Chen Yun arrived inside the Dragon Palace.
As soon as he entered, he discovered that the city made entirely of pure crystal shone with the radiance of all kinds of precious and exotic artifacts.
The walls around were crafted from white jade, and the ground was paved with gemstones of an unknown material. Even the pillars were carved from extremely precious gems.
If ordinary people could take a gemstone here and bring it home, they would certainly become rich overnight.
Even though Chen Yun was not interested in material possessions from the ordinary world, he couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing such an abundance of treasures, how extravagant the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea was.
A beautiful mermaid servant with a fish-like appearance was already waiting at the palace door.
Upon seeing Chen Yun enter, she immediately adopted a reverent demeanor and performed a respectful bow. She then led Chen Yun into the palace's inner sanctum.
The Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea is roughly divided into two parts: the outer city and the inner city.
The outer city is not only home to many naval forces, but also serves as a place for entertainment and leisure activities.
There were countless relatively shabby houses as well.
Chen Yun could see that there was little difference here from the mortal world.
Many "residents" who were transformed from aquatic life were also engaged in production here.
Soon, after traversing the roads paved with gemstones, they arrived at the inner city.
The mermaid seemed to have been instructed by the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea and introduced herself proactively.
Chen Yun learned that the inner city was primarily divided into four parts.
They were the treasure vault, the main hall, the dungeon, and the palace.
Here, it was evident that the level of protection was much stronger.
Although the number of guards was not as numerous as in the outer city, each armor piece was shining brightly, giving an impression of their high cultivation and martial prowess.
For instance, there was the General Crab of Gold, the General Night Imp with Blue Skin, and so on.
The lowest-ranked guards here were all immortal demons who had attained sainthood.
Chen Yun secretly marveled at the power of the Dragon Palace, which was far stronger than ordinary land and mountain deities.
Soon, they arrived at the main hall.
The mermaid girl extended her hand towards the inside and said, "Mr. Chen, the Dragon King is waiting for you inside the hall. Please go in."
"Thank you, miss, for guiding the way."
Chen Yun thanked her and walked inside.
He entered the main hall.
He hadn't had a chance to fully appreciate the environment yet.
Chen Yun then saw two rows of armored dragon guards in gold.
On either side, a large group of senior officials of the Dragon Palace were seated.
There were a host of immortal demons, such as the Turtle Prime Minister, the Catfish Major, the Snake Principal, the Ox Grand Officer, and so on.
On the contrary, the so-called dragon offspring and dragon descendants as well as the Dragon wife were not seen.
Looking up, Chen Yun saw that in the center, on a throne that seemed to be made of gold, sat the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea.
The Dragon King had a dragon's head and human body, with a height of about eight feet in Tang Dynasty measurements. He had silver beard and a countenance that was old and majestic. He was clad in all-black dragon robes, wore mitercules, and wielded a sword. He looked every inch the majestic figure he was.
Chen Yun quickly bowed and said, "I am Chen Piao, a disciple of Zhengnanshan Jinyang Gongfa from the Daoist Sect, under the guidance of Zhengyang Zhenren. I come to pay my respects to the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea."
"Mr. Chen, please wait for a moment," the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea replied without any expression, then turned his head to a dragon guard, "Order Xiao Long Nu to bring Chen Da out."
The dragon guard immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, your majesty."
He immediately turned towards the side hall.
Chen Yun was still in the dark, not knowing why his outer form was there.
Chen Yun was still puzzled and didn't know why his outer avatar was in the Dragon Palace. The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea saw the dragon guard leave and then slowly said, "I truly did not know that your outer avatar was in my palace. Just now, when you were facing off against my palace guards outside, I felt very strange. So, I had people investigate, and it turned out that it was Xiao Long Nu who, several years ago while playing at sea, saw your outer avatar lurking beneath the water and found it amusing. She brought Chen Da back to the Dragon Palace. If there has been any offense caused, please forgive me greatly."
Listening to these words, it seems that the Dragon King is reasonable.
In reality, Chen Yun could tell that the Dragon King was being evasive.
Why do you say that?
Because his outer avatar, although it has independent thought, does not possess an independent personality.
Everything it does is completely under the control of its outer avatar.
Unlike Chen Er.
Chen Er can do whatever he wants on his own accord when he is not being controlled.
That's what independent personality means.
A dozen or two years ago, I gave Chen Da a single instruction.
That was to prepare for emergencies in the water.
To avoid being sneak-attacked by others, like stealing from oneself.
Therefore, how could Chen Da have been brought back to the Dragon Palace by Xiao Long Nu?
There is only one possibility.
Chen Da was captured by Xiao Long Nu.
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea's statement clearly indicates an attempt to shift responsibility!
If it were at another time, Chen Yun might have been willing to accept the other party's evasiveness.
However, he had been deceived before.
At that time, if Chen Da hadn't been taken away by the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.
Even if my own body had exploded from being struck by Shen Qiu, I wouldn't have needed to seek help from others.
That's why because Chen Da was captured, it almost led to my own death.
How could Chen Yun possibly accept the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea's explanation?
He spoke directly and decisively, "This outer avatar of mine is not a true avatar. If it weren't for my orders, he wouldn't go anywhere, let alone return to your Dragon Palace with Xiao Long Nu."
The Turtle Prime Minister argued rationally, "Why wouldn't it? Perhaps it has developed self-consciousness."
Chen Yun glanced at him and smiled, "If that's the case, why not burn my book and report to the celestial court to let them investigate this matter?"
The Turtle Prime Minister was silent, not daring to respond.
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea pretended to be unaware and said, "According to what Mr. Chen has said, I truly do not know what happened. It might be that Xiao Long Nu, being young and ignorant, brought your outer avatar back to the Dragon Palace. Mr. Chen, I hope you will not quarrel with a child."
Alright.
Now he's making fun of it with words.
Is he telling me not to bully the little ones?
Chen Yun laughed and asked back, "May I ask, Your Majesty, how old is your Little Dragon Girl this year?"
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea said, "If we calculate her age according to the mortal world, she is already 3,650 years old. However, in my dragon family, we generally calculate age according to the celestial calendar, so she is only ten years old."
Chen Yun blinked and said, "If we calculate my age according to the mortal world, I am 43 years old. If we calculate it according to the celestial calendar, I should still be in diapers, which would make me even younger."
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea argued evasively, "Since you grew up in the mortal world, of course you should calculate your age by mortal years."
Chen Yun once again asked, "Isn't your Eastern Sea Dragon Palace also in the mortal world?"
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea fell silent for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
The Turtle Prime Minister, the Catfish Marshal, the Snake Professor, and others exchanged glances.
Seeing Chen Yun's appearance, they immediately realized that this boy today was not prepared to give up easily!
Chen Yun, seeing that the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea was silent, continued to speak, "If my outer avatar had been taken and returned in other times, I might not have cared. But it is precisely because your Dragon Palace took my outer avatar that twenty years ago I nearly died. I dare ask Your Majesty, what would happen if I burned my book and reported this matter to the celestial court?"
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea couldn't help but frown and said straightforwardly, "What do you want?"
You definitely want to cheat him. What else could you possibly want?
Of course, such words can't be directly expressed.
Otherwise, it would sound like the Zhengmen tradition was acting shamelessly.
Chen Yun did not reveal any intentions and merely pretended to be indignant, saying, "You almost killed me. When I come to ask for my outer avatar in your Dragon Palace, you send tens of thousands of soldiers to kill me? If I don't report this matter to the celestial court, how can I clear this grudge in my heart?"
"Who wants to kill you and silence you?" the Ox Grand Officer said with a face full of confusion: "If we wanted to kill you and silence you, would you still be standing here?"
Chen Yun retorted cleverly, "You sent tens of thousands of soldiers to surround and attack me. Is that not trying to kill me and silence me? Originally, before I came in, I was thinking that if the Dragon King was reasonable, I would not pursue it. But who knows you guys are still arguing? That's really too much. This matter cannot be dropped. After I go back, I will definitely file a report against the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace!"
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea looked at Chen Yun's resolute appearance and seemed to be very firm. But he had lived for countless years. How could he not know that Chen Yun had repeatedly mentioned burning books and reporting to the heavens, but there was no real action behind it? Why was that?
The boy is obviously trying to extort the Dragon Palace!
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea was helpless. He knew that he had to make a concession this time.
The question now is how much to pay in order to satisfy the other party?
The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea only wanted to get rid of Chen Yun as soon as possible, but as an important figure, he couldn't personally negotiate with Chen Yun like a chatty woman.
Therefore, he gave the Catfish Marshal a wink.
The Catfish Marshal understood and immediately wore a smile, stepping forward, "Mr. Chen, let's talk in private?"
Chen Yun pretended not to notice the change in tone and said, "I have already made up my mind. There's no need to talk in private."
"Oh, don't be angry. Let's just chat, chat."
The Catfish Marshal tugged Chen Yun and walked towards the outside.
Chen Yun was like a "punished" little kid being dragged along. Although he looked very unwilling, he didn't really resist.
In no time, the two of them arrived outside the hall.
The Catfish Marshal said with a cheerful smile, "The Dragon King truly has no knowledge of this. Although Xiao Long Nu is 3,650 years old, in the dragon race, she is like a girl of 17 or 18 in the mortal world. She really doesn't understand right from wrong, and thus caused you trouble, Mr. Chen. I truly feel uneasy in my heart."
Chen Yun pretended to "humph" and didn't respond to the other party's words.
The Catfish Marshal continued speaking on his own, "How about this, I'll represent the Dragon King to apologize to you, Mr. Chen. Then, we can compensate you with some treasures in private?"
Chen Yun spoke with a righteous tone, "My coming to the Dragon Palace is not to demand treasures."
"I know, I know," the Catfish Marshal said actively, "This isn't the fault of our Dragon Palace. It was my mistake to make you almost die. I want to make it up to you by offering compensation. We can also consider it a friendship, Mr. Chen. Will you accept my invitation from the old three and become friends?"
Chen Yun's face only began to look better, "Brother, you are so understanding. Chen naturally hopes to be friends with you."
The Catfish Marshal immediately showed a smile, "Young brother, then you can agree to let me make some compensation as a friend, right?"
Chen Yun sighed and said, "I have always valued righteousness. Since you, my brother, have said so, I would be ungrateful if I didn't accept it. But ordinary things like these, I may not be interested in them. If you give them to me, it would just be thrown away and would not allow me to remember my brother. Don't take it seriously!"
His words were quite straightforward, implying that if he wasn't given good enough compensation, he wouldn't consider making amends.
The Catfish Marshal only wanted to get rid of Chen Yun as quickly as possible, so he wouldn't argue over it.
"Sure, I will definitely make sure my brother is satisfied," the Catfish Marshal said heartily: "If he is not satisfied, my brother only needs to inform me, and I will definitely have someone replace it with something better."
Wow, did he really succeed in extorting someone?
Chen Yun couldn't help but secretly look forward to what kind of treasures the Dragon Palace would offer as compensation.
(The end of this chapter)
