Sect!"

"...Oh?"

The moment he said this, the Old Dragon Monarch’s expression turned serious. After all, no matter how small the matter, if it involved the Stain Sect, it was a major event. There was no telling what kind of trap was hidden within!

"This is..."

Soon, the Old Dragon Monarch finished examining the Cultivation Technique Lü Yang presented and performed a quick inference on the coordinates of the Seven Luminaries Heaven. His expression gradually grew grave.

"The person who contacted you... is plotting something massive! This is most likely an Outer Realm that has given birth to a Fruit Position Prototype, one that’s highly compatible with the Dao Court’s system. Yet, he gave it to the Dao Court through you, using your status as a True Dragon. But with such a valuable bargaining chip, he didn’t negotiate with the Dao Court directly."

The Old Dragon Monarch didn’t doubt Lü Yang’s story.

After all, the Incense Fire Divinity Method was right in front of him, undeniably real. Besides, this was his own grandson; how could he not know him? The boy wouldn’t have the guts to lie to him!

"What did you do?" the Old Dragon Monarch asked.

Lü Yang quickly lowered his head, feigning a look of someone admitting their mistake. "Du Huan took the liberty of using Grandfather’s name, saying this was a sign of our True Dragon Race’s sincerity..."

"Excellent!"

Without needing Lü Yang to explain further, the Old Dragon Monarch could immediately guess the subsequent developments. It also cleared up his confusion about how his grandson had managed to make a name for himself.

As for the "mysterious person" Lü Yang mentioned, the Old Dragon Monarch quickly came to a judgment:

"This person must be a reincarnated Perfected Lord!"

An Outer Realm that had birthed a Fruit Position Prototype was not something a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator could produce. However, the fact that he didn’t dare negotiate with the Dao Court directly suggested he was unlikely to be a Perfected Lord in his current state.

In that case, a reincarnated Perfected Lord made perfect sense.

’Then who could it be?’

The name of the most famous reincarnated Perfected Lord of the last five thousand years immediately popped into the Old Dragon Monarch’s mind. ’Fortune? No, impossible. He doesn’t have that kind of ability...’

Whoever it was, it couldn’t be Fortune.

It had to be someone else!

The Old Dragon Monarch fell into deep contemplation. If he had to name another Perfected Lord from the Stain Sect who had fallen in the last five thousand years, after much calculation, there was probably only...

’...Ang Xiao?’

’Surely not? He was such a good person.’

The Old Dragon Monarch stroked his chin, doubtful. After all, Ang Xiao was from the Stain Sect. Despite his reputation as a good person, the Old Dragon Monarch couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

"Oh right, Grandfather, there’s one more thing."

Just then, Lü Yang spoke up again, telling him about interrogating Zhao Xuhe and presenting the Ninefold Dragon Metamorphosis to the Dao Court.

This caused the Old Dragon Monarch’s expression to change once more. "A Cultivation Technique corresponding to the Fruit of Rampart Earth... I remember the Pure Land threw that into the Stain Sect’s territory, didn’t they? How did it appear in the Dao Court, and you were the one who personally interrogated the information out... Good! Excellent! No wonder Jia You values you so highly!"

Hearing this, Lü Yang feigned ignorance. "That Cultivation Technique... is there something special about it?"

"There’s something you don’t know."

The Old Dragon Monarch was happy to explain. "That fellow Jia You cultivates the Fruit of Roadside Earth, and he has coveted the Supreme Venerable position of the Fruit of Rampart Earth for a very long time!"

"Ever since the last millennial calamity, when the realm under the Dao Court fell into chaos, the Zouyu Royal Family was wiped out by the Celestial Wu. At the same time, the Buddhist Dharma was spreading to the east, and it took the Emperor Fruit of Rampart Earth with it. Since then, the Celestial Wu Royal Family has been scheming to reclaim the Fruit of Rampart Earth, or at the very least, reclaim the position of an Emperor Fruit."

"However, the Pure Land... is utterly shameless."

At this point, even the Old Dragon Monarch’s eyelid twitched. "Add to that the Dao Court’s own limitations, and they’ve never found an opportunity to make a move."

"But this time is different."

"With a Cultivation Technique that corresponds to the Fruit of Rampart Earth, all they need is a Cultivator in the Dao Court to achieve Foundation Establishment with it. Then, that fellow Jia You can bestow an Official Position and title upon that person."

"After that, as that person’s Cultivation grows higher—from the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment to Mid-phase, Late Stage, and even to Perfection—the Dao Court can use the connection between their Official Positions, as well as the symbolic act of ’making a Cultivator of Rampart Earth bow in submission,’ to forcibly strip the Fruit of Rampart Earth of its position as the Earth Element Supreme Venerable!"

"At that time, the Fruit of Roadside Earth can take its place."

"And that fellow Jia You will have achieved his wish. He’ll advance to the Late Stage of Golden Core with an Emperor Fruit. Not only will he be nearly unrivaled in this era, but his Nascent Soul Path will also be within reach..."

Saying this, the Old Dragon Monarch even felt a twinge of envy.

But he quickly came back to his senses and looked at Lü Yang again. "You did well this time. From now on, serve Jia You well and strive to build up your status."

"Your grandson understands!"

Lü Yang nodded hurriedly, but his expression turned troubled. "But Grandfather, the discrimination against Demon Cultivators like us in Jiangdong is too severe. Although your grandson has some status, I have no foundation here. Even when I take the initiative to visit, those Human Cultivators turn me away at the door."

"I beg Grandfather to help me and grant me a way to deal with this!"

"A way to deal with this?"

The Old Dragon Monarch was taken aback for a second before it dawned on him. ’What kind of place is the Dao Court? If they truly cared about the distinction between humans and demons, they wouldn’t recruit Demon Cultivators in the first place.’

’The reason he’s being turned away is, eighty percent of the time, because he has no money!’

’You don’t offer any gifts, and you still want people to do things for you?’

’He’s asking me for money!’

The Old Dragon Monarch had a sudden realization and waved his hand magnanimously. "Don’t worry! I’ll send you a batch of Spiritual Materials shortly. The True Dragon Race may be lacking in many things,

but we are not lacking in money!"

He said this with immense bravado. It was Lü Yang who now looked hesitant. "Isn’t that a bit much? These are all treasures of our True Dragon Race..."

The Old Dragon Monarch laughed. "There’s nothing wrong with it. You nurture an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning. You are far more important than these Spiritual Materials. However, just in case, I’ll store the materials inside a True Treasure and send it all over to you. You can borrow the True Treasure for self-defense, and it will also prevent you from being ambushed by those with ill intentions."

"Grandfather, is that really alright..."

"There’s nothing not alright about it!"

The Old Dragon Monarch’s word was final. He dispersed the auspicious cloud and, from an immense distance, teleported a ray of golden light. With a THUD, it landed in the palm of Lü Yang’s hand.