CHAPTER 280: CHAPTER 279: YANG JIAN: TRIM YOUR HAIR MORE IN JANUARY

Huang Long still cared deeply about the Dragon Clan and thus inquired about what had occurred.

The Four Old Dragon Kings exchanged glances before forcing a bitter smile and explaining the situation in the East Sea. They recounted that, at some indeterminate time, murky blood water began to seep from the seabed. Any sea creatures contaminated by it would descend into madness, attacking any nearby beings without discrimination before ultimately succumbing to the frenzy. What was worse, the blood of these maddened creatures could infect others, perpetuating the cycle.

Even those containing traces of Dragon Clan bloodline were not spared.

Such peculiar blood could only originate from one place—the Blood Sea—there was no other.

With the Four Sea Dragon Kings’ cultivation too feeble to counter it, they were left with no choice but to seek assistance from the Ancestor Dragon Hall. Unfortunately, the hall was currently preoccupied, with a group of Divine Dragons invested in researching some procedure to insert tubes into the Ancestor Dragon—there simply wasn’t time to concern themselves with such affairs.

Under duress, they had no alternative but to petition the Heavenly Court, as they fell under the jurisdiction of the Water Department.

Huang Long was resigned after hearing this; he was well aware of his own limitations. While others might rely on sheer resilience, Huang Long knew that should the Ancestor of Nether River strike with his sword, he’d likely be extinguished entirely, his soul scattered to oblivion.

Even though no solution seemed forthcoming, he still couldn’t wash his hands of the Dragon Clan’s predicament. He guided the Four Sea Dragon Kings on a lengthy tour around the Heavenly Court, only to find very few Immortals.

The Four Sea Dragon Kings were not ignorant of Hao Tian’s campaign; they had even dispatched fifty thousand water soldiers to his cause. Yet they hadn’t anticipated that Hao Tian would deploy every last reserve for the campaign!

The crisis in the Four Seas grew ever more severe. If ignored any longer, the Sea Clan would surely face ruin.

Huang Long thought deeply before deciding to seek his senior brother, True Master Yu Ding, for counsel. Thanks to Yuquan Mountain’s resources, Yu Ding had reestablished his cultivation to the level of an Earth Immortal, though his Taoist Body imposed limitations on further advancement, thwarting any higher progress.

Though Yu Ding had little recourse to offer, he couldn’t ignore Huang Long’s plea. Huang Long had helped him on many occasions, proving himself loyal and kind-hearted. Facing such earnestness, Yu Ding decided to recommend his disciple, Yang Jian.

Yang Jian might be the least prominent among the Beiji Four Saints, but in terms of authority, he dwarfed Yu Ding significantly. The key point was that Yang Jian shared a strong rapport with Emperor Ziwei.

Now that Hao Tian was absent, Emperor Ziwei, as vice-leader, wielded the highest authority.

Huang Long was also well-acquainted with Yang Jian, his junior nephew. With Huang Long’s honest and straightforward demeanor, forming friendships came naturally.

Taking the token, he led the Four Sea Dragon Kings to find Yang Jian, who had been cultivating at the North Heaven Gate.

Though nominally responsible for logistics, all the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals’ supplies were stored in Hao Tian’s Hao Tian Tower. Yang Jian’s title as Grain Supervision Officer was little more than an honorary role with virtually no function.

Yang Jian held Huang Long in good regard and, with his father-in-law involved, was quite eager to assist. However, after spending time with Nezha, his vision had broadened considerably. Upon hearing matters tied to the Blood Sea, Yang Jian immediately understood that this was far beyond his ability to resolve.

Years ago, Mosquito Daoist had almost taken his life with a single strike. Though the Ancestor of Nether River was now diminished, Yang Jian suspected he wouldn’t survive a second blow.

He couldn’t risk implicating his superiors unnecessarily. Additionally, since Nezha wasn’t fond of the Dragon Clan, Yang Jian deliberated briefly before coming up with an idea.

"Everyone, please wait. I shall take you to see His Majesty immediately."

Since there were at least two familiar faces involved, Yang Jian elaborated further.

"This matter is truly extraordinary. Yang Jian’s cultivation is shallow, and his mana weak. I must involve Emperor Hao Tian for assistance."

The five dragons exchanged looks briefly before conceding. "Fine, as long as the issue can be resolved—we don’t mind who handles it."

Yang Jian led the Five Dragons to Hao Tian’s temporary office. Once the Four Sea Dragon Kings narrated their plight, Hao Tian grew visibly irked.

"Why is luck never on my side?"

The progress of the campaign to open a path toward the Demon World was agonizingly slow, and now the Four Seas were in turmoil—how irritating!

Still, as the Four Seas were under Hao Tian’s jurisdiction, and they’d invested both funds and manpower when he mobilized his army, Hao Tian realized he couldn’t simply ignore their suffering.

He scanned the room, reluctant to split forces to address the Four Seas’ issue. His mind turned toward Emperor Ziwei and Nezha, wondering how to delegate the matter to them—yet water affairs had no connection to Nezha whatsoever. How could he justify passing this task along?

Sweeping his gaze toward Yang Jian, who stood in waiting, an idea struck him.

"True Martial General, the Four Seas suffer from a demonic disturbance. I hereby command you to lead three thousand Heavenly Soldiers and subjugate it."

Yang Jian: "..."

What a "loving" uncle—plucking every last shred of dignity from me over the years.

He couldn’t refuse Hao Tian’s order; contextually, responsibility indeed fell within Yang Jian’s purview.

"As you command."

"Dismiss."

This left Huang Long and the Four Sea Dragon Kings utterly stunned. It was their first time witnessing Hao Tian’s sheer ridiculousness—Yang Jian against the Ancestor of Nether River?

Was this even plausible?

Under duress, Yang Jian begrudgingly accepted the order and promptly requisitioned the three thousand elite troops Nezha had kept under the Thunder Department.

When Hao Tian received word, his expression remained emotionless. Though he had cherished those three thousand elites in the past, now that the Divine Enthronement was over, their value declined sharply—plenty more laborers were waiting in line.

Yang Jian and the contingent departed the expeditionary forces and eventually arrived at the Dragon Palace of the East Sea.

Rather than immediately seeking out Nezha, Yang Jian decided otherwise. First, this was Hao Tian’s mandate, thus his responsibility; second, Yang Jian took pride in himself—running to his brother-in-law whenever trouble struck would be humiliating.

He reasoned he should at least investigate the situation first.

After gathering additional details from the Four Sea Dragon Kings, Yang Jian left the three thousand elite troops stationed at the Dragon Palace and ventured outside with Huang Long to gather evidence.

Huang Long had one notable trait—his health bar was practically bottomless. While Yang Jian was weaker in this regard, he compensated with agility and adaptability. Furthermore, he had learned several Divine Skills from Nezha, bolstering his combat capabilities.

The pair left the Dragon Palace and swam deep into the sea together. Both moved swiftly in the water, and it wasn’t long before they encountered an afflicted sea creature—a fragmented, bloodshot Flood Dragon that frenziedly attacked every nearby being indiscriminately.

Witnessing this grisly spectacle, Huang Long brandished his sword and prepared to charge forward, only for Yang Jian to intercept him.

"Uncle Master, do not forget—the blood water is insidious."

Huang Long had been banking on his thick health bar and high resistance to poison, but stopped short upon being held back by Yang Jian. He asked, "Nephew, do you have a solution?"

As Yang Jian began casting a spell, he produced a Jade Bottle to collect some of the Flood Dragon’s blood. While doing so, he replied, "Uncle Master, do you possess any Magical Treasure that could capture all nearby creatures at once?"

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Huang Long shook his head. He was poor as a pauper—what Magical Treasure could he possibly have?

Yang Jian sighed inwardly but didn’t look down on Huang Long; he himself was similarly strapped for resources.

"In that case, we’ll have no choice but to destroy all nearby creatures. Otherwise, the blood poison will continue to spread, impacting even more of the Sea Clan."

Huang Long remained at a loss—his Divine Skills and Spells were mostly self-protective. Large-scale destructive measures were heavily constrained within the Primordial Lands; even after tenfold effort in cultivation, the real-world efficacy rarely exceeded forty percent.

In simple terms, the offensive spells of the Primordial Immortals were tailored for "duels" rather than "sieges."

Observing Huang Long’s repeated refusal, Yang Jian grew increasingly exasperated.

His own cultivation was relatively new, with battle techniques still rooted in earthly methodologies—tolerable in his case. But why was Huang Long equally underprepared?

Thankfully, Yang Jian had managed to learn some advanced methods from Nezha’s tutelage.