Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Tragic Crown Prince (Second Update)

After an unknown amount of time, a series of explosions suddenly echoed from outside. Several fire bulls burst into the Dongyang family’s immortal estate. Chaos broke out within the residence; under the fire bulls’ rampage, servants and horses were thrown into confusion. Countless maids and young attendants fled into the various halls, seeking shelter.

Now’s my chance!

The Crown Prince summoned the last of his magical power. The golden dragon surged from the water, opening its jaws to spit out its dragon pearl. As the crown prince of the Dragon Palace, he bore upon him the secret protective incantations his father left behind. Now, activating the final layer of the incantation, the chains binding him snapped one by one.

“You—what are you doing?” The boy shouted when he saw this, his voice shrill with alarm. “Beast, how dare you! Trying to escape? Watch out, my ancestor will give you another beating!”

Had the boy not spoken, it might have been better. The dragon prince, recalling how the Dongyang patriarch had hung him up and beaten him twice before when he tried to escape, was consumed with fury. He opened his mouth and swallowed the boy whole, then shattered the palace roof and soared skyward.

“So the formation is indeed broken?” The prince ascended, exultant. This escape had been far swifter than the previous two.

At once, cultivators from other halls flew out in pursuit. “Demon dragon, you’re not getting away!” They unleashed magical treasures—discs, divine pillars, and more—at the tailless golden dragon, and a fierce battle erupted in the sky, evenly matched on both sides.

“To think that after all this time imprisoned, the dragon prince still has such power?” From a distant corner of the immortal estate, Ji Feichen observed quietly. “It’s lucky we played it safe and didn’t try to snatch him ourselves. Now that he’s spent some of his power, all we need to do is rendezvous with him and take him down ourselves.”

With that, Ji Feichen donned his mask of illusion and slipped into the Hall of Hidden Mushrooms.

Inside, cups and goblets lay scattered, medicinal decoctions spilled, and spiritual mushrooms exposed—everywhere, the signs of beastly teeth gnawing at precious herbs. The alchemy furnace had toppled, and a small, fluffy white fox was pawing at it, poking its sharp snout into the cauldron, leisurely licking up every last drop of elixir and medicine inside.

Looking around, bottle after bottle of pills and elixirs had been emptied, leaving only their containers. The white fox’s belly was swollen, yet it grumbled, “So annoying! Why are there so many spiritual medicines here? My storage pouch can’t hold them all, you’re forcing me to eat everything on the spot! The Dongyang family is shameless—why prepare so much? Terrible! What if I eat myself sick?”

Ji Feichen’s mouth twitched. “You really didn’t leave me a single bite, did you?”

According to their original plan, Ji Feichen was to use the fire bulls as a distraction outside, while Tushan would sneak in to rescue the captive, break the formation in the Hall of Hidden Mushrooms, and release the dragon prince. Then, they would incite a battle between the prince and the Dongyang family. Finally, they would help the prince escape, only to ambush him en route.

Unexpectedly, this hall turned out to be a pill refining chamber, filled with rare treasures. The sky fox seized the opportunity for a feast.

Stuffed to bursting, Tushan could no longer move.

“Wretched creatures! What are you doing?” Suddenly, an old man appeared in the doorway.

The elder’s presence was overwhelming, no less than that of Yu Tianyang. Seeing the havoc in the hall, he flew into a rage, waves of foul magic rolling out as he moved to seize them.

“An immortal?” Ji Feichen wasted no time. He grabbed the white fox and tossed it overhead, simultaneously flinging a wave of Abyssal Spirit Venom. The black water spread out, brimming with a sinister, demonic aura.

“The Underworld Sect?” The Dongyang patriarch was taken aback, dodging the poison. He watched as the green stone floor corroded into deep pits. “Such powerful venom,” he thought, alarmed, and hurried in pursuit.

Seeing this, the white fox spat out a tiny fan. With a gentle wave, the divine wind swept through the immortal estate, raising hurricane-force gales that toppled buildings with ease. Riding the wind, the two joined up with the dragon prince.

At that moment, a white light shone from Ji Feichen, closely resembling the protective aura of the sky fox. In midair, he shouted to the prince, “Your Highness, quickly, this way!” He tossed a talisman to the dragon prince, and together they used the “Heaven and Earth Shift Talisman” to teleport to a designated location.

Seeing the Dongyang patriarch in pursuit, the dragon prince had no time for hesitation. He tore the talisman, using its power to follow Ji Feichen and Tushan to their getaway site.

They arrived in a secluded valley, tranquil and deserted, with ancient vines unfurling everywhere, hung with clusters of crimson blossoms and fruit.

Seeing the dragon prince, Ji Feichen smiled gently. “We’re a hundred li from Yanyang Mountain, but it’s not safe here. We’ll need to keep moving soon.”

Freed at last, the dragon prince was elated. He took human form and expressed his gratitude to Ji Feichen. Then, noticing the unfamiliar young man with a white fox atop his head, he asked warily, “Who are you two?”

“We are sky foxes,” Ji Feichen replied, smoothly reciting the lie he and the fox had agreed upon. “My younger brother was being mischievous in the mortal world and got captured by the Dongyang family. To rescue him, I infiltrated the estate, broke the formation in the Hall of Hidden Mushrooms, and drew attention to you so I could save him.”

“I see,” the dragon prince said, letting down his guard. Of course—he had been intentionally released so as to create a diversion. He understood well that nothing in this world came without a price.

Ji Feichen had used Tushan’s spiritual incantation to mimic the sky fox’s aura. With his changed appearance, he managed to deceive the prince, who suspected nothing.

The white fox leapt from Ji Feichen’s head, rolled on the ground, and took the form of a child, clutching the dragon prince’s sleeve with a worried look. “Big brother, you’re badly hurt and exhausted your magic. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Tushan gazed up at him with wide, innocent eyes. Had Ji Feichen not already known this fox’s devious nature, even he might have been fooled.

“So he’s probing to see how much power the dragon prince has left, and if he has any hidden cards?” Ji Feichen mused to himself.

The dragon prince, indeed beguiled by the fox’s youthful guise, chuckled, “Nothing serious, just spent too much magic and lost some vitality. A few pills and I’ll be back to normal.” As he spoke, he spat out a treasure pearl, from which several bottles of pills flew forth.

“Fortunately, I managed to keep one storage artifact hidden from them.” After a sigh, the prince noticed Tushan eyeing the pills hungrily.

Ji Feichen frowned, putting on his “big brother” act. “All you know is eat, eat, eat. Didn’t you have enough at the Dongyang estate?”

“No matter, no matter.” The dragon prince, grateful for their “rescue,” offered a bottle of pills to Tushan. “Your brother’s still a child, it’s only natural. I have a few pills here to help him digest.”

They were dragon clan elixirs. Tushan’s eyes sparkled at the sight. Swallowing them, he felt spiritual energy dissolve in his belly, restoring him to normal.

Just then, Ji Feichen seized his chance. A magic iron cudgel slid into his sleeve, and in a flash—like a dragon striking from the depths—he struck the dragon prince at the back of the head, knocking him out cold.

As the prince collapsed, gradually reverting to his true form, the sky fox stroked his chin and sighed, “Such a good soul. I say, if we don’t have to kill him, let’s not.”

Ji Feichen weighed the cudgel in his hand, apparently pondering how best to use the prince for cultivation. Without looking up, he replied, “What, were you bought off by a bottle of pills?”

The sky fox absorbed the medicinal effects, his little tail twitching, two fluffy ears popping up on his head. “Why kill him? Just confine him in your Azure Tide Pearl. At noon and midnight, bleed him for cultivation, then feed him elixirs to restore his strength. Over and over—surely that’s better than killing him outright?”

His tail swaying idly, Tushan continued, “You could even pluck his dragon scales for refining magical tools, then help him regrow them and pluck them again. Or his bones, his tendons—you don’t have to use it all at once. Sustainable, renewable use—how marvelous.”

He suddenly sensed something odd. Ji Feichen was staring at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? We sky foxes are all handsome and beautiful, but there’s no need to stare.”

“I’m just thinking what a waste it is—he gave you a whole bottle of pills,” Ji Feichen sighed. Hoping for kindness from the sky fox was clearly futile.

Still, the plan was sound. Ji Feichen temporarily sealed the dragon prince into the Azure Tide Pearl.

Then, turning serious, Ji Feichen asked, “Next, we go to the Three Mountains Pagoda. What’s your plan?”