The Summoning of the Ancestral Dragon Ship

"So that is how it is." Xiao Chen felt deeply worried for Lan Nuo.

"Do not worry about me. If I can leave this place, I believe I will soon enter the realm of Deathless Longevity," Lan Nuo said with a confident smile, as warm and gentle as the spring breeze brushing the willows.

That the enmity with Zhao Lin'er had been resolved in such a manner was something Xiao Chen had not anticipated. Yet neither party was entirely willing; they simply did not wish to defy Lan Nuo's goodwill.

Xiao Chen walked toward the coconut grove, but his mind was filled with Lan Nuo's image. A celestial maiden of such talent, one he admired. If he could marry such a woman… her gentle nature, kind heart, and brilliant intellect—anyone would be moved. He quickly suppressed the thought. How could he entertain such notions? But then the thought returned: how could he not? Surely everyone would yearn for such an extraordinary woman.

Xiao Chen found himself recalling the legends of Lan Nuo. She was a figure of legend in the Nine Provinces of Yanhuang, her name renowned across the land for many years. Her bearing was peerless, her genius unmatched. At twenty, she had challenged the world with her sword and found no worthy opponent.

Yet that same year, while cultivating the legendary Divine Guidance, she had injured her cultivation, her body growing weaker by the day. Subsequently, Lan Nuo made a decisive choice: she sealed herself in ice within a ten-thousand-zhang snow valley.

A miracle occurred. Thirteen years later, she emerged from the ice cave brimming with boundless vitality. Her face was as beautiful as ever, her celestial visage untouched by time. Those thirteen years had passed for her in the blink of an eye.

Thirteen years sealed in ice—time had been kind, and her beauty had not faded.

Returning to the coconut grove, Xiao Chen glanced back and saw Lan Nuo, Zhao Lin'er, and the spiritist Lan Yu standing together. A green-haired youth stood not far from them. Xiao Chen was startled. Was that not the fleshly body born from the transformation of the old treeman in Treant Valley? Was he also planning to leave Dragon Island? That was a being nearly of demigod level!

Sunset dyed the horizon red. The golden sea heaved and surged. Many cultivators had gathered near the beach—almost everyone had arrived.

Keke sat on the back of the little celestial horse, galloping across the golden sand. It showed no fear of the young Companion Dragon Kings. Backed by Keke's mysterious sealing art, the little unicorn grew bolder, darting around the Evil Dragon King, the Winged Dragon King, and the others. Keke even left its footprints on the backs of several dragon kings.

Zhao Lin'er was annoyed. Her beloved little celestial horse was being ridden by that person's little pet, which displeased her. But watching the snow-white beast's adorable appearance, she found it hard to act.

"Aoooh—!" A heaven-shaking dragon roar made the golden sea tremble. A golden little dragon ran to the shore, followed by three more young dragon kings. The crowd at the edge of the island knew that the older experts had arrived—these were the Companion Dragon Kings they had subdued.

At the golden little dragon king's roar, the other dragon kings stirred and all charged toward the beach. When they gathered together, a fierce battle intent erupted from them—they seemed ready to fight!

This was not a good sign. Their respective masters rushed over and forcibly separated them, averting a tragedy. Eventually, the eleven little dragon kings seemed to relent and refrained from attacking one another, pacing tamely on the sand.

It was a rare and unprecedented sight: over a dozen Companion Dragon Kings gathered together. Usually, encountering even one legendary such beast would be remarkable. Now all the dragon kings were assembled. Perhaps it seemed ordinary now, but decades or centuries later, future generations would surely marvel—for by then, the little dragon kings would have grown into beings so powerful that even gods would fear them. And all those mighty dragon kings had once gathered on a single beach.

The people present might not think much of it now, but without doubt, their descendants would speak of these events as a tale, telling how their ancestors had witnessed such a scene. And of course, they would also speak of another little beast…

Keke was having a grand time on the beach. Xiao Chen let it be. The little white beast had finally shaken off its dejected mood, and he did not want to spoil it. However, when four more little dragon kings arrived with the older experts, Keke became a handful again.

It turned into a streak of white light and stepped on each of the four dragon kings' backs, as if to prove that it had left its footprints on all eleven dragon kings, seeming to want to leave behind a "legend of the beast that reigned supreme" for future generations.

The four newly arrived little dragon kings flew into a rage, while the seven in the distance watched with schadenfreude. They had all been through this before and had all been provoked by that detestable little beast—even the flying Winged Dragon King was no exception.

Night fell. Stars dotted the vast dome. The night sea breeze was gentle, but no one could sleep, for tomorrow they would bid farewell to Dragon Island.

Xiao Chen lay on his back in the coconut grove, muttering to himself, "I hope everything goes smoothly."

The chubby Niu Ren said, "Don't worry. Those old-timers have all arrived. They won't delay any longer. To be honest, they're a bit afraid—recently, the snow mountains near the demon haunt have been shrouded in thick yin fog. They fear something unexpected might happen."

"The demon…" Xiao Chen sighed. He felt he had let Keke down.

It was a night that kept people awake, and a night filled with anticipation.

At dawn, when the first rays of sunlight fell upon the beach, almost everyone opened their eyes. The golden sand was crowded with people. Everyone walked out of the coconut grove, many carrying large bags of coconuts in vine nets to serve as drinking water at sea.

More than a hundred people stood on the beach. Before them were eleven young dragon kings, each extraordinary: the Purple Dragon King, the Black Dragon King, the Blue Dragon King, the Emerald Dragon King, the Red Dragon King, the Winged Dragon King, the Evil Dragon King… They stood in a row, lifting their heads to the sky and roaring long and loud. The ear-splitting roars formed a strange power that reverberated fiercely through the sky and surged toward the distant sea.

All cultivators were forced to temporarily seal their hearing, for none could withstand the terrible sound waves of the dragon kings' unified roar—even though they were still young.

Like divine thunder booming over the golden sea, like demonic shrieks from the nine underworlds piercing the earth, the muffled roars of the dragon kings traveled endlessly across the vast heavens and earth, causing the golden sea to rage violently.

Strange ripples surged across the space. People believed that the legend of summoning the divine ship by nine dragon kings must be true—how else could it be so miraculous?

It felt as if an immense, ancient, and desolate aura filled the world, as if an unknown mysterious force was transmitting a message across the distance.

"Roooar…" The dragon kings' long cries continued. The entire Dragon Island trembled faintly. The call of the dragon kings seemed to tear through time and space, sending their will forth.

Amidst the deafening dragon cries, a somewhat discordant sound emerged.

"Ya-ya, ya-ya…" At some point, the little white beast had run to the front of the row of eleven dragon kings, vaguely becoming the leading figure. It seemed to be imitating them, lifting its head to the sky and crying out with great devotion. But its voice was too childish, like a babbling infant.

Yet, astonishingly, the little white beast's voice echoed clearly through the heavens, not drowned out by the eleven dragon kings. The "ya-ya" sounds were distinctly audible, like an innocent child singing a pure lullaby.

The crowd wanted to stop it, but at that moment, from the boundless golden sea came a mighty dragon roar, as if it were a great heavenly sound from the ancient past, making everyone's soul tremble.

A colossal dragon boat blazing with seven-colored light appeared on the golden horizon, riding the wind and waves. It seemed to have truly come tearing through time from the distant past.

Many were so moved that tears filled their eyes. The enormous divine ship was as grand as a small mountain, resembling a true Ancestral Dragon, cleaving through the Forbidden Sea and drawing near.

It was indeed a massive divine ship in the shape of an Ancestral Dragon. Seven-colored light blazed, illuminating the entire Forbidden Sea. A thousand li of ocean heaved violently at its appearance, yet the divine ship sailed steadily without the slightest tremor.

The legend was true. When the nine kings gathered, they could summon the divine ship built from the bones of the Ancestral Dragon and divine wood, capable of carrying everyone across the dreadful Forbidden Sea and leaving Dragon Island.

The eleven young Companion Dragon Kings had ceased their cries. Keke ran back to Xiao Chen's side. But at that moment, even more earth-shattering dragon roars came from behind. In the coconut grove, countless vast dragon shadows appeared: the cyan Tyrant Dragon, the golden Lion King Dragon, the emerald Sword Dragon, the purple Thunder Dragon… the primordial savage dragons had all gathered here. A fierce, slaughterous aura shot straight into the sky. The massive dragon shadows filled the entire beach and grove.

Everyone turned pale. What did these ferocious dragons intend? Why had they all gathered here? Were they planning to slaughter everyone?

Yet, to their slight relief, all the fearsome dragons did not approach further. They only roared and watched from the coconut grove. The eleven young dragon kings let out cries of their own and quickly dashed into the grove, filled with sorrow and reluctance.

In an instant, everyone understood. Those enormous dragons had come to see off the little dragon kings. The eleven little dragon kings charged into the dragon host, letting out mournful, low cries, as if deeply attached and reluctant to leave the other dragons. The roars of the mighty dragons were filled with sorrow, with genuine feeling and reluctance to part.

Closer now, ever closer. The legendary Ancestral Dragon Ship finally docked. A beam of seven-colored divine light formed a rainbow bridge, extending from the divine ship to the shore.