The Winged Dragon's Price

Xiao Chen was dumbfounded. Such a potent drug! Had he swallowed it by mistake, even if it didn't cause serious trouble, it would surely have made a fool of him.

That Qin Yi was not a good person, but at least not completely malicious—he hadn't used a lethal poison. Xiao Chen hesitated not at all. If they wanted to play, he would play along. Using his profound art, he carefully gathered the powder from the food onto his palm, then without hesitation threw most of it into the water vat.

"Shared blessings," he thought. After all, everyone living in the rear mountains was a master-level expert. It shouldn't cause too much trouble—at worst, some old men and women would be hopping around for a while. If a thorough investigation came, he could just blame Qin Yi.

Of course, Xiao Chen didn't intend to let Qin Yi off so easily. Using his Extreme Land Movement Technique, he silently arrived at Qin Yi's residence. The courtyard was not small and even had a dedicated tea room. He unceremoniously mixed the remaining powder into the tea leaves.

The next day was indeed lively. Angry roars came from the rear mountains, but they quickly subsided. However, the matter was far from over—the kitchen would certainly be thoroughly investigated.

What Xiao Chen didn't expect was that the old men and women who had been affected in the rear mountains managed to act as if nothing had happened, but another person he hadn't anticipated was hit hard: Yan Qingcheng, who was under confinement in the rear mountains. She began screaming loudly in the forest.

"Xiao Chen, come out!"

"I know it was you framing me..."

"Ahhh... Damn Xiao Chen..."

Eventually, Yan Qingcheng forced her way to Xiao Chen's dwelling. Her face was flushed, her whole body trembling; clearly the drug was potent. But with her cultivation level, it was not a serious problem.

After this incident, Qin Yi became extremely nervous. Qin Changfeng, who knew his son best, seemed to sense something. He went to Qin Yi's place and, after only the time it took to drink a cup of tea, let out a roar of fury. The old man himself was fine, but Qin Yi began running naked in his own courtyard...

The matter eventually faded away, though it was said that Qin Yi was called before the sect leader and severely reprimanded. If not for Qin Changfeng's face, he might have been heavily punished.

As for Yan Qingcheng "dancing" in Xiao Chen's courtyard with a flushed face—actually it was "raging"—it was passed among the women of the Undying Sect with embellished, romanticized versions.

Time passed quickly. Xiao Chen had been at the Undying Sect for three months. Every day he cultivated in silence. Among the four loose techniques—Slay God, Reverse Chaos, Suppress Demon, and Collapse—he had mastered Slay God and gained some insight into Reverse Chaos. As for Suppress Demon and Collapse, he could only use them in a rudimentary way.

Of course, it wasn't lack of talent. The main reason was that he was currently studying the sect's sacred scripture, the "Divine Demon Undying Imprint." He pored over it repeatedly, attempting to condense it into a single loose technique—an "Undying Imprint" that could overcome stronger enemies.

Undoubtedly, the sacred scripture of the Undying Sect was profound and extensive, but he didn't want to delve into it entirely—only to extract its most essential parts. If he could successfully integrate them into his own technique, his power would reach a new level.

The idea was good, but implementation was extremely difficult. Over three months, he forced his cultivation five times, each time coughing up blood and nearly collapsing physically. His soul was also wounded several times. This showed how profound and arduous the technique was.

And this was only extracting part of its essence. If he had tried to cultivate it from the beginning, it would have been even more consuming. No wonder the Undying Sect could flourish for ages—having such a miraculous technique to study was a great guarantee.

By the fourth month, Xiao Chen finally achieved some success. The "Undying Imprint" began to take form. At the same time, he gained good control over the second loose technique, Reverse Chaos.

During these four months, Xiao Chen also labored over the "Immortal Heavenly Wings." Being able to fly was his dream. Even if he couldn't master the Undying Imprint, he absolutely had to master the divine wings that could soar through the sky. This was his top priority during those four months.

However, the cultivation of the Immortal Heavenly Wings seemed even more difficult than the Undying Imprint. He pondered daily, but progress was slow. Only two hazy purple mists had appeared on his back, far from forming divine wings.

During these months, the three skeletons cultivated silently every day, rarely leaving their room. For them, a quiet place to train was all they needed. The snow-white little beast Keke was mysterious and elusive all day, busy with unknown affairs. Fortunately, it was obedient and didn't sneak into the forbidden areas of the Undying Sect.

As for the Little Defiant Dragon, its life was as before—always full of fighting spirit. Every day it traveled between the rear mountains and the underground palace, going to challenge the young winged dragon in the rear mountains. Although that winged dragon could also be called a "little dragon," it was already three to four meters long, much larger than the Little Defiant Dragon. The Little Defiant Dragon fought and lost repeatedly, but each day it crawled back to the underground palace bleeding, licked its wounds, and ate Fire Cloud Fruits to recover its strength.

In the end, seeing the Little Defiant Dragon fight so recklessly, the young winged dragon became afraid. It wasn't that it didn't want to kill this desperate creature—it was that the Little Defiant Dragon seemed unkillable. No matter how severe the injury, it survived, as if it had an undying body, and grew stronger with each battle.

The people of the Undying Sect had grown accustomed to the daily roars of dragons, but the Undying Sect Leader and others began to look at the Little Defiant Dragon differently. They sensed it was extraordinary.

Time slipped through the fingers imperceptibly. Xiao Chen had been at the Undying Sect for half a year. He had finally mastered the Undying Imprint—of course, "mastered" meant he could control and use it, not that he had fully grasped its supreme mysteries.

The four loose techniques could now be called five loose techniques when combined with the Undying Imprint. As for the Immortal Heavenly Wings, Xiao Chen was persistent, failing and trying again. During this period, he had gained some inspiration from watching the young winged dragon fight with the Little Defiant Dragon.

Another morning: rosy clouds spilled over the rear mountains, making the misty haze shimmer with colorful light. Wreathed among the woods and flowers, this beautiful pure land seemed like a fairyland.

"Xiao Chen, you have some nerve! The sect leader didn't allow you to roam the rear mountains—you were only supposed to cultivate in the front. How dare you run to our sect's sacred ground!" Yan Qingcheng was facing the morning sun, breathing in the rosy clouds. Streams of dreamlike light swirled around her, setting off her transcendent beauty. Her peerless face could topple cities and nations—dazzling to behold.

"Heh, go ahead and report me to your sect leader," Xiao Chen said lightly. He came to the rear mountains almost every day, and since the old experts of the Undying Sect who lived in seclusion here hadn't spoken, Yan Qingcheng could do nothing to him.

Seeing Xiao Chen's carefree smile, Yan Qingcheng ground her teeth in hatred. Over these many days, she had been secretly fuming. Many rumors about her ambiguous entanglement with Xiao Chen circulated within the sect. Although she knew her senior sisters were fanning the flames, it wasn't without cause.

As the outside turmoil over the Dragon King conflicts gradually settled, many events that had occurred on Dragon Island spread widely. The story of her and Xiao Chen's entanglement had already spread within the Undying Sect, making her see red whenever she saw Xiao Chen. Especially since she was currently cultivating the Demon Seed Spirit Art, which might lead to even more serious consequences—she wished she could bite Xiao Chen twice to vent her anger.

"Mr. Xiao, don't be smug. Someday I'll pay you back everything."

"Fine, I look forward to it. In another half year, your Undying Demon Art will completely transform into the Demon Seed Spirit Art, right? At that time, it seems I'll be able to control you. Hmm, what should I do? I'm a normal man with all the normal needs of a man. I think it's time to end this ascetic-like cultivation and have a proper talk about you and me."

"Go to hell! What are you, and what am I? I'm not interested in talking to you."

"I'm a man, and you're a woman. Talking about 'us' means talking about men and women."

Having said that, Xiao Chen turned and left, because he knew if he continued, Yan Qingcheng would completely explode. Also, he sensed some old men in the shadows watching him.

Yan Qingcheng's beautiful face darkened, her graceful figure trembling slightly. She wanted nothing more than to rush over, knock Xiao Chen to the ground, and stomp on that detestable smiling face.

Before long, the Little Defiant Dragon arrived. It roared at the dragon cave beneath the cliff, provoking the young winged dragon inside. The three-meter-long young winged dragon had recently been forced to fight passively, feeling both angry and frustrated. It was both annoyed and irritated by this strange little dragon that constantly came to pick fights—and that seemed impossible to kill.

Spreading its wings, it flew over and pounced fiercely. Today, it seemed determined to end the battle quickly. From the start, it fought with full force. Its sharp dragon claws, like heavenly hooks, tore through the air, aiming for the Little Defiant Dragon's spine.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

Dragon shadows flickered. The Little Defiant Dragon left several afterimages at the spot, moving with incredible speed. It dodged, and the rock where it had stood was directly clawed apart by the young winged dragon.

Xiao Chen watched in secret surprise. The Little Defiant Dragon's progress was astonishing—its rapid shifting just now resembled a human master executing a mysterious movement technique. No one had taught this little dragon human cultivation methods. Could it be that, like Keke, it naturally possessed mysterious and profound techniques? But wasn't that the privilege of Dragon Kings?

Having not paid attention for a while, Xiao Chen noticed that the Little Defiant Dragon's single horn had fully grown, shining brightly and looking extraordinary. Its physique seemed to have undergone considerable change—much stronger than before, and much faster.

"Roar—"

The two dragons engaged in fierce combat. Although the Little Defiant Dragon was still no match for the winged dragon, it showed no fear of death and fought with exceptional ferocity. It was a true little desperado, making the young winged dragon wary and hesitant.

Finally, the Little Defiant Dragon retreated, covered in blood. At that moment, Xiao Chen made his move. He trapped the young winged dragon, which was about to fly back to its cave, within his Sealing Divinity Light Screen. The young winged dragon was furious and struggled continuously.

"Little one, don't panic. I just want to see how you circulate dragon origin power through your wings. I'll release you soon." Xiao Chen used all his strength to restrain the young winged dragon and began to explore.

His hands traced the fine scales, feeling the surging dragon origin power within, sensing how that energy flowed through the winged dragon's wings. Combining this with the cultivation method of the Immortal Heavenly Wings, Xiao Chen pondered while circulating his profound art to impact the meridians on his back.

Half an hour later, Xiao Chen finally had an insight. But that was when he felt something amiss: the young winged dragon had calmed down and stopped struggling. At the same time, he noticed a large shadow on the ground. He looked up abruptly and saw two enormous creatures descending from the sky, stirring up fierce winds.

Oh no!

Xiao Chen released the young winged dragon and started running. The two adult winged dragons that had been patrolling outside had returned and caught him in the act.

There was no escape. The huge dragon claws were about to envelop Xiao Chen, but they did not descend. The two adult winged dragons landed one after the other. Light flickered, and their enormous dragon forms disappeared, replaced by a young man and woman who blocked his way. The man was tall and valiant, the woman beautiful and radiant.

Although Xiao Chen knew that adult winged dragons all had demigod-level cultivation and could take human form, seeing it with his own eyes still shocked him—especially since he had just been bullying their child and was caught red-handed.

"Uh... I didn't mean any harm..." Caught in the act, Xiao Chen didn't know what to say. These were two demigods! He had been so focused on studying the Immortal Heavenly Wings that he had forgotten about the young winged dragon's parents.

"Wah... he bullied me! And he wanted to steal our treasure!" The young winged dragon flew over crying, starting to tell lies in a childish voice.

What the... Xiao Chen was speechless. This young winged dragon could also speak human language, and very fluently at that, clearly framing him! He knew that winged dragons treasured their hoards—almost every adult winged dragon had a small collection. Wasn't this accusing him falsely? But on second thought, it wasn't entirely false—such treatment was justified.

With a flash of light, Xiao Chen was brought by the couple into the dragon's cave.

"If you want us to forgive you, find a way to teach our child the legendary ancient dragon combat techniques from Dragon Island."