Chapter 1992 — Departing From the Dragon Spiral Mountain

"Please, don’t call it a sacrifice. We were merely defending our territory—our home," the Holy Dragon Emperor said solemnly.

Yuan’s expression turned awkward, guilt flickering in his eyes.

"Even so… it’s a fact that the Celestial Emperor attacked because I activated the teleportation device. You wouldn’t have needed to do such a thing if I didn’t show up."

The Holy Dragon Emperor shook his head and said, "Your appearance here, as well as the teleportation device’s activation, is Dragon Goddess Yeyou’s will, and as the Holy Dragon Clan, it’s our duty to fulfill her will, regardless of its cost. I allowed anyone who didn’t want to die a chance to leave, but nobody took the offer. That’s all I have to say on this matter."

Yuan fell silent to ponder.

Eventually, he said, "Can you gather every member of the Holy Dragon Clan for me as soon as possible?"

"What are you trying to do?" The Holy Dragon Emperor raised his eyebrows.

"You’ll find out soon."

The Holy Dragon Emperor no longer questioned it and followed his instructions.

Shortly after, the remaining members of the Holy Dragon Clan—now reduced to a mere quarter of their former number—gathered before Yuan in solemn silence.

"Thank you for gathering here on such short notice, and while you’re busy. However, I want to do something for you before I leave," said Yuan before retrieving the Dragon God’s Vengeance.

"Yeyou, can you say something to them? If it weren’t for their efforts, I wouldn’t have been able to return to the Nine Heavens peacefully," he said to it.

"D-Did he just…?"

"Yeah… I heard it…"

Besides the Holy Dragon Emperor and some of their top members, nobody knew about Yuan being the Immortal Monarch or that Dragon Goddess Yeyou was resting inside the Dragon God’s Vengeance.

"Haaa…"

A soft sigh resounded from the spear before it emitted a profound glow.

In the very next moment, Dragon Goddess Yeyou appeared before them in her human form.

"T-That’s—!"

Even without needing her to introduce herself, the members of the Holy Dragon Clan immediately knew her identity.

Realizing that they were before the one and only Dragon Goddess Yeyou, everyone there kowtowed before her.

"Our God—Dragon Goddess Yeyou!" They all chanted in unison.

"Ahem." Dragon Goddess Yeyou cleared her throat and began to speak in a somewhat stiff tone, "My name is Yeyou, and I would like to express my gratitude to the Holy Dragon Clan for everything you’ve done so far, especially for today. Thank you. Though I can only express my gratitude with words right now, once I regain my body, I’ll return to give you a proper thank you."

"For Dragon Goddess Yeyou!" they cried, voices trembling as tears streamed down their faces.

Unless one had devoted their entire life to a single deity, they could never truly comprehend the depth of emotion surging through the Holy Dragon Clan as they stood before Dragon Goddess Yeyou—their one and only god, the eternal flame of their faith.

Dragon Goddess Yeyou spoke no further, choosing to keep her presence brief and solemn. With a single nod of approval, she returned to the Dragon God’s Vengeance. Yet, what she said was already more than enough to ensure the Holy Dragon Clan continued to worship her, perhaps even more intensely than before.

"Though it pains me to leave you like this after all that has happened, remaining here any longer will only risk drawing the Celestial Emperor’s attention once more," Yuan said solemnly. "So, I’ll be taking my leave for now. But if fate permits, I promise I’ll return to this place again. Of course, I’ll bring Dragon Goddess Yeyou with me."

"We’ll await your return no matter how long it takes, Senior Envoy!"

Yuan smiled, then turned to meet the gaze of the Holy Dragon Emperor, who responded with a silent nod of acknowledgment.

"Until next time," Yuan said quietly.

And with that, he departed from Dragon Spiral Mountain with Liya quietly following behind.

"Where are you going to go, Young Master?" Feng Yuxiang asked shortly after Yuan left.

After a moment of silence, Yuan responded, "I’m going to meet the others."

Meanwhile, in a grand hall deep within the Ninth Heaven, the Celestial Emperor and the Celestial Council sat in solemn audience before representatives of eight of the Ten Royal Dragon Clans.

The only ones who weren’t present were the Holy Dragon Clan and the Azure Dragon Clan. Despite the recent incident, the Mystic Sea Dragon Clan still made an appearance.

"You’d best have a damn good explanation, Celestial Emperor!" one of the representatives snapped, slamming the table with a force that echoed through the hall.

"You didn’t just trespass into the territory of one of the Ten Royal Dragon Clans—you launched a full assault, one that claimed thousands of lives!" another representative roared, his voice laced with outrage.

"And not only that," a third representative added sharply, "you attempted to annihilate their entire bloodline with Divine Judgment—a power reserved solely for condemning the most heinous of criminals on death row!"

The Celestial Emperor sat beneath a storm of accusations and complaints, the voices of the Ten Royal Dragon Clans rising in fury around him, while the Celestial Council observed in heavy silence, neither defending nor intervening.

"I did what had to be done. I hope for your understanding," the Celestial Emperor finally said, his voice calm and measured, as if the barrage of accusations had done little more than stir the air around him.

"Don’t give us that nonsense! There were countless ways to handle the situation without endangering the Holy Dragon Clan—yet you chose the most brutal and direct path!" One of them refuted.

"Perhaps so," he replied calmly, "but I was racing against time and did not have the luxury to do things gently."

"I gave the Holy Dragon Clan fair warning, yet they refused to yield. I was left with no other choice. It is regrettable, but I acted as I must to protect the Nine Heavens, which is my top priority as the Celestial Emperor. I understand your anger, but if I could rewind time and redo it, I wouldn’t have done it any differently."