Chapter 136: The Way of Shackles

Aside, Prime Minister Turtle gazed at the sprawling underwater palace. The Dragon Lord had departed, but the remnants still required management. Perhaps his deepest concern was precisely this water mansion.

Wang Yuanfeng glanced at Prime Minister Turtle. Although the old turtle hid it well, his yearning for the water mansion radiated from the very depths of his soul. Wang Yuanfeng thought it made sense; everywhere conquered required a proper system, lest it burden Mount Tianzhu. He simply stated, "For now, you and Golden Dragon shall restore this place as quickly as possible. I will notify Mount Tianzhu, and appropriate arrangements will be made in due course."

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Turtle thought to himself that it was indeed as he suspected—a formidable faction stood behind this figure. He lowered his head and replied, "Understood, Divine Venerable."

"Understood, Divine Venerable," Golden Dragon echoed. He hesitated for a moment before turning to Wang Yuanfeng and saying, "Divine Venerable, these two are the Lord of Taixuan Lake, Great Flood Dragon, and the Young Master of Mount Ji, Water Leopard. Both are heroes holding significant influence in the Southern Continent."

Wang Yuanfeng looked at the battered Great Flood Dragon and the black-robed Water Leopard. The two quickly stepped forward to offer a salute, saying, "Great Flood Dragon of Taixuan Lake, Water Leopard of Mount Ji, pay our respects to Divine Venerable."

Wang Yuanfeng cupped his hands in return and said, "There is no need for such formalities. I have long heard of your esteemed reputations, and meeting you today is purely by chance."

"Indeed, indeed," the two nodded in agreement.

Wang Yuanfeng continued, "As pillars of your respective domains, the fact that you would risk your lives for a friend shows you are people of true passion. The dragon princess imprisoned here must be the one you came to rescue."

Water Leopard nodded, while Great Flood Dragon flushed slightly, speaking with sheepish sincerity, "I beg Divine Venerable to save the dragon princess. Great Flood Dragon will be eternally grateful."

"Haha," Wang Yuanfeng chuckled at Great Flood Dragon's demeanor, then pointed toward the inner chambers. "Only you can save her; no one else truly has a way."

"Why is that?" Great Flood Dragon asked anxiously. He could not fathom Wang Yuanfeng's cultivation level, but since this being had easily subdued even the Dragon Lord, a tremor went through his heart as he asked, "Could it be that even with Divine Venerable's cultivation, you cannot save the dragon princess?"

Wang Yuanfeng shook his head and replied, "This matter has nothing to do with cultivation. As the saying goes, whoever ties the bell must untie it. This is a spell from the Silhouette Dao Techniques—the Shackles Spell. It stirs up a knot in the heart and fuses it with an external magical treasure. This technique has no key; only when the knot in the heart is untied will the shackles dissolve on their own."

Hearing this, Great Flood Dragon was suddenly enlightened and hurriedly said, "Many thanks to Divine Venerable for the enlightenment."

With that, he dashed inward like a gust of wind, leaving the others dumbfounded. Water Leopard wore an embarrassed expression as he explained, "Divine Venerable, please do not take offense. My brother is simply like this; his mind is so consumed by the dragon princess that he lost his composure."

"Great Flood Dragon possesses a genuine nature. He can face his inner self, untroubled by external things, maintaining his original heart. A true cultivator indeed," Wang Yuanfeng remarked with a sigh of admiration.

Hearing Wang Yuanfeng hold such a high opinion of Great Flood Dragon, the others pondered. As for the Golden Dragon, he possessed a pristine, childlike innocence and let such thoughts drift away.

Prime Minister Turtle suffered a jolt to his soul. He recalled how he had guarded Dongting Lake for so long, to the point where it had almost become an obsession. Just moments ago, he had been dwelling on Dongting Lake, and a wave of shame washed over him. He finally understood why, after a millennia, he remained stuck at this level, unable to attain the status of an Earth Immortal.

A sharp pang resonated in his spiritual platform, yet he sensed the root of this pain was his own flawed state of mind—always falling short by just that crucial step. For nearly a thousand years, he had buried this realization, never expecting a single remark to pierce straight to the core.

With this sudden clarity, Prime Minister Turtle felt his own demonic essence stir with vibrant life. His stagnant millennial cultivation felt loosened, and a nameless voice whispered to him that this was his destined opportunity.

Warm tears welled up and spilled from the old turtle's slightly clouded eyes.

*Clink!* A single teardrop fell to the ground, transforming into a crystal-clear, luminous pearl. Following that, a cascading string of pearls dropped to the ground, radiating an aura of ancient, enduring mystery.

Filled with childlike delight at the sight of these beautiful pearls, the Golden Dragon cried out, "So many pearls!"

He eagerly bounded forward a few steps to scoop them up. Overjoyed by the floor full of treasures, he busied himself gathering them one by one.

"Such a genuine nature," Water Leopard observed, watching how the Golden Dragon approached work with utter earnestness yet treated play as a natural part of the Dao.

Wang Yuanfeng concurred, "The Golden Dragon possesses a pure heart. As long as no one forcibly interferes, he will naturally comprehend the Great Dao."

"Sigh!" A faint, barely audible sigh escaped Water Leopard's lips, as if his body were trying to suppress a sound that originated from the deepest recesses of his heart.

Yet Wang Yuanfeng still perceived it. He thought to himself that he had originally intended to speak to him about the Astral Gods; from the moment they met, he had sensed that Water Leopard's destiny aligned with the Seventh Star of the Azure Dragon of the East—the Dipper Water Leopard. He was a natural astral spirit. However, that single sigh let Wang Yuanfeng know that the timing was not yet ripe, and this was not yet the moment for him to take his place.

If he ascended to his position now, with his karmic debts unresolved and his state of mind lacking, he would eventually have to undergo reincarnation to settle those ties. If destiny had not yet arrived, so be it—bestowing the title of Astral God first would allow him to settle his karma when the opportunity arose. Yet, Wang Yuanfeng's calculations revealed that Water Leopard's destined opportunity had arrived, and his karma was imminent, though calamity walked alongside it.

"It seems I still need to wait a little longer!" Wang Yuanfeng sighed softly.

Having attained enlightenment regarding his own flaws, Prime Minister Turtle heard the joyful noises and opened his eyes. His previously clouded gaze had become preternaturally clear. As he watched the Golden Dragon picking up pearls on the floor, a gentle, paternal smile touched his face. The aura about him had shifted, bringing him into closer harmony with nature.

Afterwards, the figures fell silent, each occupied with their own thoughts. Water Leopard pondered his own affairs; the Golden Dragon happily gathered the pearls formed from Prime Minister Turtle's tears; Prime Minister Turtle looked with tenderness upon the playful Golden Dragon. With nothing better to do, Wang Yuanfeng wondered whether Great Flood Dragon would successfully claim his destiny this time. If so, Wang Yuanfeng would be able to complete yet another astral deity within his Hunyuan Armillary Sphere—after all, this was his personal Dao.

...

After rushing inside, Great Flood Dragon quickly located the chamber where the dragon princess was detained. Seeing her curled up inside the cage, a dull ache blossomed in his chest, and he cried out, "Little Dragon Princess, I've come to save you!"

Hearing Great Flood Dragon's voice, a subconscious surge of joy bubbled up within the dragon princess, and she started to rise.

Upon seeing Great Flood Dragon, however, an overwhelming sense of grievance washed over her. She let out a huff and petulantly turned her head away.

Yet the dark light shimmering over the cage faded significantly.

Seeing the dragon princess angry induced a poignant ache in Great Flood Dragon, as if he had been struck a heavy blow, twisting his heart into knots.

*Puff!* Having already sustained injuries earlier, Great Flood Dragon was jolted by this emotional agony, aggravating his wounds.

The dragon princess turned her head back, panic seizing her heart. With a heart-wrenching cry, she screamed, "Brother Flood Dragon!"

Disregarding the shackles entirely, she scrambled to her feet and ran toward him.

At the sound of her cry, the shackling magic of the cage slowly dissolved into mist. The dragon princess bolted out of the enclosure without encountering the slightest resistance.

She hurriedly caught the collapsing Great Flood Dragon. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she cradled him, crying out in terror, "Brother Flood Dragon, don't die! Don't scare me like this!"

Great Flood Dragon forced his eyes open. Seeing the dragon princess right beside him, a wave of relief washed over him. He parted his lips as if to speak, but an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over him, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

"Brother Flood Dragon!" The dragon princess shrieked, breaking into heart-rending sobs that startled the others outside.

"What the hell, that actually worked?!" Wang Yuanfeng felt as though a stampede of mythical beasts was trampling across his mind. The cage he had studied for ages without finding a way to open had simply yielded like that, instantly instilling in him a profound sense of existential doubt.