Chapter 731: Sealing the Bloodline

Tao Yaoye was very happy to hear she could go to the East Sea with Lu Yang and readily agreed. Li Haoran was the same; upon hearing he could leave, he immediately agreed, afraid Lu Yang might change his mind.

"Go to the East Sea? Excellent, excellent!" Mang Gu's eyes lit up. Then, remembering something, he showed a troubled expression.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yang asked.

"Aren't there many sea tribes in the East Sea? Brother Lu, you know my bloodline. Although it becomes incredibly powerful when fighting sea creatures, it also enrages them. I'm worried that as soon as I arrive in the East Sea, before I even do anything, I'll be surrounded by sea creatures."

Lu Yang remembered. This was the blessing the Immortal Fairy had bestowed upon the ancient barbarians. "That is indeed a problem... Fairy, do you have a good solution?" Lu Yang thought for a moment, deciding it would be quicker to ask the culprit directly.

"Of course! Just use the Invincible Infant and beat all the surrounding sea creatures." The Immortal Fairy giggled and waved her tiny fists, as if there were invisible enemies in the spiritual space.

"...Is there a more peaceful way?" Lu Yang always advocated avoiding conflict if possible.

"This Immortal can reluctantly enhance the barbarian boy's bloodline effect. That way, even Integration-stage sea creatures will fear him, ensuring you five can walk around unimpeded in the East Sea. Although this might attract the hatred of Tribulation-stage sea creatures, how many Tribulation-stage beings can there be in the East Sea? You won't encounter them."

"...Can we try a different method?" Lu Yang had heard that the East Sea had a Dragon Palace and nine major sea tribes, implying at least ten Tribulation-stage cultivators. Moreover, it was obvious that a colossal entity like the Dragon Palace wouldn't have only one Tribulation-stage cultivator, the Old Dragon Emperor.

The Immortal Fairy reluctantly said, "Then only sealing remains. Temporarily seal the ancient barbarian bloodline and unseal it after leaving the East Sea."

Lu Yang was overjoyed. "Then that's the method!"

The Immortal Fairy then drew an extremely abstruse array. "What is this?"

"It's a sealing array. Your cultivation isn't high enough to draw it. Have your Second Elder draw it instead."

"Alright."

The group found Grandfather Ba at the entrance of the Medicinal Garden. Grandfather Ba was lying on a recliner, with a palm-sized leaf covering his face, humming a comfortable tune. Two half-human-tall leaves hovered above his head, gently swaying like fans.

"Grandfather Ba, we need your help with something."

Grandfather Ba opened his eyes, removed the leaf from his face, and looked at Lu Yang and the others with an unaccustomed earnestness. "Just say what you need to say. Don't look at me like that."

"A few of us are planning to go to the East Sea for a couple of days. Mang Gu's bloodline tends to attract hostility, and I just happened to find an array in an ancient text that can seal bloodlines. So, we're here to ask for your help."

"Oh, so that's it. That's easy. What does the array look like?"

"Here." Lu Yang took out the array pattern he had copied from the spiritual space.

Grandfather Ba took it, marveling, "As expected of an ancient array, its design is truly exquisite. Wait here. I'll be done in an hour." For an unfamiliar array, Grandfather Ba needed to study it carefully before he could draw it. The layers, stroke order, and amount of spiritual energy to use were all areas requiring research and experimentation.

An hour later, Grandfather Ba told Mang Gu to lift his shirt, slapped his stomach, and an ancient seal appeared on it.

"Done. Speaking of which, I've sealed bloodlines for people before, but none were as ingenious as the sealing array you found, Lu Yang."

"Whose did you seal?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

"It was a friend I made in my youth, from the East Sea Dragon Palace, named Ao Ran."

"You have friends from the Dragon Palace?" Lu Yang and the others were surprised. They had assumed it would be like the Demon Realm, where the Nine Sons of Dao were infamous, and they had prepared themselves to be universally opposed.

Grandfather Ba glared at Lu Yang and the others disapprovingly. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with me having a friend in the Dragon Palace? It's Old Ninth who's universally opposed."

Lu Yang mumbled an "Oh." So it was similar to the situation in the Demon Realm; their mental preparation hadn't been in vain.

"He possesses the purest Dragon bloodline. He asked me to seal most of his bloodline so that his apparent strength would be weaker."

"Why would he do that?" Lu Yang and the others were puzzled.

"So that when someone provokes him, he can say with a dark expression, 'You forced me to unseal it.'"

Lu Yang was speechless.

"Be careful when you go to the East Sea. Although the Dragon Palace maintains order, the situation there is still quite chaotic."

"Quite chaotic?"

"The East Sea doesn't just have sea tribes; there are humans too. The sea tribes live in the water, and humans live on islands. Due to historical reasons, the two races have held long-standing grievances and frequently engage in conflict. Since it's outside the jurisdiction of the Great Xia, their skirmishes can be quite unrestrained."

Not only Lu Yang but also Meng Jingzhou had never heard of such things; they knew little about the East Sea. Only Li Haoran, with his past life memories, knew more about the East Sea. In particular, the Nine Nether Cult had expanded its operations there, engaging in secret transactions. No matter how far the reach of Great Xia extended, it couldn't reach the East Sea. The smuggling operations currently undertaken by the Nine Nether Cult were expanded during Qin Haoran's time as sect leader. Qin Haoran had another reason for expanding overseas operations: so he could flee to the East Sea if creditors ever came knocking. Unfortunately, this demonic sect leader was bound by love and confined himself to Great Xia.

Grandfather Ba kindly reminded them, "Oh, and none of you have been underwater before, so your swimming skills are probably not great. Before you go to the East Sea, it's best to exchange for a Water-Repelling Bead. The Mission Hall has them, and they'll help you move freely underwater." Unlike the Immortal Fairy's water-repelling spell, which drains water from both enemies and allies, the Water-Repelling Bead genuinely repels water.

"Can I ask what Master, that old man, did in the East Sea?"

"Oh, a lot! For example, he had an ambiguous relationship with a Dragon Palace princess."

Lu Yang was shocked. He hadn't expected that his master, now old and faded, had once been so dashing in his youth. "Master, that old man, had an ambiguous relationship with a Dragon Palace princess?!"

"It wasn't quite ambiguous. When Old Ninth was young, he needed a treasured item from the Dragon Palace to save someone. That item was the Dragon Palace princess's favorite artifact, hidden in her belly. So, Old Ninth transformed into a tiny form, snuck into the princess's belly, and stole the treasure. After the incident, Old Ninth kept calling the Dragon Palace princess 'Mama'."

Lu Yang was speechless.

The five thanked Grandfather Ba and headed to the Mission Hall. Each exchanged for a Water-Repelling Bead. The beads were expensive, but the five had accumulated a large number of contribution points from completing missions, so the cost was negligible.

Seeing Lu Yang and the others exchanging for Water-Repelling Beads, the senior sister at the Mission Hall quickly called out Dai Bufan. Dai Bufan had thought Lu Yang was taking the four to undertake some major task, but he relaxed when he heard they were just accompanying Old Ma on a family visit and spending a couple of days in the East Sea.

"Go on, go on, and have fun."