Chapter 1247: The Dragon Maiden Ao Jun

After traversing a stretch of dark cave, Ye Yuan had nearly exhausted all his strength.

The deeper he went, the faster his heart beat, and the heavier the chill upon him became.

Following that intense psychological suggestion, Ye Yuan reached the end of the cave.

Before him lay a deep, dark pool, its bottom invisible at a glance.

The cold emanating from the pool threatened to freeze even Ye Yuan's soul.

That bone-piercing chill made Ye Yuan involuntarily shiver.

Ye Yuan's gaze sharpened, and he blurted out, "This is... the aura of Eternal Ice!"

"Indeed, it is Eternal Ice! It seems you have fully inherited his legacy, judging it solely from this cold aura."

A clear, cold female voice rang out, exactly the voice Ye Yuan had heard from outside.

The voice was very calm, but a faint tremor exposed a trace of unease in the speaker's heart.

Immortal Ice originated from the far northern lands and was one of the finest medicinal ingredients for refining water-attributed pills.

This substance was extremely precious; even a piece the size of a fingernail was priceless.

It was called Immortal Ice because it would not thaw even when scorched by blazing flames.

An ordinary Dao Profound realm martial artist would die upon touching it!

With such intense cold, the Immortal Ice deep in this pool must be considerable in size!

"You... you are?" Ye Yuan swallowed and said.

The woman sighed softly and said, "Yun'er, you have grown up."

Ye Yuan's whole body trembled. Hearing this sigh, he even felt an impulse to embrace her.

“Could it be... you are... you are...”

Ye Yuan's breathing became rapid. In fact, he had already harbored a faint suspicion in his heart, but when it came time to confirm it, he grew anxious.

He was afraid—afraid that the other party would deny it, afraid that his joy would come to nothing.

In his understanding, the word “mother” had never existed.

In his previous life, over five hundred years, Ye Yuan had only depended on his father.

Only when he opened his eyes in this life and saw Ren Hongling did Ye Yuan experience a mother's love.

But Ye Yuan knew that love was not his; it belonged to the long-dead “Ye Yuan.”

He was merely enjoying that motherly love in place of “Ye Yuan.”

He, after all, was still Ji Qingyun!

“Yes, I am your mother.” Ao Jun's voice sounded faintly.

Hearing this answer, Ye Yuan's emotions became immensely complicated.

Joy, bewilderment, doubt, anger—all kinds of emotions intermingled, making him feel as if he might explode.

He did not understand why his mother had never appeared in his life.

Nor did he understand why his father never mentioned his mother.

Too many questions buried deep in his heart finally erupted at this moment, sweeping away his earlier excitement.

“Why!”

A thousand words condensed into these three.

Ye Yuan did not know that this was the Land of Exile, nor did he know Ao Jun's past.

So when he learned he had a mother, what he felt was more—resentment!

“Gulu gulu…”

Bubbles rose from the cold pool. With a splash, a dragon’s head burst out of the water, its eyes blazing as it stared at Ye Yuan.

Their eyes met—one pair filled with shock, the other with affection.

Ye Yuan knew the dragon race well. The azure dragon before him was ancient and decrepit, clearly on the verge of death.

Moreover, most dragons maintained a human form, only reverting to their true form when their demonic essence could no longer sustain the human shape.

Was this aged azure dragon before him his mother?

Counting the five hundred years of his past life, he was not yet six hundred years old.

In six hundred years, how could his mother have aged so much?

“Yun’er, it’s all Mother’s fault! I gave birth to you but never took care of you for a single day! Yet for over five hundred years, I have thought of you every moment.”

Ao Jun’s voice had always been as calm as an ancient well, but now it trembled, and faint tears glistened in her dragon eyes.

In an instant, Ao Jun’s aura weakened considerably.

Ye Yuan could clearly sense that her already scant vitality had suddenly diminished significantly!

This discovery startled Ye Yuan.

“Th-this… what’s going on?” Ye Yuan was deeply shocked.

Though he could see that her vitality was running low, how could a mere emotional fluctuation cause such a massive loss of life force?

Even with Ye Yuan’s unparalleled alchemical skills, he had never seen such a phenomenon.

A dragon tear fell, and Ao Jun said with relief, “It’s nothing. To see you one more time, even if I die this instant, I have no regrets. Your father… is he well?”

“He… he is very well!”

Ye Yuan nearly blurted out the truth, but suddenly remembered that Ao Jun could not withstand emotional shocks, so he changed his words at the last moment.

At that moment, Ao Jun’s emotions returned to that calm, unruffled state, and she said, “Your father… has he run into some trouble?”

Clearly, Ye Yuan’s hesitation had given Ao Jun an uneasy feeling.

Ye Yuan shook his head and said, “Father’s ambitions are too great; he’s just encountered some problems with alchemy. With his strength, no one in the Divine Realm who could trouble him has been born yet.”

Ao Jun thought for a moment and said, “That’s true.”

Ye Yuan glanced at Ao Jun and asked, “Can you tell me… what exactly is going on?”

Ao Jun sighed softly and recounted the curse of this land of exile.

Ye Yuan listened, trembling with shock, and finally understood why his mother had abandoned him and his father.

He also finally understood why he possessed the Ancestral Dragon Soul!

So half of his bloodline was that of the dragon race!

“Mother, I’m… I’m sorry!” Knowing the whole story, Ye Yuan choked up.

“Silly child, it is I who should say sorry! I have never fulfilled my duty as a mother for a single day. All these years, you and your father have suffered,” Ao Jun comforted him.

“It’s not your fault! Mother, is there no way to break this cursed land?”

Ao Jun shook her head and said, “Unless the Primordial Ancestor is reborn, there is no solution! But since the Primordial Ancestor, none of our dragon race has reached his height. Moreover, the Divine Realm now lacks the Heavenly Dao, making it impossible to step into the Divine Realm. Even the Old Ancestor is stuck at the Demigod realm.”

Hearing this, Ye Yuan’s eyes lit up. “Child possesses the Ancestral Dragon Soul! Isn’t it said that with the Ancestral Dragon Soul, one can reach the height of the Primordial Ancestor? So if I break through to the Divine Realm, might I be able to lift this curse?”

“What! You… you possess the Ancestral Dragon Soul?”

Ao Jun was extremely shocked.

The Ancestral Dragon Soul existed only in the memories of the dragon race; no one had ever seen it, and it was extremely difficult to detect.

Because no one had ever reached the height of the Azure Dragon Primordial Ancestor!

Thus, even Ao Jun, who gave birth to Ye Yuan, did not know that he bore the Ancestral Dragon Soul.