Chapter 49: Stone Gate Lotus Pond

The Old Dragon King swung his sleeve.

Instantly, two wine jars appeared on the table.

Chen Changsheng looked carefully and his eyes lit up; he felt sure this was fine wine in the jars.

“Just some Spiritual Wine, nothing really fine.”

The Old Dragon King raised his hand and opened a jar.

A strong wine fragrance drifted out.

“Why not taste how it is?” said the Old Dragon King.

Chen Changsheng poured a bowl and took a sip, then said, “It enters smoothly, and its aroma suggests aged fruit wine. Isn’t this Monkey Wine?”

Seeing he got it right, the Old Dragon King knew he must be a wine lover and grew curious, asking, “Can you tell its age?”

The Old Dragon King laughed, “There’s plenty of wine, drink all you like.”

Chen Changsheng drank from the bowl, savored it slowly, and said, “Hmm… if I guess correctly, this wine is about thirty years old. Am I right?”

The Old Dragon King smiled back, “Yes, exactly thirty years!”

Chen Changsheng raised his cup and said, “Cheers.”

“Cheers!”

The Old Dragon King lifted his bowl and tilted it back; both drank their wine in one gulp.

The Old Dragon King felt curious and asked, “You seem to love wine too. What wine do you usually drink?”

Chen Changsheng said, “What I drink is probably much worse than Dragon Lord’s. There’s a tavern in Autumn Moon Market with a wine called Autumn Moon Brew that I often have.”

“Mortal wine?”

“Yes.”

Puzzled, the Old Dragon King asked, “Mortal wine is bitter—how can you stomach it?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Compared to Dragon Lord’s Spiritual Wine, Autumn Moon Brew is worlds apart. But drinking isn’t always about the wine itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve lived here less than a hundred years. I watched that tavern’s manager grow from a youth to old age. He sees me as an old friend, and we talk happily. To me, the mortal world feels more interesting than the wine.”

Hearing this, the Old Dragon King stared at Chen Changsheng and said, “I’ve never met a cultivator like you.”

Chen Changsheng chuckled, “Perhaps I’m too worldly.”

But the Old Dragon King disagreed, “I think you’re refined.”

Chen Changsheng laughed, “How can I be called refined? Not even close.”

The Old Dragon King thought he was quite nice.

Compared to those cold cultivators, this guy was far better.

“Drink!”

The Old Dragon King picked up his bowl.

They clinked bowls again. After a few drinks, both felt very relaxed.

The wine was good, and as they drank more, they talked less.

Later, they skipped the bowls entirely, just drinking straight from the jars while sitting in the yard.

Laughter echoed from the Taoist temple, and in under half an hour, both jars were empty.

Chen Changsheng didn’t know what was wrong; today’s wine seemed extra strong. After just a few bowls, he felt dizzy, thinking it was the Spiritual Wine’s potency, so he ignored it.

Yet it wasn’t the wine at all.

The Old Dragon King saw him as straightforward and human—that alone deserved respect.

Chen Changsheng kept drinking, and his mind grew hazy.

“I seem a bit drunk…”

Ignoring that, the Old Dragon King said, “Drunk already? So little. Come on.”

Chen Changsheng couldn’t refuse and kept drinking with him.

“No!”

He suddenly sensed something wrong and tried to use his Magical Power to clear the drunkenness. But just then, a wave of drowsiness hit him; his eyes went dark, and he slumped over.

With a “thud,” Chen Changsheng dropped onto the table, unconscious.

Seeing this, the Old Dragon King snorted coldly.

He set down the wine jar and looked back.

“Though I do admire you,” he muttered, “I’m still curious about who you really are!”

Saying that, he placed his hand on Chen Changsheng’s head.

Green light flickered in his palm, nearly entering Chen Changsheng’s Sea of Consciousness.

But at that moment!

A sudden sound rang out.

“Ying Zheng!”

The Old Dragon King was startled, and his arm froze.

“Who?”

“Hum.”

Suddenly, a huge Golden Light burst from Chen Changsheng.

A faint shadow appeared behind him.

Focusing, the Old Dragon King saw the shadow solidify: it held a red-tasseled Spear, its eyes glowing, brows proud, with what looked like a Lotus standing behind it.

The shadow gave a slight smile and then faded away.

The Golden Light vanished.

The Old Dragon King stood stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

He pulled back his hand and sighed deeply.

“So that’s how it is…”

At that second, it seemed many new memories flooded his mind.

“Hmm…”

The Golden Light returned into Chen Changsheng’s body.

Suddenly, Chen Changsheng woke up and shook his dazed head.

“Dragon Lord, why…”

Chen Changsheng grew wary.

Snapping back to his senses, before Chen Changsheng could react, the Old Dragon King grabbed him by the collar.

“Come with me, old man!”

Chen Changsheng froze, and then he was lifted up entirely.

He was still drunk, and he realized he seemed powerless to resist before the Old Dragon King.

Startled into a bit of sobriety, Chen Changsheng asked, “Why did you purposely get me drunk, Dragon Lord? And where are you taking me, I?”

The Old Dragon King looked at him and said, “To the place you should be.”

“The place I should be?”

Chen Changsheng paused and asked, “What does that mean?”

“You’ll know when you get there.”

The Old Dragon King didn’t explain anything and took Chen Changsheng straight to the Tongtian River.

“Plop!” Chen Changsheng was pulled into the river water. He used his Magical Power to wrap around himself, and when he opened his eyes, everything was dark and blurry.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but tiny lights began to flicker down below.

As he got closer, Chen Changsheng finally saw the full view of that light.

It was a magnificent palace!

“Dragon Palace?”

Chen Changsheng hesitated and looked sideways at the Old Dragon King.

He could barely make out Water Demons guarding around the Dragon Palace, with patrols every ten steps, covering every corner.

After entering the Dragon Palace, the Old Dragon King set Chen Changsheng down.

“Follow behind me.”

Chen Changsheng steadied himself, thought for a moment, and trailed after the Old Dragon King.

Ahead was a dark path that seemed to go on forever.

At first, he could see Water Demons, but later, not a single living thing was visible.

Chen Changsheng felt puzzled but had no choice except to keep moving forward.

When they reached the deepest point, the Old Dragon King also stopped.

Chen Changsheng paused and looked ahead.

He saw a Stone Gate standing before him, carved with a Formation Array covered in many mysterious and hard-to-understand Runes.

The Old Dragon King said, “Go through this gate, and you’ll know.”

Chen Changsheng frowned and hesitated.

Seeing his doubts, the Old Dragon King grabbed Chen Changsheng’s hand directly.

He shaped his hand like a claw and slashed across Chen Changsheng’s palm.

“Thup…”

“This…”

A blood mark appeared on Chen Changsheng’s palm. He blinked hard and frowned, saying, “Dragon Lord, what is the meaning of this?”

But before the Old Dragon King could answer, Chen Changsheng felt a sudden force push him forward.

Chen Changsheng grunted, and his injured hand was pressed against the center of the Stone Gate.

Blood spilled out, staining the Stone Gate red.

Then suddenly, a trembling sound began.

“Rumble…”

The entire Riverbottom Dragon Palace shook violently.

Chen Changsheng was stunned, not understanding why there was such a big reaction.

But the next moment, the Stone Gate slowly turned.

Streaks of Golden Light flashed, and all the Runes on the Stone Gate vanished instantly.

A gap opened in the middle of the gate.

Chen Changsheng looked at the light coming from the gap, but after just one glance, he lost consciousness.

Chen Changsheng felt heavy-headed.

He shook his head and slowly stood up from the ground.

“What happened to me…”

He looked around and found himself in a vast, empty space.

All around was a hazy fog with not a thing to see.

“Where is this?”

Chen Changsheng’s brow furrowed; he glanced behind him, but thick fog blocked everything.

He tried to send out his Divine Sense but was shocked to find he couldn’t use his Magical Power here either.

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Chen Changsheng opened his mouth slightly; he didn’t know why he had arrived here.

‘Did the Stone Gate lead exactly here?’

He had many questions in his mind but couldn’t find any answers.

Chen Changsheng stood still, thinking for a long time.

Much later, he finally took a step forward.

He didn’t know which way to go, but he faintly felt this place might solve some of his confusion.

He didn’t know how long passed, but suddenly Chen Changsheng noticed the surrounding fog was thinning out.

He paused and looked ahead.

He saw a lotus pond filled with stacked layers of Green Jade, and lotuses blooming colorfully.

But the most eye-catching was the one right in the center.

All the other lotuses seemed to be stepping aside for it, as if it ruled the whole pond.