Dragon's Gate

Da Hai sat on his watching chair staring out into the night sky. These past few millennia have been some of the most exciting news in the primitive world's history. Yet for this great god of the early heavens, it was a trying time.

It can not be denied how proud Da Hai was of Zulong's rise to power. That dragon had in the span of ten thousand years, built his own clan with an incredibly stable foundation. Expanded that clan's population with the help of very energetic male and female dragons. Raise that clan to one with innumerable experts. Then sweeping across the four seas.

They had been incredibly fast taking mere half a dozen years to reach and take both the north and south seas. Then used a few more to take the west. Most of that time was travel time as no opponent could triumph against the ancestral dragon.

Most of the experts Zulong raised didn't even have to do anything but stand there and look tough. Though they were very effective at looking tough. After all, the sight of millions of dragons each ten thousand metres long at the smallest blanketing out the sky was quite intimidating.

Da Hai drank a small sip of wine and looked towards a piece of paper he'd been writing on. Notes about things he remembers about mythology and the development of the world.

It was not that he needed to do this as immortals possessed eidetic memories. Rather, it was very helpful in aiding him to think.

"Three beast sovereigns, three beast sovereigns," Da Hai mused depressingly. "Things have already progressed so far."

He looked at a nearby bowl of water. On it were projections of both Zufeng and Zulin. Both figures were recent renditions of their status. They no longer appeared like rogue cultivators like they were in the past but as actual royal rulers.

It was not especially hard to get information nowadays from east, south and north due to how connected the continents are. Of the three the south was undoubtedly the most populated. The north still suffered from the sinful actions of Shenni while the east was its own beast entirely.

The seas Willa always be larger and more populated than the continents. This domain Zulong had claimed will also be the most spread out and hardest to defend. He was bordered by both his rivals who were consequently a distance away from his primary base of operations.

"I can't kill them without arousing trouble I can't cope with," Da Hai thought with irritation. The jade brush in his hand started creaking with the amount of force the sea god was using.

Da Hai checked his own karmic luck before calculating his losses before feeling a chill. "Can't even think about that, what bullshit," he complained angrily.

Da Hai may consider himself an ally of the heavenly Dao, but let it not be said that sometimes he really hated that cosmic force.

"I can't let that happen," Da Hai mused covering his frown with his legs hand in a thinking pose. "I can't allow him to die. You most certainly cannot stop me."

Almost immediately, a flash of thunder rumbled in the distance prompting Da Hai to look out the window once more. "He's my disciple, my son and inheritor. Right now, he is the priority for me," he said out loud.

Some movement of the clouds outside his room seemed to indicate a level of understanding. But Da Hai got the feeling that his greatest ally didn't really agree with that last sentiment.

"I understand, the constant waging war inside you is painful," Da Hai admitted. "The battle between the Devil and Dao ancestors are inevitable. You can be sure that I will fight for you. But right now, something else takes precedence."

No responsive sound was heard. Da Hai sighed in relief. Normally, he didn't really want the world to turn against him. In truth, he quite liked the Heavenly Dao. It was tenacious and decisive. It knew what it wanted and it wanted to live. But it was also open to ideas and willing to heed others.

Just that the idea Hongjun, Luohu, and to an extent himself had fed into it proved to be one that was too lucrative to pass up.

If the era of the three beast sovereigns can be defined by anything it was the amount of experts they had. In this era, the primitive world was connected closely to the chaos sea. Sensing the Dao was easy and anyone could cultivate. The sheer number of Golden Immortals this era held was easily in the hundred millions, possibly even low billions.

So when the great tribulation happened, the power of these experts fed and empowered the heavenly Dao to obscene heights.

"This era is just starting but so many things are already set in stone. I…I am at fault as well," Da Hai sighed thinking more and more about Zulong's situation.

No matter what, even if Zulong was unambitious nor wished to fight, he will be forced to. Zufeng and Zulin will never let him rest. He would not be able to withstand their continuous pushes and will have to go to war himself.

Da Hai had no doubt Zulong can beat them but in the end, he too will be afflicted by the tribulation as a part of the war. His end will not be pretty. WHat's more, Hongjun and Luohu might even use this as an excuse to finish him off.

Da Hai looked at a portrait of his disciples hanging on the wall. It was taken thousands of years ago when Zulong first crossed into the realm of Chaos Immortal and obtained the great principle of the Dao.

Zulong's Dao was one of royal authority. It symbolized his desire to rule as sovereign of the world. Despite how outwardly merciful and kind as the dragon was, he can be just as pragmatic and cruel if need be. There was a high chance he might implicate himself without knowing.

"The path of a sovereign is not a kind one," Da Hai mused. Suddenly he had an epiphany. His eyes widened in realisation.

"He hasn't announced himself yet," Da Hai uttered in realisation. "He's annexed territory but that's no different to a sect taking a mountain. He's not proclaimed himself as a candidate to rule the world. He hasn't connected to the dragon's karmic merit, not fully."

Da Hai adopted a thinking pose as he said, "There is still hope. Zulong cannot be allowed to become sovereign."

FLASH!

Da Hai faded out of existence, teleporting across Yingzhou towards the moth fairies. As residents of Yingzhou, even if they possessed strong cultivations, Da Hai can find them with no difficulty.

Yi Fei'e, Er Fei'e, San Fei'e, Si Fei'e, Wu'Fei'e, Liu Fei'e, and Chi Fei'e had in the time since coming to Yingzhou, all reached the Golden Immortal realm. They were all well on track to Great Unity Golden Immortal.

Though they don't really leave Yingzhou aside from errands for Da Hai, they've garnered a reputation as the Seven Illusionary Fairies. This was because they were all weirdly talented at illusion type spells. Spells Da Hai himself knew a lot about simply from living in Yingzhou.

The lot of women were sitting and eating a basket of homegrown spiritual fruits when Da Hai abruptly popped into said garden. It was one of many planted on Yingzhou by the moths who'd long been given free reign on this topic.

Da Hai's sudden appearance did not register to the minds of the fairies at first. After all, his brand of teleportation involved slipping in and out of existence rendering him completely untraceable.

"Hey try this one sis," San Fei'e said picking up a specially grown spiritual fruit for Yi Fei'e.

"Hope it's better than that last attempt, that one was just terrible," the head moth fairy said in good jest taking the fruit.

"Ahem!" Da Hai cleared his throat.

"Oh master," Er Fei'e said looking back briefly before turning back to her sisters. "MASTER!" only to immediately realise who was standing then and got up to greet him along with the rest of her sisters in a ninety degree bow.

Aside from Yi Fei'e, all the fairies were in name disciples. This means that while Da Hai taught them spells and the Dao, they did not inherit much from the sea god. Yi Fei'e on the other hand received personal defensive treasures and guidance on cultivation and Dao.

Yi Fei'e had received just as much guidance as her senior brothers before her and more so than her sisters and as such exceeded them by a wide degree. She was also one of the most trusted of all of Da Hai's subordinates.

"What is it master requires of us?" They asked.

"Deliver a message to Zulong for me," Da Hai said. "It doesn't matter how you do it, just as long as he receives it."

"What message does master wish to send?" Yi Fei'e inquired.

"I want to talk with him, privately on Yingzhou," Da Hai said before fading out of existence.

After a few moments, Yi Fei'e flicked her wrist packing away the tables and fruit baskets into her sleeve. "Right, break's over," she announced clapping her soft hands lightly.

"I guess I'll, you know what sisters. You lot barely leave the island as is. You six go out and tell senior brother," Yi Fei'e said smirking at their shocked faces.

"Eh? What? But it's so comfortable here. Besides big sister is so experienced with these errands and we're afraid we might mess it up," they tried to say.

"Which is why you all should get experience," Yi Fei'e suggested. "Well, we can't keep master waiting. Take one of the spare sky barges and go."

And so six of the seven moth fairies departed Yingzhou for the first time in twenty to thirty thousand years. They travelled to meet the dragon who was darting between the west, south, and east these days to oversee construction as well as to guard against Zufeng as most of the Great Principle powerhouses were up north to guard against Zulin.

…

Yi Fei'e wandered the gardens Yingzhou silently. Now that her sisters were gone, it was actually quite lonely. Her master Da Hai wasn't really one to make social calls and what's more, had entered secluded cultivation until her senior brother returned.

'Senior brother, how odd to refer to him like that,' Yi Fei'e thought wordlessly. They used to be a distance of lord and servant but now they were fellow disciples beneath Da Hai. They were essentially siblings of the same lineage.

Her strength had also improved by an order of magnitude. Her usage of weapons and spells had been improved though she hoped to test them in an actual fight one day. Sitting and reading about war and battle can only take you so far.

Some live practice was necessary especially when in this aspect of cultivation. This was why the moth decided to try using the new spell Da Hai taught her. Yi Fei'e readied herself and activated her spell. She faded out of existence similar to Da Hai and appeared in another section of Yingzhou.

This was the 'Distant Flash' spell that was a movement technique that allowed one to motionlessly fade in and out of existence. It was derived from Da Hai's Dao of distant seas. Da Hai figured out this spell by studying his own Dao and imparted it freely to all his disciples as it was a very strong survival skill.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much opportunity to use it. Zulong and the dragons being so overwhelmingly powerful and the moths having barely experienced any conflict.

Yi Fei'e took in the sight of a peaceful garden that appeared as she faded into view. "This is the koi pond garden," she realised. Her aim had been off, she was aiming for Yingzhou's fourth mountain peak.

She walked up to the pond and saw a colourful assortment of carps swimming about. Their colourful scales glistened in the crystal clear water and bright sunlight.

"Their cultivation is already quite high," Yi Fei'e mused. She watched as hundreds of carps came near the edge of the pond eager for a treat. These carps were really gluttonous.

In truth, although they acted as decorations, each and every one of these fishes were legitimate cultivators. Some had even crossed into the True Immortal realm and beyond over the years having fed of fish feed made of some of the best herbs available.

These fishes would all qualify as experts if they roamed outside. However since their treatment here was so good, they just remained as decorations. It wasn't as if Da Hai cared if they left or not. Yi Fei'e thought them pretty smart, no work yet reap all the benefits.

The size of the koi pond was massive. It was easily hundreds of metres in width and flowed into a river that led into a waterfall somewhere down the garden.

Seeing the carps giving her a pitiful look, Yi Fei'e sighed helplessly. She retrieved a bag from her sleeve and watched in amusement as the eyes of these hundreds of fishes lit up in gold.

What happened next was a carnage of battle as Yi Fei'e emptied the bag into the pond and watched in fascination as factions of carps assaulted each other for the food.

It was highly likely that there was an actual society of carps a little deeper into the pond. The moth simply never checked as it wasn't important and this place was only really interesting to her eldest senior brother.

"Those tactics that group is using though," Yi Fei'e watched in fascination as a mini war went on. An army of carps had attacked in a pincer formation and trapped another before forcing them into a cage while they got the food.

War wasn't a subject people associated with Yi Fei'e due to her dainty fragile appearance. It also wasn't something she shared with people nor something she talked about nor kept notes on. But it was something she found interesting and liked to read about in her free time. That and romance novels, the creativity of east sea seafolk with too much time on their hands were extraordinary.

ROOM!

"Hm?" Yi Fei'e curiously turned her head. A sudden shift in temperature was felt as the ground shook slightly. Strangely, it was a familiar energy signature.

"This feeling?" Yi Fei'e mused. "Senior brother? No, too weak. Not any of the dragons either, this one feels new."

Yi Fei'e stepped forwards crossing thousands of steps in a single step. She followed the river leading out of the koi pond for quite a distance until she reached a waterfall.

This place was connected to the main koi pond but none of the carps liked to come here. In fact, Zulong's pet project had picked this place to be his cave abode for secluded cultivation.

Yi Fei'e gazed curiously at the waterfall. She looked up and saw dark clouds teeming with lightning, fire, and ice. A large amount of heavenly energies was gathering.

"Someone here is undergoing the Immortal tribulation," she said. The waterfall was hitting the surface of the river harshly. Some droplets went up to the moth fairy only to fade past her as if she was never there.

Yi Fei'e watched in fascination as instead of striking down, heavenly wind, heavenly fire, heavenly water, and heavenly lightning descended in unison converging on the waterfall.

It was a first in history as a gateway morphed just before the waterfall nearly touching it. Yi Fei'e could feel an oppressive force behind this gate. The gravitational force must be horrendously strong. Though it was all focused on the other side behind the waterfall, Yi Fei'e could still feel strong energy coming from it.

The moth fairy retreated a hundred steps not wanting to be caught up in this tribulation. It wouldn't really affect her at all but she didn't want to dirty herself.

This heavenly gate was adorned by dragons on all sides. It was unlike any Immortal tribulation Yi Fei'e had ever seen in her life. More unique and mysterious than even her own which itself was quite powerful.

RUMBLE!

The gateway groaned. A shadow was visible on the other side of the waterfall. On the other side of the gateway struggling. Yi Fei'e had a distinct feeling she knew who it was.

Only one cultivation manual can possibly generate this. She hadn't worked on the project herself but she has read it and memorised it herself. She'd also seen the dragon clan cultivating it for themselves as well. Though no one else had tried other than dragons as this method was tailor made for dragons.

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

The shadow on the other side struggled, it swished and swooshed struggling to move. Yi Fei'e tilted her he'd curious if it'll succeed. Her senior brother had staked a lot on this fish after all.

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

RUMBLE!

The fierce heavenly wind erupted from the gate blowing against the grass and trees. Yi Fei'e herself was unaffected but she could sense the carps nearby had gone deep underwater.

"What the hell is going on?" One of the carp elders screeched. He was a Profound Immortal senior yet was clueless.

"Could it be that runt fellow?" Another immortal carp asked.

There was panicked discussion among them as this tribulation scared the Profound Immortals and the one Heavenly Immortal elder they had. Yi Fei'e wordlessly formed a spatial barrier over the koi pond. It won't do if they all died under her watch.

Tap!

Da Hai's soft footstep landed beside Yi Fei'e. The sea god looked sharply at the gateway grinning. "Working as intended," he mused.

"Master," Yi Fei'e greeted.

"Hm," Da Hai acknowledged.

The two watched in silence as the shadow became bigger and bigger. The shaking was getting more and more intense. Even the gate was quivering as the shadow approached the surface.

"He's coming," Da Hai stated.

BOOM!

The waterfall erupted and the gateway smashed to bits. A gargantuan serpentine figure erupted from both destroying and absorbing the gateway into his long scaly body.

This being was once a carp fish living in the pond. He had decent talent but was small and weak for his group. His parents were near the end of their lives and had all but given up on him.

One day, he received a manual from the owners. These beings saw to their care with enriching food and a safe environment. Children like him would often hear stories from their forefathers about how scary the outside was and that they should appreciate the owners.

After that event, this carp fish cultivated hard. He reforged his bones according to the manual, he reforged his organs, his flesh, his tendons, his veins, and soul. He followed the manual as he crossed the gateway and obtained true dragon blood transforming his body entirely.

He entered the trial on one side of the waterfall as a small carp and exited as a long, powerful, and wise dragon. He measured over ten thousand metres in length with a crocodilian head, a lion's mane, catfish whiskers, muscular bull like limbs, long sharp claws, and a snake's body.

His scales felt invincible and his power was unlike anything he'd felt before. He felt as if he could fight dozens of carp Profound Immortals and win soundly.

"History is made today," Yi Fei'e said smiling brightly. She was genuinely happy and couldn't wait to tell her senior brother on his success.

"Yes, yes it was," Da Hai said frowning. He did not show it to Yi Fei'e but he secretly didn't want this to happen. 'Now Zulong will be even sure of himself. He'd be one step closer to his demise,' Da Hai thought gripping his fist.

As Yi Fei'e clapped in celebration, the only thought crossing Da Hai's mind was, 'I can't allow that to happen.'