"Is that what the leader of the human merchant caravan said?"
On the White Pearl Throne, Xia'er looked at Saga and Disos reporting before her. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the traded Black Oil and books before she opened her mouth and said, "It seems he's not a fool either."
Although Xia'er felt this act wouldn't hide things for long, being seen through at the first meeting was indeed a bit too fast.
"My lord, should we chase them down and kill them?"
The White Dragon Disos spoke up eagerly, looking ready for action: "Just some humans like ants. I could crush them with a single claw!"
Seeing Disos so eager, Xia'er was momentarily at a loss for words.
Seriously, buddy, how many lives do you have?
No wonder White Dragons have the highest mortality rate.
Xia'er directly ignored Disos's words and said, "Disos, today's hunt isn't finished yet. You go out hunting with the Bullywugs."
"Yes, my lord."
Disos crouched on the ground, scratching his head with a hind limb like a cat, somewhat confused, but he still obeyed the command. He retreated from the Pearl Royal Court, leaped into the air, and flew towards Starlight Dew Island.
"Everything continues as before. That human neither openly stated it nor remained completely silent. Instead, he used this method to secretly pass a message, which also shows a desire to test us. So, we'll also pretend not to know and just continue as usual."
After the fool Disos left, Xia'er looked towards Saga's direction and said, "Saga, I'll have to trouble you too. In a few days, take the Bullywugs deep into the ocean to see if there are any rare treasures that humans might want. If we find something, we'll have more leverage in our next trade with them."
Saga respectfully lowered his head and rumbled in a low voice, "Understood."
Then, he silently retreated from the White Pearl Royal Court, his massive figure disappearing into the shadows.
The entire palace instantly fell quiet, leaving only Xia'er, a single Green Dragon.
Xia'er's gaze first fell on those barrels of Black Oil emitting a pungent odor.
A light of inquiry flickered in her draconic pupils. She extended a massive dragon claw and carefully used a sharp claw tip to pry open a barrel lid.
An even more intense, throat-tightening stench instantly filled the air, carrying the smell of sulfur and decay.
Xia'er leaned in and sniffed, frowning slightly. Then, with extreme caution, she used a claw tip to dab a tiny bit of the viscous, pitch-black oil and brought it close to her eyes for careful observation.
"Alchemical Black Oil..."
Xia'er muttered to herself: "I asked for poisons. Why give me this?"
Although among Green Dragons, quite a few become alchemists, and Green Dragons are well-versed in this art, for Xia'er, studying alchemy is still too tedious. She wants to be a pure ruler.
However, Black Oil does contain some toxins.
Black Oil is a black, viscous substance formed after magical creatures die, remain untreated for a long time, and undergo sedimentation over long ages. After being refined by alchemists, it becomes an item similar to petroleum.
Ultimately, it's ancient corpse oil...
But Xia'er didn't have too many taboos about this; she was just somewhat curious and wanted to investigate.
Does this Black Oil count as a type of poison?
In the Dragon Inheritance Xia'er received, there was once a memory.
Once, a Red Iron Dragon, to enhance its breath ability, specifically swallowed Black Oil to stimulate its senses, wanting to use the flammability of Black Oil to increase the power of its flames—an idea that coincided with her own.
But the problem is, she is a Green Dragon, spraying poison mist and venom. Can it be the same?
Green Dragons are different from Red Dragons; poison mist and fire are worlds apart. But Xia'er's curiosity had been ignited.
Her base attributes far surpass those of ordinary Young Dragons. Her life force and resistances are constantly being strengthened through Slaughter Missions. A little bit of Black Oil is nothing to fear!
With this thought, Xia'er extended her dragon claw. A sharp claw tip scooped up roughly 300 milliliters of the viscous Black Oil. The oil was pitch-black like ink, strikingly conspicuous against her emerald green scales.
Xia'er slowly brought the claw tip close to her mouth. After some mental preparation, she resolutely let the oil drip into her mouth.
Instantly, a fiery, burning sensation exploded in her throat!
It was like swallowing a whole handful of spicy jerky strips. The stimulating sensation spread from the tip of her tongue down her esophagus, carrying a sulfur-like, choking smell.
Xia'er grunted, her dragon body trembling slightly, but the intense pain didn't last.
The Green Dragon's powerful constitution quickly suppressed the discomfort. Her toxin resistance surged forth like a tide, firmly enveloping the invading foreign substance.
Then, a strange change occurred.
Xia'er could clearly sense that the dormant venom essence within her body seemed to be awakened.
The venom essence, now ravenous, began actively absorbing the energy from the Black Oil.
The toxins within the Black Oil were rapidly decomposed by the venom, further beginning to fuse, transforming into a stream of icy warmth that slowly infused into her breath attack core.
Xia'er's spirit lifted, her dragon eyes suddenly brightening!
It actually works!
The concentration of the venom was increasing. That destructive force capable of corroding all things was quietly strengthening. Although only by a thread, it was like a single spark starting a prairie fire.
This Alchemical Black Oil could actually catalyze a Green Dragon's breath attack!
Not just the Green Dragon's breath attack; Xia'er even felt her Winged Breath had increased a bit as well.
A wave of ecstasy swept through her heart.
Xia'er stared at the remaining Black Oil, her thoughts racing: Next trade, I must demand more!
If it could be mass-produced, that would be even better.
However, Xia'er was also very clear that although this Black Oil's effect was so incredible, she absolutely could not share it with Saga and Disos.
It wasn't that Xia'er was being stingy, but because she possessed the astonishing self-healing ability 'Limb Regeneration,' she could ignore the burning sensation the Black Oil caused when passing through her throat. Saga and Disos did not have such an incredible self-healing ability.
If they swallowed it, it would cause permanent damage—the disadvantages outweighing the benefits.
Even though Xia'er had an astonishing self-healing ability, being in the Young Dragon stage, she couldn't guzzle it freely either. She could only take small sips.
These few barrels of Black Oil would be enough for Xia'er to drink for a year or two.
"Now that's what I call a kick."
After dabbing a bit more Black Oil and consuming it, Xia'er felt comfortably satisfied. Then, she turned her gaze to the other pile: the books.
Xia'er was also urgently eager to understand what the human world was like.
And the simplest way to understand a world is to read books.
To see how far the human nations in the south have developed now.
After all...
if they can already apply Black Oil to instruments, if she spreads her wings and flies in a few days, she might not run into a fighter jet squadron, would she?
With this thought, Xia'er cast Mage Hand and began examining these books.
As soon as she looked, Xia'er felt very disappointed.
These weren't books on humanities and knowledge, but rather some storybooks, novels, and heroic biographies.
The storybooks and novels were not lacking in steamy plots, while the heroic biographies had stories that were overly embellished with color.
Flipping through them, Xia'er did find one story titled 'The Dragon Who Protected the Kingdom.' It told the tale of a Blue Dragon who turned over a new leaf, performed meritorious service for a Human Kingdom, went undercover in the Underwood Dragon Flight, and finally collaborated from within and without, rectified the chaos, and completely destroyed the Underwood Dragon Flight.
"Oh? This new story seems to be recent?"
Seeing this, Xia'er, full of anticipation, opened this novel and began reading.
Xia'er only knew the Common Tongue and Draconic. She had also learned some human language based on the Dragon Inheritance, so she could understand the content written in the novel.
However, after finishing the first volume of the story, Xia'er was already somewhat angry.
What the hell kind of author is this, writing this chicken-feather nonsense!
"Have you ever been a dragon? Writing some things randomly, just assuming things!"