Chapter 66
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Chapter 66: Title
Eastern Sea City.
The thousand-mile waves of the Eastern Sea churned restlessly as Ao Yuan stood atop the Pearl Viewing Platform, Eastern Sea City’s highest vantage point. From this height, no spirit cultivator or Demonic Beast could escape his piercing gaze.
The Special Bureau had sought his aid in quelling the Demonic Beast incursions along the coast. Though bearing no particular animosity toward human cultivators, neither did he feel kinship with them. His creed demanded neutrality—yet against expectations, humanity’s overture had arrived through Ao Lan’s mediation.
Under Heaven’s current mandate, neither alliance nor hostility with humans was permissible. When the Special Bureau presented suitable terms, Ao Yuan acquiesced.
He permitted their handling of Demonic Beasts—creatures barely related to true spirit cultivators, unworthy of his regard. The spirit cultivators themselves formed an immense tapestry of lineages. Any non-human attaining sentience joined their ranks, including dragons, phoenixes, and qilins—once-revered spirit beasts whose dignity endured despite humanity’s ascendance.
As non-humans, these noble creatures rightfully belonged to the spirit cultivator hierarchy, occupying its apex. The ancient divine beast lineages particularly commanded authority, their word sufficient to rally entire armies of lesser kin.
"Mountain and Sea Realm…" Ao Yuan murmured, his two-day vigil broken only by the horizon’s pale glow. The Special Bureau’s revelations about this realm occupied his thoughts.
Two nights prior, the skies had rained Demonic Beasts like boiling dumplings, their descent laced with faint spirit cultivator auras—all below tier two, beyond which his perception dimmed.
Through carp leaping over the dragon gate came blood inheritance and heavenly gifts. True mastery required strength he still sought. Yet this trial confirmed Empress Nuwa’s legacy—the Mountain and Sea Realm, sanctuary for all spirit cultivators forged by their divine patroness.
If the human realm anchored humanity’s roots, then Nuwa’s creation served as spirit cultivators’ ancestral cradle.
Eight paces behind Ao Yuan, a black-suited youth verified documents while murmuring into his phone. "An invitation?… Understood. I’ll convey it and respond posthaste."
Ao Yuan’s presence enforced grim efficiency. Any spirit cultivator remaining in Eastern Sea City past dawn faced detention in the Special Bureau’s little black room.
Their tenacious vitality ensured survival anywhere—a resilience now testing human patience.
Initially, Ao Yuan had refused the capture request. The dragon race’s noble duty was protection, not persecution of lesser kin. Yet Ao Ming’s counsel shifted his stance.
The Bureau would hunt spirit cultivators regardless. Tier one and two beings fell within human capabilities—centuries-old human cultivators included tier three practitioners. Worse, Kunlun Mountain housed a sword cultivator whose power might rival Ao Yuan’s own.
Human history’s dark chapters warned against complacency. Free-roaming spirit cultivators became easy prey. Their wild nature, unrestrained by higher authority, risked conflicts with humanity’s merciless justice system.
Cunning humans exploited weakness while cowing before strength. Though Ao Yuan stood beyond their reach, lesser kin remained vulnerable.
Thus he bargained: spirit cultivators under his oversight, their transgressions judged internally. Human laws offered reference, not constraint. Coexistence required mutual respect—a covenant Ao Yuan, as the Nine Regions’ paramount spirit cultivator, would broker.
"Prince Ao Yuan." The suited youth approached deferentially.
"Speak."
"We’ve gathered the city’s spirit cultivators per your instructions. However… communication proves challenging. The branch requests your presence."
The youth’s discomfort mirrored the phone’s earlier cacophony—undisciplined spirits turning bureaucracy into bedlam.
"Proceed."
The young man possessed jet-black hair and striking golden eyes, his handsome features accentuated by flowing locks secured within an elaborate dragon-shaped crown. Pearl crystals, each the size of a little finger, were threaded with silvery crystalline strands that cascaded from the regal headpiece through his tresses. His immaculate white robes with sweeping sleeves remained pristine, adorned with intricate golden embroidery of dragon cloud patterns along every edge – collar, lapels, cuffs, and hem. A silver ring glinted on his left index finger.
The suited agent assigned to accompany Dragon Prince Ao Yuan for the week found himself repeatedly captivated – first by the royal’s arresting visage, then by the dazzling accessories that seemed to command attention. The dragon race’s opulence knew no bounds.
Leading the way, the agent recalled how the Special Bureau had discreetly uploaded the dragon clan’s profiles to internal servers, withholding them from the Spiritual Network to prevent public frenzy. None of the recently transformed spirit cultivators lacked beauty – Ao Yuan had explained that ancestral power and spiritual prowess directly influenced their human forms. Should these beings enter entertainment industries, modern celebrities would face obsolescence.
Though human Practitioners refined their appearances through Spiritual Energy cultivation, their perfected forms still paled against the natural magnificence of earth-nurtured spirit cultivators. Ao Yuan descended in the elevator with hands folded in sleeves, his attendant selecting the basement level. The entire observation deck and private elevator had been reserved during the dragon prince’s stay.
In the subterranean garage, the agent approached their vehicle unconcerned about spectators – spirit cultivators possessed innate abilities to veil themselves. Ao Yuan settled into the plush seat, now familiar with human vehicles through recent exposure. With a flick of his pristine sleeve, he reclined into meditative repose.
At Eastern Sea City’s Special Bureau branch, waiting staff ushered them directly to the third floor via elevator. "Our apologies for summoning you, Prince Ao Yuan," the branch director offered with carefully measured contrition, masking recent embarrassments. Mere days after boasting about successful interspecies communication, reality had delivered harsh lessons.
Despite initial agreements and the Bureau’s willingness to accept Practitioners alongside spirit cultivators, implementation proved thorny. The newly transformed beings alternated between incomprehension of human speech and outright defiance, some mastering profanities within nights. Lower-tier spirit cultivators retained beast forms yet caused disproportionate havoc, necessitating confinement in specially designed little black rooms.
These modified cells employed combined talisman-formations developed through Practitioner collaboration, currently effective against tier three entities. The expensive setups – requiring expert arrangement – limited each branch to single containment units. Until wider expertise developed, such expenditures remained unavoidable.
Within the third floor’s isolated chamber, a half-meter white-furred rabbit spirit served as unwilling throne for a 1.5-meter black wolf spirit. Other captives gave wide berth to the dominant canine, whose claw cradled a palm-sized silver-throated long-tailed tit – the adorable "Fat Jiu" whose capture had required rooftop chases and Youyang’s musical intervention.
Monitoring staff initially pitied the fluffy songbird’s predicament, only to witness it swiftly ally with its fearsome lupine protector. "Though it does sing divinely," mused a guard moments before the door startled him open.
"Director Zhou?" The agent sprang up, then froze at the golden-crowned figure entering.
"Prince Ao Yuan will assist with our… challenges," the director announced, gesturing toward the monitoring screens. The honorific "Prince" maintained diplomatic decorum, mirroring the Bureau’s own hierarchy of Directors and Deputy Directors.
