Chapter 764: Ancestral Dragon Grass

"This must be the place."

Lu Yang and his three companions arrived at a small teahouse. It was a bustling and noisy place, filled with people from all walks of life.

"Waiter, a pot of high-mountain jasmine tea, please."

"Coming right up!"

According to Xiao Xinghai, this teahouse served as a secret hub for accepting quests. Ordering a pot of "high-mountain jasmine tea"—a tea that didn't actually exist—was the coded signal. It meant you weren't a regular customer, but a cultivator seeking a mission.

Dragons weren't always present to meet with cultivators seeking quests. Sometimes, one might have to wait for half a day before a dragon arrived. In the worst cases, no dragon would appear even after three days.

Lu Yang and his companions were fortunate. After drinking two pots of tea, a dragon sent them a telepathic message.

"Four young friends, please come to the end of the room on the west side for a discussion."

Lu Yang and the others quickly finished their tea. Despite not knowing what kind of tea the waiter had served, they had to admit it tasted quite good.

The four walked to the room on the west side. They found it empty except for a heavily cloaked dragon. The dragon clearly wished to conceal its identity from Lu Yang and his companions; only its two dragon horns were visible, confirming its draconic nature.

In dragon culture, horns are a source of immense pride and are never concealed.

"Are you here for dragon blood?"

"Yes, our friend is severely injured and needs dragon blood for healing."

The black-robed dragon snorted, dismissing Lu Yang's words as an attempt to garner sympathy. "We are strangers meeting by chance, each seeking what they need. There's no need to explain yourselves to me. What you intend to do with the dragon blood is of no concern to me."

"I need you to help me find the Ancestral Dragon Grass."

"Ancestral Dragon Grass? The legendary herb said to be favored by the ancient ancestors of the dragons, now on the verge of extinction?" Li Haoran recalled the herb's history from Qin Haoran's memories.

The black-robed dragon glanced at Li Haoran with a hint of surprise. It was unexpected that a young person today would know about Ancestral Dragon Grass, as even few of the older generation were aware of its existence.

"During the transportation of Ancestral Dragon Grass, my subordinate went missing. I don't know what happened—perhaps they were ambushed by my bitter rivals, or perhaps an accident occurred. However, I have a strong intuition that the Ancestral Dragon Grass is located in the Sea Market."

"My identity is sensitive, and my every move is likely monitored by my potential rivals. Therefore, it is inconvenient for me to search for the Ancestral Dragon Grass personally."

The black-robed dragon flicked out a drop of blood. "This is a drop of my dragon essence blood. If this blood approaches the Ancestral Dragon Grass, it will react. Take this drop of dragon blood with you to search for the Ancestral Dragon Grass. If you succeed in finding it, obtaining dragon blood will not be an issue."

Lu Yang took out a small porcelain bottle, put the dragon blood inside, and tied the bottle to his waist.

He could sense terrifying energy emanating from the drop of dragon blood. This was certainly not from a Soul Transformation stage cultivator, nor would an Essence Refinement stage cultivator possess such stable fluctuations.

Was the other party a Unity stage dragon?

As far as Lu Yang knew, Unity stage dragons were considered elders of the dragon race.

It seemed the dragon race was not a unified entity, with elders exercising mutual restraint.

If Daoist Friend Xinghai could be nourished by the dragon blood of a Unity stage dragon, the benefits would be immense.

The black-robed dragon waved its hand. "This matter is of great importance. You must proceed in secret and not allow anyone, especially other dragons, to discover your actions!"

"Also, take this box. It has the effect of blocking divine sense. If you find the Ancestral Dragon Grass, put it in this box so that others won't realize what you're carrying."

The black-robed dragon tossed a small wooden box to Lu Yang.

"Alright, go now. Report your progress to me in three days."

As Lu Yang and the others left the teahouse, Li Haoran pondered. He had heard that the old Dragon Emperor revered the ancient ancestors of the dragons and, by extension, also cherished Ancestral Dragon Grass. Could it be that this black-robed dragon intended to present the Ancestral Dragon Grass as a birthday gift to the old Dragon Emperor?

As the master of the Dragon Palace and ruler of the East Sea, the old Dragon Emperor possessed countless rare treasures. To truly satisfy him with a birthday gift, one would have to offer something unique, like the Ancestral Dragon Grass.

This explained why the dragon emphasized keeping their actions secret from other dragons. After all, which dragon wouldn't want to present Ancestral Dragon Grass as a birthday gift to the old Dragon Emperor and gain his favor?

Li Haoran's guess was correct; the black-robed dragon's intentions were precisely that.

He also considered that if there was no progress after three days and the Ancestral Dragon Grass couldn't be found, he would have to seek another item as a birthday gift.

Lu Yang had never heard of Ancestral Dragon Grass. When he asked Immortal Undying, she also claimed to have no knowledge of it.

"It's probably been renamed. It wasn't called that in our time. As for the herbs Xiao Ling liked... when did she ever like herbs? Oh, I remember now! For a while, she pretended to be a refined young lady, cultivating flowers and plants to attract Immortal Qilin's attention. Immortal Qilin was so suspicious during that period, constantly wondering if Xiao Ling had been possessed."

"Later, Xiao Ling realized that plan wasn't working, so she gave up on gardening and gifted all those plants to me. I saw how well Xiao Ling had cultivated them—the flowers and herbs were so robust—and I loved them so much that I cooked them all. I prepared a grand feast called the 'Hundred Herb Banquet' and invited Immortal Suiyue, the other four, and Xiao Ling Lianyuan."

"Afterward, I don't know who started the rumor that Immortal Jiuzhong sampled the hundred herbs and fainted on the way home."

"What nonsense! I clearly saw Immortal Jiuzhong happily bouncing and jumping during the meal."

Lu Yang thought to himself, *Immortal Jiuzhong probably just experienced hallucinations from eating them.*

Lu Yang remembered that the second level of the secret realm where Senior Lianyuan was sleeping contained many rare ancient flowers and herbs, among which Ancestral Dragon Grass should be present.

However, the Dragon Palace was too far from the Demon Realm. A round trip would likely take so long that Xiao Xinghai's injuries would have already healed naturally.

The Inn.

Though called an inn, it didn't actually offer rooms but rather cultivation grotto-heavens for practitioners.

The Four Thieves of Juxuan Island rented a grotto-heaven.

"Let's hide here for a few days," the eldest brother said. "Unless absolutely necessary, don't leave the grotto-heaven during this time."

The eldest brother suddenly recalled something. "By the way, Fourth Brother, when we stole the treasure, a dragon stumbled upon us. After we destroyed his body and traces, we also took a box from his hand. What was inside that box?"

"I was in a hurry at the time, so I just quickly opened the box and glanced inside. It was a plant, but I don't know what kind."

The shifty-eyed Fourth Brother pulled out a wooden box. Inside, an herb shaped like a dragon's claw lay still.

The eldest brother looked it over from all angles but couldn't identify the herb's origin. "What is this thing? Does anyone recognize it?"

"No idea."

"Is it Dragon Claw Grass?"

"Third Brother, you know it?"

"Uh, no, I don't. I just named it that because it looks like a dragon's claw."

"...If you don't know, then shut up!"

"Understood."

"This thing must be incredibly valuable. That dragon was utterly obliterated, yet this box and this herb remained perfectly intact."

The elders searching for the dragon clan's supreme treasure had sent their subordinates ahead while they gathered to analyze the situation. "The Dragon Pearl cannot be stored in a spatial ring, so the thieves who stole it must have found another way to conceal it."

"It also requires an effect that blocks divine sense, to prevent us from using our spiritual perception to locate it."