Longevity Candle

Chapter 44 Immortal Talent and Three-tenths of Dragon Qi

"Freak?"

Seeing Jiang Zhu's shocked and dazed expression, Yao Yao's heart tightened: "Could he be a scourge?"

Jiang Zhu has lived for so long, and although he has been asleep most of the time, he is a spirit of mountains and seas and has seen many wonders. Anything that can make him lose his senses must be no ordinary thing.

Li Qingping, however, was just an ordinary person.

“It’s not a disaster, let me think about it.” Jiang Zhu calmed down and frowned in thought: “Your younger brother is truly extraordinary. He not only has the talent of immortality, but also the national fortune and dragon energy. With the two combined, the dragon energy actually suppresses his talent of immortality.”

"The dragon's aura of national destiny?" Yao Yao's expression changed slightly: "How could he have such a thing? Isn't that the royal family of the Qian Kingdom?"

"The national destiny and dragon energy do not belong to the Qian Kingdom's royal family, but are formed by the convergence of the will of hundreds of millions of living beings on this land."

Whoever gathers the dragon's energy will be able to unify this land and establish an imperial dynasty.

"But if it is not governed well and loses the support and will of the people, the fate of the country will be unstable. For example, the Qian Kingdom has lost the support of the people and is entering its final years. If the support of the people can be restored, it can be repaired."

Jiang Zhu recounted what he knew.

"The Qian Kingdom has not yet collapsed, so how could the national fortune and dragon energy appear on my brother?" Yao Yao asked.

"Perhaps it is... the spirit of the Qingjiang River." Jiang Zhu thought of the spirit of the Qingjiang River.

"What does this have to do with him?" Yao Yao asked, puzzled.

"Back then, the spirit of Qingjiang cut off 30% of the national fortune of Qian Kingdom. The national fortune will not disappear, but it will be separated from the national fortune of Qian Kingdom."

Jiang Zhu looked intently at Li Qingping and said, "It is now the re-gathering national fortune and dragon energy. If it were related to the Qian Kingdom, it would have already rushed over to suppress me."

"Then why did it end up inside my brother's body?"

Jiang Zhu pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Back then, during the disaster, everyone fled for their lives, leaving only your younger brother. The dragon energy emerged in response. Your younger brother possesses the talent of immortals, and his innate talent and comprehension are unparalleled in the mortal world. Naturally, the dragon energy chose him. Of course, this is just my guess."

He never expected that he would encounter the dragon energy unleashed by the Qingjiang spirit back then.

"Then wouldn't my brother be able to be both an emperor and a Taoist master?" Yao Yao asked happily.

“You can only choose one.” Jiang Zhu shook his head: “The national destiny and dragon energy are the will of mortals, which naturally suppress the immortal path. His immortal potential has been suppressed.”

“But didn’t you say that if one receives an imperial decree, a Celestial Master can borrow the nation’s fortune? My brother already has the nation’s fortune, and he himself is willing to embark on the path of immortality, so isn’t that enough?” Yao Yao said.

Jiang Zhu shook his head and sighed, "I don't know either. I've never experienced anything like this before, and the Qingjiang spirit has never mentioned it. I'll test you out. Protect me."

He flicked his finger, and a wisp of magical power crossed the void and entered Li Qingping's body.

As soon as the magic entered the body, a golden light, invisible to mortals, rippled out, obliterating the magic.

A 30-meter-long golden python burst forth from his body, hovering in the void and releasing a unique pressure.

Jiang Zhu's internal magical power was affected, and its circulation became somewhat sluggish. However, it was unclear whether this was due to the fact that he only possessed 30% of the nation's fortune or the effect of the Candle Illumination Technique. It only affected the circulation of his magical power, unlike before when it was suppressed.

It stared intently at Jiang Zhu, its eyes filled with vigilance.

"May we talk?" Yao Yao stood protectively in front of Jiang Zhu, her body radiating golden light of merit.

“Dragon Qi is not a normal living being. It can only instinctively protect its consciousness, obey the imperial power, and cannot communicate.” Jiang Zhu said, “I just tested it and could not activate its immortal innate talent.”

If a nation truly possessed independent consciousness, it would not have agreed to the emperor's pursuit of immortality and his targeting of the elves.

"Why is it a giant python? Isn't it a dragon?" Yao Yao asked, puzzled. She possessed golden light of merit, activated her true essence, and drew upon a trace of the power of heaven and earth, allowing her to observe dragon energy. "Because the nation's destiny also needs to transform. The land of Qian Kingdom can only nurture python-shaped dragon energy. If we can conquer the grasslands to the north, expand our territory to the south, extend eastward to the East Sea, and conquer large tracts of land to the west, perhaps we can truly nurture a real dragon."

Jiang Zhu said, "Shallow water cannot nurture a true dragon; we must expand the pond."

"I understand." Yao Yao looked disappointed. "Then what will my brother choose?"

“That depends on him. I can’t touch the dragon energy, but he can give it up himself.” Jiang Zhu pondered for a moment: “His immortal talent is pure yang and domineering, which is very compatible with Zhuzhao.”

"Could I become your Celestial Master?" Yao Yao's eyes gleamed.

Jiang Zhu said, "Don't force him. Everyone has their own destiny in life. Forcing it will only make things worse."

"I will ask him." Yao Yao nodded, but she was determined to persuade Li Qingping.

Those are immortal masters and Taoist practitioners, with incredibly long lifespans.

One in a million may not be able to achieve this, and while an emperor may be great, he is still only human for a hundred years and cannot escape the inevitable mortal fate.

Seeing that they had stopped moving, the golden python with dragon energy immediately returned to Li Qingping's body and fell silent.

“I will leave behind the method of illumination. If he is willing, he can practice this method; if he is not willing, he can still comprehend it.”

Jiang Zhu flicked his finger and passed the Candle Illumination Technique to Yao Yao: "Your martial arts have improved remarkably; you have even glimpsed the power of heaven and earth."

"Even at this level, I still can't harm the Immortal Masters and Daoists." Yao Yao said with a bitter smile, "Jiang Zhu, what exactly are the powers that Immortal Masters and Elves possess?"

“Magic power is also derived from the power of heaven and earth. What you have glimpsed is only a drop of water, while the immortal masters and Taoists, the spirits of mountains and seas, see the vast ocean.”

Jiang Zhu sighed, "Your little bit is many times thinner; how could it possibly harm them?"

Yao Yao's expression shifted, but she was not disappointed. Instead, she looked radiant: "If I continue to improve, I can see the vast ocean. Could I then use martial arts to enter the path of immortality?"

“Perhaps it is possible, but you can’t do it,” Jiang Zhu said.

Yao Yao's talent is not high. Even with the merits she has accumulated, she is not as talented as Li Qingping, who is born with the talent for immortality.

“I know,” Yao Yao said, “but we must leave a chance for future generations, right? I owe my existence to your humility. I am just a woman, and all I see is Peach Blossom Village, but I am willing to find a direction for the people of the world.”

Jiang Zhu sighed and remained silent.

Even if we succeed in the future, with generations passing the baton and countless generations of effort, the ultimate goal is nothing more than the starting point for immortal masters and Taoist practitioners.

"Back then, Liu Lang merged with the giant wave and unexpectedly reached the point of being able to glimpse the power of heaven and earth. However, he was not obsessed with martial arts and was not good at killing, so he was not as good as you."

Jiang Zhu said, "I used this method to comprehend the divine harmony between heaven and earth. Now I am passing it on to you, which may be helpful to you."

“I saw Jingwei earlier. She said she was being chased by an old man and he mentioned the Dao of Immortality,” Yaoyao said.

"She was always traveling far away. She went west back then, probably because she offended some old elf."

Jiang Zhu thought of Jingwei, who, according to Bai He, was also a little elf: "That kind of being is not someone you or I can provoke. If she comes again and we are truly at our wits' end, we should ask Gongde and your brother to go out and reason with the old elf. That should be able to help her turn hostility into friendship."

If we fight, we will definitely lose.

However, with numerous merits and three-tenths of the dragon's energy, as long as it's not a matter of life and death, they can sit down and talk.

(End of this chapter)