One person: I, Daoist Master, am a cultivator of immortality!

Unlike the Fire Dragon's shock, Sun Yao was thinking how wonderful it was to have such a useful dragon to work for him. Without the Fire Dragon's help, it would have taken him the time it takes for an incense stick to burn just one earth fire vein. One earth fire vein takes the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. There are at least hundreds, if not thousands, of earth fire veins at the bottom of this entire Heavenly Pool; it would have taken him forever to complete that.

But things are different now. In just a few breaths, the fire dragon had already drained a vein of earth fire. All he needed to do was extract the earth fire energy it had absorbed from its body using the Fire Element Technique. Strictly speaking, the Fire Element Technique can control all fires under heaven, so manipulating earth fire energy was a piece of cake.

This means that he extracted the earth fire energy from a vein of earth fire with almost no effort. Indeed, the biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans can use tools, even if the tool is an animal itself.

However, just as Sun Yao was enjoying extracting the earth's fiery energy, the source of the energy suddenly stopped. Sun Yao looked at the fire dragon suspiciously, only to find it scrutinizing him with an indescribable gaze.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you absorbing the earth's fiery energy anymore? I don't have much time to waste here with you. Hurry up and do something. I remember that not only do I not have time to waste here, but you probably don't have time to waste either. Think about your lifespan, old dragon."

"Old Dragon? You're incredibly rude, kid. Even those dozen or so snakes by the Heavenly Lake respectfully call me 'Senior' when they see me. How old are you, kid? Calling me 'Old Dragon' all over the place."

"Alright, alright, I won't call you Old Dragon anymore, okay? I'll change it to Elder Dragon, is that alright? You're over a thousand years old and still haven't seen through everything. Hurry up, is your title more important or your life?"

As Sun Yao spoke, he urged the fire dragon to quickly absorb the earth's fiery energy. The fire dragon rolled its eyes at him before also absorbing the fiery energy from another nearby earth's fiery vein. Although the boy's words were unpleasant to hear, they were undeniably true. What was a mere title compared to life? Right now, the most important thing was to quell the earth's fire beneath the Heavenly Pool so that it could peacefully transform into a dragon.

With the help of the Fire Dragon, extracting the earth's fiery energy was a piece of cake. In less than an hour, Sun Yao, with the Fire Dragon's assistance, successfully extracted all the earth's fiery energy from the bottom of the Heavenly Pool. After they extracted all the earth's fiery energy from the bottom of the Heavenly Pool, the bottom of the pool fell into darkness. The reason the bottom of the Heavenly Pool was so bright before was entirely due to the glow emitted by the earth's fiery energy within the earth's fiery veins. Now that the earth's fiery energy had been completely extracted, the earth's fiery veins naturally stopped glowing, and the bottom of the Heavenly Pool fell into darkness.

However, amidst this utter darkness, a light continuously emanated from the area surrounding Sun Yao and the Fire Dragon. Not only was the earth vein fire energy extracted by Sun Yao glowing, but the Fire Dragon itself also emitted boundless light. Furthermore, the Guixu Cauldron, which had been filled with an unknown amount of earth vein fire energy, also emitted a faint, shimmering light at the bottom of the Heavenly Pool. With these two sources of light nearby, Sun Yao was able to maintain visibility of his surroundings in the pitch-black depths of the Heavenly Pool.

"Alright, Elder Long. Now that all the earth fire veins beneath this Heavenly Pool have been cleared, you can prepare for your transformation from a dragon to a dragon in peace. I will return to the Heavenly Pool in half a month. That will be the time for you to transform into a dragon and soar to the heavens. However, the outcome will depend entirely on fate. The result of our bet will be decided then. Elder Long, you must be fully prepared."

Sun Yao patted the fire dragon, then pointed upwards. The fire dragon immediately understood and carried him up from the bottom of the Heavenly Pool.

"Of course I will make full preparations. You should think about what you're going to do. In half a month, remove all the obstacles on my path to becoming a dragon, otherwise our bet is invalid."

As the man and the dragon spoke, they reached the surface of the Heavenly Lake. Just as they surfaced, they saw nearly twenty enormous pythons warily watching them. Of course, these pythons were led by Second Master Liu.

"Go ahead, kid. If I dare to leave the Heavenly Pool, they'll fight me to the death." I, the Flood Dragon, didn't take their force seriously. If it wanted to force its way out of the Heavenly Pool, these twenty or so Willow Fairies wouldn't be able to stop it. After all, transforming from a snake to a Flood Dragon is a leap in life level, and the most obvious difference is that the Flood Dragon can now take flight, while the snake cannot. Even if their strength is equal, the difference in their life levels is vast.

"Don't worry, Elder Long. In half a month, they will no longer be obstacles on your path to becoming a dragon, but will become a protective force to ensure your success."

After Sun Yao finished speaking, he patted the fire dragon's head and leaped off it, landing on the shore moments later. Instead of speaking to Second Master Liu, he waved to the fire dragon. Seeing that he had arrived safely, the fire dragon sank back into the Heavenly Pool.

"What's wrong, kid? Why did this fire dragon send you out?"

“It’s simple. I made a bet with it. In half a month, I will clear all obstacles for it to transform from a dragon into a dragon. If it succeeds in half a month, it will protect me for 10 years. If it fails, all the materials of the dragon and its soul will be used by me to forge a magic weapon.”

"What?! You want it to transform into a dragon? Have you thought about what will happen to Changbai Mountain? What about the people along the way?" Sun Yao's words made Liu Er Taiye's tone suddenly rise, and it was clear that he was angry.

"Don't worry about that, Second Master. I, Sun Yao, am not the kind of person who would joke about the livelihood of the people. In fact, in the past hour or so down there, I and that fire dragon have completely cleared the earth fire veins at the bottom of the Heavenly Pool. Even if it rushes out of the Heavenly Pool, it will not cause the earth fire to erupt. The reason it didn't rush out just now was simply to keep our bet."

"What!? You're saying you and that old dragon cleaned up all the earth fire veins at the bottom of Heavenly Pool?"

“That’s right, it’s been completely cleaned up. The earth vein fire energy of Tianchi is all in my cauldron. I still need Second Grandfather to protect me. Next, I need to remelt this cauldron by Tianchi and turn it into a magic weapon.”