Yu Zhen's entire body shivered under that gaze.
She looked up and met Yue Zhiyin's eyes.
Facing her former eldest disciple, Yu Zhen didn't know what to say for a moment. Just as she was about to turn and leave, she was called back by him.
"What did you just say to Feng Mian?" Yue Zhiyin stared intently at Yu Zhen.
He hadn't actually heard anything, but seeing their unusual expressions, he decided to try and trick her.
Yu Zhen was terrified by his question. She stood outside the barrier, backing away, stammering incoherently.
Yue Zhiyin looked at Yu Zhen, his gaze ice-cold. "Shimu, you've reached this point. Don't make one mistake after another. Don't let me be completely disappointed."
Yu Zhen's body trembled. She ultimately dared not speak, clutching the poisonous herb powder and fleeing, covering her face.
Feng Mian shot Yue Zhiyin a fierce glare, said nothing, and followed Yu Zhen out.
At the same time, inside the Dragon Palace.
Qi Yu and Si Qing sat facing each other, surrounded by others, all discussing the poisonous herb Yu Zhen had mentioned.
"I had already guessed that the Blood Demon Fiend and Rakshasa Heavenly Venerate might resort to poisoning," Chen Xi said, resting his chin on his hand. "The Dragon Scale Barrier possesses purifying power and can detoxify, but the key issue is that it can only help those poisoned within its range."
In other words, the inhabitants within the Dragon Scale Barrier were safe, but anyone outside would either be consumed by the malevolent energy or die from poisoning.
"Currently, the Dragon Scale Barrier covers the human realm the most," Si Qing said, resting his chin on his hand. "The citizens of other races should have all entered by now, right?"
Yue Zhiyin nodded.
Indeed, they had all entered, not even excluding the Qilin clan.
Even the banished sinners from the Heavenly Palace had been brought over. Although they were doing the most menial tasks, having the barrier's protection was still better than being outside.
"If that's the case, then I propose this suggestion," Qi Yu said, looking at Yue Zhiyin and Yan Hua. "Let the guards stop patrolling. They only need to stay within the barrier and don't need to worry about what's outside."
"Furthermore, to prevent the Blood Demon Fiend and his ilk from poisoning the sea, I propose that the barrier be extended to cover the entire sea surface."
Jin Yan crossed his arms. "Will this affect the human realm?"
"The barrier sealing the sea surface will only block the malevolent energy and those external intruders," Yan Hua said, opening his hand. A few dragon scales appeared in his palm. "It will not affect the order of the human realm."
As he spoke, he tossed the dragon scales in his hand into the air.
The scales immediately shimmered at the bottom of the sea and then slowly floated to the surface, forming a transparent spiritual energy barrier that covered the entire sea area.
Feng Mian and Yu Zhen had just left the South Sea, and immediately, access to the four seas was blocked.
Qi Yu was unaware of this. She yawned, feeling drowsy. "My magical power was overused just now. Recovering feels so tiring, I feel like sleeping."
Si Qing narrowed his eyes. "Actually, I feel that way too."
They yawned in unison, then leaned their heads together, dozing intermittently.
An Nuo stroked their heads.
Qi Yu and Si Qing tacitly reverted to their original forms and curled up into a large ball in An Nuo's arms, falling asleep within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.
Ming Lou looked at the two little ones sleeping and snoring, sighing with envy. "Ah, it's so nice to be embraced like that. I'm so envious of Si Qing. I wish I had an older sister like Qi Yu."
"Go wash up and sleep," Sui You patted Ming Lou's shoulder. "You can have anything in your dreams."
Ming Lou covered his face and whimpered.
Chen Xi leaned against his chair, sneakily using his dragon tail to snatch a few pastries from the tray in front of Yan Hua and pop them into his mouth. Chewing with his cheeks puffed out, he asked, "Speaking of which, this is a sea area after all. Can races like the Phoenix, Winged Tiger, and Divine Witch clans adapt?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Sui You, Qi Nian, Chi Ming, Qi Yan, Ming Lou, and Feng Mingqi, Feng Yunzui, Feng Sixian.
The siblings Feng Mingqi, Feng Yunzui, and Feng Sixian nodded.
The Dragon Palace had a water-repelling barrier, so they could adapt.
Qi Yan and Chi Ming nodded.
Ming Lou didn't have any major issues.
Qi Nian felt it was alright, except for a few clan members who were not fully adapted, but it didn't affect their health.
Only Sui You, with one hand supporting his forehead, said, "How should I put it? It's not that I can't adapt, it's just a bit inconvenient... I'm more accustomed to places with phoenix trees and bird nests... and I can't revert to my original form to rest here."
"Is your original form very large?" Qi Yu looked up at Sui You.
Sui You nodded. "About the same size as the Dragon Palace."
"But I've seen you before, and it didn't seem particularly exaggerated," Qi Yu recalled carefully.
"That's because I deliberately restrained myself," Sui You paused. "Actually, when I sleep, rest, meditate, or cultivate, I can use my human form or a smaller original form. However, while meditating and cultivating is fine, when I'm resting, if I sleep too deeply, I feel very uncomfortable."
"Is that feeling like resting while wearing clothes, uncomfortable?" Si Qing thought for a moment. "How about, Senior Brother Sui You, I change your resting place to the back garden?"
Yue Zhiyin nodded. "The back garden of the South Sea Dragon Palace is spacious enough. After removing the artificial sand and ordinary corals, it should be enough for Sui You to revert to his original form and rest."
Sui You's eyes lit up.
Shao Feng immediately sent people to tidy it up.
It was done in about the time it takes three incense sticks to burn.
Looking at the empty back garden, Sui You reverted to his phoenix original form, completely filling the entire space.
"Not too big, not too small, just right," Sui You hid his head in his wings, closed his eyes, feeling completely relaxed.
Qi Yu woke up in An Nuo's arms and looked at the fiery red fluff in front of her, her fingers itching. She rubbed her hands.
In her room at the Dragon Palace, the most luxurious and comfortable beds were made of soft seaweed.
But compared to the fabrics of the human world and the feathers of a phoenix, the seaweed was still a bit too hard.
She swallowed gently.
After everyone else left, she tugged at Si Qing, woke him up, and then, pulling him along, they stealthily crept over and, with grunts, climbed onto Sui You's back.
Sui You felt something small crawling on him and slightly opened one eye.
Oh.
He happened to see Qi Yu and Si Qing climbing onto him in their dragon forms.
Sui You watched them for a while with amusement.
Seeing them climb up and then roll around on him like two salted fish, he decided not to bother and simply closed his eyes, falling back asleep.
Qi Yu and Si Qing rolled around for a while, finally coiling into two lumps on Sui You's head and falling into a deep sleep.
When Shao Feng and An Nuo found them, they saw Sui You with "two lumps of poop" as his new hairstyle.
An Nuo covered his face.
Shao Feng had someone bring him brush, ink, and paper.
Chen Xi pulled Yan Hua over to join the fun. "Hey, Shao Feng, what are you doing with the writing tools?"
Shao Feng held the brush and pointed at Sui You, Qi Yu, and Si Qing. "I'm going to paint this scene. Tsk tsk tsk, Dragon and Phoenix bringing prosperity, how beautiful!"
Yan Hua glanced at the flattened feathers on Sui You's head. "..."
Sui You would probably not find it beautiful when he woke up and saw his new hairstyle.