Stepping into the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar, Bai Yue felt a sense of profound comfort, as if a gentle breeze were brushing against her, welcoming her home.
Little specks of purple light began to purge the impurities from her blood. Following her father’s instructions, she ascended the dark purple staircase and took a leap into the boiling blood pool.
Deep within the pool, the consciousnesses of the ancestors of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan watched her jump, breaking into a lively debate.
"Old Six, your son jumped into this pool back in the day and wasted so much blood. Your granddaughter is just as reckless!"
"Old Four, all you know how to do is yell! It’s not easy to get a little girl in here; don't you dare scare my precious granddaughter!"
"Watch your manners! I am your father, call me Old Four."
"Enough, stop bickering. The girl is about to wake up. Get to work! Whether we can finally get out of this place depends on whether her bloodline concentration reaches one hundred percent."
"Yes, Boss!"
After plunging into the blood pool, Bai Yue fell into a deep slumber, yet she could still hear these hushed arguments echoing at the edge of her consciousness. Her body was dormant, but her mind remained clear, allowing her to communicate with System Liuliu within her Sea of Consciousness.
"Liuliu, I keep hearing strange voices. Who are they?"
[Host, those are your ancestors—the past Demon God Emperors of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan. By your father’s generation, it was already the seventh generation.]
[After each Demon God Emperor dies, their Crown of Inheritance returns to the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar, bringing with it a portion of their residual consciousness.]
"But I remember that very few Demon God Emperors died of natural causes. Most were killed by their successors."
[Host, that notion was instilled in you by the Temple Alliance; it is not the truth!]
[Your ancestors voluntarily abandoned their physical bodies because they could never take that final step to achieve divinity. Thus, they preserved their consciousness to use dragon blood to stimulate the bloodlines of the next generation, aiming to cultivate a bloodline that resonates perfectly with the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar.]
[Host, they have finally waited for you. I will also be able to replenish my energy properly!]
Liuliu’s tone was filled with excitement. Before Bai Yue could fully grasp the implications, she was pushed out of her Sea of Consciousness by the system. She opened her eyes to find her body absorbing the blood in the pool at a rapid pace. The blood was not the crimson color of humans, but a deep, shimmering purple.
A small vortex formed beneath her. As the level of the blood pool dropped, a series of purple petals gradually took shape between her brows. Eventually, they bloomed into a nine-petaled flower with a purple stamen, adding a touch of demonic allure to her otherwise delicate, lily-like features.
"Boss, the nine-petaled purple flower! The girl really is the Mother of Destiny from the prophecy."
"Waaah—it hasn't been easy! After five thousand years, we’ve finally waited for this!"
"Old Two, you don’t have to cry like that, do you?"
"Old Six, it’s easy for you to say that standing there. You’ve only been here for a few hundred years; you have no idea what it’s like to guard this broken pillar for five millennia."
Bai Yue raised an eyebrow and opened her eyes. She hadn't expected the ancestors of the Demon race to be such lively characters!
"Child, can you see us?" A cold, refined voice drifted into her ears. Bai Yue looked toward the source of the sound. An incredibly handsome figure materialized in a ghostly form, accompanied by five other equally striking young men.
"Yue'er pays her respects to the ancestors." Bai Yue climbed out of the blood pool and bowed respectfully to the forebears of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan.
"Finally, someone from the Demon race can see us!" Old Two wept tears of joy, overcome with excitement.
"From the bloodline resonance, I can tell you’re Fengxiu’s little one. Child, I am your own grandfather!" Old Six crowded forward, immediately launching into a family reunion.
The situation spiraled out of control. By the time the introductions were over, Bai Yue had gained one grandfather and several great-grandfathers. No, if she went by seniority, it was more like many great-great-great-grandfathers…
[Host, do you want to take your bunch of great-grandfathers out of the Heaven-Defying Magic Dragon Pillar?]
[Liuliu has replenished plenty of energy and can help you with this!]
Liuliu suddenly popped up to speak with her. Bai Yue poked Liuliu’s chubby face with a look of grievance, suspicious. "Are you really that kind?"
"Who was the one who just shoved me out of my Sea of Consciousness?"
"Would you be this proactive if there wasn't something in it for you?"
[Everything Liuliu does is for the host’s benefit. By inviting these six great-grandfathers into your Sea of Consciousness, Liuliu can replenish the missing energy, and you will gain the assistance of six Tier 9 Level 9 experts. It is a win-win situation.]
Liuliu laid out the plan with a straight face. Bai Yue rolled her eyes; she wasn't falling for the system's tricks.
"You mentioned all the benefits, but you didn't say a word about the downsides. I don't believe that replenishing your energy won't harm the grandfathers."
[Host, Liuliu is a good system. Although I am still in the internship period, I am a consciousness derived from the Heavenly Dao. We systems have professional ethics and guidelines.]
[I do need dragon souls to help stabilize the laws of the Heavenly Dao, but it is mutually beneficial. They can gain recognition from the Heavenly Dao, which grants them the qualifications to eventually achieve divinity.]
Bai Yue was confused by Liuliu's talk, so she decided to ask the six ancestors, inviting them into her Sea of Consciousness to talk to Liuliu directly. She had no idea how Liuliu had managed to sweet-talk the old men, but once the discussion ended, the six of them simply refused to leave her Sea of Consciousness.
Bai Yue had soaked in the blood pool, but she had consumed every drop of blood inside it. She had no idea if her bloodline activation had been successful. Looking at the empty pool, she had no choice but to go out and explain what happened to her father.
Of course, she was also worried about how to explain the existence of System Liuliu to Fengxiu. Seeing her troubled expression and understanding her concerns, her Sixth Grandfather waved his hand and declared briskly, "Yue'er, don't worry. If that little dragon brat dares to ask one question, I’ll beat him myself."
"..." Bai Yue’s mouth twitched. She had never imagined that her father had been raised under the threat of the stick.
Fifth Grandfather slapped Sixth Grandfather, knocking him to the ground. "You, talking about beating my precious granddaughter? I think you’re the one who needs a beating. I put all that effort into raising you, and in the end, you got beaten into critical condition by a Scion of Samsara and had to abdicate the throne after only a few years."
"Father, don't hit a Demon in the face! Even if I failed, I’m still better than you!"
"You just had to play the tyrant—killing my mother, butchering my younger brother, and causing a succession war among four dragons. Were you raising children or venomous insects?" Old Six complained indignantly.
"It wasn't until after I died that I found out my birth mother was framed by the woman who raised me, and that 'brother' wasn't even related to me by blood—he was a bastard who corrupted the royal bloodline of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan."
Bai Yue’s eyes widened, her ears perked up to catch the gossip. Good heavens! Was the drama between their ancestors always this explosive?