Translated by Mianbao
Edited by RED
The scales of Great Dragons were very tough. They didn’t like using soft objects in their nests. On the contrary, gold and diamonds, which were hard and wouldn’t be crushed, were the most comfortable bed for them. Not only that, gold and diamonds could polish their scales, making them harder and brighter!
Making their scales hard was for the sake of fighting, giving them an indestructible body.
A brighter appearance was for the sake of attracting the opposite sex. It was the same principle as humans loving to wear all kinds of pretty clothes.
The dens of Great Dragons were the richest; that saying was absolutely true!
“Winter is right around the corner. This Great Dragon should be scouring for food and hoarding rations for the winter…
“Then we’ll just keep waiting for it to leave. When it does, we’ll sweep this dragon den empty!”
Zhu Minglang looked at the bunch of Cliff Vultures, suddenly feeling like they were a bunch of wonderful guides. Their dirty, greyish brown feathers and sharp faces looked especially cute… Eat slowly, eat slowly. Don’t choke to death…
“We’re wich!” Although he misspoke slightly, Zhu Minglang’s joy was undeniable.
He could become a tycoon overnight!
After giving little Baiqi a big kiss, Zhu Minglang found a safe spot, intending to stay in this cave for now. He’d spring into action whenever the dragon above him left!
Little Baiqi’s eyes immediately lit up in excitement when he heard they were going to steal. He looked even happier than finding an equal opponent.
This kind of matter was very strange. Defeating that dragon fair and square and taking its belongings afterwards actually had the same rewards.
However, stealing the treasure of others without spending much effort while under their strict security, and watching the defeated looks on their faces after escaping scot free would make it feel like the treasures were much more precious!
Although this wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, it never felt any less exciting!
Zhu Minglang watched as little Baiqi’s clear eyes suddenly became crafty. Intelligence was one thing; why did he suddenly appear to be as crafty as a fox?
This made Zhu Minglang slip into a momentary deep thought…
-It’s said that a dragon’s nature is very similar to their master’s. Is little Baiqi’s nature being like this all my fault?-
——
A qualified hunter needed to be patient. Zhu Minglang had some jerky with him. He planned on playing a waiting game with that Great Dragon above him, just like that.
Heiya had just had a full meal. He could last for many days.
Meanwhile, he brought little Baiqi’s nectar with him everywhere. Baiqi definitely wouldn’t starve.
When night fell, the Great Dragon above him was still around. It appeared that the dragon had just returned from outside when Zhu Minglang just entered the cave, but he didn’t hear any chewing noises from above.
The appetites of huge creatures were enormous. They needed to maintain their bodies’ energy. If there was nothing in their stomachs, they’d be burning their bodies’ reserve energy every moment. That was equivalent to continuously shaving off their strength and fighting power. If they encountered a stronger predator, they wouldn’t even have the energy to run.
Zhu Minglang believed that even if this Great Dragon had just eaten a full meal, it’d go hunting for food in a few days, not to mention winter was just before them. Many creatures would go into hibernation then; it was the most troubling time for predators!
——
Two days…
Three days…
On the fourth day, the dirty Zhu Minglang finally heard some commotion from above!
Huu!
That was the sound of wings beating. Zhu Minglang looked up the cracks, and saw a Great Dragon covered in mossy scales in the narrow skies, gradually taking off. Its wings were as large as the crowns of the pine trees, the shadows its wing cast giving off a terrifying feeling…
It was a Great Forest Dragon!
Not only that, it had obviously matured. The aura it gave off was much stronger than Heiya’s!
Zhu Minglang was unable to determine its strength.
Creatures of the adult phase and complete phase were very similar. If the Great Forest Dragon was in its complete phase, Zhu Minglang might not be able to subdue it, even if the White Ice Morning Dragon took action!
Not resorting to brute force casually was a wise decision, it seemed…
Zhu Minglang sprang into motion.
He hadn’t been doing nothing but waiting over the past few days. He had figured out the habits of those Cliff Vultures guarding the hoard, and easily detoured around them, immediately sneaking into the depths of the cave.
The back of the cave went upslope, clearly connected to the peak of the cliff. Zhu Minglang followed the path, and soon saw a large area of light shining down at an angle, like huge spears piercing through the darkness in the cave.
Zhu Minglang walked in that direction, and discovered Cliff Vultures patrolling about, both above and in the direction he had come from. After the Great Forest Dragon left, the Cliff Vultures’ security became tighter. Alas, they never thought someone had snuck in long ago.
Security on the inside was pretty much nonexistent. Zhu Minglang walked to where light was pouring in. He discovered it was actually a dragon’s nest, smashed in from the peak by sharp claws.
The nest was similar in size to a residential courtyard. It was covered in treasures, the slanted sun rays only reaching a small portion of them, giving off a dazzling light!
Seeing the carnelians, platinum, gold nuggets, and emeralds, Zhu Minglang went blank staring at them!
It was no wonder Great Dragons loved collecting them. Piling those beautiful objects together and letting them display their brilliance was truly the most beautiful picture in this world!
He hadn’t been living on dew and wind for nothing. This Great Forest Dragon was also the most adorable spirit in this world!
“Baiqi, do you still remember that trick?” Zhu Minglang asked urgently.
Little Baiqi nodded profusely, raising his long tail in excitement. The tail began stirring nonstop in the air, like a vortex…
His long tail moved faster and faster. A powerful, yet silent suction appeared in the dragon nest. The scattered jewels laying on the ground jumped up on their own, flying toward the vortex stirred up by little Baiqi’s tail, like baby swallows returning to their nest.
In the past, little Baiqi had used this move to absorb his enemies’ Mystic Arts. Sometimes he could even reflect the energy back at them! However, they had gradually started using this move for a different purpose at some time in the past…
Seeing little Baiqi’s skill, Zhu Minglang felt even more gratified. “Little Baiqi, you’re too real. Even though you’ve lost your old Azure Dragon Mystic Art, you never forgot about this stealing method!”
Soon, the treasures of this dragon den were collected into little Baiqi’s ultimate concealing method, and Baiqi looked very satisfied.
They didn’t plan to stay for long. Zhu Minglang and Baiqi immediately slipped away.
“Yiyi!!!” They heard some cries behind them, mixed into an ear-piercing noise.
Zhu Minglang hurriedly hid himself, thinking he had been discovered.
After a while, more cries reverberated in the cave. It appeared a big group of Cliff Vultures had returned, strengthening their security measures while the Great Forest Dragon was away from its nest.
They didn’t check the dim and empty dragon nest. Zhu Minglang heaved a long sigh of relief. It would be for the best if they could leave without anyone noticing!
“I’m afraid we can’t leave from the back now. Let’s crawl out above.” Zhu Minglang realized the cave entrance he had come through was now full of Cliff Vultures, and decided to leave from the top of the cliff. Using the cover of the plants on the top of the cliff, they should be able to hide from the sight of the Cliff Vultures patrolling in the skies.
Zhu Minglang moved very carefully as he crawled up the pit. Little Baiqi would also control the wind elements near the cliff to disrupt the patrolling Cliff Vultures…
—
Arriving at the top, he saw the peak was covered with a thick layer of soft vines. Zhu Minglang peeked his head out. When he saw there wasn’t anything above them, he immediately jumped out of the pit and hid under an old tree with many branches hanging down.
There were a great many Cliff Vultures in the sky. Little Baiqi was still controlling the wind; they needed to wait until the strong wind forced the Cliff Vultures patrolling in the skies to take cover in the pine trees before they could leave. Otherwise, the Cliff Vultures would definitely chase them until the Great Forest Dragon came for them!
Quietly waiting for an opportunity, Zhu Minglang’s gaze wandered to the soft vines. He realized those dry vines didn’t seem to have grown there naturally, and were snapped and piled there instead, forming something like a large grass nest.
Seeing this nest of vines, a thought flashed through his brain.
Retreating slightly, Zhu Minglang hid behind a tree. At that moment, a head came peeking out from the vine nest. It had light green skin, eyes like a snake, a big nose, and a slightly protruding dragon horn!
The head slowly looked up, its eyes observing the huge pine tree that was swaying wildly in the wind.
-A dragonling?- Zhu Minglang was surprised.
It was no longer strange that the Great Forest Dragon had always stayed on the cliff summit. It turned out there was a tiny nest hidden here, made for the little dragonling who hadn’t grown tough scales!
The little dragonling didn’t notice Zhu Minglang. It was only watching its surroundings.
Realizing the mother dragon had gone away, the Forest Dragonling suddenly cried out happily and picked up something with its mouth, climbing toward the dropoff of the cliff…
Zhu Minglang looked closer, and realized the Forest Dragonling was actually holding onto an even smaller dragon baby with its mouth!
Some wounds could be seen on the dragon baby, obviously caused recently.
After leaving its vine nest, the elder brother Forest Dragonling crawled at a faster speed.
Arriving at the edge of the cliff, the dragon baby started struggling and crying out miserably, seemingly pleading.
However, the elder dragonling was unmoved by its cries. It bit on the baby dragon’s body once more, then threw the dragon baby heavily!
The dragon baby’s wings hadn’t developed. Plunging straight down, its cries of horror immediately reverberated around the cliff.
Zhu Minglang was stunned at the sight.
The elder dragonling was definitely not teaching its baby brother how to fly.
That bigger dragonling was throwing its younger brother off the cliff while their mother dragon wasn’t around!
It was said that Great Dragons’ blood were hot like lava, but their temperaments were cold as snakes. Zhu Minglang had finally witnessed it for himself today.
Despite having dragonized and transcended above common spirits, dragons also obeyed the cruel laws of this world.
Dragons were powerful and could easily hunt fierce tigers and wild oxen. However, at the level of dragons, ordinary wild creatures couldn’t satisfy them at all.
If food wasn’t what their body needed, it would be like eating grass and tree bark, even if they ate a goat or a cow.
They needed to hunt some demons, but the demons had certain intelligence and survival skills. If they wanted to hide, even Great Dragons would have a hard time finding them!
Food that could replenish their energy, as well as recover their magic, would forever be in short supply. Some dragons that didn’t develop well could even end up as prey for some Devil Spirits!
In order to grow stronger, let alone often biting the dragon baby, the bigger dragonling even exposed its true nature before winter!
In the past, Zhu Minglang had heard rumors of Great Dragons killing their own kind in their nests, but witnessing it for himself today still shocked him greatly!