Ao Qing shook her head. "I owe you nothing... This time, it's me... it's Dongling Sea and the great Dragon Clan of the ocean realms that owe you."

Wang Mu said, "It's nothing. Bi You... Great Immortal is in seclusion. I received her kindness and even cultivated the Primordial Mystic Sea Control Technique. I am partly responsible for the troubles in this sea area."

"It has nothing to do with your Dragon Clan. Consider it a service to Great Immortal."

These words left Ao Qing unable to rebut. She really was trying hard to avoid any involvement with the Dragon Clan... Thinking this, Ao Qing felt a strange emotion stirring within her.

At that moment, Mu Hongyuan said with a slight smile, "Thank me? Indeed, you should thank me. How does this Dragon Girl of Dongling Sea plan to thank me?"

Wang Mu observed Mu Hongyuan's expression. Her cheeks were slightly stained with Dragon Blood, and her smile was somewhat demonic and enchanting. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Ao Qing was taken aback.

"Senior is an Ascension Expert... I wonder what your name is..." Ao Qing asked cautiously.

"Just a wandering commoner of Nine Provinces," Mu Hongyuan said. "I have no title. Just call me Mu Hongxue."

"Senior Mu..." Ao Qing pondered for a moment. "For this great kindness, may I invite you to return with me to the Dragon Palace? I will discuss it with my Royal Father…"

"No need to discuss." Mu Hongyuan narrowed her eyes, her gaze intensely invasive. "I've been alone for many years. Now I lack a Taoist couple. I find you pleasing to the eye. Give it some thought."

"How about marrying me?"

Upon hearing this, Ao Qing was stunned, her white Dragon's Horns trembling slightly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Little Jiao Huo clapped. "Ao Qing, finally someone wants you! And it's such a powerful senior too! He also looks so much better than Wang Mu."

Ao Qing was speechless.

Wang Mu remained silent.

Wang Mu glanced at Little Jiao Huo. Feeling embarrassed, Little Jiao Huo's fishtail twitched, and she said, "Wang Mu, I didn't mean it that way... In Little Xi's heart, you are the most handsome."

Mu Hongyuan gave Little Jiao Huo a look before saying, "You there, Little Merfolk, I saved you. How do you plan to repay me?"

"Ah?" Little Jiao Huo was stunned. Contemplating hard, she said, "I... I don't know... I've already given my most precious thing to Wang Mu."

Mu Hongyuan tilted her head. Upon hearing this, Mu Hongyuan froze, her gaze turning hostile towards Wang Mu.

So young… and he'd actually lay a hand on her?

"Do I look like that kind of person?" Wang Mu said, brushing his sleeve. "And stop pretending—"

Before he could finish, Wang Mu found that he could no longer speak. Even his Divine Sense was unable to convey sound.

Mu Hongyuan smiled, a triumphant look on her face, clearly relishing that he couldn't expose her.

You just wait, Wang Mu thought.

"Well?" Mu Hongyuan looked at Ao Qing. "Let's forget about the Little Merfolk. How about you? Following an Ascension Expert like me can't be too shabby, right?"

With that, Mu Hongyuan stepped closer, her smile devilishly charming.

She was just like those villainous young masters from novels—utterly demonic.

Oh… in the game, Mu Hongyuan was originally a villain, so that makes sense.

Wang Mu was taken aback.

"I... I..." Ao Qing stammered nervously, glancing at Wang Mu from the corner of her eye, only to find him silent.

Mu Hongyuan seemed amused. Her wildly arrogant and devilishly beautiful demeanor, coupled with her disguised yet striking features, exuded a top-notch charm.

It felt like she could even make straight male cultivators question their orientation.

In this respect, Mu Hongyuan was quite an expert.

She stepped closer again and reached out, tilting up Ao Qing's smooth, jade-like, delicate chin. "How about it? Not interested?"

Ao Qing shuddered violently and stumbled back several steps. "Senior… I… I have already lost my purity to another. I'm afraid I cannot offer myself to you..."

Mu Hongyuan said, "Your Yuan Yin is intact. How can you say you've lost your purity?"

"You can't fool me with that."

With that, Mu Hongyuan glanced sideways at Wang Mu.

"In our Dragon Clan, losing one's purity does not concern Yuan Yin..." Ao Qing murmured. "For us, it's about the Reversed Scale. If it's lost, it's as if we've lost our purity; we're no longer chaste."

She was making this up.

After all, few outsiders knew of Dragon Clan customs.

Though, long ago, there indeed was such a custom.

The Reversed Scale is a matter of life and death for the Dragon Clan. Generally, it was exchanged after marriage as a token of commitment.

But the Dragon Clan no longer followed such customs now.

"Whom did you give it to?" Mu Hongyuan narrowed her eyes. "I'll retrieve it. Just have that person transfer the Reversed Scale to me."

Ao Qing remained silent.

"What's the matter? Do you have deep feelings for the one who has your Reversed Scale?" Mu Hongyuan asked, a half-smile playing on her lips.

"No..." Ao Qing said, feeling helpless.

"Then it's settled," Mu Hongyuan said. "Impurity doesn't matter to me, as I'm not of the Dragon Clan. I don't care about the Reversed Scale. As long as your heart is still available, I will visit your Dragon Palace, propose to your Old Dragon King, and then you shall follow me."

Mu Hongyuan's words were decisive and utterly dominant.

"No... no..." Ao Qing struggled, speaking through gritted teeth, "I've already given my heart to someone… it is also no longer pure."

"Then tell me who," Mu Hongyuan said. "If it's true, well, I wouldn't force a dragon against her will."

Ao Qing remained silent, likely feeling that even if she lied, she wouldn't be able to face the Great Immortal.

"It's Wang Mu!" Little Jiao Huo raised her hand and declared. "So, Senior, please don't trouble Ao Qing."

Wang Mu was speechless again.

If it later turned out that Little Jiao Huo had any connection with An Qixiu, Wang Mu resolved to make An Qixiu teach her a severe lesson.

No, perhaps this was even orchestrated by An Qixiu.

"Him?" Mu Hongyuan looked at Wang Mu, a smirk playing on her lips. "You really are capable, aren't you? Little Dragon Girl, is that so?"