Chapter 851: A Priceless Dragon

## Chapter 753: A Priceless Dragon

“Half a month from now, at Qixia Plains, I eagerly await the moment your head flies off and your golden blood spills!” Yuangu cast a final glance at Ye Fan before turning and departing.

“It’s a great regret in life that I couldn’t fight against Emperor Yuan in his prime,” Ye Fan said casually, “so I’ll just content myself by slaying his descendant.”

As soon as he spoke, the entire place fell silent. Even Huoliner and the others were stunned; everyone was utterly shocked, the quiet reaching an extreme.

What immense audacity! The ancient emperors were akin to gods in their hearts; no one had ever dared to compare themselves to them. Yet, the Human Race Saint Body now spoke with such a tone.

Yuangu spun around abruptly and declared, “How arrogant! Fifteen days from now, as the sun rises in the east, we meet at Qixia Plains. I will wash my hands in your sacred blood!”

The crowd erupted in an uproar, a cacophony of voices. Everyone began to discuss the matter, filled with anticipation for this battle, which promised to be the ultimate confrontation. There was no mere showmanship; this was a true, bloody battle on the Imperial Path. The Human Race Saint Body against an ancient emperor’s bloodline would ignite a continuous campaign of conquest.

“This is too much! How dare he compare himself to Emperor Yuan? Does he truly believe he can achieve Dao!?”

“I must go witness that battle! I want to personally see Emperor Yuan’s descendant sever the Human Race Saint Body and proclaim the supreme might of our ancient emperors!”

In Sky City, many beings were discussing it. After all, this place was predominantly inhabited by various ancient tribes, so naturally, most leaned towards the ancient emperor’s descendant, believing Ye Fan to be utterly disrespectful. Of course, a small number of human cultivators, upon hearing this, grew excited, hoping Ye Fan would succeed in this battle, slay Yuangu, and uphold the might of the human race.

A storm was brewing! People knew that in fifteen days, the world would be in an uproar. All eyes would converge on the Northern Region, where an astonishing battle was about to stir up turmoil across the Five Regions, formally ushering in a grand era.

“So it’s settled, little sister! I’ll be visiting the Ji Family in the Southern Region soon. Make sure to take good care of this rare flower,” Huoliner said with a smile, turning back to bid farewell to Ji Ziyue. She also invited her to visit Fire Kirin Cave during her stay in the Northern Region.

“Let’s go too. We’ve been recognized, and ‘a common man commits no crime by possessing a treasure, but his treasure may.’ We’ll likely face big trouble when we leave,” Duan De said. He had many enemies, having plundered numerous ancestral graves, and was accustomed to being cautious.

Ye Fan nodded. The unexpected acquisition of such a large piece of divine material made them all feel uneasy. They departed along the Strange Stone Street.

“Hmm, that stone contains a piece of suet-like divine iron, but unfortunately, the price is too high.”

“Wait, that stone ahead has divine source with refined gold sealed inside. Ah, what a pity, it’s only purple copper, not divine material.”

Ye Fan observed as he walked, hoping to cut out a few more precious materials before leaving. This place had mountains of waste stones, but it truly held good things, though the prices were outrageous.

“Oh, the stones in this area are quite unusual; almost all of them contain something, even if not particularly precious,” Ye Fan said, surprised.

Ahead, this large area of stones consisted entirely of superior strange stones, exuding extraordinary aura, divine essence, and spiritual energy.

“This place has yielded many good things, but the owner’s requirements are extremely strict.”

Although strange stones were sold here, if a divine material was cut out, they had the right to buy it back at an equivalent price, which was fair and without any markup.

“With so many rules, who would want to come here?” Li Tian grumbled.

However, Ye Fan stopped. There was something extraordinary here, especially a stone he focused on, which contained divine source sealing a living creature.

“Can we negotiate with them to just buy the strange stone outright and not cut it open here?”

The monkey shook his head upon hearing this. “That’s definitely not possible. I heard the owner of these stones has a very formidable background—it’s King Nine Phoenix. He might become a Great Saint in the future, so he won’t be easy to negotiate with.”

The others gasped, drawing in cold breaths. King Nine Phoenix had appeared at the Jade Pond Grand Gathering, and during the ancient era, he was once famously praised by the Battle Saint Emperor as having “good potential,” which made him renowned throughout the world.

“What do we do…?” Ye Fan was troubled, as he had indeed discovered something extraordinary.

“Kid, have you found a treasure? If not, let’s just loot this place and run,” the big black dog suggested mischievously. It had seen too many treasures in this place and had long been covetous, repeatedly clamoring to pull off a big heist and then escape.

“Go lie down somewhere cool. Someone’s definitely waiting for us to make a mistake in the shadows. If you want to loot, come back another day by yourself,” Ye Fan said, grabbing its neck and warning it not to cause trouble.

“Kid, have you really seen something good? I just wonder if their buy-back policy is truly fair,” Duan De said, his eyes gleaming with a sly light.

The monkey said, “Don’t worry. King Nine Phoenix was renowned in the ancient times and is one of the world’s rare masters. His stone business won’t pull any tricks; he wouldn’t stoop to that.”

“Alright then, I’ll cut it open. I just wonder what they’ll offer me in exchange this time, because I truly have found a treasure,” Ye Fan said.

Nowadays, he had seen almost every kind of rare item, so for him to praise something like this meant it was truly an extraordinary treasure. This immediately excited the few people around him.

“Little Ye Zi, what did you find?” Even Ji Ziyue was curious, tilting her head and asking, a gentle smile curving her lips. She appeared ethereal, imbued with a divine charm.

“A dragon!” Ye Fan replied.

“What?” The others were all dumbfounded, seeing that he wasn’t joking and looked very serious.

The stone’s price wasn’t exorbitant and was perfectly affordable. Ye Fan bought it and immediately began cutting it on the spot. Many people, who had been watching, rushed over when they saw him make his move again.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what kind of dormant dragon this is…” The Black Emperor drooled, sprawling in front of the bluestone, unwilling to move an inch.

It was a one-meter-long, inconspicuous greenish stone, placed in a corner. Clearly, few people paid it attention, not even the few individuals responsible for guarding the stones.

The stone skin was rubbed away, and dazzling light shot out. No matter what, divine source had been cut out, so there would definitely be no loss.

“There’s a living creature inside!” someone with sharp eyes exclaimed.

“Crack!”

Ye Fan worked swiftly, almost instantly splitting open the stone, revealing a divine source block the size of a washbasin. Inside was a coiled dragon, shimmering with brilliant golden light, dazzling to behold.

“Could it be that another divine silkworm has been cut out?” Li Heishui wondered, unsure.

However, the others were dumbfounded. This couldn’t be a divine silkworm; its features were distinct, completely different from the forms of the Divine Silkworm race.

“Is this a true dragon? Why do I smell a medicinal fragrance, so rich and delightful that I want to take a bite!”

Many people exclaimed, their mouths agape, staring in disbelief at the coiled dragon within the source. If it stretched out, it would be nearly a meter long, possessing a unique aura that was not imposing but sacred.

“It’s dead, not alive, but this is definitely a heaven-defying treasure!”

Many had witnessed Ye Fan cut out Grand Luo Silver Essence before. Now, seeing him unearth another divine object like this, they were all astonished, and a commotion immediately broke out.

“What on earth is this thing? It smells so good! Could it be a dragon-shaped divine medicine?”

“A heaven-defying treasure! These people truly have boundless luck, obtaining treasures from two stone cuttings. It makes one jealous!”

A large crowd surged forward, all marveling and unable to identify what it was. Some suspected it might be the remains of a true dragon.

“Damn it, you dead dog, you’ve soaked my shoes!” Ye Fan kicked it.

At this moment, the big black dog’s drool flowed like a small stream. It clutched the divine source block with its large paws and cried out, “Mine! No one is allowed to take it!”

Duan De, as if possessed by a fiend, shoved Ye Fan aside and scrambled onto the big black dog, snatching at the divine source block, determined to claim it for himself.

For the two most shameless and greedy scoundrels to be so excited, it was undoubtedly a heaven-defying precious material. Clearly, both of them recognized it, fighting desperately and publicly squabbling over it.

“Could it be…” Ye Fan looked closely and suddenly realized. Just then, several powerful cultivators responsible for guarding the stones appeared and declared, “We wish to reclaim this heaven-defying treasure.”

“Reclaim what? What will you exchange for it?” The Black Emperor became agitated and immediately started whispering with Duan Fatty, actually plotting to loot the place on the spot.

“A rare Dragon Loach, and one of this size, almost like a true dragon, is beyond estimation, truly priceless in this world,” an old man stated.

“It really is a Dragon Loach! How can it be this big? It’s simply heaven-defying, a rare medicinal treasure!” many exclaimed.

In the present world, there were no more than ten Dragon Loaches, with the longest being only a foot. Three of them were in the Jade Pond, and one was in the Immortal Mansion world, which Ye Fan had been fortunate enough to see.

A foot-long Dragon Loach was almost comparable to a Medicine King. This one, nearly a meter long, was even more extraordinary, its pure fragrance emanating from the divine source.

“Unfortunately, it’s dead, its blood congealed, and its medicinal properties greatly diminished. Otherwise, such a rare Dragon Loach, unseen for ages, would definitely be worth half an immortal medicine,” an knowledgeable elder sighed.

Even so, this Dragon Loach was invaluable, almost peerless. If used as the main ingredient for concoction, it could extend one’s lifespan by six hundred to a thousand years. What a concept! It would make even ancient Saints bow in supplication. In this world, there was nothing more precious than longevity, especially when one’s lifespan was nearing its end.

The meter-long Dragon Loach, entirely golden, lay coiled within the source. It looked even more like a true dragon than the three Ye Fan had seen in the Jade Pond swamp, appearing lifelike with its resplendent golden body emanating spiritual energy. Every drop of its essence blood within was a precious “life.”

Ultimately, the Black Emperor and Duan De’s looting plan fell apart. A large number of powerful cultivators, each exuding formidable aura, appeared around them, terrifyingly strong. If a battle truly ensued, escape would be impossible.

“What will you exchange for this dragon?” Ye Fan asked, remaining calm, seated on a special chair brought for them. Ji Ziyue also smiled and said, “This is a priceless immortal treasure. Do you have immortal medicine, or rare materials exclusive to Great Emperors? Apart from those, I can’t think of anything else that could be exchanged.”

“This…” The few subordinates of King Nine Phoenix were troubled. They truly had no valuable items for an equivalent exchange.

“May I speak with you gentlemen for a moment?” Just then, a black-robed powerhouse appeared. Everyone instinctively made way for him. He approached King Nine Phoenix’s subordinates.

“He’s the eldest grandson of Great Saint Huntuo, with one foot already in the Ancestor King realm!” people exclaimed. Everyone knew why he had come: he possessed the Nine Aperture Spirit-Awakening Divine Liquid, which could be exchanged for this Dragon Loach.

King Nine Phoenix’s subordinates dared not be negligent. How powerful was Great Saint Huntuo? A single individual capable of annihilating half a desolate star’s life forms! If he were provoked, there would be no escape, neither in heaven nor on earth, not even for King Nine Phoenix himself!

“For this matter, we need to immediately report to King Nine Phoenix. This Dragon Loach is truly too precious for us to make a decision,” King Nine Phoenix’s subordinates said with difficulty after their discussion.

“Very well, I will await King Nine Phoenix’s reply,” said Great Saint Huntuo’s eldest grandson.

Ye Fan sighed inwardly. He knew this would be the situation. However, even if he hadn’t cut open this stone, it would have been discovered by others sooner or later. The stone already had a crack, and with just a slight touch, it could have split open, inevitably releasing its inner fragrance. Any ordinary person walking by would have noticed it, let alone these powerful ancient races. Given this, it was better for him to cut it open and obtain some immortal treasures in return.

Two hours later, a powerful cultivator returned and announced, “King Nine Phoenix holds Great Saint Huntuo in immense reverence. Upon learning that he wishes to extend his lifespan by eight hundred years to contend with the heavens, he is greatly impressed and is willing to part with immortal treasures!”

“Thank you. There will surely be a generous reward in the future!” said Great Saint Huntuo’s eldest grandson. He then walked over and spoke to Ye Fan and the others, “I am willing to exchange the Nine Aperture Spirit-Awakening Divine Liquid for the Dragon Loach. Is that acceptable?”