Chapter 1568: Baili Yunlong

Wang Qingling instantly understood. Her expression serious, she told her clansmen, "Unsolicited favors often hide ulterior motives. Be more vigilant in everything you do, make fewer enemies and more friends, and never bring shame upon the family. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ancestor," the Wang family members replied in unison, their expressions respectful.

After giving a few more instructions, Wang Qingling dismissed them, allowing them to move about freely. She and Guangdong Ren then headed towards the main courtyard.

The main courtyard was spacious and clean, filled with numerous exotic flowers and rare plants. What caught Wang Qingling's attention was a white lake, over ten *mu* in size, from which fine wisps of cold air emanated. The area around the lake was completely frozen, and thin ice shards were clearly visible.

"Dongfang Liang is quite thoughtful," Guangdong Ren said with a smile. "This is likely prepared for your Icewind Dragon." Even from a hundred *zhang* away, he could feel a bone-chilling cold emanating from it.

Since neither of them practiced ice-attribute cultivation techniques, it was evident that this ice lake was prepared specifically for the Icewind Dragon.

Wang Qingling flicked her wrist, and a deafening dragon roar echoed. The Icewind Dragon flew out from her Spirit Beast Pearl, circled above the courtyard for a moment, then plunged into the ice lake.

A resounding splash! A large amount of lake water splattered, falling onto the ground, which quickly froze over. Numerous white spirit fish with golden whiskers leaped out of the lake. The Icewind Dragon opened its enormous maw and exhaled a blast of dense white cold air. The white spirit fish were instantly frozen into massive ice blocks, and the Icewind Dragon devoured them.

It swam around the ice lake, and one by one, white spirit fish leaped out of the water, all promptly eaten by it.

The Icewind Dragon let out excited roars, and Wang Qingling could clearly sense its profound happiness.

Two white spirit fish, each five *zhang* in length, leaped out of the lake. Their tentacles were about a *zhang* long, and they spat white ice arrows from their mouths, which struck the Icewind Dragon with dull thudding sounds, like a mere tickle. The Icewind Dragon was completely unharmed. It suddenly swept its massive tail, accurately striking one of the white spirit fish.

The white spirit fish was sent flying backward and crashed into the lake, splashing a large amount of water. Before it could recover, an enormous maw descended from above, biting off its head. Thus, a third-order fish demon was devoured by the Icewind Dragon, its blood staining a large section of the lake red!

"Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish!" Wang Qingling frowned. "These spirit fish are not easy to raise! Is the Dongfang family being so generous?" The Wang family had once attempted to cultivate Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish but had not succeeded. The flesh of these spirit fish is delicious, but they are very difficult to cultivate. Many ice-attribute spirit beasts enjoy consuming Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish, and consuming them in large quantities can be quite beneficial for their advancement.

The Dongfang family excels at raising spirit fish and cultivating spirit birds, having made their fortune through the former. While other spirit fish are one thing, artificially cultivating Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish is extremely difficult, and the Dongfang family rarely sells them to outsiders. The Wang family once traded a set of third-order puppet beasts to purchase a batch of Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish from the Dongfang family. Only after the Icewind Dragon consumed all of them did it advance to the late third-order.

The ice lake and Golden-Whiskered Ice Fish were clearly a deliberate arrangement by the Dongfang family, their purpose self-evident: to curry favor with Wang Qingling.

Wang Qingling considered the deeper reasons behind this gesture. Could the Dongfang family be looking to make a deal with the Wang family? To her knowledge, the Wang family possessed the largest number of third-order flood dragons throughout the South Sea Immortal Cultivation World; while some major powers also raised them, their numbers were fewer than the Wang family's.

Among forces possessing fourth-order flood dragons, only Ten Thousand Beast Island had them. Currently, no other force in the South Sea Immortal Cultivation World possessed a fourth-order flood dragon.

Disciples of the Huangfu family had once coveted Wang Qingling's Icewind Dragon. However, constrained by the formidable strength of Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, the Huangfu family did not forcibly seize the Icewind Dragon. As the Wang family's power grew, even fewer dared to mention the matter.

The Icewind Dragon was Wang Qingling's natal spirit beast; if it were killed, she would also suffer harm. Under these circumstances, it was impossible for her to yield the Icewind Dragon to anyone else.

The Wang family's complete sets of puppet beasts were quite renowned; however, third-order sets were rarely sold. Given the Dongfang family's strength, they likely wouldn't be interested in third-order complete puppet beast sets, unless it was a fourth-order puppet beast.

She participated in the Dao Discussion Conference, also hoping to acquire spiritual elixirs that could assist the Icewind Dragon's advancement.

Ao Qing's inner core was too potent; it could only be said to offer some assistance to the Icewind Dragon's advancement. If other spiritual elixirs could be obtained, the Icewind Dragon's chances of advancing to the fourth-order would be significantly greater.

"Who knows!" Guangdong Ren said with a smile. "This Dao Discussion Conference might be an opportunity for us, and an opportunity for the Icewind Dragon as well." His main goal for this trip was to acquire Soul Formation spiritual materials for An Ran; other items were secondary, as he didn't possess anything too valuable to offer.

In a small, green-tiled courtyard, abundant with exotic flowers and rare plants, a group of light blue spirit butterflies danced gracefully among the sea of flowers.

Inside the courtyard, there was a green stone pavilion where Dongfang Liang and a handsome young man in a red shirt were conversing.

The red-shirted youth was powerfully built, his eyes faintly flickering with firelight. He wore a red jade crown and a green jade belt around his waist, presenting the image of a refined young master.

"Fellow Daoist Baili, the Wang family has arrived," Dongfang Liang said with a slightly disappointed tone. "As you expected, the team is led by Fairy Bailing. I originally thought the Azure Lotus Immortals would be able to attend the Dao Discussion Conference."

It was unknown when the Great Tribulation would appear. The Dongfang family organized the Dao Discussion Conference primarily to collect various rare materials and simultaneously establish good relations with powerful forces and individuals. The high-ranking members of the Dongfang family had hoped that the Azure Lotus Immortals would attend the Dao Discussion Conference; if not them, then the Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign would also have been acceptable. Unexpectedly, it was Wang Qingling.

"Fairy Bailing's strength is not weak," the red-shirted youth said with a smile. "If her Icewind Dragon advances to the fourth-order, I might not even be her match."

"Fellow Daoist Baili, you jest," Dongfang Liang complimented him, his tone sincere. "Let alone Fairy Bailing, even the Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign might not be your match."

The red-shirted youth was Baili Yunlong, hailing from the Baili family, one of the ten great immortal cultivation families of the South Sea. The Baili family's overall strength was even slightly greater than that of the Dongfang family.

The Baili family was the longest-standing immortal cultivation family among the ten great families. They specialized in alchemy and were renowned throughout the immortal cultivation world for their alchemical skills. However, the disciples of the Baili family were relatively low-key. While most cultivators in the South Sea Immortal Cultivation World had heard of the Azure Lotus Immortals, not many knew of Baili Yunlong.

The Dongfang family and the Baili family were old family friends. While others might not be aware of Baili Yunlong's true capabilities, Dongfang Liang knew perfectly well.

It was said that Baili Yunlong possessed a unique spiritual physique and cultivated fire-attribute techniques. He had cultivated for less than three hundred years yet was already at the late Nascent Soul stage. The South Sea, being the origin of the immortal cultivation world, was a place teeming with hidden masters whose reputations were not widely known; however, they truly existed, though only a few cultivators were aware of their presence.

"The Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign!" Baili Yunlong sighed, a hint of helplessness in his words. "If he were to attend the Dao Discussion Conference, I would truly like to spar with him. However, I most want to spar with the Azure Lotus Immortals. But my ancestor repeatedly instructed me not to casually spar with other fellow Daoists."