Chapter 340: Blazing Fire Cooking Oil

General Giant Whale, listening from a distance outside, was also delighted. He had expected only the Dragon Girl, but now knowing the Dragon Lord also intended to come, there was nothing more to fear.

So, General Giant Whale opened his mouth and spat out the monster he had been holding, which then slid directly to Ji Yuan's side.

The Dragon Mother frowned, looking at the Giant Whale.

"Who is this?"

"To answer your question, Madam, this is a subordinate of that scaly evil flood dragon. He was lurking suspiciously around Dragon Rock Isle. I ate all the other ruffians, except for him!"

"Then why didn't you eat him too?"

Ying Ruoli smiled.

"Don't worry, Mother, I specifically kept him so he could lead us to the evil flood dragon's lair, where we can kill him! Mother, do you know if that flood dragon has any relatives or accomplices nearby?"

The Dragon Mother pondered for a moment.

"When I first encountered him years ago, I didn't see any other powerful demons with him. In recent years, I heard he pestered me relentlessly only after investigating for quite some time, even devouring some of my attendants who ventured out from my underwater palace. I don't know when he found out I lived on Dragon Rock Isle."

General Giant Whale echoed from outside.

"That scaly flood dragon came from the desolate sea. What kind of foundation could he possibly have here? Even if he made friends, they would only be fair-weather ones. They'd show respect while he was alive, but who would mourn him if he died? Even if some came with him from the desolate sea, given the barbaric nature of that place, no one would care. Besides..."

"If we reveal the Dragon Lord's identity, hmph, all True Dragons of the Four Seas know each other, and who wouldn't give the Dragon Lord some respect? At this point, what aquatic creature would dare to help him?"

There was some truth to his words, but the Dragon Mother clearly disliked them, so Ying Ruoli quickly changed the subject.

"Alright, alright, let's deal with that scaly flood dragon first. Uncle Ji, how should we interrogate him?"

Ji Yuan thought for a moment and said.

"Just let him go; he'll lead us there himself."

Saying this, Ji Yuan picked up the demon from the ground and abruptly flung it outwards. With a gentle push, he sent it skimming through the water, leaving a trail, until it flew beyond Dragon Rock Isle.

It seemed some method had been used on it when it was thrown, as the demon woke up shortly after.

The demon looked around, realizing all its companions were gone. Then, glancing towards Dragon Rock Isle, it saw a large whale occasionally flicking its tail, and assumed it had simply been knocked out and then ignored.

'Oh no, I must quickly inform Lord Huolong Hou!'

The fish-like spirit shivered, immediately realizing it needed to flee. It quickly swam and manipulated the water, staying close to the seabed as it headed west.

After the creature had left for a while, Ji Yuan and the Dragon Girl followed. The Dragon Mother hesitated, then ultimately joined them, still carried by General Giant Whale, though this time the Dragon Girl used magic to conceal their presence.

Roughly nine hundred *li* beneath the sea, within a trench, stood an underwater palace constructed from rocks, coral, and other materials. Though crude, it had been well-managed over the years.

The spirit's swimming speed was far inferior to General Giant Whale's, taking most of the day to cover the nine hundred *li*.

In what loosely served as the main hall, two figures sat at the head of the table: one was a man in a date-green robe wearing a tall crown, and the other was a bald, bare-chested man with grayish-brown skin. Other aquatic spirits, some more human-like, others resembling fish and shrimp, were seated around, noisily eating and drinking.

"Come, come, Brother Shark! Your visit today honors me, Hua. Let's set aside your requests for now; I will certainly give you a satisfactory answer after I've considered them. Come, let's drink, drink! This fine human wine I acquired recently by sinking over a dozen ships near Hengzhou while traveling through the North Sea. And these other things—spices and preserved fruits—those mortals truly know how to enjoy themselves more than us!"

The man in the green robe was extremely enthusiastic, laughing heartily as he continuously introduced these items.

The bare-chested man with grayish-brown skin smiled, raised his cup, and took a small sip of the bubbly-protected wine.

'Hmph, what an unsophisticated bumpkin!'

Yet, he spoke with a smile.

"The wine is good, but since Brother Hua sank over a dozen ships, what about the people on board? Tsk, tsk, human flesh is much more..."

"Ugh, hahahaha! Brother Grey, you know I can't control my appetite! Besides, if people die and soak in seawater, the taste changes!"

"Oh, oh, oh, my apologies, my apologies. If Brother Hua has time in the future, I'll take you to a wonderful place. The journey is a bit far, but it's absolutely unforgettable!"

The man in the green robe immediately perked up.

"Oh? Where is that?"

"Of course, it's the Black..."

The grayish-skinned man was mid-sentence when a frantic voice came from outside.

"Lord! Lord... It's bad, Lord!"

The man in the green robe stood up. Soon after, the fish-scaled spirit stumbled, swimming and scrambling into the hall.

"Hmm? Weren't you supposed to be watching the beauty? Why are you back?"

The fish-scaled spirit bowed to the man in the green robe.

"It's not that I abandoned my post, Lord! That fierce giant whale has returned, and he's brought helpers! I'm afraid... I'm afraid it's going to be bad for you, Lord. I managed to escape after a struggle with them; all the other brothers were eaten..."

"Hahahahahahaha…."

The man in the green robe burst into laughter.

"You still dare to challenge me after struggling with them? I used to be tolerant, even though I ate many servants from the beauty's palace, I never laid a hand on that big whale. But he's gone too far, jumping out again and again. Don't blame me then!"

"Brother Hua, are you in trouble? Do you need my help?"

The grayish-skinned man, still seated and drinking, said this. It was more symbolic than practical, as he didn't even stand up.

"Ah, Brother Grey, no need to worry. Though that giant whale is strong, he's just a minor character who hasn't even taken human form."

"But didn't your subordinate say he brought helpers?"

The grayish-skinned man just mentioned it casually.

"Hahaha... Brother Grey, have you forgotten? You once said you wanted the soul of a powerful and pure aquatic demon. To show my sincerity, I gathered many helpers, and with the assistance of your brothers, we ambushed and hunted a black flood dragon in the East Sea!"

The grayish-skinned man frowned.

"I remember now. Although I wasn't there, it's said that black flood dragon had profound cultivation. Despite us planning and ambushing him, he still escaped, so we only got one dragon tendon. His dragon soul and body naturally fled. Given the many ghosts and gods in Yunzhou, we didn't pursue rashly and later found something else... Is there something special about this black flood dragon?"

"Heh heh, actually, I didn't tell you everything. I previously ate many of the beauty's servants, and from them, I forced out some information. They had a patron, that black flood dragon, whom they called 'Lord Mo.' He was likely the beauty's former lover. But even if that black flood dragon hadn't died back then, he wouldn't have amounted to anything; he certainly couldn't be a savior."

The man in the green robe spoke with complacency, causing the grayish-skinned man to realize something and regard him with renewed respect. He hadn't expected this fellow to possess such cunning; he wasn't entirely brainless.

"You scaly monster! So Mo Rong's death was related to you!"

Ying Ruoli's cold voice came from outside.

Immediately followed by a tremendous crash, the outer hall of the underwater palace was directly shattered by General Giant Whale. The area where the man in the green robe and the grayish-skinned guest were situated also swayed violently, with rocks and coral continuously falling.

The man in the green robe's anger surged. Dragon energy swept forth, his face contorted into a fierce expression, and with a powerful push of his foot, he shot out of the hall.

"Who doesn't want to live? How dare you cause trouble at Lord Hua's place!"

After cursing, the man saw a giant whale outside, and on its back, two women and a man in a green robe.

"Beauty? And you have a sister? Excellent! You've all delivered yourselves to me!"

The man in the green robe stared intently at the Dragon Mother and Dragon Girl's exquisite faces and shapely figures for a long time. Their cold expressions didn't bother him. Then he looked at the man in the green robe beside them.

"You're Mo Rong? Not dead yet? As expected, there's no dragon energy left!"

Ji Yuan shook his head, not bothering to speak. He extended his left hand, and the Azure Vine Sword automatically appeared in his grip. Then, he gently ran his right hand over the blade before handing it to Ying Ruoli.

The Dragon Mother, who had kept her head high, lowered it slightly, looking down at the man in the green robe from her vantage point on the massive whale's head.

"Marquis Hua," she said, "this is my daughter, and she is here to do something for me!"

The scaly flood dragon, named Marquis Hua, was taken aback and looked at Ying Ruoli.

"Your daughter? Do what?"

Ying Ruoli's magical power surged through her body into her hands and then into the Azure Vine Sword. She narrowed her eyes and blurted out.

"Kill you!"

At the same moment she spoke, the Dragon Girl reached out and drew the sword. But as she gripped the hilt and pulled, she found it incredibly strenuous, as if exerting immense force for little effect.

'So heavy!'

Her right arm trembled almost imperceptibly, but she exerted all her strength, finally unsheathing the immortal sword the next moment.

"Clang—"

The sword sang.

A streak of silvery-white light flashed across the seabed. As Marquis Hua's pupils constricted and he instinctively dodged, the light sliced diagonally across in front of him.

Boom, boom, boom...

Massive rocks collapsed along the trench. Nearly half of the underwater palace was obliterated, and a deeper sword mark was left at the bottom of the trench.

But as Ying Ruoli unleashed that strike, she inwardly cursed. She couldn't fully control the immortal sword; it had veered off course slightly, only severing one of the opponent's hands and one foot, and scraping off a small piece of flesh.

"Roar..."

Marquis Hua's painful dragon roar echoed. Amidst the endless blood and murky sediment, a scaly flood dragon revealed its true form, writhing in agony in the trench, exactly like an earthworm just dug out of the soil.

"Roar... Moo... Moo... Roar..."

Ji Yuan saw Ying Ruoli trying to wield the sword again and stopped her with a hand.

"He's not dead, but he's severely injured. No need to waste magical power."

Of course, more importantly, there was no need to waste the Azure Vine Sword's qi. Although the Dragon Girl's magic power replenished much of the consumption, without the immortal sword's inherent qi, it wouldn't possess such unparalleled sharpness.

However, Ji Yuan certainly wouldn't leave everyone standing idly. He bent his right thumb, and with his four fingers, he gently waved twice in front of his chest as if fanning himself. Then, he casually opened his mouth and spat out a large plume of reddish-grey flames towards the scaly flood dragon, which was thrashing wildly in pain in the trench.

In the eyes of the Dragon Girl, the Dragon Mother, General Giant Whale, the aquatic creatures fleeing the surrounding underwater palace, and the grayish-skinned man who had just emerged:

That strange-colored plume of fire amazingly remained unextinguished even at the bottom of the sea, finally landing on the scaly flood dragon.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Despite being at the bottom of the sea, the flood dragon's body, which had just been covered in dust and blood, instantly erupted into a fierce reddish-grey blaze, as if oil had been poured onto a roaring fire.

"Roar..."

The flood dragon's roar suddenly escalated several octaves.

'What?! Controlling fire? Burning a flood dragon at the bottom of the sea!?'

The grayish-skinned man had already felt a bad premonition when he saw the Dragon Girl wield the immortal sword, but now, witnessing such a bizarre fire manipulation scene, his scalp tingled and his body trembled.

Just as he was about to sneak away, he inadvertently looked up towards the giant whale and noticed everyone staring at the raging fire, either in a daze or with exaggerated expressions. The only one not looking at the fire was the one who started it, who was holding the sword and facing him.

Instantly, his entire body felt as though it had been pricked by needles.