The Inverted Dragon's Scale

It was only then that he could face the battle with peace of mind.

At that time he was already prepared to die or to flee. If the difference in strength between them were too great, he would die. If there were a glimmer of hope, then he would flee.

He just couldn’t expose his identity and transform into a real dragon for the battle———

No matter what way he ultimately chose, it would be extremely bad for his family, because they did not have the ability to protect themselves.

Wind City was the ancestral residence of the Lu family and was defended by the Lord of Wind City Lu Wuyong as well as hundreds of thousands of armoured soldiers. As long as there was internal stability, even if the imperial court dispatched the army it would be incredibly difficult to siege Wind City.

When Li Muyang made this decision, he believed in the Lu Clan and believed in Wind City.

Ever since his parents and sister were sent away, his mind had been stable and he did not need to worry about their safety. In his subconscious mind, Wind city was invulnerable to attacks, can take the offensive or defensive as it chooses. Given that his parents were taken care of by the Lu clan then they should be safe.

However, what Li Muyang did not think about was that this move was the same as sending the sheep into the mouth of the tiger——He had personally sent his parents and little sister to the tiger’s mouth.

Lu Wuyong had betrayed the Lu clan and Wind City had become extremely dangerous.

His little sister, Li Shinian, was imprisoned in a firewood room, chained, and clothes stained with blood. He did not know if she had suffered any serious injuries.

“Lu Wuyong———” Recuperating on a boulder in the distance, Lu Qingming roared out violently at the sight of the scene in the light screen. His chest was heaving up and down, and once again spurted out blood.

“That Lu Wuyong———”

For Lu Qingming, it was even more difficult to accept such a betrayal.

He and Lu Wuyong were from the same sect and ancestor, and belonged to the same Lu clan. At a very young age, Lu Wuyong was sent to the Lu residence in Tiandu to undergo important training. Lu Xingkong had spent a lot of time and energy on him, and polished him to become one of the core figures of the Lu family. Later, he was sent to West Wind University, and after the completion of a military post for two years, was sent to the military of Wind City to do paperwork. He was then step-by-step promoted to be the commander of an army of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, the City Lord of Wind city.

Wind city was the root of the Lu clan, also the safe place that Lu Xingkong had carefully created. No matter how dangerous they were in Tiandu, no matter how they dealt with the enemy, as long as they escaped from Tiandu they would be able to protect the lives of their family.

Moreover, Lu Qingming and Lu Wuyong grew up together, were as close as brothers. When Lu Qingming led troops in Wind City, Lu Wuyong was his left leg and right arm. The two fought shoulder-to-shoulder, advanced and retreated together, and treated each other with absolute sincerity.

Previously the two had often communicated through letters. He explained to Lu Qingming that the enemy was making unusual movements, so he had to stay stationed at the frontier in case the other side had plans to invade. Although Lu Qingming had doubts, he was quick to dispel those bad thoughts. He had been stationed military for years and knew that any slightest movement from the enemy forces would cause a series of chain reaction. It was incredibly important to not be careless in military affairs. Thus his behaviour was perfectly understandable. As a result, Lu Qingming also wrote back to tell him not to mind and that as long as he was loyal to the country.

What he did not think was that Lu Wuyong had long sent secret messages to others to set up an inescapable net in Wind City, waiting for these people to plunge into it.

Incessantly spitting out blood, Lu Qingming’s body was becoming weaker and weaker.

He was not even able to sit upright, teetering, struggling to persist, and seemed would collapse on the boulder at any time.

“Lu Wuyong, I must kill you.” Lu Qingming hissed, mouth overflowing with blood.

“What have you done to Shinian?” Li Muyang roared.

“As you can see, Miss Shinian is now safe and sound. She is a guest in Wind City, and presumably your Lu family will take care of her. Don’t worry. However, if our deal fails, then the consequences are difficult to predict.”

Li Muyang’s eyes reddened as he roared: “Song Gudu, you are a despicable person——you’re high and mighty, and people treat you like a God, but you’re a complete scum. With your cultivation level and status, you did something like that to a little girl——What else in the world will you not do?”

Song Gudu calmly looked at Li Muyang who had entered into a crazy state. “At my age, there are already lot of things that I don’t care much about anymore. For example, whether or not Lu Wuyong wants to be used by me. If he wants it, I’ll accept it. If he doesn’t want to, I’ll find someone else to replace him. For example, now they have imprisoned your sister in a firewood room, no matter what their motives or purpose is, I have no thought of asking and no intention of finding the answer——I just need to know what the result is and that will be enough. Now what I’m showing you is the result, your answer. So, it’s your turn now. Li Muyang, what’s your answer?”

Li Muyang tried hard to suppress the vicious tendencies in his heart, glowering at Song Gudu with blood-red eyes he fumed: “What kind of deal do you want to make with me?”

“Trade your life for their lives.” Song Gudu stated.

“What kind of exchange is that?”

“To be used by me.” Song Gudu said.

Li Muyang couldn’t help smiling a cold, mocking smile: “Although you do not have the title of an Emperor, you have more power than the Emperor. Now that the Lu clan had collapsed, the Song clan is the strongest and the rest are reduced to subordinates. Your wealth is equivalent to that of an entire country, and naturally do not have a shortage of money. You’ve tread past the starry sky, stepped into Astral projection realm, become the strongest in West Wind Kingdom——you want me to use for you? What can I do for you?”

“If you were an ordinary person, naturally there is no way you can give me what I want. And also is not qualified to make any deals with me.” Song Gudu said in a low voice. His voice was quiet, also very gentle, but that tyrannical power still makes one palpitate. “But, Li Muyang, you are a dragon. In the great wide world, only you are qualified to make a deal with me.”

“You want me to work for you? Kill For you?”

“No, you don’t need to worry about those little things, countless people are fighting to do it for me.” Song Gudu said, shaking his head. “Cultivation is like climbing a mountain, breaking into the next realm is like seizing the moon. The older you get, the slower the pace of cultivation. The time you can set aside also gets less, and ordinary people will eventually be limited by one’s lifespan. It’s hard for anyone to break through, including myself.”

“It took me 22 years to step into the Astral Projection Realm from the higher stage of the Starry sky realm, and it took me 51 years to progress from the Starry sky to the Astral projection. The world calls me the ‘Eye of the Starry Sky’, because I spend too much time and energy in the Starry sky, silently watching the starry sky for 51 years. Fifty years of time, what else would I not see clearly? The sky is so vast, what secrets does it have?”

“However, even if I entered into the realm of Astral projection, I will eventually die of old age. What’s the significance of the lower stage of the Astral projection realm? Can it ensure eternal life?” Song Gudu’s voice contained endless loneliness and melancholy. There were still a lot of things he wanted to do, and a lot more powerful strength he wanted to pursue. However, there was a limit to human life. Even if he held the authority of a country, possessed an earth-shaking cultivation base, it was still difficult to reverse the fate of humankind.

Therefore, Song Gudu wanted to make a deal with Li Muyang.

A deal that can only be made with Li Muyang.

Li Muyang stared wide-eyed at Song Gudu, a look of surprise across his face. “You want to live forever?”

“Which cultivator doesn’t want immortality?” The corners of Song Gudu’s mouth were curved upwards in a smile. “Apart from this, what matter is worth me coming all the way here in person to make a deal with you?”

“I can’t help you with this matter. Even I am going to be killed by you soon.” Li Muyang said with a sneer. He felt that the old man would stop at nothing for the sake of long life. Song Gudu had come to make a deal with him, but he was not a celestial being in charge of life and death, how could he grant him eternal life? If he really had that ability, he would have immediately crossed out his name from the book of life, send him onto the Asura path and never let him turn over.

“You don’t need to refuse so soon.” Song Gudu reminded, pointing to Li Shinian in the light screen: “Every word you say determines her life and death.”

“Your condition——”

“Hurling insult is the act of a coward. Besides that, what can you do?”

“Nothing can be done.” Li Muyang gnashed his teeth in anger. It had to be said that every word of Song Gudu was full of demonic power, which makes one could not help but be influenced by his thinking, and words and actions be controlled by him. As he had put it, hurling insults had no significance.

For someone of his cultivation level, what had he not experienced before?

How would a few words of insults change his heart? How would he be irritated by it?

It did not even have the power to make him frown.

“Since the mouth is idle anyway.” Li Muyang said in a loud voice.

“As you wish.” Song Gudu was very generous, watching Li Muyang continue to talk about their deal, he seemed like a very sincere but also a very unqualified businessman. “You misunderstood what I mean. I don’t want to live forever, only immortals and celestial beings can truly live as long as the sun and the moon.”

“I know that dragons live far beyond the human race, and that they have lived for hundreds and thousands of years. As long as I can have the life span of the Dragon, that will be enough for me——just give me a little more time, and I will eventually be able to find other ways.”

“The lifespan of dragons is inborn.” Li Muyang stated. “How can I help you? Besides, even if I know the secret of the Dragon’s longevity, I would never———”

Creak————

In the light screen, the door to the firewood room where Li Shinian was imprisoned was pushed open by someone.

Li Muyang saw the son of the Lord of Wind city Lu Lin, who he had met in Tiandu, pushed open the door and appeared in front of Li Shinian.

Li Muyang could not continue, staring nervously at the scene in the light screen.

He was afraid that Lu Lin would suddenly do something crazy, even more fear that he had received Song Gudu’s order to hurt Li Shinian——

“Get him out of there immediately——” Li Muyang roared. “Get him out, I will talk to you about any deal.”