Chapter Thirty-One: The Old Dragon’s Final Gift

To use external power to ensure that an as-yet-unborn life achieves greatness—only by altering the rhythm of Heaven itself could such a feat be accomplished. In his prime, this old dragon had reached the half-step Emperor level, so expending all his strength to change Heaven’s rhythm was not a difficult task for him.

As the dragon soul roared, the entire Dragon Ancestor Celestial Court was instantly transformed into his own domain. Strands of Heaven and Earth’s rhythm gathered within this celestial court. At that moment, in this domain, in this world, the Dragon Ancestor was the supreme sovereign; with a single thought, he could decide the fate of everything within this realm.

“This unborn child—today, I, the old dragon, will help you forge your soul in advance!” With a thunderous shout, the power of the dragon soul surged again; strands of soul force began to gather and take shape, ultimately forming the vague outline of an infant, which flickered and then disappeared between the entwined couple.

But this was not the end—perhaps it was only the beginning.

As the soul was shaped, the old dragon waved his hand, casting dozens of great Dao sigils to continuously reinforce the soul, making it even more solid and tangible.

Thus, with the myriad Medicine Kings forging the new body for Mo Bufan’s child, the old dragon exhausting his cultivation to help form its soul, and the Sun Truefire—a supreme treasure of Heaven and Earth—being refined and fused, there was no way Mo Bufan’s child could ever be ordinary.

This process lasted for a full half hour. The old dragon’s soul became increasingly faint, and at last the two figures’ movements came to a halt.

When all was done, the old dragon swept his divine sense across them, and for the first time in ages, a rare smile graced his lips.

In his life, he had done little good—his only true dedication was to cultivation. He had never seriously wanted to accomplish anything, except perhaps to make up for War Emperor’s regret. This was the one thing he was determined to do well.

After all, that person was the only one in his life who had seemed foolish to the core—so foolish that even the old dragon couldn’t bear not to help him.

Half an hour later, with the old dragon’s divine sense gone, Mo Bufan gradually regained consciousness.

The instant he awoke, seeing himself and Song Yuxuan lying naked together, his mind went blank.

Everything that had just happened with his wife, who was usually as lofty and untouchable as a celestial maiden, was vivid in his memory—etched into his very soul.

But things should not have developed like this! How could it have come to this?

He did love his wife—after all, she was so beautiful, so powerful, so high in status. Any normal man would surely be moved by her. Yet being moved and acting on it were two different things.

Just as she once said, he too felt the gap between them was too great. He always imagined that maybe, one day, he and his wife might truly be together—but only if she accepted him of her own will.

But this damned old dragon—wasn’t he just making things worse in the name of helping?

Worse still, once his wife woke up, would she ever let him off?

With these thoughts, Mo Bufan glared resentfully at the old dragon, who was squinting at him from the side. He hurriedly found his storage pouch, pulled out a set of clothes, and gently covered Song Yuxuan with them.

Just at that moment, Song Yuxuan opened her eyes to see Mo Bufan covering her with clothes.

“S-sorry…” Mo Bufan blurted out, unable to help himself as he gazed upon her flawless, ethereal beauty.

At first, Song Yuxuan’s eyes were lost, then turned to terror, and finally to fury. With a wave of her hand, she blasted Mo Bufan away.

He had expected her to be angry, perhaps even to vent her rage upon him, but he never imagined she would strike him immediately.

Unprepared, he was struck in the chest. He barely had time to gather a wisp of spiritual energy in defense, but the blow still sent his heart pounding and blood spraying from his lips.

Meanwhile, after her outburst, Song Yuxuan clutched the clothes to her body and finally broke down. Her anguished scream was piercingly sharp.

---

The old dragon’s soul opened his eyes then, looking at Song Yuxuan with only a curl of his lip, as if the matter were of no concern.

Song Yuxuan finally fixed her gaze on the old dragon. In a fury, she struck out at him, bellowing, “I’ll kill you!”

But the old dragon neither dodged nor defended. Her palm strike passed right through his spectral form, causing him no harm at all. His face even showed a hint of mockery. “An immortal like you—if I had even a breath left, you two wouldn’t be enough to kill me. Don’t waste your strength. Rest up.”

Mo Bufan was also seething with anger. This old dragon was simply hateful, but he knew his own strength—there was no use in attacking.

Song Yuxuan, consumed by wrath, ignored all reason. Her hands blurred as she unleashed a flurry of strikes, channeling the power of Heaven’s rhythm. She struck over a dozen times before finally stopping, her face twisted with fury.

For a woman—especially one like Song Yuxuan—what she valued most was her purity, and deep in her heart, she must have had her own hopes for love. Yet all of it was obliterated by a single thought from this old dragon.

After her outburst, Song Yuxuan finally calmed down. She knew she was no match for the old dragon and couldn’t do anything to him.

With an icy face, she turned away, found a secluded corner, changed into her own clothes, and, with a flick of her hand, shredded the garment Mo Bufan had used to cover her. Coldly glancing at Mo Bufan, two tears fell from the corners of her eyes as she strode out of the celestial court without a backward glance.

Mo Bufan watched the woman he had hurt leave in such pain. His heart ached, but all he could do was sigh helplessly.

Yet as he looked at the old dragon, his anger finally began to boil over. “Dragon Ancestor, you may be a senior, but who gave you the right to meddle in others’ lives? Do you find this amusing?”

The old dragon merely closed his eyes, saying nothing.

Mo Bufan clenched his fists in rage, but he didn’t lose his head and attack. With a cold snort, he put on his own clothes, picked up the still-unconscious Fire Lynx mother and child, and turned to leave the celestial court.

“Wait!” The old dragon’s voice rang out just as Mo Bufan stepped beyond the threshold.

“What do you want now?” Mo Bufan’s heart tightened, but he kept his voice cold. “If you want to manipulate me further, I don’t mind risking my life against you. Don’t give me any nonsense about your so-called legacy—it means nothing to me.”

The old dragon glanced at him and replied blandly, “That temperament of yours reminds me of myself in my youth—hating to be controlled, hating anyone interfering in my life. Looking back, how laughable it was.”

“Hmph!” Mo Bufan snorted, having no more patience for argument, and strode to leave.

But just as he lifted his foot, the old dragon waved his hand, summoning him back. Mo Bufan was incensed and raised a hand, ready to fight to the death.

The old dragon waved aside his anger. “This is the Sun Truefire—you know it, don’t you?”

Mo Bufan’s raised hand froze.

Of course he knew the Sun Truefire. As the foremost among the Ten Great Truefires, it was one of the rarest treasures in the world.

Each of the Ten Truefires was unique in all of existence, invaluable for forging, alchemy, and cultivation. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the mere appearance of a Truefire would be enough to make a sect like the Heavenly Profound Sect mobilize all its resources to seize it.

The Sun Truefire commanded the power of life and death—it could create life or annihilate it. Hardly anyone would dispute that it was the supreme treasure under Heaven.

But who could have imagined that the Sun Truefire would be in the old dragon’s possession!

“What are you trying to do?” Mo Bufan did not believe the old dragon would simply give him the Sun Truefire. First, the old dragon was greedy by nature—generous was not in his character. Second, the Sun Truefire would not accept just anyone as its master; it demanded great strength.

The Sun Truefire was very particular about its master—once it recognized someone, it could not be taken from them unless they died. Its power would grow or diminish with its master’s strength. Upon its master’s death, it would disappear into the world, awaiting the next destined one.

“I have already branded your mark within the Sun Truefire. It has accepted your Dao resonance. From now on, it is yours.” The old dragon spoke plainly.

“What?” Mo Bufan was stunned by the declaration, his face full of disbelief.

---

The old dragon gave him a sidelong glance, and with a wave, the Sun Truefire leapt onto Mo Bufan, a tiny bean-sized flame dancing on him before sinking into his dantian and vanishing from sight.

“This is the ‘Chaos Fire Command’—it will help you control the Sun Truefire. There’s also the ‘Black Tortoise Art’ and the ‘Heaven and Earth Sword Manual’—these were the cultivation methods and techniques practiced by the War Emperor himself. He once gave them to me, but I never fully comprehended them. They’re yours to study now.” With another wave of his hand, the old dragon tossed three priceless treasures to Mo Bufan.

Staring at the three manuals in his hands, Mo Bufan was at a loss for how to deal with this old dragon.

This fellow was far too willful, and yet, with such generosity toward him, Mo Bufan found it hard to truly hate him.

It was like parents in a past life—using every method at their disposal to be good to you. They might make you uncomfortable, even angry, but you could never truly resent them.

“Lastly, the Dustless Emperor—this cat—spent his whole life forging a treasure called the Sky-Burning Cauldron. I’ll give it to you as well. It’s a weapon of mass destruction, capable of annihilating worlds. When you’re strong enough to use it… be mindful how you wield it.” The old dragon continued.

There was no way for Mo Bufan to refuse—before he could react, the old dragon had tossed a three-legged, two-eared cauldron to him as well, which vanished into his dantian.

At last, Mo Bufan couldn’t help but sigh. “Senior, what do you really want from me? Are you really forcing me to inherit this so-called legacy of the War Emperor?”

The old dragon curled his lip. “I’m not forcing you. Do as you will. I’m just acting as I see fit. Whether you achieve anything depends on destiny. Whether you’re willing or not is your own affair.”

Mo Bufan felt a headache coming on. This damn old dragon’s willful ways were giving him a taste of utter helplessness.

“Oh, enough. Don’t act like a resentful housewife. To tell you the truth, I don’t have many days left. Whatever you do from now on, I won’t be around to meddle. I’ve been sealing a demon for a hundred thousand years—it’s time I settled things with him.” The old dragon spoke casually. “I’ve sealed a demon for a hundred thousand years. Time to end it.”

“Demon?” Mo Bufan immediately thought of the black-clad man he’d seen before arriving at the dragon court.

“Hmph. What else? Do you know why the demonic energy erupted this time? It was because you grasped my Heaven’s rhythm—and that let him sense the reason for your Nine Suns Body.”

Mo Bufan was suddenly enlightened. So the outbreak of demonic energy had all been because of him.

As the old dragon spoke, his dragon soul picked up the fat orange cat that had been sprawled on his throne, and tossed it to Mo Bufan. “Take it with you. It annoys me just to see it.”

The big orange cat, finally startled awake, opened sleepy eyes and gave a plaintive meow.

Mo Bufan quickly caught it—this was, after all, the Dustless Emperor and not to be slighted.

Having given his final instructions, the old dragon stretched, his illusory form soaring skyward. A dragon’s roar exploded throughout the entire Dragonfall Abyss, and a vast surge of spiritual energy swept through the chasm.

Alarmed, Mo Bufan rushed from the court and looked up. He saw a shadowy figure and the dragon soul vanishing together. An icy voice echoed: “Old dragon, do you really think saving him can change everything? You are far too naïve…”

With those words, the black shadow disappeared.

The old dragon snorted coldly, the last wisp of his soul gazing over the Dragonfall Abyss with a mournful sigh. Looking at Mo Bufan, he said, “Boy, I have one final request—if you ever have the chance, help me free the demon beasts trapped in this abyss. Their ancestors died fighting alongside us—they should not suffer here any longer…”

“Back then, Dustless took pity on us old relics, leaving us a few places to coexist with the demons, letting our remnant souls linger. But now, that’s no longer necessary…”

As he spoke, the old dragon’s form finally faded away completely.

In the dragon court, Zhao Yuan’er, Long Ling’er, and the Fire Lynx mother and child behind Mo Bufan finally woke at that moment.

In Mo Bufan’s arms, the big orange cat gazed up, eyes bright, at the dissipating remnants of the dragon clan’s soul in the sky, and at last let out a soft, mournful “meow…”