'What a familiar scene…'
Lu Zhou smiled faintly as he looked at the figure in the fog. He raised his arms slightly and asked, "What do you think of my robe?"
This was tantamount to slapping Ying Long's face. Lu Zhou was exposing and poking Ying Long's sore spot.
Thunderclouds rolled in the sky as though they were conveying Ying Long's mood.
A growl rang in the air like that of a mad dog that was about to pounce over to bite.
After a moment, a voice laden with fury said, "Emperor Yu, you betrayed me?"
Emperor Yu, who was below, said with an innocent expression, "I didn't betray you. Your whereabouts are too obvious."
Ying Long, the Raindragon, had been hovering above the Great Abyss Land for so many years. Those who were well-versed with the history of fierce beasts would be able to guess its location.
In the past, in order to hide the truth, Emperor Yu had deliberately spread rumors about Ying Long being trapped in the Thousand Serenities Tower to mislead everyone. After all, it stayed in the fog and could not be seen clearly. Those who did not know better, which were many, believed the rumor.
"Unholy One, there's only enmity between us, no grace," Ying Long said in a deep voice.
Lu Zhou nodded. "Indeed. I have only enmity with you. Hence, I came to seek revenge."
"You demon! You've already gotten your revenge, right? Not only did you heavily injure me, causing my cultivation to weaken greatly, but you also pulled a few of my tendons out and weaved them into a robe! If anything, I should be the one seeking revenge!" Ying Long said indignantly, barely able to contain his anger. His voice was like thunder when he spoke.
Lu Zhou dropped his hands, causing the robe to swish loudly. The aura of the tendons in his robe was exactly the same as the one in the fog. He said, "Well, I'm standing in front of you now. You can seek revenge from me now so I can seek revenge from you again."
These words were quite… logical.
Ying Long was extremely agitated by these words, but he did not know how to vent his anger. He huffed, causing the fog and clouds to churn.
At the same time, thunder clapped and lightning flashed in the sky as the wind raged and the rain fell on the Great Abyss Land.
The originally beautiful and bright Great Abyss Land turned dark in just a blink of an eye.
The Feather tribesmen below rushed to the city wall and looked up at the sky.
The Great Abyss Land's Pillar of Destruction creaked loudly, looking as though it was about to collapse.
Upon seeing this, the Feather tribesmen grew extremely worried.
Finally, Ying Ling roared, "Scram!"
When the Feather tribesmen heard the angry roar, they were curious as to who was so brave as to provoke Ying Long.
Lu Zhou asked calmly, "Are you angry because you're embarrassed?"
"I'm not angry. I just feel that dealing with shameless humans is very annoying," Ying Long retorted.
"I'm trying to reason with you. Don't you want to seek revenge?" Lu Zhou asked.
Ying Long fell silent. He did not make a move.
In fact, during the commanders' competition, Ying Long had already sensed the Unholy One. In all honesty, he would rather not take revenge in case he lost his tendons again. He thought to himself, 'This old thing must have bad intentions again!'
Finally, Ying Long said, "Hurry up and leave! I'm tired!"
Boom!
The illusory figure disappeared before an immense figure surged back into the fog, vanishing from sight.
"Ying Long."
Lu Zhou called out thrice, but there was no response from Ying Long at all. With that, he had no choice but to use his trump card. He said, "I have a way to help you recover your cultivation."
Perhaps, Ying Long had been deeply traumatized by the past, it did not take the bait at all.
Lu Zhou continued to say, "If you're not interested, then forget it. Don't come and beg me when the Great Abyss Land's Pillar of Destruction collapses. I wonder what I should do with this Heaven Suppressing Pestle."
With a wave of his hand, Lu Zhou brought the Heaven Suppressing Pestle out.
The Heaven Suppressing Pestle spun in the air, making loud swooshing noises.
As though sensing the Heaven Suppressing Pestle, the Great Abyss Land's Pillar of Destruction began to creak loudly.
Finally, Lu Zhou put away the Heaven Suppressing Pestle and made a move to leave after he said, "Farewell."
Ying Long could not endure it anymore. The wind surged and the clouds moved as it transformed into its human form again. Then, he appeared below the fog and said, "Stop!"
"Hm?" Lu Zhou turned around and looked at Ying Long with a raised eyebrow.
"The Great Abyss Land's Pillar of Destruction is extremely tough! With me guarding it, how can it collapse?"
"You're Ying Long, the ancestor of all dragons. Your perception should be far better than that of humans. Even if I don't say it, you should know it very well in your heart. Otherwise, how could you come out with just a few words from me, right?" Lu Zhou said.
"..."
Four Pillars of Destruction had already collapsed. The pressure on the Great Abyss Land was even greater now. When all nine pillars collapsed, one could imagine how much pressure the pillar in the Great Abyss Land, which supported the vast Great Void in the center, would be under. At that time, the Great Void would be very unstable and could collapse with just a blow of the wind.
The land had split more than once, with the most serious case being the one from 100,000 years ago. At that time, there were no Pillars of Destruction. After the Pillars of Destruction appeared, every time the land split, the pillars would shake. It was the power of the earth and the Heaven Suppressing Pestles that continued to mend and maintain the Pillars of Destruction.
"Are you helping me out of kindness?" Ying Long asked suspiciously.
"Of course not," Lu Zhou said, "I have one condition. As long as you lend me your divine soul pearl, I'll bring you to a good place. There's enough energy there to help you recover."
"My divine soul pearl?!" Ying Long's voice trembled as his eyes widened.
Despite not being in his true form, when Ying Long fully opened his eyes, a light that was far brighter than the one from Meng Zhang's moon-like eyes illuminated the Great Abyss Land. It was as though it was being illuminated by two suns.
The Feather tribesmen quickly lowered their heads and closed their eyes to avoid being blinded.
At the same time, Jie Jin'an and Emperor Yu watched in amazement.
Ying Long flatly refused Lu Zhou. "That's impossible!"
Lu Zhou's blue eyes were not affected by the blindingly bright light at all. He said, "If we can't come to an agreement, then so be it. Let's not talk anymore."
Lu Zhou repeated the same trick. After descending for a while, he stopped and said, "When the sky collapses and smashes you to death, I'll come again."
"Wait!" Ying Long called out again.
"What?"
"Are you really a man of your word?" Ying Long asked, filled with reluctance.
Lu Zhou said in a clear voice, "In this world, there aren't many people who keep their promises like I do."
Ying Long did not answer immediately as though it was struggling with its thoughts.
Just like a person's temper, the wind gradually calmed down, and the clouds stopped moving.
Then, Ying Long flew over. Its human form was that of an ordinary old man in his 80s. He was dressed in red armor, and he looked majestic. In just a blink of an eye, he appeared in front of Lu Zhou. He looked at Lu Zhou carefully, shaking and nodding his head. Then, he smiled and said with a hint of surprise, "Unholy One, some of the lands have returned to the sea, and countless creatures have returned to the earth, but you've only gotten younger…"
"This is nothing to me," Lu Zhou said.
Ying Long sighed and recalled the past. Then, he asked, "Do you think I still hate you?"
Lu Zhou remained silent.
Ying Long continued to say, "I don't hate humans anymore. 100,000 years ago, the Great Void rose to the sky, and the Unknown Land stayed on land. The dragon clan disappeared from then on, and more than half of the humans died. At that time, I understood one thing. Be it humans or dragons, even the weakest creature has the right to live. Even the strongest creature will die one day."
Lu Zhou was a little stunned by Ying Long's ability to see through life and death.
Humans shaved their heads to become monks after deciding to leave the secular world. They spent their lives meditating in front of Buddha to be able to say such words.
To think that as a fierce beast, Ying Long had such an understanding.
"What's the point of revenge? It's just like the essence of Buddhist teachings…" Ying Long said.
"Are you practicing Buddhism?" Lu Zhou asked.
Ying Long nodded slightly.
Lu Zhou: "..."
'You're really awesome…'
Ying Long joined his palms together and said with the air of an immortal, "Put down the butcher's knife and practice Buddhism… Isn't this what humans like to say?"
"Yes," Lu Zhou said perfunctorily.
Ying Long said, "In the end, all of us return to the earth. Why bother fighting? Buddha said that stubbornness is the source of pain. If I persist in being stubborn, I'll only make more mistakes and bring myself more pain. There's a Buddhist saying…"
Lu Zhou raised his hand and interjected, "Stop."
Ying Long stopped talking.
Lu Zhou said, "I didn't come to hear you preach about Buddhism. I'm a very blunt person. Are you going to lend me your divine soul pearl or not?"
Ying Long thought about it for a moment before he sighed heavily. "Buddhists believe in karma. Perhaps, I owed you in a previous life. I'll agree to your request. However, you must first bring me to that place you speak of."
"This is not a problem," Lu Zhou said.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yu immediately flew up and said, "No! Senior Ying Long, you promised me to guard the Great Abyss Land. How can you leave now?"
Ying Long looked at Emperor Yu and said, "Indeed, I made a promise to you, but… the pillar will collapse eventually. It's not that I don't want to continue guarding it, but it's… meaningless."
"Impossible! The Great Abyss Land's Pillar of Destruction won't collapse! It's the strongest pillar! If you leave, what will happen to it in the future?" Emperor Yu asked in a slightly trembling voice.
Ying Long sighed. "Emperor Yu, let's end things here. I've been guarding this place for about 80,000 years. It's about time."
Emperor Yu said anxiously, "It's not enough. The pillar cannot and won't collapse!"
"It's enough!" Ying Long said in a raised voice. Then, he softened his tone again before he continued to say, "Fate comes and goes. There's a beginning and ending to everything."
Then, Ying Long waved his hand.
With that, the fog above the Great Abyss Land began to disperse, revealing the sky. The sunlight from Cloud Domain shone down weakly on the Great Abyss Land.
Then, Lu Zhou nodded slightly and flew out of the Great Abyss Land.
Ying Long and Jie Jin'an followed suit.
Emperor Yu wanted to call out to stop them, but the elders flew over and pulled him back.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
"You mustn't!"
The Feather tribesmen could only shake their heads helplessly.
Emperor Yu let out a long sigh and looked at the sky he muttered, "Is the sky really going to fall and exterminate our Feather tribe?"
The elders sighed as well.
"The Unholy One has gone too far!"
"To think Ying Long, with its status, was deceived by him!"
"Now, we can only wait for the Sacred Temple to act. Great Emperor Ming Xin still has his troops. I believe he must have a plan. It's impossible for him to do nothing now that the Unholy One has returned."
After listening to these words, Emperor Yu gradually calmed down. Only with these words could he comfort himself a little.