The location of Longya is basically in the center of the entire Yao domain, slightly to the north.

Shengshan, on the other hand, is located in the eastern part of the Yao domain.

Therefore, when Da Tinglan launched an attack on Shengshan, it was because Shengshan was closer to Donghai.

Longya, however, is quite far from Shengshan, a journey of several thousand li.

Long Qinghuang carried one in each hand, and all three of them were uncomfortable. She had carried them this way when returning north from the army. At that time, Lu Xingzhou didn’t dare to say anything, but now that their relationship had progressed, he dared to speak up: “Uh… even though we’re flying slowly, do we really need to rush this much? Just let us fly slowly.”

Long Qinghuang said, “There’s no time to lose; why waste it on the road?”

Lu Xingzhou tried again, “Then how about a different way, not carrying us like this?”

Long Qinghuang smiled faintly, “What method did Ye Tinglan use to fly you to Donghai?”

He was held, his head nestled in her fragrant, soft embrace, incredibly comfortable.

But was this something to boast about?

Lu Xingzhou said very tactfully, “Of course, Miss Long can do things that Mister cannot.”

He had originally intended to coax her into holding him too, but Long Niang’s thought process was different. After a moment of silence, she actually sighed and said, “You just want to ride a dragon.”

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

At least, he wasn’t thinking that way right now.

Was riding a dragon as comfortable as cuddling in a beauty’s arms? Even if he wanted to ride a dragon, he’d want that kind of ride.

He thought the misunderstood Long Niang would get angry, but instead, she pondered something and said, “Alright, my true form is actually faster. Get ready.”

A dragon roar echoed through the heavens and earth, and a golden dragon, tens of zhang long, soared through the clouds.

Lu Xingzhou held Anuo, looking at the giant dragon eyes before him, feeling small, pathetic, and helpless.

Who said riding a dragon was exhilarating? He almost had a heart attack.

Lu Gong now deeply understood Ye Gong.

Seeming to sense their fear, a hint of irony flickered in the dragon’s eyes: “Come up.”

Lu Xingzhou carefully sat on the dragon’s back, holding Anuo. It wasn’t really ‘riding’ at all; it was no different from sitting on the deck of an airship. Such a vast, flat surface, any single dragon scale was like a bed, large enough to lie down and sleep on.

Therefore, there was no actual psychological experience of conquering a dragon ride. Indeed, when the size difference reaches a certain level, it causes a qualitative change, and the sensation is completely different.

Long Qinghuang seemed to know what he was thinking and said leisurely, “Be content, Lu Xingzhou. You two, big and small deceivers, are the only living beings in this world who treat me as a means of transport.”

Anuo: “…If there are lice on Sister’s back, do they count?”

The dragon’s body shook slightly, almost wanting to甩 this thing off: “How could I have lice on me? Do you take me for a mud monkey like yourself!”

Lu Xingzhou wanted to argue that there must be invisible microorganisms, but then he thought that a Wanxiang great demon might truly not have any, so he remained silent.

The golden dragon weaved through the clouds, moving faster than before. Compared to airships and the like, without wind deflectors or similar facilities, the headwind was hard to bear. Fortunately, both master and disciple were now flying creatures of the Tengyun level, so this was not an issue.

Lu Xingzhou got over his initial shock and stroked his chin, pondering philosophy.

With such a huge size difference, he didn’t feel the conquest of riding a dragon. What if he could use transformation techniques and become a giant?

Tianyuan Shengdi had expansion techniques; Mister had used them to inflate a doorway to trick Anuo.

Could this be used on humans?

Lu Xingzhou tried hard to recall this technique from the forgotten corners of the Tianyuan Shengdi texts he had memorized. He secretly tried it on himself on the spot.

No reaction.

After all, this was a Dao cultivation technique, and Lu Xingzhou’s Dao cultivation level hadn’t advanced enough to affect humans. Even if it did, it could only expand him slightly.

Lu Xingzhou then secretly tried to target a specific part of his body; even a slight expansion there would be quite impressive…

However, his experiment was noticed by Long Qinghuang, who was both annoyed and amused: “Lu Xingzhou…”

“Huh?”

“You’re so cute, I want to kiss you.”

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

No, if you kissed me in this form, my head might be gone.

Long Qinghuang wasn’t actually going to kiss him, of course. She casually said, “You really want to ride me? Then you need to practice ‘Kaitian Jue’ even more diligently. The Way of the Yao Clan’s physical transformation is all in there. When you cultivate it deeply, Fashang Tiandi is not impossible.”

Lu Xingzhou’s heart skipped a beat.

Fashang Tiandi.

In a world where the highest cultivation was Huiyang Wanxiang, hearing such a divine power term felt a bit illusory.

It seemed he had underestimated this body-tempering method. Was the cultivation technique Long Qinghuang gave Anuo actually of such a high level? Or was this technique just boasting? If it could truly achieve Fashang Tiandi, why would humans even fight the Yao clan…

Sure enough, Long Qinghuang continued, “Our cultivation techniques are not complete either; this is a fragmented piece. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be stuck at this level. The famous Huangji Jingshi Jing and Tianyao Xuanyue on the human side also have their shortcomings. They should all have been improved from fragments of ancient cultivation techniques into seemingly complete ones, but their上限 are not high. Otherwise, Ye Tinglan would have long glimpsed the vastness of Qianyuan, instead of being trapped in the mundane world.”

So, the little white cat was right to point out the core essence: there are simply no good cultivation techniques in this world.

Lu Xingzhou couldn’t help but say, “Logically, cultivation techniques should have been improved through generations, with modern people surpassing the ancients. Why are ancient techniques stronger? Is it because what modern people learn is incomplete?”

“Yes, not only incomplete, but severely so. All high-level methods are lost. How can they surpass the ancients? After all, a genius capable of innovating from fragments and independently deducing higher-level cultivation techniques might not be found in tens of thousands of years.”

Lu Xingzhou nodded. He himself was quite a genius, but to deduce the complete text from half of the Yinyang Jiyi Gong—he was sorry, he couldn’t do it. Wasn’t he still thinking of finding the complete text…

Long Qinghuang said, “Why are modern people so obsessed with exploring ancient ruins? Because only in ancient ruins can they find unmissing, more original things. Like yours, which is quite different from others.”

Lu Xingzhou was startled: “I only have half a piece too.”

“Others have theirs cut horizontally, missing the upper half. Yours is cut vertically, missing the other half. Do you know the difference?” Long Qinghuang said leisurely, “Although the result is the same—both are unable to progress further due to the missing parts—if you are talented enough, you might actually be able to complete the other half, break through the limitations, and have a greater advantage than others.”

Lu Xingzhou’s heart stirred; this explanation was intriguing. After all, his cultivation technique came directly from what the ancient realm cultivator Mohe himself practiced.

“Then, have others who explored ancient ruins never found a complete one, or one similar to mine?”

“Some certainly have, but their quality isn’t good enough… Do you think cultivation techniques above the transcendent grade are as common as cabbages? Ones that are both high enough in quality and complete enough, I haven’t seen any so far.”

Lu Xingzhou frowned, still feeling that something was off.

Tens of thousands of years of cultivation in the human world, with countless individuals of great fortune, and never seen one?

Doesn’t this feel a bit like malicious manipulation, a forced separation?

Could it be that the people of the ancient realm are isolated from the human world not essentially because they are afraid of them causing trouble in the human world, but rather, conversely, afraid that the people of the world will obtain more complete cultivation techniques from them?

The opponent who was poisoned in Mohe’s cave back then, didn’t he resemble a general leading a group to capture someone? Originally acquainted with Mohe, he had come with courtesy first, then force, but ended up being poisoned.

If so, all the previously strange logical inconsistencies would become more explainable, lacking only a motive for someone to do this.

Sensing his silence, Long Qinghuang was a bit curious: “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh… you said Shengshan is related to your ancestors? Can you communicate with them?”

“Hmm, occasionally prayers can receive the will of the ancestors, but it’s quite rare.”

“Don’t they grant more complete cultivation methods?”

“Intermittent wills, how can they transmit something like that…” Long Qinghuang sighed: “It would be good enough if they could solve this current reproduction problem…”

Lu Xingzhou frowned, falling completely silent.

The outline of Shengshan had already appeared on the distant horizon.

Unlike the stark Longya, Shengshan resembled a human spiritual mountain and treasured land. From afar, one could see immortal cranes and white deer roaming, ethereal celestial music, flowing springs, and chanting Buddhist scriptures, cleansing the soul.

At the summit stood a majestic temple. The temple was new, as the original ancient temple had been burned down by Ye Tinglan.

Yes, Shengshan was usually associated with religion, and this religion was Buddhism. Lu Xingzhou had a premonition of this when he first saw the temple in the Lion Clan’s border city, and it was now confirmed.

The lush green plants in the mountains, few of them were ancient; most were trees newly planted within the last ten years. Occasionally, one could still see scorched ancient trees, which, though burnt, had not died, stubbornly surviving and gradually recovering. This scene dispelled half of the spiritual awe brought by the temple’s Buddhist chants. He wondered if the Yao clan, upon seeing it, would instead feel a greater sense of history and reverence?

In any case, from Lu Xingzhou’s perspective, it was a scene that everywhere bore witness to Ye Tinglan’s achievements ten years ago… He was truly proud of Mister.

However, Lu Xingzhou didn’t know that the part of the mountain he saw had been set on fire by Yuan Muyu, so he was proud of the wrong person.

Speaking of which, Xiao Kui was more than ten years old. He wondered if she had already transformed and arrived at Longya ten years ago, or if she was a sunflower that survived the great fire on Shengshan ten years ago and later became a spirit. If it was the latter, then Xiao Kui truly had great fortune.

The golden dragon landed outside the mountain, not directly rushing into it, as if showing the greatest respect to Shengshan.

Long Qinghuang transformed back into human form, still wearing her glittering golden imperial robe, and stood at the foot of the mountain: “Walk up the mountain, any objections?”

The implication was that if Lu Xingzhou didn’t want to walk, she could fly them.

Lu Xingzhou smiled: “Walking is good too. To worship Buddha, one should show some sincerity.”

Long Qinghuang nodded. Her millennia of respect for Shengshan made it difficult for her to immediately view them as enemies. It was best if Lu Xingzhou was understanding.

The three began to ascend the mountain. Before long, they saw the mountain gate at the foot of the mountain. Several guest-greeting monks stood there, utterly shocked to see Long Qinghuang: “Your Majesty? Why have you suddenly come here…”

Before Long Qinghuang could speak, Lu Xingzhou spoke first: “We heard that worshipping Buddha is effective. We’ve come to pray for a harmonious marriage. Master, could you guide us to which hall we should worship in?”

Long Qinghuang’s eyes instantly curved into crescent moons.