Chapter 469
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: N/A
Chapter Title: The Old Dragon Lord's Miscalculation
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In the Old Dragon Lord's calculations, the first batch of True Dragon branch lineages dispatched to Jiangdong were essentially cannon fodder. Their sole value lay in establishing a nesting ground.
He had also foreseen the Dao Court's suppression of the True Dragon clan but showed no intention of interfering. He simply timed it perfectly—once the Dao Court's crackdown had run its course—before sending a message. His plan was to pump up his dear grandson Du Huan with some motivational zeal, spurring him to keep contributing to the True Dragon clan.
Yet the reality diverged sharply from his expectations.
“Grandpa!”
Before the Dragon Lord could utter a word, Lu Yang dropped straight to his knees on the ground, tears streaming down his face as he exclaimed in agitation, “Du Huan hasn’t let Grandpa down—Du Huan succeeded!”
‘Huh?’
For a moment, the Dragon Lord faltered, his eyes especially drawn to the third-rank official title [Deputy Commander of the Capital Heaven Department] hovering above Lu Yang’s head.
The Jiangdong region lay under the shroud of the [Immortal Kingdom Dao Laws], rendering ordinary causal divination arts utterly ineffective. Thus, the Old Dragon Lord couldn’t pierce the veil of past events. But after so many years of life, what spectacle hadn’t he witnessed? A brief contemplation yielded a conclusion both unexpected and thrilling.
‘Du Huan… actually made it big in Jiangdong!?’
People could lie, sure—but that glaring official title floating there? It didn’t deceive. And it corresponded to [Roadside Earth], no less.
Lu Yang might not know, but could the Old Dragon Lord be ignorant?
In the present Dao Court, the Tian Wu Imperial Clan’s generational inheritance was none other than [Roadside Earth]! In other words, his own flesh-and-blood grandson had caught the eye of the Dao Court’s Heavenly Son!
“Good! Good! Good!”
The thought ignited a hearty laugh from the Old Dragon Lord. “Worthy of my beloved grandson! I sent you to Jiangdong because I knew you could carve out a legacy!”
With those words, grandfather and grandson basked in their heartfelt reunion.
“Du Huan, tell Grandpa—how did you rise in the Dao Court?”
“Because of one person.”
Here, Lu Yang deliberately hushed his voice, glancing warily left and right. The Old Dragon Lord caught on instantly, dispersing the auspicious clouds enveloping his form.
“Speak freely!”
The Old Dragon Lord chuckled. “Since I granted you this scale for contact, I’ve got the means to shield you from that scoundrel Jiayou’s prying eyes.”
“Reporting to Grandpa.” Only then did Lu Yang produce the *Incense Fire Deification Method* and the coordinates for Seven Luminaries Heaven. He spoke gravely, “It stems from a cultivation method—and a matching realm heaven. The man who handed me these two vanished right after. Utterly mysterious… I suspect he hails from the Jiangbei Demon Sect!”
“Oh?”
The words sobered the Old Dragon Lord at once. Even the pettiest affair tied to the Holy Sect spelled trouble—likely some insidious trap!
“This is…”
Soon enough, the Old Dragon Lord had skimmed the method Lu Yang offered, divined the [Seven Luminaries Heaven] coordinates, and watched his own expression harden.
“The one who reached out to you… harbors ambitions vast as the sea! This is no doubt a realm heaven birthing a proto-fruit position—one perfectly attuned to the Dao Court’s framework. Yet he funnels it through your hands to the Dao Court, leveraging your True Dragon bloodline. With stakes like these, why not bargain directly?”
The Old Dragon Lord harbored no doubts about Lu Yang’s account.
The *Incense Fire Deification Method* lay before him—indisputably authentic. And his own grandson? He knew the boy’s mettle. No spine for deception!
“What did you do?” the Old Dragon Lord inquired.
Lu Yang bowed his head low, feigning meek contrition. “Du Huan invoked Grandpa’s name, claiming it as our True Dragon clan’s token of sincerity.”
“Good!”
No elaboration needed—the Old Dragon Lord pieced together the rest in a flash, unraveling his puzzlement over his grandson’s sudden prominence.
As for Lu Yang’s “mysterious figure,” the Old Dragon Lord swiftly deduced:
“Likely a True Lord reincarnated!”
No mere Foundation Establishment could forge a realm heaven with a nascent fruit position. And shying from direct Dao Court parley? No True Lord proper.
That left reincarnation—a tidy fit.
But who?
Five millennia’s loudest True Lord reincarnations sprang to mind. “Hongyun? No, impossible—he lacks the chops…”
Whoever it was, not Hongyun. Someone else!
The Old Dragon Lord sank into profound bafflement. Which Holy Sect True Lord had fallen? Back five thousand years… after reckoning, only one fit.
‘…[Soaring Empyrean]?’
No way—that one was a saintly sort.
The Old Dragon Lord rubbed his chin, skepticism flickering. Holy Sect ties, even with a “good guy” rep, bred wariness.
“Right, Grandpa—one more thing.”
Lu Yang piped up anew, recounting his interrogation of Zhao Xuhe and presentation of the *Nine Transformations Dragon Art* to the Dao Court.
The Old Dragon Lord’s features shifted once more. “The method tied to [City Head Earth]—didn’t the Pure Land chuck it into the Holy Sect back then? How’d it surface in the Dao Court? And you, Du Huan, pried it out personally… Excellent! No wonder Jiayou holds you dear!”
Lu Yang blinked in feigned bewilderment. “That method… what makes it special?”
“You wouldn’t know.”
Delighted to enlighten, the Old Dragon Lord explained. “Jiayou cultivates [Roadside Earth] and has long lusted after [City Head Earth]’s supreme throne!”
“Since the last Millennium Cataclysm plunged the Dao Court into chaos—the Zouyu Royals toppled by Tian Wu, just as Buddhism swept east and snatched the supreme fruit [City Head Earth]—the Tian Wu Imperial Clan has schemed relentlessly. Reclaim [City Head Earth], or at minimum, the supreme perch.”
“But the Pure Land… utterly shameless.”
Even the Old Dragon Lord’s eyelids twitched. “Coupled with the Dao Court’s own constraints, no openings arose.”
“This time? Different.”
“With the [City Head Earth] method in hand, let a Dao Court cultivator foundation-build via it. Jiayou then bestows rank and title.”
“As their cultivation climbs—early Foundation, mid, late, perfection—the Dao Court channels official ties and the mandate imagery of ‘bowing the [City Head Earth] practitioner to fealty,’ wrenching down [City Head Earth]’s supreme earth authority by force!”
“Then [Roadside Earth] ascends in its stead.”
“Jiayou fulfills his dream: late Golden Core via supreme fruit, peerless in the age, Nascent Soul beckoning…”
Here, the Old Dragon Lord’s envy surfaced briefly.
He snapped back, fixing on Lu Yang. “You’ve shone this time. Serve Jiayou diligently henceforth—pile up prestige.”
“Grandson understands!”
Lu Yang nodded briskly, then mustered a forlorn look. “But Grandpa, Jiangdong’s scorn for us demon cultivators runs deep. Granson’s gained some standing, yet no roots here. Even knocking unbidden, human cultivators slam doors in my face.”
“Grandpa, lend aid—grant a countermeasure!”
“A countermeasure?”
The Old Dragon Lord blinked, gears turning before it clicked. Dao Court? If they obsessed over human-demon divides, no demon recruits.
Door-slamming? Lack of coin, plain and simple!
No gratuities, yet expect favors?
‘He’s hitting me up for funds!’
Enlightened, the Old Dragon Lord swept his hand magnanimously. “Worry not—I’ll ship a haul of spirit materials your way soon. True Dragons lack all else,
save money!”
His tone brimmed with bravado; Lu Yang hesitated. “But Grandpa, these are clan heirlooms…”
The Old Dragon Lord laughed. “No issue! Train troops a thousand days for one hour’s battle—you outvalue the lot. Precautionarily, I’ll seal them in a true treasure, send it along. Borrow it for defense—thwart any schemers.”
“Grandpa, that’s too much…”
“Nonsense!”
Decisive, the Old Dragon Lord banished his clouds. Across billions of miles, a golden beam pierced the void—crashing with a boom into Lu Yang’s palm.