Three months later.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky.
That day, Ao Mu was thrashing about in the water as usual, chasing large fish, churning the currents and having the time of his life.
Suddenly from the side burst a giant lobster, a sea-blue clam spirit, and a glossy green crocodile.
“I was wondering what it was. Turns out it’s just a clay Bodhisattva that’s lost its true body! A dead dragon, is all!”
“Hahaha! Big bro, big sis, this land is fertile, the waters broad and rich. A perfect place for us to settle down and make camp!”
The little golden dragon jumped in fright and immediately whipped up a great surge of water. “Who are you demons?! Get out of here at once!”
To his surprise, the three water monsters were formidable indeed and showed no fear at all. Three against one, they beat the little golden dragon until his head was covered in lumps. Seizing the chance, the clam spirit clamped down viciously on his tail.
Ao Mu lashed his tail and shot into the sky, circling above the marshlands.
“Shixiong! Shixiong! Eldest Shixiong!”
His dragon’s cry echoed through the valley.
Before long, a cloud drifted in from above.
The little golden dragon hurried over. On the cloud stood an elderly man and a child with a bamboo basket on his back. And beside them, the blue-robed youth was none other than Xue Cuo.
Ao Mu flew about in agitation, his voice full of frustration and indignation. “Shixiong, Shixiong! Three demons have come out of the water, bringing a whole swarm of big fish with them. They’ve seized the eastern marshlands. I can’t beat them!”
Xue Cuo glanced down and let out a soft hiss, but did not lose his temper. Instead, he first escorted the herb-gathering grandfather and grandson down the mountain.
“Shixiong!”
“Hush. What do I usually teach you?”
The little golden dragon choked, then reluctantly flattened himself into a wave. “Think thrice before acting. Plan before you move.”
He hovered anxiously beside Xue Cuo, watching as Xue Cuo sent the grandfather and grandson off the cloud. Before leaving, the old man turned back and said,
“Recently, thirty per cent of the villagers have been farming, thirty per cent weaving, thirty per cent fishing. The remaining ten per cent of the elderly, the weak, and the sick, follow me to practise medicine and distribute remedies. Food and clothing are no longer a worry.”
“The village head has also selected a hundred bright, capable youths to follow you into the temple to cultivate.”
Xue Cuo cupped his hands. “There’s no hurry. We can wait until the millet is harvested. Besides, my cultivation is… different from others. In any case, Elder, please return for now.”
The old man, spry and respectful, withdrew slowly. “Yes.”
Once the two had gone, Xue Cuo unhurriedly lifted his robe and sat down on a slab of blue stone.
“Now speak.”
The little golden dragon circled twice, his anger still simmering. “Eldest Shixiong! Three demons have come from the water. They are strong, numerous, impossible to deal with. I couldn’t defeat them and was driven out! They even brought their wife and child, saying they’ll set up camp in the Eastern Marsh and breed clams, crocodiles, and lobsters by the dozen!”
“Fish and prawns?” Xue Cuo said mildly. “You’re making me hungry.”
The little golden dragon’s eyes flew wide. “Eldest Shixiong!”
Xue Cuo produced a handful of melon seeds from nowhere.
“Mu—if even you, a dragon, can’t deal with them underwater, what do you expect your shixiong to do?”
The little golden dragon refused to give up, butting against Xue Cuo’s waist and darting up and down. “Eldest Shixiong will definitely have a way!”
“No rush, no rush,” Xue Cuo said, shaking his head.
The little golden dragon shrank down and clung to Xue Cuo’s lapel. “No, subdue the demons first!”
Without warning, Xue Cuo grabbed the little dragon, tied him into a dead knot, and flung him away at top speed.
Ao Mu shot far into the distance. By the time he untangled himself, his eldest shixiong was long gone. He buzzed about like a headless fly before finally flying up Cold Mountain to look for Gu Ruhui.
To his surprise, Gu Ruhui was not at his cultivation ground either. Only Ying Xiao was there, practising sword forms. Seeing Ao Mu, he stopped.
Ao Mu demanded rudely, “Where’s your master?”
Following Gu Ruhui, Ying Xiao had adopted a proper bearing and speech. He was no longer like a fanged, blood-licking demon, but more like a man. He cupped his hands. “My master has gone out. What’s happened to you?”
The little golden dragon poured out the whole story in one breath. Ying Xiao flourished his sword neatly. “That’s simple. I’ll go with you.”
Ao Mu circled him, sniffed loudly, and sneezed. “You? Have you even completed your training?”
“You and I are brothers,” Ying Xiao replied. “We strike first. Whether we win or not comes later.”
The little golden dragon clapped his claws and stuck his tail straight up. “Good! Master Ying is truly righteous, but we’ll need a few more people.”
“Ren Shu definitely isn’t here,” Ying Xiao said. “He left with my master.”
“…I see.”
Ao Mu hesitated only briefly, then steeled himself and flew with Ying Xiao toward the Goddess Temple.
The clay figure Xuan Zhao was sleeping with leaves over his eyes when the little golden dragon shook him awake with his tail.
“Master Xuan! Master Xuan! Something terrible has happened!”
“Wake up!”
Xuan Zhao sat up, cursing. After hearing the full story, he sneered coldly. “Such a coincidence. All three of them gone at once? I smell something odd. Stop worrying. Perhaps that slippery brat is just playing you for a fool. Go wash up and sleep.”
“Impossible!” the little golden dragon declared flatly. “Shixiong went out on business!”
Xuan Zhao crossed his legs high. “Don’t be so sure. This endless marsh, the countless Goddess Peaks… do you really think your shixiong, Ren Shu, and Gu Ruhui alone could guard it all? Most likely they’ve gone to fetch reinforcements. If a few demons want to make trouble, let them.”
“If the sky falls, your shixiong will be the one holding it up.”
The little golden dragon shook his head, refusing to listen.
When he latched onto someone, even Xue Cuo feared him. Xuan Zhao, though a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, had spent his days in quiet comfort underwater. He had never encountered such a pest. Driven to desperation, he finally agreed to go and have a look.
“Let me be clear. Once we’re underwater, everything is to follow my lead. If you cause a catastrophe and Xue Cuo comes asking—”
“I’ll take full responsibility myself!”
Xuan Zhao nodded in satisfaction, hoisting his shell onto his back. “First, lie low and observe.”
Ao Mu was bitterly disappointed. “Just observe?”
Still, he had agreed, and reluctantly followed Xuan Zhao into the water.
He couldn’t understand why his shixiong, Gu Ruhui, and Ren Shu had vanished all at once. This vast Qianyun Marsh, the innumerable Goddess Peaks… had they really been left unattended?
Had they been trapped by a formation? Or held up by something they could not escape?
Xuan Zhao and the little golden dragon observed underwater for three full days, growing more alarmed by the hour.
The reason was simple: more and more aquatic creatures were gathering, clearly intending to seize the entire Qianyun Marsh.
The three demons who had arrived first possessed extraordinary powers and fearsome sorcery. It was obvious they had gained some great advantage during the recent upheavals of heaven and earth, forging formidable cultivation.
The clam spirit was known as Fairy Bizhu. Her body was like bronze walls and iron ramparts, impervious to all techniques.
The crocodile demon was a saltwater beast of enormous size, wielding a pair of crimson axes. When it opened its jaws, it could swallow a hundred thousand fish in a single bite.
The giant lobster’s raw power was average, but it carried a faint dragon-like bearing. Having mastered water-control techniques, it was the hardest of the three to deal with. As long as it remained in water.
Together, the three great demons constructed an extravagantly radiant underwater cave, drawing in thousands of lesser demons and proclaiming it the First Palace Beneath the Waters.
The little golden dragon was so furious he tried to rush out, but Xuan Zhao pinned him down hard.
“This is outrageous! Where does that leave my Dragon Palace?!”
“Settle down. In this world, you’re probably the only dragon left.”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“Nonsense? When I was still alive, I saw with my own eyes the Four Sea Dragon Kings seal the sea-eyes, and the rest of the dragon clan perish alongside the Dragon Mother. Why would I lie to you?”
Ao Mu’s eyes flew wide. Huge tears rolled from them, turning into golden bubbles.
“You—!”
Realising his mistake, Xuan Zhao hastily slapped himself. “I’m talking nonsense. Rubbish.”
The little golden dragon stared blankly, as though his soul had been ripped out in an instant. He was so fragile he might shatter from the slightest touch.
Xuan Zhao poked him. “Ao Mu.”
No response. Ao Mu simply stared at him with dull, lightless eyes, utterly motionless.
Xuan Zhao’s hackles rose. He rubbed his hands. “Alright, alright. I’ll help you subdue the demons, isn’t that enough?”
Ao Mu instantly sprang back to life, coiling around him. “You promise!”
“Yes, yes,” Xuan Zhao sighed. “Now shut up.”
He led the little golden dragon back to the surface. Ying Xiao descended from above.
“My master and the others still haven’t returned,” Ying Xiao said. “What did you find underwater?”
Xuan Zhao frowned. “Still not back? That’s strange. Could they truly be held up by something? This is turning into serious trouble.”
Seeing the gravity on Xuan Zhao’s face, Ying Xiao’s heart sank as well. Without Gu Ruhui’s swordsmanship or Xue Cuo’s talismans, and with both of them suddenly missing, unease crept inexorably in.
The three of them charged noisily into the temple. Xuan Zhao handed a stick of incense to the Little Golden Dragon. There was no statue of his eldest shixiong enshrined there. Only a single golden lotus, standing in to receive the offerings of incense.
“Here,” he said. “Burn some spirit paper for your shixiong.”
The Little Golden Dragon transformed into human form: a purple-robed man of almost unearthly distinction, wickedly handsome, though his eyes remained clear and unclouded. He bowed with solemn care, lit the incense, burned the paper, and softly recited his senior brother’s dharma name.
“Reborn from the Golden Pool—Deliverance Child.”
Xuan Zhao stared at the incense smoke as it rose straight upward, unwavering.
“…So he really isn’t here?”
Neither the Little Golden Dragon nor Ying Xiao yet grasped the gravity of it. Xuan Zhao clasped his hands behind his back and paced the temple several times.
“Ying Xiao, go to the village. Tell them not to fish, not to go up the mountain. Have them hide in their cellars for the next few days.”
Ying Xiao gripped his sword and took off at once. “I’ll stay and guard them!”
Xuan Zhao tugged Ao Mu closer. “You’re coming down into the water with me. Listen carefully, and don’t stray too far from my side.”
One man and one turtle slipped back into the water, hiding among the reeds.
Besides the three monsters of the First Palace, the waters soon drew in a yu-fish, a great sea serpent, a crab, a big-bellied toad, a small-eyed feifei, and seven or eight deep-sea demons… each uglier and stronger than the last, their bodies bristling with spines.
Altogether, they made up the Thirty-Six Demon Kings.
Among them, the three of the First Palace were the most powerful. Apart from those, the most formidable was a pitch-black sea serpent.
They seized the depths of Qianyun Marsh, burrowing everywhere and shaking the great lake without pause. The once-clear blue waters turned into a churning yellow mire, leaving the native water-folk in constant turmoil, suffering beyond endurance.
After their lairs were established, and still no humans appeared, the demons finally relaxed. They began forging alliances, assigning ranks and titles, and organised a so-called Crystal Banquet.
The gates of the First Palace were packed thick with demons. Two clam spirits handled reception duties, checking each Demon King’s credentials before ushering them inside.
“Thirty-Seven Caves? Huh?”
“I don’t recall that one. Take a look?”
“…I don’t remember it either.”
The two clam spirits held the invitation between them, glancing back and forth, then lifting their eyes to the purple-robed, coldly handsome young lord before them.
“This invitation only goes up to Thirty-Six Caves. What’s this Thirty-Seven?”
Beside the handsome man stood a turtle. The turtle spoke up calmly, “We’ve only just arrived. The invitation was issued recently. That’s why you haven’t heard of us.”
He discreetly nudged Ao Mu.
Ao Mu paused, then gave a curt nod. To outsiders, it looked like an impatient frown, his chill growing sharper. It was arrogant, even oppressive.
“Well?” he said coolly.
The clam spirits exchanged glances. He looked far too refined to be making things up. In the end, they let the pair through, intending to verify the matter later.
The two of them strode openly into the First Palace. Pearls blazed like stars, spiritual light shimmered everywhere, and the splendour was almost blinding.
The moment Ao Mu stepped into the main hall, a voice rang out in loud laughter:
“The Dragon Clan has fallen, so a new king must rise! Gentlemen, how does my First Palace compare to the Dragon Palace of old?”
“Magnificent!”
“This place is brimming with spiritual fortune, the Dao woven into its very bones. How could a mere ‘blessed realm’ begin to describe it?”
“With such a domain, Your Majesty’s ascension is surely close at hand!”
“Congratulations, Great King.”
“Many congratulations.”
Then someone else spoke up, more cautiously.
“But I heard this land was seized by a group of cultivators. Their leader caused quite a stir in Fangzhou back in the day. He wanted by the temples of sixteen cities, yet still roaming free. He doesn’t sound easy to deal with.”
Bang—
Something was slammed down hard.
“He’s nothing,” came a cold snort. “If he dares set foot in the water, I’ll beat him to death and serve him up as drinking fare for you all.”
