The Dragon of the Fallen Demon Master Sister in a Book - Chapter 27

After a moment’s thought, Chris climbed onto the fallen ancient tree with a leap, a scramble, and a grab. She pondered briefly before using her claws to carve out a smooth surface on the tree trunk’s top, then swept away the wood shavings with her tail. Once cleaned, she plopped down onto it.

The dragonet patted the massive trunk with her claw, shaking her head as she spoke, “Oh tree, please don’t blame me, and don’t weep anymore. I’m just a traveling dragon, merely sitting here for a while. Since you’re already dead, it’d be a waste not to make use of you, right?”

“Like a candle burning to its end, or a whale’s fall giving life to all,” Chris murmured, gazing down at the half-carved trunk with its tightly packed rings. “Oh tree, it’s your sacrifice that spares me the itch in my claws. Ah, noble ancient one, let me praise you—you’re simply magnificent!”

With that, she craned her neck, scanning her surroundings warily. If one ignored her right claw, still hidden behind her back and relentlessly scraping the trunk to sharpen itself, the scene would have been perfectly harmonious—a dragon and her tree companion in peaceful coexistence.

The long-dead ancient tree: Had I known you’d do this to me, I’d have rather rotted in the ground than let you sharpen your claws on me! You silver-tongued, tree-deceiving, wicked dragon! 🙂

As she scraped away, the scratching of her claws against the wood filled the air. But then, Chris’ ears twitched—she heard something different.

This time, it wasn’t just sobbing. There was the thud of something heavy hitting the ground, mingled with fragmented speech in an unfamiliar language. Chris couldn’t help but pout, muttering irritably,

“What’s this? Everyone’s ganging up to mock me for being illiterate, huh? Even your chatter comes encrypted now…”

“Ugh, great. Can’t understand a word again. No dragon soul translator this time—the heavens really want me dead!” She dug her claws deeper into the trunk, grinding harder. Soon, the strange weeping returned, louder than before.

Chris frowned slightly. “Where is that noise even coming from?”

She lowered her head, her crimson draconic eyes fixed on the scarred cross-section of the ancient wood. After a long stare, she shifted positions, lying flat and pressing her ear against the trunk. The surroundings fell silent—no more fragmented voices from within the tree.

“Oh, so it wasn’t you making those sounds after all!” Disappointment flickered across her face. Her claws itched again, so she resumed sharpening them. But this time, something caught her eye—a small, golden scale glinting on the claw she’d just extended.

The bl00d had dyed it crimson red, completely revealing the map that was originally carved on the golden dragon scale. A flicker of surprise flashed in Chris’s eyes as she carefully examined the golden dragon scale map in her right claw, her gaze filled with curiosity.

Not long ago, the Dragon Soul had already told her that the inscriptions on the golden dragon scale were actually draconic script. It had briefly explained that the entire dragon scale map was divided into four sections, each marked with draconic script. And now, the one she held was the western section of the secret realm’s dragon scale map, activated by smearing her own bl00d on it.

Chris scratched the golden scale with her left claw. The scale seemed to have fused with her right claw—no matter how she scratched, it left no marks. Aside from relieving an itch, it was utterly useless.

Fortunately, unlike Wen Qian, Chris could at least read maps, though this one was drawn extremely crudely. Who knew how many years these markings had existed here?

Still, even if Chris couldn’t decipher the draconic script on the map, she wasn’t completely clueless! She wasn’t stupid—her little brain hadn’t dulled to that extent yet!

At the center of the western secret realm map was a massive tree, with a circle drawn in its middle. Did that represent a lake? A round pond? Or perhaps a clear spring? Chris pondered as she continued examining it.

Around the giant tree were sketches of numerous small saplings.

“Seriously, this map… might as well not exist,” Chris muttered. To pinpoint her location, she spread her wings and took to the skies alone—though she flew close to the tree trunks and moved slowly.

After all, flying openly in the secret realm would make her a living target. Even if it helped survey the terrain, she was alone now, with no one to watch her back—not even the ever-knowledgeable Dragon Soul was by her side. The risks far outweighed the benefits, so caution was paramount.

But right now, Chris really wanted to curse. “Who the hell designed this stupid secret realm?! Damn it! Did you have to nerf my skills this hard?!!”

Clearly, Chris had no intention of becoming target practice. Since this was a map, identifying key landmarks was crucial. Directions like east, west, north, and south could still be determined by the sun’s movement—but if she couldn’t even figure out her own position, how was she supposed to navigate? Where could she even go?

Chris made up her mind: first, climb a tree. Scouting the terrain from above to get her bearings was the best move.

Climbing trees wasn’t difficult for a dragon, especially one with wings. After scanning her surroundings, Chris flew up to the tallest tree she could find.

Perched on the highest branch, her black dragon body concealed within the dense foliage, she pressed close to the trunk. Unless someone looked carefully, she was nearly invisible—just a Foundation Stage dragonling hidden among the leaves.

Just as Chris wanted to crane her neck and peek around, a grayish-black three-headed monstrous bird flew past not far above her head.

The creature soared over the forest, stirring a violent gust that set all the leaves rustling. Chris clung to the tree trunk with all her might, barely avoiding being blown away by the wind from the monstrous bird. The little dragon stared at it in stunned silence.

From the bird’s body, Chris could see three colors—red, yellow, and blue—symbolizing the attributes of a ferocious beast. These hues were strikingly similar to the deep blue aura that had emanated from Elder Xing earlier. They were dark, murky, and unsettling.

Following what the dragon spirit had taught her, she calmed herself and focused. The colors her draconic eyes captured were none other than the so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The depth of a person’s or beast’s cultivation could be judged by the intensity of these colors.

At least, that was all Chris could discern for now.

But… Chris cursed inwardly, Holy sh1t, this three-headed monstrosity is at the Nascent Soul stage, just like that damned law-enforcement elder!!! If you want me dead, just say it outright!!! What kind of sick game is this?!

Her entire body turned ice-cold. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on the tree trunk, holding her breath, not daring to exhale too loudly. Fortunately, the three-headed bird merely scanned the area with its three eyes. Finding no prey, it didn’t linger and flew off without a second glance.

Only after confirming its departure did Chris finally lower her head, burying her small face in the leaves.

She wasn’t about to gamble with her life. Survival came first—better to lay low and stay cautious. After waiting patiently for a while, ensuring the monstrous bird hadn’t detected her and wouldn’t return, she finally dared to peek out again.

Chris froze.

She stared upward, dumbfounded.

She realized she probably didn’t even need to search for the so-called ancient tree anymore.

Right above her loomed an enormous ancient tree, its vast canopy casting shade over everything beneath it. Only fragmented beams of light slipped through the gaps in the leaves, scattering patches of brightness below. Chris was utterly awestruck. Who would’ve thought the most basic physics principles she’d learned in textbooks—pinhole imaging and rectilinear propagation of light—would manifest in such a wondrous way in this otherworldly place, leaving her completely spellbound?

She remained motionless for a long while before finally looking down at the tree trunk she was clutching. The tree she clung to wasn’t small by any means—in fact, it was the largest one in the vicinity, at least seven times her size.

And yet… even a tree this massive had to rely on the meager light trickling down from the colossal tree towering above. Suddenly, Chris recalled the ecological concept of vertical stratification she’d studied in high school.

In the vertical dimension, biological communities exhibit distinct layering.

Now, the highest layer she could see was dominated by the gargantuan tree stretching across the western sky. And the ancient tree she had just scratched—the one as thick as ten young dragons—was merely part of the middle layer? No… perhaps it didn’t even qualify for that?

Or perhaps, is this secret realm truly only an upper Xuan-rank realm? An upper Xuan-rank realm that already has Nascent Soul-level ferocious beasts? Then… Chris simply couldn’t imagine—what level would [Di-rank] and [Tian-rank] secret realms be? What would appear inside? Immortals?

“Secret realms, oh secret realms. Who would have thought even this world’s secret realms would be battlegrounds for immortals. The competition is just too fierce.”

Chris shook her head. Having never seen the scenes within realms above [Xuan-rank], she couldn’t easily imagine them, only making vague guesses in her heart.

Perhaps… both she and they were currently at the bottom layer? Looking at the surrounding “giant trees,” Chris felt utterly insignificant. Compared to this scaled dragon lord, she was too small; compared to these colossal trees, she seemed even tinier.

Then… Chris lowered her head and looked at her palm again.

The golden dragon-scale map drawn with her own bl00d in her palm had already given rise to some terrifying speculations. Who had created this dragon-scale map? How many years had passed since then until now? How many years were needed for these trees to grow to such sky-obscuring proportions?

And also… staring at the dragon-scale map drawn on her right claw, Chris unconsciously asked a question: “Tell me, what lies beyond these giant trees?”

“Blue skies, white clouds, grasslands?” Chris scratched her head. “Or perhaps… another tree?”

Unfortunately, there was no one—or dragon—who could answer her question now. She, A-Zhuo, the cat, and Wen Qian had all been deliberately separated by this secret realm. Even the connection between her and the dragon soul had been severed, with no telling when it might return.

Chris shook her head. With the dragon soul no longer by her side, the young dragon who had lost her inherited memories suddenly recalled a small story, and she felt just like the old man in that tale.

At this moment, Chris felt like an old hunter suffering from Alzheimer’s, having forgotten all her hunting experience from earlier years, abandoned by her family in the jungle.

The old hunter, weak and frail, was nothing but a burden at home. In years of drought when there was no meat to eat, her children left her in the mountains. Her daughter, unable to bear it, gave her a hunting rifle before driving away.

With the gun, she might survive and return—rather than her children indirectly killing their own parent, though it was all just to ease their own consciences.

The dragon cub clenched her claws, feeling the power contained within this draconic body. Like the old hunter gripping her rifle, she knew this power was strong but had no idea how to use it. The worst outcome would be being killed by the very rifle she possessed.

Chris dared not dwell on it further. She could only climb down from the treetop. When her feet finally touched solid ground, for some reason, she felt a sense of security from the earth beneath her.

Looking up again at this nearly sunless forest shrouded in shadows, she understood—the world above was beyond her reach. Nascent Soul stage… Chris lowered her head. For now, she’d better focus on surviving in this lowest layer of wilderness.

After calming her mind and confirming her direction, Chris took one last look at the dragon-scale map in her palm when suddenly, an image involuntarily surfaced in her thoughts.

Within a massive tree lay a pool of emerald-green spring water. Chris instinctively licked her lips, almost able to recall the exquisite sweetness of that water. At the tree’s center, fireflies danced around at night; during sunny afternoons, the leaves filtered the breeze…

Why? But why? Where did these memories come from?

For some reason, Chris felt an overwhelming urge to fly up that colossal tree and investigate.

What could be hidden among those leaves?

No sooner thought than done. The dragon whelp rolled up her sleeves, replacing her original goal (survival) with this new mission, shifting from passive to active. Shouldering her light pack (containing an ancient gold coin and a golden compass), she set off.

But before Chris could take two steps, the sobbing sounds haunted her again. Like a persistent ghost, it followed her everywhere, refusing to let go.

Enough was enough. Chris had wanted to avoid trouble, but when trouble came knocking, disturbing her peace and fraying her nerves, she knew she couldn’t escape—she had to face it head-on.

This time, Chris crouched in place, waiting silently. The moment she heard the weeping and those peculiar whispering voices, she spread her wings and charged forward.

There before her…

Stood two ash-gray figures. Their limbs were covered in withered branches, their arms dotted with white spots, and their heads formed from the tree’s green leaves. They were… treants.

These ash-gray creatures moved with unnatural stiffness. Humanoid yet not human, their every motion radiated strangeness.

“Hey there, little ones! Finally caught you!!!” Chris planted her hands on her hips, the tough talk slipping out before she could reconsider.

Her gaze dropped to the ground, where she spotted a small wooden puppet lying discarded, its clothes disheveled. The two well-dressed ash-gray figures loomed over the tiny puppet, towering and unreasonable.

Chris: “…”

So she’d stumbled upon interspecies bullying.

Other species’ affairs weren’t her business.

Chris offered an awkward smile. “Um, you’re being kind of loud… could you maybe—”

Before she could finish, the two ash-gray figures lunged at her, babbling incomprehensibly while brandishing curved blades.

Well then. No choice but to fight now.