Chapter 761: Dragon and Phoenix Contend

When Lu Yang visited Tao Yaoye, he brought a memory orb as promised. The scenes within the orb were incredibly precious.

Lying on the bed, Tao Yaoye held the memory orb. Upon seeing Clan Leader Xiao ruthlessly beating Xiao Xinghai, she initially thought she hadn't rested well. "Didn't you five go to act?" she wondered. "How did it turn into a real fight?"

Perhaps this is the Kunpeng clan's tradition, Tao Yaoye mused, where ancestors beat clan leaders, and clan leaders beat their sons, passing down physical memory through generations.

Clan Leader Xiao's angry voice also emanated from the memory orb. "You brat!" he roared. "I wondered why I was constantly being blamed for things I didn't do lately. So, you're the culprit!"

"Dad, go easy!" Xiao Xinghai pleaded. "Can you blame me? If your reputation wasn't so bad, would anyone even doubt it wasn't you?"

"You're lecturing me now!"

As expected, the battle between an Integration Stage cultivator and a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator was entirely one-sided.

Unfortunately, the four Calabash Brothers' sea disturbance only reached the point of flooding Penglai Island, so Tao Yaoye had to imagine this particular scene herself. It wasn't too difficult to imagine, though. When Clan Leader Xiao punished Xiao Xinghai, he summoned towering waves to engulf him. If Xiao Xinghai were replaced by Penglai Island, it would likely be submerged too.

Tao Yaoye couldn't help but laugh out loud. Lying bored in bed, watching the memory orb proved quite entertaining.

"Friend Xinghai, are you alright? Clan Leader Xiao hit you too hard," Meng Jingzhou repeated, echoing his earlier words.

"Sigh, my father doesn't understand my good intentions," Xiao Xinghai said, lying on the bed while Lu Yang and the other three peeled fruit for him or poured him water. "Currently, our clan only has Venerable Black Feather, a Tribulation Transcending ancestor. My father is the most likely candidate to become the next, but unfortunately, he can't bring himself to be ruthless enough. So, as his son, I had to give him a push."

"The so-called Tribulation Transcending stage is a realm one can only advance to by experiencing tribulations. But there's more than one type of tribulation. Lightning tribulation is a tribulation; isn't the hatred I drew for him also a tribulation?"

Lu Yang kindly comforted Xiao Xinghai, "Friend Xinghai, don't say anymore. You said the same thing when Clan Leader Xiao beat you just now, and he didn't believe you. In fact, he hit you even harder." Otherwise, Xiao Xinghai wouldn't be unable to get out of bed. He was now weaker than Tao Yaoye after she used her Feathered Immortal Body.

The good news was he could recover by taking elixirs. The bad news was Clan Leader Xiao had forbidden him from taking elixirs to recover. This was a rule. A Nascent Soul Stage cultivator challenging an Integration Stage cultivator and forcing the latter to use rule-based power was enough for Xiao Xinghai to be proud of.

"How about we try my Nirvana True Flame?" Meng Jingzhou's palm glowed with an orange-red flame, which was indeed the restorative Nirvana True Flame.

Xiao Xinghai quickly shook his head. "No, no. To cultivate the Dragon Transformation Art, I've acquired some dragon characteristics. Nirvana True Flame represents the phoenix clan. When dragons and phoenixes clash, I'll only suffer further injuries."

This was a theory they hadn't heard before.

"Fairy, is that true?" Lu Yang asked the ancient cultivator for confirmation.

"It's true," she replied. "Xiao Ling and Lian Yi have always been rivals, whether competing for immortal status or vying for the Qilin Immortal. So, all their rivalries revolve around immortals, do they?"

Lu Yang was speechless.

"It likely became a tradition, flowing in the bloodlines of later dragon and phoenix clans. However, there's also the saying 'dragon and phoenix bringing prosperity,' which indicates that their powers can coexist. I've seen them quite united when fending off rivals, such as the young Qiongqi or Nine-tailed Foxes. It's just that this young Kunpeng is too severely injured to regulate both powers and allow the dragon and phoenix to coexist."

Xiao Xinghai added, "But there's still a way."

"What is it?"

"Dragon blood doesn't have healing properties, but it strengthens the body. As long as I immerse myself in dragon blood, I can still speed up my recovery." Dragon blood was not considered an elixir and thus fell outside the rules.

"You have dragon blood?" Lu Yang recalled the Immortal Fairy telling him that a key to mastering the Dragon Transformation Art was to immerse oneself in a large amount of dragon blood.

"I don't have any on hand; I used it all up when cultivating the Dragon Transformation Art. But we can buy some at the Dragon Palace Sea Market. That's where I got the dragon blood I used before."

Lu Yang and the other three discussed it. Su Yiren would stay behind to look after Tao Yaoye, while the four of them would go visit the Dragon Palace Sea Market.

"Take me too!" Xiao Xinghai struggled to get up. "The fresher the dragon blood, the better. If you go back and forth, the effect will be greatly reduced." Startled, Lu Yang and the other three quickly pushed him back onto the bed.

"You can barely stand, how can you go to the sea market?"

"You can carry me," Xiao Xinghai insisted, still unwilling to give up.

"Wouldn't that be too obvious? Would Clan Leader Xiao let you leave?"

"No problem, I have a way."

Lu Yang and the other three carried a coffin and flew towards the Dragon Palace Sea Market. Xiao Xinghai was a prominent prodigy in the East Sea. Being carried on a stretcher to the Dragon Palace Sea Market would be quite humiliating. With a coffin lid, they wouldn't have to worry about him being recognized. It was a win-win situation. The coffin was a magical artifact that could block divine sense.

The Dragon Palace Sea Market was the largest in the East Sea, a gathering place for all sorts of people. Unlike the Penglai Island Sea Market, which was exclusively for humans, the Dragon Palace Sea Market was frequented by both sea creatures and humans. The Dragon Palace Sea Market was a chaotic mix of various beings, and new things happened there every day. However, someone being carried around the market in a coffin was a first.

"Who passed away?"

"The ones carrying the coffin are four humans. Could it be a human elder?"

"Then what are they doing here? Are they planning a sea burial in the Dragon Palace? Will the Dragon Palace allow it?"

"Who knows?"

"Strange, why do those four humans look so happy?"

"Perhaps joy born from extreme sorrow."

Lu Yang and the other three arrived at the Dragon Palace Sea Market, chatting and laughing. The market was built deep underwater. While the deep sea should be dim and utterly dark, the extravagant Dragon Palace used countless luminous pearls to form a grand array, illuminating the depths brightly.

"This place is truly massive," Lu Yang and the others remarked as they descended, looking down at the Dragon Palace Sea Market. It resembled a giant dragon adorned with countless jewels, sleeping on the seabed. Even with sea creatures wandering and buildings being constructed upon its form, nothing could disturb its slumber.

At the end of the sea market stood an ancient, grand hall, known to everyone in the East Sea as the Dragon Palace itself. The Dragon Palace was not open to outsiders. Even flood dragons, just a step away from transforming into true dragons, were not permitted to enter.

"We'll see what the Dragon Palace looks like when the Old Dragon Emperor's birthday banquet arrives," they noted. The Old Dragon Emperor's banquet was fast approaching, and Lu Yang and the others could gain entry through Su Yiren's connections. Given the reputation of the Nine Sons of the Dao-Seeking Sect, they couldn't hope to receive an invitation; showing up uninvited would be walking into a trap.

"This is a complete disregard for my dignity!" the Mermaid Immortal Fairy exclaimed, swimming around in the mental space, complaining on Lu Yang's behalf. "As the second-in-command of the Immortal lineage and Lian Yi's senior brother, the Old Dragon Emperor should personally come out and invite you into the Dragon Palace!"

Lu Yang, however, didn't feel he was being treated unfairly.