Heist of Yingzhou

The immortal isle of Mt Yingzhou lay peacefully atop the east sea ocean surface unnoticed by all. Hidden beneath vast layers of illusions, the home of the Oceanic Suppression Heavenly Lord was experiencing its night shift.

Servants moved around, tending to obscure facilities of the herculean palace that was simply too large for anyone except an army to care for. This was not including the other facilities on the island.

Though in this day and age, Da Hai had opened up Yingzhou for Dragon Sovereign Zulong's use. Since then, talented young dragons and the occasional sea folk will be allowed in to work for the Heavenly Lord whilst receiving resources for cultivation.

Two small figures skulked around the premises wearing cloaks that covered them from head to toe. They sneakily snuck around the outer perimeter of the palace hiding behind some bushes. Their energy signatures were completely masked.

Carefully, the two moved around the foliage and approached the steps leading up to the main hall. The first one motioned the second to stay quiet and hurried him along. They hugged the stone base of the palace tightly.

Apart from them, guards and servants wandered the premises. There weren't many people out on duty tonight. Only five people covered the outer courtyards.

The first cloaked boy smirked. He gripped the hems of his cloak and got into a throwing pose. His stick like arms bulged with veins and muscles as he unleashed his great physical strength.

"Hup!" He grunted as he arched his arm back and threw the cloak forth. It travelled beneath the star filled night sky igniting along the way in a blaze of glory.

The other Boys behind the first also threw his cloak forward. It travelled just behind the first cloak and similarly made a massive disturbance.

The explosion wasn't one of light and wasn't anything damaging. However, they were simply made to be overly loud and obnoxious. It travelled across in a high pitched frequency that not only caught the attention of the immortal apprentices but also disorientated them.

"What was that?" A male dragon gripped his ears while gripping his teeth. His sensitive ears were caught completely off guard by the noise. It had even bypassed his natural defences.

As if possessed, the group of five rushed over towards the source of the noise in a desperate attempt to stop it.

The first boy, no longer cloaked, showcased his red, orange and black hair resembling fire and antlered head. He was a bit tanned and well muscled despite what his young appearance might otherwise imply. His face was fierce and his pupils were of a crimson red colour that almost glowed in the dark.

He smiled viciously at the success of his attempt and gestured for his follower to quickly follow after him. The other boy was similarly young but was taller by a hair. He was much more effeminate looking and carried antlers on his head along with long black hair.

The two quickly ran out from their hiding spot and ran as fast as their legs could take them. Yingzhou was a no fly zone and even immortals were forced to abide by the rules set by Da Hai.

They quickly scaled the side of the palace stairs, a position that would've been in full view of the immortal apprentices. If they had still been present, they would've very quickly apprehended them.

Their strength and agility were not to be underestimated however as they climbed to around three quarters up. The red hair boy glanced back down. He poked a finger in his ear and slightly loosened his earbud before wincing at the sudden assault of noise. He quickly tightened the earbud and molested the stone bricks.

It didn't take long for his expression to brighten as a loose brick came upon his palm.

A sudden pull on his clothing drew his attention down as his partner hand gestures with his free hand. "They've found the devices, have you found the entrance yet?" He mimed.

The red hair boy nodded and gently pushed the brick in. The bricks above him glowed in dim golden light and formed a circular pattern of ancient symbols. The surface of the stone became ripply, almost like the surface of water.

The two quickly climbed through the portal with no hesitations. They rolled into a small corridor and quickly pushed a corresponding lever that deactivated the entrance. They sighed in relief.

The red haired boy tilted his head and removed his earbuds with a smile. "Man, this latest batch of apprentices sucks. No situational awareness at all. The last batch would've easily caught us. Dad's losing his edge," he said.

"Hey brother, are you really sure we should be doing this? The security inside is bound to be much tougher and I don't want father nor uncle finding out," the black hair one said nervously eyeing the other end of the corridor.

"Hey, you already agreed to come with me. No chickening out now Ao Guang," the red haired boy said. "Besides, everyone's in seclusion right now preparing for dad's next scheduled visit. Coupled with the fact that grandmaster is away, we've got this in the bag."

Ao Guang shuffled uneasily before nodding. "You have a point Suanni. Do you know where we go from here? Cause I don't recognise where you took us," he asked gesturing for the red hair Suanni to take the lead.

"No problem, I know exactly where we're going, follow along," he walked past his dragon cousin and guided him to another empty hallway.

The hallways of Grand Sea Palace sitting upon the Vast Plains Heaven resting atop Yingzhou were both long and confusing. Only those who were experienced in navigating this place could easily get around without getting confused. An accurate map simply didn't exist beyond what people memorised and were willing to impart onto others. Da Hai certainly wasn't telling anyone.

Suanni frowned as he looked around. He hummed to himself as he sniffed the air. Then he licked the air with his longer than normal flat tongue. "Hm," he scratched his chin in a contemplative manner.

"Um, fifth brother," Ao Guang called out as Suanni seized his chin looking around. "You do know where to go right?"

"Of course, I just need a few minutes. All these corridors look the same," Suanni said. "It's like someone copied pasted the same design over and over again, my mom once said this was super eery and I fully agree with her."

"Didn't imperial uncle make adjustments to this place?" Ao Guang asked curiously.

"Yeah they did, but grandmaster changed some things back afterwards. He does it all the time, every few hundred years. Big brother Niu once said he changed the western wing twice within two hundred years."

Ao Guang gasped in shock. It was the first he'd heard about it. "Imperial brother said that? When was this?" He was in truth still very new to Yingzhou having arrived for the first time a short thirty years ago. As such he was following Suanni's example for much of his stay.

"Last sometime Yuanhui, it was awhile ago. Now don't disturb me," Suanni commanded. He furrowed his brows and examined the various tastes around him. "Hm, I wish Denglong was here," he lamented.

"Somehow I don't think elder brother Denglong will agree with you being here," Ao Guang snarked.

"Shut up you, this way," Suanni said signalling with his index and middle fingers. The young immortal expectedly weaved around the many hallways without running into anyone, no doubt having familiarised himself with the intricate layouts.

Even still, the complex nature of the construction did make him pause and examine his route despite his knowledge. No one can ever be too sure on Yingzhou after all. Illusions were the name of the game here.

Sniff sniff!

Suanni suddenly pushed Ao Guang against the wall beside them and wrapped them both up in a veil of reality. The world bent around them as a miniature universe formed, cloaking their existence as a dragon maid walked by.

"That was close," Ao Guang gulped. "You better not get me caught brother, father will…"

"Yeah yeah I know, uncle Yinglong will be very displeased with your improper performance. Honestly, you care too much for these things. Trust me, it'll all be worth it," Suanni assured the younger dragon.

The red haired boy's catlike eyes turned back towards the hallway. The dragon lady was gone having turned another corner. The two sneakily continued on their way. They were heading deeper and deeper into Da Hai's palace.

As the two walked by, Ao Guang's swinging hand touched a part of the wall that made a noise. Suanni frowned and turned around, he was certainly not expecting that.

"What is it?" Ao Guang asked his cousin who approached the wall with the odd noise.

"It's a trigger of some kind," Suanni answered.

Ao Guang frowned at Sunni's look. "What are you doing? I thought we needed to hurry before anyone catches us?"

"It'll be fine, just let me find out what this is first," Suanni said navigating the wall. It didn't take him long to open up a secret room. "Woah, I've never seen this place before, good catch little bro."

Ao Guang stared stupefied as Suanni descended into the room. He danced around looking for anyone passing by before abruptly following after his older cousin.

The secret room was both strange and mundane. Strange in its architecture and mundane in that there was nothing in here. It was simply populated by an empty wooden table and rows of glass cases that were obviously emptied.

"Huh!" Suanni exclaimed starring at various empty glass cases. "There's nothing here."

"Let's get going then," Ao Guang urged.

"Looks like this was a display of some sort. Kinda resemble high end stores in the market districts at Kailong Chen. Especially alchemical ones," Suanni said. "Any idea what used to be stored here?"

"No idea, and honestly, I get the feeling we aren't wanted here. So why don't we go back to our actual objective in sneaking around here instead of cultivating," Ao Guang's tone carried with it growls of annoyance. The underlying power of a true dragon was felt by Suanni who sighed.

There was a feeling of accusation felt by him when in the room. Hence Suanni agreed and stepped away from the glass cases. Though in his heart he swore to one day discover what they stored.

Hidden chambers like these were an open secret. Everyone had a secret room somewhere, especially his grandmaster. But finding them was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Usually, they were beyond well hidden.

Suanni suspected it may be due to Da Hai's extended leave from Yingzhou that degraded the enchantments.

"You know Suanni, grandmaster said curiosity killed the cat. I think you're walking right into a deathtrap with your line of thought," Ao Guang said.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Written all over your face."

…

Suanni and Ao Guang quickly covered more ground. They passed by a spare storage room full of strange trinkets and treasures. Valuable to rogue cultivators but less than worthless for both princes.

Da Hai, much like many high powered immortals, was a known hoarder. There were so many treasures around that he simply dumped some useless things in spare rooms like the ones the two boys passed through.

Naturally, they paid these trinkets no heed. Neither primordial nor immortal grade spiritual treasures interested them. Xiantian spiritual treasures were kept much more securely elsewhere.

They were nearing the end of their journey. Three hours of exploring had led them to the deepest layers of the Grand Sea Palace. In the basement layer that sat beneath all others, only a select few can access this location.

It was after all, where the hidden secrets of Yingzhou lay. Even Suanni, who claims to have visited many times cannot claim to be too familiar with these parts.

"So uh…which way now?" Ao Guang asked.

"If I recall, this route should lead us to where we need to be. Though there is another one that is identical. I'm pretty sure it's the left one. I came down here once so I'm sure of it," Suanni said.

"Yeah but, there are like five different corridors here."

"It's the third one," Suanni said adamantly.

"You sure?"

"First two lead to grandmaster's private rooms. Don't know what he does in them but dad, uncle, and aunties have already warned me repeatedly many times," the redhead said.

"And here I thought you didn't listen," the dragooning retorted.

"Depends on the tone. Last two are blocked. Like with lethal protection. Third one is the one used for super tight storage according to azure uncle, it's definitely inside it."

And the third one they went. Suanni couldn't contain his excitement. His stomach was practically roaring for a taste and he salivated. Even Ao Guang was excited, after all, he did come for a reason. Loyalty to one's older cousin was but one aspect of it.

Through the third corridor, they reached another junction that split into two. This time they went left as Suanni had instructed. "We abandoned a mandatory cultivation session for this. This better be worth it," Ao Guang grumbled.

Suanni smiled triumphantly as they reached a large silver door.

"This is it little brother, the wine cellar of the gods. Said to contain fruit wine dating back to the archaic ages many years ago," Suanni said.

"And soon to be ours," Ao Guang confirmed.

"Ready?"

"You bet."

Suanni pushed against the silver door. Strangely enough, it opened quite easily. Suanni peeped through to find an unlit room. His feline eyes barely made out some features.

"What the?"

Ao Guang was immediately startled, "What do you mean? What's wrong?"

"It's not the wine cellar," Suanni said uncharacteristically gulping nervously. "Shit."

"What?" Ao Guang screamed. "You…you…what the hell Suanni. What do you mean it's not the wine cellar?"

"I mean it's not the wine cellar. No drinks in there, just a bunch of books and shelves and this big round bag sinking on the floor and oooohhhh!" Suanni's eyes lit up as if he suddenly had an epiphany.

"Horse shit," Ao Guang meanwhile raged. "Crap we gotta get outa here. You don't know where we are, I don't know where we are. Why did I agree to follow you in the first place?"

Ao Guang ran around hysterically holding his head in his hands. He desperately looked around the hallway. "Which way did we come from again? Was it the left or the right? Heavens now even I can't remember."

"Wait, I think I know where we are," Suanni called out.

"I'm never trusting you again!" Ao Guang started running away after picking a direction. But he didn't get far when he bumped into someone and fell back down.

'I'm dead, father's gonna kill me, uncle's gonna kill me, grandmaster's gonna kill me,' this thought ran through his head over and over again.

"Ahem," the soft female voice above him forced Ao Guang to raise his head. As soon as the voice was heard, he paled even further.

"Ah…ah…aun…aunty Yi Fei'e," he said shivering.

The dragooning scrambled to his knees and kowtowed before the white woman, banging his head on the floor. "It wasn't me, it wasn't me I swear. Suanni kidnapped me and forced me down here. I'm lost, cold, hungry, and all I want to do is cultivate like a good dragon."

"Come on bro," Suanni's natural was as expected.

"Aunt master, my beloved aunty. The most radiant and beautiful maiden in all the east se…no all the four sea…nay the entire primitive world. Please believe my sincerity," Ao Guang cried with no dignity.

Yi Fei'e had a blank expression. She didn't sigh exasperatingly nor was she amused. In fact, her expression was quite tight and her rosy lips were flat.

"Ao Guang, you're embarrassing yourself," Suanni called out.

"Shut up, don't drag me down even further," Ao Guang glared back from between his legs. Suanni shrugged and walked up to Yi Fei'e.

"You two shouldn't be here," Yi Fei'e said flatly.

"Hello aunt master," Suanni greeted with a smirk. "We were a bit lost and hope you can help us find our way."

Yi Fei'e starred Suanni in the eye. She glanced down at the trembling Ao Guang, then at the confident Suanni. "You two are supposed to be cultivating diligently. Not skulking around here like a bunch of rats in the sewer. I will drag you brats before your fathers. See how they handle you naughty brats."

"Aunt master, aunt master, no need to be that harsh," Suanni said suppressing his own fear. Yi Fei'e was downright scary under certain situations. This was especially the case as the immortal fairy sent him a blank yet unimpressed look.

"Enough nonsense, you two are coming with me," Yi Fei'e snapped hurriedly. She grabbed Ao Guang by the scruff of his robe and lifted him with one hand before reaching for Suanni.

Suanni backstopped, he had one chance to convince the moth fairy and it was something that had to count. He reached into his sleeve and touched an interspacial ring he wore as a bracelet.

'Common, this has to work,' he urgently searched for the specific book. It was an open secret his aunt liked certain types of literacy materials. No one ever commented on it to his knowledge but almost everyone definitely knew.

She was also very secretive about it. One time, Suanni overheard some maids talking all flushed about the time they stumbled across her collection. Overtime, her tastes have only grown and the number of authors who could satisfy her dwindled.

Thankfully, as a prince of the strongest empire in the world, it was a small matter to get exclusive early access work. That was especially the case with an older brother like Pulao helping out. The dragon made horrendous music according to Qiu Niu but he knew connections.

Suanni quickly pulled out a fresh time handcrafted and signed. It was mundane, without any spiritual activity aside from quality boosting enchantments that made the book impervious to most forms of damage. Yi Fei'e caught sight of the object immediately.

She subsequently halted in her tracks. "What is? What are you doing with that? Little kids shouldn't have such uncouth material. Hand it over immediately," she urged.

"No, I want to make a bargain with you aunty, and this here is my offer," Suanni said. Ao Guang was so terrified that he went into a fetal position in Yi Fee's hands. Suanni just ignored his cousin.

"Who will want that rubbish?" Yi Fei'e snapped. "Hand it over and I'll dispose of it. What would senior brother and sister-in-law think of you possessing this?" She reached out with her open hand.

"Not so fast aunty. You let us go and tell us where the wine cellar is or I'll burn this limited edition, early access copy, personally signed by the author," Suanni threatened.

"Please, you think I couldn't stop those puny flames of yours?" Yi Fei'e let out a laugh for the first time since confronting them. Her show of emotion told Suanni how much the book had moved her.

"Yeah but, azure uncle helped me with a little formation. One thought is all I need and you can't resist the power of a Hunyuan Golden Immortal," Suanni said with a smirk.

"Cheeky brat," Yi Fei'e gritted her teeth. She but into her thumb's nail while she thought up what to do. Her crystal blue pupil contracted as she read the title of the book. "That can't be real. Mr Fu Xian hadn't even begun work on his next…" she quickly realised her blunder and shut her mouth.

"Well that's what he tells his fans," Suanni said. Along his chest and forehead, a faint image of a burning star appeared. "So? Take it or leave it?"

Yi Fei'e appeared very hesitant. Her hands halted mid air reaching out before retracting every so often. Her beautiful face was marred by a deeply embarrassed frown. Due to her snow white skin, it was extremely noticeable.

"Fine, give me," she relented.

"Swear to me first," Suanni insisted.

"I swear in the name of my master, Eight Directions Oceanic Suppression Lord, Great Sea Heavenly Lord, that I will not pursue you nor expose you," Yi Fei'e said letting go of Ao Guang. The younger dragon plopped onto the floor with a flabbergasted look.

Suanni handed the book over and reminded her, "Remember your promise."

"This doesn't get out you hear," her demand was all he received for an answer. Suanni merely nodded with an uncaring shrug. "Wine cellar is on the fight side corridor, past the third torch is another split path, take the one with stairs heading up, the other is another route that you don't wanna go through."

"Got it, thanks aunt master," Suanni said with a bright smile.

"Not a word brat, otherwise you'll wish you'd never met me," Yi Fei'e said opening up the room Suanni was peeping through. "I'm going to dispose of this now. You really should not be handling these materials."

She closed the door and the sounds of locks activating as well as formation spells going off were heard.

"How'd you know that'll work?" Ao Guang decided to ask. "And what was that you gave her?"

Suanni turned around without answering and walked away.

"What? Hey common fifth brother, are you angry? I'm sorry okay," Ao Guang tried to apologise.

"You should be thankful I'm even letting you follow me after this. Come on sixth brother," Suanni called back.

…

Following Yi Fei'es instructions were simple enough. She had not lied and had led them directly to the wine cellar. It was a simple yet massive chamber fitting tens of thousands of immortal wines of extremely high quality and grade. The sweet smell of the beverages within was intoxicating for their noses.

"Heavens, the amount of concentrated spiritual energy here is unreal. I don't think South Sea Dragon Palace have anything that can compare," Ao Guang gasped.

"Nor the East Sea Dragon Palace," Suanni nodded in agreement. "So many options, so many to choose from. But we have to be careful. Grandmaster may notice if we take something too valuable."

"Right brother, one of the smaller barrels should be fine. I don't think our stomachs can handle the more exotic ones," Ao Guang said pointing towards a few inconspicuous barrels on the side.

Suanni meanwhile held out a stone cup. He used it to scoop out a cupful and drank it all in one gulp. He immediately had a face that screamed of ecstasy. He moaned as he stepped back.

"This stuff is great!" He cried out. "I can feel my foundation strengthening, my connection to heaven and earth strengthening."

That was the signal for Ao Guang to join in for a cup of his own. The two boys collectively decided everything was with it and that this was much better than munching on mulberry fruits and cultivating in a cave.

"The others were right. Grandmaster's collection is the stuff of legends. Look alive Ao Guang, we've done something no other dragon before us ever did, not Big brother, second brother, or even third brother. Even dad's pale imitations are nothing to this."

It was a fantastic and beneficial experience for both boys. They could feel their situation improving as they took in more power from their drinks. It would only take a few centuries after this for them to supersede the True Immortal realm and enter the Profound Immortal realm.

Soon enough, the barrel was emptied. Suanni was a little dazed from the experience. But he didn't feel intoxicated yet. He looked to the side and saw a smaller barrel. He rubbed his stomach and reached out for the second barrel.

"Don't touch that," Da Hai said from his position leaning against the entrance.

"Yes grandmaster," Suanni said instinctively stopping. Then he widened his eyes realising who he had just addressed. Ao Guang also stood petrified, much more than when he had met Yi Fei'e not even an hour earlier.

"Uh…Hi grandmaster, when did you get back? Ao Guang and I were just cleaning the wine cellar for you," Suanni lied nervously.

"Yes, your certainly cleaned that barrel well," Da Hai nodded along. "Though be careful of what you drink. If I hadn't diluted that barrel then you two would've burned to ash. Even a single drop from the usual stuff will burn a dual crowned Heavenly Immortal to ash. Not to mention the Sword Qi wine."

"Yes grandmaster," both boys said mentally wiping the sweat off their brow.

"So just be careful. The deeper areas aren't trapped but they do contain some nasty stuff. You two honestly shouldn't come wonder in the basements and It's my fault for not having more defensive measures."

"Yes grandmaster, we won't come back here again."

"Nice job in getting here though. Suanni, impressive espionage skills, It's not easy navigating this place, and the sonic cloaks were quite ingenious. You two are talented, don't discount how impressed I am."

"Thank you grandmaster!" Both boys smiled at the compliments.

You're both still in trouble by the way. I've already informed Zulong and Yinglong and they're already on the island," Da Hai added before walking out. "They're waiting for you two at the main hall. Come on," he signalled for both horrified boys to follow.

…

"Gotta say, impressive how they got past you," Da Hai said watching from the balcony while Zulong punished his son. Using the waterfall packed with ice attribute Qi was quite brutal for a heat preferring creature like Suanni. Ao Guang's punishment was somewhere else.

Yi Fei'e wore a slight blush as she swallowed a gulp, "Well, they've grown powerful for their age. Their skills were beyond my expectations and I couldn't say no after that."

"Indeed, five sons and each of them are turning out to be a talent. As loathed of it as I am, the Heavenly Dao has blessed his family,"Da Hai said taking a sip of tea made by Yi Fei'e. She filled his cup after he was done.

"Ingenious method he used. You should really improve your mental fortitude Fei'e. Falling for such distractive temptations are not good if you want to cultivate the Dao even further," he added.

"Master, you were away for quite some time. I thought you'd be away for a while longer. What prompted you to come back?" Yi Fei'e hurriedly asked.

"I had an encounter shall we say," Da Hai said watching the father son duo below in amusement. Suanni had taken his true form and evaporated the waterfall before trying to run away. His hybrid dragon lion body was chased by Zulong's golden form.

"And don't try to change the subject Fei'e," he said

"Of course, disciple wouldn't dare."

"Yi Fei'e, no one cares what you read in your own time. Zulong doesn't care, Yinglong doesn't care, Wangshu doesn't care, I don't care. That being said, you really should come up with better places to hide your porn."

"They're not…"

"You were discovered thirty nine times and counting. This is embarrassing for someone who's already attained the Great Principle, it's an aspect you need to improve on, concealment techniques are very useful."

"Of course master."