Chapter 0291: Paying Tribute to Ice Jade Peak

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.
On this day, Huang Long was practicing the “Water-Fire Primordial Dragon Art” inside the Four Seas Dragon Palace. Water and fire dragons coiled around him, and waves of dragon power emanated from the palace atop Taiyi Peak.
Heber and the other two from Black Iron Peak came to report important matters to Huang Long. Sensing the powerful dragon energy as they flew over, they were shocked. Upon approaching, they saw the giant dragon silhouette above the Four Seas Dragon Palace on Tai Shang Peak and widened their eyes in surprise.
“What pure dragon power! Brother, could our master be a descendant of the Runing family from the Nia continent?!” Dewitt asked in astonishment.
The direct descendants of the Runing family, one of the six major families in the Netherworld, all had dragon bodies, and their ancestor was the sole Water Deity among all dragon races in the divine realms. Over the past half year, they had repeatedly speculated about Huang Long’s identity.
“It must be. Aside from the Runing family, I’ve never heard of any other divine realm family’s descendant having such pure dragon power!” Heber said solemnly.
“So our master is a direct descendant of the Runing family!” the chubby dwarf Rupert exclaimed in delight. “Does that mean we’re connected to the Runing family?!”
Connected?! Heber’s forehead furrowed as he slapped him. “What are you talking about? Be more careful with your words. If our master hears this, he might think we’re disrespectful to the Runing family!”
Rupert nodded miserably, agreeing with a sheepish grin.
Inside the Four Seas Dragon Palace, everything within tens of thousands of miles was clearly visible in Huang Long’s mind. After hearing the conversation between Heber and the others, he shook his head in thought.
Descendants of the Runing family?
A moment later, Bogge brought Heber and the others to pay their respects.
“What’s the matter?” Huang Long’s ethereal voice came from inside the palace.
Heber quickly focused his thoughts and replied respectfully, “Master, next month is the day when Black Iron Peak must pay tribute to Ice Jade Peak. We’ve come to ask for your instructions.”
“Pay tribute to Ice Jade Peak?” Huang Long was puzzled. He was unaware of this.
“Yes, master. In the Dragon Mountain Range, Ice Jade Peak is the strongest. Every ten years, the other peaks must pay one million divine stones as tribute. Next month is the day for the tribute!” Heber hurriedly explained.
Huang Long shook his head and smiled. It seemed the same was true everywhere in the Netherworld—whether it was the Purple Spirit Mountain Range or even this remote Dragon Mountain Range.
“How strong is Ice Jade Peak?” Huang Long asked after pondering for a moment.
“Ice Jade Peak has a total of over eight thousand people. Their leader, Heber, is an upper deity, with eight middle deities under him, and the rest are lower deities,” Heber described Ice Jade Peak’s strength.

“A Higher God.” Huang Long frowned. Higher Gods were quite troublesome.
“How many primal forces does he possess?” After a while, Huang Long asked. That was what mattered most. If the opponent was a Higher God with seven primal forces—equivalent to the top-tier Higher God among the Seventh-Level Underworld Kings—then he was far beyond Huang Long’s ability to deal with. Even with defenses like the Twelve Heavenly Divine Fiend Formation and the Cosmic Star Formation, they wouldn’t be able to withstand his attacks.
“As far as we know, he should only have four primal forces! But he possesses a top-grade soul-attack artifact, which is extremely powerful!” Heber said. After that, the three of them lowered their heads, anxious, waiting for Huang Long’s orders.
Huang Long felt relieved upon hearing this.
“Black Iron Peak no longer needs to pay tribute to Ice Jade Peak,” Huang Long said after some thought. Although he couldn’t kill a Higher God now, a Higher God with only four primal forces still couldn’t break through the defenses of Taiyi Peak and Black Iron Peak. Huang Long was confident in the defensive formations he had set up.
“Yes, master!” Heber and the others were relieved and delighted. Finally, they wouldn’t have to live under the burden of tribute anymore.
One million per decade, one hundred thousand divine stones per year, ten million over a hundred years! That wasn’t a small amount. Sometimes, they might not even earn two million divine stones in ten years, yet they still had to give half away as tribute. How could they accept that? After all, it was hard-earned at the cost of their lives.
“Describe to me in detail the major forces in the Dragon Mountain Range,” Huang Long asked after a while.
Although Heber was puzzled by this question, he dared not disobey and quickly listed the major forces in the Dragon Mountain Range. There were over twenty factions in the Dragon Mountain Range. Naturally, the strongest was Ice Jade Peak. Apart from its leader being a Higher God, the leaders of the other peaks were all Middle Gods. However, two more peak leaders were also quite powerful: KunNeil, the leader of Iron Blood Peak, a Middle God with four primal forces; and Makoxin, the leader of Goddess Peak, also a Middle God with four primal forces.
The leaders of the other peaks were roughly on Heber’s level, most being Middle Gods with two primal forces.
In the Dragon Mountain Range, Black Iron Peak’s strength was considered average.
After hearing Heber’s explanation, Huang Long nodded, making plans in his mind. Since Black Iron Peak would no longer pay tribute to Ice Jade Peak, Huang Long intended to strengthen his own forces as much as possible by next month—conquering the forces surrounding Taiyi Peak and Black Iron Peak!

Around Taiyi Peak and Heiti Peak are five other peaks, none of which are particularly strong and roughly on par with Heiti Peak. Huang Long is confident he can subdue all five peaks by next month! When Huang Long revealed his plan to Xibo and the others without hesitation, they looked at him with awe and admiration, exclaiming joyfully, “Our master is truly wise!” Among the more than twenty factions in the Giant Dragon Mountains, although there are differences in strength, they have always maintained a balance—no one dares to invade others. It’s not that no one has thought of it; factions like Tieshui Peak and Shennu Peak, which are second only to Bingyu Peak in strength, once considered doing so, but after being discovered by Bingyu Peak, they suffered devastating attacks. Bingyu Peak does this not only to prevent other peaks from growing stronger but also to rely on them for a steady supply of divine stones each year! But Huang Long is different—he can subdue the five peaks in just one month at lightning speed, so even if Bingyu Peak discovers it later, it will be too late! At present, Huang Long takes Bogge, Xibo, and the others to Qiushui Peak, the closest to Heiti Peak. A few hours later, Huang Long and his group arrive above Qiushui Peak. Once there, Huang Long activates his Tian Tong Eye, and his consciousness locks onto the three mid-tier gods within Qiushui Peak. One of them is the peak master of Qiushui Peak, Fugil, a water-type mid-tier god with two primal powers. If they can control Fugil and the other two mid-tier gods, subduing the entire Qiushui Peak will be easy, just like with Heiti Peak. However, soul attacks are more effective when the distance is short, so Huang Long asks Xibo and the others to send a message to lure Fugil and the others out. “Xibo, what brings you to me today?” Fugil demanded, rushing out of Qiushui Peak with his subordinates. Although Qiushui Peak is close to Heiti Peak, the relationship between the two peaks is not good. After coming out, Fugil was startled upon seeing Huang Long and the others beside Xibo and the others. He became wary, but since he saw Huang Long to be just an ordinary mid-tier god, he didn’t pay much attention. Yet, as soon as he spoke, he felt a mysterious force rushing toward him. Unprepared, his mind was filled with a loud noise, followed by a figure flashing over and slamming into the ground. The moment he hit the ground, he heard dull thuds coming from the surroundings. “Soul attack! A Soul Master!” That thought flashed through his mind as he hit the ground. Could it be? A sound of breaking through the air came from above. He looked up and saw it was the young black-haired mid-tier god.

“Heber, what do you mean by this?!” Virgil shouted angrily, glancing around at his subordinates all lying on the ground. But it wasn’t Heber who answered him—it was the dark-haired youth before him. “There’s no other meaning. I just want to plant Soul Leeches in your minds!” The indifferent voice of the Yellow Dragon rang out. Immediately afterward, Virgil felt a shock in his mind, as if something had been added to it. “What?! Soul Leeches?!” Virgil’s face turned pale as he cried out in shock, and the same was true for his subordinates. Before he could react further, he felt an inhuman pain surge through his mind. His willpower couldn’t withstand it, and he couldn’t help but scream in agony. Cries of pain echoed across the ground. Heber and the two others standing behind the Yellow Dragon watched Virgil and the others in distress, recalling their own past suffering. They trembled with fear and looked at the Yellow Dragon with utmost reverence. After a while, the Yellow Dragon withdrew his soul attack. Virgil and the others were breathing heavily, their faces pale, staring at the Yellow Dragon in terror. “Sir, we… we haven’t offended you. What do you want from us?” Virgil asked cautiously, filled with unease. “Heber and the others have already pledged allegiance to me,” the Yellow Dragon said indifferently. That was clear enough. Virgil was shocked. He then glanced at Heber and the two others, who nodded silently. Without surprise, moments later, Virgil and the others chose to submit as well. With Virgil and the others subdued, controlling the entire Autumn Water Peak would be easier. But just to be safe, this time the Yellow Dragon imprinted his divine consciousness on everyone in the Autumn Water Peak. The same was done to the other four peaks. To Heber and the others’ astonishment, it took the Yellow Dragon only twenty days to subdue all five peaks! And most of those twenty days were spent on travel time; the actual process of subduing the peaks took little time. With the Black Iron Peak plus the five other peaks, there were six peaks in total. With the Taiyi Peak as the core, an area of 30,000 li around it became the domain of the Yellow Dragon. Nearly 5,000 lower gods and 17 middle gods! A month had passed! It was time for the Ice Jade Peak to pay tribute! In the great hall of the Ice Jade Peak, Heber frowned as he looked at the eighteen leaders of the Iron Blood Peak and the others. “Why aren’t Heber and the others from the Black Iron Peak here?! Could it be they’re delayed by some matter?!” KunNeil and the leaders of the Iron Blood Peak were also puzzled. In these millions of years, it had never happened that any peak dared to refuse to pay tribute to the Ice Jade Peak.