Chapter 2: The Ten-Thousand-Year Purple Ice Coffin!

Her words were filled with sincere emotion, yet Yang Nan firmly stated, "What virtue do I possess that I should cause you and your brother to fall out? It would be better for me to go and handle this matter alone. If Long Yun is willing, all will be well; if he is unwilling, I will show him no mercy! Even if your father, the Dragon Saint, should come, I shall simply board my boat and sail away, and I wager he could do nothing to me."

Seeing that he held even her father, who had attained the Saint realm, in such low regard, Long Yao felt a surge of secret admiration for his willingness to brave dangers for the sake of the person he loved. Yet how could she possibly allow Yang Nan to forge a deadly enmity with the Dragon Clan?

If a deadly enmity were forged, what she desired in her heart would forever become impossible to achieve...

"Brother Yang, if you trust me, three days from now I will surely present you with the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin. If I cannot do so after three days, you may go and demand it from my Seventh Brother yourself, how does that sound?" Long Yao thought of a method that was hardly a method at all, but regardless of her motives, she was determined to get her hands on that Purple Ice Coffin!

Yang Nan had originally intended to spare her the trouble, but seeing how enthusiastic Long Yao was, and finding it hard to refuse such heartfelt kindness, he could only nod and agree.

Three days from now, if Long Yao did not return with the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin, Yang Nan would have no choice but to take matters into his own hands!

Seeing Yang Nan consent, Long Yao was overjoyed. She had already thoroughly investigated this little adversary and knew him to be arrogant, overbearing, and utterly unconstrained. His battle at Tianfang Prefecture had shaken the world; he had even sent the avatar of Perfected Being Miaofu fleeing in ignominious defeat, while the Heavenly Talisman Sect had lost all its masters to his blade and never recovered since. If he were truly to go to war with the Dragon Clan, the numerous masters of the Kunlun Sect would inevitably step in to help. By then, no matter how powerful the Dragon Clan was, they would be reduced to flying ashes!

To avoid a deadly enmity was naturally the best outcome. Furthermore, with this bond of sentiment, Yang Nan would find it all the more difficult to push her away...

"Attendants, bring out the wine and food!" Long Yao gently clapped her hands, summoning numerous maidservants to sing, dance, and serve wine. Commander Shrimp and over a hundred demon soldiers saw the table laden with delicacies, their eyes gleaming, and immediately began to devour the food voraciously. Although Ni Cai paid little attention to eating and drinking, he sat back and enjoyed himself immensely under the service of the maidservants.

Upon seeing the multitude of rare delicacies, Yang Nan felt his appetite greatly stimulated and ate quite a bit. Born into a distinguished family, his manners were refined and elegant; even when eating, he maintained a certain poise. Seeing this, Long Yao's beautiful eyes flashed with brilliant colors, casting frequent amorous glances his way.

The poison afflicting Fang Qingyan could not be easily dispelled in a short time, so neither Yang Nan nor Long Yao was overly anxious. With the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin, they could slowly search for the Profound Ice Thread-Drawing Fruit to heal her; being in a rush at this moment would be of no use.

Long Yao instructed the residents of the Dragon Palace up and down to serve Yang Nan with the utmost care. The crowd of lesser spirits and monsters treated Yang Nan almost as if he were the Prince Consort of the Dragon Palace, terrified that their service might be lacking. Having been a Daoist practitioner for a long time, Yang Nan was quite unaccustomed to such luxurious surroundings, and every day he had no choice but to hide within the Undying Thunder Boat to diligently cultivate his arts.

Leaving the sea for less than three days after settling Yang Nan, Long Yao truly brought back the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin. This Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin was extremely miraculous, formed from spiritual ice condensed ten thousand zhang beneath the glaciers of the extreme West. A single vein of spiritual ice could only produce one piece of purple ice after ten thousand years. A Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin nearly a zhang in length must have required an untold amount of purple ice; apart from the deeply wealthy Dragon Palace, there were truly few places in the world capable of producing such a wondrous treasure.

The Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin had miraculous effects on those who practiced water-elemental Daoist techniques, and it could also stabilize the soul and physical body, freezing them in preservation for eternity—truly profound and marvelous.

To suppress the soul-poison spreading daily within Fang Qingyan's body, only such a divine object of heaven and earth could have a miraculous effect...

Holding the purple-glowing, bone-chilling Purple Ice Coffin, Yang Nan retrieved his wife's physical body from the Rivers and Mountains Ring. He gently cradled Fang Qingyan in his arms, stared down at her for a long time with a desolate sigh, and slowly pushed open the coffin lid before gently placing her inside.

Fang Qingyan's peerlessly beautiful face had long since become unrecognizable. She had been poisoned for less than a month, but the black threads covering her face were growing denser by the day. Her snow-jade skin was now crisscrossed with black threads like a descending demon, a sight that chilled the heart. Long Yao softly called out "Sister" several times, yet Fang Qingyan never uttered a single reply in return...

A peerless beauty, whose life was nearing its end...

Seeing her unconscious, unresponsive, and wretched state, Long Yao burst into loud sobs right before the coffin. Beside her, the two maidens Lotus and Butterfly were filled with self-reproach, and the three women wept bitterly together, plunging Yang Nan's heart into an even deeper desolation.

After weeping for a while, Long Yao said with tears in her eyes, "Sister suffered this unwarranted disaster, and I will surely avenge her! Soul-Devouring Orchids have long vanished from the mortal realm, yet now they have appeared before us. This matter is extremely strange. Though incompetent, Long Yao will surely get to the bottom of it and will never let the true culprit go unpunished!"

Yang Nan nodded and said, "This matter is inextricably linked with my twelfth uncle, Yang Lan. Once I have healed Qingyan, I will go settle accounts with him! For now, finding the Profound Ice Thread-Drawing Fruit remains our top priority."

Qingyan's injury pointed solely to Yang Lan, the Li family, and Feng Valley. Yang Nan would rather mistakenly execute a thousand than let a single guilty party escape!

Yet this vengeance would have to wait until he had found the Profound Ice Thread-Drawing Fruit!

Lifting her head, Long Yao said resolutely, "Brother Yang, this younger sister has a presumptuous request, and I hope you will grant it."

Yang Nan smiled gently and said, "Princess, speak your mind. If Yang Nan is able to do it, I will certainly not refuse."

Hesitating for a moment, Long Yao said, "Brother Yang's journey to seek this innate spiritual object will undoubtedly be fraught with difficulties. Although lacking in ability, this younger sister is willing to lend a helping hand. The Profound Ice Thread-Drawing Fruit mostly grows in frigid regions; without water-elemental divine abilities, it will be difficult for Brother Yang to obtain it. Since I wish to contribute to my sister's healing, what does Brother Yang think of this?"

Yang Nan was stunned for a moment. Looking into Long Yao's eager and expectant pretty face, he originally intended to refuse, but could not bring himself to speak bluntly. Instead, he said, "Princess, you govern tens of thousands of miles of ocean territory; how can you simply walk away? I would not dare trouble you with this matter."

Long Yao shook her head faintly and said, "Brother Yang does not understand. When I went to borrow the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin, I entrusted these tens of thousands of miles of sea territory entirely to the governance of my brother Long Yun. From then on, I am left with only a Dragon Palace and no longer possess any authority." Her fair face lowered slightly, and a trace of desolation could not help but show between her brows.

"What? You actually traded tens of thousands of square miles of fiefdom for a mere Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin? This Long Yun is truly audacious!" Hearing this, Yang Nan's expression changed drastically in a fit of rage. No wonder Long Yao had obtained the purple ice coffin so easily—she had traded her territory for it!

Yang Nan stated decisively, "No! I am going to find Long Yun right now. If he does not return your sea territory, I will beat him so thoroughly that even his own mother won't recognize him!"

How could Yang Nan feel at ease knowing that the Myriad-Year Purple Ice Coffin had cost Long Yao such a heavy price?

Although she was in a sorrowful state, upon hearing Yang Nan's words, Long Yao could not help but burst into a chuckle, saying, "Brother Yang, choose your words carefully. My mother passed away a millennia ago; even if you went and beat my seventh brother, how could that bring my mother back to life?"

Only then did Yang Nan react, his face flushing with sheepish embarrassment as he said, "Princess, since that is the case, I will simply go and demand it back. Surely your father, the Dragon Saint, will not sit idly by and ignore this, right?"

Long Yao shook her head and sighed softly, "Brother Yang, you do not understand. The Dragon Clan has its own laws and customs. Although this West Sea Dragon Palace is magnificent and resplendent, I have cultivated here for over a thousand years, and through all these millennia, besides seawater, there has been nothing in this Dragon Palace except loneliness... I... I grew weary of staying here long ago. This matter has nothing to do with my seventh brother; I gave him this sea territory willingly. Without a domain to govern, to be free and unfettered from now on—wouldn't that be even better?"

Long Yao's voice was soft and gentle, filled with poignant sorrow and lingering affection. Even sages found it difficult to escape the word 'loneliness'; how could a grand master like her remain untouched by the seven emotions and six desires?

Seeing the elegant and dignified woman before him displaying such sentiments, if Yang Nan still did not understand at this point, he might as well just go and bang his head against a brick wall. He sighed and said, "Princess, why must you put yourself through this?"

Seeing a hint of tender pity in his expression, Long Yao felt a mixture of joy and shyness, and softly murmured, "I... I don't know why either... Ever since you came to the West Sea... my Dao heart has been completely disrupted. This must be the arrival of my romantic tribulation. If Brother Yang does not help me pass this tribulation, several thousand years of my painstaking cultivation will be washed away like flowing water. This matter is of the utmost importance, and I beg Brother Yang to grant me this fulfillment!"

As she spoke and mentioned the words 'romantic tribulation,' she seemed to grow somewhat righteous and bold!

If Yang Nan had not come to the West Sea, how could this affinity have ever come to pass? Although the origin of the matter lay in Fang Qingyan's desperate journey of thousands of miles to find her husband, if Yang Nan had not achieved the master realm on Dragon Chant Island in the West Sea, he would never have met Long Yao, and this encounter could have been avoided.

This fateful convergence of circumstances had forged an inextricable bond of affection!

Once the Dao heart was stirred, how could it ever be extinguished? Long Yao had no choice but to cast her thread of affection onto Yang Nan, hoping for a day of transcendence in the future!

Yang Nan did not agree with her theory of passing through a tribulation. If every woman in the world sought him out to cross her tribulations, what kind of immortality would he be cultivating?

However, Long Yao shared a deep bond of grace and righteousness with Fang Qingyan, and had moreover given him a great deal of assistance; this matter was simply impossible to shirk. Besides, having her accompany him by his side wasn't as though they were actually doing anything improper—hadn't his master, Bu Xu, also taken him in precisely because he needed to pass through a romantic tribulation?

All manner of karmic ties arise from affection and perish from affection. Qingyan was like this, Long Yao was like this, and weren't Old Crab and the two maidens Lotus and Butterfly the same?

"Princess, since it has come to this, you may come and cultivate the Dao alongside me. I only hope you achieve true fruition soon and find bright prospects upon the Immortal Dao!" Matters having reached this point, Yang Nan no longer evaded and nodded in consent. Long Yao's true form was a white dragon, and her water-elemental divine abilities were unfathomable. With her assistance, finding the Profound Ice Thread-Drawing Fruit would be all the more certain. This matter was beneficial to both others and himself, so why should Yang Nan put on a false display of reluctance?

Seeing him agree, Long Yao was overjoyed, her face blooming like a radiant flower, dazzling with brilliance. Since she had resolved to leave the Dragon Palace, naturally she could not leave empty-handed. The Heavenly Rainbow Boat that Ni Cai had helped her forge possessed vast spaces and could accommodate the entire Dragon Palace. As a princess traveling out, her retinue of sea demon subordinates naturally could not be left behind, and all the treasures Long Yao had accumulated over the years were moved into the Heavenly Rainbow Boat.

Beaming with joy, Ni Cai led Commander Shrimp and over a hundred personal guards to help Long Yao move house. The Dragon Palace contained countless treasures; to Ni Cai, these were countless materials for forging array formations, so how could he not be dancing with joy?

Long Yao's possessions were tantamount to Yang Nan's possessions; what difference was there between the two? Although Yang Nan calculated things as two separate households, which of the lesser demons under his command failed to understand? Barring any accidents, this Immortal Yang was simply their future Prince Consort!

For their Prince Consort to spend the wealth of the Dragon Palace was only right and proper!

Yang Nan had gained a helper, Long Yao had attained her wish, the minor demons had been spared suffering, and Ni Cai had acquired his materials. Apart from Qingyan's injuries remaining uncured, it could truly be called a happy outcome for all. Thus, the house-moving proceeded with utmost smoothness. Over ten thousand demon soldiers marched in grand procession into the Heavenly Rainbow Boat, with maidservants and cooks being no exception. In the end, nothing was left at the bottom of the West Sea save for an empty Dragon Palace. Long Yao left behind only a single squad of demon soldiers to keep watch over it; presumably, with an empty Dragon Palace coupled with countless protective restrictions, no one would dare come to plunder it...

Gazing at the empty, formerly resplendent Dragon Palace, Long Yao's expression was a mixture of joy and sorrow, resentment and coyness, holding a peculiar flavor all its own. With this parting, she knew not when she would ever be able to return to the Dragon Palace again.

Sitting inside the Undying Thunder Boat, Yang Nan looked at the magnificent Dragon Palace that had been cleaned out as thoroughly as if by countless robbers, slapped his forehead in profound dismay. This was no mere accompaniment on Long Yao's part—she clearly intended to cling stubbornly to his side to the bitter end!