Whenever Jian Xiaolou overheard the exchanges between Night Wanderer and his servant, she found herself at a loss for words, staring speechlessly at the sky.
She knew full well that the only reason Night Wanderer lent her his aid was sheer boredom. Yet, despite this, he had taught her the method to fragment her soul and guided her step by step to this moment. Jian Xiaolou felt immense gratitude in her heart.
This gratitude also reminded her of the dragon skeleton. Given her dire situation and the chaos surrounding her, she hadn't had the chance to share this secret with Night Wanderer.
If she were to lose consciousness in the struggle that lay ahead, the secret of the dragon skeleton might vanish with her forever.
Summoning her willpower to resist the oppressive black mist bearing down on her, she hastily called out:
"Senior Night Wanderer..."
"I dislike how you address me," Xiao Ni interrupted disdainfully. "It's fine to call him 'senior,' but why add the word 'old'? My lord is barely three thousand years old. In dragon years, that's the equivalent of a human in their early thirties—vibrant and full of youthful vigor! How could he be considered old?"
Jian Xiaolou froze, startled. "How is that possible?"
"Hmph, you've never seen my lord. How would you know what's possible?" Xiao Ni raised his voice. "Yes, his memory is terrible—fine, I'll admit it's truly abysmal—but bad memory doesn't equate to old age!"
"Could it be that he injured his brain?" Jian Xiaolou mused aloud.
"Bah! You're the one with a brain injury!" Xiao Ni snapped. "My lord is just lazy, that's all!"
"Lazy?" Jian Xiaolou asked, perplexed.
"Indeed! Among dragons, one can judge by their claws. Most White Dragons have five claws, but my lord was born with six, making him a cut above the rest. According to dragon custom, a six-clawed dragon is eligible to become the ruler of an ocean once they come of age. However, my lord has never been a dragon who brought anyone peace of mind."
"Most young dragons hatch after a year, but my lord took a full ten years, simply because he was too lazy to expend the energy to break out of his shell. Instead, he grew larger and larger within the egg until he burst the shell apart!"
"Even so, the White Dragon King nurtured him with great care and granted him dominion over a sea in the Western Star Realm upon coming of age. But my lord got lost in the chaotic Star Sea for over a century and couldn't be bothered to return. Instead, he settled by a river, drove out the local River Lord, and claimed it for himself."
"When the River Lord complained to the Dragon King, my lord's ocean title was revoked, and he was demoted to rule the river. But on his way there, he got lost again and decided to take over a lake instead, demoting himself further to a mere Lake Lord. One thing led to another, and now he's been demoted all the way down to a humble cave lord. Among his attendants, only I remain alive."
"So you see, my lord doesn't have brain damage—he's just astonishingly lazy."
"Senior Night Wanderer is truly..." Jian Xiaolou struggled for the right words. This level of laziness was extraordinary. But, in a way, she found herself somewhat envious of his carefree and unrestrained lifestyle.
Wait!
Jian Xiaolou suddenly realized a glaring inconsistency. "If Senior Night Wanderer is only three thousand years old, how could a White Dragon who died ten thousand years ago in the Red Firmament Realm leave him a letter?"
"Huh?" Finally, Night Wanderer's voice lazily joined the conversation. "A letter for me?"
Jian Xiaolou instinctively reached for her storage pouch but found it empty. "Yes, the six-star bone shard I possess was discovered along with it."
She quickly recounted the events surrounding the transformation of the Red Firmament sky and the discovery of the dragon burial ground.
"A dragon who's been dead for ten thousand years left a letter for me?"
For the first time, Night Wanderer sounded genuinely intrigued.
Above her, the black mist continued to thicken, thunder reverberating so loudly it seemed to shake the heavens. Jian Xiaolou trembled. "There are no dragons in the Red Firmament Realm. The only dragon that ever appeared was that White Dragon from ten thousand years ago."
"Perhaps this White Dragon was searching for another Night Wanderer, and it's just a coincidence that we share the same name."
"Impossible," Jian Xiaolou retorted. "The six-star bone shard I hold allows communication with you. This proves he was looking for you. Otherwise, the coincidence would be too implausible."
She remembered what Xiao Ni had mentioned before: each dragon's six-star bone shard was made from a piece of bone taken from their horn at birth. These shards could only establish connections through close bloodlines or if the dragon imbued it with their essence.
"But I don't recognize him," Night Wanderer said, still puzzled.
"Then what about your parents or siblings? Was there any ancestor who went missing?"
"My lord was an abandoned egg left in the Dragon Egg Pool. He has no idea who his parents are," Xiao Ni interjected, taking over the explanation.
From Xiao Ni, Jian Xiaolou learned a bizarre dragon custom. Dragons, known for their promiscuity, had no restrictions against mating with each other, whether married or not. Many female dragons, unsure of their offspring's father, would deposit their eggs into the Dragon King's designated hatching pool.
Night Wanderer had hatched as a six-clawed White Dragon from such a pool.
"Senior Night Wanderer, who gave you your name?" Jian Xiaolou asked.
"Hmm... it was written on my eggshell, I think," he replied lazily.
"My instincts tell me that the White Dragon buried beneath Dragon Prison Mountain might be your blood relative. But as for why you're only three thousand years old, I can't say."
"Do you still have the letter?" After a pause, Night Wanderer asked.
"It's in my physical body's storage pouch."
"You said your realm is called the Red Firmament Realm, correct?"
"Yes."
"I'll remember that." After a moment's thought, he added, "You must survive."
Jian Xiaolou opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say caught in her throat.
A thunderous roar shattered the stillness!
Rows of sinister skulls surged from the dense black mist, emanating an overwhelming aura of destruction. Some hurled themselves at the Red Lotus Flame, only to be incinerated into ashes. Yet more followed relentlessly, wave after wave.
Meanwhile, another portion of the skulls coalesced into a massive skeletal face, its hollow eyes glowing blue as it opened a blood-red maw and swallowed Jian Xiaolou whole!
The once-calm waters churned violently, and the Divine Soul's Heavenly Realm teetered on the brink of collapse.
"What on earth is this thing? Why does it reek of such evil?"
The pain of the soul's torment was akin to being torn apart by wild horses. But after enduring the agony of soul fragmentation, Jian Xiaolou's tolerance had become unparalleled. Closing her eyes, she clasped her lotus mudra and silently recited the Dizang Sutra.
Her fate would be decided here.