C21 Dragon Cloud Legend

Why would the Azure Drake eat clouds?

This question could easily stump anyone in the realm of legends.

"Because nobody has ever eaten a cloud," Qing Chi corrected himself after Kang Na's interruption, offering a response so stark in its simplicity that it was baffling.

"Never eaten a cloud?" Chen Yuan echoed, perplexed.

"Never," confirmed the erudite Liu Xiaoxiao with a shake of her head.

"I have!" Kang Na exclaimed, her hands thrust into the air. "I've eaten clouds, lots and lots of them, and they're delicious!"

"Ridiculous! Even a little sword spirit like you enjoys tall tales," Qing Chi grumbled, his hard-won composure unraveled by Kang Na's antics, visibly irritated.

"Kang Na, settle down and show some respect to your elders," Liu Xiaoxiao chided.

She was still reclining against the trunk of the tree but gestured for Kang Na to come closer.

Kang Na wasn't as affectionate with Liu Xiaoxiao as she was with Chen Yuan, but she was less mischievous. Seeing Liu Xiaoxiao join in, Kang Na reluctantly stuck out her tongue at Qing Chi and clambered down from her perch.

With a few sprightly hops, she was back in Liu Xiaoxiao's embrace.

Liu Xiaoxiao affectionately stroked her head. "Elder Qing Chi, if you would continue."

"Since no one has ever tasted a cloud, its essence remains a mystery to us. They appear lofty and untouchable, solely the domain of the heavens."

"But the Azure Drake is an exception. It carries the bloodline of the True Dragon. As the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon and winds follow the tiger. Where there's a cloud, a True Dragon might be found slumbering behind it."

"Surely you're not serious, Elder!" Chen Yuan gasped, startled by Qing Chi's revelation.

If every cloud truly concealed a slumbering True Dragon, what did that mean for their recent actions...

"It's possible, quite possible. Do you understand the meaning of possibility?" Qing Chi reiterated.

"If that were true, then haven't I just disturbed the lairs of hundreds of True Dragons in succession? Young man, your thoughts are dangerously bold. I wouldn't have even dared to entertain such notions in my youth!"

Chen Yuan was left feeling numb by Qing Chi's words. He couldn't help but think that Qing Chi and Kang Na were cut from the same cloth!

"Okay, enough teasing. What I mentioned earlier is just a legend, after all. True Dragons only existed in the times of myth."

Humans today may practice cultivation, but they pale in comparison to those from the age of legends. An era where True Dragons and Heavenly Phoenixes coexisted with a myriad of rare and fearsome creatures is beyond our current comprehension.

"But it's not all made up. At the very least, every cloud in this sky is tinged with a hint of dragon aura."

"Is that why the Azure Drake is keen on consuming clouds?" Liu Xiaoxiao asked, beginning to understand as she nodded.

"That's exactly it. The Azure Drake carries the bloodline of the True Dragon, making it particularly attuned to the presence of True Dragon essence. Hence, it's drawn to feast on those fluffy white clouds."

Indeed, those white clouds were a delicacy for the Azure Drake.

It's no wonder it obediently waited there, allowing Qing Chi to feed it as tenderly as a mother bird.

"In fact, not just the Azure Drake, we humans can also partake of the white clouds in the sky," Qing Chi revealed, surprising them. "However, due to differences in our bloodlines, we don't reap many benefits from them."

The trio listened intently to Qing Chi's lecture, nodding their heads more eagerly than pecking chicks.

Qing Chi felt a great sense of satisfaction from this exchange.

"Ahem, would any of you like to try?" Qing Chi asked, his face beaming with pride, as if he alone, with his long beard, could reach up and pluck clouds from the heavens.

To his surprise, all three shook their heads in sync.

"I'll pass. The clouds are filthy," Liu Xiaoxiao declared, her unique perspective shaped by her education at the Celestial Archives.

"Exactly! With all those dragons sleeping and moving about in there, the clouds are bound to be full of dragon grime. It's like someone who hasn't bathed in ages, just rubbing and scrubbing against the clouds..." Kang Na animatedly gestured, vividly painting the picture she imagined.

Unbeknownst to her, Qing Chi and Chen Yuan sported peculiar expressions upon hearing her words.

"I... I... better not," Chen Yuan said, his face contorted oddly. He was actually quite curious to try it, but Kang Na's description had put him off.

"It is indeed revolting," Qing Chi grimaced, covering his mouth as if he were physically pained by the thought. One could only surmise that even with his extraordinary beard, he too had once sampled the ethereal taste of cloud.

"Enough! Let's drop this subject!" Qing Chi, conceding to Kang Na's point, suggested, "Let's talk about something else!"

Qing Chi surveyed the trio before him, arms crossed over his chest, nodding in approval. "Impressive. Very impressive. A mischievous sword spirit, a Sylph with an innate disability, and a bloodline inheritor sealed by a forbidden spell. Your group is quite the revelation."

Who was Qing Chi?

He was the guardian of the Azure Drake Waterfall, tasked with overseeing the True Dragon—a Vicious Beast Azure Drake—left from ancient times.

His insight and wisdom surpassed even Liu Xiaoxiao's. With just one look, he had nearly unraveled the mysteries of the three individuals before him.

"An Innate Disabled Sylph?" Chen Yuan echoed, pondering the title.

"A bloodline inheritor sealed by a forbidden spell?" Liu Xiaoxiao also repeated, intrigued.

"You're both ignoring Kang Na! Now she's upset!" Kang Na protested.

"Truly fascinating," Qing Chi mused, shaking his head. "Such a shame. Had I encountered you sooner, you would have been excellent prospects. Alas."

"Senior, is there really no way to break the forbidden spell?" Liu Xiaoxiao inquired, unable to contain her curiosity.

"There are ways, but his meridians have been thoroughly disrupted. Without his exceptional constitution, he'd be incapacitated by now. If I'm not mistaken, he must have had some serendipitous encounter after the spell was cast?"

The disruption of the meridians was a separate issue from the breaking of the forbidden spell.

Qing Chi had made it abundantly clear: the caster of the forbidden spell was malevolent, and the curse was more than a mere sealing of the meridians—it had thrown Chen Yuan's entire circulatory system into chaos.

Had it not been for the wood essence Qiu Changfeng bestowed upon him, he might have perished from the reversal of his meridians.

Now, though, his meridians were just sufficient to keep him alive, but no longer fit for cultivation.

"Actually, this isn't too bad. I can still be a Body Cultivator, which is certainly better than being completely helpless," Chen Yuan remarked nonchalantly. "But Senior, what did you mean when you mentioned that Xiaoxiao is a Sylph?"

Unnoticed by Chen Yuan, Liu Xiaoxiao had already lowered her head, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.

"Flaunting affection, flaunting it right in front of me... Kang Na is upset... So upset..."

Off to the side, Kang Na was grumbling quietly to herself, overlooked by everyone else.