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

"Very well, today I accept your auspicious words and will transform into a dragon and soar into the sky!"

As soon as the fire dragon finished speaking, a torrential downpour began. Sun Yao enveloped himself in the fiery energy generated by his fire-based magic, and the raindrops evaporated before they even touched him. The fire dragon churned and raged in the Heavenly Pool, but Sun Yao remained firmly seated on its forehead.

About an hour later, the Heavenly Lake swelled and a torrent of water poured out, and the Fire Dragon burst forth from the lake with the flow. Following the path Sun Yao had indicated, it surged from the Songjiang River into the Yalu River. Once inside the great river, it was like a dragon entering the sea—unstoppable. Riding the floodwaters, it swept across several bends of the Yalu River; in fact, it was more like it simply submerged the river itself.

Using the momentum of the flood, it reached the widest section of the Yalu River in less than two hours. Only two narrow passes remained before it reached the estuary, passes that were extremely long and unsuitable for bridges. Logically, it should have been easy to cross them; the transformation from dragon to serpent was imminent.

The fire dragon lingered in this body of water for half a day, building up its momentum for the great flood. It planned to charge through the next two narrow passes in one go. As the saying goes, "One's strength is forged in one effort, but weakens with time." It had accumulated its power in the Heavenly Pool for three days, and it couldn't afford to delay any longer. The river was too long; once the rain was evenly distributed, it would lose its flood-like force to cross the two passes.

However, just as it was lingering on the river, two willow trees crossed the river and stopped in front of them.

"Have you two come here because something happened up ahead?" Sun Yao recognized the two Liu Xian'er at a glance. They were two of the people who protected him when he was refining the Heavenly Star Torch Furnace by the Heavenly Pool.

"Young master, the news of the dragon aging dragon must have leaked. However, it seems that the leak occurred quite late, and the Japanese didn't have time to react. Only a few ships have arrived. Moreover, they came from the mainland and haven't reached the estuary yet. However, an Onmyoji family called Tsuchimikado has sailed ahead and arrived at the pass ahead. Their main force will probably arrive in about a day."

Is the source of this information accurate?

"I'm absolutely certain. They've specifically assigned people to gather intelligence at their various ports. If it weren't for checking if they had any further plans, news about the Tsuchimikado family's voyage would have been reported long ago."

"It seems the competition among these Onmyoji families is quite fierce. The news of Elder Long's transformation from a dragon to a dragon should have been leaked long ago. It's just that the Tsuchimikado family didn't want other families to compete with them, so they suppressed the news. Send someone to inform Commander Zhang that there has been a traitor in the Northeast Army, and tell him to investigate thoroughly. The rest is up to us. These people from a small country like Cu are not even proficient in the methods of the Onmyoji school. How can they be my match? Elder Long, rest here for now, and I will clear the way for you."

After speaking, Sun Yao leaped into the water, landing smoothly on his feet. Although his cultivation hadn't improved in the past two weeks, he had acquired other skills. Waves rose on the Songhua River, propelling Sun Yao forward. His speed was no less than that of the fire dragon riding the waves earlier; in no time, he had vanished without a trace.

For a full two weeks, his cultivation level made no progress. So he had no choice but to divert his energy to other things, such as the water-based cultivation technique he was currently practicing. For the first five days, he discovered that no matter how he cultivated, the spiritual energy absorbed into his body would be dispersed throughout his limbs and bones to temper his body.

So he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he calmed down and used the thousand-year-old water-repelling pearl given to him by Grandpa Liu to deduce the water-based technique. However, this thousand-year-old water-repelling pearl was not the most suitable water essence he had envisioned, and the deduced water-based technique was still somewhat lacking. Although it could control all the water in the world, it couldn't be transformed into an element, just like the earth-based technique. The water-based technique's water escape method was similar to the earth escape method but not the same. The earth escape method allowed one to escape within the earth, while his water escape method, like the fire escape method and shrinking the earth to an inch, could achieve an effect similar to spatial teleportation. Moreover, anything within sight and perceived by divine sense could be transferred. The only regret was that he couldn't transform into an element.

However, it's perfectly adequate for now; in places with water, it's comparable to a natural disaster. Just like now, it rides the waves, taking advantage of the power of heaven and earth. In the face of natural disasters, who can escape unscathed?

In less than fifteen minutes, Sun Yao had arrived at the first pass of Ruhai, where an ironclad warship lay across the river, with the national flag of Xiaori flying prominently on board.

"If you leave now, I will not pursue the matter of your offense; otherwise, none of you on this boat will be able to leave."

Sun Yao stood on the river and spoke loudly. Although he had grown taller, he was still only 14 years old, a tiny figure who seemed like an ant in front of this enormous warship. Yet his voice echoed across the river, resounding through the sky like a divine proclamation, giving people a sense of awe and reverence.

Just then, a young man wearing a tall crown and a white robe suddenly appeared at the bow of the ironclad ship. It seemed that this was the Onmyoji leader of the Tsuchimikado family.

"I presume you are the driving force behind this Dragon Transformation operation. If you could hand over that dragon to our Tsuchimikado family, we would offer you countless treasures of gold and silver. If you desire power, we can also support you in becoming the most powerful warlord in this land. What do you say?"

“I don’t think it’s very good. I’ve already said that if you retreat today, your lives will be safe. If you don’t retreat today, I’ll make sure you die here. You’re just a small, insignificant country, full of people who fear power but have no gratitude. If I wipe you out here, I’m sure your successors won’t have the guts to challenge me again.”

As Sun Yao spoke, he took a step forward, and waves rose beneath his feet, forming a high slope that lifted him step by step to the top. By this time, he was much taller than the warship, and a towering wave had formed on the river.

"Are you truly determined to be our enemy? If so, then we won't hold back. Open fire!"

At the command of the leading Onmyoji, Tsuchimikado, the cannons on the ironclad warship immediately began to roar.