'Cipher' had no idea what was going through Typhon's head.
She simply assumed that Typhon knew a few Scions of Long scattered across the stars and planned to grab a handful of random samples from their groups.
If she had known the other woman's first target was the Great Dragon itself, she certainly wouldn't have given the nod.
Unfortunately, 'Cipher' didn't know.
So, not only did she nod, but she even thanked Typhon for her help with a bright smile, stating plainly that with more diverse samples, her research would surely reach new heights.
Naturally, such a statement only made Typhon feel that she had to do this right; she couldn't let the other's expectations down.
These samples couldn't just exist—they had to be high quality!
If the conditions had allowed it, Typhon would have even tried to drag the Great Dragon right out of its stellar vortex, gift-wrapping the whole thing for 'Cipher'.
Regrettably, she didn't quite have the ability for that.
Sighing inwardly with sentiment, Typhon parted ways with 'Cipher', reverted to her true form, and departed through a warp jump.
'Cipher' assumed the other was just heading back home and didn't give it much thought, carrying Typhon's blood samples back to Herta City. She was ready to share this material with Ruan Mei.
--+--
On the other side.
Typhon, having exited the warp jump, naturally had no intention of returning to Inferno.
In Typhon's eyes, 'Cipher' had first contacted a Vidyadhara High Elder in the Xianzhou Alliance and then explicitly stated her interest in an individual like herself.
It was obvious, then: the material the woman wanted was that of powerful Scions of Long.
As for saying "ordinary ones are fine," that was surely just because powerful Scions of Long were rare, and she didn't want Typhon to go to too much trouble.
Typhon didn't plan on collecting every single powerful Scion of Long. She didn't have the energy to track them all down anyway.
The descendants of Long were scattered across the sea of stars and rarely kept in touch; aside from a few famous groups, most had no idea where the others lived.
However, there was one very conspicuous target, and Typhon decided to go fetch a bit of material from him for 'Cipher'.
The Giant Dragon.
That fellow who pursued Individual Permanence—the material from his body would undoubtedly be superior to Typhon's own.
In terms of combat power, though, there wasn't actually much of a gap between them. Despite Typhon's currently heavily injured state, she had traveled remarkably far along the Path of Permanence.
Moreover, the title of the Death Dragon Typhon held another layer of meaning: she was the dragon who brought death.
When it came to pure aggression, Typhon didn't think she lagged behind. If she really came to blows with that Giant Dragon, it was hard to say who would come out on top.
Thus, barely half a day later—
Outside the world of Leyaris, the World of Five Suns.
The Death Dragon Typhon arrived through a warp jump. Leyaris was the birthplace of the Giant Dragon, but the dragon that had grown there was now so massive it defied description.
Using a star system as a bed and a spiral arm as a blanket, he sat perched atop a stellar vortex in a light doze.
He was an existence so vast that he had seemed gargantuan even to 'Cipher'—an entity whose mere presence could disrupt galactic orbits. Facing the Giant Dragon, however, she seemed exceptionally small.
But Typhon didn't care.
She beat her wings violently, and a stampede of Imaginary energy whipped up a colossal sea of fire that threatened to swallow the galaxy. It swept past Leyaris, bearing down on the Giant Dragon!
"ROAR—!!!"
Accompanied by Typhon's galaxy-piercing howl, the dozing dragon head finally roused from its self-reflection.
One after another, five dragon heads lifted from the spiral arm. They watched the sea of fire spanning the stars and simply exhaled a collective dragon breath, dousing the flames instantly.
Then, the five-headed dragon lowered its gaze to look at the Death Dragon Typhon standing beside Leyaris.
"Death Dragon Typhon—"
"You do not guard your offspring—"
"You drag this broken body—"
"To disturb our slumber—"
"What is the meaning of this?"
Each of the five massive heads spoke a single phrase, linking together into a complete sentence. They brought with them a storm-like impact of Imaginary energy that bore down on Typhon.
But to Typhon, that impact was nothing more than a light breeze against her face.
The greeting finished, Typhon then laughed loudly and said, "Big guy, I've come to borrow a bit of flesh and blood to study this 'Self-Eternity' of yours."
"Hmph—!"
The largest of the dragon heads snorted coldly, giving Typhon no face at all.
"Do you think such a clumsy lie can deceive us? If I am not mistaken, you must have gone crawling to that Bai Ming of the Elation. What, for the sake of so-called 'Continuance,' you would even lower your head and bow as a subject?"
The Giant Dragon held no interest in the world-shaking Bai Ming. Even if the other truly was an Aeon, even if they could truly solve the reproductive issues of the Scions of Long, he didn't care.
Typhon, on the other hand...
Previously, he had felt she possessed quite the pursuit, willing to practice the path of the Ancestral Dragon for the sake of her kin. But now it seemed... Heh.
A dignified Scion of Long, actually defecting to someone else's banner.
The Giant Dragon lowered his gaze to Typhon's battered body, mocking her in his heart. This was the consequence of not seeking one's own eternity and insisting on pursuing the "kin."
Hearing this, Typhon immediately became displeased.
She and Madam Bai Ming were clearly in a relationship of equal exchange. Besides, what right did a fellow obsessed with his own longevity have to go pointing fingers at her?
BOOM—!!!
Blazing fire erupted from Typhon's body.
This time, it wasn't a "hello" type of flame, but a pitch-black fire signaling a serious battle state.
The searing tide wrapped around Typhon's body and expanded rapidly. The black flames condensed tightly, transforming into a flaming dragon large enough to rival the Giant Dragon.
"Has your long slumber turned your brain to mush? I suggest you think carefully before you speak. Otherwise, I don't mind waking all five of your heads up at once!"
"ROAR—!!!"
Faced with Typhon's threat, the Giant Dragon was equally unwilling to show weakness, returning a fierce dragon roar.
Coming to his door without a word and demanding his flesh and blood the moment she opened her mouth?
What, are we close? And now she was acting like she owned the place. A fellow who had turned half-dead for the sake of her kin was actually challenging him with such momentum?
If he didn't give her a lesson, she'd really start thinking she was the big boss of the Scions of Long.
"It has been many eras, Typhon. Let me see how much power remains in that broken body of yours!!"
"Too much talk! I've changed my mind—I'm going to cut off one of your horns to use as material!"
Typhon roared, waving her flaming wings that were large enough to span a spiral arm, and lunged straight at the Giant Dragon to tear at him.
One of the Giant Dragon's heads lowered its gaze and gave a soft exhale toward Leyaris. A force acted upon it, shielding it firmly.
Typhon hadn't come here to kill anyone. So, ignoring his protective move, she charged at the Giant Dragon's largest head.
The news that two of the most prestigious dragons among the Scions of Long had suddenly begun a fierce battle naturally spread from Leyaris across the entire world in an instant.
No one knew why the Death Dragon Typhon had suddenly stormed Leyaris to pick a fight with the Giant Dragon.
Logically, while these two were often mentioned in the same breath by outsiders, they actually stayed out of each other's way—they weren't close, nor did they have any grievances.
Outsiders knew neither the reason nor the details. Once the formal battle began, Leyaris's external communications were completely cut off. And who would dare approach such a place?
The Interastral Peace Corporation had a headache over it but didn't meddle.
Neither of these two was easy to provoke, and since they weren't brawling within the Corporation's sphere of influence, they just looked the other way.
The Land of Light, however, was startled.
The physiques of these two were each larger than the last. Typhon, in particular, led a massive Inferno dragon kin. If they truly got heated, the impact would be far greater than that of other Emanators.
Crucially, the innocent world of Leyaris was right at the eye of the storm and had completely lost contact. It was truly worrying. Thus, Zero set out personally, leading a team of seasoned giants to rush toward Leyaris, solely to mediate the war.
By the time 'Cipher' learned of the situation, a full system day had passed.
Multitasking between studying the Equation of Elation and analyzing the Death Dragon Typhon, 'Cipher' naturally had no time to pay attention to outside news.
And AI Herta's logic wouldn't interrupt her research just for non-dangerous news like this.
So, it wasn't until Zero had settled the matter at Leyaris and personally came to Herta City to find her mother—who was hopelessly immersed in research—that 'Cipher' found out.
By then, news of "the two Dragons of Permanence fighting to the death because of the Elation's Bai Ming, resulting in heavy casualties" was already flying everywhere.
Many people's first reaction was: as expected of the Aeon of Elation chosen by Aha.
Upon ascending, she had effortlessly stirred up the universe, and now she had provoked the Scions of Long into internal strife.
Word was that before her ascension, Bai Ming had even visited the Xianzhou Fanghu and was on good terms with the Vidyadhara.
Who would have thought she'd turn around and set two great dragons at each other's throats?
Truly a representative figure of Elation!
As a result... the attention on Bai Ming, which had died down a bit because of the Originium, suddenly snapped back.
Many who had been pondering the Originium were now staring squarely at the person named Bai Ming once again.
"What??!"
Hearing the news for the first time, 'Cipher' felt as if her ears were playing tricks on her.
"What do you mean the Death Dragon Typhon and the Giant Dragon are fighting because of me?? When did I ever tell Typhon to go to Leyaris?? And what's this about heavy casualties?"
Zero looked at her mother's bewildered eyes, sighed helplessly, and continued, "The Death Dragon Typhon said that because you needed Long-descendant flesh and blood samples for research, and she felt the most suitable sample was the Giant Dragon, she went."
"..."
'Cipher' buried her face in her hands.
Typhon had told her she knew some Scions of Long and was just going to collect some samples.
She thought the woman meant some ordinary ones—she didn't expect her to go for the final boss right out of the gate!
"I knew my first impression wasn't wrong! That Typhon is a total loose cannon when she works!"
"..."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL