The screams from the dark underground chamber could not reach Liu Yunqing's cave.

Liu Yunqing devoted himself to cultivation, and with the help of the rich and pure fire spiritual energy here, he broke through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment in one go after a year of seclusion.

Calculating the time, there are only about half a year left before the opening of the Flowing Abyss Secret Realm, so Liu Yunqing decided to find a way to leave.

Before leaving, Liu Yunqing planned to see Senior Jiaolong one last time, both to say goodbye and to express his gratitude.

"Are you leaving?"

The little dragon was gnawing on the roasted beast meat that Liu Yunqing had given it, its face and claws slick with oil. Upon hearing this, it immediately looked up in shock and exclaimed:

"Isn't this place nice?"

"We're friends, what will I do if you leave?"

"Then you should go with her."

Before Xiao Jiao could finish speaking and before Liu Yunqing could reply, Jiaolong's spirited and crisp voice came from the lake.

The man and the dragon looked up in surprise, and with a "splash," the lake surface broke open, revealing the dragon's enormous figure.

"Mother—!!!"

When the little dragon saw the dragon, the roasted meat on its claws lost its appeal, and it charged straight at the dragon like a cannonball.

The dragon raised a claw and easily grabbed the charging little dragon, continuing to speak to Liu Yunqing without even glancing at him:

"When you leave, take Jiao'er with you, and I'll give you a big gift."

Liu Yunqing glanced at the little dragon and asked, puzzled:

Why?

Putting aside the inexplicable trust from the dragon, Liu Yunqing didn't think it was a good idea, considering the difference in strength between the dragon and her.

Moreover, when demonic beasts follow humans in cultivation, apart from spirit beasts that have formed master-servant contracts, it is difficult for them not to attract the covetousness of others.

Liu Yunqing was certain that Senior Jiaolong had no intention of letting his child become a contracted spirit beast for someone else.

Liu Yunqing's intuition told her that this senior dragon did not look like a wild demon beast at all, and seemed to be extremely familiar with the rules of the human world.

Could it be... that this senior dragon was once a spirit beast?

But this assumption is completely untenable. Liu Yunqing shook his head immediately after just a casual thought.

As if sensing her thoughts, the dragon replied:

"Because I am also leaving here, but it is inconvenient to take Jiao'er with me."

"I will have you form an equal contract. Although it is not a master-servant contract, as long as you get along well with Jiao'er, it will be no less helpful to you than a master-servant contract."

"If Jiao'er grows up in the future, I will repay you handsomely when we meet again."

"If anything unexpected happens, as long as you have a clear conscience, I will not hold it against you... Of course, if possible, I would still like to ask you to protect it."

At this moment, the little dragon finally reacted, grabbed the dragon's claw, and cried loudly:

"No! I don't want to leave my mother!"

"Mother, don't leave me! I'm not going anywhere!"

The dragon made two noises, but seeing that the little dragon wouldn't listen, it raised its claw to manually silence the little dragon, and then continued speaking to Liu Yunqing:

"How about it? You'll really need my big gift."

Liu Yunqing did not immediately agree, but thought for a moment and said:

"Why me?"

Without hesitation, the dragon replied:

"I find you pleasing to the eye, and Jiao'er likes you too."

Liu Yunqing thought long and hard, but couldn't figure out what the problem was, so he glanced around and said:

"Then, senior, can you tell me where this is and tell me the way out?"

The dragon nodded and said:

"I know where this is, and I know how to leave, but I can't see you off right now."

Before Liu Yunqing could ask why, the dragon said without hesitation:

"I don't have the power to open the secret realm directly yet. To leave, I need to open the secret realm."

"It's only a little over six months. Is there something urgent you need to do?"

"Besides, isn't this kind of secret realm your low-level cultivators love to enter the most? You came in early and instead of thinking about collecting things, you're only thinking about getting out?"

Wait a minute, Liu Yunqing felt her mind was a bit confused.

The secret realm requires that kind of opening.

It will be launched more than six months later.

Liu Yunqing looked up at the senior dragon in front of him and the little dragon struggling in vain, and the answer in his heart was about to be revealed.

"Senior, this secret realm isn't called... Flowing Abyss Secret Realm, is it?"

“Yes,” the dragon answered without hesitation, somewhat puzzled by the strange expression on Liu Yunqing's face, and asked in return:

Is there a problem?

Liu Yunqing's eyes widened, her gaze shifting between the dragon and the little dragon, and she asked, unwilling to give up:

"Does the senior know where else in this secret realm there is a Crimson Fire Dragon?"

A knowing smile flashed in the dragon's clear, ruby-like eyes, and it pointed to itself with its claws, saying:

"There are no more Crimson Fire Dragons in the Flowing Abyss Secret Realm. I guess the Crimson Fire Dragon you're looking for is most likely me."

The last hurdle was severed, and disappointment flashed in Liu Yunqing's eyes, along with worry.

The dragon's tail fin twitched almost imperceptibly, and it asked Liu Yunqing with a half-smile:

"What? Is your mission this time to slay a dragon?"

Liu Yunqing felt a little embarrassed, but she wasn't one to lie to people who were sincere with her or to use sweet talk.

After thinking about it, she was too lazy to play dumb or gloss over the truth, and frankly said:

"I did promise a senior that I would retrieve the Crimson Fire Dragon's eyes for him after the Flowing Abyss Secret Realm opened."

"Who would have thought that I would accidentally enter the secret realm ahead of schedule, and then be blessed with the help of my seniors."

"If I were not acquainted with the senior, and if the senior's cultivation was suppressed after the opening of the secret realm, I might really take a gamble."

"Now, I don't want to deceive or scheme against my senior, but I also can't let him down. I can only work hard to cultivate and find another Crimson Fire Dragon for him."

After saying this, Liu Yunqing felt a little uneasy.

She would never trust someone who so openly threatened to kill them; it would be merciful if she didn't slap them to death.

As it turns out, the dragon was even more benevolent than Liu Yunqing had imagined.

It stared at Liu Yunqing for a while, then remained silent for a moment before chuckling softly:

"You are quite frank. No wonder Jiao'er likes you. It's not like I misjudged you."

You actually believe her?

Before Liu Yunqing could even express her surprise, the dragon's next words left her speechless.

"I told you, you might need the big gift I gave you."

"It's just a pair of Crimson Fire Dragon Eyes, what's so difficult about that?"

The moment the dragon finished speaking, it gently waved its claws, and a pair of dark red beads floated in front of Liu Yunqing. It subconsciously raised its hand and they fell into her palm.

Feeling a burning sensation in her palm, Liu Yunqing looked at the beads in surprise, then looked up at the dragon's eyes.

Although the pair of beads in my hand looks nice, they are far inferior to the pair from the dragon. Are these really the eyes of the Crimson Fire Dragon?

"Hmph, didn't you want the Crimson Fire Dragon's eyes? Why are you looking at my eyes?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunqing looked up and met the dragon senior's mocking gaze. The dragon looked at her with a half-smile and said:

"When did I ever say that Jiao'er and I were Crimson Fire Dragons?"