Overcast skies shrouded the heavens, rays of sunlight piercing through the gaps in the clouds, ceaselessly spilling down and illuminating Ji Nanjue's cheeks. Two tresses of cloud-like hair gently caressed her lustrous face.

But in the memories of Elder Lin Yi of the Phoenix Clan, the one who should have been wearing a blue silk crown, donning an imperial robe, with white socks on wooden clogs, composed and unflustered in the face of events, dignified without being bewitching, as pure as jade in the emerging mist—the Emperor of the Eastern Kingdom—had now transformed into a young wife wearing a pale moon-colored gauze dress, her cheeks void of any rouge yet still radiant and even blushing, happily holding the hand of the white-haired man beside her!

Elder Lin Yi looked at the woman before him, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably as he forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart, uncertain of what to say. After a long pause, he finally swept his sleeve down heavily. Feeling somewhat embarrassed yet slightly enraged, but helpless, he just said, "Hmph."

"Lin Mou is not worthy to be Immortal Ji's father-in-law."

Ji Nanjue pursed her red lips and let out an 'oh'. Whether it was because she felt guilty or inexplicably nervous, she gripped Su Bei's hand even tighter.

Su Bei looked at the once domineering Emperor who ruled over the Twenty-One Provinces, now appearing as womanly as ever, not bothering to conceal her emotions—a small identity switch that had involved his participation, transforming Ji Nanjue into Nan Ji. For this Eastern Emperor baby, who now bore his mark, wasn't there an odd sense of pride welling up inside him?

However, about that term 'son-in-law' spoken by Nan Ji...

"Son-in-law?"

Only after a moment of stunned silence did Su Bei realize. He had almost forgotten that Queen Lin was of the Phoenix Clan... When Ji Nanjue was the Eastern Emperor, he naturally was the Phoenix Clan's son-in-law. But who would have thought... this Lin Yi was Queen Lin's father? What a coincidence!

Afterward, the corners of Su Bei's mouth curled up slightly, as if he had discovered a new continent, observing the somewhat embarrassed Ji Nanjue. Truth be told, a woman of devastating beauty addressing a burly Phoenix as her father-in-law... it looked quite incongruous no matter how one saw it.

However, in the next moment, Su Bei seemed to recall something, his pupils suddenly constricting as he began to swallow frantically. Wait, that meant the Phoenix standing before him was Lin Jinyu's own father! And he had, due to some unavoidable reason, been intimate with the man's daughter and even... well, stolen her from someone else... Yes, that was akin to poaching, wasn't it?

Sure enough, it wasn't long before he saw Elder Lin Yi's gaze slowly shifting towards him, the disdain in his pupils completely unmasked, as he spoke indifferently, "Are you Elder Su of the Sword Sect?"

Su Bei instinctively stepped back, but then he relaxed a bit, realizing that Lin Yi probably didn't know about his daughter's affair. He then coughed lightly, his right hand feigning a fist near his mouth, and nodded awkwardly, "Su Mou has met Elder Lin."

"That—I've long heard of your esteemed reputation, and seeing you today is indeed... uh... overwhelmingly powerful, ha."

Lin Yi glanced with a smirk at the man who had ended the blood calamity and then fixed his gaze once more on the dragon that had taken human form, speaking faintly, "Elder Su, please step aside. After Lin Mou scrapes the scales off this abominable creature of the Dragon Clan, we can talk..."

Ao Feng blinked his golden dragon eyes. Seeing the white-haired man beside him, he immediately felt like he had found a savior. He quickly transformed into human form—a man with a rather delicate appearance—and hid behind Su Bei, coughing lightly. "AHEM, Elder Su, save my life."

"Our clan leader has always been friendly towards the Sword Sect... And besides, Elder Su also has a marriage contract with our clan's Saintess. You can't just stand by and watch me die..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lin Yi's gaze turned instantly frosty. He looked displeasedly at Su Bei and said with an icy expression, "Does Elder Su really intend to intervene in the matter between my clan and the Dragon Clan?"

"This is an old feud between our two clans. Elder Su, as an outsider, should not get involved." His tone gradually grew heavier, carrying a hint of warning.

Su Bei hesitated. Although he did not want to get involved in the affairs of the two clans, the unsealing of the Dragon Pond this time was indeed odd and was crucial to the whereabouts of the Sword Sect's Three Divisions of Freedom. So, after much thought, he steeled himself and stood between Lin Yi and Ao Feng, saying, "Su Mou, however, does find this matter quite strange and would like to step in as a mediator. I wonder if both of you could give Su Mou some face?"

"Elder Lin should think thrice. Don't be swayed by impulsiveness to fall for the schemes of those lurking in the dark."

While speaking, he threw a meaningful glance at Ji Nanjue, signaling her.

Ji Nanjue understood, stepped forward, and took over the conversation. "Father-in-law, in all things, we must adhere to the principle of yin and yang. Those who seek great deeds must not rely solely on covert plans, nor only on overt plans. Direct and indirect strategies must complement one another to achieve balance."

"The loss of the Three Divisions of Freedom represents the yin aspect, while inciting friction between the Phoenix Clan and the Dragon Clan is the yang aspect. If the two great races of the Northern Sea greatly diminish their strength due to this incident, the Western Wasteland will invade, and we will be too preoccupied to fend for ourselves... We must pay extra attention to this matter."

Seeing that Su Bei and the Old Eastern Emperor had spoken out on his behalf, Ao Feng, whose heart was slightly shadowed by unease, felt a bit relieved. Ignoring the bloodstains on his body, he hid behind Su Bei and nodded repeatedly, echoing, "That's right!"

"Can't we talk things over nicely...? No need to kill and scrape Dragon Scales at every turn... It's quite unfriendly."

Lin Yi's eyes shifted back and forth. To tell the truth, he wasn't sure how to handle the man from the Sword Sect before him for a moment. For one thing, since both were at the Tribulation-Crossing Stage, he didn't possess absolute martial power to suppress him. Secondly, he was well aware of what Ji Nanjue had brought up, but he just couldn't swallow his pride, which was why he had seized the opportunity to chase Ao Feng all the way here. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Seeing Lin Yi's hesitation, Su Bei fanned the flames further, "Elder Lin, in times of chaos, heroes rise. With the Twenty-One Provinces in turmoil, the Northern Sea is likely to be involved. With the Western Wasteland casting covetous eyes on us, the situation doesn't look too optimistic. We should temporarily set aside the hatred between our two races and unite against outside forces..."

Lin Yi snorted coldly and said, "So today Elder Su wants to save this dragon with just words?"

"Furthermore, even if I were to let this dragon go, does Elder Su think he can allow this dragon to walk away unscathed from under my watch without offering up something in return?"

"Besides, I don't believe Elder Su has any deep ties to the Dragon Clan. If you want me to release him, you at least need to give me a reasonable explanation, don't you?"

Su Bei paused for a moment, then said, "Su Mou has less than twenty years of life left."

"To continue living, I need to find the Dragon Clan's Three Divisions of Freedom. Hence, I need this favor from the Dragon Clan."

"Elder Lin, does my reason for wanting to save Ao Feng suffice?"