VHBF -Chapter 170 The Evil Dragon Daddy (Part 1)

“Grandmaster, why do we have to slay the dragon?”

A little novice who had only just entered the sect asked innocently, drawing laughter from several young disciples around him.

The white-bearded old man glared. “What are you laughing at? Back then—back when that evil dragon swept across the world—you didn’t even know which line you were queuing in to be reincarnated, and you still have the face to laugh?”

“You, you, you—and you too. You think you understand more than your junior brother? That evil dragon needs only a single sneeze to shake you until blood pours from your seven orifices and your soul scatters.”

“Cultivate properly. In three months you’ll be going to Evil Dragon Valley for training. Half a year later comes the Dragon-Slaying Assembly. Whoever performs well and comes back alive—I’ll reward you!”

This was the Dao Sect’s outer court training ground. The Dao Sect emphasized returning to simplicity; disciples cultivated sitting cross-legged on the ground.

The treatment of outer disciples and inner disciples differed vastly. For ten years on end, these disciples were trained by this white-bearded grandmaster, with very slim chances of entering the inner sect. Aside from the once-in-a-decade inner sect selection, only by earning merit at the once-in-a-century Dragon-Slaying Assembly could one be exceptionally admitted.

They couldn’t compare with inner disciples in talent. They could only rely on hard cultivation and earning merit. This was undoubtedly cruel, but for these outer disciples, this Dragon-Slaying Assembly was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to ascend. They clenched their fists and shouted loudly:

“Grandmaster, we will cultivate diligently!”

“Slay the dragon, slay the dragon, slay the dragon!”

“The evil dragon must die! The evil dragon must die! The evil dragon must die!!!”

“Legend has it that ten thousand years ago, that evil dragon was confined here. Even the Heavenly Dao could do nothing to him. Even the venerables who set up the formation back then and trapped the evil dragon here were unable to take his life, and could only imprison him.”

“The Dragon-Slaying Venerable once left words before ascending to the upper realm, instructing us to pass them down generation by generation: never abandon the crusade against the evil dragon. This formation opens once every hundred years. We seize the moment when it opens to use our methods to weaken the dragon’s strength. Thus, cycle after cycle, once every hundred years—one day, we will finally destroy this evil dragon!”

At the bottom of the valley.

A mountain cave nearly a hundred zhang tall, pitch-black and steeped in an eerie stillness. From beneath the pool of water deep inside the cave came bursts of bubbling sounds.The reason the Dragon-Slaying Assembly was fraught with danger was not merely because the evil dragon to be slain was immensely powerful, but also because the dragon had a vast number of loyal believers and supporters.

They devoutly regarded the evil dragon as their leader and their faith. For tens of thousands of years, they had never given up on rescuing their leader. At every Dragon-Slaying Assembly, their figures could always be found—appearing in the Evil Dragon Valley of the Endless Abyss, striking at those foolish dragon-slayers.

That great battle ten thousand years ago, between the dragon and dozens of powerful dragon-slayers, split the Huan Yuan Continent in two. The west became the Magical Continent. The followers of the Dragon Sovereign led their believers to migrate there to live. Meanwhile, the eastern Cultivation Continent was left to the disciples and descendants of the Dragon-Slaying Venerable, who remained behind with the people. To this day, countless cultivation sects stood tall, their incense offerings thriving.

The Magical Continent where the evil dragon’s followers resided was very different from the rigid, icy Cultivation Continent of the east, where anything tinged with darkness was deemed demonic and either shunned or eradicated without hesitation. The people of the Magical Continent revered freedom, strength, and noble lineage.

As long as you were powerful, what did darkness matter in their eyes? Dark witches, vampire bat-men—creatures that cultivators looked down upon as barely presentable and akin to demonic paths—were everywhere there. As long as one was strong enough, nothing was impossible.

And if you were of orthodox and noble blood, it was even more extraordinary. Just as the evil dragon was viewed by the people of the Cultivation Continent, in the eyes of those on the Magical Continent, the Dragon Sovereign—supremely noble, incomparably powerful, and eternally indestructible—was the dream and faith of their entire lives. No one could replace him, unless someone appeared who was even stronger and more noble than he was!

“Oh, Lord Dragon Sovereign, please bless your faithful believers with a smooth journey. We are setting out for the Cultivation Continent to guard you and to mete out judgment upon those foolish fools!”

“Lord Dragon Sovereign, you may never have imagined this—after divination by the wizards, the Divine Maiden Ulari has received new instructions. She says that you will have offspring, continuing the noble bloodline of the dragon race.”

“On this journey, the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and the Church of Freedom have laid aside past hostilities and joined forces to serve you. We will go to resist the ignorant dragon-slayers and bring back your bloodline, offering prayers and gifts for the birth of the young master.”

“Lord Dragon Sovereign, please bless us…”

“Lord Dragon Sovereign, please bless us!”

At the very center of the Magical Continent stood Dragon City—a place of transcendent status, located between the three cities of the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and the Church of Freedom.

Here, vast numbers of anti–dragon-slaying supporters gathered. Devotees who worshipped the might of the Dragon Sovereign assembled in this place.

On the marble-white plaza, a dark sea of figures filled the space. All races—witches, dwarves, elves, vampires, and more—had taken on human forms, standing in orderly ranks by race, heads bowed in devout prayer.

After a long while—

Standing at the very center, the leaders of the three great churches and the commander of this operation—His Eminence Aslock, the Cardinal Archbishop of the Church of Light—wore a solemn expression. His voice echoed across the entire plaza and beyond the city walls—

“The rescue of Lord Dragon Sovereign is imminent. The welcoming of the young master’s birth is imminent. I, Aslock, swear here and now that we will never allow the ignorant dragon-slayers’ evil plans to succeed!”

“Take action, my companions! Offer our strength to the Lord Sovereign!”

A wave of cheers and shrill cries erupted from the crowd. “We will never let the ignorant dragon-slayers succeed!!!!”

“Never… succeed!”

The cries carried beyond the city. Passersby stopped in their tracks, placed their right hands over their chests, and stood solemnly, gazing toward the center of the plaza within the city, murmuring softly, “Noble Lord Dragon Sovereign…”

At the center of the plaza stood a colossal statue of the Dragon Sovereign. Its raised dragon head pierced the heavens, and its pair of majestic, profound eyes lazily overlooked everyone inside and outside the city. No matter where one stood, one needed only to look up to see it.

This awe-inspiring sculpture, as if shaped by divine hands, embodied the painstaking devotion of generations of followers since Lord Dragon Sovereign was imprisoned ten thousand years ago. Statues carved by those of archbishop rank and above carried a trace of divine power. Believers dared not look into its eyes for long—lest their minds be affected. In severe cases, one’s consciousness could be reduced to madness. Those praying with bowed heads dared not raise their gaze.

Before departing, the immensely powerful Cardinal Archbishop forced himself, under tremendous pressure, to lift his eyes and look once. His eyes turned red.

—

Within the Endless Abyss of the Cultivation Continent, inside Evil Dragon Valley.

The pool of water bubbled with colorful little bubbles. After an unknown length of time, the black giant dragon bound by chains slowly opened its eyes.

Enormous chains pierced through his dragon tail and dragon heart. Golden dragon blood flowed continuously, absorbed by the chains and then reinforced into the formation.

This was a confinement formation nourished endlessly by the imprisoned being’s own vitality—vicious to the extreme. The reason it had neither been broken nor depleted over ten thousand years was precisely because of this.

Yet even such a tyrannical and malicious formation had failed to eliminate this dragon. He still remained here in Evil Dragon Valley, feared and dreaded by all dragon-slayers.

The black giant dragon seemed unconcerned by the shackles on his body. He lazily opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. His long, powerful, elegant dragon tail swayed languidly, unhindered despite being bound by chains.

Suddenly, his tail seemed to brush against something.

Round. Smooth. Hard yet soft. Carrying an innate sense of closeness from the bloodline.

The swaying dragon tail paused instinctively. The next moment, it curled around the round object and swept it before him.

A golden giant egg, shimmering with bubbles, floated before his eyes. Tiny bubbles rose from the golden shell, as if it were breathing in water.

The dragon’s eyes froze—

A trace of astonishment flashed within them.

A dragon egg?

Hadn’t those arrogant, vain, indolent, and unenterprising fellows long since accepted amnesty from the upper realms and gone off to enjoy their luxurious dragon lives?

For ten thousand years, there had been only him alone in this world. How could there be an extra dragon egg?

Ao Su had slept for far too long—so long that he had forgotten many things.

Had it been eight hundred years? Or two thousand?

In the eyes of the evil dragon, the grand Dragon-Slaying Assemblies held by the cultivators outside were nothing more than trivial tickling. Every year, dragon-slayers and Dragon Sovereign believers clashed in battle, endless attack methods unleashed, yet none of it drew the attention of the arrogant, powerful dragon.

If the dragon-slayers knew that their proud attacks had never caused the dragon any harm, and that for ten thousand years the so-called evil target of their crusades had passed every Dragon-Slaying Assembly in deep slumber, what would they think? Even the followers sworn to protect Lord Dragon Sovereign would likely find it hard to believe.

The evil dragon—Lord Dragon Sovereign—whose life now consisted solely of sleeping, lowered his gaze and stared at the glittering egg before him, sinking into contemplation.

That familiar scent in the bloodline—why did it feel so much like his own offspring?

When had he produced a child?

Ao Su had slept for far too long. If not for the annoying bubbling sounds waking him, he would not even have bothered to open his eyes. That slumbering dragon brain slowly began to turn, like a machine unused for ages, gradually and methodically awakening memories of the past.

A hundred years ago—sleeping.

A thousand years ago—sleeping.

Ten thousand years ago—ten thousand years ago…

Ao Su lowered his gaze. That epochal battle which split the Huan Yuan Continent in two had pushed the very Heavenly Dao of this world to the brink of collapse.

In that battle, the arrogant and powerful dragon single-handedly challenged all the great powers of the cultivation world, as well as that cunning and shameless Heavenly Dao itself, triggering cataclysmic changes between heaven and earth. In the end, countless were killed or wounded, and the Heavenly Dao was gravely injured. Only a few fortunate lackeys of the Dao survived and used the chaos to ascend.

Only the dragon—Ao Su—was struck by a treacherous blow from the dragon-slayers. While his vitality was severely damaged and he was momentarily suppressed by the Heavenly Dao, they set up a formation and imprisoned him in the Endless Abyss.

The dragon-imprisoning land of the Endless Abyss was called Evil Dragon Valley by the dragon-slayers.

The dragon’s eyes suddenly sharpened. After being imprisoned by the formation, he had once used his heart’s dragon blood to summon—no, to nurture—

The reproductive method of dragons differed from humans and other races. Whether male or female, a dragon without a partner could still nurture offspring through its own cultivation. Yet few dragons would offer up their heart’s essence blood merely to reproduce.

Ao Su’s heart’s blood…

The dragon tail curled, drawing the dragon egg closer. The dragon’s face tentatively—awkwardly—touched the egg lightly, earning a delighted nuzzle in return.

The egg did not mind the hard, sharp scales on the dragon’s face. It rolled back and forth affectionately, rubbing against him. It was overjoyed, bubbles popping even more frequently—puff, puff, puff, in a long string.

Suddenly, a thunderous, low laugh echoed through the valley’s pool, carrying terrifying pressure. Several disciples guarding the cliff of Evil Dragon Valley bled from all seven orifices, spitting blood as their faces turned pale. Trembling, they cried out, “The evil dragon has awakened—the evil dragon has awakened! Quick, go inform the sect masters!”

Because of the formation in Evil Dragon Valley, transmission stones were useless here. Soon, a disciple reacted, wiped the blood from his nose, eyes, and mouth, and forgot even to fly—his legs shaking as he fled for his life.

Even knowing the evil dragon was imprisoned by the formation, fear still rose in their hearts.

With the Dragon-Slaying Assembly approaching, all major sects had already gathered their forces and stationed themselves in the city outside the valley.

Over the years, the sects had been rife with infighting—competing for resources, boasting of ancestors and disciples, utterly incompatible. Even so, dragon-slaying was an ancestral command passed down through generations, their mission. Thus, all sects set aside their grudges and went all out.

Most sects left only a small number behind to guard their mountain gates, while the main forces came to participate in the Dragon-Slaying Assembly. Disciples out on training journeys would also return early to rejoin their sects.

In the cultivation world, there was an unwritten rule: during the Dragon-Slaying Assembly, no person or sect may attack another or settle grudges. Everything must wait until the dragon-slaying was over.

This time, the ones guarding the valley were disciples from the Five Great Sects. The unlucky disciple who returned covered in blood from the evil dragon’s laughter was an inner disciple of the Daoist sect.

Trembling, he described what happened. “Suddenly—suddenly there was the evil dragon’s laughter. Sect Master, could it be… could it be…” As if thinking of something, terror flashed across his blood-streaked face. Then his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.

Everyone present, including the sect masters: “……”

An elder stepped forward to check on him and said with a mix of laughter and tears, “His mind has been shaken. He’ll need a few days of Spirit-Nourishing Pills.”

In other words—he’d been scared unconscious.

Everyone found it both amusing and exasperating.

Yet thinking back, in all previous Dragon-Slaying Assemblies, that evil dragon had never made a sound. Everyone had assumed it was due to the formation’s power. But this time, the dragon had awakened early and even let out inexplicable laughter—why?

Though the unlucky disciple was timid, his words were not without reason. Could there be some unforeseen change?

After half a day of discussion, several sect masters and elders decided to depart early for Evil Dragon Valley and station themselves directly outside it. Once the formation opened, they would immediately test the evil dragon with various methods.

To prevent any mishaps, the sect master immediately issued a notice to the disciples—

Assemble at Evil Dragon Valley!