Chapter 1242 - Mysterious Token

Yu Zhengyang finally yielded and lowered his head. He ground his teeth until several cracked. His eyes turned bloodshot, blazing like a tiger ready to rend its prey. The murderous glare he fixed on Liu Wuxie seemed sharp enough to shred him. If looks could kill, Liu Wuxie would have perished a thousand times over.

The square fell into complete silence. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the two words.

"Grandfather!" Yu Zhengyang roared, spitting a mouthful of blood. Then, he collapsed, unconscious.

The words echoed through the square and reverberated through the air. The divine senses that had lingered overhead finally dispersed; the confrontation was over.

Disciples carried Yu Zhengyang away in a pitiful state; without prompt treatment, his injury could permanently cripple his cultivation.

"Everyone, disperse!" Elder Ji commanded, his sharp gaze sweeping the crowd.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The disciples began to leave, yet everyone knew today's incident would spread like wildfire beyond the outer gate, and that word of Liu Wuxie's name would soon reach the true disciples of the Heavenly Dragon Sect.

The square gradually emptied. Deacons stayed behind and reorganized the Book Collection Pavilion's spiritual array; no one dared mention the jamming again.

"Elder Long, we will take our leave," Elder Ji and Elder Huang said, clasping hands respectfully before departing for the lesser realm.

Elder Long nodded in return. They were fellow elders, but he was not familiar with either of them.

Elder Ding lingered a moment longer, nodded to Liu Wuxie, and left. Soon, only Liu Wuxie and Elder Long remained in the square.

"Elder Long, thank you for stepping in," Liu Wuxie said, bowing suddenly. He knew that without Elder Long's intervention, the outcome could have been very different.

"There's no need to thank me. I didn't act for you personally—I acted to give everyone a fair chance," Elder Long replied. "Had another disciple stood in your place, I would have done the same."

Yu Zhengyang had denied Liu Wuxie any chance to explain from the start and had tried to turn the situation into an excuse to eliminate him. Elder Long would not allow anyone to die under a false charge. That was his nature—resolute and unyielding, even more rigid than Tian Xing.

Liu Wuxie gave a wry smile. Men like Elder Long saw the world in black and white; they left no room for gray.

"I will never forget the grace of the dragon's blood," Liu Wuxie said. "But I don't understand why you gave it to me."

They were neither kin nor close acquaintances. This was only their second meeting, yet Elder Long gave him something as precious as dragon's blood—a gift Liu Wuxie could not explain.

Elder Long lifted his head and stared at the sky. He had no clear answer; even he did not know whether his action had been right.

"Come. I'll show you something," Elder Long said, and he led Liu Wuxie away.

Curiosity stirred within Liu Wuxie. He had no idea what Elder Long intended to reveal.

They left the square together. Elder Long began at a measured pace and then quickened; Liu Wuxie kept three meters behind, sensing the elder was testing his speed.

They accelerated and streaked across mountain ranges like meteors. Elder Long even looped several chains, sweeping across thousands of miles before they finally halted.

"Your true essence is remarkably pure," Elder Long observed, watching the flow within Liu Wuxie. "An ordinary Transcendent Realm cultivator would have collapsed long ago."

"Your praise honors me," Liu Wuxie replied, inclining his head in thanks.

Before them loomed a vast, long-deserted palace, its weathered walls crawling with weeds.

Mount Sumeru!

Liu Wuxie realized, and his heart tightened. Ten miles to the left lay the entrance where the Dragon Origin Herb was said to grow—a line between life and death. Anyone who trespassed would likely perish.

A dense web of spiritual arrays sealed the mountain. Liu Wuxie had no way to breach them; his cultivation remained far too low.

Elder Long gazed at the ruined palace and sighed; for a moment, his shoulders stooped under the weight of memory.

Liu Wuxie stood baffled. He did not know why Elder Long had brought him to this place. This was far from the Heavenly Dragon Sect, edging close to forbidden ground where disciples never tread.

"Elder Long, what is this place?" Liu Wuxie asked. The palace felt both strange and oddly familiar. Neglect over centuries mottled and flaked the columns, reduced some to powdery stone, and let weeds as tall as men choke the gates.

"You'll know once you enter," Elder Long said, waving, and led Liu Wuxie to the gates, where faint traces of red lacquer still clung to ancient wood.

He produced a token and slipped it into a groove on the gate; the mechanism clicked, and the token was the key.

The moment Liu Wuxie saw the token, he jolted as if he had been struck by lightning. Elder Long instantly noticed his reaction.

"Are you all right?" Elder Long asked, frowning. There were only weeds and ruins here, no astral beasts. Considering Liu Wuxie's temperament, there was no reason for him to fear the palace.

"E-Elder Long... may I see that token?" Liu Wuxie asked, voice trembling. The gate cracked open and released the scent of long-sealed dust, but he kept his eyes fixed on the token.

Elder Long frowned. He had intended to return the token to his interspatial ring, but instead, he handed it to Liu Wuxie.

Clutching the token, Liu Wuxie studied it for a full minute before returning it. His expression shifted, looking solemn and unreadable.

Elder Long only grew more puzzled at the sight of it.

"Are you certain you're all right?" Elder Long pressed. He could not understand Liu Wuxie's strong reaction.

Liu Wuxie inhaled and steadied himself. "Elder Long, what if I told you I possess an identical token? Would you believe me?"

He had finally revealed it. Before he left the Heavenly Spirit Celestial Academy, the grandmaster had entrusted him with a token engraved with the character "dragon." It was not a War Dragon Institute token.

Unlike the War Dragon Institute tokens, whose character appeared on the front, Elder Long's token had the character engraved on its back and a soaring dragon etched on its front.

"What?" Elder Long's face hardened. In a flash, he seized Liu Wuxie by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

Liu Wuxie could not resist—Elder Long was a Void Realm powerhouse.

"Say that again!" Elder Long demanded.

"I have a token exactly like this one," Liu Wuxie replied, voice steady despite the pressure.

Suspicion flickered in Elder Long's eyes as he set Liu Wuxie down.

"That's impossible. Only two such tokens exist. The other vanished long ago—how could someone your age possess one?" Elder Long said, voice tight with disbelief.

For the first time, Liu Wuxie saw something other than sternness in the elder's face.

Liu Wuxie summoned his own ancient token into his palm with a wave of his hand.

When Elder Long saw the two tokens together, he jolted. He froze, stunned; an onlooker would probably think he was possessed.

Liu Wuxie trembled when he first saw Elder Long's token; now, it was the elder's turn to tremble.

Elder Long snatched the token from Liu Wuxie and scrutinized it. At first, he assumed it was a clever replica, but he quickly abandoned the notion—no one could forge a replica without the original.

"This is truly the other one!" Elder Long cried, tears streaming as he cradled the token like a lost treasure.

The sight dumbfounded Liu Wuxie. He wondered whether the token concealed a deeper secret; when the grandmaster gave it to him, he had not explained—perhaps he had not known either.

The token was unimaginably ancient, its history perhaps stretching a million years. Liu Wuxie once suspected it belonged to an early Heavenly Dragon Sect disciple, but after joining the sect, he dismissed that idea.

He had been keeping it hidden, as its purpose eluded him. If he were to reveal it carelessly and the upper echelons dismissed it as worthless, he would end up squandering a priceless opportunity.

"Elder Long, are you alright?" Liu Wuxie asked, curiosity sharpening. Could the token really be linked to the True Martial Continent?

Liu Wuxie had planned to use Elder Long as a bridge to the sect's upper echelons on the matter of the True Martial Continent; now the path seemed far more promising.

When Elder Long composed himself, he returned the token to Liu Wuxie. He suspected the young man possessed the token for a reason.

"Where did you obtain it?" Elder Long asked, his face once more stern and unyielding.

"This isn't the place to talk. Can we find somewhere safer?" Liu Wuxie asked. He trusted Elder Long more than Elder Ding; rigid, upright men were the sort he understood best.

It wasn't that he distrusted Elder Ding, but Elder Ding's status ranked below Elder Long's. Even if Elder Ding became aware of the True Martial Continent, he wouldn't have enough influence to help.

Thus, Liu Wuxie had been waiting for the right moment.

"Let's go to the main hall," Elder Long said at last. "No one comes here but me."

With that, he stepped through the ruined gates, and Liu Wuxie followed him.