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

"It seems you know something. Why don't you tell me more?" Sun Yao was very interested in the secret he had just learned, just like a girl who had just heard some gossip and wanted to keep talking about it.

"Well, I think it's highly likely that Empress Dowager Cixi herself severed the Qing Dynasty's fate. The remaining ten years or so of national fortune were insignificant to the entire Qing Dynasty, but if concentrated on a few individuals, they could produce unexpected changes."

"You mean to say that Empress Dowager Cixi severed the fate of the entire Qing Dynasty, concentrating all the national fortune and imperial energy into herself? But she's already dead, so why would she need to gather all that national fortune?" Sun Yao seemed to have thought of something, but he couldn't quite grasp that spark of inspiration. Sun Yao was somewhat puzzled, hence his question.

"Don't forget that dying doesn't mean you're really dead. There are many forms of life in this world, and death isn't the only way to completely disappear. Corpse Immortals, Zombies, Ghost Cultivators—these are all new life forms that emerge after death." This time, it wasn't Old Master Liu who answered him, but Liao Huzi, who was smoking his pipe to the side.

In fact, Sun Yao had already thought of something, but someone needed to point out the crux of the problem. Now, Liao Huzi had succinctly clarified this point, and Sun Yao immediately understood. However, he then thought of another person: Sun Dianying, who had bombarded Cixi's mausoleum. With such an unconventional warlord in the picture, Cixi's plan was unlikely to succeed.

"Forget about that. At most, the national fortune and dragon energy will last for ten years. Even if it's all in her body, it won't turn the world upside down, not even enough to make her a Golden Armor Corpse. Let's focus on helping this old dragon transform into a dragon. If it succeeds, no one in the world can cause trouble with it. If it doesn't, with this dragon body, I can still forge powerful magic weapons and pills to make myself stronger." Sun Yao set the tone first, and Grandpa Liu and Liao Huzi agreed. After all, with a dragon around, even a Golden Armor Corpse can't turn the tide.

Now that the goal has been set, it needs to be implemented as soon as possible. After all, half a month is neither a short nor a long time.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and during this time, Sun Yao's strength did not increase in the slightest. The only thing to be thankful for was that the color of his crimson-gold blood became increasingly rich, and his bones and muscles also began to undergo subtle changes, starting to develop in the direction of becoming as white as jade. Perhaps one day he could truly reach the realm of golden skin and jade bones.

For the past two weeks, he has been traveling between Tianchi and Chuma Village daily. He cultivates at Tianchi during the day and returns to rest at night. The spiritual energy he absorbs is incomparable to what it used to be, yet his cultivation level has not improved in the slightest. Every day, the spiritual energy he absorbs dissipates into his body, and his physical form changes as it is tempered by this energy. He doesn't know if this is good or bad, but he currently has no good way to solve this problem. He can only let it develop and wait until the Fire Dragon transforms into a dragon before considering how to address it.

On the contrary, Yue Qiluo's cultivation level has made significant progress in the past half month, and she is now at the fourth level of Qi Refining. However, her speed has slowed down, since the reason she was able to advance so quickly was entirely due to switching cultivation techniques.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar reached Sun Yao's ears, and he looked up at the calm surface of Heavenly Lake. The lake was now rippling, no longer as smooth as a mirror.

"They're here!" Sun Yao thought to himself. Immediately afterward, a figure rushed out from the bottom of the Heavenly Pool and then returned to the water.

"Elder Long, are you ready?"

"I can do it anytime, of course, but half a month has passed. Have you cleared the obstacles for me?" the fire dragon asked in a deep voice. At this moment, the fire dragon was full of energy, making it hard to imagine that its lifespan was coming to an end.

"Then let's go. I'll personally lead the way for you. Let's cross the river, enter the sea, and transform into dragons!"

After Sun Yao finished speaking, he leaped up and landed directly on the fire dragon's head. The fire dragon did not refute this at all, and even began to gather wind and rain in preparation for transforming into a dragon.

Legend has it that after a dragon cultivates to a certain level, it can stir up storms and torrential rains in rivers, causing great floods that flow downstream and eventually reach the sea. Once in the sea, the dragon can transform into a true dragon.

The jiao will also encounter many hardships in the process of transforming into a dragon. For example, if the jiao is seen by someone, the person who sees it needs to consecrate it, that is, say something like "What a big dragon". Only in this way can the jiao successfully become a dragon. If it hears someone say something like "What a big snake", then the jiao will not be able to succeed, and the jiao may even be in danger of losing its life.

During its journey, the dragon needs to undergo tribulations to transform into a dragon. Heaven will send down lightning tribulations, and only by ultimately overcoming these tribulations can one truly attain enlightenment. In some cases, the dragon will only undergo these tribulations upon reaching the East Sea.

However, in Sun Yao's case, there's no need to confer an official title upon it. Moreover, since Sun Yao helped it achieve enlightenment, if it successfully transforms into a dragon, then some of its dragon-transformation fortune will naturally be shared with Sun Yao. If it fails to transform into a dragon, then its entire dragon fortune will be inherited by Sun Yao.

It knew, of course, Sun Yao's intentions, but at this moment it no longer cared. If it could truly become a dragon, what harm was there in sharing some of its fortune with Sun Yao? If it was destined to fail, what did it care about the deluge after its death?

The cumulonimbus clouds above Tianchi Lake gathered for three whole days, during which time Sun Yao sat upright atop the fire dragon's head without eating or drinking. Don't think Sun Yao was doing this to keep his promise or make a bet; in reality, he was after the fire dragon's dragon luck.

In truth, he had long ago concluded that the world would never allow another dragon to appear, even if that dragon wasn't a real one. But since this old dragon was willing to fight to the death for that sliver of hope, Sun Yao was naturally willing to help it achieve its goal. Even if it did manage to gain that sliver of hope and Sun Yao couldn't reap the benefits, Sun Yao would still be happy with his outcome.

Three days had passed, and the entire sky above Tianchi Lake was shrouded in darkness. A cool breeze blew, and a drop of rain fell on Sun Yao's face, causing him to open his eyes.

"It's time, Elder Long, we should go. We'll flow from the Songjiang River into the Yalu River, heading south directly into the Bohai Sea. I've already arranged for people to clear any obstacles along the way; neither the people nor the suspended bridges will hinder us. We're defying fate this time; may the Heavenly Officials grant us blessings and remove all taboos!"