Chapter 1943 — 1943: Azure Dragon Clan

"Appeasing the Great One?" Yuan raised an eyebrow.

The Dragon Emperor gave a solemn nod and began to explain, "Just as we are devoted to Dragon Goddess Yeyou, the Azure Dragon Clan offers their loyalty to the Great One. They would go to any lengths just to earn even a sliver of his attention."

"Unfortunately for them, the Great One rarely shows interest in anything, as he already possesses everything one could desire. However, there is one exception—he always shows interest in matters related to Dragon Goddess Yeyou. And while our Dragon Spiral Mountain may not hold any true connection to her… It's enough to pique the Great One's interest."

"Fortunately for us, the Great One is too prideful to personally take over this place, hence the Azure Dragon Clan's motivation. Anyway, if we want to activate the teleport formation, we will need to retrieve the key from them, but they definitely won't let it go without a fight."

After taking a moment to digest the information, Yuan asked, "How did you lose it in the first place?"

A stiff smile made its way on the Dragon Emperor's face as he spoke, "I'm ashamed to even say this, but we lost it in a bet."

Yuan looked at him with a dumbfounded face.

"A bet?"

He nodded and explained, "Every five hundred years, all dragon families with royal bloodlines gather to have their youngest evaluated for talent. During the last gathering, we made a wager with the Azure Dragon Clan—staking the key on our belief that our family would produce the most gifted genius. But in the end… they won."

"In other words, they won the key fair and square, huh?" Yuan sighed. He was hoping that the Azure Dragon Clan had acquired the key by force, giving him justification to reclaim it by force.

"Anyway, I'll think of something to reclaim the key. Is there a way to contact the Azure Dragon Clan? I'd like to have a conversation with them."

"Of course. There's no way the Azure Dragon Clan would refuse audience with the Immortal Monarch," said the Dragon Emperor.

Yuan quickly shook his head and said, "No, I don't want to reveal my identity. In fact, I expect everyone here to keep my identity a secret. It's not time for the world to know that I have returned… not yet."

"I understand. In that case, while it might not be peaceful, we can still set up a meeting with them. However, we'll need a reason to do so. They won't just accept a meeting for no reason."

Yuan began pondering in silence. A few moments later, a sly smile appeared on his face. The Dragon Emperor and the other subconsciously swallowed nervously after seeing his smile.

"Alright, this is what we'll do…" Yuan began explaining his plan to the Holy Dragon Clan.

Sometime later, the Dragon Emperor smiled at Yuan's plan and nodded, "Alright, I'll follow your plan. Since it might take some time for them to respond, we'll prepare a living quarter for you to stay."

He turned to look at the young lady who had fought with Yuan and said, "Sheng Qing, take them to our best living quarters and stay with them while I contact the Azure Dragon Clan."

"Y-Yes!" she hastily nodded.

The Dragon Emperor turned to Yuan and said, "There's still much I'd like to discuss with you… but let's continue this conversation later—after I've had time to fully process everything that's happened today. To be honest, I'm still overwhelmed. It's difficult to believe any of this is real…"

"Take your time."

Yuan and Xi Meili followed Sheng Qing to their living quarters shortly after.

Once Yuan was gone, the Dragon Emperor and the others could finally breathe properly. Some of them even fell onto their buttocks from fatigue despite being Immortals.

"What do you think of that human? Is he really the Immortal Monarch?"

"I don't know about that human, but that woman was definitely Dragon Goddess Yeyou. I have never felt my blood tremble like that before—not even before the Great One."

The Dragon Emperor spoke with a thoughtful expression on his handsome face, "He appears far too young to be the Immortal Monarch, and his cultivation is too low. But that doesn't rule out the possibility. In the end, none of those details truly matter. What does matter is his direct connection to Dragon Goddess Yeyou… close enough for her to kiss him without hesitation. Aside from the Immortal Monarch himself, I can't imagine her showing such intimacy to anyone else."

After a brief pause, the Dragon Emperor continued, "Furthermore, Dragon Goddess Yeyou herself commanded that we treat him as we would treat her. So even if he's not the Immortal Monarch, we already have more than enough reason to honor him as one."

The surrounding dragons exchanged glances, but none voiced dissent—nor did any show signs of disapproval. Dragon Goddess Yeyou had spoken, and to her loyal followers, her word was absolute.

"What should we tell the rest of the clan if we have to keep his identity a secret?"

"Just follow the original script and tell them he's Dragon Goddess Yeyou's envoy. As for Dragon Goddess Yeyou's return… we should let them know since they didn't say anything about that."

"Let's do that then."

Sometime later, the Dragon Emperor and the others left the cave.

Meanwhile, after departing from the cave, Sheng Qing led Yuan and Xi Meili toward the residential area. The Holy Dragon Clan rarely received visitors, so there were no designated guest quarters—only the private residences of its members. Fortunately, there were still plenty of unoccupied buildings, and Yuan was given the most luxurious building in the Dragon Spiral Mountain while Xi Meili was given the building next to his.

"If you need anything, you can find me here," Sheng Qing said to them.

"Thank you."

"Um… Senior Immortal…" Sheng Qing suddenly became fidgety, looking like she was hesitant about something.

Yuan could guess what she wanted to say and spoke with a smile on his face, "If you're worried about attacking me, you don't have to worry. I wasn't hurt, and I don't blame you for your actions."

"T-Thank you!"

She immediately bowed, feeling an immense relief, as if a mountain had been lifted off her shoulders.