Dragon-Qilin unfastened the harness from his body and glanced at Quinn, who shot him a fierce glare. Dragon-Qilin quickly protested, "Cult Master, I never said you should pull the carriage!"
God-Queen Langwo smiled and said, "Let’s get out of the carriage—we’ll fly over instead."
Quinn nodded and got out with her, leaving the six Dragon Gods behind. He said, "Guard the palanquin until I return."
The six Dragon Gods agreed. Quinn led God-Queen Langwo, Dragon-Qilin, and Annie toward the Azure Dragon Palace.
They walked through the sky, beneath their feet stretched endless ranges of majestic mountains, with clouds swirling below.
In the sky above, dragon-built cities stood tall and magnificent. The cities were vast, the architecture intricate and glorious—truly breathtaking.
"Annie, you’ve never been here before?" Quinn asked.
Annie shook her head, flying curiously around to take in the sights of Eastern Extremity Heaven.
She was the daughter of Southern Emperor Vermilion and Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon. As a child, her mother sent her to Moon-Venerable’s care, where she grew used to serving others but rarely ventured out.
Moon-Venerable lived in seclusion in a peach grove, and Annie usually stayed there too. Only after Moon-Venerable gave her to Quinn did she finally have a chance to explore the wider world.
She was unfamiliar with her father, Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon, who had never come to see her and basically did not interact with her. Even her mother, Southern Emperor Vermilion, rarely saw her. The last time she went to Heavenly Court, she was able to reunite with Southern Emperor Vermilion for a few days.
I don't know where Lingbao Mountain is.
Quinn looked around, trying to find the legendary Lingbao Mountain.
He was quite curious about Lingbao Mountain. The first time he heard of it was from Zechariah Lee, who said that Eastern Extremity Heaven had a sacred mountain called Lingbao Mountain, the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon's tooth-grinding stone.
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon had immense vitality; his dragon teeth grew quickly and had to be ground often, so he used Lingbao Mountain to grind them. The broken teeth fell onto Lingbao Mountain and turned into strange tooth-shaped creatures.
Many young saber cultivators from Heavenly Court often come to Lingbao Mountain seeking treasures, hoping to obtain a Dragon-Tooth saber. Zechariah Lee's demon saber also came from there.
That demon saber had miraculous properties. Back when Quinn still held the Worryless Sword, the demon saber clashed with it many times. Even if chipped, the demon saber would quickly regrow and restore itself to perfection—truly remarkable.
Last time, at the end of the Void Bridge in Taixu, when Quinn opened and closed doors in the Three-Rooms Gate, he happened to glimpse the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon squinting and hugging a sacred mountain, grinding his teeth.
Both the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon's teeth and Lingbao Mountain were extraordinary treasures, making Quinn envious.
Especially Lingbao Mountain, which could grind down the Eastern Emperor's dragon teeth—its material must be far superior to the dragon teeth themselves, making Quinn covet it even more!
Eastern Extremity Heaven was filled with magnificent mountains, each one grand and towering—rare even in the Origin World.
The Celestial River surged from the starry sky, pouring into Eastern Extremity Heaven and flowing past the Azure Dragon Palace. Many divine dragons swam in the river, and even fish-dragons leapt up, spitting out dragon pearls that shone as brightly as the sun and moon.
That mountain must be Lingbao Mountain!
Quinn saw a magnificent mountain behind the Azure Dragon Palace, towering above the others. But it was not a single peak; there were nine peaks in total.
This mountain range shimmered with treasure light, magnificent and extraordinary, and was no smaller than Sumeru Mountain with its twenty layers of heavens!
Is the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon coiled there, grinding his teeth on Lingbao Mountain?
Quinn imagined the scene of the Azure Dragon grinding his teeth and marveled, "The Eastern Emperor must be enormous!"
Cult Master, there are Heavenly Court people here!" Dragon-Qilin whispered, looking at the divine city ahead.
Quinn looked at the city, his heart tensing. The gods and demons in the city were not dragons, but the Heavenly Court's god and demon army, drilling with sabers and practicing formations. This was clearly the Heavenly Court's garrison.
However, this divine city was built on the palm of the Heaven-Guide Divine War-Body, or rather, the war-body was holding the city in its hand!
Quinn was envious and thought, "Dragon-Tooth sabers are the best of the best. It's hard to find a finer divine blade in today's world. If I could forge one using the micro-casting techniques of Yankang, its power would be astonishing! Too bad I'm a Celestial Venerable—I can't lower myself to treasure hunting..."
He was truly conflicted, wanting to rush over and pick up dragon teeth, but couldn't bear the shame. If the Eastern Emperor found out, he would surely mock him.
Holy Infant, this Eastern Extremity Heaven isn’t the Ancestral Court, so I won’t go to the Azure Dragon Palace.
King Langwo’s eyes flickered as she gazed at the Heaven-Guide Divine War-Body. "I couldn’t examine this artifact in the Origin World, but here, I want to study it closely and see if it has any weaknesses."
Quinn nodded, "It’s better if you don’t meet the Eastern Emperor. If he discovers you’re a Creator, it’ll cause trouble. I’m close friends with Earth Count, but not so much with the Eastern Emperor. He only helped me in Heavenly Court because I’m the Great Unbreakable Dharma Master."
King Langwo left and entered one of the divine cities held in the palm of the Heaven-Guide Divine War-Body.
Quinn led Dragon-Qilin and Annie onward. Annie was nervous, and Dragon-Qilin quickly asked about it. Annie said sadly, "I’ve seen him, but never spoken to him. He probably doesn’t know I’m his daughter."
Dragon-Qilin smiled, "The Eastern Emperor probably has his reasons for not acknowledging you. He’s likely worried your identity would put you in danger."
Annie felt a little better.
Before they reached the Azure Dragon Palace, a massive Azure Dragon suddenly lowered its head from the sky, its body stretching for countless miles as it swam into Lingbao Mountain.
The giant dragon coiled around the peaks, its claws gripping a divine mountain. It opened its mouth and ground its teeth on the mountain, lightning flashing and fire spewing from its jaws.
Quinn, Dragon-Qilin, and Annie were stunned, speechless for a long time.
It broke! It broke!
Many gods, demons, and divine arts users had already flown to Lingbao Mountain, not daring to approach but watching from afar. They saw a dragon tooth break off in the dragon’s mouth and fall from the sky, crashing into the mountain.
As the dragon tooth fell, it shrank, then grew eyes and emitted saber energy, darting through the mountains like lightning.
The sound of clanging echoed from the mountains—the dragon tooth had turned into a strange lifeform, and, separated from the Eastern Emperor by Lingbao Mountain, it became angry and kept hacking at the mountain, sending sparks flying.
The gods, demons, and divine arts users stared at the flying dragon tooth, itching to try their luck.
Someone couldn’t resist and flew forward, but before reaching the dragon tooth, a monster born of dragon blood in the mountain grabbed him and swallowed him whole.
Quinn looked from afar and saw that, because the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon ground his teeth, his mouth was injured and dragon blood fell on the mountain, turning into monsters. So obtaining a dragon tooth was not easy.
The Eastern Emperor's vitality was truly astonishing. Anything that fell from his body would turn into a monster, gaining a life of its own!
Quinn couldn't help but marvel. His gaze fell on the nine peaks of Lingbao Mountain, and he thought, "But Lingbao Mountain is even stronger! If I could carry it away and refine it into a treasure, it would be the greatest artifact of all!"
The Azure Dragon was grinding his overgrown teeth with eyes closed, when suddenly Quinn's divine sense arrived, laughing, "Eastern Emperor, Quinn Shepherd has come to visit."
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon was startled, quickly opened his eyes and swept his divine sense toward Quinn. Seeing him, he flushed with embarrassment, soared up, and flew toward the Azure Dragon Palace.
His figure shrank as he disappeared into the palace, his voice reaching Quinn's ears with a laugh, "Grand Archmage, you came without warning and caught me looking ridiculous. Please wait while I gather a proper welcoming party!"
This is a private visit; no need for ceremony.
Quinn sent his divine sense to reply, "Your Eastern Extremity Heaven is full of Heavenly Court spies. Let's keep our meeting discreet—no need to make a fuss."
The Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon flew into the palace, and Quinn headed there as well. After a while, he arrived at the palace gates, which also had a Southern Heaven Gate, but the Celestial River flowed beside it, not through the gate.
The divine dragons playing in the Celestial River climbed onto the bank, curiously watching Quinn and his companions approach.
On the shore stood a blue-robed man with long brows and a fine beard like dragon whiskers, graceful and elegant. He greeted them with a smile, "Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, didn't you come in the Heavenly Dragon Imperial Palanquin? Why do I see you walking instead?"
Greetings, Eastern Emperor.
Quinn bowed and said with a smile, "As the ancestor of all dragons, if I rode into Eastern Extremity Heaven behind your bloodline as draft beasts, wouldn't that offend you?"
The blue-robed man was the Eastern Emperor Azure Dragon in human form. He laughed, gesturing for Quinn to enter. "Grand Archmage, you're too serious. The Ten Heavenly Venerables gave you that palanquin precisely to make you offend all the ancient gods. How could I not know their malicious intent? Even if you arrived in the palanquin, I wouldn't mind at all. Please—"
Quinn walked with him into the Azure Dragon Palace and said, "This is Annie, princess of the Southern Emperor's house."
The Eastern Emperor glanced at Annie, who looked at him expectantly. But to her disappointment, his gaze did not linger and moved on.
Quinn was puzzled, but soon understood.
Father God," the dragon gods guarding the Southern Heaven Gate bowed to the Eastern Emperor.
Father God!
Father God!
As the Eastern Emperor entered the Azure Dragon Palace, every dragon god, large and small, bowed and addressed him as Father God. The sheer number of his offspring was staggering!
Apparently, the Eastern Emperor didn’t even remember that he and the Southern Emperor Vermillion Bird had a daughter!
Could it be that every divine being in the Azure Dragon Palace is his descendant?
Quinn felt dizzy; there were at least a million divine dragons in the palace, not to mention the dragon god army!
If all these dragon gods were the Eastern Emperor’s children and descendants, then this ancient god emperor was certainly too amorous!
He couldn’t help but grumble inwardly, though he didn’t say it aloud. Instead, he smiled and said, "The Eastern Emperor’s palace is truly impregnable. The Heavenly Court can infiltrate Eastern Extremity Heaven, but not here."
But the Eastern Emperor wasn’t pleased. He shook his head and said, "Grand Archmage, even the son of Heaven has betrayed his father, eager to take his place. I have many children, but that doesn’t mean I’m free of worry. In my palace, there’s no shortage of Azure Dragon princes who want to replace me. Every family has its own troubles."
Quinn stopped and asked, "May I ask, who is the Heaven-Guide Divine War-Body of Eastern Extremity Heaven?"
Four heads and eight arms—Emperor Langxuan.
The Eastern Emperor said, "He was the very first demigod in the world, and belongs to the same faction as Celestial Venerable Hao."
How much does the Eastern Emperor know about Emperor Langxuan?
Quinn’s eyes flickered. "Who are his parents, exactly? Which two ancient gods?"
The Eastern Emperor was surprised. "Who said both his parents are ancient gods? His father is an ancient god, but his mother isn’t."