Ch 87: The Malevolent Monster Just Wants To Farm

Just moments ago, they had only seen Li Jing’s anxious demeanor and heard those tales of the Dragon Clan’s arrogance. Each of them was ready to jump into the sea and give the Dragon Clan a good beating.

But now, as they gazed upon the magnificent celestial palace and the mysterious cloud bridge, the reason they had lost in their earlier impulse suddenly returned.

A few of the older ones couldn’t help but kneel down, calling out to the immortal beings.

Li Jing instinctively sensed that something was amiss. This indirect, non-violent approach didn’t quite match the usual style of the East Sea Dragon Clan.

At that moment, a figure appeared on the cloud bridge.

He was draped in a white cloak, with wide sleeves billowing in the wind. His face was obscured, but his elegant, otherworldly form was visible. Against the backdrop of the celestial palace and the sea of clouds, he perfectly embodied the image of an immortal as imagined by mortals.

Immediately, half of the crowd knelt down, calling out to the immortal.

This made Li Jing feel that something was very wrong.

The other party hadn’t even shown their face or said a single word, yet the momentum he had painstakingly built had already dissipated by more than half.

Anxiously, he called out, “May I ask who you are? Would you be willing to spare my poor child Nezha?”

Jiang Lin stood on the cloud bridge, looking down at the crowd below, and spoke, “I am the third prince of the East Sea Dragon King.”

The third prince of the Dragon King!

Wasn’t that the cruel dragon who murdered the bride?

The people of Chentang Pass, standing behind Li Jing, were now confused—the appearance of Jiang Lin didn’t match the “evil dragon” image they had in their minds.

“Are you Li Jing, the commander, and the people of Chentang Pass standing by the sea?”

Li Jing responded loudly, “Yes! May I ask the Third Prince—where is my poor child Nezha? He is young and ignorant; if he has offended the Third Prince, I, as his father, am willing to bear the punishment. I only hope that the Dragon King will be merciful and spare my innocent child.”

As soon as he spoke, the people behind him remembered that their third young master was still being held and tormented in the Dragon Palace. Moreover, many of those who had followed Li Jing for some time had witnessed the Dragon King violently injuring Li Jing and sending him back wounded.

Suddenly, the reverence they felt for the dragon diminished considerably.

Jiang Lin, standing on the cloud bridge, listened to these words and observed the expressions of the people below, finding it all rather dull and tedious.

If it had been just Li Jing, he wouldn’t have minded resolving the misunderstanding through force before sitting down for a friendly discussion.

But that wasn’t possible.

Behind Li Jing stood the entire Heavenly Court.

He couldn’t give the Heavenly Court any excuse.

It was frustrating, but this was the plight of the Dragon Clan now.

The human race was flourishing, blessed with great fortune.

Just as the Heavenly Court was using the human race to manipulate the Dragon Clan, he now needed to leverage the fortune of the human race to fight back.

Jiang Lin suddenly sighed.

The cloud bridge slowly extended to the ground, and he gradually descended from it. The people finally saw the appearance of this third prince of the Dragon King. Dressed in a snow-white cloak, the third prince looked like ice and jade, his appearance and bearing far beyond anything they could have imagined.

Many of the elders wept with joy, “I never thought that in my old age, I would have the fortune to see an immortal!” This was an honor worthy of being recorded in their family history.

Jiang Lin raised his hand, and everyone felt a gentle breeze lift their knees, causing them to stand up involuntarily. Many looked at Jiang Lin with excitement—did this mean they had just had a close encounter with an immortal?

“My father was very angry, and recently, he was not very courteous to Commander Li. This was because he was deeply hurt and enraged.”

Jiang Lin glanced at Li Jing with a faint smile, “Commander Li claims that his son is pitiable, but I don’t see it that way. The third young master managed to accomplish the extraordinary feat of slaying a dragon.”

Li Jing immediately denied, “Although Nezha can be a bit unruly, his true nature is good.”

He knew that Nezha had clashed with this third prince, but now, seeing the prince standing here unharmed, it was clear that nothing too serious had happened.

Public opinion tends to side with the weaker party.

The deity in his dream had told him that, given the Dragon Clan’s fiery temper, Nezha was bound to suffer greatly in the Dragon Palace. When the people of Chentang Pass saw this, they would only grow more fearful and resentful of the Dragon Clan, keeping their distance from them.

Li Jing didn’t understand why the deity wanted to go against the Dragon Clan, but he didn’t care—as long as he obeyed and carried out the tasks, the deity promised that the Li family would ascend to immortality.

That was becoming an immortal!

The deity said that Nezha would suffer, and although Li Jing initially felt a bit distressed, the deity assured him that Nezha, being the reincarnation of a spirit stone from Kunlun, was inherently emotionless, merely born into the Li family to undergo tribulations.

Moreover, this was part of Nezha’s destined calamity. Though he would suffer, his life was not in danger.

Li Jing’s last bit of hesitation vanished.

Jiang Lin didn’t say much. In front of everyone, he transformed into his true form.

The crowd erupted in astonishment.

Jiang Lin’s true form was a dragon, with a massive white dragon body stretching a thousand feet long.

The giant dragon, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, should have appeared elegant and noble, but at that moment, the once-beautiful body, which should have been covered in magnificent scales, was now marred with shocking, bloody pits.

The bleeding had stopped, but the wounds had not healed. Those standing closer could see the terrifying, raw flesh beneath the wounds.

This was a dragon riddled with scars, with only the tail remaining intact.

Even though the injuries were not on their own bodies, everyone present showed expressions of shock and pity.

When Jiang Lin transformed back into his human form, the expressions on everyone’s faces became much more complex.

Even Li Jing hadn’t expected that this seemingly calm and unbothered third prince of the Dragon King was actually carrying such severe injuries.

And when he had earlier mentioned Nezha slaying a dragon…

Sure enough, in the next moment, Jiang Lin spoke, “All of these wounds were left by your third young master.”

The crowd erupted in a buzz!

The people began to discuss among themselves once more: they didn’t know the full story and had only heard from Li Jing how young Nezha was and how ruthless the Dragon King was. They had never known that Nezha had injured the third prince of the Dragon King so severely.

Jiang Lin looked at the crowd with sincerity and said, “My father deeply loves his children. Seeing the severity of my injuries, he was so enraged that he lost his reason. When he saw Commander Li, he couldn’t contain his anger, which is why he reacted so harshly.”

After seeing Jiang Lin’s injuries, the crowd began to understand:

“I used to think the Dragon King was unreasonable and that the Dragon Clan was arrogant, but now that I think about it, the Dragon King’s temper is actually quite mild.”

“Exactly, if someone had injured my young child like this, I would fight to the death to kill the one who hurt them!”

“The third young master was so ruthless!”

“…”

Hearing these discussions, Li Jing realized things were going badly.

The situation had developed far beyond his expectations and was not going as the deity in his dream had foretold. He knew this couldn’t go on; the deity he had encountered had a temper, and if he failed to fulfill the instructions, Li Jing did not want to imagine the consequences.

He quickly interrupted the crowd’s discussions, saying in a grave tone, “Third Prince, my son Nezha is young and doesn’t know how to control his strength. He injured you, and I apologize on his behalf. However, he acted impulsively after hearing about the tragic story of the sacrificial bride and couldn’t control himself. If the Third Prince wants revenge, then direct it at me, Li Jing, and not at a five-year-old child.”

Up until now, Nezha had not appeared, and seeing Jiang Lin’s injuries, Li Jing had no doubt that Nezha had endured inhumane torture in the Dragon Palace—he even feared that Nezha might no longer be alive.

He desperately wanted the people of Chentang Pass to see these events.

After he spoke, the people, who had previously felt sympathy for the third prince, suddenly remembered: this dragon was not as gentle and pitiable as he now appeared.

He was the vicious dragon who had torn apart an innocent woman!

In an instant, the crowd’s gaze toward Jiang Lin changed once again.

Seeing this, Jiang Lin sighed inwardly.

He finally understood why those deities needed the fortune of the human race while simultaneously looking down on them, never truly regarding them with any importance.

The human race, limited by the current level of societal development, had largely not been educated, making their hearts easily swayed.

—Even though Li Jing’s words, to Jiang Lin, were full of flaws, completely illogical, and just a crude tactic, the people behind him believed them and were moved by Commander Li’s deep love for his son.

Jiang Lin spoke in a somber tone, “This is precisely what I find so difficult to understand.”

His gaze swept over the people of Chentang Pass behind Li Jing as he asked, “I am curious to know—who started the rumor that the Dragon King is withholding rain from Chentang Pass out of anger? Who first spread the rumor about sacrificing a bride? And who began the rumor that I cruelly took innocent lives?”

Among the people who had come with Li Jing today, there were naturally those who had spread the rumors. Since they had set this trap, they couldn’t resist coming to see the outcome for themselves.

As the crowd began to discuss, they quickly pointed to an old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist wore a robe with a Bagua pattern, his hair and beard were white, giving him an appearance of wisdom and dignity.

When the old Taoist met Jiang Lin’s piercing gaze, he knew he was in trouble.

“Old Taoist, was it you who claimed that the Dragon Clan of the East Sea withheld rain from Chentang Pass out of anger? That a bride needed to be sacrificed?” Jiang Lin questioned.

The old Taoist quickly denied it, “No, no such thing…”

“Chen Banshen, what nonsense are you spouting?” A muscular man nearby spoke up, “You’re the one who said it. I heard you loud and clear that day!”

Others nodded in agreement, “Yes, yes, it was Chen Banshen who said it.”

The old Taoist felt a pounding headache.

He had overestimated himself.

The Dragon Clan of the East Sea had always been known for their thick skin and single-mindedness, and they typically disregarded such rumors, sometimes even allowing them to spread unchecked.

So when he spread these rumors, he hadn’t even bothered to disguise his actions, and now he was caught red-handed.

He quickly tried to think of an excuse to escape, but suddenly a powerful force pressed down on him.

Terrified, the old Taoist looked up to see the third prince of the Dragon King not far away, staring at him with a mocking expression.

Jiang Lin’s complexion was still pale, and his injuries were real, but even so, his cultivation and dragon aura were enough to make cold sweat pour down the old Taoist’s back, rendering him speechless.

The old Taoist struggled to muster his divine power to resist the pressure, barely holding back the urge to kneel.

He could hardly believe that after all these years of suppression, the Dragon Clan could still exert such power.

The once-dominant rulers of the world—their reputation was well-earned.

No wonder those above still couldn’t rest easy. Even with the Dragon Clan’s decline, they were not satisfied and continued to plot their complete annihilation.

“Old Taoist,” Jiang Lin said slowly, “why did you spread false rumors and tarnish the reputation of the Dragon Clan?”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

The old Taoist: “…”

He had a curse on the tip of his tongue: You’re suppressing me with your dragon aura, making it impossible for me to speak, and now you want me to answer?

How am I supposed to respond?