Mistress, I Was Wrong

Dongfang Minghui held Toothless tightly, rubbing its large head with vigor. A moment of doubt and worry had swept over her, especially when she sensed Toothless's hesitation. But fortunately, at the last moment, Toothless returned to her.

Qian Wanyu forced herself to look away. She felt that Toothless was not merely a companion to Ninth Sister, but rather a member of her family. She had noticed Ninth Sister shaking earlier and she looked worried that Toothless might not come back.

Returning to this place, the sight of Mo Ce's face and a large pool of blood continued to haunt Qian Wanyu. The scarlet scene was deeply etched in her mind. "How wonderful it would have been if we could go back to the time when we first entered Sleepy Dragon Valley."

Qing Mo floated nearby, "Theoretically, your idea could be realized, but first, we need to figure out how to control the time period, instead of being randomly thrown into different timelines as we are now."

Qian Wanyu was genuinely surprised, "Qing Mo, you've changed, and you're not calling this a whim of mine."

"I understand that you don't only wish to go back to the past to save Qian Ziyan and Qian Yiling, but you also desire to go back to save Mo Ce. However, you need to think this through. To achieve this, we need to find a path through the timelines and decode it in our final few attempts. Only then can we find a way back to the past or the future." After finishing, Qing Mo reminded, "Also, we don't know if you were successful in saving Qian Ziyan before, and whether you can change his future. It remains unknown."

Qian Wanyu recalled the inexplicable familiarity between Ninth Sister and Qian Ziyan from the very beginning. She shifted her gaze slightly, "Who says it's impossible? Perhaps Qian Ziyan being with us in the future was only because he consumed the blood of Ninth Sister at that time. Otherwise, why could he recognize Ninth Sister at first sight upon exiting Sleepy Dragon Valley."

"Qing Mo, tell me, do you believe in karma, the cycle of life and death?" Qian Wanyu suddenly asked.

"I didn't believe it before, but now, I have no choice but to."

Dongfang Minghui listened to their discussions about the past, future, and the cycle of life and death. A smile crossed her face, and she buried it in Toothless's neck. Toothless shuddered slightly and carried Dongfang Minghui towards the deep pool. It extended its front legs, testing the water in the pool. "Mother, mother," it murmured.

"Seventh Sister."

Qian Wanyu noticed Toothless's movements and mused, "There is a black dragon guarding the depths of the pool. I believe Toothless has the ability to sense other dragons."

Dongfang Minghui felt a pang of sadness. The dragon clan, the dragon clan; the Toothless she had raised from childhood turned out to be a dragon of the dragon clan. She grabbed his large head, "Toothless, have you been thinking about this?"

Toothless, mistaking her actions for play, stuck out his tongue and licked her gently, leaving a trail of drool across her face.

"Let's dive in."

"Alright."

Dongfang Minghui paused, then quickly agreed. Certain things would have to be confronted sooner or later, and it was up to her whether she wanted to face them sooner rather than later.

Everyone plunged into the water together. Toothless swam jubilantly in the deep pool, escorting Dongfang Minghui in her water bubble to the bottom. Qian Wanyu swam slowly, contemplating, "The memory lens from last time seems to have disappeared. Could it be because of us?"

Qing Mo, being a soul entity, was unfazed. He retorted somewhat disapprovingly, "Don't forget, it's only been three years in the past. At this point, you've only just journeyed across the three empires, and the dragon seal still remains on your mother's face. The memory lens hasn't restarted due to the dragon seal. How could you see the presence of memory fragments here?"

Hearing Qing Mo's words, Qian Wanyu suddenly realized the disconnection between the memory lens and the timeline. Without Qing Mo's reminder, she might have continued on the wrong path. "Qing Mo, that makes sense. We keep looping within the timeline, so these memories won't be recorded in the memory fragments?"

"Very likely."

The past could be altered, and so could the future.

At this moment, Qian Wanyu was brimming with confidence. For the sake of her mother, Qian Ziyan, and Mo Ce, she was determined to unravel the mystery of the timeline and the memory lens as quickly as possible. "Ninth Sister, don't dive deeper for now. Toothless and I will go take a look."

Dongfang Minghui looked confused. "Seventh Sister, why?"

"For your safety. It's too dangerous down there. With you around, I would be distracted." Qian Wanyu knew all too well the devastating and lethal power of the dragon clan, and she didn't want Mo Ce's tragedy to repeat itself.

"Alright." Dongfang Minghui didn't want to be a hindrance. If Seventh Sister had said so, she might truly become a burden if she dived deeper.

A silent sigh…

When had she begun to struggle to keep up with Seventh Sister?

Quietly within the water bubble, Dongfang Minghui was deep in thought. She gazed blankly at a certain point, only to realize the surrounding water had changed color. "Little Colour, do you notice the color is different from when we first dived?"

"Very different."

"Little Colour, what do you mean?"

Since the last time it had gottens its vines trimmed off, Little Colour had been nestled within Dongfang Minghui's soul sea. It was partly healing, but also observing. "The entity under the water is extremely powerful. It can not only change the color of the water in the deep pool, but also emanate immense spiritual energy. Your Seventh Sister's decision to keep you here is genuinely for your own good."

"Are Seventh Sister and Toothless not in danger?"

"No." Little Colour quickly refuted, "Toothless should be considered part of the dragon clan. As you've just seen, there are nine dragons guarding the entrance outside the stone gate. This suggests that the treasure within is related to the dragon clan. If Toothless dives deeper, it might find its destiny. As for your Seventh Sister, there's no need to worry. Even if Spiritual Emperor Qian Ziyan arrives, he might still not be a match for her. Your sister progresses at an accelerated pace, she is capable of challenging stronger opponents."

After hearing Little Colour's analysis, Dongfang Minghui felt somewhat foolish for even thinking about it…

"Little Colour, how did you suddenly become so intelligent?" It felt like a mirage, Little Color always alternating between wisdom and foolishness!

"I will soon regain some power from the seal. Those accursed death Spiritual Masters, just wait for me to take revenge…"

Dongfang Minghui thought she heard the sound of Little Colour grinding its teeth. Having suffered multiple defeats at the hands of the Death Spiritual Masters, it wasn't just Little Colour who was frustrated, she was too. However, the aura of death had always been the bane of plants, except for the love flower, other medicinal plants would flee at the sight of this aura. If they were unable to escape, they would wither away completely from the aura…

"Little Colour, how's your injury? You mentioned earlier that you'll soon regain power from the seal, is that true?"

"Yes." Little Colour remained silent about its injury. After receiving two types of spiritual fluids from its young friend, it found it difficult to talk.

Dongfang Minghui didn't ponder too much on it and exclaimed with joy, "Congratulations, Little Colour! I'm eager to see what you'll look like as an adult."

However, she remembered hearing the voice of an old person when she had completely fainted in the cave. After juxtaposing Little Colour's juvenile face with the elderly voice, the image seemed too peculiar for her to visualize further.

"You can't really help by staying here. You might as well go up and wait for them."

"But, if I leave, I'll be anxious if I can't find Seventh Sister later." Dongfang Minghui thought for a moment, then suggested, "Why don't I find Seventh Sister now, and we can ascend together later."

Little Colour rolled its eyes, "That's just an excuse. You really want to see what's at the bottom of the deep pool, but have been waiting till now to mention it."

"I'm glad you understand, don't expose me!" Dongfang Minghui responded with a foolish smile. She followed the path previously taken by Toothless and Seventh Sister. Despite the protection of the water cover, she still couldn't resist the powerful and domineering aura. "Little Colour, this is such a potent pressure. It seems to be even stronger than the aura emanating from Seventh Sister's body."

"Indeed, that's why you shouldn't interfere with your Seventh Sister. Let's go back."

Little Colour sensed that this aura was closely associated with a Spiritual Saint. It remembered the Spiritual Saint aura Qian Yiling mentioned in the memory fragments, which had excited the three empires and led countless family patriarchs to dispatch their best talents to search for the treasures. "Could it be that a Spiritual Saint's ruins are indeed hidden beneath this abyss, or is it a ruse?"

Dongfang Minghui felt her spiritual power overflowing in her body, which was not a good sign. Hence, she could not make out what Little Colour was muttering. "Little Colour, what did you say?"

"If you continue to venture deeper, it could be fatal. You need to ascend quickly."

Little Colour's vines tied themselves to a reference object in the deep pool, pulling Dongfang Minghui upward. However, in a twist of fate, the place where the vines anchored was a massive skeleton. The skeleton's color had tainted the deep pool water a dark green hue. If you didn't pay close attention, it appeared like oddly shaped stones growing underneath the pool.

"Wait, is this what I think it is…?"

Dongfang Minghui maneuvered the water cover closer to get a better look and gasped. It was an adult dragon skeleton, approximately 30 meters long. The dark green color of the skeleton melded seamlessly with the water in the abyss, making it hard to differentiate one from the other.

Despite spending nearly half an hour in front of this skeleton, Dongfang Minghui had failed to identify it earlier. She felt rather dumb.

"Strange, there is no aura coming from this skeleton. Could it be that the breath I sensed earlier wasn't emitted by this skeleton?"

"Roar–"

Toothless' roar echoed from afar, followed by the crackling of purple lightning. About 30 meters behind Dongfang Minghui, a display of mottled colors burst out brilliantly, recurring every three breaths.

"Little Colour, Toothless and Seventh Sister are in danger!" Despite Little Colour's protests, Dongfang Minghui desperately pushed the water cover to swim towards the direction of the commotion. However, halfway through, she found herself immobilized like the time she got stuck in a muddy swamp or entrapped within memory fragments. That sense of powerlessness was overwhelming.

"I can't rely on Seventh Sister to save me every time!"

Dongfang Minghui forced her spiritual power out, resisting the pressure with her own power, slowly but surely moving forward. Her spiritual power was in chaos, running wildly throughout her body.

For a moment, Little Color thought this friend had lost her sanity. While Qian Wanyu and Toothless were battling fiercely, Dongfang Minghui was wrestling with her own life. "You can barely resist this meager pressure. Even if you manage to reach Toothless and Qian Wanyu, what could you possibly do for them?"

"It doesn't matter!"

Dongfang Minghui's spiritual power was overdrawn significantly, leading to exhaustion soon after. Accompanied by an inescapable pressure, blood began to bubble up from her facial features as if it wouldn't stop.

Just as she was on the brink, Dongfang Minghui experienced sudden enlightenment.

She supported the water cover with one hand and placed the other on her knee, quickly immersing herself into this state of enlightenment.

Seeing her in this state, Little Color couldn't stand by idly. It cleaned up the blood on her body, "I'll go check on your Seventh Sister and Toothless for you. Consider this a reward, alright? The rewards from this uncle are quite costly, especially considering the strength of the opponent…"

Seeing the mottled light and shadow, even Little Color felt a sense of terror. Despite this, it felt like it had been tricked by this little friend. The closer it got to that circle, the more cautious Little Color became. However, in this deep pool, it certainly didn't hold as much advantage as on land.

As soon as it arrived, before it even had a chance to investigate the situation, it was quickly pulled into the battlefield by an attack from behind.

A phantom appeared in front of it like a bolt of lightning. A light tap from the phantom felt like a mountain pressing down on Little Color. Try as it might, it seemed unable to counter the phantom's attack.

"Darn it—what did you touch?!"

Little Color was blasted away. Qian Wanyu and Toothless happened to catch a glimpse of the scene from the corner of their eyes. The person they were battling was also a phantom, strangely identical to the one who had attacked Little Color.

Triplets?

No, it was the same person!

Before Little Color could lend a hand, it was knocked away by the force.

Qian Wanyu and Toothless couldn't afford any distractions at that moment. They were under immense pressure, especially Toothless. It spat out numerous fireballs at the phantom in frustration, only to see them easily extinguished. Its skills were evidently inferior to the opponent's. However, the phantom seemed to take pleasure in teasing it, even blowing off some of Toothless's scales.

"Ho Ho Ho Ho—"

Toothless was spent after spewing three golden-red fireballs consecutively. What infuriated it more was that the opponent easily put out the golden flames, treating the fireballs as if they were nothing. They didn't move the slightest bit, revealing that the enemy hadn't even employed a fraction of their strength.

"Little one, what else have you got?"

"puff."

Little Toothless spat out a water bubble toward the enemy. It was a trick it had learned from the Golden Dragon. The water bubble gradually grew in size, encompassing a golden-red fireball. The water bubble, exceptionally light, floated in front of the phantom.

The phantom looked at Toothless thoughtfully, scrutinizing it for a while, "You really are hopeless."

Woosh–

Toothless stumbled from one end to the other. The bubble trick it learned from the little golden pseudo-dragon ended up being useless, pinched in the phantom's palm and ultimately disappearing.

Toothless felt somewhat dazed from the beating.

Beside it was Little Color, who was thrown out first. Little Color welcomed Toothless, the second one to be thrown out, and took comfort in the fact that it wasn't the only one to get such a harsh beating.

"Toothless, Toothless, did they beat you senseless?"

"Roar——" Toothless was taken aback for a moment, pushed aside Little Color's vines, and charged forward like a small, fiery cannonball. For some reason, it felt that the shadow was furious, but couldn't fathom why.

Qian Wanyu was the one who lasted the longest against the phantom, but even she was gradually falling into a disadvantage due to her depleted spiritual power.

She was quite surprised to see Toothless rushing back into the fray.

The last time they fought the dragon together, Toothless's shortcomings were apparent. Despite being a dragon, it had been raised by Ninth Sister in a way that made it lose even its dragon claws, this meant that he wasn't as aggressive or vicious as he should have been.

As a result, just as Toothless charged back with all its might, the fireball it was about to spew got blown away by an invisible force, and he tumbled away for more than ten meters…

Little Color watched as Toothless's huge body rolled past it, nearly colliding with Dongfang Minghui who was in a state of epiphany, and quickly pulled the water cover away from Toothless.

"I can't beat you."

It was the first time Qian Wanyu admitted defeat, "But, I will defeat you one day."

The phantom just stood there with its hands clasped behind its back, silently observing her departure. As Qian Wanyu walked away, the two phantoms merged into one, maintaining the same stance and expression, watching as Toothless rolled out of place.

Toothless's eyes, akin to longan fruits, sparkled with golden stars, and its limbs trembled slightly. It shook its fur and lunged forward again like a small cannonball.

Little Color, who witnessed the entire scene, was left speechless: "…"

Toothless seemed to be under the influence of some madness-inducing substance or maybe it had awakened some masochistic part of his personality?

LOL Toothless!

Thank you to all readers and supporters~~~~!