An Understated Dominance Novel (Dahlia & Dustin) by Marina Vittori updated 2025-26 - An Understated Dominance Chapter 2682

Chapter 2682

Crossing the treacherous medicinal garden felt like dancing on the edge of life and death.

Those once-alluring elixirs that shimmered with divine light now appeared to everyone like hidden demons waiting to strike.

They followed closely behind Logan, avoiding every patch of land that pulsed with abnormal energy. Every step was taken with absolute caution, their nerves stretched to the breaking point.

At last, the fog thickened, and the faint sound of running water grew clearer.

Pushing through the final veil of spiritual mist, what lay before them stole everyone’s breath away.

A vast expanse of water stretched out like a mirror, shimmering in a dreamlike shade of azure.

The lake’s surface radiated pure, tangible spiritual energy. Just breathing it in made them feel rejuvenated, their drained inner strength slowly returning.

At the center of the lake stood a small island, faintly visible through the drifting mist. The outlines of ancient pavilions and towers flickered like a mirage, exuding a celestial, otherworldly grace.

“Yaochi! This must be the legendary Yaochi!” Stevie gasped, her voice trembling with hope.

Even Old Jhangi, whose eyes had been dim since his injury, showed a flicker of light for the first time.

But the heavenly scene was marred by something deeply wrong.

Near the shore, the pristine azure water turned a dark, murky red, as if tainted by blood. Violent spiritual currents surged from those crimson depths, clashing with the lake’s peaceful aura and distorting the air with a sense of chaos.

The shoreline itself was stained the same eerie red, its soil matching the corrupted earth of the medicine garden. Twisted plants grew along the bank, their warped forms releasing a faint, familiar scent—the same as the tainted herbs they had seen before.

“Dragon blood soaked into it… even Yaochi couldn’t resist its corruption,” Grace murmured, her voice heavy with unease.

Hope stood right before them, yet even this sacred land had not escaped the touch of evil.

As they stood there searching for a way to cross the lake, a calm, aged voice suddenly echoed in their ears, carrying neither malice nor warmth:

“It is no small feat to pass through so many trials and arrive at the edge of Yaochi Lake.”

Everyone froze, instantly on guard. Their eyes darted toward the voice—

An old monk sat cross-legged on a smooth slab of jade-blue stone by the shore.

It was the same monk in robes they had met in the bamboo courtyard days ago.

He looked unchanged—white hair and beard, his robe simple and worn, his face thin but serene. His eyes were deep and still, like an ancient well that had witnessed centuries of rise and fall. It was as though he had been waiting there for them all along.

The guards tensed up immediately. Alongi stepped in front of Grace, gripping his weapon, his instincts screaming danger. The old monk’s presence felt heavier than the beasts they had faced before—calm, yet terrifyingly unfathomable.

Logan stepped forward protectively, shielding the others behind him. Bowing slightly, he said evenly, “Senior, we mean no offense. May I ask if you have guidance for us?”

The old monk smiled faintly, his whisk brushing the air as he spoke. “Guidance? I dare not presume. I am Cassius, guardian of this island. To see someone capable of overcoming the mirages and illusions, to pierce through the secrets of the medicine garden—it must be fate.”

His words carried no hostility—only the quiet fatigue of one who had lived through countless ages.

Grace’s heart stirred. Stepping forward respectfully, she bowed. “Senior Cassius, I am Grace. Since you already know who we are, then you must also know why we came. I seek the elixir to save our dying Emperor. Please, I beg you, show us mercy and guide our way.”

Cassius looked at her, his gaze filled with both compassion and sorrow. “Child, I know your heart. But the ‘immortal elixir’ you seek is not what you believe it to be.”

He raised his hand, pointing first to the mist-shrouded island at the lake’s center, then to the crimson-stained waters at their feet.

“This place is called Fairyharbor. It is not some blessed land of immortals. Its true heart is a seal—an ancient one, forged to contain the Ruin Dragon you saw depicted in the mural. That creature was born from chaos and sought to devour all life under heaven.”

“Xulong…” Logan murmured, his voice low. The name itself carried a weight of destruction.

Cassius nodded gravely. “Yes, the Ruin Dragon. Its power corrupts and consumes. Everything you’ve faced—the undead beasts, the mist spirits, the illusions, and even the bloodthirsty plants in the medicine garden—all of it stems from the dragon’s leaking aura. Over countless years, its evil seeped through the seal, tainting the land and everything that lives on it.”

His eyes softened as he turned back to Grace. “And the so-called elixir that can raise the dead? Its key ingredient—the Dragon Blood Bodhi—is formed from the Ruin Dragon’s own evil essence.”

Grace’s heart sank. Though she had suspected it after reading the stone tablet in the garden, hearing it confirmed by the guardian himself struck like a hammer to her chest.

“Senior… you mean the elixir itself is a curse?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Cassius inclined his head solemnly. “Indeed. The Dragon Blood Bodhi contains the purest essence of corruption and life intertwined. It may heal wounds and restore the dead—but at a cost. The price is the soul itself. The moment it enters the body, it begins consuming the spirit, burning lifespan, and twisting the mind. In the end, those who take it are likely to become dragon puppets—mindless, bloodthirsty, and forever bound to the dragon’s will.”

His words fell like thunder in the silent air.

“This elixir,” Cassius said softly, “is not a medicine of life. It is a charm of death—a poison that destroys the soul.”