Wu Wang, a sword nurtured on the dragon vein, showed the utmost respect before the temple.
"This is the inheritance temple of the dragon race. Shen Qing, do you want to go in?"
Although Wu Wang knew it was a redundant question, seeing Shen Qing in such a state, it just wanted to say more to distract her.
It saw the numbness and heaviness in Shen Qing's eyes, and felt bad inside.
It recalled the first time it met Shen Qing. Her eyes were pure and clear, full of yearning and expectation for the future.
But now, as she had come this far step by step, many things seemed to have happened to her. Some were seen by Wu Wang, while some it couldn't perceive. But all these things had piled up on Shen Qing, robbing her of her former vitality.
Instead, there was an aura of death around her.
This was not a good sign.
Shen Qing exhaled a puff of turbid air. She turned to meet Wu Wang's big, worried eyes. Her heart softened, and she rarely reached out to touch Wu Wang's head.
She rarely had such an opportunity to be alone with Wu Wang. Most of the time, they fought side by side.
They were like friends, and more like comrades - in - arms.
Now, with Wu Wang still by her side before the temple, Shen Qing felt a touch of emotion.
"Wu Wang, I'm glad you're still with me."
Wu Wang shivered. Facing Shen Qing's sudden confession, it suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. "Are you scheming against me? Why are you suddenly so mushy?"
Shen Qing turned her head away crossly and didn't want to talk to this unromantic sword.
Shen Qing lifted her foot and stepped onto the steps of the temple. But Wu Wang was blocked by an invisible barrier just outside the steps and couldn't follow.
Shen Qing looked back. She remembered how she had watched Li Xian step into the inheritance place step by step in the merman palace before.
But at that time, Li Xian had been schemed against. Now, as she stepped in here, she didn't know what was waiting for her.
Shen Qing forced a smile and said to Wu Wang, "I'll be back soon. Wait for me here. Don't wander around."
Wu Wang was a bit speechless. This small space was so limited. Where could it possibly wander?
But to reassure Shen Qing, it still replied, "Yes, sir! I'll do everything as the master says!"
As it spoke, Wu Wang even lifted its short little paw, trying to salute by putting it on its head.
Seeing Wu Wang so funny, Shen Qing really let out a laugh. Then she stopped looking at it.
The pain of parting with Bai Li still lingered in Shen Qing's heart. Her heart was like being tightly wrapped in a haze, and it would take time to get out.
But time waited for no one. So Shen Qing had to bury this pain deep in her heart and continue to do what she should do.
After stepping onto the steps, Shen Qing stood still before the stone gate. Sensing the arrival of the dragon race, the stone gate, which hadn't been opened for tens of thousands of years, slowly opened.
The stone gate was heavy. When it opened, it raised a slight amount of dust and made the sound of stone rubbing.
The sense of heaviness made Shen Qing feel like the wheels of history were slowly moving forward.
After it opened, Shen Qing only vaguely saw golden light flashing inside but couldn't see what was there clearly.
Under Wu Wang's worried gaze, Shen Qing slowly stepped into the golden light.
After she entered the stone gate, the stone gate slowly closed again, blocking Wu Wang's sight.
Shen Qing was in the golden light, but she didn't find the light dazzling. Instead, her whole body was filled with warmth, just like being soaked in warm water.
Her body also seemed to lose its weight and slowly floated up. Shen Qing relaxed her body and followed the guidance of the space, letting her body float in one direction.
At this time, Shen Qing suddenly heard an old and heavy voice. The voice was like that of a person from beyond the sky, and yet it seemed to be right next to her, making it hard to figure out.
The voice let out a dragon's roar, but Shen Qing could understand it. "Child of the dragon race, I've been waiting for you for a long time..."
After saying that, the voice seemed to let out a sigh.
Shen Qing responded, but the words she said unconsciously turned into a dragon's roar. "Who are you?"
The voice replied, "You can regard me as the ancestor of your dragon race, or the one who gave birth to your dragon race."
This explanation of the identity made Shen Qing frown unconsciously. She didn't understand.
Wasn't it said that the dragon race was born in response to the Heavenly Way and was a creature naturally nurtured in the world? Judging from what this voice said, it seemed as if the birth of the dragon race had been manipulated by it.
"I don't understand. If you say so, aren't you the Heavenly Way?"
Shen Qing's question made the voice burst into laughter. As it laughed, the space seemed to vibrate.
"The Heavenly Way? Do you know what the Heavenly Way is?"
"Is it the ruler of this world, or the countless orders in this world?"
"The Heavenly Way, the Heavenly Way. It is the natural trajectory of this world moving forward, or the cycle of time. Man follows the earth, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature. It's just a trace of law in the void."
Shen Qing fell silent and thought of the ending of the dragon race.
The destruction of the dragon race was ultimately due to the expansion of its ambition, which brought disaster to living beings and caused the extinction of several spiritual beast races.
When the dragon race adhered to its original heart, it made contributions to the world and was the aspiration of all people and beasts. So those who followed the Tao had many helpers.
But once the dragon race had ambition, the beasts rebelled. The dragon race became isolated and was no longer the aspiration of others. So those who deviated from the Tao had few helpers.
All of this was cause and effect.
Shen Qing was filled with mixed feelings and softly asked a question. "Is there right or wrong in cause and effect?"
The old voice paused for a while and also softly replied, "Don't you already have a feeling about the answer to this question?"
Hearing this, Shen Qing let out a soft laugh.
Yes, she already had the answer. She just stubbornly wanted to hear someone else's answer.
In this world, there was no right or wrong. It was just a matter of inner peace.
During the conversation, Shen Qing came to a magic formation following the flow of the space.
She gently landed in the center of the magic formation. The magic formation was engraved with runes all around, which were unique symbols of the dragon race. Although Shen Qing knew what those runes meant, she couldn't understand them when they were combined.
But when she stood still, the symbols engraved on the magic formation glowed with golden light.
Four illusory figures of dragons suddenly appeared in the four directions of east, south, west, and north.
At this time, the voice rang out again. "Child of the dragon race, are you ready to receive the inheritance?"
At this moment, Shen Qing seemed to have figured something out, and her heart became suddenly clear.
She raised her head, a smile curled up on her lips, and she said firmly, "I, a junior, am ready!"
Ready to truly accept her own destiny!
Han Ze, her elder brother. What kind of scene would it be when they met again next time?
Shen Qing closed her eyes. The four dragons in the east, south, west, and north emitted golden light and all converged on Shen Qing.
The inheritance began.
Far away in the main temple, Han Ze seemed to sense something and looked in the direction of Kunlun Mountain.
The Immortal Hui Yan saw Han Ze in a daze and carefully asked, "My lord? Should we start this plan?"
Han Ze was in a daze for a while, then withdrew his gaze and gave a blood - thirsty smile. "Of course."