Chapter 285: Wei River Lord

But Li Yunxin thought, perhaps this was the difference between a god and a human. Everyone he had seen before was human. Their lifespan was limited, and they were plagued by birth, aging, sickness, and death. The only difference between them and ordinary people was the power they held in their hands. But power was not Spiritual Power or magic. It could change a person mentally, but it could not change a person physiologically.

—It should be so.

Therefore, Li Yunxin pretended to hesitate for a moment, then let a fleeting look of panic and surprise appear on his face. Then he "forced" himself to calm down. He cautiously walked two steps forward again and whispered: "I do not understand Your Excellency's words. You first trespassed into my Cultivation Place (Daochang), and then killed my spiritual creature in the lake. And now you question me for a crime—this is not the manner of a well-cultivated master."

The True Dragon stared calmly at Li Yunxin for a moment and said indifferently: "Since you wish to submit to me, why do you not confess your crime? Now you have added another one. Clearly knowing in your heart that it is me, yet you display your cunning and pretend to be ignorant—be careful that cleverness does not outwit itself (Cōngmíng fǎn bèi cōngmíng wù)."

Upon hearing her words, Li Yunxin's face instantly showed astonishment—as if the True Dragon had truly exposed his inner thoughts.

He stood in the hall, slightly flustered, and opened his mouth, seeming to want to argue something. But he quickly lost his calm composure under the True Dragon's slowly intensifying gaze.

He then took a deep breath, lowered his head, clasped his hands in a deep bow, and remained so, saying: "This humble one... was rude, reckless, and absurd. This humble one is guilty. But only..."

He paused here, looked up at the True Dragon. But the True Dragon's face was devoid of emotion, profound and inscrutable. Li Yunxin quickly withdrew his gaze. He lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and thought for a moment, finally gathering his courage.

He looked up again and stood straight, saying with a desperate, all-or-nothing momentum: "Only to seek a path to survival, not wishing to turn into a handful of yellow earth in this world!"

The True Dragon looked at him, then raised her hand and stroked the venomous snake in her palm, repeating: "Do you confess your crime?"

Li Yunxin hesitated slightly, still looking directly at the True Dragon: "I killed the Ninth Dragon's Son Chiwen, I am guilty!"

The True Dragon nodded, and said slowly: "Good. I will give you a quarter of an hour (15 minutes) to plead your case."

Li Yunxin opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something. But he quickly took a deep breath: "The fact that I killed the Ninth Dragon's Son is true, and there is no need to defend it."

When he said this, he finally saw a slight change in the majestic True Dragon's expression—it seemed to be surprise.

Then the True Dragon was silent for a moment and said: "This is a great crime."

Li Yunxin still did not speak.

The True Dragon then looked at him for a while, blinked: "However, I know that you later saved his life. Although you killed him, looking at it now, the hatchet should be buried (Huà gēnwéi yùbó), right?"

Li Yunxin was immediately greatly shocked, staring directly at the True Dragon: "...How did you..."

The True Dragon smiled casually, and said again: "My ninth son is mischievous and unruly. You, however, taught him many principles and earned his heartfelt admiration. If I hadn't seen what you did, I would not have spared you."

Li Yunxin blinked blankly: "...You even know about this matter..."

The True Dragon smiled slightly, appearing even more profound and inscrutable: "I also know that you and your second brother get along quite well. Alas... why didn't you mention these things? If I had been ignorant, and killed you in a fit of anger, wouldn't you have become yellow earth?"

Li Yunxin now looked much calmer. He took a deep breath and bowed again to the True Dragon, saying: "True Dragon Divine Lord's Daoist Arts are profound, how could you not know. If you truly did not know, then it was simply not meant to be known—Heaven's will would have destroyed me, Li Yunxin."

"Moreover, if this humble one were to speak of these things himself—having killed a Dragon's Son beforehand, and now cleverly detailing his supposed merits one by one, it would inevitably invite suspicion of trying to curry favor (Tǎoqiǎo màiguāi), and perhaps provoke the Divine Lord's greater wrath. Therefore..."

"Life and death rest entirely upon the Divine Lord's will."

The True Dragon smiled: "You see me as Heaven's will."

Li Yunxin said solemnly: "The Divine Lord is the lord of all demons, commanding the primal qi of heaven and earth. To call you Heaven's will is not inappropriate."

"Good, very good," the True Dragon's expression became more animated—perhaps no one had dared to flatter her so openly for a very, very long time. Or perhaps those who wanted to do so could not do it as subtly and pleasantly as Li Yunxin.

A smile appeared on her face, and she looked at him: "Among my nine sons, some are brave, some are intelligent, and some consider the overall situation. But none of them are a collection of all these qualities like you. Little Jiu... I originally valued him, but he turned out to be an ignorant character. Meeting you and suffering a calamity is a trial for him, and also a stroke of good fortune. Perhaps he will achieve something great in the future."

"Only..." she slowly restrained her smile, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

This time, Li Yunxin only thought for a moment, then said: "No."

The True Dragon lowered her head and wrapped her finger around the venomous snake: "For example, Daoist Orthodoxy's Lingkongzi?"

Li Yunxin bit his lip slightly: "She is already a mortal."

The True Dragon smiled: "You gave her a way to live. And, you also disrupted my great plans."

"I laid a trap in Dongting to strike a blow at the prestige of the Daoist Orthodoxy. But you drove all the Taoist priests of the Daoist Orthodoxy back, and are even said to be on good terms with the Sect Master of Langya Grotto-Heaven..." The True Dragon slowly raised her head. "Are you afraid of currying favor by not telling me about these things?"

"And letting Bai Yunxin and Lady Hong escape—taking away my Dragon Soul. Are you afraid of currying favor by not telling me about such a major matter?"

Her tone was not stern, still maintaining her usual composure. But it already carried an unmistakable hint of authority—the brilliant golden light in the hall pressed toward Li Yunxin as her tone fluctuated, as if it was exerting pressure along with her.

But Li Yunxin did not panic this time. He even took a step forward, puffed out his chest, and said: "The reason this humble one did not speak of these things is—they are all things of the past (Qiánchén jiùshì)."

"The True Dragon should know that I was once rootless floating duckweed. My parents died, and I was adrift and dependent on no one. I only gained the good fortune I have today through a series of coincidences—although my heart yearns for the Divine Lord... I am actually still alone."

"I don't belong to any faction, and I have no friends to rely on. The reason I have reached this point... is entirely the result of desperately struggling to survive in the cracks. Young Master Nine was a great mountain, the Daoist Orthodoxy was a great mountain, the Sword Sect was a great mountain, and the Lord of Dongting was also a great mountain. If I wanted to survive, I couldn't run into the mountains. I did things that were beneficial to me... regardless of who the other party was."

"If the demons had truly fought the Daoist Orthodoxy at Dongting, I knew I could not escape the calamity. That is why I had to resort to some schemes... and unintentionally disrupted the Divine Lord's great plans."

Li Yunxin spoke passionately, and his voice slowly calmed down: "But the Divine Lord must know this one thing—even when I had no allegiance before, I was still able to guard Dongting and not allow the Daoist Orthodoxy to take one inch of Land God territory from me. This means that my interests and the Divine Lord's interests have been consistent since that time."

"And now, if I am fortunate enough to receive the Divine Lord's protection... this humble one will surely serve you with all my heart and be ready to jump into fire and water (Fù tāng dǎohuǒ)."

The True Dragon lowered her eyes and smiled: "When you spoke of Little Jiu's matter earlier, you were wise and spoke morally. But now you lay out the calculation of interests so openly—are you not like two different people?"

Li Yunxin said solemnly: "If one cannot even clearly see and dare not speak of one's own interests and needs, then no matter how many high-sounding words are spoken, would anyone dare to trust them?"

"Good," the True Dragon stood up. "You are a person who takes responsibility for his actions. So, what do you want?"

Li Yunxin thought for a moment: "I want the Wei River."

The True Dragon smiled: "What a big appetite."

But after walking a few steps, she said: "Good. I will give you the Wei River. I will give you the Wei River, and I will give you a title. From now on, you are the Wei River Lord, Chiwen."

Li Yunxin let out a light breath, waiting for the Divine Dragon's next words.

"But you must remember, what I give you is the Wei River. Not a certain section or several sections of the Wei River," the True Dragon looked at him with a half-smile. "In the past, Little Jiu was unworthy, only able to govern less than one or two tenths of the mighty Wei River. Now I give it all to you, you must take it all. If you cannot take it... then you will not have another chance."

"How much time does the Divine Lord give me?" Li Yunxin asked, his expression unchanged.

"The Wei River is only a small river. It is not even a drop in the bucket (Jiǔniú yī máo) among all the water systems in the world," the True Dragon thought for a moment. "One month. One month's time—this Wei River originates from Tai'a Mountain in the northeast, enters the sea at Dragon Mouth Canyon in the west, and flows through six kingdoms. If you can, in one month—even nominally bring this Wei River under your command, it will not have disappointed my expectations."

"One month's time is probably not enough to even take a quick look (Zǒumǎ guān huā) at this Wei River," Li Yunxin said calmly.

"Therefore, only if you can accomplish this task can you be called the Lord of Dongting," the True Dragon smiled slightly. "There are also Profound Realm great demons in the world, but few have my title. If you, a mere True Realm cultivator, receive such a great favor, how can you command respect without a shocking merit. And if you truly succeed, it will show that you have determination and perseverance. Then, I will have one more matter to entrust to you."

"I have determination, and I have perseverance," Li Yunxin said. "What will the Divine Lord want me to do next?"

The True Dragon smiled slightly: "Bring the Dragon Soul back. And bring back Lady Hong, who took the Dragon Soul—she should be one of our Dragon Clan people."

It was only then that Li Yunxin was truly slightly surprised.

Because the matter the True Dragon was speaking of was exactly what he had promised the other party to resolve. Although Bai Yunxin did not trust him.

Li Yunxin fell silent. But the True Dragon took this silence as agreement.

She then walked to a stop three steps in front of Li Yunxin and said: "Show me your fan."

Li Yunxin was slightly stunned and said: "Divine Lord, that is my... Dragon Palace location."

Both a Traveling Palace and a Dragon Palace are vital to a demon's life. There is an unwritten rule—demons obey the Demon King and Demon General. But a Traveling Palace, if one possesses it, must not be handed over to others.

Because this is almost equivalent to handing over half of one's cultivation and life to someone else.

Therefore, even though Li Yunxin wanted to please and deceive the True Dragon in every way possible, he still had to emphasize this point—although if the True Dragon used force, he would be completely helpless. But if the True Dragon were to say, "Then forget it," that would be a result he would be extremely happy to see.

But the majestic and composed True Dragon only glanced at him: "I know."

Li Yunxin could not say more.

He was now walking on thin ice. Every step was cautious—above the ice was the True Dragon's approval and a relatively stable future. Beneath the ice was an abyss of eternal doom.

Any mistake or fluctuation on his part could shatter the ice.

Li Yunxin was not a person who liked a stable life. But that didn't mean he was a person who liked a life where he could be killed at any moment.

Thus... he frowned slightly, took out the Folding Fan, and handed it to the True Dragon.

The True Dragon did not take it. But without any visible action, the Folding Fan flew from Li Yunxin's hand and stopped in front of her.

Then the Folding Fan opened with a shualala sound, and the Spirit Painting unfolded before the True Dragon.

Li Yunxin silently lowered his head slightly, watching the True Dragon only with the corner of his eye.

That was his Spirit Painting. Naturally, he had ways to manipulate it—for example, when he designed the fake "Kun Wuzi" for the Mutual Aid Society, he could make the other party only see himself on the fan's surface, and not others.

In fact... he could control who saw what, and that person could only see what he allowed.

Although the power of the Spirit Painting was far from limited to this, Li Yunxin's current cultivation could only achieve this much.

But he was unsure about the True Dragon... which meant that all his knowledge was only effective against "ordinary people."

This "ordinary person" did not refer to "mortals," but to those cultivators who had not advanced to the Supreme Realm. The words his parents told him and the abstruse experiences in the Lucid Jade Slip were only aimed at cultivators below the Supreme Realm.

But the True Dragon... could almost be called a living deity.

Li Yunxin did not know what kind of supernatural means the other party possessed, and thus he did not know if she could... break the Restriction he had placed in the painting and discover the truth—

The truth was that he had always known the other party was watching from the sky, and he had fiercely manipulated her using this advantage.

That would be an incomparably terrifying outcome.

This time, he had taken a risk again—far more heart-stopping than any previous one.

The True Dragon stared at the Hundred Li Rivers and Mountains Picture, which depicted the terrain around Weicheng on the fan's surface, for a long time, and asked him: "Your picture is a Spirit Painting."

Li Yunxin quickly replied: "Divine Lord has sharp eyes."

"Did you create it?"

He replied respectfully again: "Yes. I created this painting before using the power of the millions of vengeful souls in Weicheng. But there probably won't be another work like this afterward."

The True Dragon smiled and gently shook her head. It was unclear whether she didn't care or was suggesting it was yet to be determined.

Then she asked again: "What is the marvelous use of this picture?"

Li Yunxin was silent for a moment, then said in a serious, unmistakable tone: "I initially created this picture to seal Master Yue Yunzi's soul into the painting and completely eliminate future trouble—because the Master's Spiritual Soul is inextinguishable."

"But later I did discover other uses... Since I painted it, I can manipulate the characters in the painting to move around. If an unknowing person saw the people in the painting, they might think they could spy on the other party's actions. But in reality, it's only so in the painting."

"I used this method to scheme against the small fry of the Mutual Aid Society in this hall before." Li Yunxin smiled faintly. "It's a little trick. But a little trick, used well, can have a great purpose."