Lu Sanniang reflected on this and found it made sense. Things were different now from before. During the years she had lived here, non-dragon-blooded humans or demon beasts were not permitted to stray far from their assigned islands.
Now, with the matter of constructing the palace, Yang Kai would have a plausible excuse even if he ran into any dragons while out.
Still, she remained uneasy: "But..."
Yang Kai raised his hand: "If you're willing to come with me, we can leave right now."
He hadn't intended to stay on this island. Right now, no one was paying attention to him, making it the perfect opportunity to gather news about Zhu Qing.
Lu Sanniang seemed to read the resolve in his eyes. After a brief hesitation, she said: "My daughter and I won't accompany you. Please be extremely careful on your own."
Her cultivation was decent enough, but Lu Yuqin's strength was far too low. If they went along with Yang Kai, they would only be a burden. It would be better to stay here — that way, if Yang Kai ran into any danger, he could extricate himself without worry.
Yang Kai frowned and looked off in a direction: "But what about that Yuan Wu..."
If he left, Yuan Wu would almost certainly continue to cause trouble for the mother and daughter. That was the only thing weighing on his mind. Li Jiao had entrusted them to his care, so he naturally had to look after them properly. Walking away would be irresponsible.
He could send Lu Sanniang and her daughter into the Small Sealed World, but he would rather avoid that unless there was truly no other choice.
Lu Sanniang offered a faint smile: "Brother Yang, don't worry. I've lived here for several hundred years. If I truly wanted to hide, he wouldn't be able to find me."
The moment she said this, Yang Kai immediately understood that his earlier suspicion had been correct — this spirit island was the lair of the very dragon who had harmed Lu Sanniang. If that was the case, he had nothing to worry about on that front.
He looked toward the other side of the island: "What is this place's master called?"
Lu Sanniang was silent for a moment before saying quietly: "Fu Chi..."
As she spoke, her body trembled slightly, clearly dredging up painful memories.
"What tier dragon bloodline?"
"Tier eight. A Lightning Dragon..."
Yang Kai nodded: "I understand."
Tier eight — not low at all. Across all of Dragon Island, that would place one among the notable ranks. After all, Zhu Lie was only tier eight, and Zhu Qing had been tier eight as well, though she had since advanced to tier nine, just one step below a Grand Elder of the Dragon Clan.
"If Brother Yang wishes to leave, please go with complete peace of mind. There's no need to worry about us — I'll take care of ourselves."
Yang Kai nodded: "Then be careful as well. I'll return in a few days."
With that, he shot into the sky and flew off in a single direction.
His departure hadn't attracted much attention. Yuan Wu and the others were still busying themselves at the center of the island, caught up in the flurry of activity, and had no reason to notice what was happening over here.
The sky had fully brightened now. Yang Kai sped onward like lightning, though he had no particular direction in which to search. All he could do was take it one step at a time, his divine sense unfurling silently to probe the surroundings.
Across the vast ocean, within the domain of the Dragon Palace, spirit islands dotted the sea like stars. Each one brimmed with spiritual energy and boasted bountiful natural resources. Exotic flowers vied for beauty, and heavenly treasures lay everywhere. Even Yang Kai, no stranger to grand sights, found himself clicking his tongue in astonishment.
He had known the Dragon Clan was wealthy, but "wealthy" was an abstract concept — without seeing it with one's own eyes, it was hard to imagine the true extent of it.
Many of the spirit islands carried not the faintest trace of living beings. In other words, the treasures growing on them were completely unguarded. Had Yang Kai not been consumed with worry over Zhu Qing and desperate to find her as soon as possible, he would have swept every last treasure off those islands in a heartbeat.
But locating Zhu Qing was the priority. No matter how his eyes burned with desire, he had no appetite for such things right now.
Beyond the countless exotic flowers and rare herbs, there were also innumerable precious mineral veins — including source crystal veins that would drive any cultivator to envy — lying completely exposed to the open air with no one to claim them.
The wealth of Dragon Island was simply beyond what any of the so-called supreme sects in the Star Boundary could hope to match. Not even a Great Emperor's sect could compare. No wonder the Dragon Clan could afford to spend such enormous resources constructing a palace — in all the Star Boundary, no other force possessed that kind of audacity.
Yang Kai swept through spirit island after spirit island, but found nothing of particular note.
It wasn't until half a day later that he finally detected traces of living beings on one of the islands.
This appeared to be a dwelling place for a dragon, though he couldn't tell whether it belonged to the Fu bloodline or the Zhu bloodline. No particularly powerful aura emanated from it, so Yang Kai slipped inside to investigate.
All the inhabitants were women — a breathtaking array of beauties. A rough count put the number at well over a hundred, every one of them strikingly lovely, though their cultivation levels varied considerably.
Yang Kai understood that these women were all concubines kept by some dragon, much like Lu Sanniang's fate. They were confined to this spirit island, serving as playthings for whichever dragon claimed them.
Perhaps driven by jealousy and rivalry, many of the women had dressed themselves in gaudy, seductive attire. Some wore nothing but sheer translucent gauze, vast expanses of snow-white skin on such dizzying display that Yang Kai felt momentarily lightheaded.
The island's dragon master was nowhere to be seen — off somewhere, presumably.
But Yang Kai knew with certainty that this was not where Zhu Qing lived. She was a female dragon, and she wouldn't have abducted such a large collection of women.
For the first time, Yang Kai gained a vivid, firsthand understanding of the extravagance and debauchery of the Dragon Clan.