# Chapter 332: Reunion with the Mirage Dragon

"Morning, Yeye."

Lu Yuan smiled and ruffled Yeye's hair.

"Mm."

Yeye closed her eyes again, still looking weary. Lu Yuan chuckled softly.

"Get some more rest. You can get up later."

Yeye gave a small nod.

Lu Yuan got out of bed, washed up, and left the room.

The hallway was quiet. He made his way down to the first-floor living room, where he found only Li Qinghe.

She was sitting on the sofa playing a game. Hearing footsteps, she glanced up—and when she saw it was Lu Yuan, she let out a quiet huff and looked away.

Lu Yuan walked over and sat down beside her, studying her with some curiosity.

"Qinghe-jie, how come you're the only one here? Where is everyone?"

"Some are training, some went out to buy ingredients. Aren't we celebrating Yeye's Saint Grade Gene Inscription tonight?"

The corner of Lu Yuan's mouth twitched into a grin. "You all know already?"

Li Qinghe shot him a pointed look, resentment simmering in her eyes.

*I* was first, wasn't I? First to know him, first to have feelings for him—and what did she have to show for it now?

She was thoroughly irritated.

Noticing her expression, Lu Yuan felt a pang of guilt. He gave an awkward laugh and gently squeezed her shoulder.

"Qinghe-jie, you seem a little unhappy?"

Something flickered in Li Qinghe's eyes. Then she grabbed Lu Yuan by the collar and hauled him to his feet.

"Come with me."

Seeing that she was genuinely upset, Lu Yuan didn't resist and let her drag him along. He blinked innocently.

"Qinghe-jie, where are we going?"

"Stop asking questions. Just follow your big sister."

Li Qinghe glared at him.

Lu Yuan sighed and said nothing more.

They went upstairs and soon arrived at Li Qinghe's room.

She opened the door with one hand, dragged Lu Yuan inside, and kicked the door shut behind them.

With the door closed, Li Qinghe tossed him onto the bed, crossed her arms, and stared him down.

Lu Yuan: "???"

*Something about this doesn't feel right.*

He had a nagging sense that something was off.

"...Qinghe-jie, what are you doing?"

Li Qinghe gave a cold laugh. "What do you *think* I'm doing? You can scream all you want—nobody's coming to save you."

Even as she spoke, a flush crept across her lovely face. She lunged at him, breathing hard.

"I'm not like the others, waiting around for some Gene Inscription as an excuse. Little Yuan, you belong to *me*, and I don't need a special occasion."

...

The front door opened, and Si Tingyu and Shuangyue walked in.

They surveyed the empty living room. Shuangyue looked puzzled.

"Where'd that Qinghe girl go?"

Si Tingyu shook her head. "Probably back in her room."

Shuangyue thought nothing of it. "Well, let's get started on the food."

"Mm."

By evening, Lu Yuan gazed at Li Qinghe nestled in his arms, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

This hadn't gone quite how he'd imagined.

At the start, he'd barely had time to react before Li Qinghe had pinned him down. Later, naturally, he wasn't about to remain passive and seized the initiative.

This time, Lu Yuan hadn't forgotten to deploy his domain to keep any sound from leaking out.

Only now had Li Qinghe finally drifted into a deep sleep.

He looked at her face—still wearing a faint, satisfied smirk even in slumber—and couldn't help but smile.

He never would have guessed that Qinghe-jie would be this bold.

Then again, it was perfectly in character. When she set her mind to something, nothing could stop her.

Just then, a knock came at the door, and Si Tingyu's voice drifted in from outside.

"Qinghe? Are you in your room?"

Lu Yuan had already dismissed the Shadow Divine Kingdom after they'd finished. Hearing the knock, the sleeping Li Qinghe's brow furrowed. Her eyes fluttered open, irritation plain on her face.

Her entire body felt like it was falling apart. All she wanted was rest, and now someone was bothering her.

Then she came back to herself, recalled what she'd done, and the corners of her lips curled upward in satisfaction. She poked Lu Yuan's cheek.

"Little Yuan, starting today, you're mine."

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm yours, Qinghe-jie."

Lu Yuan laughed. "Weren't we supposed to celebrate Yeye's Saint Grade Gene Inscription today? Can you manage? Can you even get out of bed, or do you need to rest?"

Li Qinghe arched an eyebrow, looking offended. "Don't underestimate me. I'll be *fine*."

She forced her exhausted body upright, trembling as she sat up, pale skin exposed.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but steal a second glance. Noticing his gaze, Li Qinghe's lips curved.

"Like what you see?"

"Very much."

"Hmph! I'm taking a shower first."

Raising her voice, she called toward the door, "I'm here! Head downstairs first, you big bully—I'll be down after I shower!"

Si Tingyu's voice paused, then replied, "Alright! By the way, have you seen Yuan?"

Li Qinghe's smile deepened. "Yuan's right here with me."

Silence fell on the other side of the door.

Si Tingyu stood frozen in the hallway, eyes wide, shock mingled with bewilderment.

*What the—?!*

*That Qinghe girl actually had the nerve?!*

*No way. I must be overthinking it. They're probably just playing games or something.*

Si Tingyu shook her head and called out, "Well, tell Yuan to come out too."

Lu Yuan hadn't expected Li Qinghe to be so blunt about it. He glanced at her in surprise.

Hearing Si Tingyu's words, Li Qinghe smiled. "Got it."

Soon, the sound of footsteps faded down the hall.

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow at Lu Yuan. "Your mentor wants you out there."

Lu Yuan gave her a flat look. "I need a shower too. Together?"

Li Qinghe's expression shifted instantly, alarm flashing across her face. "Absolutely not! You go first!"

She shoved him off the bed.

"Why not?"

Li Qinghe rolled her eyes. "Stop arguing. Just go."

Lu Yuan relented with a sigh and headed for the bathroom.

Watching him disappear through the bathroom door, Li Qinghe finally let out a breath of relief.

She was worried that if they showered together and she couldn't resist, she genuinely wouldn't be able to take any more.

Before long, Li Qinghe and Lu Yuan left the room and came downstairs. Yeye was already up, surrounded by the others. Shuangyue wore a mischievous grin as she peppered Yeye with questions about what the experience had felt like.

But Yeye's expression remained as placid as ever. She described the sensations in thorough, clinical detail, leaving Shuangyue—along with Amy and Wang Lingling, who were eavesdropping—utterly slack-jawed.

Si Tingxue and Rebecca stared at Yeye in disbelief, never having imagined she'd be so candid. They were both a little dazed.

Only Small White sat off to the side looking like she'd lost the will to live, though a glimmer of curious anticipation lingered in her eyes.

Lu Yuan overheard their conversation and found it privately amusing.

*Figures. To deal with someone like Shuangyue, you need someone as naturally guileless as Yeye.*

When the group noticed Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe approaching, all eyes turned their way.

Lu Yuan saw that Yeye's face no longer looked tired and smiled.

Li Qinghe stretched lazily, suppressing the ache in her body. "Alright, let's celebrate Yeye's Saint Grade Gene Inscription."

Yeye's eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.

Between growing closer to Lu Yuan, having delicious food to look forward to, *and* inscribing a Saint Grade gene—Yeye decided this was the luckiest day of her life.

The celebration lasted well into the night. Li Qinghe was the first to give in, retreating to her room.

The others gradually retired as well.

Lu Yuan returned to his own room and lay in bed, thinking.

Now that Yeye's Gene Inscription was complete and no one else needed the procedure for the time being, he finally had some free time.

He planned to head to the Lower Layer of the Land of Origin first thing tomorrow morning, to investigate those special areas the Evolution Cube had resonated with.

Tomorrow's destination: the Mist Forest.

With his objective set, Lu Yuan closed his eyes and drifted off.

Early the next morning, Lu Yuan told Li Qinghe and the others about his plans. None of them had any objections.

They were all focused on their own training, pushing toward breakthroughs. Yeye, who had already broken through, needed to practice her newly acquired Shadow Saint Realm. They'd be heading out to hunt Feral Beasts and didn't need Lu Yuan looking after them.

Lu Yuan said his goodbyes and made his way to the teleportation hall.

After teleporting to White Cloud City, he glanced at the stone monument in the central plaza and thought about the Saint Rankings.

He could claim the top spot now.

But that could wait until after the Mist Forest.

Once he'd finished his preparations, Lu Yuan's body vanished from the spot.

In the next instant, he appeared high above a vast forest.

Trees stretched endlessly below in a sea of green. Lu Yuan hovered above the canopy, and in the central region he could see dense white fog swirling, obscuring everything within.

The Mist Forest.

A nostalgic look crossed his face. He'd reached First-rank not long after his Awakening and left Sandy Rock City, heading toward higher-level cities.

Come to think of it, nearly four years had passed in real time.

Four real-world years translated to roughly forty-eight years in the Land of Origin.

Though he hadn't spent all his time there, his cumulative stay was probably around twenty years.

It had been a long time. The thought stirred something in him.

This was where he'd first met Amy, and where he and Yeye had become friends.

It was also where he'd died for the first—and only—time.

Lu Yuan snapped out of his reverie and gazed toward the fog. Light flickered in his eyes.

Even with his current cultivation, he couldn't see through to the deepest parts of the mist. That Mirage Dragon was almost certainly a Divine Grade Feral Beast.

His body became a streak of light and shot toward the fog.

Once inside, he could see that the trees here dwarfed those outside.

Numerous Feral Beasts lay resting across the forest floor—mostly Mist Ground Dragons, the Mist Forest's signature species.

Lu Yuan glanced at them and surmised they carried the Mirage Dragon's bloodline.

Their auras were formidable.

A roar erupted without warning. A massive creature materialized at his side—towering, clad in bronze Scale Armor, radiating an aura at the Battle Emperor level. It lunged at him.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow. A pale gray scythe flickered above the beast's skull and vanished.

The creature dropped dead.

But what puzzled him was that the carcass didn't yield any loot. Instead, it simply dissolved into nothing.

He stared at the impact crater the body had left in the ground, then extended his senses to probe the surrounding aura. His eyes narrowed.

*That was an illusion?*

A real Feral Beast would never die like that.

Which meant it had to be a phantom—a fake.

Yet despite being an illusion, the creature had possessed genuine combat power. Its aura had been utterly real—fundamentally different from any ordinary illusion.

*Is this the Mirage Dragon's unique ability?*

He considered for a moment and formed a rough theory.

He glanced at the Feral Beasts resting nearby. The commotion hadn't disturbed them in the slightest, which only reinforced his suspicion.

He pressed deeper. Before long, phantom after phantom launched itself at him.

All of them possessed Battle Emperor-level cultivation. By the time Lu Yuan reached the forest's heart—standing before a lake formed entirely of dense fog—six Saint Grade Feral Beast phantoms charged him at once.

But even Saint Grade creatures posed no threat.

Lu Yuan dispatched them effortlessly with the Scythe of Death.

After the phantoms dissolved, he regarded the rippling fog lake, a smile playing at his lips.

"Come out."

The moment his voice fell, the fog churned. The lake erupted as though struck by a typhoon, and a deep, commanding roar rumbled from its depths.

A terrifying aura surged in all directions. The dense fog that had been confined to the forest's core began spreading across the entire Mist Forest.

The Feral Beasts that had been sleeping in the mist jolted awake, fear flashing in their eyes as they stampeded toward the outer regions.

Throughout the Mist Forest, hunters and novice Gene Warriors who had just left their starter cities found themselves engulfed in fog. Before they could make sense of it, beasts appeared from nowhere and cut them down, one after another.

From the lake, a massive head slowly emerged—covered in gold-green scales, its features regal yet fearsome. The Mirage Dragon's colossal body glided through the fog, half-visible, half-hidden, never fully revealing itself.

Its gold-green eyes fixed on Lu Yuan, and something complex—almost human—stirred within them.

"You've come."

The commanding voice resonated across the Mist Lake.