Monarch of Time

''Is this the rank 4 'Golden Jade spirit tree'?''

Shun Long could barely restrain his excitement once he saw the golden tree at the entrance of the village.

After taking a few moments to calm down his heartbeat, he looked at little Black as he said

''Little Black, tell them to call their village chief.''

The black dragon nodded his head as he then communicated with the 4 members of the half-fiend race. 

''Ateuty tyuav ttaeve''

The 4 half-fiends immediately responded as they hurried inside the village.

A few minutes later, more than 100 members of the half-fiend race could be seen gathering at the village's entrance.

Shun Long was stunned for a moment when he saw more than 100 half-fiend members dressed in leather clothes, running towards little Black.

An old, white-haired half-fiend was leading the rest of his clansmen, and when he approached 10 meters away from little Black, he immediately knelt down on the ground as he prostrated himself.

The rest of the half-fiend members quickly followed suit, as they all then chanted in a loud voice

''Aytuev vatyetu vtaytue!''

Shun Long was stunned when he saw the entire village of half-fiends prostrating themselves, as he looked at little Black and asked curiously

''What are they saying?''

Little Black who was staring at the half-fiend members without any emotion in his blue eyes, like a king who was observing his loyal subjects, then turned to look at Shun Long as he replied

''They are saying <All hail the Lord Dragon!>''

Shun Long's eyes lit up after seeing the devotion that the half-fiends had for dragons and said

''In that case, tell them that we want to ask their village chief a few questions.''

Little Black nodded his head as he then started speaking with the half-fiends.

The white-haired village chief stared at little Black in trepidation as he said

''Autyevu tyaveu vuaty''

Little Black then looked at Shun Long as he asked 

''Master, the village chief asks how he can be of service?!''

Shun Long smiled as he heard this, and had little Black be the intermediary for their conversation with the half-fiends.

''We want to know more about this 'Vermilion realm'.''

The village chief looked at little Black in a confused manner as he said

''I don't know what the Lord Dragon means by the name of 'Vermilion realm', but if you are referring to the king's world, then of course I will tell you all I know.

Right now, we are at the forest of the Giants. 

This is a huge forest that covers more than 3000 miles of land. There is even a big quarry near our village where our clansmen extract a very durable iron. This iron is very special and easy to melt, and we even make our houses from it.''

Shun Long immediately remembered the arrow that had injured him earlier. If this iron could easily pierce through his middle second stage 'Monarch's Eternal body' without any inscriptions on it, then he was certain that if he sold it to a high-grade formation master, he could fetch a hefty price for it. Shun Long had even considered to start learning the art of formation masters himself.

Continuing the conversation with the half-fiend village chief, Shun Long then asked

''Aside from the iron quarry, is there anything else in this forest?''

The village chief looked at little Black as he responded with earnestness

''There is! Towards the depths of the forest, there is a huge lake that spans more than 500 miles. The ancestors' records state that when the King created this world, he had personally created the lake as well!''

Shun Long's eyes instantly lit up as he heard this. If the king who created this world was really a Dao King realm expert, then this lake that he had personally created was probably more than just a normal lake.

At this moment, in Shun Long's mind, the decision to go and check this lake later was already set.

Looking at the village chief, Shun Long had little Black translate his words for him again as he continued

''Then, what about the place outside of this forest?''

When the village chief heard this question, he shuddered for a bit, but in the end he still responded.

''Lord Dragon, the world outside of the forest is typically peaceful but, in the depths of the King's world there are many dangerous creatures. The King is also said to have created a palace at the center of this world, but our half-fiend race doesn't ever go near it. Some of our ancestors have tried to enter the King's palace in the past, but they never returned back to our village!''

Little Black then looked at Shun Long as he said in excitement

''Master, if there really is a palace in the depths of this 'Vermilion realm', then that must be the inheritance ground of the Dao King. Any treasure that a Dao King has left behind, would prove to be of great use to master at this point.''

Shun Long nodded his head as he said

''Then, tell them that we want to have a look at the iron quarry and take some iron from it. Also, ask their village chief if they are willing to trade the golden tree in their village entrance.''

Little Black nodded his head as he relayed Shun Long's message to the village chief.

The village chief's expression stiffened, and his face looked troubled as he said

''Lord Dragon... there is naturally no problem if you want to take iron from the iron quarry. After all, our village has more than enough for many generations. But... the golden tree was planted by an ancestor of ours...''

Little Black stared at the village chief with eyes full of anger when he heard his refusal.

After all, dragons were prideful creatures who would never ask anything of others. It was only because the half-fiends revered dragons like gods that little Black would even bother asking the village chief, instead of taking the rank 4 'Golden Jade spirit tree' directly.

The village chief cowered back when he felt the dragon's anger, and he once again prostrated himself on the ground before he said

''Lord Dragon please forgive my insolence... However, if the Lord Dragon is willing to do a favor to our village then, not only can you take the golden tree away, but our half-fiend tribe will also give you iron from the quarry ourselves.''

It seemed that although the village chief really revered the dragon race, he was still willing to haggle with little Black over something.

When little Black mentioned this matter to Shun Long, it also aroused his curiosity.

Shun Long then looked at the village chief as he told little Black to ask them what they wanted in exchange. 

The village chief turned his head to look at the half-fiend members who all prostrated themselves on the ground as well before the chief said

''Please mighty Lord Dragon, help us kill the monster that lives inside the lake!''