Chapter 1956 — 1956: Azure Dragon Clan's Three Elders
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After passing through the underwater city, Yuan's group continued their journey for several more hours, gliding deeper into the heart of the Azure Dragon Clan's domain.
Eventually, they arrived at their destination—a massive underwater courtyard residence that stretched across several miles of seafloor. Its grand architecture blended seamlessly with the surrounding ocean, featuring sweeping halls made of reinforced coral, shimmering crystal pillars, and roofs shaped like flowing waves. The entire structure radiated an aura of nobility and ancient power, befitting the status of a royal dragon clan.
Yuan's group landed right at the entrance, where a group of individuals from the Azure Dragon Clan stood in orderly formation, awaiting their arrival.
"The Azure Dragon Clan welcomes the envoy of Dragon Goddess Yeyou and the Holy Dragon Emperor to our humble domain."
"Thank you for having us," Yuan said politely as he leapt down from the dragon's back, landing lightly on the sea floor.
"Let's head inside first," Jiao Zhenhai added, gesturing toward the grand entrance as he began walking ahead.
Once inside, Jiao Zhenhai led them through a series of ornate halls before guiding them into a spacious chamber where three more individuals awaited.
Unlike those outside, these figures radiated a far greater presence—each one exuding a level of cultivation and authority that rivaled the upper echelons of the Holy Dragon Clan's command. Their gazes were sharp, their auras refined.
"Let me give you a brief introduction. They are the Three Grand Elders. Their position and authority within the Azure Dragon Clan is only below mine and our ancestor."
"I'm the first elder, Jiao Wenyan."
"Second elder, Jiao Yansheng."
"Third elder, Jiao Hanchen."
"I'm Yuan, envoy of Dragon Goddess Yeyou."
"We've heard everything from the Clan Leader. You claim we've not been cursed, is that correct?" said the Second Elder.
Yuan nodded and said, "If you don't believe me, you can give it a try as well."
He retrieved the Sacred Chalice of Purification and gestured at them.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely do so. However, we won't be the ones doing it. Instead, it'll be someone who is, without a shadow of doubt, cursed," said the First Elder as he made a gesture with his hand.
The next moment, a middle-aged man entered the room—his wrists bound in thick chains like a prisoner, and his complexion pale as moonlight, as though drained by time or torment.
The Third Elder explained, "We've placed a powerful curse on him right before your arrival, so we know he's definitely cursed. If you're able to remove that curse with your treasure, we'll believe your claims."
Yuan nodded and said to the man, "Feed this chalice several drops of your blood."
The man gave a faint nod and followed the instructions with slow, weakened movements.
Once the man offered his blood to the chalice, Jiao Zhenhai and the three elders observed in solemn silence, their expressions tense and unreadable.
Moments later, the two dragons etched into the chalice stirred to life, gliding around its surface in fluid motion, as though awakened by the blood itself. They circled the chalice with growing excitement, their movements swift and vibrant, reacting to something within the offering.
"Now drink this."
Yuan gathered the liquid from the chalice with his spiritual energy and hovered it above the man, who opened his mouth and drank it without question.
Before long, a visible change came over the sickly man. Color began to return to his pale complexion, and the weakness in his limbs slowly faded.
His breathing steadied, his posture straightened, and a faint glow returned to his eyes.
Jiao Zhenhai and the three elders stared in astonishment, their solemn expressions giving way to surprise and wonder as they witnessed the transformation before them.
After a brief moment of stillness, the Third Elder suddenly sprang into action and began inspecting the man.
"I-It's real! His curse has been lifted!" he revealed in a trembling voice.
"What?! But we'd placed a Supreme Curse on him! How could it be removed with such ease?!" exclaimed the First Elder, his voice filled with disbelief.
"Satisfied?" Yuan asked them.
"Just a second! We still need to use the treasure on us to confirm that we're not cursed!" said the Second Elder.
Yuan offered no objection to their request and began testing their blood one by one.
However, by the end of it all, the chalice remained completely still, showing no reaction to any of them.
"How do we know that you're not controlling the treasure so that it only works with your permission?" the Third Elder suddenly questioned.
Yuan shrugged and said, "That's impossible to prove, so you'll just have to believe me."
"You're overestimating yourselves a little too much. The envoy has no reason to harm your Azure Dragon Clan," The Dragon Emperor suddenly spoke in a somewhat disdainful tone.
"T-That's…"
"I just want the key you took from the Holy Dragon Clan. If I wanted to harm the Azure Dragon Clan, I would've taken it by force," said Yuan.
"And we would've helped him." The Dragon Emperor added with a smile.
"Alright, we get it." Jiao Zhenhai sighed as he rubbed his eyes.
"We'll trust you. What are you going to do now?"
"Well, I've been thinking about it for the past month, but there's really nothing I can say or do until I take a look around the place."
"In that case, we'll show you around our territory."
"Sure thing."
"I have something to do, so I'll assign some guards to be with you. It's not that I don't trust you, but it'll make traversing our territory much more convenient," said Jiao Zhenhai.
"I understand."
"Then please wait here for a moment."
Jiao Zhenhai and the Three Grand Elders left Yuan and the Dragon Emperor alone inside the room while they gathered a small group of guards.
About half an hour later, two guards arrived at their room, a young man and a young woman, both Golden Immortal cultivators.
"My name is Xuanbing," said the young man.
"I'm Binglan, and we'll be your guide," said the young woman.
"I'm Yuan. Let's get along."