"Roar... Awoo..."

At this very moment, bursts of world-shaking dragon roars echoed from the Four Heavenly Gates of the east, west, south, and north. There, dragon silhouettes churned, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning erupted abruptly, and atmospheric phenomena shifted incessantly, plunging the Great Divine Beings—each with varying expressions and unfathomable thoughts—into an inexplicable silence.

"It's actually the Dragon Race! The Dragon Race has actually come to the Heavenly Court! Could it be that the Demon Race has subdued the Dragon Clan of the Four Seas?" After a moment, Zhen Yuanzi snapped out of his silence and transmitted his voice to ask Hongyun in surprise.

"Looking at the current situation, it seems so."

Hongyun nodded and transmitted his reply, yet his expression appeared far calmer than many of those present, not feeling too surprised by this sudden turn of events.

Naturally, this was because Hongyun knew some of the general trends of the Great Wilderness; for others to be surprised, startled, and even have their minds unsettled was only natural.

For ever since Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi emerged, although they unified the Myriad Races of the Primordial Era as Demons to contend against the Wu Clan with tremendous momentum,

prior to this, the Three Clans of Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin had remained independent of the Demon Race, not belonging to their domain.

This was naturally the confidence and prerogative held by the Three Clans of Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin as the former hegemons of heaven and earth.

However, strictly speaking, the specific circumstances were quite complicated.

Ever since the Phoenix Clan declined and secluded themselves from the Great Wilderness, their population had dwindled, and they guarded the Undying Volcano; nowadays, they were rarely seen in the Great Wilderness, so Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi had simply overlooked them.

The Qilin Clan's situation was largely similar; guarding the central lands of the Great Wilderness, incarnating as the auspicious omens of heaven and earth, and walking among the Great Wilderness's Earth Vein to regulate earthly Qi and Spiritual Veins, they were also rarely seen, so the Demon Race naturally had no intention of subduing them.

The Dragon Race, on the other hand, was truly uniquely blessed. Although they had fallen from grace and retreated from the Great Wilderness, they still entrenched themselves across the Four Seas. With continuous bloodlines and after countless years of recuperation, they had restored quite a bit of their vitality.

Living far more comfortably than the Phoenix Clan and Qilin Clan, they remained a considerable force in the Great Wilderness with profound foundations. For Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi to harbor designs on them was, upon closer thought, both unexpected yet entirely foreseeable.

Even so, while the Dragon Race appeared to be much better off than the Phoenix and Qilin Clans, the reality was not necessarily so rosy; otherwise, Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi would not have waited until now to subdue them.

This was because the Three Clans of Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin all bore the boundless sinful Karma formed from endless worldly Karma. Bound by the Heavenly Dao's shackle Seals, it was difficult for their cultivation to advance even an inch, and even an Immeasurable Calamity might not suffice to repay and cleanse it all.

Meanwhile, the Phoenix Clan relied on guarding the Undying Volcano, and the Qilin Clan relied on their Incarnation as auspicious omens, continuously regulating the earthly Qi and Spiritual Veins, both having the opportunity to slowly and actively accumulate Merit to repay Karma, cleanse their sins, and alleviate the Seals of the Heavenly Dao's shackles.

Consequently, not only did the members of the Phoenix Clan and Qilin Clan show signs of slowly advancing their cultivation, but there was also hope of completely repaying and cleansing their burdensome Karma before the arrival of the Immeasurable Calamity, allowing the Clan Heads of both clans to break free and return.

Yet the Dragon Race, which still appeared quite glamorous on the surface, enjoyed no such advantages in these areas. Thus, they had to constantly and proactively seek opportunities outwardly, striving to resolve and eliminate the boundless Karma borne by the Dragon Race so as to lighten the Heavenly Dao's shackle Seals and strive for future opportunity.

"Thinking about it this way, dragons becoming the totem and even the symbol of the Human Race was a huge bargain. In the future, the Dragon Race maneuvering smoothly between various factions, and even actively or passively entering tribulations, was all for the sake of the clan's future!"

"As for this entry of the Dragon Race into the Heavenly Court to submit and surrender to the Demon Race, it probably stems from a similar mindset—hoping to use the Demon Race to disperse some of their sinful Karma. In fact, upon closer thought, the Phoenix Clan and Qilin Clan also seem to have some entanglements with the Demon Race in the future; perhaps they took inspiration from the Dragon Race and also wanted to hitch a ride on the Demon Race's bandwagon..."

Just as Hongyun was pondering these matters, Zhen Yuanzi seemed to have grasped some of the Dragon Race's intentions as well, transmitting to Hongyun: "Fellow Daoist, the Dragon Race bears boundless sinful Karma. If they truly join the Demon Race this time, it is nothing more than wanting the entire Demon Race to share some of the burden and alleviate their own load."

"And Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi are no fools; they definitely understand this. Yet they chose to do so anyway. Why is that?"

Hearing this, Hongyun chuckled secretly and transmitted back, "Hehe... Although the Dragon Race has fallen from grace, they conceal quite a few experts and still possess some foundational strength. Furthermore, the Dragon Race controls the Four Seas and naturally gathers the Qi Fortune of the Four Seas. For the current Demon Race, although accepting the Dragon Race has its drawbacks, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages."

Zhen Yuanzi pondered for a moment and nodded slightly. "That is true! However, it is only because the Demon Race has acquired the Heavenly Court and their Qi Fortune has grown increasingly prosperous that they dare to subdue the Dragon Race. In the past, the Dragon Race would have been an outright burden to them."

"Moreover, in my view, the Dragon Race's submission to the Demon Race is hardly sincere. If anything happens to the Demon Race in the future, the Dragon Race will definitely turn against them."

"Hehe... That is not our concern. Let them be!" Hongyun shook his head, not particularly concerned with such matters.

In the end, the Dragon Race really did play the Demon Race. Seizing the moment when the Demon Race's Qi Fortune waned and they were burdened with infinite worldly Karma and sins, the Dragon Race proactively severed ties and broke away from them; through the unseen consent of the Heavenly Dao, Qi Fortune returned to the Dragon Race once more.

With this back-and-forth, the Dragon Race not only shifted some of their burden onto the Demon Race, but also ultimately abandoned darkness for light without being dragged down by the Demon Race—quite an impressive maneuver.

Yet for Hongyun, none of this had anything to do with him, so he didn't dwell on it and simply watched the ensuing developments quietly.

Just as everyone had expected, through the smiling, high-spirited demeanors and words of Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, it was confirmed that the Demon Race had indeed subdued the Dragon Race. A vast number of Dragon Race Cultivators flew directly from the Four Heavenly Gates up to the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Heavenly Court to pay homage to Di Jun and Donghuang Taiyi, bowing and submitting as subjects.

And every single one of these Dragon Race Cultivators possessed the cultivation of a Daluo Golden Immortal. Some among them were even at Great Luo Golden Immortal Perfection, their entire bodies exuding an intensely ancient and weathered aura that gave others the impression they had walked straight out of the creation of heaven and earth, secretly alarming all onlookers.

At the same time, they secretly shook their heads, revealing hints of pity.

This was because these extremely ancient Dragon Race Cultivators also radiated the power of sinful Karma as dense as substance, resembling an eerie grayish-black smoke. And this was already after the Dragon Race had ascended to the heavens as Demons and allowed the Demon Race to share part of it; it was hard to imagine what they had looked like before.

Were it not for the invisible, desperate resistance of the Dragon Race's Qi Fortune and power of Merit, these individuals would have immediately been sensed by the unseen Heavenly Dao, which would strike down heavenly punishment to erase them directly.

Furthermore, burdened by this heavy power of sinful Karma as if carrying ten-thousand-catty boulders or wearing shackles upon their bodies, these ancient Dragon Race Cultivators were hunched over, unable to manifest an Innate Dao Body. They could only present themselves with dragon heads and human bodies, somewhat resembling the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas in Hongyun's memory.

Hongyun had originally thought that the Dragon Race joining the Demons and ascending to the heavens had nothing to do with him and that he couldn't possibly have any ties with the Dragon Race, so he only needed to watch.

Yet Hongyun had not anticipated that as the Dragon Race entered the Demon fold and ascended to the heavens, they would actually come seeking him out on their own.

"The Nine Sons of Zulong: Qiuniu (Yazi, Chaofeng, Pulao, Suanni, Baxia, Bi'an, Fuxi, Chiwen), pay respects to Ancestor Hongyun!"

Led by an ancient elder of the Dragon Race, nine young men of the Dragon Race dressed in dragon robes—distinct in demeanor, appearing youthful, and possessing an Early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal cultivation—suddenly approached Hongyun and bowed in greeting.