The Azure Dragon Ring, the Treasured Heirloom of Emperor Jiang Hong

"Husband, you... you really survived the heavenly tribulation?" Mo Lianxing still couldn't believe it—Jiang Che had actually endured such a terrifying lightning calamity!

Judging by the sheer magnitude of the tribulation, Jiang Che's trial could easily be called the most formidable divine tribulation in all of history.

It was downright terrifying. A Heavenly Tribulation for the Divine Passage Realm shouldn’t have been so overwhelmingly destructive. Even her own Martial God Tribulation back in the day hadn’t been this horrifying.

This kind of tribulation was clearly the heavens themselves targeting him!

And yet, Jiang Che had pulled through.

"What’s wrong? Don’t you trust your husband, Lian’er?" Jiang Che grinned as he looked at Mo Lianxing.

Mo Lianxing instinctively shrank back. She could no longer gauge Jiang Che’s true strength. Even though he had just broken through to the Divine Passage Realm, who knew how many hidden cards this man still held?

"Oh, by the way, Lian’er, didn’t you want that Supreme-grade Body Refining Pill? My master just sent word—she’s ready to refine it now..."

Mo Lianxing’s eyes widened slightly, an overwhelming surge of joy flooding her heart.

If she could obtain the Supreme-grade Body Refining Pill, she could instantly restore herself to her peak condition.

At her prime, she had been a powerhouse at the Ninth Rebirth of the Nirvana Realm. After spending so much time in spiritual communion with Jiang Che, her soul’s strength had already surpassed her physical body’s. Once she regained her flesh, she would likely ascend straight to the Half-Step Creation Realm!

Given the current power level on Earth, a Half-Step Creation Realm expert like her would undoubtedly reign supreme.

But... that also meant she wouldn’t be able to stay with Jiang Che in her soul form anymore.

Almost instantly, Mo Lianxing made her choice.

"Husband... I don’t want a physical body anymore. I prefer the intimacy of our souls connecting like this!" Mo Lianxing leaned in close, her demeanor coquettish and enchanting, like a bewitching fox spirit.

Jiang Che: "..."

This little minx was too shrewd.

She knew that sticking to him in soul form would bring her endless benefits, didn’t she?

"Ghost Sister, aren’t you going to drain Jiang Che’s yang energy? I heard that fox spirits and female ghosts in folklore love sucking the vitality out of men!" Yu Wan'er chimed in, her petite face scrunched up in displeasure—clearly, she was jealous.

"Ghost... sister?" The repeated title of "Ghost Sister" shattered Mo Lianxing’s composure.

Who the hell are you calling a ghost?!

But she held back. Jiang Che doted on this girl the most. If she picked a fight with Yu Wan'er, Jiang Che would undoubtedly side with her, leaving Mo Lianxing looking like a fool.

"Wan'er, even if I were a ghost, it wouldn’t be me absorbing Jiang Che’s yang energy—it’d be him taking my yin energy!"

Just as Jiang Che and the girls were bantering, a few mermaid maids swam over from outside.

"Young Master, someone is at the palace gates asking for you. They claim to be your parents."

Jiang Che: "..."

Unbelievable. Even after moving into the Dragon Palace, his parents still managed to track him down.

...

Even though Jiang Che was now a Divine Passage Realm cultivator and soon-to-be father, he was still just a son in Jiang Yunli’s eyes.

"Come here, let Mom hug you! You scared me half to death!"

Jiang Yunli immediately pulled Jiang Che into a tight, motherly embrace. Her eyes were slightly red—she had clearly been crying.

Jiang Che sighed. His fake tribulation stunt had practically traumatized his entire family.

"Let me see, where are you hurt?" Jiang Yunli’s voice trembled.

"Wife, our boy’s tough as nails!" Jiang Yuan chuckled confidently from the side.

"Shut up if you don’t know how to speak!" Jiang Yunli shot him a glare.

Jiang Yuan wisely clamped his mouth shut. His usually gentle wife was genuinely furious this time.

The other girls in the room couldn’t help but smile.

Truthfully, they all envied the pure, lifelong love between Jiang Che’s parents—a love that lasted through time, unwavering and devoted.

But alas... Jiang Che was a hopeless playboy. He wandered through fields of flowers, plucking every blossom in sight—roots, soil, and all.

If the saying went, "Out of three thousand weak waters, take only one ladle to drink," Jiang Che’s version was: "Take the whole damn lake."

Soon after, Jiang Yunhuang and Jiang Chusheng arrived as well.

"Che’er, the ancestors have manifested again! They used a cross-realm formation to send you a vast amount of cultivation resources."

Jiang Yunhuang raised his hand, revealing an exquisitely crafted ring.

A faint silhouette of a azure dragon coiled around it, exuding an imposing aura.

"This is..."

"This is the Azure Dragon Ring of Ancestor Jiang Hong—a quasi-Imperial-grade spatial artifact capable of obscuring heavenly scrutiny. Inside are countless treasures he personally selected for you."

"Last time, the Jiang Clan sent you a batch of resources, but Ancestor Jiang Hong deemed them too mediocre. This time, he handpicked heaven-defying treasures and used the Azure Dragon Ring to bypass celestial detection. Otherwise, many of these items wouldn’t have made it through!"

Jiang Chusheng explained, his eyes burning with excitement as he stared at the ring.

The Azure Dragon Ring spoke volumes. Ancestor Jiang Hong had fully committed to taking Jiang Che as his disciple, pouring immense effort into nurturing him—even going so far as to pass down his life’s work, the "Palm Sutra."

"Quasi-Imperial-grade artifact?!"

Jiang Che’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. How was this possible?

Hadn’t the connection between heaven and earth been severed? Even with the spiritual revival, artifacts of this caliber shouldn’t appear so early!

If even quasi-Imperial-grade artifacts were being sent down, how long until an actual Emperor descended?

"Ah... Young Master Jiang, I misspoke. This isn’t a true Imperial-grade artifact. The Azure Dragon Ring was Ancestor Jiang Hong’s spatial ring during his youth, accompanying him all the way to his ascension as an Emperor. While not an Imperial Armament, it carries the aura of an Emperor’s presence..."

"Young Master, Ancestor Jiang Hong intends... he intends to take you as his disciple! To pass on everything he has ever learned!"

Jiang Chusheng’s voice shook with excitement.

Though his cultivation at the Third Rebirth of the Divine Passage Realm was insignificant in the grand scheme of the Nine Heavens Jiang Clan, he was a direct descendant of Ancestor Jiang Hong!

Moreover, he was still young—barely over 200 years old. He had deliberately suppressed his breakthroughs to accumulate deeper foundations.

In his fervor, Jiang Chusheng even switched from addressing Jiang Che casually to the respectful "Young Master."

"Jiang Hong..."

Jiang Che narrowed his eyes. This name was far from unfamiliar.

Back at the Jiang Clan’s ancestral hall, this old coot had once descended via incense as a medium, and Jiang Che had milked him for all he was worth—over 500 top-grade spirit stones and hundreds of Saint-grade cultivation manuals!

And during the heavenly tribulation earlier, this ancestor had even "donated" a whopping 100 million points in the "Scamming the Ancestor" system!

(Note: The reward was adjusted from 10 million to 100 million points, thanks to a reader’s reminder.)

Jiang Che had no idea how he had scammed Jiang Hong this time, but it didn’t matter—the points were already in his pocket!

In this world, nothing mattered more than points!

Still... 100 million points? Just how badly had he screwed over the ancestor?

Honestly, Jiang Che felt a twinge of guilt. Even for an Emperor, 100 million points must have come at a steep price.

But the moment Jiang Che sent his divine sense into the Azure Dragon Ring, all remorse vanished—replaced by sheer, unbridled euphoria.

Holy hell, I’m rich!