The North Sea

Their departure from the east sea was done relatively unceremoniously. The dragons left Yingzhou and stayed for a time within the turtle's territory before ultimately leaving northwards. It was during their stay that Yinglong and Qinglong met Gui Daiyu.

The princess had a wilful but kind disposition. She was also incredibly talented in the arts of cultivation and management. It was no wonder Zulong trusted her to take care of his city.

"Here, keep these with you," Zulong said just before they had left. He handed a small bag to Gui Daiyu. Contained within are some of the talismans Da Hai had given him as well as a bag of mulberry fruits from the Fusang tree.

"These can help you form the flower crowns," the dragon reassured.

Gui Daiyu took the bag with a small frown, "Do you have so little faith in my ability?"

"I will never dare," Zulong laughed. "Just a small assurance, even if you don't need them then at least give them to your family or whatever promising talent pops up." The golden dragon looked very sad when the time to depart came.

"Do you really have to go?" Gui Daiyu had asked him shortly after accepting the gifts.

"I have to," Zulong admitted. "But I will back, it won't be long, I promise."

"You better," the princess said playfully punching Zulong's shoulder. Zulong grunted and held his shoulder in mock pain. "Should I be worried if little old me can hurt you?" She said.

"Haha, only you Yu'er, only you," Zulong replied.

"Heavens, is this really big brother?" Yinglong exclaimed in wonder as he watched the scene. Qinglong standing beside him was also gaping. The youngest dragon couldn't even fathom what he was seeing.

"Perhaps we're still on Yingzhou, master's illusions are very potent," Qinglong suggested. "Or perhaps I'm so drunk that I'm still dreaming."

"Quite right brother," Yinglong faced the azure dragon and pointed at his cheek. "Give me your best shot," he said.

"Enough out of you two," Zulong scolded. He smacked both dragons on the back of their horned heads while Gui Daiyu chuckled behind him. Zulong's cheeks were flushed at his brother's behaviour.

"We'll settle things when I get back. Take care Yu'er," Zulong said with a bright smile but embarrassed. He grabbed the scuffs of his brother's robes, "Come on you rascals."

The brothers travelled northwards, bypassing a lot of water. They had picked this direction because of the relative obscurity of the north sea.

This body of water had remained largely a mystery to the rest of the world. After the Shenni war, there had not been much if any news at all. Most modern cultivators considered the north sea a ghost town.

Zulong wagered that his master probably knew the ongoings of the north sea. At his realm of power, not much can be hidden. Da Hai could very easily peer through the view of the Heavenly Dao and uncover secrets Zulong was not aware of.

The northwestern borders of the east sea was a desolate place. Very few hints of civilisation were present. Zulong was saddened when he saw the empty waters. A strong sense of loneliness permitted this place. Zulong didn't like it.

"Let's pass into the north sea," Qinglong said in anticipation when the trio reached the border. It didn't take much effort to pass through. The dragons very easily reached the northernmost oceans of the primitive world.

The dragons were met with misty black waters when they passed through. It was very cold here, much too cold for mortal life to occur. The waters were rich with Yin energy, gathered from the long years of war.

"The north continent was said to be ravaged by Shenni," Yinglong recounted. "Records say that the north continent is a desolate cold hellscape devoid of meaningful life. A continent filled with misery." The winged dragon sighed.

"Aiya, tsk tsk, to think just the north sea is like this. I dread to think of the mainland," Qinglong said feeling deeply uncomfortable. For the lively azure dragon, this ghostly world was an experience which he did not appreciate.

"Be that as it may, we must press on," Zulong announced. He waved his arm in a wide arc. The dragon in a flashy display of power wiped out the mist. He blew away the Yin energy making his brother uncomfortable with a sneer. "The audacity to make my brother uncomfortable," he spat.

Zulong's feat touched ice cold water. His shoes began collecting ice. Zulong snorted, he heated the cup of his feat and melted the ice. The waters were almost supernaturally cold.

"The water here is special," Qinglong said when he too touched the ocean surface. "The coldness did not originate from the north sea itself."

"I expected so," Zulong replied. "Qinglong, do you think the three brilliance sacred water may be the cause of this?"

"No brother, the three brilliance sacred water is a life giving force. This is something else entirely," Qinglong said. He was intimately familiar with some of his master's treasures and had encountered the three brilliance sacred water plenty of times. In fact, he had even swam in it during his stay in Wangshu's palace.

"This is likely a diluted variant elder brother," Yinglong said. "The source must be much more extreme. We must be careful, this could potentially even hurt us," he advised.

Zulong nodded, "Let's move on, the north holds many mysteries and I want them all found." The next few years were spent wandering the north sea. The icy climate did not change, not in a year, not in a decade, not in a century.

The dragons spent over a hundred years exploring. They found very few treasures, often poor low rank xiantian treasures scattered about on some corpse of a godfiend. Or broken fragments of better treasures lying alongside deceased Great Unity Golden Immortals.

"These are our forefathers," Zulong said solemnly. The trio stood admits a mountain made of corpses. Each one appeared distinct and alien. Each one carried the oppressive might of Great Unity Golden Immortal. Chaos Godfiends, long fallen, left to rot in the waters of the blackened north sea.

Yinglong walked out from beside the ancestral dragon and placed a small incense holder. He placed it on a small auspicious cloud while Qinglong placed some incense on it.

"They should've at least been offered a funeral," Zulong said as they paid their respects. He transformed into a gigantic golden dragon and dived into the sea. With his claws, he dug a massive grave and placed the corpses within.

"Proud godfiends deserves this at least," he muttered solemnly.

"Us younger generation innate gods are lucky," Qinglong said. "Did master live through this massacre?"

"What an idiotic thing to say, master fought in the war, of course he would've lived through it," Zulong scolded. The ancestral dragon created more and more auspicious clouds. He fouled them into a solid shrine with serpentine dragon statues protecting them. "There, now they at least have some dignity."

This was not the last gravesite they discovered. The north sea was littered with them. Hundreds of ancient godfiends who were born in the north and did not join Shenni. Each one died like dogs, thrown into the waves. Their treasures were smashed apart as Shenni considered them filth born of Pangu.

"So many years and yet no life," Qinglong wondered out loud. "Is the north sea truly desolate?"

"Master once said that the north sea was part of Si Hai's empire. I doubt it's lifeless," Yinglong replied. "The ocean is a vast place. The population density should be much smaller than the east."

"Spread out and find some. I want to take a look at my future subjects," Zulong commanded. He threw them both bags of talismans. "Defend yourselves if you must, but try to make peaceful contact first."

"Of course brother," Yinglong and Qinglong said respectfully. Suddenly, their eyes snapped to the side. A fast figure blitzed across the water with lightning speeds.

"Villains, DIE!" A fish man wielding a halberd swung at Zulong. Zulong raised an eyebrow in amusement. He held up his hand and effortlessly caught the blade between his fingers.

"Greetings innate creature, who might you be?" He asked with curiosity. He motioned his brothers to not attack, he was not about to waste his only source of information.

"GRR, just die already," the fish man struggled. He let go of the handle and drew a saber. He swung it in an arc, catching the icy water in a fast circulation of power. The saber's edge became ice cold as he swung at Zulong's arm.

Zulong made no attempts to dodge. The saber slashed across the dragon's forearm with a screech. Vague scaly outlines could be seen beneath Zulong's ripped sleeve.

Zulong frowned and thought, 'This blade could tear the moth fairies silk?' He squinted his eyes, closely examining the blade. 'That's not metal at all!' He blinked in surprise.

The fish man, undaunted, returned with another attack. This time he aimed for Zulong's neck. However, just like last time, the blade slid across the dragon's skin with a screech. The fish man looked at his blade nervously.

"It's dull?" He exclaimed in surprise. Before he could react, Zulong's hand was already gripping his face. The fish man screamed in pain as the dragon's fingers dug into his skull.

"A Profound Immortal small fry dares attack me even after I greeted you politely? What is the world coming to, tsk tsk," he snorted. With one eye, he discerned the fish man's cultivation and age.

This cultivator was tens of thousands of years old. Much older than even Zulong. But he was also much weaker than Gui Daiyu. Zulong grabbed hold of the saber and closely examined it etching each and every little detail into his mind.

"A blade of ice resembling steel. Cold to the touch, sharp enough to cut through most things. Even the shells the primordial turtles are so proud of will be pierced by this blade. Unfortunately, those shells were like paper to steel in comparison to Zulong's scales.

"What is this material?" Yinglong said in wonder as he took hold of the blade.

"Definitely not of the north sea, normal sea water can never form something this profound," Qinglong said.

"Talk, my brothers are asking," Zulong said tightening his grip before loosening.

"Just kill me, I will never speak to you abominations," the fish man howled in agony. He screamed profanities in the godfiend language's rather colourful insults. Zulong tightened his grip, he was careful not to kill the fish man but was very willing to hurt him.

"Insult me again, I dare you," Zulong threatened. "You are making this very difficult for me. Just do us both a favour and tell me. I'll release you immediately." As a sign of goodwill, Zulong let go of the fish man.

"Foolish bastards," the fish man leapt into action aiming for Zulong's abdomen. However, the dragon's iron fist rammed into his skull. The thunderous sound of a Profound Immortal's skull cracking could be heard.

"That wouldn't have killed and it was light tap, I could do a lot worse," Zulong threatened.

"Fuck off," the fish man seeing he had no chance turned tail and darted in extreme speeds across the water. However, he couldn't even make it one step before auspicious clouds restrained him.

"Damn it," he screamed in frustration as he struggled. Despite their flimsy appearance, the clouds held firm. They were like celestial ropes, not allowing the fish man to move at all.

"Can we kill him?" Qinglong asked in annoyance. "He's clearly not co-operating."

Zulong sighed, his fist lit up in golden light. "You leave me no choice, I will ask for forgiveness at the violation. But you don't deserve my kindness," he said.

Zulong gripped the fish man's head and began reading his mind. He broke all mental defences effortlessly and tore out every information he could find. The dragon's frown deepened as he continued reading.

"I feel sorry for you. But you are my enemy," he said before crushing the fisherman's skull. The Profound Immortal's head was splattered to bits of brain matter floating in the water. The body was strong enough to not rot but it couldn't resist the water's departure. It froze to ice almost instantaneously.

Zulong waved his hand and disintegrated the corpse. "Come on, I know where their city is," he said motioning for his brothers to follow.