Dragon Tamer
Chapter 1341 - 1345: Old Enemy

Chapter 1341: Chapter 1345: Old Enemy

Zhu Minglang dealt with the four watchdogs and strode directly into the Fairy Village.

Little Fairy Village had a restriction barrier, which made it impossible to see what was inside from the outside, and presumably, those inside couldn’t see the outside either.

The restriction was extraordinarily powerful; despite the earth-shaking commotion from the fight earlier, there hadn’t been any disturbance within the village—it remained as tranquil as though it were a secluded holy land.

As Zhu Minglang stepped through the village gates, he immediately sensed a unique layer of air—a barrier that offered slight resistance but was easy enough to pass.

Who knew what mysterious activities were taking place within...

Once inside, a quaint little village appeared before Zhu Minglang’s eyes. The settlement was incredibly simple, mostly consisting of houses made from vermillion wood and tiles of green and blue. These sparsely placed buildings formed a spacious white courtyard.

This courtyard had an elegance that was astonishingly incongruent with the village’s humble aesthetic. Its minimalist sophistication and grandeur were evident in the fact that its ground was paved entirely with valuable white jade. Meanwhile, seated directly within the jade courtyard were over a hundred individuals donning Daoist robes!

Green Python Robes, Yellow Dragon Robes, Holy Immortal Robes...

This large gathering of Daoists seemed to be holding a transcendence ritual. Zhu Minglang could distinctly feel that they shared some kind of special soul connection, as strands of dark red soul threads intertwined among them, weaving into a visually striking and imposing Diagram of Yin-Yang!

"Who are you??" The person seated at the center of the group spoke. He was clad in a Holy Immortal Robe, differing from those in Green Python and Wild Dragon Robes as he did not have a Daoist Immortal Banner beside him.

Banners lined the area, exuding a chilling aura. Zhu Minglang had seen how dangerous this spell could be before...

It appeared that they could seal dragon souls within their banners and, in times of battle, wield the banners to release the refined dragon souls within—these released dragon souls were indistinguishable from True Dragons!

This practice was akin to a mutated version of dragon shepherding, except they weren’t focused on taming dragons. Instead, they killed dragons and used the Soul Collecting Pearl Brewing Method to seal the dragon souls into the Daoist Immortal Banners!

This kind of Divine Skill was explicitly forbidden in Jun Tian!

Jun Tian, as the Field of Dragon Shepherd, provided special protection for all members of the dragon clan and forbade any sect or immortal faction from wantonly slaughtering dragon beasts.

The amount of dragon blood and dragon souls needed to refine such a Dragon Immortal Banner was unimaginable. Moreover, sealing dragon beasts inflicted unbearable torment akin to purgatory upon them, denying their souls eternal release even after death.

Zhu Minglang hadn’t expected Little Fairy Village to house so many practitioners of forbidden dragon shepherding techniques. What shocked him the most, however, was that the person in the Daoist robe questioning him felt strangely familiar!

It wasn’t that the person’s face was one Zhu Minglang had seen before.

It was his eyes!

Those uniquely piercing pupils carried an eerie depth, like chilling, luminous pools in the darkness, strikingly noticeable.

Suddenly, Zhu Minglang remembered!

Those eyes...

They had to belong to him!!

Back at the Dragon Gate First Heaven, it was those very eyes that had stared down from the cosmos, orchestrating the annihilation of all living beings within the Dragon Gate’s world, returning existence to its primordial state while seizing the souls of all living creatures!

At the time, Zhu Minglang had recognized that what the man used was the Soul Collecting Pearl Brewing Method, so he deduced the man was a dragon shepherd.

But upon deeper reflection, such wide-scale soul collecting was virtually unheard of among dragon shepherds. Looking at the Daoists within this Fairy Village now and the Daoist Immortal Banners they wielded...

Collecting dragon souls, sealing dragon souls...

Could it be that this individual had wiped out all life in the Dragon Gate to harvest countless dragon souls for making Immortal Dragon Banners???

"Brother, surely you haven’t forgotten me? A hundred years ago, when you exterminated the souls of the Dragon Gate, without my help, you wouldn’t have been able to walk so freely today!" Zhu Minglang faced the intimidating crowd, a light yet steady smile playing on his face.

"You are??" The man appeared genuinely stumped by Zhu Minglang’s words and strained to recall past events.

Though immortals live long lives, their memories aren’t infinitely expansive—they often automatically forget distant occurrences unless they deliberately dwell on them. This sometimes leads to confusion, and the longer they live, the more prone they become to mental deviations.

A hundred-year-old event...

The annihilation of Dragon Gate’s life forms—it had indeed been Ji Yuanye’s doing, marking one of his most prized applications of the Raising Technique.

Back then, a few fellow Daoists had offered suggestions and lent assistance, but Ji Yuanye had long since ceased interactions with them, their contributions utterly forgotten.

"Truly can’t recall; how forgetful of me. Brother, given your current cultivation base, I surely owe you for back then. And here I am, still just a humble Loose Immortal. Encountering an old acquaintance in this place, I am truly overwhelmed with emotion," Zhu Minglang said, employing polished pleasantries.

"Oh? Ah, Daoist friend—so it was you! A hundred years indeed—it’s no easy task to remember such matters!" Ji Yuanye finally recalled a name and spoke.

Zhu Minglang’s eyes lit up.

It was indeed him!!

The treacherous divine plotter who had deceived the weakened souls of Dragon Gate, almost dragging Zhu Minglang down into destruction along with them!

But wait.

The Auspicious Qi bestowed by the Paired Immortals was supposed to lead him to those linked by Dream-locking Soul. So why had he run into this scoundrel instead??

Could it be that this mysterious, traitorous immortal had left such a haunting impression on Zhu Minglang back then that he had dreamed of him even now, day and night?

"Master Ancestor, the Dao Uncle guarding the gates had his leg broken by this man!" At that moment, a Daoist clad in Yellow Dragon Robes informed Ji Yuanye.

"The elders outside spoke with impudence. I came merely seeking to revisit old ties with Brother, yet they insisted on destroying me. I had no choice but to teach them a small lesson," Zhu Minglang replied.

Ji Yuanye scrutinized him further. Although Zhu Minglang carried himself with calm composure, his youthful appearance seemed no older than a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy. Yet, the words he had uttered about events from a hundred years ago suggested he was anything but ordinary.

Ji Yuanye raised a hand, signaling those around him to refrain from escalating tensions.

"Daoist friend, you speak humbly. I must apologize on behalf of the elders of my sect, some of whom are excessively arrogant. However, I must ask—how have your fortunes been over the past century? May we converse further?" Ji Yuanye said.

A youthful appearance despite being over a century old—Ji Yuanye knew this individual could only be a being of great power. The earlier modest remarks had clearly been an act; this man might well have ascended to the Fifth or Sixth Heaven of the Dragon Gate, rivaling a loftiest deity.

Ji Yuanye sensibly took a diplomatic approach, aiming to unravel this mysterious figure’s true background bit by bit.

"I’ve suffered calamities and am no longer as prominent as I once was. To avoid certain enemies from the Dragon Gate, I’ve taken an alias—Zhu Lang—and joined the Southern Heavenly Palace as a direct disciple. Alas, living under another’s roof is no easy thing," Zhu Minglang said, his words laced with genuine lament.