Chapter 17: Rumors Concerning the Saint

“Dragon King, I have some doubts and hope you can clarify them,” Jiang Wang stepped forward.

This matter needed to be understood clearly.

If they blindly captured the Dragon Girl without understanding the situation, and ended up sacrificing themselves, it would be a loss far greater than the gain.

Who knew what secrets the Dragon Girl might possess?

Moreover, capturing a dragon in the mortal realm placed severe restrictions on these celestial soldiers.

The Great Celestial Master had said to handle the matter with discretion, but did that mean to reveal their true forms or not?

Seeing Jiang Wang step forward, the celestial general said nothing.

He, too, was full of questions and was glad someone else had spoken up.

“Oh? If any celestial soldier has questions, feel free to ask. Old Dragon will answer all sincerely,” the old Dragon King said with full courtesy.

Jiang Wang went on, “Dragon King, I heard you say that a demonic dragon is ravaging the East Sea, but I see the sea calm and peaceful. Where is this demonic dragon? Why did the Dragon Girl escape from the Dragon Palace, and why didn’t your shrimp soldiers and crab generals capture her, instead leaving it to us celestial soldiers? Also, why are you going to such lengths just because the Dragon Girl fled the palace?”

He asked these three questions after a brief moment of thought.

He needed to know what the East Sea Dragon King was up to.

And what the Great Celestial Master truly meant.

Otherwise, he would never act rashly.

Having finally transmigrated to become a celestial immortal with a lifespan of millions of years, he hadn’t even begun to enjoy it properly. How could he step into danger willingly?

He was unwilling.

The other celestial soldiers exchanged glances, all looking to the old Dragon King, hoping for an explanation.

Even with the Great Celestial Master’s orders, they couldn’t act recklessly.

Celestial soldiers had many ways to slack off.

After all, what the Dragon King held was not a formal edict from the Great Celestial Master, but merely a verbal order.

A verbal order… well, although the Great Celestial Master’s words were golden, how it was interpreted was up to the celestial soldiers.

Moreover, the Great Celestial Master’s verbal directive was: “Assist as appropriate, do not shirk responsibility.”

The meaning was crystal clear.

Without an explanation from the old Dragon King, it would be difficult for the celestial soldiers to act.

Seeing this, the old Dragon King smiled wryly.

“You all do not know — the demonic dragon who committed the crime long ago took control of me! If I hadn’t taken advantage of the demonic dragon’s weakened state during its control to seek aid from the Heavenly Court, I might already be a puppet of the demonic dragon.”

At this, the celestial soldiers grew tense.

The old Dragon King was a Golden Immortal; if he was controlled by the demonic dragon, none present would escape unscathed.

“Do not fear. The Great Celestial Master has sent me a pill refined by the Supreme Lord Laozi. After taking it, I temporarily broke free from the demonic dragon’s control,” the old Dragon King continued.

“I have no other intentions, only to ask you all to find my daughter and escort her to the Heavenly Court to bear her guilt, preventing her from returning to the East Sea Dragon Palace.”

Although Jiang Wang did not know why the Dragon Girl, Yan Cai, was considered the Dragon King’s biological daughter, this did not prevent him from judging the sincerity of the East Sea Dragon King’s words.

Based on his demeanor and the Great Celestial Master’s verbal order, it seemed the Dragon King merely wished the celestial soldiers to capture Yan Cai, with no other ulterior motives.

That made things considerably easier.

A mere Dragon Girl could not escape the celestial soldiers.

“Since the Dragon King is so sincere, we will certainly do our utmost!” the celestial general said, relieved not to be sent to fight the demonic dragon directly.

The celestial soldiers also breathed easier.

Having received the Great Celestial Master’s edict, they followed the celestial general and left the Dragon Palace.

One soldier asked, “General, what exactly is the situation with the demonic dragon?”

The general fell silent for a moment before slowly recounting the story behind the demonic dragon.

“The demonic dragon of the East Sea is rumored throughout the six realms. It is said this dragon is no ordinary beast, but a remnant born from the dragon clan’s defeat in ancient times — a dragon demon.

When it once threatened all beings, an unknown great deity sealed it away.

As the seal weakened over time, the demonic dragon frequently broke free to cause havoc. Over the years, it likely reached the realm of a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

During its last rampage, a great deity sealed it away again.”

The general’s account chilled the soldiers.

“A Taiyi Golden Immortal? Luckily, the Dragon King did not send us to hunt the demonic dragon, or we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“There’s no way we’d survive. The demonic dragon would probably eat us one by one.”

…

Jiang Wang listened quietly, curious about one detail.

In the legend of the Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, the demonic dragon was also called the Dragon Demon and was said to have been sealed by another fiend called Nightmare.

He asked the general, “General, was it Nightmare who sealed the demonic dragon back then?”

The general gave him a strange look.

“Where did you hear that rumor? Nightmare is a great evil of the six realms, sealed by the Great Celestial Master within the dreams of all beings, trapped forever. When did he ever seal the demonic dragon? The great deity who sealed the demonic dragon back then—I can’t say the name. If that being senses me, I’ll be in trouble.”

The soldiers burst out laughing.

Jiang Wang smiled faintly, realizing the Eight Immortals legend had been altered significantly.

For example, Yan Cai was now the Dragon King’s daughter.

Though the Dragon King was controlled by the demonic dragon, it seemed the demon was insignificant, hardly a concern to the Heavenly Court.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have sent back a Dragon King under demonic control.

Furthermore, in this world, the strongest being in the Eight Immortals legend, Nightmare, seemed not to be the strongest at all.

The Great Celestial Master had suppressed him in the dreams of countless beings, truly making him a nightmare.

“All right, no more idle talk. Since we have the Great Celestial Master’s verbal order, let us quickly capture the Dragon Girl Yan Cai and bring her to justice,” the general commanded.

Actually, the Dragon Girl had not violated any heavenly laws.

The so-called capture was because the Dragon King claimed Yan Cai stole a treasure from the Dragon Palace, though he had not explained what the treasure was.

Regardless, the Dragon King insisted on capturing Yan Cai, or else the dignity of heavenly law would be compromised.

Jiang Wang could understand the old Dragon King’s hard feelings; he merely wanted to send Yan Cai to the Heavenly Court but lacked a proper way to do so.

For dragons entering the Heavenly Court, other than the four Dragon Kings of the seas, most dragons were mounts or simply ornamental.

It was rumored that a saint’s temple had a dragon pool with dozens of ancient dragons kept as curiosities.

Truth or rumor, no one knew — just celestial gossip.

After the general gave the order, the soldiers complied.

Taking out the Dragon Pearl given by the old Dragon King, the general performed some ritual, and the pearl emitted intense light.

At the same time, not far from the East Sea coast, a golden light rose, visible only to those holding the Dragon Pearl.

The general pointed toward it.

“The Dragon Girl is there. Let us go! Capture the fugitive and bring her to justice, arriving in true form!”

“Yes, sir!”

The celestial soldiers moved out fiercely.

Jiang Wang remained calm.

He had little interest in capturing the Dragon Girl and preferred to use the time to appreciate the unique scenery of the mortal realm.