Senior Mo fell to the ground and coughed a couple of times pathetically. It was then that Shang’er spoke up softly, “Master Lin, there are others who were drawn here by the dragon’s cry so I had Little Five stop them outside.”
Shang’er was sharp as ever. Her intuition told her that Lin Jin must be occupied with urgent business down here, so other than capturing Senior Mo who was attempting to sneak in, she also instructed Little Five to stand guard outside.
Outside, Ye Yuzhou and the rest recognized Little Five so they didn’t barge in.
Lin Jin nodded at Shang’er, a gesture indicating she had done well. What happened here shouldn’t be known to everyone, and it was especially so when the problem wasn’t completely solved yet.
Senior Mo had now calmed himself down, but when he saw the ice jade dragon, he gasped loudly.
“Mother, is it really you?” he asked.
Truth be told, Lin Jin was already pretty sure that nothing would surprise him anymore at this point, but he was still struck dumb by Old Mo’s words.
Mother?
Lin Jin looked at Senior Mo, then at the ice jade dragon. Looks like anything goes in this world. This was crazy.
Besides Lin Jin, the ice jade dragon also shuddered upon hearing Old Mo’s voice.
“Mo’er[1]!” the ice jade dragon spoke in a woman’s voice. Then, she transformed into a beautiful middle-aged woman clad in white.
She was so mesmerizing that one would easily mistake her for being in her twenties had she not possessed the domineering aura of a mature lady.
Old Mo was trembling with so much excitement that even his voice changed. “Mother, you’re alive? Haha, you’re alive! Greetings, mother!”
Old Mo quickly bent his limbs and lowered his head to prostrate before his mother.[2]
Lin Jin and the others found their reunion to be so unbelievably cliche that they were at a loss for words.
Even Shang’er couldn’t resist rolling her eyes.
Then, Old Mo started begging Lin Jin in agony. “Appraiser Lin, I beg you, please release my mother. If you release her, Old Mo here is willing to do anything!”
Thump, thump, thump!
Senior Mo knocked his head on the ground like he was pounding garlic. It was clear that his request was sincere and made from the bottom of his heart.
Lin Jin was still dumbfounded. He immediately got Senior Mo to stop prostrating and he tried to clarify the situation before they moved on.
Senior Mo began to explain their history as he stumbled along.
Inside the Jade Dragon Lair, there used to be the dragon deity’s faction and the mother dragon’s faction. The dragon deity was the one who Lin Jin had slain in Jade Dragon Temple. It went without saying that the “mother dragon” was this ice jade dragon.
Mother dragon had three children.
Old Mo was the oldest.
He had two younger brothers but both of them died outside when they ventured out of their lair. Intent on seeking revenge, mother dragon left Jade Dragon Lair and has never been heard of since then.
With tears in her eyes, mother dragon still managed to bow at Lin Jin despite being tied up. “I heard Mo’er address you as Appraiser Lin. Appraiser Lin, back in the day, I was so intent on avenging my sons that I spent ten years searching for the man who had wronged us. I found him at last but instead of winning, my injuries were heavy. Resentment grew inside me and it muddled my thoughts. I don’t even remember clearly how I was confined here, but I know that I regained my mental clarity because of you. Thank you, Appraiser Lin, for saving my life.”
Lin Jin nodded.
Now he knew how mother dragon turned into a demon. It was the build-up of resentment inside her when she failed to avenge her dead children that was the root of her transformation into a demon. Demonic energy disturbs an individual’s mind so mother dragon’s memory became disordered. What happened after the energy took hold of her body, she could no longer remember.
Once her demonic nature was removed by the Demon Slayer, mother dragon could finally regain a clear state of mind.
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In other words, Lin Jin had saved her.
After all, if he didn’t have the Demon Slayer, the only option against a demonized jade dragon was to kill it.
Lin Jin used his needle to obtain mother dragon’s information again. Once he confirmed that she was free of demonic energy, he invoked a spell to retrieve the immortal binding rope. Everyone stared at the rope with mixed emotions.
Some were shocked, while others were envious, especially Zhao Jingyan.
Having seen much of the world, she immediately recognized that Lin Jin’s tool was the ‘magic treasure’ of an immortal.
‘As expected of Curator’s disciple. He even has a magic treasure!’ Zhao Jingyan thought. If even Lin Jin had such an incredible magic treasure, just how terrifying would Curator’s treasures be?
Phoenix Palace had its own magic treasures as well. These were passed down through generations from their ancestors. However, none of them were comparable to this golden rope. This rope could easily tie down a Rank 5 monster, so in a one-on-one battle, no one could win against Appraiser Lin.
Mother dragon flew over and helped Senior Mo up.
Senior Mo’s arrogance back in Jade Dragon Lair was no longer visible. The initially mysterious creature was now reduced to a sobbing child after his reunion with his mother.
Mother dragon was no longer a problem for them. Lin Jin felt that he was quite lucky today to have met mother dragon. This would be his gift to He Qian the next time they met.
“It’s time to get down to business,” Lin Jin said. The first person to understand what he meant was Zhao Jingyan, who got excited quickly.
At first, she had her doubts about Lin Jin’s capabilities but she refrained from voicing it out. Now, she was utterly convinced.
Curator’s disciple was more amazing than she had expected. With this, they genuinely didn’t need Curator to be here in person. The business Lin Jin had mentioned was to release the exotic fire and to bathe her phoenix egg in it, so that her pet beast may be reborn.
Zhao Jingyan struggled to keep herself calm. In order to maintain her composure, she had to dig her nails into the flesh of her palms.
Ever since her pet beast was killed, she had experienced complete despair, to the point where she was suicidal. Now, everything would change drastically.
Elder Mo widened his eyes to watch the events unfold.
Compared to Zhao Jingyan, Elder Mo breathed a sigh of relief after seeing mother dragon regain her sanity. His responsibility had been to guard the mother dragon, and now that she was no longer a threat, he felt as if he had been released from an invisible shackle.
With this, he wouldn’t have to keep staying here. He could go wherever he pleased and do whatever he desired.
That thought alone got him excited.
Elder Mo was curious too. He wanted to see just what kind of exotic fire had been hidden in this cave that he guarded for more than twenty years.
“Miss Zhao, you may begin,” Lin Jin said.
Releasing the exotic fire’s seal was no longer Lin Jin’s responsibility. Zhao Jingyan nodded. It went without saying that she knew how to release the exotic fire here.
They watched her take out a bottle.
It was an ancient-looking bottle with exquisite carvings around it. Upon opening the bottle, there seemed to be something flowing inside.
“This is the blood of a fire spirit. It’s extremely rare and can be used to seal up and release exotic fire.” Having said that, Zhao Jingyan poured a few drops of the fire spirit’s blood into the stream.
The few drops of crimson liquid were poured out, and from this height, they couldn’t see where it ended up but Lin Jin could distinctly feel the powerful energy coming from the blood. It felt heavy, like a ten-ton lump of iron or a crashing mountain.
Phoenix Palace and Daluo Temple really did live up to their reputations after all.
Of course, to Lin Jin, he would still rank Daluo Temple higher among the two simply because Daluo Temple used to be guarded by a genuine Buddha. Thanks to the living immortal, Phoenix Palace couldn’t even compare to the thousand-year-old monastery.
[1] In case you’re wondering, the “er” added at the back is an indication of intimacy in the Chinese, usually between parent and child. It roughly means “child”, so “Mo’er” carries the meaning of “Mo, my child”.
[2] This may seem weird to non-Chinese readers, but in Chinese culture, there is a strong Confucian virtue of filial piety. To prostrate before your parents would be the ultimate and most typical form of expressing that virtue. Another would be helping them wash their feet before they get into bed.