Chapter 256: You Can't Break Through My Defense

It was unclear what Long Qinghuang was thinking at that moment, but Lu Xingzhou dared to suggest that this Elder Sister, the Demon Empress, seemed genuinely interested in taking him back as a concubine, simply because he was attractive.

This was quite normal for those in positions of power, akin to a male emperor taking a fancy to a beautiful commoner during an inspection tour. The nature of it was exactly the same: just take them back for amusement. Especially when demons abducted humans, did they need a reason?

He couldn't help being handsome.

It was also somewhat similar to a commoner beauty angrily denouncing an emperor for his lustful intentions and abuse of power. With words exchanged like this, an emperor naturally had her pride; even if pretending, she'd have to feign being "not so shallow." In any case, there was serious business to attend to now, and it wasn't the right time. It was better to put it aside for now and just keep him nearby to flirt with.

It seemed his life was no longer in serious danger. In such circumstances, the other party usually wouldn't casually harbor killing intent. If it were a male emperor, he might even dote on the beautiful captive; but this was a female dragon, so it became, "I'm giving you an opportunity to court me."

Lu Xingzhou felt utterly overwhelmed.

Following this trend, if Mr. Ye didn't come to rescue him, wouldn't he truly be taken back? He needed to think of a way to escape.

The only consolation was that this one was most likely still a virgin dragon. Otherwise, if she were an empress with three thousand male consorts already, she definitely wouldn't stop at just teasing by lifting his chin with a finger. So, even if she truly took him back and forced herself on him, it seemed it wouldn't be too bad after all...

While he was filled with worries, Long Qinghuang, on the other hand, was not bothered by their previous conversation at all. Essentially, she had simply found an interesting toy and thus wasn't dwelling on trivialities. Rather than being interested in Lu Xingzhou, it was more accurate to say that at the moment, her interest in A'Nuo was greater.

At this moment, Long Qinghuang was amiably holding A'Nuo's hand, strolling along and chatting. "I haven't asked for your name yet, little sister?"

A'Nuo replied, "My name is A'Tuan."

"A'Tuan..." Long Qinghuang mused. "What cultivation method do you practice?"

A'Nuo scratched her head. "I practice a body-tempering method called the 'Mountain-Splitting Art'... Its grade is pretty good."

"'Mountain-Splitting Art'? What's that?" Long Qinghuang asked curiously. "The supreme-grade cultivation method your brother practices must be stronger than that. Doesn't he teach you?"

A'Nuo replied, "My physique is special; I can't really retain 'qi.' All my energy converts into physical strength, so body-tempering methods are more suitable for me. My broth— my brother once tried to teach it to me after he acquired that cultivation method, but I couldn't learn it."

Long Qinghuang frowned slightly, scrutinizing A'Nuo with a puzzled expression.

From their first meeting, she had felt a strange familiarity with A'Nuo. However, observations showed that A'Nuo wasn't a demon who had transformed into human form, so Long Qinghuang couldn't immediately figure out her situation. Hearing A'Nuo's words made it even stranger; what she described sounded very much like an innate demonic talent. Most demons relied heavily on their physical bodies; while some races, like the fox clan, specialized in spells, more often, their cultivation transformed into physical strength.

Or rather, many human body-tempering methods were developed by studying demonic cultivation techniques. This was why, when the Lord of Xiazhou City, Xu Bingkun, encountered a bottleneck, he tried to cultivate demonic methods to break through.

A'Nuo's situation was very much like a demon's, yet she had no demonic aura whatsoever. Even with Long Qinghuang's level of observation, she couldn't discern A'Nuo's true form, which wasn't typical of a demon.

However, there were many strange and peculiar innate physiques in the world. She had heard that the current direct descendant of Tianyao Holy Land possessed the Ice Soul Sword Physique, which also manifested very differently from ordinary people. No matter how arrogant Long Qinghuang was, she wouldn't believe she could recognize every special creation in the world. She could only hide her confusion, lest a misjudgment embarrass her.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly cast a spell to prevent Lu Xingzhou behind them from eavesdropping. She whispered, "A'Tuan, have you ever considered that you are very suitable for learning demonic cultivation methods?"

A'Nuo shook her head like a rattle-drum. "No, I don't want to. I still need to live in human countries. What if I grow fur all over?"

"Why do you insist on staying in human countries? The demon realm isn't savage."

A'Nuo still shook her head. "I still can't have fur all over."

"Who said learning demonic cultivation would give you fur all over?"

"Everyone I've seen before did..."

"That's because different races have different methods, and what high-level demonic arts could they possibly learn?" Long Qinghuang said disdainfully. "If you learn from me, I guarantee you won't grow fur, and I can make you incredibly strong."

A'Nuo looked uninterested.

Long Qinghuang said, "I can also make you grow taller and improve your figure."

A'Nuo's eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Long Qinghuang.

That tall figure, impressive bosom, and slender waist were incredibly persuasive...

In terms of... size, she might be comparable to Mr. Ye; but in terms of height, this Dragon Elder Sister was the tallest she had ever seen, and her imposing presence was very strong.

A'Nuo touched her index fingers together repeatedly, wondering, "Could I also grow this tall in the future?"

Half-convinced, she cautiously asked, "Does Elder Sister have any conditions? Like making my brother warm your bed?"

Long Qinghuang didn't deny it, smiling as she said, "Are you willing?"

A'Nuo mumbled, "What good would it do if I were willing..."

"Then do you think your brother would be willing? Look at his solemn, upright demeanor."

A'Nuo: "..."

Oh my god.

Who are you calling solemn and upright?

"My brother is a scholar, very cultured," A'Nuo whispered, lowering her voice. "Does Elder Sister know what a scholar is? It's someone who secretly admires deeply but publicly preaches righteousness and morality, saying 'do not look at what is improper,' 'do not be corrupted by wealth,' 'do not live beneath others,' and so on... If you don't believe me, secretly look at him now; he must be staring at you in a daze."

Long Qinghuang didn't need A'Nuo to tell her; her divine sense had never left Lu Xingzhou. He was indeed staring at her back in a daze.

"So, this is admiration?" Long Qinghuang preferred to believe the man was thinking about how to escape.

Of course, her guess was correct.

A'Nuo said, "Elder Sister, would an ordinary person care what you wear?"

Long Qinghuang paused, startled. Wasn't it because her flashy golden attire made it easy for people to guess her identity, so she should be more discreet?

A'Nuo sighed. "It's obvious that men just find an excuse to see the girl they fancy dressed in a way that suits their preferences. Otherwise, who cares what anyone wears? My brother has never cared about what I wear all these years."

Long Qinghuang: "..."

"These hypocritical scholars just need an excuse. What 'mutual affection'? If something *actually* happened, and you told him to take responsibility, would he dare not to?"

"No..." Long Qinghuang's expression was peculiar. "How old are you?"

A'Nuo covered her small mouth.

Long Qinghuang grabbed A'Nuo's ear. "Little rascal, are you helping your brother trick me into bed?"

A'Nuo struggled. "That's also because brother likes Elder Sister too much and forced me to help him..."

Lu Xingzhou was blocked and couldn't hear what they were saying at all. Originally, he had been quite at ease with them talking; anyone who saw A'Nuo as just a child would make a fatal mistake of underestimating her. Who knew, this female dragon might trip up because of A'Nuo...

But seeing them talking perfectly fine one moment, then Long Qinghuang grabbing A'Nuo's ear the next, he quickly stepped forward to intervene. "Hey, hey... how has my sister offended Your Majesty?"

Long Qinghuang released A'Nuo, sizing up Lu Xingzhou from head to toe. She revealed a disdainful look, as if looking at a weak dog. "Considering you have *some* taste, I won't fuss over your little hypocritical thoughts. However, I must tell you a cruel truth..."

Lu Xingzhou listened, bewildered. What was she talking about?

Long Qinghuang continued, "The strength of a dragon's physical body is beyond your comprehension. You won't even be able to 'break my defense.'"

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

"When did I say I wanted to 'break your defense'?... Wait, considering the context and that gaze like she's looking at a weak dog, is the 'break defense' you're talking about the 'break defense' I'm thinking of?"

"No, it's not that... We're talking about *this* kind of topic, and you're not even angry?"

How did A'Nuo manage this?

Lu Xingzhou glared fiercely at A'Nuo. A'Nuo covered her small mouth, blinked her large eyes, and cautiously backed away.

How rich was the master and disciple's experience working together? Lu Xingzhou would never undermine A'Nuo. Even if he didn't know what had happened, it was easy to vaguely cooperate. "Even if you like Dragon Elder Sister a lot, you can't just sell out your brother."

Long Qinghuang patted his shoulder. "Alright, stop being so stubborn. We're almost there. If you can do your job well for me, it's not impossible to give you something to hope for."

"..." Lu Xingzhou looked up. They were just walking, not moving very fast. This place was clearly still at the edge of the Frozen Moon Glacier. It didn't seem like the original owner's discovery site for the dragon bone fragments. Was this "almost there"?

But he quickly realized. "Does Your Majesty believe that the location the original owner showed Hanlan Sect is not where the dragon bones were actually unearthed?"

Long Qinghuang said indifferently, "A radius of a thousand li might be vast in others' eyes, but it's not so large in mine. The entire Frozen Moon Glacier is actually under my perception, yet only the remains at the place where you and I first met had a trace of dragon bloodline remaining... Otherwise, why do you think I would have appeared there?"

Lu Xingzhou thought seriously for a moment, his expression somewhat grave. "How much perception can the ice layer block?"

"These outer ice layers are almost meaningless to me; I can even see the water at the deepest parts. However, the closer to the core, the more the ice's quality changes, and the shallower the range I can perceive becomes." Long Qinghuang tossed the jade slip map in her hand. "Guess where the original owner found the dragon bones?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "The original owner could be easily manipulated by Hanlan Sect, so he certainly wasn't very strong. It's said that the closer to the core, the more intense the wind blades and frost swords become. I couldn't even go very far, so I estimate he couldn't get close to the center either, at most staying in an outer ring."

"Correct. The location where the original owner found the dragon bones was far from the glacier's center. If it were that location, my divine sense would have probed very deep, and there would have been nothing."

"So, Your Majesty walked slowly all the way, seemingly chatting idly, but actually you were distracted, scanning the bottom of the ice layers thousands of li away."

Long Qinghuang tilted her head, a hint of a smile appearing. "You're very clever."

Lu Xingzhou said, "If bone fragments are exposed outside the ice layer, it means the entire skeleton is close to emerging, so it couldn't be in a very deep position. Therefore, either these dragon bones have already been taken by someone, or they would only be in the very center of the ice layer. This is also why Your Majesty needs me: if they were in the shallow layers of the central area, buried so shallowly, no one could determine the dragon bones' age—perhaps they're quite new? So you want me to make a rough assessment based on the surrounding vegetation."

Long Qinghuang smiled. "Correct."

Lu Xingzhou said, "So, Your Majesty already guessed the dragon bones were at the center, and didn't even need to go to the city to ask; you could have gone straight to the core. Why did you still waste time accompanying me to Hanlan City?"

Long Qinghuang's smile faded, and she said indifferently, "The reason I agreed to go to the city with you to inquire wasn't to determine the location of the dragon bones, but to ascertain how this news spread and who held those fragments beforehand."

Lu Xingzhou nodded. "Your Majesty suspects this matter is a trap set for you."

"Hmm... The fragments were in the hands of the winning bidder. What has he been doing all these days?" Long Qinghuang said slowly. "And there's also a hidden party in this matter."

Lu Xingzhou interjected, "The person who bid up the price against the winning bidder at the auction. Someone raising the price would cause the dragon bone's vitality to gain attention and spread widely... It seems reasonable, but what if it was all a show? In a mere desolate frontier town, knowledgeable people just happened to gather there..."

"That was to transmit the information to my ears in a seemingly reasonable way. Why would fragments of dragon bones from the central ice layer end up in the outer circle, picked up by someone? The matter itself is suspiciously coincidental." Long Qinghuang sneered. "They know my divine sense cannot penetrate the glacier's center, and that I would have to enter it myself to investigate. That way, they could set up a dragon-slaying trap."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at Long Qinghuang, his expression somewhat complex.

This indeed could be a trap designed by humans for the Demon Empress. His suggestion to go to Hanlan City for inquiries had, paradoxically, helped the Demon Empress clarify her thoughts, making him feel as if he had inadvertently put his own kind at a disadvantage. But then again, this Demon Empress was arrogant yet not reckless. From the very beginning, she had been investigating and pondering from the sidelines. Even without him, she would most likely have seen through this scheme.

This was the Dragon Empress, who commanded awe from all demons.

Perhaps she seemed inexperienced in matters of male-female relationships, but in other aspects, her wisdom was definitely not low.

Long Qinghuang reached out, lifted Lu Xingzhou's chin, and smiled alluringly. "You humans want to kill me, Chen Yu... what do you plan to do?"