THE dragon's scales were red in color. With a wide wing span and a huge body, it had the typical appearance of a Western dragon. Because of its sudden landing, Luo Yan and the others were almost blown away by the wind. But Shen Ji Yun moved quickly and used an item to put up a barrier. So, the four of them weren't affected.

"Which beings are so arrogant to enter the valley of dragons without permission?" the dragon bellowed, its golden eyes looking down on them. As if at any second it was ready to swallow them whole.

Hearing such a question, Luo Yan was reminded again of how prideful these dragons could be. This nature could be a problem if they didn't properly watch their steps.

He was about to talk to the dragon when Shen Ji Yun stepped forward on his own. He raised one of his brows. It seemed like the other was very active today. He smiled and took a step back. So as to let Shen Ji Yun do whatever he was planning to do.

"I'm a messenger from the Qilin Clan and these are my assigned guardians, sworn to protect me," Shen Ji Yun started. "We're here to meet the Dragon King of the Western Dragon Clan."

Luo Yan was a bit surprised seeing that Shen Ji Yun was able to say all that without looking like he was reading something out of a script. He didn't even look like he was going to kill the dragon in front of them, like how he was usually whenever he had to talk to any NPC.

[It seems that my cinnamon roll is starting to grow.]

And this growth was not only exclusive in-game but in reality as well. From someone who would immediately show his jealousy in a very obvious manner to someone who would try to control his jealous side just so Luo Yan wouldn't think of him as petty.

There was also that initial stalkerish-like habit. Where he would just show up wherever he was. Or do things for his sake without him knowing. At least now, he had learned to ask for his opinion first.

If that habit of his had continued on, it wouldn't be good for their future relationship. After all, if they were to become lovers in the future, then their relationship shouldn't be just a one-way street where one just kept on giving and the other was just receiving. It should be a two-way street instead.

Even though he hadn't had that kind of relationship in his former life, he understood that for it to work, two people's efforts were needed. Both should give and receive. Because if only one was doing all the work, then, they would just end up exhausted. Until all the love they had was extinguished.

Luo Yan didn't want something like that to happen to him and Shen Ji Yun. If possible, he wanted their relationship to last for a lifetime. Until their bones were no longer as strong and their hair turned to gray.

His thoughts were interrupted with the sudden red smoke that surrounded the dragon. After a few seconds, a tall and muscular man with long red hair, bronze skin, and golden eyes appeared.

The man narrowed his eyes at Shen Ji Yun. "A Qilin. What do your clan want from our king?"

"It's not a public matter that I could just discuss with anyone. But I can say that this information could potentially endanger the Western Dragon Clan. So, meeting the king is imperative."

[Oohhh my cinnamon roll is really doing his best.] Luo Yan thought. That's why he decided not to interfere and let the other do as he wanted.

The red dragon appeared like he was thinking of something. After that, he sighed and looked at each and every one of them. His gaze staying a tad bit longer on Eclipse.

It weirded out Luo Yan. He suddenly had a bad feeling about this. He thought that it might be because of the Elementum. But the blue gem was currently being covered by the hat Eclipse was wearing. Could it be possible that this dragon could feel the Mana emanating from it?

If that was the case, then, Eclipse's presence here must have triggered some kind of side-plot. If they were lucky enough, it might have connections to what happened to the demon fox tribe and also to the dark mages of Achaeus.

"Follow me," the red dragon said after taking his gaze away from Eclipse.

Then the other turned around and walked towards a certain direction. The four of them had no choice but to follow.

"Mashter, Eclipse doesn't like how that red lizard looked at him," Eclipse mumbled while holding Luo Yan's hand.

Luo Yan ruffled the other's hair. "Don't worry. Aren't I and your favorite Captain here? We won't let anything happen to you."

The little boy raised his head and smiled brightly at his master. "Okay!"

Shen Ji Yun walked beside Luo Yan and whispered, "We might be walking into a trap."

"So, Brother Ji Yun also noticed," Luo Yan agreed. "But what can we do? The plot of this task won't move forward if we don't follow along."

As Luo Yan had said, if they didn't follow along, the plot wouldn't move forward. Obviously, they somehow managed to trigger something by going here. It might lead to failure or it might lead them to success. But Shen Ji Yun knew that whatever the outcome might be, they should be ready.

He didn't want all the efforts that Luo Yan had made until now be gone to waste. So, he would do his best to make sure that this would only lead to one outcome their success.

Following the red dragon, they went deeper and deeper into the valley. The atmosphere also became creepier and creepier by the second. What, with all these swamps, dark surrounding, and the feeling of being stared at, how could it not be?

Seriously, this was the dragons' dwellings, not some clan from those demonic tribe. So, why was everything so damn dreary? Luo Yan thought.

They stopped when they entered some kind of crater-like structure. It was big. It could probably accommodate a hundred people. Maybe even more than that. With its structural design it almost looked like some kind of dome.

Luo Yan's bad feeling just intensified after seeing this place.

The red dragon in front of them suddenly threw some kind of crystal in the air. That crystal then suddenly emitted a blinding light. Luo Yan and the others had to close their eyes because of that.

Shen Ji Yun gripped his sword all the while standing in front of Luo Yan, ready to face any sneak attacks. But surprisingly enough that didn't happen. Instead, when the light slowly dimmed, they started to hear loud swishing sounds and the feel of strong wind blowing down their direction. As if large beings with wings were flying above them.

One didn't need to be a genius to know what those beings were. When they managed to finally open their eyes, they really saw dragons flying above them like a flock of birds. Then those dragons landed one by one on the edge of the crater, surrounding the four of them.

Like some kind of audience looking down on their entertainment.