Chapter 769: Ao Ling

"Oh no, Brother Lu is gone!" Man Gu exclaimed in a panic, seeing Lu Yang flying off with the Dragon Orb.

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes, completely unconcerned about Lu Yang's safety. That brat, Lu Yang, could summon the Senior Sister outside and had an immortal protecting him inside; he'd be cursed if anything happened to him.

The Dragon Clan was unaware of the inside story. Lu Yang and the Dragon Orb vanishing together was beyond their ability to resolve. "Report this to the Palace Master immediately! Let her decide!"

At the Dao-Seeking Sect, Tianmen Peak, inside the Council Hall.

Yun Zhi was holding a routine meeting to discuss recent matters, attended by eight elders and listened to by Han Hai Daojun. Halfway through the meeting, Gan Tian burst into the hall and delivered a letter that had just arrived from the East Sea to Yun Zhi.

Yun Zhi opened the envelope, scanned its contents with her spiritual sense, and her expression became somewhat strange. "Junior Niece Yun, is something urgent happening?" the Grand Elder asked. If it weren't urgent, Gan Tian wouldn't have interrupted the meeting.

Yun Zhi did not explain, but instead used her magical power to project the letter's contents onto the center of the hall for everyone to see. The eight elders also showed strange expressions.

"Junior Nephew Lu Yang snatched the Dragon Orb? Do they want someone from our Dao-Seeking Sect to go to the Dragon Palace to discuss what to do about this?"

"What kind of comprehension is that? From the letter's description, it's clearly the Dragon Orb that snatched Junior Nephew Lu Yang!"

In reality, the Dragon Palace didn't know how to describe the event, so they kept it very vague. Considering Lu Yang had Yun Zhi's backing, they couldn't rule out the possibility of him having special means to snatch the Dragon Orb from a group of Integration Stage dragons.

It wasn't the first day they knew Lu Yang. Although he often deceived people with truths, arbitrarily used acting sect master authority to challenge those above his rank, measured salt for cooking by the second, formed an ancient Heavenly Court to trick demonic cults, and frequently practiced strange spells... Lu Yang had never engaged in stealthy robbery. Therefore, it must have been the Dragon Orb that snatched Lu Yang.

"What's the origin of this Dragon Orb, to be snatching people away?"

"What do we do? Who goes?" The eight elders exchanged glances. Except for Old Man Ba, their reputations in the East Sea weren't great. They worried they might not find Lu Yang there, and instead get themselves trapped.

"Lu Yang is the hope of the Dao-Seeking Sect; we can't just leave him! I'll go!" The Grand Elder took the lead, and the other seven elders responded enthusiastically.

A clear, youthful voice spoke, "Alright, stop arguing, I'll go."

The eight elders looked over to see Han Hai Daojun, who had been listening in but hadn't spoken until now. "I once said that if anything happened to Lu Yang, I would protect him once. This Daojun cannot break his word; it's time to fulfill that promise."

Seeing their Ancestor was going to intervene, the eight elders felt relieved. With the Ancestor stepping in, Lu Yang would surely be fine. Yun Zhi saw Han Hai Daojun's confidence and found it inappropriate to stop him, so she let him proceed.

"Then we'll trouble you, Ancestor."

Han Hai Daojun laughed heartily, "A trivial matter!"

"Where is this place?" Lu Yang looked around blankly. There were green mountains, clear waters, and lush, endless grasslands, like a paradise. Just moments ago, he had been firmly attached to the Dragon Orb, his mouth full of wind, so how had he gotten here in the blink of an eye?

The Undying Fairy emerged from Lu Yang's body, exclaiming in wonder, "This is the internal space of the orb."

"This Immortal doesn't remember this orb having such a structure. Was it refined after this Immortal's death?"

"It's designed cautiously enough. If it weren't for the Dragon-Patterned Bracelet opening this space, this Immortal wouldn't have realized there was a hidden world here."

The orb was originally refined from an entire star, so adding an internal space to it was effortless. "The Dragon-Patterned Bracelet is the key to entering the orb's space. Strange, it didn't have this function before."

"Moreover, if the orb's space isn't opened via the Dragon-Patterned Bracelet, it will teleport to a random location."

Lu Yang stroked his chin in thought. To reach this space, one needed to satisfy three conditions: the Dragon-Patterned Bracelet, the Dragon Orb, and revealing the Dragon Orb's outer shell. Especially the part about teleporting to a random location if the space isn't opened with the Dragon-Patterned Bracelet, making it impossible for anyone to find. It was almost as if it was guarding against someone.

"Look over there!" The Undying Fairy excitedly pointed in a direction. Lu Yang looked where she pointed and saw a vast, boundless lake. Mist rose from the lake, making it seem like a celestial realm. Faintly, a small pavilion could be seen in the center of the lake.

"It's Xiao Ling!" The Undying Fairy exclaimed without hesitation, immediately pulling Lu Yang's hand and rushing towards it.

Lu Yang felt as if he had teleported; in less than an instant, he arrived at the small pavilion. Lu Yang saw the interior of the small pavilion clearly and unconsciously held his breath.

In the center of the small pavilion lay a beautiful woman in a black dress, its collar and cuffs trimmed with exquisite cloud-patterned brocade. She resembled a dark lotus blooming in the night, both solemn and mysterious. Her raven hair cascaded like a waterfall, gently spilling over the edge of the bed, gleaming faintly and accentuating her snow-white, delicate, and smooth skin. A pair of dragon horns atop her head, radiating a warm, jade-like luster, revealed her race.

Was this fairy the Qilin Immortal's other wife, the Dragon Clan's ancient ancestor Ao Ling? Immediately, Lu Yang noticed something unusual and froze. Even with the vast difference in their cultivation levels, he could sense that Ao Ling's soul was shattered, practically riddled with holes. She was as dead as one could be.

Connecting this to the process deduced at the Immortal War ruins, could it be that after the Qilin Immortal escorted Senior Ao Ling away, they encountered another attack, leading to Senior Ao Ling's demise?

"Fairy, this..."

The Undying Fairy also saw this scene and, rarely, became furious. Her graceful eyebrows shot up like sharp swords, and the aura she exuded caused the entire space to become unstable. "Who did this foul deed?!"

"If Xiao Ling hadn't used the 'feigning death' technique, she would be dead by now!"

"Fairy, Senior Ao Ling is still alive?" Lu Yang asked, incredulous. She was in such a state; could she really be saved?

"Of course. During the 'feigning death' technique, any damage sustained falls under the category of 'feigning death'."

"Since it's 'feigning death', she is naturally still alive."

The Undying Fairy extended a slender, white finger. At its tip, shimmering immortal energy condensed, dazzling like a star descending into the mortal world. In an instant, an invisible ripple emanated from her fingertip, instantly enveloping Ao Ling, whose soul was shattered and who had long been dead. The soul, shattered into countless fragments, gathered and reconnected, restoring Ao Ling's original appearance.

Life and death, destruction and rebirth, the Dao of nature was unequivocally revealed at this moment. The principles contained within were far beyond Lu Yang's current comprehension.

Ao Ling slowly opened her eyes, her vitality restored. She turned her head to look at the Undying Fairy, whose face was filled with anticipation. Her voice trembled, and tears first welled in the corners of her eyes, then silently streamed down her cheeks, leaving two clear, transparent trails that dropped onto her clothes like broken pearls.

"You are Sister Undying. Have my husband and the others finally resurrected you?"